Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Your Wedding (1)
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Question: What is the correct response when a subordinate suddenly asks you to marry them out of the blue?
In a normal situation, one might try to see if there was some dramatic, special story behind it.
Failing that, you might wonder if they mistook you for someone else, if you misheard them, or if they secretly had feelings for you.
However, since the person in question was Jo A-yun, the answer was painfully obvious.
“A MapleStory wedding?”
“Yeees…!”
Her voice bloomed with a smile.
Not even a full second passed before she answered.
Still, the kid was so bright and cheerful.
The least I could do was hear her out.
“Is there an event going on?”
“Yeees…! An experience event…!”
“Alright, let’s do it.”
This was the first request from the treasure of our Studio Rewind, the sound director of Development Team 1, after she had brilliantly completed her tasks. What reason was there to refuse?
As I answered, Jo A-yun fidgeted with her fingers and added more.
“Th-then…!”
“Hm?”
“I-I’ll gather people…!”
???
***
At moments like this, a few resolutions I’d made after regressing flashed through my mind again.
Things like not living this life obsessed with proving myself, or achieving various things as an individual outside of development and experiencing more of what I couldn't in my past life.
Looking back, I hadn't kept them very well.
That’s how frightening human inertia can be.
Above all, the experience of getting closer to my dream, step by step, was so precious that I ended up living solely for it.
And then came today.
[The wedding of YeonhoKingWangJjang and Ayuning is about to begin!]
My first wedding in this life is a MapleStory wedding.
Doing it on a company computer at the end of the workday felt rather strange.
Whatever it was, if this counted as a wedding, couldn't I consider one of my life goals achieved?
…Right, if my parents ask when I’m getting married again, I’ll just say I already did.
If I tell them my wife is in another world and can't make it for the holidays, they might not understand, but at least they'll stop nagging me about marriage.
‘Is this unfilial?’
No, filial piety is paid with money.
Everyone pretends it’s not true, but isn’t a bouquet made of cash more effective on Parents' Day than a heartfelt letter and red ginseng?
Now that I think about it, I should buy them a new appliance this Chuseok.
I was lost in such thoughts when she spoke.
“P-President… a lot of people came, right?”
“They sure did. You have a lot of friends in the game, A-yun.”
Jo A-yun grinned sheepishly.
Beyond the monitor, so many of Jo A-yun’s online friends had gathered that the game was starting to lag.
The character effects were so flashy; it made me think I just don't get online games these days, but then I remembered my past life and had to concede.
‘Luxury items like cosmetics sold surprisingly well.’
Of course, not as well as enhancement materials or stat-boosting items, but even in the games I ran, those kinds of vanity items sold quite well.
From a developer’s perspective, I had to admit the monetization model was brilliantly designed.
Another notable thing was this.
“Congratulations on your wedding!”
“Our dear President is finally getting married…!”
“I don’t know why everyone’s making such a big deal out of a game wedding. Don’t you agree, senior?”
“How much should we give for the wedding gift? A million pesos?”
“Ah, old man. It’s mesos, not pesos. If you don’t know, just stay quiet……”
“……”
These people must have a lot of free time lately.
The sight of them all huddled around their monitors, chiming in one by one instead of heading home like they usually loved to do, was quite irksome.
I cleared my throat, and only then did it get a little quieter.
Of course, I mean relatively quieter than before.
“Well, now that Yeon-ho’s a married man, he’ll have to grind hard.”
“Myeong-gyu?”
“Just kidding.”
“……”
Seeing how Myeong-gyu had become more relaxed and respectable with age always made me feel a certain way.
It was like, if you were to meet your first love again after many years and realize you could no longer find any trace of yourself in them, it would feel just like this.
Anyway, this ridiculous wedding ceremony ended quickly.
They took me to some strange map for a honeymoon or something, but my level was so low that I died instantly.
And with that, it was time to go home.
Now that things had settled down a bit, I was starting to ramp up the planning for the DLC.
The DLC would use an “IF” scenario: ‘A man whose timeline becomes twisted, forcing him to fight his own future.’
I wasn't planning on a massive volume, so there would be around six additional bosses.
The final boss would be the protagonist from the bad ending, consumed by the Hell of Slaughter, pitted against the current protagonist.
Of course, it wouldn't do if that was the only anticipated boss.
Considering the vastness of "time" as a theme, there was room for other applications.
So, let's weave in some new creations.
‘A jailer.’
The Hell of Slaughter has jailers, too.
I just excluded them because I didn't feel the need to incorporate them into the main game.
What if I inserted one as a DLC boss?
‘No.’
Better yet, what if I designed a hidden boss as fan service and pulled a jailer from a different hell?
The Blue Jailer from *Hellic 1*, for example, would be a great choice.
It was no exaggeration to say the Blue Jailer held a significant place within the *Hellic* series.
Even now, whenever a new installment was announced, people would ask, “Will the jailer make an appearance again this time?” The character itself had a huge following.
Furthermore, considering the final boss of the next scheduled release, *Hellic 2*, was the Blue Jailer, it would have a decent marketing effect as well.
The problem was how to weave this into the game.
At what point should the DLC route open up, and how could it be implemented to connect smoothly with the original story?
My thoughts were flowing.
*Ping!*
A message arrived.
It was from Jo A-yun.
[Jo A-yun: President, it's our first night. I thought I'd message you while I was hunting hehehe]
Ah, right. We got married for the experience points.
I heard the effect was greater when both characters were on the same map.
Feeling that I had been negligent in my post-wedding duties, I replied.
[Cheon Yeon-ho: sry, logging in now. should i just park my char on the map?]
[Jo A-yun: No, it’s okay! Just give me your ID and I’ll take him with me! I have two computers at home@@@!]
[Cheon Yeon-ho: nice]
What a relief that I didn't have to worry about it.
I immediately sent my ID and password to Jo A-yun, and it wasn't long before I realized my choice had been a mistake.
[Jo A-yun (01:29 AM): (MapleStory screenshot) President, level 60…!]
[Jo A-yun (03:31 AM): (MapleStory screenshot) President, 100!!!]
[Jo A-yun (05:55 AM): (MapleStory screenshot) President, 150!!! Came to Love Island on my break!]
[Jo A-yun (08:33 AM): (MapleStory screenshot) 200! Congrats on the 5th job advancement! I got us matching couple outfits to celebrate!@!]
What did MapleStory mean to Jo A-yun?
You could say it was a companion that had been with her for practically half her life.
But now, I was starting to understand something.
[Jo A-yun (08:33 AM): (MapleStory screenshot) 200! Congrats on the 5th job advancement! I got us matching couple outfits to celebrate!@!]
Playing a game until 8:30 in the morning without any sleep.
Even if it was the weekend, the realization of why she was always dozing off at the office left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I didn't want to do this, but I picked up my phone.
*Beep!*
[A-yun’s Mother]
—Oh my, President, what’s the occasion for you to call first? Oh! Did you finish all the side dishes I gave you?
The mom-summoning technique.
It was my ultimate weapon to defeat Jo A-yun.
***
Lately, things had been rather relaxed for Rewind's Development Team 1.
Of course, they had the task of creating the DLC, but the workload was significantly less compared to when they were making the main *Hellic 4* game, so the employees were feeling the leisure.
It was like going from being ground up in an industrial shredder to being gently blended in a household mixer.
They could complete their quotas without any issues, even while working at a relaxed pace.
This naturally led to a certain phenomenon.
When people are well-fed, their eyes start to wander.
Leisure allows one to look at their surroundings, and a little laughter begins to bloom.
In other words, they were starting to relish the fun of teasing someone or spouting nonsense.
“Welcome, Madam President!”
“Hee hee…!”
A-yun was now Development Team 1’s “Madam President.”
This was due to her new position as Yeon-ho’s wife (in the game).
It was like watching over an adorable younger sister.
Although she had her unique psychopathic tendencies, she was still the youngest among the high-ranking staff and had an easygoing personality, making her quite popular outside the recording booth.
In particular, her way of speaking, which seemed hesitant but always got her point across, and her habit of trotting around to greet everyone, meant there wasn't a single employee who hadn't spoken with her.
Everyone chuckled.
It was because every time someone called her "Madam President," A-yun would puff out her chest, place a hand on her hip, and let out a little "Ehem!"
However, there was one person who couldn't laugh.
Needless to say, it was Seo-rim (currently displeased), who was only now realizing what romantic feelings were.
“A-yun. You shouldn’t act like that.”
“Huh…?”
“People who don’t know might get the wrong idea.”
Seo-rim was not pleased with how this was going.
To be honest, she hadn’t liked the fuss over a game wedding from the start, but the comments that followed had grated on her nerves even more.
A prime example was this:
—What if they actually end up getting married?
—An office wedding? Wow, then A-yun will really become the Madam President, huh?
—You think she’ll quit?
—You think President Cheon would let her quit? Ah, I see. You're a spy. Where are you from?
—Whoops, looks like I've been found out.
—Get him! He’s a spy from Team 3!
Getting married for real over a game wedding? What nonsense.
Of course, she’d heard of such people existing somewhere, but it certainly wouldn't be Yeon-ho and A-yun.
No, in fact, Seo-rim felt a sense of self-loathing just for having these thoughts.
She felt like she had become a very petty and spiteful person, and she didn't want to admit it.
But what could she do?
Love is a game where the one who likes the other more loses.
The more you like someone, the more anxious you become, and the more anxious you are, the more obsessive you get. That’s just human nature.
And so, even as every little thing pricked at her, there was one reason she couldn't say more.
“Why not…? The president and I are a married couple……”
“Th-that’s……”
Pride.
That damned pride.
Seo-rim, who had lived her entire life believing she was the best, had to be the best, and couldn't stand not being the best, didn't even want to entertain the thought of conceding.
In her imagined future, it was naturally Yeon-ho who, when faced with relationship troubles, would inevitably cling to her.
Seo-rim’s lips twisted into a pout, but she couldn't bring herself to answer rashly.
Meanwhile, A-yun, who had been tilting her head innocently with wide eyes, spotted Yeon-ho entering and trotted over to him.
“Ah…!”
“Hm? A-yun?”
“P-President…! They’re calling me Madam President…!”
Seo-rim’s heart dropped.
Yeon-ho looked at A-yun with an indifferent expression before finally replying with an “Ah.”
“Right, we did get married. Anyway, A-yun, try not to play games all night.”
“Okay…! Mom said I can only play until one…!”
“Alright. Keep up the good work, Madam President.”
“Okay…!”
Seo-rim turned to stone.
Yeon-ho glanced at her, said, “Good morning,” and walked away.
She was alone with A-yun again.
A-yun was still smiling sheepishly.
And then, a thought struck Seo-rim.
‘Wait a minute.’
Come to think of it, A-yun had always been attached to Yeon-ho like glue.
To the point where Yeon-ho would find even words like that cute.
What if it was all by design?
What if this whole situation was part of A-yun’s plan?
Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, A-yun’s smile suddenly seemed sinister.
She knew it was a huge leap in logic, but Seo-rim couldn't shake the thought.
In short, it came down to this.
‘Am I okay with this?’
Han Seo-rim, Art Director of Studio Rewind, who had known Yeon-ho for about eleven years and only realized her romantic feelings a year ago, felt a sense of crisis for the very first time.