Chapter 199
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Confession (3)
Seo-rim herself knew best why she had frozen the moment A-yun appeared.
It was because she knew where those transparently clear eyes were always directed.
“Oh, they said it’s pork cutlet for lunch today…!”
A-yun said with a giggle.
Seo-rim had to struggle to keep her expression neutral.
All sorts of thoughts flooded her mind.
How much did A-yun know?
Did she know that she liked Yeon-ho, that she had confessed to him?
The moment she found out, how would she look at her?
In a normal situation, confessing to Yeon-ho wouldn't be something to be so self-conscious about.
After all, wasn't it ridiculous to call liking the same person a mistake?
The reason she felt so self-conscious was that she had spent too much time with A-yun.
The thought that she had ruined their relationship with her own hands suddenly welled up.
Seo-rim tried not to face it.
“…Really? Sounds decent.”
“Yeees…!”
“Let’s go, I’m hungry.”
She shifted to a mundane conversation.
Seo-rim found the atmosphere incredibly awkward.
Whether A-yun knew her inner thoughts or not, she just giggled and busied herself walking alongside her.
In early 2022, the development of *Hellic 5* was not yet finished.
* * *
The sound department of Rewind’s Development Team 1 was considered something of a punishment room within the company.
The testimonies of various victims who had screamed their lungs out there since the company's founding had created that atmosphere.
However, the only one who fears a punishment room is the prisoner.
For those who had committed no crime and were instead in charge of managing the place—that is, the sound team members—it was a workplace of rather high satisfaction.
“Team Leader, here are the sound sources for the White Hell.”
“Okay… just leave them there.”
A-yun replied to the sound team member.
The team member, who was clacking away at his keyboard, didn't feel anything was out of place with A-yun, whose eyes were glued to her monitor.
Even though she was playing MapleStory during work hours.
“Yup!”
An employee playing another company's game during work hours, at a game company no less—it was a sight that would make anyone gasp, but for the sound team, this was just daily life.
There was only one reason this unbelievable situation was possible.
“What level is the team leader?”
“I think she’s leveling a new character for the Burning event.”
“She’s amazing. Did she finish all her deadlines?”
“When has the team leader ever missed a deadline?”
“That’s true.”
It was because A-yun’s work performance was simply too outstanding.
Setting aside all other titles, she was a two-time GOTY-winning sound director.
At least when it came to the content of music, she possessed a talent no one could match, which was why she could afford to slack off on the company dime with her spare time.
That was also the reason for the high employee satisfaction.
“Are we getting off on time today too?”
“Yeah, no work piled up.”
At Studio Rewind, which proudly held the number one spot for being a sweatshop in the game industry, the sound department was planning to leave on time today, as usual.
There was a good reason the programming team in the adjacent department was dying of jealousy.
In any case, from her position as the sound team leader,
A-yun was thinking of other things as she watched her character zap monsters on the screen.
‘She’s changed.’
Seo-rim’s atmosphere had changed.
The way Yeon-ho treated Seo-rim had changed.
It was different from before.
Having watched the two of them for a long time, A-yun knew.
‘Since when?’
It was right after the holidays.
Since that day, a strange current had begun to flow between them, and Seo-rim’s expression had brightened to the point that even an outsider could tell.
One of them must have brought about a change in their relationship.
And A-yun was certain that the one who had initiated that change was Seo-rim.
‘The President…’
He was someone who could never think in that direction.
*Tap, tap.* As the keyboard clacked cheerfully, her thoughts expanded.
What did she say? What was the atmosphere like, and how did they interact for Yeon-ho to start paying attention to Seo-rim?
A-yun considered many possibilities.
The more she did, the more her lips pouted.
‘…I was first.’
In liking him, in being good to him.
She had been first in everything.
Seo-rim had only realized her feelings late and had beaten her to the punch.
There was only one reason she hadn't taken any action about it until now.
A-yun liked Seo-rim.
As a person, as a colleague, she was an entertaining person.
A-yun would probably never do anything to harm Seo-rim in the future either.
However, separate from that, she couldn't give up Yeon-ho.
A-yun stopped her frantic typing.
She closed the game and stood up from her seat.
“Oh, Team Leader, where are you going?”
“Ju-just to see the President for a moment…”
“Ah, okay.”
A-yun scurried toward the planning team.
Soon, she saw Yeon-ho, sitting in front of his computer and racking his brain as usual.
A bright smile bloomed on A-yun’s lips.
“P-President…!”
“Ah, yeah. A-yun.”
A-yun loved it when Yeon-ho looked up at her.
She loved how he seemed indifferent but cared about unexpected things, and how he would always seriously consider whatever she said at least once.
It had been that way since they first met.
‘He wouldn’t have changed.’
A-yun was confident.
No matter how they met or what their relationship became, this feeling would never change.
She would have liked Yeon-ho just the same, and hovered around him just the same.
“What brings you here?”
“I made some sound effects…!”
“Ah, hold on. Let me check.”
Yeon-ho put on his headset and opened the file.
He began to concentrate, staring intently at the screen.
A-yun quietly took in the sight.
She still liked him, and there was no reason she should have to lose him.
Yeon-ho took off his headset.
“It’s good. But let’s put it on hold for now. Let’s refine it again after seeing the modeling and the actual in-game implementation.”
“Okaay…!”
A-yun smiled sweetly and said to Yeon-ho.
“President.”
“Yeah?”
“A-are we still going to be in Development Team 1…?”
Yeon-ho tilted his head, then nodded up and down.
“That’s right. Unless you transfer departments or quit.”
“I’m not going to quit…!”
“Please don’t. Where else would I find someone who can make sounds as well as you?”
There was no way she would quit.
Because Yeon-ho would continue to be here.
“Okaay…! I-I’ll stay here forever…!”
A-yun felt the anxiety in her heart begin to subside.
It was a happiness that came from the very fact that Yeon-ho needed her.
Still, needing to drive the point home, A-yun spoke.
“P-President…”
“Yeah?”
“A long time ago. A really long time ago. When I was g-going to college…!”
“Yeah.”
“You said if I got in, I’d get a w-wish ticket…”
“Ah, now that you mention it, there was that. We ended up letting it slide because you said you’d tell me later. Why, did you just remember? Is it about salary negotiations?”
“No. Hehe…”
As long as he remembered, that was enough.
“I’ll tell you later…!”
“…Make it a wish I can grant.”
“Okaay…! Y-you can do it…!”
It wasn't difficult at all.
It was something that wouldn't cause any of the financial losses Yeon-ho was imagining.
Yeon-ho, with his strong sense of responsibility, would surely be troubled but would still seriously consider her ‘request.’
“I-It’s something easy…!”
For now, that alone was enough to satisfy A-yun.
* * *
For console gamers who had loved the market for a long time, 2021 was a somewhat dull year.
There was the market expansion due to the COVID-19 pandemic and various incidents that followed, but the most important thing—a masterpiece that would sweep the year—was absent.
The closest thing was the *Hellic 2* remake, which had swept the GOTY awards.
However, it wasn't a new title that delivered a fresh shock, but a reinterpretation of a steady seller—a game that couldn't quite be called a completely new work.
The general reaction was one of disappointment.
Of course, the reason was that many titles had their release schedules pushed back due to COVID, but that fact didn't erase the disappointment.
Amidst this, there was one fortunate thing.
In 2022, an unprecedentedly anticipated title was waiting for the users.
『LordOfBangbae : Eldering is here lmao
I've been waiting for this!!!』
『PoppyLetsGoForAWalk : No matter how I think about it, this year’s GOTY is a lock ^^
It’s been a while since I’ve been this captivated by a game.
Feels like it’s completely shaken off my sense of ennui!』
*Eldering*, the new open-world game that Flare Soft had ambitiously prepared, was that very anticipated title.
Released in late February, *Eldering* shook the game industry in less than four days.
It had captured the mainstream audience by resolving Flare Soft's signature hardcore difficulty with systemic casualness.
The excellence of its narrative and art, in particular, needed no further mention.
As the "Flare-brains," the Flare analysts among the fans, disassembled the story piece by piece, the revealed elements were more than enough to astonish the users.
It gets more interesting the more you know.
It becomes new with each playthrough.
These facts made the players say, “This is Flare, after all,” and secured the GOTY title as early as February.
But one must not forget the fact that there is no masterpiece that can satisfy everyone's tastes.
If there are a hundred people, there are a hundred tastes, and a hundred unbearable flaws.
In that respect, *Eldering* was still ‘Flare, after all.’
Its difficulty was higher than that of a typical game, the narrative was complex, and the world was too gloomy.
This was the sentiment of the user base that didn't enjoy *Eldering* as much.
In any case, although a masterpiece was sweeping the industry, users were still hungry.
They hoped for a wider variety of games to emerge, and at that moment, something appeared.
『OneMoreMoveKing : Demon's Relic!!! It’s here!!!』
The trailer for *Demon’s Relic 2* was released.
It was March.
* * *
*Zzzt,* through the static-filled screen, the King of Hell spoke.
—What is it that you desire?
Golden eyes, large horns, and black wings—it was Lucifer, the true heroine known to all users who had played *Demon's Relic*.
The protagonist answered her question.
—@%#%@#$
The reply was unintelligible due to the static.
Soon, an upbeat OST began to play.
The screen shifted from the black and red of hell to a brightly shining heaven.
An angel’s wings, the sound of someone's laughter, the clang of weapons, and a mysterious voice.
—Do you know? The fact that heaven and hell were originally one.
And then, the nine heroines to be met in *Demon's Relic 2* were revealed.
The roughly three-minute trailer set the hearts of the users who loved the *Demon's Relic* IP ablaze.
A new setting, new heroines, and a story that connected to the previous game.
Everything necessary was contained within the trailer, and the developer was none other than Studio Rewind.
『CivilServant : The heroine modeling is insane this time lol
Seems like the motif is the angels of the Sephirot?
These guys really get their audience lmao』
『OneMoreMoveKing : O, mighty Nishimura, lead me not into temptation….』
Although it was just one trailer, a video that only revealed the general concept, it was nonetheless the most anticipated title of 2022.
An eager voice cried out.
『LordOfBangbae : So when’s the release date?
It’s coming out this year, right…?』
As such questions arose, the release date was set.
“Let’s go with late July.”
*Demon's Relic 2* would be released in the hottest part of summer.