Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Alice's Sin
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Go Myeong-gyu, 27, programmer.
Three months into the job. Work environment: extremely satisfying.
“Myeong-gyu, Myeong-gyu! Good morning!”
“Myeong-gyu, Myeong-gyu! What’s the design on your shirt today? This is the most exciting part of my morning!”
“Uh, yeah… It’s… a unicorn.”
He could say it with certainty.
The years of scorn and persecution had all been a trial of patience for this very day.
Every moment of his life had been leading up to this.
It might sound crazy.
But he would say it anyway.
‘This is fun!’
Work is fun!
He loved Mondays, and coming to work was pure bliss!
He wouldn’t bother explaining why.
Myeong-gyu was simply so thrilled with each day in his new environment that he started to wonder if perhaps he was the type who thrived on challenges all along.
But of course, it was still work.
Even in the cool office during the height of summer, even surrounded by good colleagues, it was still work.
Putting aside satisfaction with the work environment, let’s move on to the workload.
“Hyung, please check this part. When you’re done with that, do this, and this, and this too.”
The difficulty was hardcore.
No, impossible.
‘S-so much!’
The studio’s workload was murderous.
That was no joke.
Myeong-gyu was certain.
If there was a person who could endure this amount of work alone for years, they would surely die from overwork.
‘This isn’t a human amount of work.’
Having worked at an IT company before, albeit for only fourteen months, Myeong-gyu knew.
This was the kind of volume a whole team would struggle to handle, the kind that required giving up weekends just to meet deadlines.
And that was assuming the time spent on debugging was extremely short.
No one in the world worked like this.
To be precise, no one tried to handle this amount of work alone.
That was why Myeong-gyu didn’t voice any particular complaints to Yeon-ho.
“I’ve refined the algorithm a bit. This method still feels awkward, right? Just bear with it for a little longer. You’ll get used to it in no time, hyung.”
“Ah, okay.”
As he replied, Myeong-gyu glanced at Yeon-ho walking back to his desk.
The more he looked, the more he found him astounding.
‘How did he handle this workload all by himself until now?’
During the demo’s development, Yeon-ho had been the only programmer.
But besides programming, Yeon-ho was the studio’s president, who also had to single-handedly manage the overall planning, external marketing, and company operations.
Watching him work, it was clear he never neglected any of it. And that was while still being a student.
It was like he lived forty-eight hours in a day.
It made him think.
‘He’s different.’
As a species, as a human being, Yeon-ho was truly different from ordinary people.
Like he was born to work.
His first impression of Yeon-ho had been terrible, but he saw him differently now.
Though he was a junior from his department and three years younger, there were certainly aspects to admire about him as a professional.
It must be because he was so passionate that he could accumulate such programming knowledge at the mere age of twenty-four.
It must be how he was able to create *Hellic*, a significant part of his career.
“Haaah…”
Yeon-ho let out a small yawn.
For some reason, a surge of anger welled up at the sight of that face, where exhaustion transformed into a decadent charm, but he quickly suppressed it.
‘…I should just work hard.’
Doing the job he was given was his duty as a working adult.
Besides, this was a new company, wasn't it? The feedback on the company's success was quite satisfying.
Most importantly, working at the studio came with a definite reward.
“Myeong-gyu, Myeong-gyu! Let’s go get udon for lunch today!”
“Japanese food it is!”
“Okay!”
Today, too, Myeong-gyu was floundering in a honey trap.
For him, this place was the Hell of Hedonism.
***
Late August. The sweltering heat raged on, even though summer was technically ending according to the calendar.
Of course, since I spent most of my time sitting in a cool office, it didn't really affect me.
I just found myself thinking about work.
The work I’ve done so far, and the work that lies ahead.
We were in the middle of finalizing the programming for Chapters 1 and 2, and I was pushing forward with Myeong-gyu to implement the weapons for the next chapter, for which the modeling was already complete. In the process, quite a few weapons needed to be removed or changed, which required my attention. On top of that, testing the chapter’s gimmicks revealed a few technical issues, forcing me to revise the plan.
The art team had already finished the designs for Chapter 3, the Hell of Gluttony, and Chapter 4, the Hell of Annihilation, and had moved on to modeling.
As for Jo A-yun, she was busy preparing for her college entrance exams. At the same time, it seemed she had started the sound design for Chapter 2, which was now almost complete.
In conclusion, our progress was smooth.
There was also good news from the outside.
It was about the budget.
We were able to secure more than the initially projected 600 to 800 million won, and the reason was none other than the success of my previous game.
『Is Hellic 1 fun? I like Hellic 2, but it’s too short.』
As the demo version’s downloads neared 600,000, a reverse influx of players to the previous game was occurring.
Considering the actual sales figures and future trends, I estimated we could pull in an additional 700 million won for the development budget.
It was a green light.
To be honest, the cost of marketing had always been a weight on my mind, so I could finally breathe a little easier.
Anyway, work continued like that.
Personally, there was another change.
[What? What is happiness, you ask?]
“Yeah.”
[I can’t explain it with words. No one can define it for you.]
A dream.
Lately, quite often, perhaps every day, I had been having the same dream.
What I always saw was the girl from hell, just as I remembered her.
[It's something you have to find for yourself. Happiness has a thousand faces for a thousand people. When you realize which of those faces is meant for you, you can finally prepare to be happy.]
“...I don't know.”
[Hmm… Then let’s talk about a happy life. I can tell you about that. In the distant future, when you look back on a moment from your past, trace your memories and touch your face. If you can smile in that moment, then your life will surely have been a happy one. If you can’t, it must have been a life full of regrets!]
I figured it was because I spent most of my days thinking only of the girl and the butterfly.
You know that experience, right? When you spend all day playing a really fun game or watching a drama, and then you see scenes from it in your dreams.
I assumed this was something similar.
It wasn't so bad.
It helped me sharpen the inspirations and memories that were starting to fade.
Whatever it was, it was a phenomenon that helped with development.
Anyway, back to the dream.
Whenever Alice rested, the butterfly would teach her such things.
Life, happiness, the future, and how to grasp them.
[When you go back, I mean. The first thing you should do is go eat something delicious. Oh! There’s this thing called a cheeseburger. It’s the most delicious food humans can eat, and I’m sure you’ll love it!]
“A cheeseburger?”
[Yep! Don’t you dare cry because it’s so delicious, okay? If you do, you’ll remember crying every time you think of that happy moment.]
The butterfly’s giggles tickled my ears.
In that moment, I was reminded again.
Of the sense of incongruity I once felt listening to the butterfly.
‘It doesn’t know.’
The butterfly didn’t know. What happiness was, what life was, what the future or happiness was.
More accurately, it felt as if it had never held such things in its grasp.
The butterfly’s teachings felt like it was reciting famous quotes or lines from a book.
Conversely, its words reflecting on experience were tinged with a certain bitterness.
These were things that only became clear to me now that I knew the butterfly’s true identity.
[When you go back, try to do a lot of things. Rush forward so that you don’t regret a single moment. You can do it. Because you’re a more special child than anyone else in the world.]
When the butterfly said that, the girl would nod blankly.
And then she would stand up again.
At times like that, the butterfly would say something similar.
[…Yes, let’s go. It’s too dark here.]
The dream ended with that scene.
“…Ah.”
My back was stiff.
Through my opened eyelids, I saw the office scenery.
‘I must have dozed off.’
I had only meant to close my뻑뻑해서sore eyes for a moment, but it seemed I had fallen asleep right here in the office.
No one else was around.
The sky outside the window was already pitch-black, and the clock showed 8 PM.
Come to think of it, I had sent the employees home early today.
Just as I realized this and straightened my back…
*Srrk—*
Something slipped from my shoulder.
It was a brown blanket.
Wondering what it was, I held it in my hands and caught the faint scent of perfume.
‘This is Seo-rim’s.’
It was the same scent Han Seo-rim wore.
A sweet floral scent that made its presence known without being too strong or too faint.
She must have covered me while I was asleep. I was thinking I should fold it and return it when the office door opened.
*Click—*
“Oh? You’re awake, sunbae?”
Han Seo-rim came in, a coffee in her hand.
“Huh, if I’d known, I would’ve bought one for you too.”
“…You didn’t go home?”
“Nope. I came back because there was something I wanted to revise in the design. Hey, why are you hugging that blanket like that? Are you a pervert?”
I ignored the slander and replied.
“…It’s Friday, you’re not going out?”
“Friday? Since when did we have Fridays?”
I was at a loss for words.
As I clamped my mouth shut, Han Seo-rim let out a chuckle.
“It’s fine. I don’t really like noisy places, and even if I try to rest at home, I can’t relax because I keep thinking about work. Besides, you pay overtime, right? Just think of me as here to suck the company dry.”
“Go home right now.”
“I refuse~.”
Han Seo-rim sat down at her desk.
She took a sip of her coffee and launched a program.
Ah, it was concept art for the area around the ending.
The beach from the prologue.
The difference now was the golden door standing there, and the full moon dyeing the crimson sky a deep blue.
It had an elegance that erased the bleakness.
I was still half-asleep.
The time was awkward, and it seemed pointless to try to work more, so I just watched Han Seo-rim work.
As her tablet pen moved, brushstrokes appeared on the screen.
It felt like watching a live drawing show.
The more I watched, the more I wondered how it was that when Han Seo-rim drew the same line, it became a piece of art, but when I did, it became a doodle.
I was lost in such thoughts with my arms crossed.
“By the way, sunbae.”
Han Seo-rim suddenly spoke.
“Yeah?”
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Why did Alice fall into hell?”
Han Seo-rim looked at me.
Her face was slightly puzzled.
“All of a sudden?”
“No, it’s just… when I think about it, it’s weird. In *Hellic 1* and in this world, hell is a place you fall into if you commit a sin, right? Well, the standard for sin is a bit strange, but still. It just doesn’t seem to fit.”
*Tap, tap.* Han Seo-rim tapped on the image of Alice on her screen.
“Isn’t she six or seven at most? So why would she fall into the Hell of Heretics, the Hell of Hedonism… or that hell where you eat anything, or the one for self-destruction?”
“Hmm.”
“I mean, it’s like that from the very beginning. What would a kid know to end up in a place where cultists fall?”
I quietly observed the screen.
There was Alice, who looked so much like the girl in my memory.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t told them about the ending.
I always inserted the scripts that would reveal the narrative at the very end.
I said nonchalantly.
“You’re right. Alice never committed those kinds of sins. That’s why the butterfly is trying to get her out.”
“Huh?”
Han Seo-rim’s expression soured.
“What’s that supposed to mean? That she had no reason to fall in the first place?”
“No, it’s not that there’s no reason. She just never committed the sins you mentioned.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? So this game is about a girl who’s thrown into hells that have nothing to do with her and made to suffer?”
“The context is similar, but you’re wrong.”
I stood up from my seat.
“Alice did commit a sin. Wandering through those hells is the result of it.”
“This innocent-looking kid?”
“Just because it wasn’t intentional doesn’t mean it wasn’t a sin. Of course, it’s not a legal sin.”
The reason she fell into hell, nonetheless, was because hell doesn’t concern itself with human laws.
Their standards are different from those of humans.
“It’s actually a cruel story. From a human perspective, Alice’s situation is incredibly unfair. It’s pitiful.”
But it had happened.
My regression, that strange phenomenon, proved the existence of that world.
“It’s just…”
My lips parted for a moment.
But in the end, I couldn’t say the words. There was something I was still deliberating.
“…Something like that. That beach is a hell, too. The hell that judges Alice’s one and only sin.”
At that, Han Seo-rim thought for a moment before answering.
“…Being born? I think the butterfly said something like that.”
I didn’t give her an answer.
It was something I should tell her after I had firmly decided on the direction of the ending.
Giving Han Seo-rim too much information at this stage might just confuse the final product.
Besides, it wasn’t the right time to work out the detailed design of the ending anyway.
I handed the blanket to Han Seo-rim and said.
“I’ll tell you about that when it’s more solidified. Work on other things first. And thanks for the blanket. I’m shutting off the power, so you should head home too.”
“Ah, wait!”
“I’m leaving.”
I walked out of the office.
Was it the dream I’d just had, or was it the conversation with Han Seo-rim?
—…Sleep well.
The words I had heard at the end of that hell echoed in my ears.
The salty scent of the beach seemed to overlap with the perfume that had seeped into the blanket.
Ending