The Darkest Hour Before Dawn
TT Engine's CEO, Woo Ik-chan, clutched his head and staggered to his feet from where he'd been rolling on the floor.
"Ah, the hangover..."
It felt like someone was stabbing his brain with needles and hammering at his ears.
After drifting in a haze for a while, Woo finally snapped back to reality and stared blankly at the ceiling.
He couldn't remember anything after drinking, but the memories before were crystal clear.
Lately, TT Engine, which was running the game TOOL, had been in dire straits.
Forget everything else—the operating costs had hit rock bottom.
He'd sold his apartment to cover server fees and salaries for a few months, but there was no plan after that.
Naturally, whispers were circulating inside the company that investing 500 million won in that drama had been a mistake.
But to Woo, even that 500 million would only buy them a few more months.
Better to bet on even a 1% chance of success than just wither away.
If they hadn't thrown in the money, Director Do Hyun-woo would've jumped to another game.
That was the vibe. So Woo's time attack had synced perfectly with the drama's launch.
"Hold on, hold on, we have to hold on. If we endure, we win."
"How long do we hold on, CEO?!"
"Until the drama drops!"
"But even if the drama hits big, does that change anything for our game?"
"It will! It changes everything! It'll draw them in!"
"Draw what in?!"
"The energy of the universe!"
"Draw in users!"
"The darkest hour is just before dawn... Hold on, we have to hold on...!"
And finally, yesterday.
Episodes 1 and 2 of At Your Fingertips dropped.
Right at 10 PM, he'd watched with bated breath, heart pounding...
It's doomed.
Despair crashed over Woo's world.
Not that the drama had flopped.
He hadn't checked ratings, but the show itself was so gripping it made him forget reality.
What tanked was TT Engine.
Why? The game didn't show up in the drama.
No game stuff in Episode 1 at all. Episode 2 had a bit, but barely.
Practically nothing.
The act of "playing games" got some weight, but no focus on any specific game.
That's why they ditched ROR and came to us.
That's why the nonchalant attitude—like any game would've done.
If it's just a few throwaway shots, they could've used Tetris.
No false hope!
After that, he'd drowned his sorrows and blacked out.
Lying sprawled on the floor, Woo scanned his studio apartment.
This dump he'd rushed into after selling the apartment was too pathetic for a company CEO.
It mirrored his own misery so perfectly that tears welled up.
I should shut it down. Games? What games? It's over.
That was when it hit.
Bang bang, bang bang.
The needle in his brain had stopped, but the hammer on his ears wouldn't quit...
"Huh?"
Bang bang! Bang bang!
"What? My place?"
No way—sure, his life was in the gutter, but he hadn't racked up loan shark debt.
As Woo thought that and cracked the door...
"Ah! CEO! You really doing this?!"
TT Engine's operations manager, eyes bloodshot, bellowed.
Woo, with dark circles down to his cheekbones and looking utterly wrecked, gaped stupidly.
"Why are you here, Manager Oh?"
"Why?! No KakaoTalk replies! No calls! This shithole studio's doorbell is busted! Know how long I've been pounding?!"
"Okay, but why pound? Something at the office?"
"Server crashed! Can't recover!"
Woo's heart plummeted.
"S-server fees already gone? No way! I sold the apartment...!"
"Not that!"
Manager Oh yelled.
"Too many users! Server overloaded!"
"Users? Why? Why the rush?"
"Why?! Drama's a smash hit!"
At Oh's shout, Woo froze like a broken robot.
"You're right, CEO! Drama blew up! People are flocking to our game!"
"F-for real?"
"To turn drama hit into game hit, wash up and get to work!"
Even at Oh's command, dazed Woo stumbled inside with a clatter.
He snatched his smartphone, but the battery was dead.
Clattering back out, he grabbed the phone in Oh's hand.
"My phone!"
"Unlock, unlock!"
Unlocked, no need to search.
The E-sports news feed was plastered with At Your Fingertips and TOOL.
"Hng...!"
Woo let out a childish wail, tears dripping.
"I was so exhausted..."
Oh, watching the spectacle, chuckled in disbelief.
"Yeah. This pathetic charm is our CEO's thing."
Oh took a deep breath and unleashed a primal scream.
"Uwaaaaa! We're saved!"
Soon, their roars filled the building.
"Uwaaaaaaaa!"
"Wooooaaaah!"
What to call this...
Irrational?
Overheated?
Or... a bit scary?
Normal folks watch a fun drama and think about chatting at school, work, or with friends the next day.
But our fervent fanbase was different.
Gamers haunting every community vented their satisfaction online like...
No, not vented.
Can't use crude words for these fine folks.
They sprayed, no, fired, no, scattered their satisfaction across the net.
Their fervor was so intense it hijacked the real-time trends, shoving At Your Fingertips to the top—no search terms needed.
Spots 1 through 10, all us.
That pulled in massive neutral viewers.
We knew from the phenomenon the drama was a hit, but hard data came via Director Cha Seong-woo.
Beating Namaendae shocked me.
Hyung's stellar performance had it steadily climbing.
No drop-offs after Episodes 1-2; viewers just kept pouring in up to 8.
Ours felt like a explosive opener.
Still, way ahead of my expectations.
Can't declare victory yet.
Drama hurdles: Episodes 1, 4, 12.
First cleared, long road ahead.
Still...
The mood was euphoric.
Utterly addictive.
---