Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Publishing
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A year had nearly passed since the project kicked off, and it was one day at the end of the year.
I'd received a call and headed up to the president's office, where Suyeon greeted me, dressed in a suit.
"You called for me?"
"Yeah, don't just stand there—come sit down."
Without another word, I did as Suyeon said and took a seat on the sofa.
"You usually dress so casually, but I guess something must be up today."
"This? I just popped over to headquarters to see my dad."
"Ah..."
Suyeon pulled a bottle of coffee from the fridge and handed it to me.
"The reason I called you in today, Hojin, is that there were a few things in your report I didn't quite get."
"Oh, sure."
"One part said the first official service launch would be on the Japanese server?"
"That's right."
"Why go through all that hassle? Translation, finding a publishing company—it's not just one or two complications."
"Because the payoff is worth it."
I took a sip of the coffee she'd given me and continued.
"First off, the subculture market itself is on a whole different scale—you can't even compare it. Sure, that means fierce competition, but luckily, the mobile gaming side is still a blue ocean."
"So... you're aiming to enter that blue ocean ahead of other Japanese game companies and claim first-mover advantage?"
"Exactly."
"Not a bad plan... And?"
"Not that I love saying it out loud, but I figured trying to do business with subculture stuff in our country still has too many hurdles."
Suyeon leaned back on the sofa with an intrigued look, gesturing for me to go on.
"For a subculture mobile game to really take off, the illustrations need a certain level of exposure, but that risks running afoul of content ratings for indecency."
"And on top of that, our cultural mindset still makes it tough for subculture to go fully mainstream."
"If you're this convinced as the guy in the trenches, then that choice must be the right one."
Satisfied with my answer, Suyeon smiled and handed me a card.
"Truth be told, everything I just said was an excuse. The real point is this."
I had no choice but to accept the corporate card with both hands from her small palm.
"Hojin, I'm a spoiled rich kid with no hands-on dev experience, but I know how a manager should act."
"Ah, well..."
"Responsibility and authority go to the folks on the ground. I'll back you up as much as I can, so just make it a success."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"But you know you can't tell anyone else on the team, right?"
As she finished, Suyeon put a finger to her lips in a shh gesture, her expression brimming with a strange sense of anticipation.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ With the president's expectations and that corporate card in my pocket, I headed back down to the sixth floor, but I didn't let it show.
No need to burden the team with this kind of pressure.
'Too bad, but company dinner will have to wait until official service launch.'
Pushing aside a twinge of regret, I entered the team office, where Yerin greeted me.
"What happened?"
"Senior... it's finally done."
"Done?"
"The teaser PV."
"...Already?"
"Post-production's left, but the outsourcer said they'll send it by tomorrow morning. Good thing it wasn't full-frame animation—that saved a ton of manpower."
"We're already pulling all-nighters like it's routine; if it had been full-frame, everyone would've jumped ship..."
...Yerin, who rarely complains about how tough things are, saying it like this meant the schedule had been brutally tight.
I spoke carefully, avoiding her faint dark circles under her eyes.
"Great job, everyone on the art team. No rushing anything today—just rest up, and when the final from the outsourcer comes in, just let me know. Got it?"
"Yes..."
At the mention of free time today, she gave a faint smile and shuffled off wearily toward the nap room. I watched her go.
'Things are about to get really busy from here...'
After hearing the good news from Yerin, the first place I went was Yumi's desk.
Now it was time to kick off preparations in earnest for publishing on the Japanese server.
I crept up behind Yumi, who was glued to her monitor, and whispered.
"Yumi... time to work?"
"Eek!"
She jolted in surprise, shielding her monitor with her body.
"What the heck are you looking at that you freak out like this every time?"
"N-N-Nothing! I wasn't looking at anything...?!"
"Then why jump like that?"
"B-Because the director keeps scaring me..."
"If you weren't slacking off, maybe you wouldn't get startled?"
"......"
Unable to argue, she avoided my eyes, and any urge to tease her further vanished.
"Anyway, enough of that. How'd those non-face-to-face talks with the publisher from last week go?"
Yumi averted her gaze again at my question.
What on earth had happened?
"Why? Did you mess something up?"
"N-Nooo, it's not that... but the contract terms were kinda iffy."
"What kind? What'd they offer?"
"They said even for a mobile game—a subculture mobile game at that—they need to hedge their risks, so 7:3 split, and marketing guarantee separate..."
Now I got why Yumi had been hesitating.
Those terms were straight-up predatory, hiding behind "risk hedging" to screw us over.
Given the circumstances, I was willing to concede some publisher-friendly terms, but this crossed the line.
'Do they think we're pushovers?'
After a moment's thought, I told Yumi to hang tight and stepped out of the office to make a call.
The one person who could fix this right now.
Suyeon.
"President."
[Huh? Did you leave something in my office, Hojin?]
"No."
[Then?]
"Sorry to ask, but I've got a favor to request."
[A favor?]
I laid out everything Yumi had just told me in response to Suyeon's question.
[So the Japanese publisher's using risk hedging as an excuse to slap us with chump-change terms?]
"Yes."
[Hmm... interesting. Been a while since anyone underestimated us like this. I'll handle it—just wait. And...]
Suyeon paused, as if debating whether to say it.
[If you're not happy with the Business PM I sent for this publishing deal, I can swap them out. What do you think?]
The unexpected offer left me pondering.
It wasn't impossible that this mess stemmed from Yumi being young and inexperienced, but...
Still, it wasn't a fireable offense by any means.
"No, anyone in her shoes would've ended up with the same result. Blaming Yumi would just leave her feeling totally wronged."
[If that's how you see it, Hojin. I'll call back once the publisher thing's sorted.]
"Thanks, I owe you."
After hanging up, I returned to Yumi's desk.
She was staring blankly at her monitor and turned to me with a slightly downcast expression.
"How'd it go...?"
"I explained everything. She said it'll be resolved soon, so just wait."
"You told her...? Who...?"
"The president."
Her eyes went wide at the unexpected name.
"R-Really...?"
"What's my incentive to lie about this?"
"R-Right... that's a relief..."
"Yeah."
I patted Yumi's shoulder as she let out a sigh of relief, then headed back to my seat and checked the company messenger. There was a new message.
From Yumi.
[Um, Director?]
-Yeah?
[Are you free after work today by any chance?]
-No plans.
She hesitated for a bit before replying.
[W-Well, you helped me out a ton today, so... I want to buy you dinner as thanks. Is that okay?]
I could picture her fidgeting even through the text, and I smiled as I replied.
-Sure. I'll wait at the entrance after we wrap up. Take your time coming down.
[Yesss!! Thank you~ 😊]
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ At 6 p.m., I left the office before Yumi and waited.
About five minutes later?
"Director...!!"
I spotted Yumi running toward me.
Her wavy black hair reached her waist.
Her cat-like features brimmed with playfulness.
The flare skirt down to her knees paired perfectly with the lemon-yellow knit cardigan.
The kind of beauty that turns heads on the street.
"Did I keep you waiting long?"
"Nah, I just got out."
"Phew, good. Shall we head out? A friend recommended this place—supposed to be a real gem."
Before I could respond, she grabbed my hand and started walking, leaving me pretty flustered.
We'd grown closer over the year working together, but not close enough for casual hand-holding.
Still, watching her lead the way with a beaming smile, it seemed like it didn't mean much—just an unconscious habit.
It felt awkward to say anything, so I let her pull me along until we arrived at the place she'd picked.
Kuno, a Japanese restaurant.
I didn't know much, but apparently it was one of the hot spots in Pangyo these days.
Worried we might not get a table, but thanks to Yumi's foresight with the reservation, we sat right down.
"When did you even make the reservation?"
"Right after we made plans, Senior..."
"......"
As we shared the course meal she'd booked, listening to her vent, I felt like we'd taken a step closer.
Though in exchange, I learned about Yumi's drinking habits—stuff I could've lived without knowing.
"Direeeector... sorryyyy..."
Even after leaving the restaurant, she clung to my arm, sniffling all the way home. Only then could I finally call it a day.