Chapter 14: Changed Future

The CBT schedule had finally come to an end.

The overwhelmingly positive evaluations that had defied my expectations from day one continued until the very last day.

Naturally, the art team received the most praise.

Given how much we'd invested in the art to match the characteristics of a moe girl collection mobile game, this result was expected.

The unified art style across all illustrations was particularly noteworthy.

Surprisingly, the next most praised aspect wasn't the story or modeling, but the sound.

The OST, in particular, received rave reviews.

So much so that we were flooded with inquiries about soundtrack CD albums.

Just then, I saw Chae-young entering the office and called out to her.

"Senior Chae-young, can you come here for a sec?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I've got something to show you."

"What's this about?"

"It's the compiled CBT feedback. Come take a look."

Chae-young took the stack of papers from me and sat down to read.

"Let's see... 'The OST and BGM are strengths, especially the realistic gun sound effects and the mood-appropriate OST are appealing...'"

As she read through the feedback, the corners of Chae-young's mouth turned upward.

Of course, she quickly composed herself, probably realizing how embarrassing it would be to show her true feelings.

"A-hem... This result seems only natural, doesn't it? After all, I composed and wrote the lyrics myself."

"Right?"

"Of course. But... are you hiding something?"

"No? Why?"

At my question, Chae-young started eyeing me suspiciously.

"You're smiling for no reason, and it feels like you're hiding something..."

"Actually, this..."

I showed Chae-young the compilation of soundtrack CD release requests I had set aside earlier.

"What's this? Soundtrack CD release... requests?"

As she read through the reviews, Chae-young's expression gradually sank.

After finishing, she put the reviews on the desk and looked at me.

"Hey, Ho-jin."

"Uh... yeah?"

"Do you know how many OST tracks are in the current CBT client?"

"Probably... around 50?"

"Exactly 87 tracks. And there's still a lot of unimplemented content in the CBT client, right?"

"I guess... so?"

"So if there are already 87 tracks in the unfinished client, how many more do you think will be added for the official launch?"

As Chae-young's voice got lower, I avoided eye contact and said,

"...Probably a lot more?"

"That's right. A lot more, huh? And what about the BGM? I saw some requests to change sound effects in the CBT reviews too. That'll take a lot of work to change, won't it? Hmm?"

"Well, um..."

"Why are you suddenly quiet? No, never mind. You brought me here to work me to death anyway, so don't make excuses and just tell me to get back to work, right? Fine, I'll head to the recording studio right away..."

Seeing Chae-young looking like she was about to dig to the Earth's core if left alone, I had no choice but to confess hastily.

"It's a joke, just a joke! The soundtrack CD thing is already planned for the first anniversary, so you don't have to worry about it for now!"

"...Then why did you show me these reviews now?"

"You know what they say about forewarned is forearmed. I thought it'd be better to let you know about the schedule in advance rather than springing it on you later..."

Hearing my explanation, Chae-young finally relaxed her expression with a resigned sigh.

"Try a prank like this one more time. I'll really pack my bags and leave. Got it?"

"I promise, I won't pull this kind of prank again."

"...Alright, is that all you needed?"

As Chae-young was about to return to the recording studio after finishing our business, I asked,

"Senior, are you free after work today?"

"Probably?"

"Wait for me after work. I'll treat you to dinner as thanks for helping with monitoring yesterday and to apologize for today's prank."

"...What are we eating?"

"Whatever you want."

At that, she smiled wryly and said,

"If we're going, let's bring Seol too. She worked hard with us yesterday."

"Ah, right... I forgot about Seol."

Nodding at Chae-young's words, I said,

"Alright, bring Seol and wait for me at the entrance when you're done. I'll probably be leaving after meeting with the CEO."

"Okay~"

Only after watching Chae-young leave the office with a light step could I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

I'd better not joke about work-related stuff anymore...

*

It was while I was taking a short break after delivering feedback documents to all departments.

Knock knock.

Along with a cautious knock, Seol came to visit.

"Um... Director, do you have a moment...?"

"Huh? Yeah, come in."

With my permission, Seol entered, looking quite hesitant.

"Why are you being so cautious? Just come in comfortably."

"B-but... it's your personal space..."

"I said it's fine."

"Th-then excuse me..."

Seol gently closed the door and carefully sat down.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Well... I have something to discuss about in-game controls..."

I listened attentively to Seol, who was now explaining calmly and without stuttering, unlike earlier.

"So, to summarize, you and Myung-hoon have different opinions about character control during in-game combat, and you came to me to resolve this, right?"

"Y-yes..."

"About controls... Didn't the feedback document I gave specify how to implement it?"

"W-well... The feedback document only mentioned enabling party formation selection..."

"And?"

"So I suggested selecting formations before battle and giving bonus stats based on the chosen formation..."

"But?"

"But Director Kim said it might be better to implement a system where characters can be actively controlled during battle..."

"Hmm..."

Listening to Seol's explanation, I realized it was a trickier problem than I'd thought.

It was an issue I'd been pondering over for a while too.

In truth, both Seol's and Myung-hoon's methods had their pros and cons.

Seol's method would make the game more casual but risked making it too light,

While Myung-hoon's method would enhance gameplay satisfaction, it might create a barrier to entry due to complex controls on a mobile platform.

After considering both opinions, I finally made a decision.

"Seol, let's go with your method."

"If... if you're choosing this because of me, you don't have to..."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"No, it's just..."

"If you think I made this choice to boost someone's morale, you're greatly mistaken. I'm not the type to let personal feelings influence these decisions anyway."

"Ah, I... I'm sorry!!"

Realizing she'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, Seol's face turned bright red.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. I just didn't explain clearly enough."

Despite my reassurance, Seol seemed unconvinced and buried her face in her hands.

What should I do in this situation...

Scratching my cheek at the awkward atmosphere, I took out a canned coffee from the fridge and pressed it against Seol's exposed nape.

"Eek?! W-what are you doing all of a sudden...?!"

"Here, drink this and forget about it."

At my words, Seol finally took the coffee with a start.

"Th-thank you..."

"Oh, and are you free for dinner tonight?"

"D-dinner? I don't have any plans..."

"Senior Chae-young suggested we eat together. You'll join us, right?"

Seol nodded with a smile at my question.

"Ah, and Director..."

"Yes?"

"There's something I forgot to mention..."

"Something you forgot?"

Seol put down her coffee and held out her smartphone to me.

"I heard there's a new mobile game coming out next month that will compete with us..."

Taking Seol's smartphone, I saw a familiar illustration.

"When did you say this is launching? Next month?"

"Yes... They said it's opening on February 13th."

If Seol's words were true, the implications were clear.

The future had changed.

The game Seol showed me was called Infinity Million Artoria.

Abbreviated as InMilA, it was a first-generation subculture mobile game.

It was the game that came out first during the nascent period of subculture mobile games and captured users,

But I never imagined it would be released at this point in time.

In my memory, InMilA was released in April 2012, three months from now.

Could it be that our game became a variable, unlike before my regression?

As I pondered, Seol asked with a worried expression,

"D-does this mean we should move up our launch too...?"

"Huh? No? Why would we?"

"But... now that we have a competitor, if we don't secure the market first..."

Hearing Seol's genuine concern, I smiled and waved my hand dismissively.

"There's no need to worry about that. That game won't be our competition."

"What...?"

"In the moe girl collection mobile game market, you can't secure a position just by launching early."

"What do you mean...?"

"What do you think will happen when subculture consumers, whose standards have been raised by our illustrations and PV, see relatively lower quality illustrations and PV?"

"Hmm... I think the response might be lukewarm."

"You understand well. That's why we don't need to rush our launch at the expense of quality."

I added one more thing to Seol, who was nodding at my words.

"Besides, we're going to win anyway."