Chapter 3
"How did you find out about my doujin activities, really..."
After I mentioned a few more things besides the doujin circle name, Ye-rin seemed to think there was no point in playing dumb anymore.
She straightforwardly admitted it.
However, despite admitting it, she couldn't even meet my eyes.
For someone known for her poker face in the company,
She seemed quite embarrassed about having her hobby exposed.
"Ye-rin, you were pretty famous in the community. Have you never seen this photo?"
"With work and manuscript deadlines, I haven't had time for the community..."
I looked at Ye-rin's expression just in case, but she really seemed to know nothing about it.
Reluctantly, I showed her the photo uploaded on the internet.
"Oh, this is..."
I could see Ye-rin's expression changing moment by moment.
In fact, the scene captured in the photo was just her smiling and selling doujinshi with her sister at a Comiket booth, but...
Ye-rin seemed shocked by the very fact that a photo of her was circulating on the internet without her knowledge.
Surprise, confusion, anger, anxiety, resignation.
Ye-rin's expression changed rapidly as if experiencing various emotions, then she sighed and put down the smartphone.
"There's nothing I can do about it. Well... I can't ask them to take down photos that have already spread."
"You're thinking straight."
"If we talk more about this, I might get depressed, so just give me that."
"That?"
"The project proposal you asked me to review earlier."
"Ah, right."
I had brought it up and then forgotten about it.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I stood up.
"I'll go get it from the office. Wait a moment."
***
Silence enveloped the break room where only my junior and I were present.
The only sounds were Ye-rin's occasional "Hmm" as she looked at the proposal and the sound of pages turning.
The unexpectedly serious atmosphere made me feel a bit nervous too.
After about 10 minutes that felt like an hour,
Ye-rin finished reading the last page and put down the proposal with an unreadable expression, then asked me:
"Senior, I have a lot of questions... Did you really write this?"
"Yeah, I did... Why? Is it that bad?"
"No. It's more interesting than I expected."
I could finally relax at Ye-rin's praise, as she smiled and answered as if it had been a joke.
"But senior, is it really possible to implement a story of this scale in a mobile game?"
"Why? Does it seem impossible?"
"Of course. You know well that current smartphone performance is barely enough to run mini-games from the feature phone era."
"Right?"
"Even if this proposal gets approved and we start the project this year, we'd have to launch it around 2013 or 2014... How do you plan to do it?"
"Won't my future self figure something out?"
"...Are you serious?"
The atmosphere had gotten heavier than I expected, so I was just trying to joke around.
Seeing Ye-rin's cold, almost contemptuous gaze, I had no choice but to confess the truth.
"I'm kidding, just kidding. You don't think I wrote this proposal without any thought, do you?"
"Yes."
Ye-rin's answer without a moment's hesitation hurt me a little.
"Anyway... you don't need to worry about that. I don't plan to implement the story as something to be played in-game."
"I don't quite understand what you mean, senior..."
"Think about it. As you said, smartphones have performance limitations, right?"
"That's right."
"Plus, due to the nature of smartphones, controls are more inconvenient than on PCs or consoles."
Ye-rin took out her smartphone and tried holding it as if operating a gamepad, then nodded.
"You're definitely right."
"So after much consideration, I came up with this method."
After saying that, I played a certain video on my smartphone and showed it to Ye-rin.
"This... isn't this a dating sim? Senior, have you played these too?"
"It's not a dating sim, but a visual novel. But that's not important... I think using 2D scenario direction like this would be best."
"Sometimes I want to take a peek inside your head, senior. You did this during the previous project too."
"But looking back, most of my ideas turned out to be right, didn't they?"
Ye-rin seemed a bit dumbfounded by my attitude, which went beyond confidence to the point of shamelessness,
But eventually, she sighed and nodded.
"That's why I can't say anything more. Anyway, I think you'll handle that part well, so let me talk about the other aspects..."
I was worried that Ye-rin might give an ambiguous evaluation for the other parts too, like just now,
But fortunately, all the other parts received positive reviews.
"The story might vary depending on personal taste, but I like it from my perspective. The concept of adults disappearing and students running a self-governing city, and everyone carrying their own weapons, has a subversive charm."
"It's also good that each school has different uniforms and students can customize their uniforms. Although the art team might suffer..."
"If all of this is properly implemented, I'd definitely try it out. It's interesting."
"That's a relief."
As the tension left my body, a smile of relief spread across my face.
It felt like the anxiety that had been lurking in a corner of my mind was completely dispelled.
Perhaps because of that, I couldn't stop smiling even at Ye-rin's gaze, which looked at me as if I were a bit strange.
"Anyway, thanks, Ye-rin. Thanks to you, a lot of my anxiety has disappeared."
"I'm glad I could help."
"Since we're at it, can I ask one more thing?"
"What is it?"
"Umm..."
Now that I was about to ask, the words wouldn't come out.
The question I was about to ask was quite sensitive.
Even though Ye-rin and I were close, it felt a bit awkward to ask so casually.
"What is it? I think this is the first time I've seen you like this, senior."
"Well, hypothetically speaking."
"Hypothetically?"
"To be direct, if I were to transfer to another company and take charge of a project based on this proposal, how would you feel about coming with me as the art director?"
As expected, Ye-rin looked dumbfounded at my bombshell statement.
Asking so directly was nothing short of a sudden acceleration, but I couldn't help it.
The key to this project was the art, and the person responsible for that art was Lee Ye-rin, right in front of me.
***
It was in the early 2020s when I was still fiddling with my resignation letter.
"Wow, is this the first time a game has topped the sales charts on both Korean and Japanese Play Store / App Store? It's truly amazing."
"I heard that even your company didn't expect such success, and now they're popping champagne and rushing to recruit more staff."
"The Japanese mobile game market was already considered a red ocean that no one paid attention to, but well, you never know what the future holds."
In that unforgettable year, a game that would make a mark in the mobile gacha game world appeared.
[Blue Astris]
It was the first mobile subculture gacha game to top the Play Store sales charts in both Korea and Japan.
In fact, this game didn't receive a great response when it was first released.
There were many games released during this period that had better gameplay than Blue Astris.
Yet, the reason this game surpassed others and topped the sales chart was none other than:
"Look at that character appeal. It's insane..."
Art.
And concept.
These two factors were the reason it reached the top despite being criticized for lacking in gameplay.
Character design.
It reached the ultimate level that could be shown within the genre of cute girl collection gacha games.
It hit the pinnacle of simplicity, contrary to the trend of making things more flashy and stimulating to catch gamers' eyes.
Gamers couldn't help but open their wallets when they saw the elegant illustrations drawn with simple designs matched with outfits, without any unnecessary accessories.
"Honestly, the game itself is just okay, but the character appeal is insane."
"A crazy game doing a strongman show with just two wheels: character design and concept."
As praise for the art team continued, investigations into who the art director was began in game-related communities,
And I couldn't help but be surprised by the results of that investigation.
Lee Ye-rin, Lee Ye-na.
It was my junior colleague from a few years ago and her younger sister.
Before my regression, I had missed the timing due to various concerns and ended up with that result,
But this time, I didn't intend to miss the opportunity.
***
"Wait, wait, give me some time to think."
"Sure."
Her expression was deeply furrowed, seemingly overwhelmed by my sudden proposal.
"This is the problem with you, senior. Why do you throw such sensitive questions without any warning?"
"I felt like if I didn't ask now, I might never get the chance."
"...Oh, really."
Ye-rin, whose face had somehow turned bright red, glared at me with a prim expression before finally bursting into laughter.
Unable to keep up with the sudden change in atmosphere, I stood there blankly.
"If I follow you, what can you do for me?"
"Hmm... what do you want?"
After pondering for a moment, Ye-rin spread her fingers and said:
"First. Give me full authority over the design of the three initial main characters mentioned in your proposal."
"That's not a problem, but why?"
"Your design sense isn't bad, but there are a few things that are slightly disappointing. Since these will be the flagship characters, I want to take charge of them personally."
It seemed like a reasonable request, so I nodded willingly.
"Sure, that's not difficult at all."
"And second. Are you free today, senior?"
"Probably? If nothing comes up, I'll leave work on time."
"Then for my second wish, I want you to treat me to dinner. An expensive one."
"...Is that really all?"
"Of course. But be prepared, because I'm going to eat something as expensive as the mental stress I've endured today."