Chapter 30
I changed into the Santa cosplay outfit and returned to the waiting room.
But Ye-rin was still changing in the dressing room, so the waiting room was empty.
Instead, a TV mounted in the vacant waiting room was broadcasting the scene from the studio where filming was in progress.
Looks like they've started filming.
With nothing else to do until Ye-rin arrived, I sat in a chair and watched the studio situation.
It seemed they hadn't been filming for long, as Kenzo, Rina, and Shiromi, all dressed as Santa, were chatting with each other.
Kenzo was clearly not lying about being specially recruited, as he was skillfully leading the recording, and Rina and Shiromi were professionally supporting Kenzo, raising the atmosphere.
As I was watching the broadcast, the waiting room door opened, and Ye-rin entered, having changed into her Santa outfit.
"Did you change?"
"Yes."
"How's the Santa outfit?"
At that, Ye-rin twirled around, showing off the Santa costume.
"Since it's a broadcast cosplay outfit, I like that it's less revealing than I expected."
"That's good."
"Yeah. Oh, Senior, looks like they're about to start the main filming."
At her words, I turned my eyes to the TV and saw that, true to Ye-rin's words, the cast had finished their conversation and were now introducing the merchandise being released.
"Are they releasing all those goods? That's faster than I thought."
"It's actually a bit late. These are the goods that were pre-ordered during the Tokyo Game Show."
"Ah, back then..."
As Ye-rin and I chatted about the merchandise, the broadcast continued to introduce the goods.
Glancing to the side while watching, I noticed Ye-rin staring blankly at the broadcast screen.
"Why are you spacing out like that?"
"No, it's just... I was thinking about how much time has passed already."
"It does feel like time is flying by, doesn't it?"
Ye-rin nodded at that.
I'm sometimes surprised by the fact that it's been over two years since I changed jobs and created Girls Memorial,
and it seemed Ye-rin felt similarly.
"Do you regret changing jobs on my suggestion?"
"Why would I regret it? In terms of pay and career, following you to change jobs was the best decision I've made in recent years."
"Really?"
It certainly made sense from Ye-rin's perspective.
Due to the nature of subculture mobile games, art played a more significant role than in online games so, naturally, the treatment was better than when she worked at ND Soft.
"What about you, Senior? Do you regret changing jobs?"
"Why would I regret it? I'm much happier now, making the game I've always wanted to make."
"Right?"
"Of course. If I hadn't made the decision to change jobs two years ago, I'd probably be out of the company and frying chicken by now."
Ye-rin asked with a surprised expression at those words.
"Was it that hard for you? I had no idea because you never showed it at the company..."
"It wasn't so hard as... I was losing motivation because I was making games that only cared about sales, games the company would like."
"It's a million blessings that you succeeded in changing jobs."
"Isn't it?"
As Ye-rin was about to respond to that, there was a knock on the door, and a studio staff member entered the waiting room.
"Are you Director Ji Ho-jin and Director Lee Ye-rin?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Yes, we are."
"When the second part of the broadcast starts, you'll need to enter the filming area, so please follow me."
Following the staff member, we soon arrived at the entrance to the filming area.
"Here, take this first."
The staff handed me a vibrating pager.
It looked almost identical to the ones typically used in cafes, but about 1/3 the size, quite compact.
"The pager will vibrate when it's time for you to enter, so please enter immediately when it does."
"Understood."
As the staff member who distributed the pagers entered the filming area, the corridor where only the two of us remained fell into silence.
The soundproofing must have been good because instead of sounds from inside the filming area, I could only hear Ye-rin's breathing.
"Ye-rin?"
Her breathing was slightly more ragged than when we were in the waiting room.
Turning to the side, I noticed Ye-rin looking more anxious than usual.
"Y-yes?"
"What's wrong? Are you nervous?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"You seem a bit tense right now."
Ye-rin flinched at those words.
She seemed unaware of her current state, probably due to nervousness.
"I'm not nervous..."
"Really?"
"Actually... my heart's racing a bit. I think it's because it's my first time appearing on a broadcast... I'm sorry."
"That can happen, no need to apologize. Here, try eating this."
I took out a Cheongsimhwan (a traditional Korean herbal medicine for calming nerves) from my pocket and handed it to Ye-rin.
I'd brought it from Korea just in case...
Ye-rin looked surprised, probably not expecting me to pull out a Cheongsimhwan from my pocket.
"Where did you get this...?"
"I brought it from Korea. I ate one when I filmed my first apology broadcast too."
"Ah."
"Just eat it. It'll work faster that way."
At my urging, Ye-rin nodded and swallowed the Cheongsimhwan.
"Want some candy?"
The chewed Cheongsimhwan must have been incredibly bitter because Ye-rin just nodded without answering.
Seeing her like that, I took out a candy I'd brought from the waiting room and handed it to her.
Ye-rin popped the candy straight into her mouth.
I could see her expression relaxing as the candy's sweetness seemed to neutralize the bitterness somewhat.
"Is your nervousness easing up now?"
"I-I think so."
Checking Ye-rin's condition just in case, I saw that her breathing had stabilized a lot and most of the symptoms had disappeared.
"That's a relief, at least."
"Yeah..."
Just then, the pager vibrated with perfect timing.
I showed the pager to Ye-rin and said,
"Shall we go, then?"
*
As Ye-rin and I entered the filming area, the cast greeted us.
"The cameras aren't rolling right now, so don't worry and come this way."
At Kenzo's words, we moved to the table in the center of the filming area.
"Director Ji, please sit next to me, and Director Lee, please sit between Rina-san and Shiromi-san."
As we sat in the designated seats as Kenzo instructed, he handed us each a water bottle.
"This filming session won't be too long, so you can relax. Still, I'm relieved to see that the Director seems no different from usual."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Usually, people filming for the first time are overwhelmed by the atmosphere and can barely speak properly."
Hearing that, I glanced sideways at Ye-rin.
I was a bit worried because of how nervous she had been earlier, but whether due to the Cheongsimhwan or not, she didn't seem to have any particular issues.
Thanks to that, I was able to chat with Kenzo without worry, and soon after, a voice came from the entrance.
[We'll begin filming Part 2 now. Kenzo-san, please start the countdown!]
"We'll do the opening first, then just follow our lead after that. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Great. Alright, I'll count down from three, and we'll start filming! Three, two, one!"
As Kenzo's countdown ended, the lights came on as if signaling the start of filming.
"Hello everyone! I'm Nakaoka Kenji, your host for Part 2, continuing from Part 1 with our Developer Talk."
Kenzo bowed towards the camera and continued speaking.
"For this Part 2 Developer Talk, we have special guests! The directors of Girls Memorial! Please introduce yourselves one by one!"
After finishing his words, Kenzo passed the microphone to me.
"Hello, Administrators. I'm Ji Ho-jin, the General Director of Girls Memorial, invited to participate in Part 2's Developer Talk."
After finishing my introduction, I bowed towards the camera just as Kenzo had done.
"Great, we've heard Director Ji Ho-jin's introduction. Next is... Director Lee Ye-rin?"
This time, Rina handed the microphone to Ye-rin instead of Kenzo.
"Hello, Administrators! I'm Lee Ye-rin, the Art Director of Girls Memorial, invited to participate in Part 2's Developer Talk! It's nice to meet you all!"
Ye-rin then bowed her head, greeting the users similarly.
With the introductions over, the main filming began in earnest.
**
After 30 minutes of filming, Ye-rin and I left the filming area.
"Senior, good work..."
"You too, Ye-rin."
Looking at Ye-rin's expression as we left the filming area, she seemed completely drained.
Of course, my expression probably wasn't much different from hers.
I hadn't noticed when filming alone with a script,
but filming together with the hosts brought up more than a few awkward moments.
Especially the hosts' questions.
The questions that came flying during the broadcast were the problem.
I almost got an NG on questions about character development behind-the-scenes and preferences...
Questions like why the Operator's outfit was a rather revealing dress,
or what costumes we'd like the students to cosplay... the looks Ye-rin and the voice actors gave me then were really...
Thankfully, I managed to get through with witty answers, or it could have easily been an NG.
"By the way, Senior, were you serious about that earlier?"
"Hm? About what?"
Ye-rin, who had naturally fallen into step beside me, asked in a playful voice.
"That your cosplay preference is nurse outfits..."
"O-of course that was just a concept for the broadcast, just a concept."
"Hmm... really?"
Ye-rin looked at me with suspicious eyes at my answer, but I somehow managed to keep my expression under control.
"Okay. If you say so, Senior... I'll believe you."
"No, really, I'm telling you!"
As we walked and chatted like that, we soon arrived at the waiting room.
Though she didn't show it, Ye-rin must have been quite tired as she immediately flopped face-down onto the sofa.
"Senior... there's no more schedule for today, right...?"
"There's still the after-party, but what do you want to do? I heard attendance is optional."
At those words, Ye-rin seemed to ponder for a moment before saying,
"I'll attend. I'm tired, but not so much that I can't go to the after-party..."
"Alright."
I nodded at Ye-rin's answer and sat down in a chair.
"Senior."
"Yeah?"
I turned to see Ye-rin smiling brightly as she called out to me.
"Good work today."
Seeing her like that, I nodded and replied,
"You too."