Chapter 4
One day, while preparing to change jobs after recruiting Ye-rin,
I received an email.
The content itself was a run-of-the-mill headhunting email, but
The problem was that the company requesting the headhunt was Enson GT, a competitor of ND Soft where I currently work.
Moreover, the position they were headhunting for was a mobile game development director.
Clearly, before my regression, Enson GT didn't seriously enter the mobile game development scene until at least 4-5 years from now...
An unexpected variable had appeared.
Of course, if I were to weigh whether this variable was good or bad, it was undoubtedly good...
After pondering for a moment while staring at the screen, I decided to accept for now.
If I failed the interview, that would be that,
And if I passed, I'd gain the best option among my choices.
It was the very definition of low risk, high return.
***
Late at night.
In the office of Enson GT headquarters, after all the employees had gone home, a woman was staring at a monitor.
Her name was Jo Su-yeon.
She was Enson GT's Executive Producer and the one who sent the headhunting email to Ji Ho-jin.
"Is this really the right choice...?"
From Su-yeon's perspective, this headhunting attempt was a gamble.
A typical high-risk, high-return gamble.
Thanks to her father's influence, she had succeeded in becoming the youngest president of Enson GT, but Su-yeon knew.
That this was just the beginning of the test her father had set for her.
Having rejected her father's advice to slowly build her career at Enson headquarters and instead donning the hat of Executive Producer, she needed results to maintain this position.
That's why she chose Ji Ho-jin.
The reason she chose him at this crucial time when she needed results was because of his presentation at the conference currently playing on her monitor.
The rapid growth of the still blue ocean mobile game market.
The subculture that pairs well with the clearly limited mobile platform.
IP expansion strategy based on subculture mobile games.
Ho-jin's presentation video had greatly shocked Su-yeon.
It showed a roadmap that went beyond what she had imagined.
That's why she sent him a headhunting email as if entranced, but she had no regrets.
From her perspective, if she succeeded in recruiting him, she could aim not only for concrete results but even beyond that.
***
Tiny.
That was my first thought as I entered the interview room and sat down.
The interviewer sitting across from me, looking at her laptop screen, appeared incredibly small.
If that was her sitting height, I'd guess she was around 150cm tall.
Another peculiar thing, if anything, was that she was staring at me with eyes that sparkled to an uncomfortable degree?
No matter how I looked at it, this was our first meeting, but her intense interest was almost burdensome.
"Um, Ji Ho-jin?"
"Yes."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Jo Su-yeon, the Executive Producer of Enson GT, and I'll be conducting today's interview."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ji Ho-jin, the applicant participating in today's interview."
After exchanging greetings with a nod, the interview proceeded more smoothly than I expected.
Until the job-related questions began.
I started to sense something odd about the interview when the job-related questions began.
The questions were proceeding with bizarrely basic content.
As I grew increasingly perplexed by the repetitive questions,
Su-yeon, who had been facing me, tossed the question sheet onto the desk and looked at me with a satisfied expression.
"Applicant."
"Ah, yes."
"Honestly, let's set aside all these basic job-related questions as mere formalities and ask you directly. Are you confident?"
"Confident in what...?"
"If our company supports you, Mr. Ho-jin, can you produce results?"
"......"
I couldn't answer the sudden question, but Su-yeon didn't seem to expect an answer as she sighed and continued.
"Actually, I was the one who pushed for your recruitment despite opposition from other executives."
"Why would you do that? If I may ask."
"I saw it. Your presentation video."
Presentation video... Ah, this year's NDC (Enson Developers Conference) video?
"If you mean that video, perhaps the NDC..."
"That's right, NDC. There, you presented content about the growth of the subculture mobile game market and the importance of IP expansion."
"That's correct."
"I glimpsed your potential in that presentation and the project proposal you sent, and I'm betting on that potential."
Su-yeon took a sip of water from her bottle, as if her throat was dry, and continued.
"Whether to accept my bet or not is up to you."
"What happens if I refuse?"
"Of course, there won't be any disadvantages for you if you refuse. You'll just lose the opportunity to transfer to our Enson GT."
"If there are no disadvantages for me, then for you..."
Hearing the concern in my voice, Su-yeon smiled as if surprised and said:
"I'll be fine too."
"Then I'll accept. I can't miss this opportunity. But..."
"But?"
"Could I bring one more experienced employee with me?"
***
Only after leaving the interview room could I breathe a sigh of relief.
Asking to hire Ye-rin along with me was that much of a gamble.
If it weren't for the situation where Su-yeon, the interviewer, had bet everything on me, it wouldn't have been strange to be kicked out of the interview room.
Lately, I feel like I'm moving too fast, but it's not the time to hope for luck...
After sighing in relief, I immediately picked up my smartphone and called Ye-rin.
[Ah, Senior, how did the interview go?]
"Fortunately, I got in. They even set a start date for both of us."
[Ah, that's great. I knew you'd succeed, Senior. But... what do you mean by both?]
"Me and you, Ye-rin. Wasn't that the agreement?"
[W-wait a minute. Wasn't I supposed to join after you transferred first, depending on the situation?]
"That was the original plan, but the situation changed."
[W-well, that's true, but... Senior, you didn't ask them to hire me too during the interview, did you?]
"I did, actually."
[No way, who asks to hire someone else during their own interview...! And you're saying they agreed?]
"Somehow..."
[No, seriously... I feel like my common sense gets turned upside down when I'm with you, Senior.]
"But the result was good, wasn't it?"
[That's why I can't get any angrier... Anyway, good job.]
"Thanks. I'll contact you again, so if you have anything to hand over, do it while resting."
[Okay.]
A few days after ending the call with Ye-rin, I returned to the company and submitted my resignation letter.
I was worried about what would happen if the department head had already heard about me transferring to a competitor when I submitted my resignation...
But seeing that the department head had no particular reaction until just before I submitted the resignation letter, it seemed that Enson GT had managed the rumors well.
After completing all preparations for the job change, on the fateful Monday when I arrived at Enson GT headquarters, what greeted me was...
"Ho-jin, you came earlier than expected? Nice to see you."
It was Enson GT's Executive Producer Jo Su-yeon, welcoming me in casual attire, the complete opposite of how she looked in the interview room.
*
The new office Su-yeon guided me to was larger and more comfortable than I expected.
I looked at Su-yeon, wondering if it was okay to be assigned such a large office when the team hadn't even been formed yet...
"What's wrong? Is it too small? I thought this size would be suitable for a team."
"It's actually the opposite..."
"Really? I thought it wasn't particularly large, even if it's not small."
"......"
I could clearly feel the difference in perception between the silver spoon and the commoner.
"Anyway, I'll give you a basic tour today, so look forward to it. By the way, how old are you?"
"I'm 29 this year."
"29? Then I'm your Noona, so can I speak casually? If you feel uncomfortable with me speaking casually because I'm small, let me know right away."
Wait a minute, noo...na?
"Um, Producer-nim, may I ask your age...?"
"31."
"......"
I could only close my mouth at an age far beyond what I had imagined.
"First, the management support team said they'd finish setting up internet connections and supplies by today, so you can check tomorrow. They asked to wait a bit longer for your employee ID."
"When can I meet the team members?"
"The organizational restructuring and personnel transfers start tomorrow, so they'll probably come to this office tomorrow. You can greet them then."
Su-yeon seemed satisfied seeing me nod and grabbed my hand, saying:
"Then let's start with a tour of the building, follow me."