Chapter 49
The team members responded to my question with little energy.
They all looked exhausted, probably because we were in the final stages of development.
I should probably give them a caffeine boost at times like this...
"I'm heading down to the first floor to buy coffee. What does everyone want?"
Ye-na, who looked the most tired, raised her hand first and said,
"I'll have a cappuccino... What about you, Chae-young?"
"Cafe latte for me. Hot, please."
Following Chae-young's choice, Seol cautiously spoke up.
"I-I'll have an Americano..."
"Oh, Senior, I'll come with you. I'll choose when we get there."
Ye-rin volunteered to help with the coffee run.
Since there was no reason to refuse, I stepped out of the office with Ye-rin.
"I could have gone alone, you know."
"It's fine. I was planning to stretch my legs anyway. Sitting for too long makes me stiff."
"Is that so?"
The elevator opened with a ding.
We took it down to the first floor and entered Starbucks.
"Java Chip Frappuccino as usual, right?"
"Ah, yes. That's right."
After ordering takeout for Ye-rin and the team members, I approached Ye-rin.
"Did you order everything?"
"Yeah, but they said it might take a while since they're short on part-timers right now."
"Can't be helped, I guess."
"Let's sit and wait for now."
Having no choice, I sat at a table with Ye-rin and immediately asked about the monitoring results.
"How were the reactions on the portal sites?"
"There are some negative comments, but... aside from what you mentioned earlier, nothing much?"
"You mean the Japan-related stuff?"
"Yes."
Ye-rin's response gave me a headache.
The current discussions were more like malicious slander, completely unrelated to the game.
It was just people slandering us as traitors simply because a Korean company launched in Japan first.
"Don't worry about it. Those people are a minority anyway, and if we don't respond, they'll fade away on their own. If they cross the line, we can sue them as a company."
"I know. I'm not really bothered by it. Oh, and I also heard from Ye-na and the others..."
"Really? What did they say?"
Ye-rin thought for a moment before answering.
"Ye-na and Seol said the Bluebird reactions were just as we expected. The game is dominating in Korea, and in Japan, there are so many Kei fans..."
"I see, so it's like that?"
"Yes, but Last Arcadia has a different vibe compared to Girls Memorial, right? So even among Kei's fans, the reactions aren't bad, they say."
"Oh? That's unexpected."
Even though Last Arcadia was an apocalyptic game somewhat distant from the current mainstream subculture,
Its essence was still subculture, so I thought Kei's fans wouldn't react well to it.
But being the birthplace of subculture, it seemed they didn't have much resistance to it.
Well, considering it's a country where top-tier singers record anime OSTs...
I guess I was wrong.
"Chae-young's side is... well, it's no joke."
"Is it that intense?"
"Yeah, apparently the streamers on Japan's NicoNico Live? They're going crazy over the gacha..."
"R-really...?"
Thinking back to how streamers who played subculture mobile games before my regression made gacha their main content, it wasn't incomprehensible, but...
Noticing my subtle expression, Ye-rin quickly added,
"B-but the overall stream reactions are good! We're dominating the viewer count in the mobile game category."
"That's good to hear."
"So, Senior, don't worry about—"
Ye-rin's words were cut off by the Starbucks part-timer calling us.
Maybe because of that, Ye-rin's expression looked slightly annoyed.
"I'll go get them. We can finish talking when we get back upstairs, okay?"
"Fine, whatever..."
***
"It's finally over─!"
With Senior Chae-young's joyful cry—she seemed the least tired among us—we successfully finished the CBT monitoring.
Of course, there was still some time left in the CBT period, but...
We had long since gathered enough monitoring data to write the report, so there was no need to keep watching.
"Everyone's worked hard, so get some rest and recover. Come back the day after tomorrow. How's that sound? Good?"
It was a sweet offer of a day off after overtime, but for some reason, the team members' expressions were... odd.
No, beyond odd—it was almost contemptuous.
"Why the long faces? You don't like it?"
At my question, Ye-rin, who was next to me, asked as if I really didn't know,
"Senior, what day is it today?"
"Thurs— no, since it's dawn, it's Friday, right?"
"Right. So what day is the day after tomorrow?"
"Sunday, isn't it?"
"......"
Was that answer a mistake?
Even Ye-rin, who had followed the project schedule without complaint until now, started glaring at me with an expression that said she wanted to hit me.
"J-just kidding. It was a joke."
"It better be."
"Of course... Take the weekend off and come back for regular work on Monday."
With that, the frozen atmosphere in the conference room thawed, and the team members exchanged goodbyes before leaving.
Only after they had completely left could I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
If I'd teased them a bit more, I might have actually gotten hit...
***
While the art team and development team were focused on implementing feedback changes after the CBT period ended,
I arrived at a cafe near Shinjuku, Tokyo, to meet with our publisher, SFLAG.
Opening the antique-looking wooden door, I stepped into a cafe interior that matched the door's old-fashioned style.
I told the part-timer at the counter that I had company and was about to look for Tanaka when,
"Director Ji, over here!"
I spotted Tanaka calling me from a corner table.
As soon as I sat down, Tanaka bowed his head.
"I should have visited you in Korea. I just couldn't find the time. I'm sorry."
I waved my hands, brushing it off.
"It's better for the person with the more flexible schedule to travel. There's no need for us to apologize to each other about that."
"You're too kind. I don't know how to respond."
The small talk that started this way only ended when our ordered coffee arrived.
"Anyway, this CBT was amazing. The response was record-breaking, wasn't it?"
"I never imagined it would be this popular either."
Tanaka chuckled at my words.
Then, with a genuinely curious expression, he asked me,
"So, Director Ji, how did you manage to get Ishida Kei on board?"
"Ah, you mean her?"
"Yes, no matter how hard we tried to recruit her on our end, nothing matched up—pay, schedule, nothing. How on earth did you do it?"
Faced with Tanaka's persistent questioning, I could only smile awkwardly.
"We just... got lucky, I suppose."
"If luck was enough to get a singer of that caliber, we wouldn't have struggled so much..."
Tanaka's deflated appearance made me feel a bit sorry for him, but there was nothing I could do.
I wasn't loose-lipped enough to go around bragging about Chae-young's connections, which weren't even my own.
Seeing that I wouldn't budge, Tanaka smacked his lips and moved on to the next topic.
"You're planning to launch Reverse Arcadia in Japan first again, right?"
"Yes, barring any unexpected issues, that's the plan."
"In that case, how about considering this as a commemorative gift from us?"
With those words, Tanaka handed me a document.
"What's this?"
"It's a contract for outdoor advertising in Shibuya. We got lucky and an opportunity came up, so we applied right away."
Looking over the document after hearing that, it really was a contract for outdoor advertising in Shibuya.
We missed out on this advertising opportunity for Girls Memorial, either due to bad luck or poor timing.
Seeing the publisher secure it themselves this time really drove home how our position had changed.
"And... it looks like this outdoor ad will feature Ishida Kei as well."
"...But we don't have any contract with her beyond the OST. Is that possible?"
"We were surprised too, but Ishida Kei’s agency reached out to us directly. They seem to have been impressed by the CBT's success."
Well, it wasn't just our game that gained attention from the previous trailer and this CBT's success...
Ishida Kei's previously released album tracks had been climbing back up the Oricon charts, a miracle in itself.
"Let's do it. It's all upside for us, so there's no reason to refuse."
"Understood. We'll contact Ishida Kei's agency then. If you could just sign here..."
Ah, I almost forgot.
At Tanaka's request, I took out a pen from my bag, signed the document, and handed it back.
Tanaka neatly placed the document in an envelope and put it in his bag.
"Um, and this is just in case, but... Director Ji."
"Ah, yes. Go ahead."
"About the revenue sharing contract... What are your thoughts?"
I responded to Tanaka's question in my usual tone, as if it were obvious.
"We're going to be long-term business partners, aren't we?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
"50-50 split, with marketing guarantees shared equally. I don't think this is a bad deal for SFLAG at all."
Tanaka looked dumbfounded, as if he hadn't expected my proposal.
Then, as if coming to his senses, he hastily nodded and bowed his head.
"Th-that's more than enough. Thank you so much!"