Chapter 51
"...Why? Do I look that strange?"
Chae-young started examining herself, seemingly flustered by my silent stare.
"I don't think there's anything weird..."
Snapping out of it at her mumbling, I quickly shook my head.
"It's not weird, just... very different from your usual look..."
Understanding why I'd been speechless, Chae-young sighed with a wry expression.
"You should at least act normal. It'll help me feel less embarrassed."
"S-sorry."
"Forget it. What about that favor I asked earlier? Did you get permission?"
I nodded at Chae-young's question and replied,
"They agreed once I explained the situation. Want me to grab one now?"
"Yeah. Honestly, I'm at my limit sober right now."
At her request, I took a beer can from the mini-fridge in the corner of the waiting room and handed it to her.
"Thanks."
Chae-young cracked open the beer I gave her and started chugging it down.
I just watched silently.
Saying anything now would only make things more awkward.
As I quietly observed her, a question popped into my mind.
"By the way, how did you do that?"
"Hm? Do what?"
"Your eye color and hair. It wasn't like that before."
Chae-young chuckled at my question and tugged at her hair.
The seemingly two-toned dyed hair slid up, revealing a wig cap underneath.
"Obviously, it's a wig and contacts. They were in the box."
"Oh, really?"
No wonder the publisher was so eager about the cosplay...
They seemed more serious about this than I thought.
"Have you had enough to drink?"
"Can I have just one more can...?"
"Nope, not happening."
Ignoring Chae-young's plea—she'd gotten considerably more relaxed after drinking—I immediately called our assigned stylists through Tanaka.
And so began the makeup session.
The feeling of getting makeup for the first time in my life was more awkward than I'd expected.
The sensation of having powder applied and cotton pads patted on my face was just...
Thankfully, it was only basic makeup, so it ended quickly. I don't think I could've endured much more.
After the makeup was done and I thanked the stylists as they packed up their tools, I glanced to the side.
There, I saw Chae-young with her eyes closed, still getting her makeup done.
She looked quite used to it, probably from her time in broadcasting.
Though even with liquid courage, she hadn't fully steeled herself. I could see her fidgeting restlessly as she got her makeup done.
It was probably because the outfit was more revealing than what she usually wore...
Watching Chae-young like this, I pondered for a moment before getting up and taking a lap blanket out of my bag.
"Senior."
Still getting her makeup done, Chae-young only opened one eye to look at me instead of turning her head.
"What?"
"Move your hands for a sec."
As Chae-young moved her hands at my words, I draped the blanket over her thighs.
My actions seemed to surprise the stylists behind me, as I heard them murmuring.
Chae-young also looked taken aback by my unexpected behavior.
"...What's gotten into you?"
"Just feeling guilty."
She chuckled at my words, then placed her hands on the lap blanket and closed her eyes again for the makeup.
The blanket seemed to help her mental state more than expected; she looked much more at ease than before.
"Senior, keep getting your makeup done. I'm going to meet with Tanaka-san for a bit."
"Alright, see you."
Leaving Chae-young to resume her makeup, I exited the waiting room and ran into Tanaka in the hallway.
"Oh, Director Ji. What brings you out here? I could have come to the waiting room if you needed me."
"Ah, I just had something to ask."
"Go ahead."
"You know how part of the broadcast content includes spinning a roulette to choose gifts for users?"
"Ah, yes. That's right."
"About the rewards on that roulette—"
After hearing my proposal, Tanaka nodded with a half-skeptical look, but I didn't mind.
This approach would surely be more effective than just blindly giving things away for the launch celebration broadcast.
***
The Reverse Arcadia gallery has experienced unprecedented prosperity since its creation.
Only one day remained until the game's launch.
With the pre-launch special video about to be released, all sorts of people were flocking to the gallery.
[Username: Anonymous]
[Title: 1 hour left until the launch celebration special video release ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
If you're a Reverse Arcadia gallery user excited to see what concept they used for the video this time, hit that upvote lolololol
[Comment section][Sorted by views]
- For real lolol
- Upvoted lololol
[Username: Anonymous]
[Title: Reasons to look forward to today's Reverse Arcadia broadcast as a Girls Memorial open beta player...fact]
First off, Enson GT's strategy is to lower the entry barrier by generously handing out resources at launch.
So they'll probably be generous with resources this time too, and I'm excited to see how much they'll give out during this broadcast.
With the 20 pulls guaranteed from pre-registration and the broadcast resources, we might easily get 50 pulls ㄷㄷㄷ
So don't be a sucker and blindly start playing. Make sure you reroll no matter what.
If it's too hard, just buy a reroll account.
[Comment section][Sorted by newest]
- Open beta lmao lololol
- For real, they're generous with handouts, but there are so many pickup banners that rerolling is the way to go unless you're a whale.
ㄴIs the gacha that brutal? ㄷㄷㄷ
ㄴ ㄴㄴ The gacha itself is actually pretty generous compared to other gacha games. It's just that there are a lot of pickup banners.
Jae-hyun, who was lurking in the community, had similar thoughts to the Reverse Arcadia gallery users.
He too had successfully rerolled during Girls Memorial's early days using the resources they handed out at launch.
As he enjoyed browsing the gallery, imagining which characters he'd aim for when rerolling at launch, the video release time approached.
A 60-second countdown appeared on the screen, announcing the video's imminent release.
59 became 30, 30 became 10, and as 10 changed to 0...
Oh... it's starting.
Filled with anticipation, Jae-hyun popped a couple of pre-prepared popcorn kernels into his mouth as the video began auto-playing as set.
The launch celebration video started with a trailer, as everyone had expected.
After all, the trailer was what had built up Reverse Arcadia's recognition in the first place.
Of course, no one had anticipated Ishida Kei appearing for an interview to support the game after the trailer ended.
Thanks to that, the gallery was in chaos, with Ishida Kei's personal fans and game fans all mixed together.
As Jae-hyun was enjoying this spectacle in the gallery, he quickly turned his attention back to the monitor playing the video when he suddenly heard the MC's voice.
[Hello everyone! I'm Nakaoka Kenzo, and I'll be hosting the Reverse Arcadia broadcast following Girls Memorial! It's great to see you all!]
Applause erupted from all directions as the MC finished his greeting.
Jae-hyun hadn't expected much from the launch celebration video, but it seemed they had invited quite a few guests.
[Now, before we begin, let me introduce our guests. First, someone you're all very familiar with. Please welcome the General Director of Reverse Arcadia, Director Ji Ho-jin! Come on out!]
As Kenji finished speaking, Ho-jin appeared on screen, causing Jae-hyun to drop a few popcorn kernels in surprise.
Wait... isn't that the Commander who briefly appeared in the trailer?
[Hello everyone. I'm Ji Ho-jin, the General Director of Reverse Arcadia, here to greet you once again. It's great to meet you all!]
Applause erupted along with Ho-jin's greeting.
Jae-hyun nodded, familiar with Ho-jin's appearance after seeing him for several years.
[Now then, let me introduce our next guest. This person might be unfamiliar to our users, as it's your first time seeing them. Please welcome the Sound Director responsible for both Girls Memorial and Reverse Arcadia, Han Chae-young! Come on in!]
Once again, as Kenji finished speaking, the screen transitioned.
The image that appeared showed Henrietta, who had only existed in illustrations until now, bowing her head towards the camera.
Unlike Henrietta's character setting, her face was slightly red, probably from embarrassment, but that only added to the liveliness and quality of the cosplay.
Jae-hyun was stunned by the unbelievable quality of the Henrietta cosplay. When he turned his attention back to the gallery,
The topic had already shifted from Ishida Kei to the Henrietta cosplay.
[Username: Anonymous]
[Title: Wait, isn't she the Sound Director? lolololol]
[Image capture of Chae-young's Henrietta cosplay]
At first glance, I thought they'd brought in a professional cosplayer lolololol
The quality is just insane lololol
I was about to write a bunch of compliments about the Henrietta cosplay in the gallery, but I got scared and held back, for real
[Comment section][Sorted by newest]
- Hnnng, big sis....
- What kind of compliments were you going to write, you crazy bastard lololol
- Wow, this is seriously hot lololol
[Username: Anonymous]
[Title: I admit Enson GT is a company full of people dead serious about weeb stuff]
I mean, Ji Ho-jin is one thing, but this Sound Director Han Chae-young too. As directors, they must be at least team leader level
What could people who've climbed that high possibly lack that they're doing cosplay and clowning around in front of users?
At this point, they're not just doing it for work; they've reached the level of enjoying it lolololol
[Comment section][Sorted by newest]
- Come to think of it, you're right lololol
- So you're saying people equivalent to deputy general managers or department heads in a company are doing cosplay ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
ㄴlolololol Are they crazy?
ㄴI imagined that and threw up, damn it lololol