Chapter 86
Rewinding time a bit, two days before Hojin's call with Tanaka.
An unusual tension hung in the air in the conference room of the Sign Games Headquarters Building, located in Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo.
A pair of individuals glared at each other across the table in the conference room.
They were Takahashi Yuichi, an Executive Director at Sign Games, and Ishikawa Yui, the Main Producer of the Chronicle Connect Team.
“I didn’t mishear, did I? Project Scrapping, you said?”
“You heard correctly.”
At Yuichi’s cold reply, Yui gritted her teeth and asked again.
“Why?”
“...”
“Director, you told me just a few months ago. You said all we had to do was continue as we were, didn’t you? You said the Executives’ reactions were positive.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you don’t have to apologize, just explain it to me so I can understand. That way, I can go back to the team and at least explain to the Team Members why the Project was blown up!”
Perhaps unable to comprehend the Current Situation, Yui’s voice was filled with anger, but Yuichi’s expression remained unchanged.
He simply let out a small sigh and looked at Yui.
“There was nothing I could do.”
“So why—”
“The guys who were positive about the Project just a few months ago completely turned around, as if they’d gone mad.”
“Why, on earth...”
“Why else? They felt the heat when the knife was at their own throats.”
Yuichi began to summarize the Current Situation, starting with complaints about the Executives.
The story Yuichi told was realistic, yet dirty and ugly.
“So... are you saying the Executives are shifting responsibility to the Site because they don’t want to take responsibility for the plummeting sales, pressured by EnsonGT?”
“Of course. Otherwise, why would those who only care about Playing with Numbers and pay no attention to the Site now be gutting perfectly functional New Projects under the guise of Development Efficiency or whatever?”
“But why our Project...? It’s not even a New Project.”
“Instead, your Project is a Remake.”
“Ah...”
“In a situation where New Projects are being stamped for Project Scrapping and cut off one after another, a Remake of a failed work that already failed once? They couldn’t possibly keep it alive, even for the sake of appearances.”
“...”
“I’m sorry. I tried my best to cover for your Project, but...”
At Yuichi’s words, muttered with a Bitter Expression, Yui swallowed the rage boiling inside her and nodded for now.
No matter how she thought about it, the responsibility for this situation clearly didn’t lie with Yuichi.
“Director. May I ask a favor?”
“Just say the word. I’ll do whatever I can.”
“It’s nothing that grand. Just please make sure our kids don’t get scattered to strange departments if they’re broken up.”
“...That’s not difficult, but what about you?”
At Yuichi’s question, Yui shook her head with a Bitter Expression.
“You know how much this Project means to me, Director.”
“That means...”
“Since the Company doesn’t seem to care about my Project anyway, I’m going to try my best on my own.”
“What if no Developer takes it?”
At that question, Yui smiled wryly and replied.
“Then I’ll leave this hellish Industry without any regrets.”
***
After contacting Tanaka again and setting up a meeting, realistic concerns began to flood in like a tide.
Even if it was a Project that had been scrapped, there were more than a few obstacles to intercepting and developing it.
Of course, that didn’t mean I had any intention of giving up.
The most prominent of the Piled-up Problems was the IP Rights issue.
The Chronicle Connect: Relink Project I was going to intercept was a Remake Project.
That meant the IP Rights for the predecessor, Chronicle Connect, still belonged to Sign Games.
They had only scrapped the Project, and given there was no other mention, it didn’t seem like they had given up ownership of the IP Rights.
Ultimately, it meant I had to secure an IP Rights Transfer from Sign Games.
I prayed that the Sign Games Executives were *Old-fashioned Executive*s with closed minds.
That way, I could acquire the IP Rights for a slightly cheaper price.
Thus, a week passed, and On the day of the appointment arrived.
After traveling to Japan and arriving at the Meeting Place, a Cafe near Shibuya, an unfamiliar woman was waiting for me.
Judging by her seated height, was she around 160 cm tall?
She was a typical career woman, with large, round glasses and her hair tied back in a ponytail.
However, the Sharp Gaze behind her glasses somewhat undermined that career woman image.
Should I say she had a strong presence?
I finished assessing the woman in front of me and approached to greet her.
“Hello.”
To my surprise, the woman briefly scanned me, then bowed her head in Greeting.
“Are you Director Ji Hojin...?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m sure it was a sudden request, but thank you very much for agreeing to meet.”
“Not at all.”
“My apologies for the late Self-introduction. I’m Ishikawa Yui, who recently resigned from Sign Games.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ji Hojin, a Director at EnsonGT.”
After our Self-introduction, Yui, perhaps in a hurry, immediately got to the point.
“Does Director’s acceptance of my meeting request mean you’ve reviewed all the Project Documents?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“...What did you think?”
“The content of the Project Document itself was excellent. If a Project like this had come out of our Company, I would have immediately invested resources to Develop it.”
“Ah...”
“However, internally, the assessment was that the risk of touching this Project again, based solely on its content, was too great.”
“Risk?”
“Yes. Actually, the problem isn’t with the Project content itself, but simply that it’s not a New Project, but...”
“Because it’s a Remake Project, the IP Rights for Chronicle Connect are tied up with Sign Games, that’s the problem.”
Yui, who seemed to have anticipated what I was going to say and spoke for me, showed no change in her expression.
It was as if she had already expected the conversation to go in this direction.
“I know what Director is worried about. You’re worried that Sign Games won’t sell the IP Rights, or will demand an absurdly high price for the IP Rights, causing the entire venture to fall through.”
“That’s right.”
“But you don’t have to worry about that. The Internal Situation at Sign Games is a complete mess right now.”
Starting with those words, Yui calmly explained the Current Situation at Sign Games to me.
Perhaps because she had worked at Sign Games until recently, the details were surprisingly vivid and precise.
“So... to summarize your story, Ms. Yui, are you saying that the current Executives, blinded by Self-preservation, are largely suspending Projects to reduce deficits?”
At my question, Yui nodded silently.
“Hmph...”
After hearing Yui’s story, I finally understood why Sign Games’ New Games hadn’t been released as they had Before Regression.
It was because the Executives, who only cared about Playing with Numbers instead of understanding games, were destroying the future growth engines of the Company under the pretext of management or Development Efficiency.
I had somewhat expected it, but hearing it directly from someone who worked there, the shock was different.
“Most of the Executives don’t really understand games to begin with. Moreover, Chronicle Connect is an IP that has already failed and has no use, so if you just name a reasonable price, they’ll definitely agree to negotiate.”
“Hmm...”
After hearing her out, I definitely felt it was worth a shot.
Should I say the heavens were helping me?
If Sign Games’ Executives were truly so short-sighted as to scrap New Projects, the Company’s future, just to cover deficits,
there was a high probability they would proceed with the sale of an already failed game’s IP Rights without hesitation.
“First, let’s discuss the Project in detail again after we’ve secured the IP Rights Transfer.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Lastly, if we succeed in acquiring the IP Rights Transfer and proceed with the Project, you’ll have to move to Korea. Is that acceptable?”
At my question, Yui immediately nodded.
“It’s fine. I’m prepared for that.”
“Understood. Then we’ll proceed with the IP Rights side and contact you later.”
After the first meeting ended, before leaving the Cafe, Yui bowed to me again and pleaded.
“Chronicle Connect... it’s a game I staked my entire career on. Please take good care of it.”
***
After the meeting, I returned to Korea and the Company, and immediately began preparing for the IP Rights Transfer negotiation with Sign Games.
The most urgent matter was Suyeon’s approval for this negotiation.
Regardless of the negotiation with Sign Games, nothing could proceed without Suyeon’s approval.
So, I prepared various materials to persuade Suyeon...
But in the end, Suyeon’s approval was obtained with almost absurd ease.
When I told her it was an opportunity to defeat Sign Games, a rival since the Girls Memorial days, Suyeon’s eyes sparkled, and she immediately stamped her approval.
Seeing her make such an easy decision made me a little worried, but I soon brushed it off.
I already knew that Suyeon’s seemingly careless demeanor was something she only showed when she was with me.
Anyway, once the most difficult problem was easily resolved, the subsequent preparations proceeded smoothly without a hitch.
After the Valuation of Chronicle Connect’s IP and predicting the sale price Sign Games would propose.
After completing the legal review and risk check with the Legal Team, two months had already flown by.
All preparations were complete, and finally, the Chronicle Connect IP Rights negotiation with Sign Games began.
The first thing I encountered in this negotiation, held in the Sign Games Headquarters Large Conference Room,
was the sneering gazes of the aging Sign Games Executives, looking at me as if I were a naive young fool.