After sending off Professor Jun Murai and his team, the entire Sega headquarters buzzed with an almost feverish excitement.
The atmosphere in the Computer Software Development Group was especially taut.
Section Chief Nohara placed Professor Murai's business card squarely at the most visible spot on his desk, as if it were a charm that could banish every lingering doubt.
A trial version within one month — that was the pledge he had made before the "Father of the Japanese Internet." The entire team was mobilized. The whiteboards were packed with dense technical routes and timelines. Everyone moved like a clock wound to the limit, even their footsteps brisk and sharp.
Two days later, while Nohara was frowning over a stack of technical documents, Nakayama Takuya's assistant knocked, entered, and handed him a thin folder.
"Section Chief Nohara, this is from the Executive Director — an addendum to the instant messaging software plan."
Nohara blinked, puzzled.
The software framework was already finalized — why was there suddenly an addendum?
He took the folder. The cover read:
"FaceWord – Development Concept"
Nohara's brow creased.
Face… Word? What kind of strange English name had the Executive Director come up with now?
He opened the first page — and immediately froze.
The proposal was extremely simple. Its core was a single feature: allow users, via a button or shortcut key, to open a list.
A list composed of small expressions made purely from characters. Users could click any one of them to insert it directly into their chat.
Nohara's eyes slid down to the appendix table.
The table had two columns: on the left, the expression's meaning; on the right, the character combination.
"Smile —"
"Crying — ToT"
"Helpless — (_ _)"
"Kneeling — orz"
Nohara's finger traced line after line.
The list was far longer than he expected — hundreds of items, some requiring multiple lines of characters to form a single graphic.
He had never seen things like these before, but the moment he looked at those simple, expressive symbols, he couldn't help but feel impressed.
It was… genius.
Nohara's mind raced.
Instantly, the key insight clicked.
Words were cold — especially in instant messaging, where plain text felt stiff, lacking the nuances of expression and tone that existed in face-to-face communication.
These kaomoji filled that gap perfectly.
The simplest technology — enabling the most direct emotional expression.
He could already imagine two colleagues from the U.S. branch finishing a serious discussion…
and one closing with a cheerful "(_)/ Cheers!"
How the atmosphere would immediately soften.
The technical difficulty was negligible, but the improvement to user experience was revolutionary.
His gaze landed on the final paragraph — handwritten by Nakayama himself:
"Continuously collect, refine, and even invent new kaomoji, including more complex multi-line designs.
We must turn this into a unique software culture — a trend on the Internet.
The ultimate goal is for every Internet user to think of Sega the moment they see a kaomoji."
Nohara flipped the proposal over again and again, reading it three times. Then, placing it gently on the desk, he stood and paced the room.
The email client was at its toughest stage. Everyone in the team was strung tight — terrified of embarrassing Sega in front of Professor Murai one month later.
But in Nohara's mind, those strange symbols — "", "ToT", "orz" — began dancing wildly.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt this concept was a stroke of brilliance.
No — it was more than that.
It gave the instant messaging software its soul.
He stopped abruptly, strode out of his office, and scanned the bustling development floor. His gaze finally settled on two of the youngest faces in the corner.
"Nishino, Mikazuki — come here."
The two young men jolted, scrambling to their feet.
They were interns assigned last year, already contracted to join Sega full-time upon graduation. Normally they handled data collation and code comments — trivial tasks. The Section Chief had never summoned them with such seriousness before.
Uneasy, they followed Nohara into an empty meeting room.
He closed the door and, without any preamble, slid the proposal toward them.
"From the Executive Director. A new assignment."
Nishino and Mikazuki exchanged a look, leaned in, and read the title.
"FaceWord – Development Concept."
What?
They continued.
Their expressions changed.
From confusion…
to suppressed laughter…
and finally, when they reached the "orz," Nishino couldn't hold it — "Pff—!"
"Section Chief, this… what is this?" Mikazuki asked nervously, worried it was some incomprehensible high-level technology.
Nohara's face hardened.
"This was conceived personally by the Executive Director. It will be one of the core competitive features of our instant messaging software."
He jabbed a finger at the line on the page: "We must turn it into a unique software culture — a trend."
"Do you understand? Culture. Trend."
The two young men were stunned into silence.
Seeing their bewilderment, Nohara switched tactics.
"The email client is for people like Professor Jun Murai — scholars and experts. That's our face. The schedule is tight; we can't afford a single mistake.
"But this—" he tapped the proposal firmly,
"this is for us. And for every young person who'll use our software in the future. It has to be fun."
He leaned forward.
"Think about it. When chatting through text alone, isn't it easier to convey emotion if you add an expression? Even when the other person can't see you?"
He exhaled sharply, tone turning solemn.
"Our team has no spare capacity right now. But this feature is too important. So I'm assigning it to you two. You can start working on it immediately."
"Eh??" Nishino and Mikazuki yelped together, sure they'd misheard.
Nohara shook his head.
"You can't contribute to the core email client code yet. But this doesn't require complex algorithms. What it does require is imagination."
He looked between them.
"You've just come out of school — your minds aren't yet stuffed full of requirements and rigid patterns. This is when you have the most ideas."
He straightened.
"So — I'm counting on you two."
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