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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Intentionally Distorted Hero
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After my meeting with the Bonbujang, the first thing I had to do was take back my words to the colleagues I'd already said my goodbyes to.
[Daeri Heo Yuri: Gwajangnim, so what did the Bonbujang say? What happened?]
[Me: The Bonbujang asked me to stay on until the Phoenix project is finished… I feel a little embarrassed after telling everyone I was quitting.]
[Daeri Heo Yuri: Wow, amazing! You mean Bonbujang Shin Chihwan? He's famous for being competent! Does this mean you're getting in with his faction now? Gwajangnim Jo, you can't forget about me when you make it big!]
[Me: What faction…]
The colleagues I had bid farewell to today seemed to understand without much trouble when I told them the Bonbujang had asked me to stay.
Not wanting to stir up any trouble, I didn't mention the part about being offered a PD position after completing this project.
Nothing was set in stone yet, and I wanted to avoid jinxing it by having it become office gossip.
The problem was… rumors spread like wildfire in a company.
"Hey… I heard Gwajang Jo went head-to-head with PD Oh Gwangseok earlier?"
"They said Bonbujang Shin Chihwan called him in personally. I heard Oh Gwangseok was the one who got torn to shreds. Apparently, the guy made a hit indie game called Forgotten Andersen's Story or something, and the Bonbujang wants to work with him."
"Serves that bastard Oh Gwangseok right. That f*cking K University clique bastard got kicked out of Division 1 because he has no talent, so where does he get off throwing his weight around?"
"I thought Gwajang Jo was a total pushover, just a yes-man, but I guess he has a surprisingly bold side to him?"
In meeting rooms, the cafeteria, and all over the company, I could easily spot people from Division 5 gossiping about me.
Maybe it was just me, but I felt a strange number of eyes on me.
People with lower ranks than me would at least look away when I glanced at them, but those at the Chajang or Bujang level seemed to be talking loud enough for me to hear on purpose.
Well… most of it was positive, so I didn't mind… but it was a strange feeling.
"Gwajang Jo Hyunsoo."
I was trying to shake off the awkward attention and was sitting at my desk working.
A voice from my side made me turn my head.
PD Oh Gwangseok, the hot potato of Division 5, was looking down at me with a sour expression.
"What is it, PD-nim?"
"If you have a moment, I need to see you."
Well, like it or not, we had to work together for a while.
I obediently followed him into a meeting room and sat across from him.
"Uhm, so…"
Oh Gwangseok fidgeted, looking like a puppy that desperately needed to go, unable to get his words out.
I guessed he had been called in and chewed out by the Bonbujang and was now trying to apologize to me.
The lips of the man who had been ready to kill me this morning wouldn't open to say he was sorry to his subordinate.
"PD-nim, you must be busy, so please get to the point."
"Ah, about, uh, what happened this morning… I'm sorry. I went too far with my words. I sincerely apologize, so how about we just pretend it never happened."
Oh Gwangseok, his pride clearly wounded, spat out a vague apology.
It was probably his last shred of dignity as my superior.
In the past, I would have let it slide, but now I was in the advantageous position.
So I had no intention of letting this go so easily.
"How can you pretend something that happened never happened? And if you're going to apologize, I would appreciate it if you did so clearly and properly."
If I let this go without a proper apology, this man would surely pull the same stunt again someday.
For the sake of my own mental health, I needed to settle this matter for good.
"That I… that I called you ignorant and clueless about development, that I tried to dump the FGT on you, I'm sorry for all of it."
Finally, Oh Gwangseok began to confess his sins one by one.
He spoke in a small voice, but a few employees nearby glanced our way, wondering what was going on.
For him, it must have been a humiliating situation.
"I'm glad you were aware of it. I thought you were doing it out of ignorance."
"Tsk, I'm truly sorry. I… have many shortcomings… I was shortsighted."
Oh Gwangseok forced the apology from his throat, doing his best to hide his anger.
He looked so flustered, his face bright red, that it was almost cute.
Why had I ever trembled before a man like this?
"Well, I'll accept your apology for now. However, I'd appreciate it if you didn't do it again. I won't either, so let's not cross the line with each other from now on, alright?"
I patted Oh Gwangseok's shoulder, stood up first, and returned to my desk.
'Landed a solid punch.'
Feeling pleased, I sat down and passed the time on my messenger.
The moment the clock struck 5, I slung the coat draped over my chair over my shoulder, stood up, and bid farewell to the planning team members sitting nearby.
"I have plans today, so I'll be heading out first."
They all had strange expressions, their eyes screaming with curiosity about what had happened between me and the PD.
If I had my way, I'd spill everything that happened today, but completely shattering the PD's authority would be problematic in its own way.
'It would have a negative impact on the project itself.'
Regardless, my job for the time being was to make Phoenix a success.
Having accepted Bonbujang Shin Chihwan's offer, I decided to keep my mouth shut for now.
'Time to go.'
On my way out, I glanced toward PD Oh Gwangseok, who was sitting at the end of the row. My eyes met his as he glared at me with a rotten expression.
He seemed quite bitter about today's events.
'Cute.'
I gave him a slight smile as if to provoke him, then bowed my head in farewell.
"I'm heading out, PD-nim."
"Ah… right."
I smirked as I walked out of the office.
Thinking about how twisted Oh Gwangseok's insides must be, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.
'It's pretty empty for a 5 PM commute.'
The road to the subway station was quiet.
Pangyo, where NB Soft was located, was home to many game companies. The typical workday for most of them, including NB Soft, was 10 AM to 7 PM.
No, to be precise, it was usually 10 AM to 9 or 10 PM.
The overtime culture in this industry was so chronic that even people outside of it knew the jokes about the "Lighthouse of Guro" and the "Lighthouse of Pangyo." There was no point in me even describing it.
However, with the recent introduction of the 52-hour work week, a flexible work system was implemented, allowing employees to leave freely after 5 PM if they had put in enough hours on other days.
Of course…
'It's only "free" in name. What kind of crazy bastard would leave at 5 PM when the PD is still in the office with his eyes wide open?'
Except for a guy with guts like me.
'Hmm… I don't really want to go straight home.'
Perhaps because of the turbulent day I'd had, a desire to grab some chicken and beer with someone and chat started to creep up on me.
Someone I could freely complain about work to, and who could understand and empathize with my situation to some extent…
As I rode the subway home, a person popped into my head, and I immediately gave them a call.
<
Yoon Byeongjong, a professional webtoon artist.
I could hear his raspy voice over the phone.
Today was Monday, and his webtoon deadline was Sunday, so he must have pulled an all-nighter to finish it and had just woken up to my call.
"Yoon Byeongjong, you free for a drink? Tell me what you want to eat. My treat."
<
"Something did happen."
<
Girlfriend my ass… This guy had been saying that every time he opened his mouth lately.
"…Not that. Something interesting happened at work."
<
****
At a jokbal restaurant near Suji-gu Office Station, the two of us sat in a corner of the still-empty establishment, as it wasn't even 6 PM yet.
The beer arrived before the food, and we filled our glasses for a light drink.
"So, what's so important that you're calling me out on a Monday of all days?"
"Hey, I might become a PD."
"Pfft! W-what did you say? You, a PD? What nonsense is this?"
Byeongjong spat out the beer he was about to swallow.
"Ugh, gross. Why'd you waste good beer, you bastard?"
I wiped the liquid that had splattered on my face with a wet towel and proceeded to tell Yoon Byeongjong everything that had happened.
"The game I developed and released on my own did pretty well… so that's what happened…"
I had told him I was making Forgotten Andersen's Story, but I never mentioned that I had released it.
He was at war with his webtoon deadlines every single day, so he likely had no idea.
"Holy crap… that game you were talking about… you released it?"
"Yeah, it hasn't been long, but I got lucky. The streamer Pung Horang played it, and it blew up. But the thing is…"
I added the story of my meeting with the Bonbujang and the PD offer.
It was big news, something I couldn't easily tell my coworkers or family.
'Well… there's no one as tight-lipped as this guy.'
That's why I felt comfortable telling Yoon Byeongjong first.
Byeongjong was a commercially successful artist, and we had lived together for four years, from our college days in the game department to my early days at the company.
I had joined the company to write game scenarios, while Byeongjong, who saw no future in game art, had switched his career path to webtoon artist early on and established himself.
He wasn't the type of person who lacked the ability to be jealous of my success, so I judged that there would be no repercussions from telling him.
"Damn, our Hyunsoo made it big, huh? Seems like just the other day you were all miserable, saying you were going to die because you hated your job."
"You're the first friend I'm telling this to."
"Damn right you should tell me first. Were you thinking of telling some other punk before me? Anyway, congratulations."
Yoon Byeongjong jabbed me in the side with his elbow, celebrating as if it were his own success.
He then scratched his chin for a moment as if in thought, and then, as if deciding he had to say something, he opened his mouth.
"I might be worrying for nothing, but… don't go around bragging about this too much. One wrong move and you'll have moochers coming out of the woodwork in no time. If any show up, cut them off cold."
Byeongjong was speaking from his own experience with success.
Even now, he consistently earned several months' worth of a salaryman's income in a single month, and he still regretted telling people about his success.
"When word got out that my webtoon was doing well, I was harassed by everyone from my elementary school classmates to guys whose names I couldn't even remember calling me…"
Insurance salesmen, people asking for money, aspiring webtoon artists asking for help.
The success of his work attracted all sorts of hangers-on who had no real connection to him, and the things he experienced during that time broke his spirit so many times that it even started to negatively affect his work.
"I know, I know. How could I forget how much you complained to me back then?"
We clinked our glasses and chugged our beers.
The cool sensation of the liquid scratching its way down my throat mixed with a strange sense of excitement, making me feel incredibly good.
I understood where Byeongjong was coming from, but for now, the joy of the two of us achieving success in our respective fields and being able to have this conversation outweighed any worries about future negative consequences.
I felt like the protagonist of a coming-of-age drama.
"Anyway, be careful. I'm sure your company will be filled with guys who are jealous and just waiting for you to fall."
Byeongjong told me that after he started on the path to success as an artist, he had been the target of envy from other artists as well.
He said it was common for him to hear backhanded comments that his work wasn't good or that he was obsessed with money, even though all he did was quietly work on his series.
'Well… jealousy and envy are standard features in humans.'
I figured something similar would probably happen to me, and since I wasn't immune to that sort of thing yet, I felt a little worried.
"Hey, hey, enough with the depressing talk. Let's talk about something more constructive."
"Yeah, yeah, you're not a kid anymore, you'll handle it fine. If you have any worries, you can always talk to me."
We put a stop to Byeongjong's parade of worries there, and our conversation naturally drifted back to the days when we lived together.
Stories of our poor days, living in a semi-basement apartment and sometimes sharing a single packet of ramen between the two of us.
"Hey, remember that time? I seriously thought I was going to die after eating nothing but ramen for 10 days straight."
"How could I forget? That was hilarious."
They were tough times, but they had their own romance. Talking about them felt like riding a time machine, allowing me to instantly return to that period and savor the happiness.
I felt lucky to have a friend like Yoon Byeongjong, a friend who could see things from a similar perspective and empathize with me.
Two people who had run toward their dreams and interesting work, now sitting face to face, having achieved success in their respective positions.
"Hyunsoo, we're happy people. Let's be even happier in the future."
"Yeah, let's do that."
This itself was a dream come true.
One drink led to another, and as the alcohol took hold, everything felt joyful and beautiful.
"Hyunsoooo! Can I ask you for a favor?"
"What is it?"
As the drinking session was winding down, Byeongjong suddenly got serious, slammed his hand on the table, and spoke.
Was he about to make some kind of surprise announcement?
"When you become a PD, buy my webtoon IP and make a game out of it. There are a lot of games like that these days, right?"
"What the hell, you got all serious like you were about to say something important. What a load of crap."
"Hey, how is this crap? I'm just jealous of those other artists who hit the jackpot with game adaptations and are raking in the royalties!"
"I can't promise anything, but I'll try."
"To that, let's have a toast!"
"This guy will never grow up, seriously…"
"Nope! I'm not gonna grow up! To our Hyunsoo's hit game, let's gooo!"
Byeongjong and I clinked our glasses once more.
Even as we drank, Forgotten Andersen's Story and Yoon Byeongjong's webtoon were likely being talked about and enjoyed by many people.
Back then, I had no idea.
That the silly things we said would one day become reality…