SMNTCERR, Chapter 29 Cyan #2.

   “I thought it would be different, but maybe I had too high expectations. I shouldn’t have hoped for anything.”

   He had prepared himself, but the words were still too harsh. Jaeyoung suppressed his frustration, pretending not to be affected, and sat back in his chair.

   “The game name and the plan are the same as before. Only the characters have changed. Does this picture really fit our concept?”

   Sangwoo placed three sheets of paper with character drawings on the table. His fingers stole a glance from Jaeyoung, and the finger with its protruding bone could be considered beautiful. Despite that, Jaeyoung thought about grabbing those fingers and using his tongue to lick each bone, then gently tucking the wings of the hat down again under the table.

   “I already said it’s not a game for little kids. The target audience is parents who are still young. If their brains were normal, they wouldn’t let their children play something like this.”

   Jaeyoung regained his composure and looked into the half-covered eyes of Sangwoo.

   “Which one then?”

   The corner of his mouth, once smooth and straight, revealed a hint of dissatisfaction. Sangwoo’s finger reappeared, pointing at the first character.  The nail on that finger was short, as if it had been recently cut. A crescent moon shape in white was clearly visible at the base of the nail.

   “This long eggplant-like character looks like one of those misfits with poor

1. No, it’s not a horror game, okay?”

   Sangwoo moved the paper to the side and pointed to the second character.

   “Is this lettuce or Chinese cabbage? I can’t tell, really. You can’t make an educational game like this.”

   Then it came to the queue where the third character was distorted.

   “This potato is walking back and forth with a young sprout. Besides not following the spiritual essence correctly, it looks scary. Well, is this the best way to move?”

   Jaeyoung couldn’t say anything but laugh. Seeing that the plan could be fixed, he thought Sangwoo was just inexperienced, but Sangwoo had his own standards. Furthermore, every word he said made sense, so Jaeyoung couldn’t play around.

   Jaeyoung looked at his own sketch quietly. The part of the long eggplant looked exquisite because it reflected his personal taste. The original drawing of the potato was well done too. He didn’t know how to deal with the legs, so he drew a young sprout sticking out. While drawing, he thought it was profound, while for the bok choy, he just drew it casually to complete the three pieces. However, he also had something to say.

   “You just gave me one day, what are you expecting? You devil.”

   The total time spent on drawing was seven minutes, not even a full day, not even an hour, but Jaeyoung still pounded the table and spoke. Squeezing people to work according to a tight schedule was evidence that the other party did not understand this industry well, but Sangwoo responded without a hint of embarrassment.

   “I didn’t expect it to continue endlessly. But because it’s you hyungnim.”

   “…”

   Those words hurt Jaeyoung more than before. If he were scolded, he would have fought back vigorously, but hearing words like that, the force in him disappeared abruptly. Jaeyoung wasn’t sure what to call it, but he felt a tightness, as if his heart was being squeezed, a work that he didn’t fully complete. No matter how he spoke, Chu Sangwoo probably wouldn’t listen.

   “The plan will be carried out according to the original plan.”

   “No, it won’t.”

   “Then is there any other option?”

   Sangwoo looked at Jaeyoung with cold eyes, half of his narrowed eyes hidden under a hat. Today was the only day that Jaeyoung felt grateful for that hat.

   “I’ll come up with a new plan, from scratch.”

   “There’s no time for that anymore.”

   “Make it finished before the next meeting, isn’t that enough? What day is it… Monday, right?”

   Jaeyoung sighed inwardly. How could someone schedule meetings every single day like this? When he examined the detailed schedule, apart from Saturdays and Sundays when Sangwoo had to work overtime, the remaining days were filled with meetings. It seemed like they should switch to email correspondence soon, at least for the other party. It appeared that Jaeyoung couldn’t trust him enough and had to check every day.

   Jaeyoung’s gaze fixed on Sangwoo’s full lips. If he presented satisfactory results, would those tightly pursed lips finally loosen up and speak gently?

   “I’ll contact you later, hyung.”

   Sangwoo’s voice suddenly softened, a level gentler than anything Jaeyoung had ever heard  before. In that short moment, Jaeyoung was completely taken aback.

   Jaeyoung shook his head to shake off the dangerous memories.

   “If you’re not satisfied. I’ll give you the weekend.”

   Sangwoo spoke loudly, saying that adding just a few more days would result in excellent work.

   “Send the plan to my email by noon on Sunday…”

   “I won’t send it. No need to call and ask.”

   “Why?”

   “That’s not my style. Sometimes I can’t draw anything at all. And yet, I manage to finish it with just a few hours left.”

   Sangwoo’s small eyes narrowed, a look that indicated displeasure with those words.

   “It’s like a ticking time bomb, you never know when it’ll explode.”

   “If you can’t handle different working styles like this, you’re not fit to be a leader, are you? I’ve seen cases like this, and I never miss the deadlines for important projects.”

   “So, how important is this project?”

   “I don’t know. It depends on your actions.”

   “That’s all the answers you’ll get.”

   Sangwoo gathered his documents with a neutral expression, indicating that today’s meeting would end soon. He packed his belongings into his backpack and swiftly zipped it up. Then, he slung the bag over his shoulder and walked towards the door without even glancing at Jaeyoung. As he opened the door halfway, he turned around.

   “See you at the next meeting.”

   “You’re in a hurry again, huh?”

   “Yes.”

   “Don’t want to tell me the reason?”

   “You know it well.”

   Bang, the door closed again.

   After Sangwoo left, Jaeyoung sat staring at the empty chair. It was impossible for the two individuals who were so different as day and night to work together. It was clear that they clashed on everything, and he would have to endure constantly seeing their differences. Chu Sangwoo only spoke as a formality. If he even pretended to be friendly, he would surely face rejection. Jaeyoung walked into the pit that Sangwoo had dug himself, unaware of the hidden intention behind it. He didn’t know what he regretted so much to still be stuck here, even though he heard something disappointing.

   No matter how you looked at it, withdrawal was the best option, but his pride refused to let him give up now.

   ‘Wait and see.’

   Jaeyoung imagined the moment when Sangwoo’s eyes lit up upon seeing the character he had designed. In his imagination, the other side eagerly spoke with excitement.

   ‘It’s amazing, Jaeyoung-hyungnim!’

   The altered voice echoed in his ears. Jaeyoung laughed bitterly, folding the rejected figure in half. It seemed like he had the motivation to focus on his work.

   ⌘W.

   However, the figure that would satisfy the employer couldn’t be easily drawn like spoken words. Even though he sat down at the table to work, when he thought of Sangwoo’s rejected face, he became frustrated and lost focus. No matter what he drew, he felt that Chu Sangwoo, who thought that merely sketching a few lines would result in a complete picture, would say ‘This won’t do, I’m really disappointed. I’ll stick to the original plan.’

   On Friday, Jaeyoung’s new character was abandoned after just a few sketches. He lost his focus and went out with his colleagues, starting with going to a nearby university and eating three-layered pork barbecue at Soju’s restaurant. Then they moved on to cocktails at a bar near Yonsei-dong. After that, they went clubbing and drank a couple of beers. When he returned home, he had no strength left to hold a pen.

   On Saturday, Jaeyoung only regained consciousness halfway through due to a lingering hangover. In the evening, after having hangover soup, he managed to regain some composure and watched two movies before sleeping soundly and waking up late. On Sunday, he picked up a pen again. Then inspiration struck him, and he tried sketching and writing rough ideas. The resulting drawing was quite usable. The androgynous character with red, curly hair tied up in a bun held laser guns in both hands, in an adventure survival game set in a postapocalyptic steampunk world.

   From there, Jaeyoung drew another picture, depicting a scene where the character descended amidst exploding buildings. Then he drew an evolved version of the wings and a jaguar from a developed version of the game. Comparatively, the human cyborgs of Han Sooyeong’s creation were still embarrassing. Even if Chu Sangwoo criticized it to some extent, he wrote a brief concept and storyline on a sticky note and pasted it on the paper.

   Ready for the meeting.

   Jaeyoung went out to have a satisfying dinner. He went to his high school friend’s newly opened spicy stir-fried squid restaurant. After finishing the meal, he went to watch a live performance by an indie artist at a small theater.

   ⌘W.

   “It’s suitable for computer games.”

   ‘Hmm.’

   Once again, his work was rejected. Sangwoo opened a file and took out a document.

   “This is a game analysis ranking in the app store. It’s 68% and includes simple mini-games like arcade games, fighting games, puzzles, and RPGs. The map that the senior proposed to make into a mobile game for two players within four months didn’t make it.”

   “Who said we should support every concept we want to try?”

   “There has to be boundaries.”

   Sangwoo moved Jaeyoung’s draft aside with a composed expression, while

   Jaeyoung felt somewhat shaken as he didn’t expect to be rejected so easily. He sat there in silence.

   “Hyung, have you ever tried making mobile games before? I understand.

   Now we’ve wasted enough time. Let’s focus on the original plan.”

   “No.”

   “What’s next then?”

   Sangwoo spoke irritably. Jaeyoung couldn’t understand how he ended up feeling so low. Why did Sangwoo, who was responsible for scheduling, have to become the person who rejects him? He felt helpless, as if he had turned into an inexperienced and incompetent designer. Jaeyoung stood up, placing both hands on the table.

   “I won’t say much.”

   Sangwoo remained seated in his original position, looking up slowly.

   “Give me just one more day.”

   He requested it as a formality, because whether the other party agreed or rejected, he would still stand firm in his own thoughts. But Sangwoo averted his gaze slightly and took a deep breath.

   “Understood.”

   ‘Oh, I thought he would reject it immediately again.’

   Is Chu Sangwoo really that soft-hearted when faced with Jaeyoung’s gaze? As Sangwoo wiped his documents, Jaeyoung secretly glanced at the side of his face, the rectangular fingers and the clearly visible wrist bones of the other party, before regaining his composure and walking towards the door. Just as he was about to leave the meeting room, Sangwoo’s voice became louder.

   “Working with you is really tough, hyung.”

   “Who knows exactly how to speak like that.” No need to ask when the next meeting will be.

   “See you tomorrow.”

   “Okay.”

   Around five o’clock.

   Originally, Jaeyoung was supposed to go out for dinner with friends and then go clubbing, but he headed straight to the office. His sudden appearance surprised the neighboring desk owner because Jaeyoung had only registered to use the workspace but rarely came by lately since there wasn’t much work to do. He turned on his computer, which had been sitting on the table for months, untouched.

   “Hey, what are you doing?”

   “There’s work to do, where is Choi Yoon?”

   “I don’t know. I’ve just got here now.”

   While waiting for the system to boot up, Jaeyoung checked the rankings of mobile games in the App Market[2]. Among these exciting games, there was no way they were suitable for kids. Besides, the concept was like clothing that didn’t fit him. When the desktop appeared, he immediately opened a word processing program and started typing. Then he typed in the heading.

   ‘Project Outline.’

   If they liked that kind of plan, he would make it happen. Jaeyoung just didn’t give it much importance, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t follow the plan.

   [   

• Chapter 1, Market Research and Game Trend Analysis. 
• Chapter 2, Proposal to Change Game Genre.   
• Chapter 3, Proposal to Change Game Title. 
• Chapter 4, Concept and Plot. 
• Chapter 5, Scene Drafts, Characters, Weapons, Mobs[3].] 

   His fingers moved quickly, his eyes switching between the mobile screen and the computer screen. At the same time, one side of his brain analyzed while the other side thought about a new project idea. Amidst all this, a twisted sense of pride screamed that it shouldn’t be like this in the darkness.

   Jaeyoung finished analyzing the game market in the blink of an eye and decided to change the genre of the game to ‘Side-scrolling Shooting Game[4]’. He attached a description stating that it would be a

   platformjumping action game and left the game title blank, maybe because he was deeply lost in thought and his head was spinning with special ideas.

   He imagined a large farm invaded by extraterrestrials, contaminated with substances from outer space. Only mutated vegetables, influenced by the extraterrestrial forces, could withstand the attack of bizarre-shaped mutant animals. And the story of a passionate scientist striving to win the Nobel Prize in the field of biology brought him closer to the research center of the farm.

   Jaeyoung took a sheet of paper, drew a picture of a scientist holding a measuring tube as a weapon. As his mind raced, various ideas followed suit— his head became a hammer, corn became a long-range gun, seeds became bullets, pumpkin became dynamite, sweet potato became a hand grenade, and lettuce became a detonator.

   The pen moved frantically. Jaeyoung worked diligently, unaware that someone was calling him. Seojin, the person sitting next to him, tapped his shoulder and informed him of an incoming call. Without looking, Jaeyoung responded.

   “It might be Choi Yoona, tell her I can’t go.”

   “Sure! Oh, hello? Sunbae. I’m Seojin. Jaeyoung-sunbae said he can’t go… I don’t know why. It seems like he’s focused on doing something… I have no idea what it is… No, really. I’m not crazy like him. Sunbae, you want to talk to

   Yoona?”

   “Tell them I’m not going.”

   “Sunbae, Jaeyoung-sunbae said he can’t go… I don’t know either. Why are you cussing at me? Okay. I don’t know either. Seriously, sunbae… That’s all…

   Just this… Okay… Okay.”

   Seojin plugged in the cable and handed over the phone.

   “Yoona said she’ll kill you, sunbae.”

   Jaeyoung received a phone call and quickly checked if there were any similar concepts in the marketplace app. Yes, there were. How would this new project turn out? He returned with a confident face. At the same time, Sangwoo walked over and expressed his admiration.

   “Wow, that’s cool. What is it?”

   “It’s my study abroad scholarship.”

   Jaeyoung chuckled silently because he felt amused by his own mistake of missing an appointment with a friend and being engrossed in work. Chu Sangwoo, who could easily pull a graduate student who used to have fun every day out of his laziness, was truly amazing.

   This time, Jaeyoung was extremely confident. He was sure that praise would escape from the mouth that only made demeaning gestures, no doubt about it.

   The young man gritted his teeth and tightly grasped the pen.

   ⌘W.

   ________________________________________

[1]      Steampunk is a world that combines historical elements with the wonders of technology. It is different from Cyberpunk, which is a futuristic world created entirely by technology, and Dystopia, which refers to communities, societies, or places that are in a terrible state, such as being governed by oppressive regimes or facing natural disasters.

[2]      App Market, a mobile app download source, such as Play Store for Android or App Store for iOS.

[3]      Mob, short for Mobile, refers to characters controlled by the computer or commonly known as NPCs.

[4]      Side-scrolling Shooting Game is a shooting game where the screen scrolls in one direction, such as the game Contra by Konami.

[5]      Platform Jump Action is a game where the character can jump between platforms, overcome obstacles, or both to progress in the game.

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