WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Potter

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Game Director that Returned from Hell ◈

Chapter 15

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Back when I was still working at the company.

In other words, back when every game I released was a complete flop.

There was one comment that followed all my games without fail.

『Why not just make music videos at this point? How does a game have nothing going for it except the sound?

└ fr the sound is insanely good, but the game is hopeless. You have to start paying right away just to play. Couldn't get into it.

└ That's nCash for you.』

Glowing praise for the sound.

The in-game background music, sound effects like hit sounds, the music behind the cinematics, and every other element the players could hear.

The soundtracks were so impressive that even players who trashed the games had nothing but praise for them.

People even said, “The sound team is AAA quality.”

But there was something those people didn't know.

On my team, in my games...

“Boss! I've finished all of this!”

There had only ever been one person handling the sound.

“What should I do now? Want me to knock out a few more background tracks?”

Her name was Jo Ayun.

Her trademarks were long hair dyed pink right down to the roots, a green tracksuit that brought a tree frog to mind, and a mischievous grin.

She'd earned her high school diploma through an equivalency exam and hadn't gone to college.

She'd been teaching herself music since elementary school and had started composing in middle school.

Those were terrible qualifications for someone applying to a major company.

There was a simple reason she'd managed to get hired anyway.

“This is incredible. This applicant's really good, huh?”

Her portfolio, a collection of music she'd been making since middle school, had received an enthusiastic response both inside and outside the company.

She was what people called a special hire.

The reason she'd ended up under me was a slightly sad story of office politics.

“Still, her education is a bit... And we don't know whether she can adapt to working in a group.”

“Really? Then, Yeonho, why don't you put her through her paces?”

“...Yes, understood.”

Companies valued someone's ability to fit into a group as much as their individual skills.

That was part of why they looked at prestigious degrees and awards from outside organizations.

But aside from her portfolio, Jo Ayun was a complete unknown.

That was how we first met.

“I'm your team leader starting today. I look forward to working with you.”

“Oh, a hottie.”

“What?”

“I look forward to working with you!”

Jo Ayun was a free spirit.

Contrary to the higher-ups' worries, she got along well with people and always did her share of the work properly.

Even though I wasn't a particularly good boss, she'd followed my instructions and shown me genuine kindness.

That was why I'd thought:

Oh, she'll move to a better team for the next project.

We won't be working together for long.

I'd tried to keep my distance. Then one remark from her had shattered that expectation.

“Huh? I asked them to let me keep working with you.”

Her tone had been as casual as if she were telling me what she'd eaten for lunch.

She'd kicked away an opportunity that had landed right in her hands and chosen to stay under an idiot like me.

Even when I asked why, she wouldn't tell me.

All I could guess was that she'd stubbornly taken on the higher-ups and gotten what she wanted.

There was something else I remembered.

“You're quitting, boss? Seriously?”

She'd been very angry when I told her I was leaving.

“Aw, why?! Let's do just one more! Please? We haven't made a successful game yet!”

I'd felt guilty.

Of everyone at the company, she was the only person I'd felt guilty about telling I was leaving.

I'd been ashamed of how understanding she'd been, and grateful that she'd stayed in touch afterward.

Sometimes, I wondered.

“Boss! Boss!”

At the end of my previous life, when I'd suddenly died, what had happened afterward to the person who'd been on the phone with me?

Had that time been erased? Or would it continue to exist, separate from this timeline?

Of course, I had no way of knowing.

So I could only do what was within my power.

In this life, I wanted to repay her.

More than that, I wanted us to reach the top together.

Now, I was taking the first step.

[AyuningS2: Hii~!]

I greeted the young Jo Ayun on the other side of the screen, whom I'd grown close to over the past few days.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: hi hi]

We were strangers who only knew each other online. There was still that distance between us.

Under normal circumstances, it would take a long time before we met in person.

After all, she'd said she was a severe shut-in. Wouldn't it take months to earn her trust and get her outside?

Unfortunately, I didn't have that kind of time.

I'd have to use a slightly drastic method.

And I already knew one.

“How did I end up leaving my room? I got scammed in a game. That was when I thought, ‘Am I really going to let some bastard scam me and just sit in my room crying about it? Just you wait, scammer! I'll become someone so amazing you won't even dare look me in the eye! I'm not going down like this!’ Something like that.”

“What kind of logic is that?”

“That's a shut-in for you. Anyway, that's how I ended up taking the equivalency exam, keeping up with music, and even getting this job, right? Huh. When you put it that way, I guess I owe that guy a lot.”

Apparently, being scammed in a game had filled her with enough anger to leave her room.

'Hmm...'

I sank deep into thought.

[AyuningS2: Yeono~ you AFK~?]

How should I scam her?

* * *

Jo Ayun, seventeen years old.

Her likes were composing music, multigrain rice, and staying in her room.

Her dislikes were sunlight, people her own age, and her mother's nagging.

Her day was off to a bad start.

All three things she hated had come at her at once that morning.

“Hey! Ayun! Open your curtains once in a while! It's morning, so get up! Look outside! All the other kids are heading out in their uniforms. What on earth are you doing?”

“Aah... Close the curtains...”

Ayun whined, pulling the blanket over her head.

A month ago, she'd dropped out of high school after being bullied just one week into her first year.

Ayun needed some time to soothe her wounded heart.

The reason she couldn't get up today was that she'd been gaming all night, but that was beside the point.

After a few little whimpers, her mother let out a deep sigh and stopped nagging.

“...At least eat before you go back to sleep. I made your favorite multigrain rice and pan-fried meat patties.”

“Mmm...”

Click.

Her mother left the room.

Only then did Ayun peek out from under the blanket.

Meat patties were one of her favorites, but she'd have to pass today.

She had a more important appointment.

Whirrr.

Ayun immediately turned on her computer and clicked the mushroom-shaped icon on the desktop.

Ding-ding!

Cheerful opening music flowed through her headset.

Maple Saga.

It was the game that Ayun, an aspiring shut-in gaming addict, was completely hooked on.

Lately, her obsession had grown even worse.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: hi]

Because she'd made a friend.

A friend!

What a sweet word!

A real friend who didn't say things like, “Why are you such a show-off?” or “You're acting like a gold digger,” or “You seriously think you're some kind of princess,” the way people did in real life!

With a friend she could share her worries and go on adventures with, how could she possibly leave her computer?

[AyuningS2: Heyyy~!]

Username: YeonhoKingOfAwesome. Real name: probably Yeonho.

A week ago, this friend had approached her and asked for help killing Mush Father.

Since then, they'd played together for around ten hours a day, sharing their deepest thoughts and growing closer.

A rough account of how they'd become friends went like this.

[AyuningS2: I got bullied... T_T]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: you too? same here. they called me a pretentious art freak.]

[AyuningS2: You too? That must've been awful T_T]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: so what are your hobbies? i draw.]

[AyuningS2: I compose music! omg can I see your drawings?]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: ok but let me hear your music too]

People who'd suffered the same pain were bound to understand each other.

Bullying, dropping out of school, and artistic hobbies. Yeonho could even draw better than college students!

Above all, they both logged in for ten hours a day. With everything fitting together as if heaven itself had arranged it, how could she not like this friend more and more?

Today was no different.

[AyuningS2: Yeono! Let's do a party quest!]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: ok]

It was their first attempt at a high-level party quest.

Thinking about taking on this new challenge with her friend, Ayun had even carefully read a guide on an internet blog the day before.

She was nervous, but knowing Yeonho would be there helped her feel a little better.

Maybe they could hang around town and chat once the party quest was over.

Just as Ayun was thinking that...

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: hey, btw.]

[AyuningS2: Yeah?]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: can you do me a favor?]

[AyuningS2: What is it?]

A sudden favor? Was it urgent?

Ayun asked sympathetically.

Then the answer came.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: i wanna move some items from another account, but it's hard on my own. i'll give you the items from that account, then you give them to this character.]

Oh, so Yeonho had several accounts!

Apparently, the plan was to start building up YeonhoKingOfAwesome properly.

That would mean bringing over items from another account!

[AyuningS2: Okey-dokey~]

Ayun readily agreed.

Why would she refuse a friend's request?

After a brief silence, Yeonho replied.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: um... sorry to bring this up first, but...]

[AyuningS2: Yeah?]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: can i test something real quick? like a trust test between friends.]

A trust test? What did that mean?

As she wondered, Yeonho explained.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: i've been stabbed in the back before, so i have trouble trusting friends... that's why i'd like some collateral first.]

In truth, if she'd thought about it even a little rationally, she might have noticed something suspicious.

But it was 2009, a time when the wild side of the internet hadn't yet worked its way deep into everyday life. And Ayun was an innocent teenager who felt bad about refusing the friend she'd finally made when he was opening up about old wounds.

She answered right away.

[AyuningS2: Okay! What should I give you as collateral?]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: gimme the weapon you've got equipped]

Ayun flinched.

Her weapon was the most expensive item she owned.

But refusing now made her feel like she'd be the bad person.

Her hesitation was brief.

She was caught up in the thought that refusing would mean losing Yeonho as a friend.

With trembling hands, Ayun typed.

[AyuningS2: O-okay!]

The trade window appeared.

Her heart trembling, Ayun dragged her weapon into it.

Then, right after the trade was complete...

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: thx thx. giving it back now.]

Ding!

Her weapon came back through the trade window.

'P-phew!'

Ayun felt deeply relieved, and then ashamed of herself.

To think she'd suspected her friend of betraying her! Could she be any uglier inside?

With her worries gone, a silly grin spread across her face.

Ayun typed into the chat.

[AyuningS2: All good now?]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: um... actually, not yet...]

[AyuningS2: Huh?]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: sorry, but can we do it one more time? with all your items this time T_T]

Yeonho had even typed a crying face!

This was a major event!

It was the first time Ayun had seen anything like it while chatting with Yeonho!

'Those wounds must run deep...!'

Feeling sorry for Yeonho from the bottom of her heart, Ayun replied.

[AyuningS2: Okay!]

Ding!

This time, she handed over all her items without hesitation.

Once the trade was complete...

[AyuningS2: Yeono! Give them back now!]

Yeonho's character stopped moving.

“Uh...?”

Ayun grew flustered.

There was no response to her trade requests or her messages. Her heart began to pound.

'L-lag?'

She waited five minutes, telling herself that.

By then, the dreadful possibility in Ayun's mind already felt certain, making her whole body tremble.

Then it became reality.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: lol]

The bald character who'd looked so familiar until a moment ago suddenly seemed terrifying.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: lmaoooooooooooo]

Yeonho's character began laughing like mad.

Ayun's mind went blank.

Her lips parted, unable to form a word.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: you actually fell for that lol]

<YeonhoKingOfAwesome has logged out!>

Yeonho's character vanished.

Only then did Ayun realize she'd been scammed.

* * *

Despair, as if the sky had come crashing down.

The sorrow of betrayal and resentment toward the person responsible flooded through her.

In the middle of that raging current of emotion, Ayun began searching every hunting ground suited to Yeonho's level on every channel, half out of her mind.

'I-I have to find him!'

She had to get her items back.

Beyond her emotional despair, Ayun had a very practical reason.

'I secretly bought cash to get those items!!!'

Ayun had bought her items by secretly charging game currency to the phone bill without her parents' permission!

Her thinking at the time had gone like this.

Getting caught and scolded was inevitable anyway. In that case, if she at least enjoyed the game before getting in trouble, she wouldn't have any regrets. That shortsighted judgment had led Ayun to commit her crime.

But now she'd lost all the items that were supposed to make the scolding worthwhile.

In other words, Ayun had landed in the worst possible situation: she'd lost her items and was still going to get yelled at.

Her eyes were bloodshot.

She was grinding her teeth so hard that foam gathered at her mouth.

The guy played ten hours a day. He had to be somewhere in the hunting grounds!

Clinging to that one hope, she spent about a day roaming the maps and finally managed to find Yeonho.

Ba-ba-bam!

Yeonho was hunting in a hunting ground.

With the very items he'd stolen from her.

Feeling her blood boil, Ayun immediately typed.

[AyuningS2: You son of a bitch!!!]

Yeonho's character stopped moving.

Then a message appeared.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: oh look, the idiot's here lol]

[AyuningS2: Give me back my items!]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: why should i?]

Ayun felt as if she couldn't breathe.

How could anyone be so shameless?

It was so unfair, and she was so furious, that she was on the verge of tears.

Countless words rose inside her, but there was only one thing she could put into the chat.

[AyuningS2: Just give them back... Those are my items...]

Yeonho was clearly the one in the wrong, yet she was the one begging.

Even as she felt how cruel that reality was, Ayun kept pleading.

Yeonho had only one answer.

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: got a problem? come fight me irl lol]

That was the moment.

Snap.

Something broke inside Ayun's head.

Her emotions exploded with a force that made everything she'd felt before seem small.

She was like an active volcano about to erupt.

Blood vessels stood out in the whites of her eyes.

Clack-clack-clack!

Ayun typed as if she meant to smash the keyboard.

[AyuningS2: Where do you live, you son of a bitch!]

[YeonhoKingOfAwesome: come to XX in Hongdae lol]

The instant the message appeared...

Clatter!

Ayun got up in the tracksuit she wore as pajamas, pulled a cap down over her head, and left her room.

“A-Ayun? Are you going outside?”

“I'll be back!”

Thud, thud!

She stomped to the front door and stormed out.

Her fists were clenched tight, and murder burned in her eyes.

Today, she was going to kill that guy, Yeonho!

Nothing but pedestrian crossings could stop Ayun as she charged ahead with determination!

At last, she reached Hongdae.

Her body jolted to a stop.

An adult man and woman were staring straight at her as she rushed up to the meeting place.

“Is that her, Seonbae?”

“Yeah.”

The man was handsome, and the woman was pretty.

No, that wasn't important.

'A-adults...!'

Adults. To Ayun, a seventeen-year-old shut-in and high school dropout, they were a wall far too high to climb!

Her legs shook.

'What do I do...!'

Ayun wanted to cry.

* * *

'It actually worked.'

Honestly, I'd started this with serious doubts. Seeing everything fall into place so perfectly surprised me.

I studied the young Jo Ayun.

'She's so different.'

Her hair wasn't pink like I remembered.

Jo Ayun had messy black hair, with bangs that covered her eyes, and she'd pulled her cap down almost to her nose.

Her confident posture was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was hunched in on herself.

About the only thing that was the same was the green tracksuit.

Had she been wearing that even back then?

“This tracksuit? It's my work uniform. I guess you could say I feel like I work better when I'm wearing it.”

Apparently, that hadn't been a lie.

It suddenly felt strange to realize that this bright, cheerful person really had once been such a timid kid.

“I'm telling you, I really was a precious little high school girl! Ugh, if only I could prove it.”

The hesitant face in front of me overlapped with the mischievous grin in my memories.

...No, I could save the reminiscing for later.

First, I needed to try talking to her...

“Hic...”

...Right?

“H-hic...”

Jo Ayun had started hiccuping.

Her eyes were wet beneath the brim of her cap.

Her legs trembled like a newborn foal's.

Jo Ayun suddenly grabbed my sleeve.

“...Please...”

Her voice was heartbreaking.

An uneasy tremor ran through it.

It didn't take long for me to realize something was going wrong.

More precisely, it happened right afterward.

“P-please give my items back... Please...! Waaaaah!”

Jo Ayun burst into bitter tears in the middle of the street.

People turned to stare.

Most painful of all was Han Seorim's gaze, which made me feel like a piece of garbage.

“Seonbae?”

“...”

My mind went blank for a moment.

One thought filled my head.

'Damage control.'

I needed damage control.

I took Jo Ayun's hand.

“...I'll give your items back, so could you stop crying first?”

But why did I feel like the bad guy?

Sound Director (2)

Footnotes:

Ayun's list of likes plays on similar Korean sounds: jakgok means composing, japgok means mixed grains, and bangkok is slang for staying shut in one's room.

Seonbae is a form of address for someone senior to the speaker at school or work.

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