LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 4
Chapter 4 – Park Da-Hye (2)
—–CROW—–
“Games… you say?”
Seriously? Giving up a job because of games?
“Yes! I have to play games, so I don’t have much time.”
Hmm. Right. That’s… possible.
I understand how you feel.
As your senior in life, and as a fellow gamer, I feel the same way.
How happy would I be if I could quit this crappy job and play games all day long?
Hehehe, just thinking about it makes me feel good.
But, but you see…
If you do that, you’ll starve to death, kiddo.
“Excuse me… what game do you play…?”
“Billion Saga! Do you know it?”
Oh, a comrade.
What a twist of fate.
Of all things, to be asked if I know Billion Saga by a twenty-year-old kid.
My, my, I’m… an eight-year veteran.
But knowing Billion Saga better than anyone made me even *more* confused by Park Da-Hye.
“Of course. But Billion Saga is quite an old game. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to buy gold with your salary than to play directly?”
“Wow, you really know… You’re right about that, Assistant Manager. But…”
“But?”
“It’s not about leveling up my character, it’s because of a friend.”
This girl is a serious case.
What kind of idiot throws away a job because of a game?
A friend?
That’s even funnier! You can meet your game friends after work! Doesn’t everyone have game friends?
I have KimPokDaughter!
As I was thinking about how to respond without offending her and persuade her, Park Da-Hye spoke first.
“And more than anything, my drawing skills are lacking.”
“I can vouch for your skills. The illustrations you sent are ready for release as they are.”
“But that… took a while.”
“The working time? How long did it take?”
“Seventy…”
“Seventy hours? That’s not bad?”
“Days…”
“…”
Emergency! Emergency!
Alarm bells went off in my head.
And at the same time, *buzz*, a bell rang.
Not an emergency bell, but the cafe’s buzzer.
*I should have known when we scheduled the meeting through KakaoTalk.*
*This is why… we need to get resumes, you clueless manager!*
No matter how skilled she is, seventy days is ridiculous.
Even I could produce an illustration in seventy days if I had a thousand reference materials.
*Manager Park… you were wrong this time.*
I can persuade any stuck-up artist, but I can’t do anything about a lack of efficiency.
I had no choice but to abandon all my plans.
“I see… It did take a long time.”
“I’m sorry for having you come all this way. I didn’t send the illustrations for a job… I just wanted to ask if I could sell them.”
“The illustrations were so good that our manager got a little carried away. Did you learn to draw somewhere?”
“No. That was my first time drawing. I drew little by little while playing games.”
“You must have worked hard.”
Tsk. Wasting my vacation day on something like this.
Ugh… Manager Park…
I’ll gratefully accept those four consecutive days off. Hehe.
It’s over, it’s over.
My professional spirit, burning bright this morning, was extinguished in an instant.
Now that I’m relaxed, I’m suddenly sleepy.
Did I even sleep for an hour or two last night?
I couldn’t fall asleep at all because of my insomnia.
The contract is out the window.
Now all I can think about is going home and playing games.
As soon as I get home, I’ll turn on my computer, and um… come to think of it, KimPokDaughter won’t be there today.
That’s a shame.
The Billion Saga world without KimPokDaughter.
Just imagining it is terrifying.
Suddenly, I have a lot of free time.
I took a sip of the cappuccino I didn’t even like.
Even though the meeting was a failure, I was happy to see a pretty face for a change.
Her innocent smile felt like a cleanse for my soul.
And that pretty face is currently buried in a mousse cake.
“Is it good?”
“Yes… It’s really, really good. You should try it, Assistant Manager!”
It must be nice to be young.
The perfect age for that.
The age where there are many delicious things to experience, many things to be excited about, and no need to be at the mercy of work.
She scooped a large portion of cake with her fork and offered it to me.
“I’m fine. I don’t like cake.”
“Huh? Then why did you order cheesecake?”
“In case you wanted more. Both are yours, so take your time.”
“Wow… Thank you! I’ll eat quickly since you’re busy!”
“I’m leaving work right after this. I have plenty of time, so eat slowly.”
“Heehee. Really?”
You’re so cheerful.
Every time Park Da-Hye took a bite of cake, she cupped her cheeks and went “Mmm~”
With her beauty and those reactions, anyone would think she was filming a commercial.
Meanwhile, she took one sip of the cappuccino and hasn’t touched it since.
When was the last time coffee didn’t taste bitter to me?
I can’t even remember.
Should I do a little balancing act for this poor newbie?
“Park Da-Hye.”
“Yes, Assistant Manager!”
“Do you see the bottles on that shelf over there?”
“Yes, yes, I see them.”
“That’s syrup. Try putting in two pumps.”
“Whoa… How did you know what I was thinking?”
“I have the ability to read minds just by looking at people’s expressions.”
“No way, you’re lying.”
Of course, I’m lying.
Park Da-Hye hummed happily as she added the syrup, then gave me a thumbs-up.
Thumbs-up back at you.
Good luck, comrade. Let’s endure this fake world until the day a multiverse game comes out.
Until she finished the mousse cake and the cappuccino, Park Da-Hye didn’t stop smiling.
Completely oblivious to the glances from around us.
Well, it’s natural for people to stare.
How can someone look so happy just eating a piece of cake?
Even I, who have severed ties with women, find it heartwarming.
Thanks for the entertainment, comrade.
But now, bye-bye.
I’m going to play games.
“We’ll have an internal meeting to determine the price for your illustrations and then make you an offer. Please send the original files by Wednesday.”
“Email? I already sent the files.”
“The original files with the layers intact. We need them for post-processing.”
“Layers?”
“Yes, layers. Surely this isn’t a single layer, is it?”
Digital drawings are created by separating the elements of the illustration into multiple layers.
For example, even for a single illustration, the main character is separate, the background is separate, the plants are separate, the props are separate.
This is to ensure efficient workflow.
Those layers are called… layers.
Even I, who am not an illustrator, know that.
But, what’s this?
That expression… she doesn’t know what layers are?
No way?
“Don’t tell me… this is hand-drawn?”
“Whoa. Is it not okay if it’s hand-drawn?”
Seriously?
I couldn’t tell from looking at it on my phone, but now I see it’s scanned.
To draw such a complex illustration with paint…
I knew she was a genius, but this is impressive.
“It’s not that, but… you’re quite remarkable.”
In any case, it was good for us.
If the original is in good condition, we might be able to use it for exhibitions at festivals.
“It might actually increase its value.”
“Really!?”
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. We’ll have to discuss it in the meeting. So, what about the original?”
“I live nearby. I can give it to you right now!”
“Nearby?”
“Yes!”
She lives near the cafe? But she said this was her first time ordering coffee?
**
6th floor of the cafe building.
[Renaissance Residence]
“I’ll be right back! Please wait a moment.”
Park Da-Hye dragged me upstairs.
Then she left me in the residence’s common room and disappeared.
Twenty years old, no worries about a job, not studying… I thought she was rich.
Living in a residence?
It was incredibly run-down, probably built during the Renaissance period, judging by the name.
I should have waited at the cafe.
Sitting in a residence’s common room after all this time…
*Sigh… The PTSD is kicking in.*
I lived in a residence once, too.
For three years, after cutting ties with my family at twenty and coming to Seoul alone.
The cheapest place, with no windows and shared bathrooms.
I cried a lot, and endured a lot.
I’m lucky to have escaped, but it seems Park Da-Hye is still living it.
Good luck, comrade. Someday, you’ll see the light.
I need to get the illustration and get out of here.
I might throw up if I stay here any longer.
I’m already feeling nauseous.
“Ahhh!”
Just then, I heard a scream from down the hall.
I ran over and saw Park Da-Hye with a distraught expression, standing in a room with the door open.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
In her hand, she held a piece of drawing paper stained with red liquid.
“Is that… the original?”
“Sigh… What should I do? I spilled ramen broth on it. I should have cleaned it up sooner.”
Broth? It’s not even paint.
The existing paint had dried hard, so the paper itself was fine, but the red liquid had stained it.
“Well, it’ll be alright. We can fix it during digital processing. We won’t be able to use it for exhibitions, though.”
“Ugh… Why am I always like this… I’m sorry.”
She doesn’t need to apologize to me.
It just means the price will go down, or the chances of it being rejected in the meeting are higher.
I just hope the other one is intact.
More importantly, the problem is *my* condition.
I’m in no state to care about illustrations right now.
My nausea had escalated to a splitting headache.
I felt like screaming.
It was because of Park Da-Hye’s room.
This room… what is this?
Clothes piled up on the bed.
Dust on the floor, and the desk covered with ramen bowls and empty lunchboxes.
Right, the life I knew six years ago.
Exactly like that.
Memories I desperately wanted to forget came flooding back.
“Oh! Right… I didn’t clean my room!”
Park Da-Hye’s eyes widened, even more so than when she saw the cake.
She’ll cry if I tease her now.
I had unintentionally entered Park Da-Hye’s room.
* * *
—–CROW—–
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