After a long while, Jaeyoung spoke slowly. Strength poured into the hand that was holding the cell phone. Sangwoo was already holding the device tightly to his ear, but his grip got even tighter.
â Iâm planning to continue with <VeVen> as well.
âWith Veven as well,â he said. He was even using the postpositional article oddly.
â There are three big reasons, but the first one is that Iâve already done so much work, so it would be unfortunate to fold now. And I think the resulting product will be pretty decent as well.
âI agree.â
â Secondly, you said that you want to create a good portfolio. So I want to help until the end.
Those words rattled his heart like a loose drawer. Whether or not he knew if it made Sangwooâs heart feel that way, Jaeyoung said those words as if they were nothing.
â And the third reason isâŚ
He then paused.
â I want to tell you this in person.
âOk, then.â
â How about you? Are you going to continue?
âI definitely thought that you were going to quit. If you say that youâre going to do it until the end, then thereâs no reason for me not to, sunbae.â
â Ok, then sleep well andâŚ
The final part of Jaeyoungâs words were slow.
â See you tomorrow at the meeting.
Sangwoo didnât get the chance to say anything as the call had stopped.
Twenty one minutes of call time. It was the first time he had ever talked to someone for that long. Sangwooâs cheeks were about as hot as the temperature of an LCD. He turned off the lights and approached his bed like a zombie and collapsed.
return 0;
âLong time no see, Chu Lettuce.â
âIt hasnât even been a week since we last saw each other.â
âYou used to come by everyday before.â
Sangwoo entered the work studio while listening to Yunaâs meaningless words. Jaeyoung, who was sitting down on a chair with his back to him, pretended not to notice even when Sangwoo entered. Sangwoo put his backpack on an empty seat next to him and sat down on a chair.
âIâm here, sunbae.â
It was only then that Jaeyoung used his feet to turn his chair around. He was wearing a hoodie, but the face that he saw for the first time in a while looked tired. It was hard to pinpoint what the exact problem was, but he didnât seem to be in a good state.
âAre you ill?â
âHeâs been pulling all-nighters here for two days straight. A great workaholic has appeared.â
Yuna spoke as if she were Jaeyoungâs spokesperson or something. Sangwoo felt his face turn red and he covered his eyes with his palms.
âIdiot, who told you to work all night?â
Jaeyoung was great at avoiding things by taking short cuts, so Sangwoo didnât understand what was wrong with him all of a sudden. Sangwoo grabbed his cellphone while feeling slightly upset.
âIâve implemented the status of the title and the character, a portion of the world map and farm level one. The damage balance still needs to be adjusted, so take that into consideration.â
He ran the file he had transferred to his phone in advance and handed it over to Jaeyoung. He then sat down and looked at the ceiling.
âWhat is it? Whatâs happening? Is it an app test? I want to see it as well.â
âItâs still a prototype.â
âI really look forward to it.â
During Jaeyoungâs demonstration, Yuna looked back while chatting.
âOh, oh, oh, thatâs cool. Huh? Uh⌠Somethingâs not connecting well. Oh⌠Mm, I see. HAHAHA! What is that? Why is he walking like that? Itâs so stupidâŚâ
Unlike Yuna, who poured out malicious comments, Jaeyoung just operated the game with his long fingers as he stared at the screen with an exhausted expression. Sangwoo, who didnât have any thoughts at first, started to feel a bit anxious as his expression didnât change.
âSince this is still a demo, itâs a bit sloppy, right?â
âYou still canât just make it do whatever you want at first.â
One of Sangwooâs eyebrows rose.
âRight⌠This was too much, itâs not even a torpedo. Still, the game itself looks fun.â
Yuna went back to her seat, picked up her headphones, and shortly after that, Jaeyoung swept his eyes with his palm as he put down Sangwooâs phone.
âChu Sangwoo.â
âYes.â
âI told you the first day we met. Not everything will work.â
For some reason, Sangwoo nodded while feeling nervous. At last, Jaeyoung made eye contact with him for the first time that day. It was an ambiguous gaze that didnât tell him anything about what was on his mind. He quietly looked at Sangwoo and lowered his eyes as if he were tired.
âThe title, itâs too slow.â
âHow long is it? As agreed, it should be 1.8 secondsâŚâ
âCorrection. It looks too slow. Adjust it so it looks more speedy. Transparency changes are also slow when switching screens.â
âThe same thing with thatâŚâ
âCorrection. It looks slow, so speed it up. The basic way the character moves looks awkward. You heard what Yuna said, right? The way that the grenade flies is really weird. And it would be great to add an afterimage to the effect when the crystal appears⌠Iâll discuss this again later.â
Sangwoo took mental notes of everything Jaeyoung said. However, he was confused since he didnât tell him exactly what to do. Jaeyoung pointed out and added a few more things.
âIt doesnât matter that youâre a simple developer, but if you want to get a title as a producer, you canât do it senselessly.â
It was a direct hit. What was worse was that they were words that pierced through the feelings of discomfort that he had already pointed out. Jaeyoung often jokingly said that he was too cheesy or that he lacked imagination, but when they were working together, it was always Jaeyoung who was being scolded. It was the first time he experienced the opposite situation. He didnât like it, but Sangwoo had nothing to say.
âDonât make that face, and donât forget to collaborate with me.â
âWhat kind of expression was I making?â
âWell⌠Like the face of the top student in the entire school getting 79 points? Turn on your engine or something. Iâll let you know what Iâm trying to say.â
Sangwoo turned his laptop on without responding. He couldnât adapt as the vibe was different from usual. Perhaps it was because he had stayed up all night, but Jaeyoung didnât grumble as usual, and he didnât have any playfulness on his face. Until this point, it had been like a wild horse that needed to be coaxed, whipped and dragged somehow, but today he felt like a legit partner for some reason.
âYou donât know how to handle this part though, sunbae.â
âI looked it up a bit earlier. The GUI is pretty good. Itâs fine as long as you teach me the parts I donât know. Letâs look at the title first.â
Jaeyoung entered Sangwooâs territory. While sitting appropriately on the chair close to him, he didnât make any unnecessary contact and just looked at the monitor. Still, Sangwoo felt a nervousness similar to when he would stare at him or stroke his head.
âHow many seconds should we make it then?â
âLetâs not change the time, but make it slightly larger and then smaller at the correct size.â
âAbout what size⌠Is 110% okay?â
âDonât think about getting the numbers right, but check how it feels yourself.â
The moment he was caught off-guard, Jaeyoungâs hand covered the back of Sangwooâs hand, which was holding the mouse. Jaeyoung was looking at the monitor so seriously that Sangwoo missed the timing to withdraw his hand.
âOh⌠Oh, oh?â
While in a hurry, Jaeyoung grabbed the back of his hand and moved the mouse. He moved the mouse with an indifferent expression in order to change the timeline and adjust the size of the image.
âHow do you preview it?â
Sangwoo was so distracted by those words that he withdrew his hand and pressed the shortcut key. The result of Jaeyoungâs touch appeared in a new window. The time was exactly the same as before, but it looked much more dynamic by just using a little bit more effect. Sangwoo stared at the monitor.
âChu Sangwoo.â
âYes.â
âItâs not a competitive relationship. Donât forget to collaborate. When it comes to graphics, do you think I know better or you do?â
âSunbae.â
âThen who should be the leader?â
âSunâŚbae.â
Jaeyoung didnât speak for a while. When Sangwoo turned his head around, he made obvious eye contact with him.
Yuna was just working with her head moving to the beat as before. Jaeyoung, who confirmed that she wasnât listening, lowered his voice and continued.
âHuman relationships are not done alone. Can you decide on your own what the two of us agreed on and cancel it?â
The topic had suddenly changed. Jaeyoung didnât seem to pay any interest in the monitor anymore. Sangwoo met his persistent gaze.
âNo.â
âYou were wrong, right?â
âI donât know.â
âI wonât accept quitting. Iâll explain the reason now, so listen carefully.â Jaeyoung said while neither avoiding his eyes nor blinking.
âIf youâre next to me, you struggle because of your sexual desire, right? You donât seem to know this, but normal people get closer to each other in those cases in order to relieve that desire. They say itâs a proven method. What weâve done is barely something to define failure. That was too hasty of a conclusion.â
âI made an effort as well.â
âIt seems the decisive reason you asked me to stop was because of the video. Your research was too insufficient.â