Chapter 8.4

“I expected a lot because you said you’re original, but I’m disappointed.”

It was something he had been prepared to hear, but the words were too strong. Jaeyoung got annoyed, but folded his arms and slouched on the chair as if he were unaffected.

“The title and the plan remain the same, and you only modified the character. Does this art style fit our concept?”

Sangwoo put three sheets of papers with characters drawn on them on the desk. It was difficult to call them pretty fingers, since the bones were very prominent. Jaeyoung nevertheless felt a desire to put his hands in his mouth and rub the bones with his tongue. Those same fingers now slightly pulled down the ball cap and were then returned to their former place beneath the desk.

“I told you that it is for children. Young parents are potential customers, but if they’re in their right mind, they wouldn’t let their children play this type of game.”

Jaeyoung recovered his senses and stared into Sangwoo’s eyes that were partially-covered by the ball cap.

“Which part?”

The mouth, which was closed and in a straight line, was shaped in a way that displayed dissatisfaction. Sangwoo’s finger reappeared and pointed to the first character. It must not have been long since he had cut his nails because they were very short. The white half-moon pattern looked clear.

“This eggplant character: it looks like a thug with a bad kidney. It’s not a horror game.”

Sangwoo put the paper aside and pointed to the second character.

“Is this a lettuce or a celery? I can’t tell at all. It’s an educational game, so you can’t make it like this.”

It was the third character’s turn to be criticized and rejected.

“Logically, it isn’t right for sprouting potatoes to walk around on their buds.  The visual is frightening. Is this really the best way for them to move?”1

Jaeyoung forced a smile, because he was speechless. He thought that Sangwoo didn’t have an eye for these things, since he had passed on the plan without coming up with any solutions of his own, but Sangwoo had his own standards. Moreover, he couldn’t laugh it off since it made sense.

Jaeyoung stared blankly at the sketch. In the case of the eggplant, there was a grotesque feeling that reflected his own personal tastes. The potato was fine, but he didn’t know how to deal with its legs. This is why he had forced it to sprout, in spite of thinking it was a bit strange while drawing them. The lettuce was the result of having scribbled enough to fill three pages. However, he had something to say.

“What did you expect in a day, you devilish bastard.”

It was seven minutes of work in total, so it wasn’t actually a full day. Even though he had spent less than an hour on it, Jaeyoung still banged the table as he said this. Putting employees to work on an unreasonable schedule was further evidence the employer didn’t know the field well. However, Sangwoo replied without shame.

“I don’t expect things from just anyone. It’s because it’s sunbae that I’m this way.”

“…”

Those words hurt even more. He’d rather be criticized and fight back, but he lost his nerve after hearing such a thing.

What is this?

The tightening of the heart Jaeyoung felt was an unpleasant sensation. No matter how much he would emphasize that it wasn’t the result of doing his best, Chu Sangwoo wouldn’t listen.

“I’ll go with the original plan.”

“No.”

“Then do you have an alternative at least?”

Sangwoo’s sharp but emotionless eyes turned to Jaeyoung. The cap’s brim partially covered them. Jaeyoung was thankful for that cap today.

“I’ll redo the planning. From the very beginning.”

“There’s no time to waste, though.”

“It’s fine as long as I get it done by the next meeting. When… it’s on Monday.”

Jaeyoung frowned. What kind of person sets up a meeting every day? Now that he was looking closely at the schedule, he saw that there was a meeting each day except for the weekend, which was when Sangwoo worked part-time. He said he had a tight schedule, so he had thought he’d turn it around quickly and focus on email-related work. To him, Jaeyoung didn’t seem reliable enough not to be personally checked up on every day.

Jaeyoung’s gaze turned toward Sangwoo’s firm lips. Would that mouth refrain from grunting at him and instead say nice things if he brought him work that was to his satisfaction?

‘I’ll be in touch, hyung.’

The unexpected voice was much more tenderly altered than it had been in reality. He had only heard gentle sounds from Sangwoo once thus far. And in that short moment, Jaeyoung had been completely KO’d. Jaeyoung shook his head to shake off that dangerous memory.

“If you’re set on that, I’ll give you the weekend.”

Sangwoo made it seem as if he were doing him a favor by giving him a few more days.

“Email the material by midnight on Sunday…”

“I won’t send it, so don’t try to pressure me by calling.”

“Why?”

“That’s not how I work. There are times when I can’t get anything done and will wait until a few hours before the deadline to finish it.”

Sangwoo’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t seem to like those words.

“It’s like a bomb that’s about to explode.”

“If you can’t handle that much of a difference in working styles, doesn’t that mean you’re not qualified to be a leader? Even if I work this way, I’ve never missed the deadline for an important project.”

“How important is this project?”

“I don’t know. That depends on what you do.”

“That’s just a very vague answer.”

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Footnotes