Chapter 3

Chapter 1 part 3: A Run-Down Game Store

-Shaaaaa~~

I arrived at my house and finished showering with hot water . What happened just before? I thought that I was drunk and hallucinated everything up in my mind, but the Game & Watch that I got from the old man was still laying on the living room table when I came out of the shower .

“That’s weird…”

I sat down on the sofa wearing a casual attire and picked up the Game & Watch off the table . The big hand was pointing to 1 on the clock . It would be best to sleep quickly, but after this baffling event, I don’t think I can fall asleep easily .

-Thwack

The lid of the Game & Watch satisfyingly opened . The fact that the current Mintendo 3GS double screen design was copied from this very Game & Watch was well known .

‘This is simple to play but this is definitely fun… Yes, this is what a game should be . ’

-Beep . Beep, BeepBeep .

The monotonous beeps rang throughout the living room .

I didn’t even turn on the TV and all my attention was focused on the game . At first, the progression of the game was slow enough to make me yawn . However, as my score passed 100,000, the tempo of the game got faster little by little . The clients delayed the meeting time more and more and the boss kept leaving his position .

“The boss in this game is just like my boss in real life, hehe . ”

As I saw the client on the screen arriving late for the appointment time again, I added,

“This bastard here is the same as Mr . Han, no doubt about it . Setting the meeting times on a whim and always arriving late…”

I can’t lose here . I can’t lose . I moved my fingers as if they were possessed and controlled the character to finish the tasks .

I couldn’t help but gasp in surprise at how the game design made it possible to intuitively learn the game without a tutorial .

-BeepBeepBeep! BeepBeep! Beep! BeepBeepBeep!

The beeping music got increasingly faster along with my hand movements . The score already passed 300,000 and the character was now crazily teleporting left and right like a martial arts master .

‘A little more, almost there…’

-Beeooop… Game Over

In the end I wasn’t able to pass on the files to the boss while he left his position and I had to end the game with a high score of 528,000 .

“Ah, my fingers hurt… What time is it?”

I glanced over at the clock on the wall while I massaged my numb fingers .

“2:30 A . M? I was playing this freaking game for an hour and a half?”

A great game was like a time machine . The feeling that you get when you you’re focused on a game; I gave a bitter smile to the Game & Watch with a startled feeling .

As I looked at the screen, the rankings showed up . My score of 528,000 took the spot of 3rd place . The 2nd place had 800,000; the 1st place had 900,000 . How could I even get 1st place on this~

I pressed the confirmation button and passed the current screen . A new status window appeared in the top screen .

[Your score is being converted to your salary . The money that you earned from this game is 5,282,000 yen~]

“What? Salary…? Ah~ right, this was called The Employee’s Game . The score that you earn gets displayed as your salary . Interesting~”

There was a “Cumulative Salary” count below the score so it seemed like my score gets added onto my “Salary” every time I played .

“I earned 50 million won in an hour and a half . Haha~”

Although I invested an hour and a half of sleep time to this game, my mood wasn’t bad . I closed the Game & Watch and went to sleep, satisfied that I became rich in the game . The events that what occurred in the arcade store still worried me, but after being focused on the game for so long, I felt mentally drained and fell asleep quickly .

***

“I’m team leader, Kang Junhyuk, who will be working with you all from now on . ”

A greeting to my new department . Customer Support was in a completely different department than the Game Development department so the employees were somewhat familiar with each other but never had the chance to get close .

I was stuck almost all the time in the Game Development office, so it was a given that I would feel awkward with employees from other departments .

“Don’t worry about me and just do what you were doing . I need some time to adjust too . Haha…”

After I said that, I heard the murmurings of the employees from the small office . I think I heard the word ‘relegated’ being whispered .

Relegated… that was the right term to describe me . From team leader of the Game Development team to an office manager of the Customer Service department; it was no different than a knight becoming a foot soldier .

“8 Americanos please . ”

After ordering, I leaned on a chair and looked out the window while waiting for the coffees .

8 cups of coffee costed 36,000 Won ($36) . This was more than most of my meals, how much money did I have to spend this month again?

Even though I lived alone, my situation was such that the money left as soon as it came in in order to pay off my loans, so paying 36,000 Won felt expensive . I might have to starve myself at lunch for a few days just to buy coffee for my new employees .

A little later, I wanted to make sure there were no errors with the payment process and checked my bank account balance through my smartphone . What I saw next made me gasp and swallow a mouthful of air .

“Wh-What is this?”

A balance of 53,000,000 Won? There was no way I would have a balance of over 50 million Won in my bank account! What is this, a new type of scam? I quickly took a look at the transfer history . 2:30 A . M . 52,820,000 Wons transferred from Game & Watch .

(TL: 53,000,000 is $53k . Just take off 3 zero’s at the end of Korean Won’s to convert it to dollars for future reference)

I blankly stared at the smartphone screen before rubbing my eyes . However, the money that came into my account was exactly the same amount as my game score . The only difference was that the Yen in the game was converted to Wons .

“Excuse me~!! Customer . Here are the coffees that you ordered~!!”

The voice of the cashier startled me as I looked toward the counter . As if they had called me several times, there was a hint of annoyance on the cashier’s face .

“Ah, sorry . I was thinking about something else…”

I hurriedly picked up the coffees and left the coffee shop . However, my thumping heart had yet to calm down so I sat on a bench to rest .

Calm down… Kang Junhyuk . Something amazing is happening to me, but I have to keep my composure .

A while later, I barely managed to calm myself down and went into the Customer Service department, holding the Coffees .

“Hey guys, coffee’s on me, come get some . ”

“Ah, okay… Thank you . ”

After passing out the coffees by hand to my future co-workers, it felt as if the awkward atmosphere was slightly lifted .

***

Lunch time .

I took out the Game & Watch from my backpack while the department employees all left for lunch and I sat alone in the office .

‘So this “Employee’s Game” apparently pays you in real life, huh?’

-Thwack

I opened the lid to the Game & Watch to try this out again .

-Beep Beep Beep

The quiet office rung with the melodious game music, I started to focus on the game so much that I forgot my hunger . How many minutes have flown by like that?

“Hmm? Team leader you haven’t had lunch yet?”

I was startled by the employee’s voice and lost the game tempo, so I had to give up on the game .

-Pi-Bee-Beep

GAME OVER . I achieved a score of 37 million after playing for about an hour .

“Ah, Mr . Narae . You came back already? You could have taken more time with your lunch break . ”

“I’m fine . I just had to check something really quick…”

I clicked the confirmation button on the Game & Watch and showed an awkward smile . I diverted my eyes to the screen and saw my score, that was in the top 5 leaderboard, being added to my salary in the game . Now~ should I confirm it?

I took out my smartphone and pressed the banking app .

37,453,000 Wons transferred by Game & Watch . Sure enough, it was real . A smile crept up to my face without me realizing . How could I resist smiling when I’ve earned 37 million won in just one hour?

In less than a day, money close to a billion won came rolling in to my account .

(TL: Refresher, a billion won = $100k)

***

Before leaving work that day, I walked to the CEO’s office while holding a white envelope .

“Come in . ”

-Creeaaakkk

As I opened the door and walked in, the CEO, who was picking his nose sitting on a leather chair in a tiny office, stared at me .

“Team leader Kang? What’s the problem?”

“Sir, I’m quitting this company . ”

“What?”

“The Customer Service department doesn’t suit me after all . There’s no need to replace me anyways because I got transferred yesterday, right? So please give me the resignation letter right away . ”

“Hey, Mr . Kang . Are you making a demonstration right now because you’re dissatisfied with your situation?”

“No, I would have quit yesterday if that was the case . I thought about it carefully for a day and I made the decision because I saw no future for me in this company anymore . ”

“What did you say? Hah~ this really is . ”

“This was the company that I’ve been worked 15 years for . I wasn’t a big figurehead but I managed to climb up to my position with my hard work . However, now I can’t stand this any longer . ”

“Alright, alright, Mr . Kang . What do you want? Do you want me to move you back to the Game Development department?”

“No . I just want to leave . ”

“This gentlemen . You’ve made up your mind about this . ”

“Yes, I want to quit . ”

“Where are you planning to work after you leave? You see, nobody will welcome you and your games in this field anymore . ”

(TL: Typically it’s hard to find another job in Korean once you get fired from a company when you’re old . )

“I know that . ”

“A person who knows this very well is acting like this?”

“I want to make a game of my own . ”

“What?”

That was the last conversation with the CEO of the company, whom I’ve dedicated the last 15 years of my life to .

***

“Now~ should I start?”

5 days after quitting my company . I showered with hot water and made my body and mind as relaxed as possible .

I can do this, I can do this .

For a moment, I took a moment to gather my mind and flex my fingers . They moved gracefully as if they were tapping piano tiles .

Good~ Let’s start .

-Thwack

With a resolute mind, I adjusted my posture and picked up the Game & Watch . I was aiming to beat the No, 1 score in the leaderboard today . My personality was to finish everything I’ve started; I’ve been playing this game non-stop for the past 5 days .

The outcome being, my current balance in the bank was close to 200 billion Won . I managed to get the No . 2 spot last night but unfortunately was 300 points away from 1st place . Due to that, I howled in frustration for quite some time last night .

It was enough to make my downstairs neighbor ring my doorbell . You can feel the mental torture I had to go through, right?

-Phew… I can do this .

With a long sigh, after I pressed the start button to the game that I’ve played for the last 5 days, the “Employee’s Game” started .