Winter Hero (1)
How many adults truly worthy of respect do we really et in our lifeti?
Isn't it likely that most of us never encounter even a single one?
In that sense, I have been a lucky person.
First of all, I have chairman Jung Kyung-chul in my life.
And now, I was able to et soone like division director Oh Kang-il as well.
I politely expressed my respect to division director Oh Kang-il and left the negotiation table. Choi Hyena spoke up.
"Division director Oh Kang-il seems like a truly deep-hearted person."
"Yes, that's true. To repay that heart, what I can do for Next Planet is..."
I paused to organize my thoughts.
"I suppose it's to do everything I want to, as much as possible."
Choi Hyena tilted her head.
"That's oddly different from the usual things you say, division director-nim. Normally, you would have said you'll do what you can."
"That's right."
"Why has it changed?"
"I guess I've gained so self-confidence. Now, believing in myself and doing what I want is the best course. That's the conviction I hold now."
Choi Hyena frowned and put her hand to her chin, pondering for a while, then cocked her head again.
"This really isn't like you, division director-nim. Normally, I'm the one suggesting this kind of thing, not you."
"Honestly, I'm not sure if it's true confidence, or if I just want to receive affirmation. I just thought that from the mont you have to make decisions like firing soone, you need to have this kind of resolve."
"This... now you do sound like a division director. But aren't you scared?"
"About what?"
"I haven't known you for that long, but the division director-nim I know would be afraid of getting too high-handed and overbearing."
As expected of Hyena.
She was right. I was scared. The idea that so many people were looking at with hope in their eyes.
And the way I push myself so hard to live up to those expectations. I do worry that I might take things too far sotis.
But—
"At those tis, I trust that Hyena-nim or the other mbers will rein in as needed. So it's fine."
***
Just as promised, the Operations Division carried out its personnel restructuring.
In the first round, twenty people were set to be laid off.
At Evening Star, an active recruitnt referral program was promised to help these employees.
I did everything I could. Now, what I had to do was move onto the next step.
I went to Pangyo with Event & Performance Team leader Park Seok-min. We planned to visit Next Global for a matter regarding AR devices and content.
Once again, my forr boss, director Kim Cheolhun, head of the External Business Office, greeted .
"Division director Lee Hyunmin, good to see you again. But aren't you coming a bit too often these days?"
"There's just so much where we need Next Global's help."
"Well, it's good when we help each other. I watched the 'Your Touch' music video challenge. I never would have thought soone from our company would be the first participant. What was her na again?"
Thanks to Min Ji-na sparking a sensation from the very start, the 'Your Touch' music video challenge project was soaring in popularity.
Applications were pouring in.
"It's Min Ji-na. She joined the company the sa ti I did."
"Ah... I see."
"It was all thanks to director-nim's help."
"No, it's division director-nim Hyunmin who's done so well. And we got so data on how to best utilize AR, so we benefited too."
I sought his advice about manufacturing the AR device, and we also talked about the content that would go into it.
"Division director Hyunmin, do you want to use Next Global's ga IP for your content because of financial issues?"
"Not necessarily. I'm hoping for synergy with Next Global..."
"You once said if you want Next Global to interfere less, you'd have to be less dependent on us..."
My old boss smirked.
He clearly saw right through . The truth was, it really was about money.
Making the AR device cost money—but the real issue was the content.
We could always outsource and get sothing cheap.
But even if our custors were preschool children, that would still be disrespectful to them.
Young children might like simple content. But 'simple' doesn't an dull and low quality.
That's why we wanted to use Next Global's technical resources.
Honestly, if we had to buy content of Next Global's quality from sowhere else, it would cost an astronomical amount.
Counting updates and maintenance, it would easily be hundreds of millions.
My old boss smiled warmly.
"I'll ask all the studios and subsidiaries to actively cooperate with you, division director-nim Hyunmin. Take whatever you need. However, in this case, we'll be charging for the outsourcing and IP usage fees."
"Thank you so much for your help."
I bowed respectfully to him.
Although he acted as if it were a normal business deal, in truth, he was helping us out a trendous amount.
No way would they charge exorbitant fees for outsourcing or the IP.
And from the perspective of the studios and subsidiaries, having their own workload increased did them no favors, just to help .
"One more thing: if you receive Next Global's support, you have to use only Next Global's ga content for the next five years."
An exclusivity clause—well, that was more than fair. It was hardly a trade where we would lose out.
Thus, team leader Park Seok-min and I began to tour Next Global's studios.
In the Next Global building in Pangyo, there were dozens of internal studios and subsidiaries.
It's easiest to think of each studio as its own company, usually running one to three ga projects at a ti.
That ant we had to check out dozens of projects, including those still in developnt.
First, at Next Global, we decided to check out 'Talesmon,' their flagship children's ga.
'Talesmon' was about to launch—a casual ga targeting elentary schoolers as its primary audience.
The gaplay centered on building villages and living together and hunting with cute and charming monsters.
This was also the item brought to us by the forr Marketing & PR Team leader.
After checking out more than ten other gas in addition to 'Talesmon,' we took a break in the in-house cafeteria.
"What do you think?"
Team leader Park Seok-min fell into thought for a mont.
"I still think 'Talesmon' is probably the best choice..."
"Is there sothing you're unsure about? For this, I intend to follow your judgnt, team leader."
"I'm no ga expert, but I can see that Talesmon seems sure to succeed."
"Well, it is the next big cash cow that Next Global is pushing, and they're a company that doesn't know failure—so I agree."
"But... I'm not sure how well it'll fit with Next Planet's parade."
I nodded.
Ga success and IP success are separate matters.
And it wasn't guaranteed that Talesmon's success would be absolutely massive, either.
"The director-nim seems to want us to use Talesmon, but we can't let that influence us. What matters is your gut feeling, team leader."
"What I really want is for kids, the mont they see the AR video, to feel that they are the protagonists. I also want them to feel like they are sharing an exciting secret with the parade mbers."
"I'm not getting a clear picture yet. Could you explain in more detail what you want to see from the children?"
Park Seok-min looked off into the air for a mont.
He seed to be painting in his mind's eye the scene he wanted to bring to life, using the ceiling as his canvas.
"What I want to see... I hope kids can barely suppress the smiles breaking out of their mouths as the parade ends."
"Anything else?"
"I want those sa kids to co back to Next Planet, to see if the promise they made during the parade is being kept."
"A promise, huh..."
I was getting a clearer sense of what team leader Park Seok-min wanted than before. Still, it was hard to get the exact picture.
We visited several more subsidiaries.
But none of the gas seed to satisfy Park Seok-min.
"Division director-nim, how about we just go with Talesmon?"
"You don't need to choose sothing you don't like just to be considerate toward ."
"But we do need Next Global's help, don't we?"
"I actually feel bad. I tied you down, team leader, keeping you from doing what you want to do. At the very least, I want you to choose this ti."
He closed his mouth, clearly conflicted.
So, to break the mood, I spoke up.
"What did you not like about Talesmon?"
"It felt like the monsters, not the kids, were the main characters. Of course, that depends on how I tell the story..."
"For this, please look only from the perspective of a creator, not an employee. I'll handle all the objections and obstacles."
"I never realized before how hard it must be to be a division director."
"You're too kind."
I said this confidently, but the fact was, we had already checked almost all the suitable projects.
The remaining ones were aid at older audiences and wouldn't be appropriate at all.
What should we do...?
Wait.
Co to think of it, does it really matter if the targeting age is higher? Our goal is to utilize a ga IP, not promote the ga itself.
In other words, as long as we can adapt the ga IP to fit our parade, it's fine.
I felt bad for Next Global, but even if our parade beca a hit and there was no user influx to the ga, it wasn't really a problem.
Changing my thinking, I realized there was one studio that ca to mind.
"Let's visit just one more place."
I led team leader Park Seok-min to a studio tucked away in a corner on the 12th floor.
[Blade Studio]
Thank goodness they hadn't been shut down yet.
Last I'd heard, there were rumors about them being on the chopping block when I left Next Planet.
Min Ji-na had thought they'd most likely be closed.
We entered the studio, where a man whose hair was a ss, beard wild, and eyes sunken waved to .
"Hyunmin, how long's it been?"
"Over six months. I left for Next Planet so suddenly, I didn't get the chance to say goodbye."
This was Go Seokhyeon, my peer.
Unlike , he was utterly devoted to ga developnt.
He'd been recognized for his skills in the company, quickly rising to PD and heading a studio.
"Wow! So you're a division director now? You look nothing like you did when you were here. You're so much cooler."
"How about you? Have you been well?"
"Well... as you can see."
There wasn't an ounce of life left in Blade Studio.
"Our fate will be decided at the end of the month, I bet. We'll probably get disbanded this ti. I'm even grateful we've survived this long."
He spoke with no confidence.
He and Min Ji-na had been my most promising peers.
Min Ji-na ca from wealth, so she had effortless confidence in every move.
Go Seokhyeon had a powerful energy that ca from his dreams and skills.
But now, look at him... he used to be much neater, not like this.
His posture wasn't so hunched, and his body was slim... Look at that belly, his body fat has to be over 35%.
"Hyunmin, so what's the matter?"
"I ca because I wanted to see the ga you're making, Winter Hero."
"But why? It's a ga that hasn't passed even the first round of in-house testing in two years."
Next Global didn't let just any ga launch. Only gas that passed in-house testing for fun could progress to the next stage.
'Winter Hero' had repeatedly failed even this preliminary "concept test."
I explained to him why I wanted to see Winter Hero.
"I'm not sure it'll an anything, but since I'm here, I want to see it as much as possible."
Go Seokhyeon, despite his lackluster tone, explained Winter Hero to and did so with true dedication. For just a mont, his eyes sparkled.
Team leader Park Seok-min turned to .
"Division director-nim, this ga is good. I love the concept of uncovering the secrets of an endless winter world. If we used AR, scenes where snow suddenly starts falling here and there could really fire up kids' curiosity."
Winter Hero was about a protagonist wandering the continent to uncover the world's secrets in order to end the neverending winter.
It used cute, clean dot-graphics of really high quality.
Since it was actually aid at fans of hardcore action gas, a lot of effort went into those pixel graphics.
"Division director-nim, what do you think of this fox knight character?"
"They're extrely cute and likable."
"And not just that—they let the player really feel that they're the main character."
"That's exactly what you wanted, right, team leader?"
"Yes! If we use AR to make the parade perforrs look like the fox knight, the kids will be so excited, squealing with delight. Division director-nim, I want to use this ga."
Team leader Park Seok-min bead, completely sincere. He was a man who couldn't fake his feelings.
So at least Park Seok-min's side was solved.
But I also wanted using the Winter Hero IP to help my peer out.
I looked at my peer.
At that mont, Go Seokhyeon spoke.
"Hyunmin, I'm about to quit the company. My stubbornness has only burdened the company and the people who believed in ."
"What about Winter Hero?"
"That's it—I guess it's over. I wanted to see it launch, but this is the limit of my ability."
Now there was another problem. To get Next Global's support, I had to use a Next Global IP.
And Winter Hero.
I really wanted my peer to achieve his dream, even to the very end.
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