NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26
This was the conference room of the Mobile Game Development Team where Yena’s interview was set to take place.
Originally, Yena’s informal interview was supposed to be just between the two of us, but Su-yeon’s attendance had a simple reason.
The reason was that she wanted to see for herself what kind of individual I had recommended.
“Since this person has been directly recommended by our director, I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
“Haha…”
After Yerin, whom I practically begged to join, hit a grand slam with the character designs for Girls’ Memorial, Su-yeon had been showing this sort of persistent interest.
I suppose you could say the president’s trust in my judgment has skyrocketed.
Though it was slightly burdensome, it wasn’t all bad.
After all, thanks to the president’s trust, we now had an opportunity to hire Yena, which by the rules would’ve been nearly impossible.
‘Of course, assuming Yena passes the test today.’
About ten minutes had passed as I exchanged casual conversations with Su-yeon, who was brimming with anticipation, when we heard a knock on the conference room door.
Knock knock
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Yumi appeared, poking her head in.
“I’m sorry, Director. The person you mentioned, Yena, has just arrived in the office. Should I bring her in now?”
“Hmm… wait. I’ll call you separately when it’s time, but it won’t take long.”
“Understood!”
With that, the door clicked shut, and the conference room fell silent.
“Uh, President?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“The interview is about to start, but do you have any particular questions you’d like to ask Yena?”
“Nah, not really.”
“Nothing at all?”
In response to my question, Su-yeon shrugged and replied,
“As I said before, I’m just here to see the talent personally recommended by our director. Don’t worry about me, just focus on the interview.”
“Okay, I’ll do that then.”
“Alright, good luck!”
While ignoring Su-yeon’s enthusiastic cheer from the side, I spoke loudly enough for Yumi outside to hear.
“The preparations are complete, so please bring Yena in!”
“Got it!”
After Yumi replied, the door opened again, and Yena entered the conference room.
Her height was almost identical to Yerin’s.
Aside from the height similarity, though, there were clear differences between the two.
For one, Yerin’s hair was shoulder-length bob, while Yena’s waved hair cascaded down to her waist.
Additionally, unlike Yerin, who had a sharp and composed appearance, Yena seemed gentle with her slightly droopy eye shape.
Her overall image gave more of a student vibe rather than a seasoned professional.
“Hello, I’m Yena. I’ve applied to Enson GT today.”
“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard quite a bit about you from Yerin. Please take the chair in front.”
“Ah, yes!”
Clearly nervous, Yena was just as tense as the stories we’d heard about Yerin’s limited experience in social situations.
“Since this is an informal interview, there’s no need to be so nervous. First, I just have a quick question for Yena.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Are you the person who creates under the nickname ‘ye12na’ on Bixiv?”
Caught off guard by this question, Yena nodded with a puzzled expression.
“The reason I’m asking is because of the webcomic you’ve been serializing.”
“Webcomic…?”
“Yes, specifically the fan-made 4-cut comic of Girls’ Memorial called ‘Memorial Records’ that you’re currently publishing on that account.”
“Y-yeah, that’s me. But why…?”
“The truth is, we first learned about you because of this comic. Our Japanese publisher, who handles the publishing of our game, has been searching for you to scout you as an official comic artist.”
Yena blinked in obvious surprise at my statement.
“By any chance, have you not checked your official email?”
“Ah, yes. Well, it’s because I haven’t set up a separate official email account…”
“Ah, that happens. So, let me ask—do you have any interest in becoming an official 4-cut comic artist?”
“4-cut comic artist…?”
“Yes, the initial request came through from SFLAG, so it felt right to ask you first.”
After hearing my words, Yena carefully swallowed and then asked hesitantly,
“If I were to say I’m interested, what would happen…?”
“In that case, you would end up working for SFLAG, not us—officially as a 4-cut comic artist.”
“What? So, would that mean my application to Enson GT…?”
“Of course, that would cancel your hiring at our company.”
When I said this, Su-yeon, sitting beside me, gave my side an obvious jab with her elbow, clearly flustered. I ignored her.
Yena too wore a perplexed expression, as if deeply deliberating her choice.
“However, there is exactly one way in which you could both join our company and become an official artist.”
“Yes…? Is that really possible?!”
After calming Yena who had risen from her seat in shock, I nodded.
“But only if you pass today’s test. You already know there’s a test waiting for you today, right?”
“Ah, yes!”
“Great. Please follow me.”
As I stood up to guide Yena, she followed suit.
“Uh, but who’s that person…?”
Yena’s finger pointed to Su-yeon, who had crossed her arms with a slightly huffy expression.
“She’s from the HR department, so you don’t have to worry about her. Let’s just head this way.”
While ignoring the sharp gaze from Su-yeon at my back, I led Yena out of the conference room.
Instantly, as we stepped out, the eyes of the office employees turned toward us.
It seemed the news of the interview had spread throughout the office…
Yena flinched at the sudden attention and briefly grabbed the hem of my shirt before quickly letting go.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay. Please just follow me.”
With that, I guided Yena toward a vacant seat prepared by the Art Team.
The owner of the seat had left the company around a week ago, though that was irrelevant.
Upon reaching the designated spot for the test, I glanced sideways and noticed Yena’s nervous expression, probably starting to feel the gravity of the situation.
“What software do you use for 3D modeling? Maya? 3D Max?”
“A, I use 3D Max.”
According to Yena’s preference, I launched 3D Max and displayed on the adjacent monitor the mascot character of Girls’ Memorial—an Operator.
“Today’s test assignment is to create a 3D character model for Operator, the mascot of Girls’ Memorial.”
“Can I use ZBrush?”
“Absolutely. You’ll find it on the desktop.”
“And finally, when is the deadline?”
“While there isn’t a strict deadline, the sooner it’s completed, the better the evaluation will likely be.”
“I see… understood.”
Contrary to my expectation that she would seem nervous under such pressure, Yena gripped the mouse enthusiastically.
“Alright, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll start with my pending tasks as well.”
*
I finished all the piled-up paperwork in and around the office.
After pacifying the president who was half-lingering in the conference room, I sent them off, cleaned up the room.
I then checked the development schedule for Girls’ Memorial and reviewed the progress of the Android version. Finally, I completed the review of the upcoming event scheduled for the following week, only to realize it was almost time to leave the office.
Rubbing my tired eyes from staring at the monitor, I stood up, stretching, and couldn’t help but let out a groan.
‘I really need to exercise more…’
On my way out, I decided to drop by the Art Team to provide feedback, but I felt some activity in the office area.
‘What’s going on…?’
It was usually around this time that most people were busy preparing to leave except for those working late, but today, the office seemed unusually crowded around the Art Team.
Out of curiosity, I approached the Art Team area and found the members gathered around, watching Yena who was busy with her test assignment.
Of course, Yena was predictably flustered, clearly uncomfortable under the watchful eyes of her audience.
“Wow, she’s already onto high polygon modeling after completing the low poly so quickly.”
“Her speed is incredible.”
“Whose recruit was she again? Director’s?”
“Probably. I’ve heard that the Japanese publisher was eyeing her for a comic artist spot, but Director snatched her mid-process to check her 3D skills.”
“How did Director even know about her 3D skills? None of the folks around here seem to know her.”
“Isn’t it like Director has some kind of sixth sense? I heard that Director alone was confident about our game’s success and even brought in our Art Director.”
‘Where did they hear all these stories?’
Knowing my presence would likely change the atmosphere significantly, I quietly retreated back to the office.
“The feedback isn’t urgent, so I’ll check it tomorrow and wrap up for the day.”
After finishing the final closing tasks, I gathered my things and glanced toward the Art Team again on my way out.
Now it seemed only the night owls remained, surrounding Yena as before.
Seeing Yena surrounded by the team members was somewhat heartbreaking, but what could be done?
‘Hang in there.’