NOVEL NEXT Chapter 50
D-7 until the opening.
With only a week left until release, and most of the schedule already wrapped up, the office should have been in a celebratory mood—but instead, it was permeated by an inexplicable tension.
The reason? The shooting of a surprise opening commemorative video.
We had even asked the publisher if we could skip the filming since the trailer’s release and the CBT’s unprecedented success had already served as sufficient advertising—but their response was firm: the users were simply too eager for it to be skipped.
Considering how uploading these videos on every anniversary became mainstream after the success of *Girls’ Memorial*, one might call this situation self-inflicted.
In the end, we had to take one more person, including myself, for the broadcast recording. This had put the team members on edge, as everyone was trying not to stand out.
The condition for the broadcast? Cosplay.
At the mention of this, Yerin, who had already donned costumes twice, turned her head firmly, signaling she would absolutely not do it again. Meanwhile, others, avoiding each other’s gaze, distracted themselves as clearly no one else was eager for cosplay either.
“Anyway, one of us has to go… What do you think we should do?”
Asking again brought the same evasive reactions from the team.
“How about we just decide this by a game? Since no one seems to want to volunteer.”
Upon my suggestion, everyone glanced at each other and then nodded slightly.
Thus, the game to select the broadcasting participant began.
The game was a simple lottery draw to avoid any unnecessary complications or debates.
Everyone wrote down their names on slips of paper which were placed into a container, and then I shook it thoroughly.
“Alright, let’s draw.”
The team’s eyes were fixed on my hands as I rummaged through the box and picked out a torn slip.
“Hmm… Oh?”
“Why? Who was picked?” Yerin asked curiously, approaching since I paused for a moment.
I shrugged and unfolded the slip to show everyone.
[Chae-young]
With that result, everyone in the team let out a sigh of relief.
Except for one.
“What? No way… This can’t be happening?!”
“Senior, snap out of it. It’s reality.”
“A-Ah…”
Senior Chae-young, holding the name tag with her own name on it, stood there in despair. Ignoring her condition for a moment, I turned to the remaining team members.
“Anyway, we’ve got nothing left to prepare for before the release day, so tell everyone to go back to their teams, avoid overtime, and instead reserve their energy. We’ll have plenty to do after the opening. And Yerin, you and Senior Chae-young, come to the conference room for a moment.”
“Ah, me? Okay.”
As I watched the team members return to their respective stations, I entered the conference room with Chae-young and Yerin.
Both of their expressions were polar opposites.
While Yerin was relieved to dodge the cosplay once again and looked delighted, Chae-young—having drawn the short straw and thus being tasked with cosplay and recording—looked utterly dejected.
“Senior, cheer up. You’re not going to die or anything.”
That comment seemed to hit a nerve with Chae-young, who suddenly shouted,
“At my age, going to do cosplay and get recorded is pretty much equivalent to a social death!”
Taken aback by her outburst, I questioned her,
“Senior, come on. You’re not exactly… old enough to say that. If anything, judging by your looks alone, you’d fit right in for cosplay.”
In fact, compared to Yerin standing next to her, trying to soothe her, it was difficult to tell the age difference. She could even pass for a sister of Yerin, maybe just a year apart at most.
“Right, sis. Once you try cosplay, you’ll see, it’s really not a big deal,” Yerin reassured her cheerfully.
That made Chae-young raise an eyebrow.
“If it’s so ‘not a big deal,’ why were you so excited about it before?”
“I, um…”
That moment caused Chae-young to click her tongue before questioning Yerin again,
“So, are you going to take my place, Yerin?”
“No, no…”
Yerin’s hesitance, unlike her usual cheerfulness, indicated that even she wouldn’t dare step into this situation lightly.
Normally, Chae-young’s half-intoxicated easygoing personality led to such jokes, but now her demeanor was sharp and daunting.
After all, her actual personality, when sober, was rather stern and not easily approached, only softened somewhat by frequent social engagements.
“Alright, both of you, let’s stop arguing. Chae-young Senior, listen…”
“What?”
“For future reference, I’ll do my best to cut out these sorts of cosplay events. But can we just get through this once?” I pleaded sincerely.
Chae-young closed her eyes as if it was a throbbing headache.
A few moments passed before she finally resolved herself and sighed.
“Fine… but this is the last one. Got it?”
“Of course, understood.”
“Hmph… You’re always pulling these tricks on me…”
“Sorry…”
“Alright, anyway, what cosplay is it exactly?”
“Uhm… Henrietta.”
At the sound of the name, the conference room fell silent.
“Wait, you mean *the* Henrietta?”
“Yeah, the main character of our game…”
Realizing who Henrietta was, Chae-young gave me an incredulous look.
“You’re so lucky. If you told the others, they’d never approve.”
“I know, which is why I’m grateful to you, Senior.”
“If you know, maybe next time you’d handle it better… So, when’s the filming?”
“In three days, we’ll head to the studio in Japan.”
“At least we have some time. Although, about the drinking… It might not be possible, right? Even if we tried, it’d be tough while sober…”
“I’ll do my best to coordinate with the parties involved.”
My words seemed to ease her expression somewhat, and after a brief pause, she stood up.
“Alright, I’ll be speaking with the publisher side. Yerin, help Senior Chae-young out with some tips.”
“Tips?”
“Well, you’re the only person among us who has video recording experience, except for me.”
“Alright, I’ll do that.”
With Yerin in charge, I slipped out of the conference room and left them to it.
***
The three days passed swiftly, bringing the much-anticipated departure day.
The expression on Chae-young’s face was still crumpled as we waited at the company’s entrance to arrange the pickup to the airport.
“Relax a bit. Your makeup’s going to smudge.”
“Just shut up.”
An irritable reply to my comment, though I knew by now she was mostly just venting her frustrations. Jokingly, I added,
“Maybe you should’ve listened to me years ago and stayed at the broadcasting station instead of switching jobs.”
“Ugh… Could you just drive?” she sighed, clearly not expecting any real response.
True to habit, Chae-young leaned against the window, gazing at the scenery as we moved toward Incheon International Airport.
We soon completed the customs procedures and arrived in Tokyo in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Of course, I was there to help out since this was Chae-young’s first business trip.
“Is this incredibly natural?”
“Maybe anyone who travels for work as often as you do would feel this way…”
From there, I guided Chae-young to Shinjuku, and after about a five-minute walk from the station, the familiar studio came into view.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah, let’s go in.”
“By the way, what about the cosplay outfits and makeup?”
“All arranged by the publisher. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Ah, good to know.”
That tidbit seemed to relax her a bit, and she proceeded into the studio.
I followed Chae-young into the building.
“Hello, are you Director Jihojin and Director Han Chae-young?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Thank you for confirming.”
As before, we received visitor badges and proceeded to the second floor where we met Tanaka.
“Nice to see you, Director Jihojin and Sound Director Han Chae-young.”
Following Tanaka, we reached the waiting room, which was unexpectedly empty, unlike last time when it was full of voice actors and hosts.
Wondering about this arrangement, I glanced at Tanaka, who explained,
“Ah, since this is Director Han’s first time doing cosplay, we scheduled it a bit earlier.”
“I see.”
“We’ll send the makeup team up as soon as you’re both ready.”
“Understood.”
With a nod, Tanaka left the waiting room.
Checking the area, I noticed two boxes on the table.
“Those must be the cosplay outfits.”
“Indeed.”
Approaching the table with Chae-young, we found the names of the respective cosplay characters on the boxes.
One was labeled Henrietta, the other, Commander.
However, the Commander’s box was noticeably larger, perhaps due to the simplicity of Henrietta’s costume.
“Senior, you should go in first. I want to check the fitting instructions before entering myself.”
“Alright, I’ll go in first.”
“Okay.”
Chae-young took the box from the table and entered the women’s dressing room.
Following that, I reviewed the cosplay outfit and then entered the men’s dressing room.
First, I put on a suit with a white dress shirt, then layered a waistcoat and a black long coat with the Resistance logo. Finally, I added a tie and a pair of leather shoes.
Once finished, I looked like the Commander right out of the illustration.
‘Let’s keep the gloves for the recording…’
After one final check on the fit, I headed back into the waiting room where I found Chae-young sitting with her back to me.
“Oh, Senior, already done…?”
Hearing my voice, she turned her chair around to face me.
And for a moment, I froze.
She looked exactly like Henrietta from the illustrations, blushing ever so slightly, her face a mixture of embarrassment and pride.
(Imagine the image referenced above.)
Her appearance was perfect; the costume fit her like it was made for her.