NOVEL NEXT Chapter 71
After hearing the story from my team member, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
After all, the current controversy was something that should have occurred not now, but at least half a year later during the summer vacation season.
In other words, the current upheaval wasn’t something that was supposed to happen now but a butterfly effect caused by my regression.
As a headache started to form, I left Yumi and returned to the Department Head’s office.
‘First, I should check if this controversy is the same one I remember.’
To understand the cause of the controversy, I accessed the community of “Justice,” the PC game developed by the third development team.
I began gathering information amidst the turmoil.
***
While Ho-jin was busy collecting information about what had happened,
Seung-jin was clutching his head at his desk.
‘What the heck is going on here?’
No matter how much he thought about it, there had been no issues in the development process—frustrating him to the point of madness.
The unexpected character designs by the art team’s new recruit.
When those designs received overwhelming praise on the community board and were brought into development, Seung-jin hadn’t doubted the potential for success.
In his 10 years as team leader and his 12 years as a developer, he had rarely felt such optimism.
With the well-received character designs of the rookie as a foundation, they produced 2D illustrations and 3D models.
When the character, who received more attention than others with a personal storyline and awakening cutscenes, was completed, Seung-jin had no inkling of the coming chaos.
Rather, the smooth development led him to think, “Finally, the gods were smiling on us.”
The new character, Nita, developed secretly and completed, was set to be updated in January—a peak sales period—and he was confident it would crush even the mobile game market.
But all his grand dreams were shattered in an instant.
And for reasons he hadn’t even anticipated.
What destroyed Seung-jin’s dream, as well as the hopes and aspirations of the third development team, was none other than a single tweet from Nita’s voice actor… rather, from the voice actor’s X account.
—
[Lee Ji-yeon]
(@JY___01)
[Image: Yumi wearing a shirt that reads “Girls Don’t Need A PRINCE.”]
“I don’t need a prince. I need a friend.”
[Replies: 72][Shares: 1.2K][Likes: 450]
To the casual observer, this X message seemed innocuous.
When Seung-jin initially heard about it, he had no sense of what the problem might be. It was only after a younger colleague explained that Seung-jin understood why the community was in uproar.
And even then, it wasn’t something he fully grasped.
‘God, what ridiculousness these men are up to. Even the T-shirts distributed by a women’s violence prevention organization are now controversial? How on earth is that a problem?’
Even after understanding the whole story, Seung-jin wasn’t worried at all.
Initially, the conflict seemed trivial from his perspective—something that would fade quickly.
However, contrary to his expectations, the fire continued to grow, enveloping the entire community.
Not only were the dreams of a record-breaking revenue dashed, but the update itself was now uncertain due to the rising public outrage.
Seung-jin was at a loss, unable to comprehend what was going on.
‘What should I do…?’
With 10 years of experience as a team leader and 12 years as a developer, he still couldn’t see a way out. While he was racking his brain, there was commotion near the entrance of the office, beyond his cubicle.
At first, he dismissed it, assuming it was just his team members chatting, but as the sounds neared, his curiosity grew.
‘Is the Department Head here because of this commotion?’
Furrowing his brow, Seung-jin stood, imagining the Department Head’s arrival.
But then, recognizing who was approaching, his expression twisted.
***
Inside the conference room of the third PC game development team.
I currently found myself face-to-face with the third team leader.
Though my interference was partially due to the butterfly effect I unintentionally caused, I had intended to offer my help.
Nevertheless, judging by the team leader’s reaction, I was already regretting my decision.
“Why has the Department Head come all the way here?”
“I’ve heard about the troubles, so I’ve come to assist in my small way.”
Seung-jin looked at me incredulously.
“The issues we’re facing are our department’s matters. There’s no need for another department’s head to interfere.”
Annoyed by his dismissive tone, I decided to cut to the chase.
“To be honest, I too would have avoided bothering with your affairs, but your Department Head pleaded with me.”
“R-really…?”
Even with an ingrained sense of inferiority, hearing that the Department Head had asked for external assistance evidently affected Seung-jin, whose tone became noticeably more respectful.
“Our attempt last year was unsuccessful, so this team may not have heard, but we faced a similar controversy.”
“Similar?”
“It didn’t happen because we managed to prevent it.”
“How did you prevent it?”
“First, let me request a detailed recount of the entire situation from the beginning. I’ve been out on business all day.”
At my request, Seung-jin nodded and began recounting the events.
“So this uproar arose because of a single X post from your voice actress, even though there were no development issues?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Hmm…”
After hearing Seung-jin’s story, the controversy appeared unchanged from my memory. The only difference was that, due to the butterfly effect, it had occurred over half a year ahead of schedule. It was fortunate, at least, that the details hadn’t altered.
Now, if I could just guide them and offer advice as I had done before, it would settle matters.
“Department Head, I’ve looked into this controversy, and I’m convinced it’s the work of rival companies through their part-time employees.”
“Excuse me…?”
“I’ve investigated thoroughly. This entire controversy is absurd. The T-shirt in question was distributed by a women’s violence prevention organization. Does that make sense in your rational view?”
“Not quite…”
“What’s worse, it’s obvious that men being disadvantaged compared to women is natural these days. What the hell have these young men gotten into?”
“…”
Listening to the 3rd team leader’s statements made my head spin.
How on earth was this the way such issues were resolved back before I returned?
“While I understand the point you’re making, team leader, that approach will not work. There was no sabotage by rival companies.”
“What? Am I wrong?”
“Yes, that approach will not resolve the current controversy. You must recognize how serious the gender conflict issue is today.”
“Even if what you say is true, isn’t it absurd? The fact that people are raising a fuss over a T-shirt distributed by a women’s violence prevention group suggests mental instability, doesn’t it?”
“First, the group that made that T-shirt isn’t just a women’s violence prevention organization but a radical feminist faction that hates men. Their ideological nature…”
Before I could finish explaining, Seung-jin interrupted by waving his hand.
“So how exactly does the Department Head propose we resolve this controversy?”
“The contract with actress Lee Ji-yeon has ended, hasn’t it?”
“Yes… since it was an outsourced project and the dubbing is finished, the contract has naturally ended.”
“The simplest solution then is to discard her dubbing work, hire a new voice actress, and re-record. This way, we can clearly show that we’ve severed ties with the controversy.”
“What?!”
“Considering we’ve already paid her the full fee and properly terminated the contract, if we discard the controversial work and re-dub it with a new actress, it will minimize the backlash.”
In the previous timeline, Seung-jin had indeed resolved the matter this way.
However, it seemed this current Seung-jin in our new timeline after my return had no intention of listening to me.
“You’re not making any sense.”
In the end, it was Seung-jin who couldn’t contain himself and stood up.
“You’re asking me to discard the work of a talented and chosen voice actress simply because online opinions whipped up by some part-timers demand it? I’m done listening. This meeting is over.”
After saying that, Seung-jin exited the conference room.
But I made no attempt to stop or convince him.
It was obvious that he wouldn’t listen when in such an emotionally charged state.
I could only feel regret.
He could have avoided any serious issues if he had simply swallowed his pride and followed my advice.
***
After returning to the studio office with no resolution, time passed meaninglessly.
Contrary to Seung-jin’s promise to resolve it himself, the situation only deteriorated uncontrollably. And worse still, the backlash began targeting our team as well.
Strangely enough, it all started because of a male-hating illustrator named SONYA, whose congratulatory art submission we had rejected, decided to expose us in public.
— End of Section —