NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74
It had been about a week since Hye-ji’s public apology.
During this time, if asked to point out the most dramatic event, it would no doubt be Hye-ji’s downfall.
Until the issue went public, Hye-ji was among the top five most well-known illustrators in the domestic market, but after the public apology, she completely plummeted.
After all, her main clientele and fanbase predominantly consisted of men from male-dominated communities.
Although she apologized for her past actions of promoting misogyny in her apology, it wasn’t enough to win back public favor.
Even after her apology, people seemed inclined to leave her alone but still showed no interest, putting her in a state similar to Voldemort—her name not worth mentioning.
On the other hand, it wasn’t as if her popularity had risen among female-centric communities either.
Her artwork, which was clearly appealing to men as it portrayed sexy and revealing cute girls, had been popular in male communities for a reason.
Additionally, due to her apology statement denouncing feminism, the female-centric groups branded her as a ‘traitor.’
Thus, angering both male and female-centric groups alike, Hye-ji didn’t last long. As I had expected, she promptly disappeared after her Parangnabi (Twitter-like platform) account imploded.
Of course, there was a strong likelihood that after taking a few months off, she would reemerge under a new nickname. But I wasn’t particularly concerned about that.
In any case, thanks to Hye-ji, the controversy was resolved without much fuss.
Moreover, we also saw a noticeable increase in traffic thanks to this controversy.
And the sales rankings clearly demonstrated this. Instead of slipping to 2nd or 3rd place during off-peak periods without special promotions, we maintained our number one position thanks to the influx of new users.
At this point, I couldn’t help but think that a little more gender-related controversy wouldn’t be so bad. While going over the paperwork that had come in, I heard a knock on the office door before it opened.
‘Who is it?’
In our company, aside from Su-yeon, it’s rare for anyone to barge in without waiting for a response, so I looked up to check.
There stood Director Cho Min-ki, the head of the PC Game Development Team, a warm, middle-aged man, who was waving at me.
Despite his peculiar tone of speaking, his friendly demeanor and good personality had made both of us comfortable enough to become close, even though we belonged to different departments.
“Hey, Ji Director. Do you have a moment?”
“Of course, come sit over on the sofa, Director Cho.”
Some might wonder why Director Cho speaks casually to me despite my title, but that’s just the way it goes with someone 15 years my senior—it would be wrong not to.
When he initially suggested we address each other formally, I discouraged it, and this is the compromise we came to.
In any case, after fetching two cans of coffee from the refrigerator and offering one to Director Cho, I asked, “So, what brings you here today?”
“Well, I didn’t come here for a specific reason. But I heard that your game almost suffered some damage because of our issues recently, right?”
“It wasn’t your ‘Justice’ that caused the problem—it was an issue on our side.”
“Still, if our side hadn’t stirred things up, you wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble, right?”
“Yes, that’s true, but I actually gained something from this situation, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
Satisfied with my explanation, Director Cho took a sip of coffee.
Then, with a look suggesting he had more to say, he asked me, “So, may I ask you something, Ji Director?”
Director Cho nodded at my question, “Regarding the Justice controversy, the solution has already been communicated to Team Leader 3. While the initial stages might have been tricky, at this point, there’s no remedy other than the method I conveyed.”
“That’s right… I see.”
“Should I leave already?”
“I’ve finished my coffee, so I should go. Thanks for the advice.”
“No problem.”
Although there wasn’t any specific advice, it seemed Director Cho was satisfied. He gave my shoulder a couple of pats before leaving.
Upon retrospection, Director Cho’s expression had hardened slightly when he was leaving… I guess today things might get heated.
***
As Director Cho was trying to extinguish the fire of Justice, I was also quietly searching for someone.
The target: Moon Seon-young, affectionately called ‘sister’ by Hye-ji.
The reason was simple—it was due to the clues Hye-ji gave me when we met.
“Most likely, that… no, Sister Seon-young works as an art professional. Her activity schedule on Parangnabi was pretty consistent.”
“Consistent schedule?”
“Yes, she had weekends off, and on weekdays, she usually started activity around 7 p.m.”
“Hmm….”
“Also, you should check Enson. There’s a high probability she’s related to them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sister Seon-young never talks about real-life stories, but strangely she knows a lot about the gaming industry, especially about Enson. It’s almost like she knows the internal details.”
“Really?”
With that conversation from Hye-ji, I started looking into Seon-young, but to no avail.
If what Hye-ji said about Seon-young never talking about real-life was true, despite thoroughly investigating her Parangnabi account, I couldn’t find much relevant information about her real life.
“This is tricky…”
If Hye-ji had mentioned another company, I wouldn’t have sought her so urgently.
A feminist infiltrating another company as a concept artist?
That would be a windfall for us as competitors.
But the situation changes when that landmine is buried in our own company.
As per Murphy’s Law: if something can go wrong, it will. And indeed, the landmine blew up.
Even worse, it blew up with devastating force.
—
[New Account Created to Expose]
@nonomiMoon
!!EXPOSING!!
The main concept artist currently working on Justice, ‘Nonomi,’ is none other than Parangnabi internet celebrity Moon Seon-young.
【Chat Screenshot where Nonomi confesses to being Moon Seon-young】
Furthermore, Moon Seon-young, who is officially the main concept artist of Enson GT, has been spreading false claims and defaming other games by the same company, Reverse Arcadia, and its director Jihojin.
【Screenshots capturing harsh insults directed at Reverse Arcadia and Jihojin from Moon Seon-young’s Parangnabi account】
Based on the aforementioned, I expose the true identity of Nonomi (Moon Seon-young), the main concept artist of Justice and Parangnabi internet celebrity.
—
[Reply: 899][Retweet: 15k][Likes: 7k]
“Didn’t turn out to be a landmine, it was more like a nuclear bomb…”
Just as expected, my phone started ringing just as I anticipated things were about to get extremely complicated.
—
Honestly, I have no idea how the exposé happened.
It might have been a revenge plot orchestrated by a former acquaintance, harboring resentment like Hye-ji’s situation,
or likely, an offshoot of the usual faction politics and rivalry that often arise when women gather.
The crucial matter isn’t how the exposé came to light but the content itself.
Nonomi,
the main concept artist of Justice, was someone I had occasionally heard about, even as I worked in a different department, because she was one of the rare artists praised by Yerin for her artistic abilities.
Not only was her work commendable but her agreeable personality and positive social nature made her well-liked within the company.
And yet, this highly esteemed and skilled employee secretly operated a second account to defame and spread falsehoods about other games and employees within the same company…
Shaking my head, I arrived at the office of the PC Game Development Team 3.
The tension in the office atmosphere immediately steered me to the conference room where I recently spoke with Team Leader 3.
Right on cue, inside the conference room were the key people of this scandal:
Director Cho, Team Leader 3, and Nonomi herself.
Upon opening the door, their eyes turned to me.
Director Cho greeted me first, “You’re here?”
“Yes… I came as you requested, but frankly, I have no experience with situations like this and don’t know how to react.”
“I feel the same.”
Nodding in agreement with Director Cho’s words, I subtly glanced at Team Leader 3 and the root cause of this controversy, Nonomi.
Team Leader 3 looked like he had reached a state of enlightenment, sighing deeply, his weariness evident, while Nonomi… or, as her real name is—Lee Seo—sat with a darkened expression, staring only at the table.
“May I speak with the main party a bit?”
“Go ahead.”
With Director Cho’s permission, I took a seat opposite from where Lee Seo was seated and knocked the table.
“Ms. Lee Seo, this is the first time we interact face-to-face in the office, right?”
Finally, looking up with a gloomy expression, Lee Seo met my eyes.
“Using the pseudonym Moon Seon-young, you ran a secondary account to spread false negativity about your company games and your superior… Why did you do that?”
Without emotion, I asked Lee Seo: “Why did you do that?”