NOVEL NEXT Chapter 78
After a two-day convalescence cum vacation, I returned to the company.
However, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
As a result of enjoying two days of honey-like rest, an overwhelming amount of work flooded in.
The reason for this was the upcoming offline event, which was fast approaching.
There were only two weeks left.
Still, thanks to Yumi who worked hard to cover for my absence, the schedule did not suffer any major delays.
After two weeks of hard work by all team members, including myself, the first offline event for *Reverse Arcadia* arrived — the *2016 Reverse Arcadia Spring Festival*.
***
On the morning of the day of the *Reverse Arcadia* offline event.
Jae-hyun, pulling a suitcase filled with various items, set out from the hotel. A sense of anticipation swelled in his heart, knowing the effort he’d poured into the last month to prepare for this day.
The first offline event for *Reverse Arcadia* was attracting incredible attention, being organized by the most popular mobile game in the country. The attention was so immense that all the event tickets were sold out within just one minute.
Jae-hyun had originally planned to participate as a regular attendee, but since he failed to secure a ticket, he ended up switching to booth participation. Booth participation itself was highly competitive, but thanks to his reputation, he managed to secure his spot without much trouble.
Still, good memories went only that far.
With the freelance work slots still overflowing and the booth exhibits overlapping, Jae-hyun spent the entire month of preparation living a life revolving strictly around just three patterns—food, drawing, and sleep.
Thinking back to that time still makes him shudder, but it was worth it to attend this event.
Thinking this, Jae-hyun glanced down at the suitcase he was pulling. It contained 150 copies of a doujinshi, which he chose as a safety net since it was his first time participating in a booth. It also included a plethora of goods such as framed prints and tapestries.
Walking with the satisfying sight of the suitcase, Jae-hyun soon arrived at the entrance of Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Arena, the venue for the event.
Jae-hyun reached the location at half past nine. Since booth participants had to enter the venue an hour earlier than regular attendees, there were still many bustling preparations going on around the arena.
Among these, what caught his attention first was the signature triangular structure of the Olympic Gymnastics Arena. Normally devoid of any decorations, the iron structure was now adorned with illustrations from *Reverse Arcadia*. The enormity of the dome-connected triangular structure lent the illustrations an imposing grandeur.
Finally tearing his gaze away from the structure and looking around, he found attractions everywhere.
Throughout the central plaza, forlorn guide signs characteristic of *Reverse Arcadia* were set up. Over at one side of the plaza, cars adorned with *Reverse Arcadia* illustrations, known as “Itasha,” were lining up for exhibition.
Elsewhere were tents set up for experiences, food trucks preparing for business, and several photobooths. It was a lavish spread, as if the proceeds gained thus far were being generously given back to the users.
‘They really have succeeded, haven’t they….’
Jae-hyun had previously attended other game events and festivals, but none matched this level of scale.
Walking around looking at the surroundings, Jae-hyun soon arrived at his assigned booth location. It was a prime spot that caught the eye immediately upon entering the stadium.
‘This time, luck is on my side.’
With a feeling that things would go well, Jae-hyun smiled as he began displaying the goods he had brought to his booth. It was about 30 minutes before the festival began.
***
Day 1 of the festival.
From the second-floor management room of Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Arena where the festival was held, I was looking out at the event grounds.
The current time was 12:30 PM.
As proof of the fact that over a hundred thousand tickets for the two-day event were sold out within a minute, even though the event had been open for only two hours, the Olympic Gymnastics Arena and the plaza were already teeming with people.
There were participants rushing towards their favorite booths, others focused on collecting prizes in the experience zones, some having a quick meal at the food trucks, and others interacting with cosplayers, enjoying their time together.
It was truly an event enjoyed by all, regardless of gender or age, centered around the theme of *Reverse Arcadia*.
It was a heartwarming feeling to see this scene in an event launched with my own hands.
Even before considering revenue, it was deeply satisfying to feel my game being acknowledged by the public.
The games I had worked on at ND Soft before my return might have had high sales, but they never gained the same level of mass popularity.
However, this sense of awe I felt was quickly shattered when Yumi burst into the management room.
“D-department head!”
With a face full of shock, Yumi barged into the management room.
Startled by Yumi’s expression, I asked her what was wrong.
“What’s the matter?”
“L-look at this! T-there’s a bomb threat posted…!”
Without hesitation, I quickly checked the smartphone that Yumi handed over.
### Forum Post
**[Nickname: Unknown]**
**[Subject: What Is This? Bomb Installed at the Reverse Arcadia Spring Festival?]**
Normally, I’d just dismiss such posts as another attention-seeking troll, but this guy even posted pictures of the bomb he allegedly made.
It looked really dangerous—didn’t bring the pictures, so check it yourself.
### Comments
-[Is this real?]
-[This guy’s lost it, lol]
-[Bombs, hahaha… don’t believe everything people say.
**Reply:** But this guy has shown evidence of the bomb he supposedly made?
After reading the forum post, I began to break out into a cold sweat.
A bomb threat was not the kind of issue we could laugh off.
Moreover, this event was completely outside the scope of my predictions. True, a similar incident to this had happened before my return, but it wasn’t supposed to occur until 2023, seven years later.
The timing of this incident was too early and completely unexpected, leaving us unprepared.
Upon seeing my frozen expression, Yumi whispered cautiously.
“Please take a look at the ParangSae link…”
Upon hearing that, I clicked the ParangSae link.
### ParangSae Post
**[HanNamDoshal]**
(@HannaM69)
**[Pictures of Homemade Pressure Cooker Bomb]**
Installed a bomb at the *Reverse Arcadia Spring Festival* Saturday.
It will explode when the time is right. Looking forward to it.
#ReverseArcadiaSpringFestival
#The_Entire_World_Is_ReverseArcadia
**[Replies: 1324][Shares: 23K][Likes: 4K]**
“Idiot…”
I involuntarily let out an exclamation which made Yumi flinch.
But my mind was already too consumed by the event to address her.
This event was no ordinary occurrence.
Due to the conscription system in Korea, the threat of a bomb was bound to weigh heavily, and with the crowd gathered right now, if a bomb did explode, it would undoubtedly result in a catastrophic disaster. It was clear that there would be a request to stop the event.
Surely the perpetrator was aware of this, and intentionally causing this.
As expected, my smartphone began ringing shortly after. The caller was the 112 Emergency Center.
“Currently, at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena which you are in charge of, there has been a report of an installed explosive device. Are you available to speak?”
“Yes, I am available.”
“Thank you for your cooperation. Have you seen the terrorism threat post online?”
“Yes, I just confirmed it.”
Even after further explanations from the police, I couldn’t help but sigh internally.
In short, we had to temporarily stop the event and search the arena for any possible bombs.
“…Understood. To prevent panic among participants, I’ll evacuate them and then we can proceed with the search. I’ll handle it, so please deploy your forces after that.”
“Understood.”
After ending the call, Yumi, who had been listening, started tapping her foot.
“Should I put up an event suspension notice in the venue?”
“Wait, let me organize my thoughts for a moment.”
Event cancellation?
It was inevitable due to circumstances beyond our control.
Continuing the event after a bomb threat had been announced was simply inconceivable. While similar incidents from the past turned out to be mere pranks with no actual explosive found, there was no guarantee it would turn out the same this time around.
Yet, outright informing the participants of the bomb threat would not constitute the right decision either.
Though certainly, some of the attendees may have seen the bomb threat already, it seemed most were unaware at this point. If these participants were told to evacuate due to a bomb threat, the chances of panic breaking out and making the crowd uncontrollable were high.
Thus first…
“Yumi.”
“Yes?”
“Alert the control personnel that the event is canceled and have them evacuate all participants from inside the arena to the outside.”
“Understood.”
“And tell them not to mention any words associated with bombs or terrorism during the evacuation. Say it’s a fire safety inspection. Got it?”
“Y-Yes, I’ll do that right away!”
Yumi rushed out quickly upon receiving the instructions, clearly understanding the gravity of the situation.
After all instructions were carried out, and as I watched the control personnel evacuate the event participants, I too stepped out of the arena.
For there was an enormous amount of tasks ahead of me.
First things first… the police.