Chapter 27: A Person Who Codes While Guarding a Baby Bag, Part 2

Do Jin-ho.

19 years old.

The owner of a bear-like face that is close to likable and a rugged physique.

This man, who prefers to hang out with the characters of Girls’ War rather than the few female students in the school, is a typical computer science nerd who has reserved the path of a technical high school, engineering college, and military service.

Anyway, today was a normal day of rest, so he was playing around, translating doujinshi…

“Haru…?”

As he looked at the post in the link sent by a friend in the same department, the name of an illustrator suddenly came to mind.

This was definitely Haru’s art style, the one who ran the booth at Surfe.

“Choi Arin from the Condi department…?”

But the person who posted the link was a woman named Choi Arin from the Content Design department of the same school.

“The face is different?”

According to the school’s band rules, the student ID photo must be used as the profile picture.

“What’s going on…?”

For Do Jin-ho, who knew Haru’s art style and had even seen her in person, it was baffling.

But…

“Anyway, they’re saying to contact them if you can code, right?”

This could be an opportunity to collaborate with Haru.

He didn’t know why someone with Haru’s skills was looking for manpower on a high school’s internal band, but at least they were looking for someone.

“Let’s see the email… H… A… Ah, Haru Spring. And the @ symbol…”

After manually entering the email address, the next step was writing a self-introduction letter.

He had written countless self-introduction letters while preparing for high school entrance exams, and he would write countless more when looking for a job in the future.

He was well-practiced, so writing this kind of formal document wasn’t difficult.

“I’m nineteen, a high school senior, I really like this art style, so I really want to participate. I know a lot about the industry… I’ve played a lot of visual novels… My favorite work is…”

Perhaps he was a bit too eager.

“Huh?”

-Let’s set a meeting date. Within 3 days.

He received a reply immediately.

“Damn, this is it.”

Those who act confidently when others are hesitating are the ones who get the opportunity.

#

The next day.

Min Hayoon and Choi Arin sat side by side at the familiar cafe near Seodaemun Station.

The seat across from them was still empty.

They were waiting for Do Jin-ho, who was scheduled to join them, while working on illustrations.

“The colors are great. Don’t you think this feeling will go well with my illustrations?”

“Definitely, yeah… To fill the computer screen and draw the eye to the character illustration in the middle, this method is the best.”

“And the food too… It has a glossy feel, right? You’re so good at coloring. You get it right away.”

“Hehe, thanks…”

Choi Arin, who seemed a bit shy at first, just smiled and enjoyed Min Hayoon’s praise.

Objectively and subjectively, Min Hayoon is a good artist, so it made her happy to be praised by her.

It’s only natural.

In Arin’s eyes, Hayoon is the owner of monstrous business acumen, who cosplayed alone at AGC before even starting high school, promoted her Pixiv, and sold merchandise at Surf.

Although Choi Arin provided the pretext, it was Min Hayoon who sent a DM and proposed collaboration to her, who had only passed by once.

When someone who shows such decisive action praises you, you can’t help but feel good.

“When you’re done coloring, send it to me. I’ll do a color comparison.”

“Okay, I sent it via AirDrop.”

“Received. If I roughly combine these…”

“How is it?”

“Is it because it’s a bright background? The contrast doesn’t feel right. I need to make a new outfit that’s a bit darker. Something like everyday clothes.”

“Hmm… How about dolphin shorts and a hoodie? It’ll give an exposed-bottom look and emphasize the thighs, which would be pretty.”

“Wait a minute. The composition… Oh, perfect. Let’s go with this. For the second outfit. I’ve always emphasized the chest, but this one also shows off the thighs, which is great.”

And after that, the two continued to work.

However, it wasn’t that Do Jin-ho was late and breaking his promise.

Whether Do Jin-ho came or not, they were busy drawing, without a care in the world.

How much time had passed like that.

‘Huh…?’

A large young man who entered through the door suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He knew instinctively.

‘Do I have to join them there…?’

From Choi Arin, whose appearance was by no means easy to handle, even from seeing her student ID photo…

To Min Hayoon, who seemed to have a captivating aura that made men react from afar, perhaps because her cosplay outfit was a shackle…

For Do Jin-ho, who had barely spoken to any woman other than his mother and homeroom teacher, it was a mind-boggling situation.

“One Americano, please. Cold.”

“For here or to go?”

“For here.”

“Thank you.”

First, he went to the counter and ordered coffee to buy some time.

He thought he might be able to think of something then.

But…

“Iced Americano is ready.”

“Ah, yes…”

Even the heavens were not on his side.

Jin-ho, who had unfortunately come in during a lull, was not given even a moment of respite.

Clutching the cold Americano, Do Jin-ho carefully approached the table where the two women were sitting side by side.

“Hello.”

Then, he tried to start small talk naturally as he sat down.

Or rather, he tried to…

“Who are you?”

“Ah, that’s…”

When Min Hayoon simply asked, “Who are you?”, goosebumps ran down his spine, and he was at a loss for words.

Her strangely narrowed eyes.

Her reddish lips.

Above all, the strange aura that seemed to devour men…

‘Did I have a fear of women?’

He felt like a rabbit thrown in front of a wolf…

“Do Jin-ho… senior? Right? You’re going to be a senior at our school this year?”

“Uh, th-that’s, right. Senior. You’re a sophomore, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Although she was definitely a beauty, being next to Min Hayoon made Choi Arin seem a bit easier to approach.

She spoke to him, and he was barely able to continue the conversation.

“Yeah, uh… Nice to meet you, and is the person next to you the one who drew the SCGs?”

“For now, yes?”

“Uh…”

When Min Hayoon tilted her head slightly and answered, Do Jin-ho swallowed hard again…

“Since you know what’s going on, I’ll just say it. The art and story are already set. We’re going to use full voice acting, so all you have to do is take those sources and put them together in a game format.”

Since Min Hayoon was just talking about work, he couldn’t just keep spacing out.

“The sources are all provided, and I just have to put them together…?”

“I know that visual novels don’t require high-level coding. I’d like it to be completed by the end of the year.”

“That’s true… Visual novel coding is mostly just simple grunt work.”

“That’s also why I found a coder through Arin. If they suddenly disappear, it’s easier to find someone we can go and pester.”

It’s not just about coding skills, but also about choosing someone who can and will diligently work on the project.

However, the biggest problem is that he has to work on this while also attending school.

Moreover, Do Jin-ho is a high school senior.

Even though it’s a meister high school that doesn’t focus on college entrance exams, there’s no denying that the senior year is an important time.

He had to think about it.

No, normally he would have to think about it, but…

“What’s the pay?”

“Excuse me?”

“The pay is the most important thing.”

Actually, this guy is also quite the go-getter.

Why else would an independent high school senior proudly sleep with a body pillow in his own home?

For Do Jin-ho, who was already living the life of a beast, the remaining year of high school was less important than immediate money.

“For the pay, I’m thinking of 2 million won for completing the main story in the form of an outsourced project, with additional incentives for bug fixes or additional patches. I’ll cover the cost of purchasing various tools.”

“The pay itself is on the low side, but since it’s not a professional outsourcing team and I’m the only one getting paid, I guess it’s fine… Are there any other specifics?”

“I’ll cover all the production costs. The person sitting next to me, Hayoon, is also employed by me.”

“Oh…”

“Oh?”

“That’s great…”

From Do Jin-ho’s perspective, it was actually better.

It would be a headache if he put money into a business and ended up losing it.

Of course, if the work flops, it would be a waste of time…

But in Do Jin-ho’s view, it was much better to waste time than money, and in his opinion, a dating sim with Min Hayoon’s art style was unlikely to fail.

The risk is low, but the return is certain.

Even if it fails, he’ll have a completed work with professional voice acting to add to his portfolio, and even if the work flops, he’ll still get 2 million won.

“Deal. I’m in.”

Do Jin-ho had nothing to lose.

“Ah?”

Suddenly.

Min Hayoon clapped her hands as if she had realized something.

“I knew I’d seen you somewhere…”

Do Jin-ho started to break out in a cold sweat.

“M4… Kid Bag Guard…?”

“What the hell does that even mean…?”

Choi Arin was appalled.

It was Do Jin-ho’s second social suicide.

‘Damn it, I even changed my nickname today…’

He wanted to die.