Game Market 1983 Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Chapter 1 part 3: A Run-Down Game Store
-Shaaaaa~~
I arrived at my house and finished showering with hot water . What happened just before? I thought that I was drunk and hallucinated everything up in my mind, but the Game & Watch that I got from the old man was still laying on the living room table when I came out of the shower .
“That’s weird…”
I sat down on the sofa wearing a casual attire and picked up the Game & Watch off the table . The big hand was pointing to 1 on the clock . It would be best to sleep quickly, but after this baffling event, I don’t think I can fall asleep easily .
-Thwack
The lid of the Game & Watch satisfyingly opened . The fact that the current Mintendo 3GS double screen design was copied from this very Game & Watch was well known .
‘This is simple to play but this is definitely fun… Yes, this is what a game should be . ’
-Beep . Beep, BeepBeep .
The monotonous beeps rang throughout the living room .
I didn’t even turn on the TV and all my attention was focused on the game . At first, the progression of the game was slow enough to make me yawn . However, as my score passed 100,000, the tempo of the game got faster little by little . The clients delayed the meeting time more and more and the boss kept leaving his position .
“The boss in this game is just like my boss in real life, hehe . ”
As I saw the client on the screen arriving late for the appointment time again, I added,
“This bastard here is the same as Mr . Han, no doubt about it . Setting the meeting times on a whim and always arriving late…”
I can’t lose here . I can’t lose . I moved my fingers as if they were possessed and controlled the character to finish the tasks .
I couldn’t help but gasp in surprise at how the game design made it possible to intuitively learn the game without a tutorial .
-BeepBeepBeep! BeepBeep! Beep! BeepBeepBeep!
The beeping music got increasingly faster along with my hand movements . The score already passed 300,000 and the character was now crazily teleporting left and right like a martial arts master .
‘A little more, almost there…’
-Beeooop… Game Over
In the end I wasn’t able to pass on the files to the boss while he left his position and I had to end the game with a high score of 528,000 .
“Ah, my fingers hurt… What time is it?”
I glanced over at the clock on the wall while I massaged my numb fingers .
“2:30 A . M? I was playing this freaking game for an hour and a half?”
A great game was like a time machine . The feeling that you get when you you’re focused on a game; I gave a bitter smile to the Game & Watch with a startled feeling .
As I looked at the screen, the rankings showed up . My score of 528,000 took the spot of 3rd place . The 2nd place had 800,000; the 1st place had 900,000 . How could I even get 1st place on this~
I pressed the confirmation button and passed the current screen . A new status window appeared in the top screen .
[Your score is being converted to your salary . The money that you earned from this game is 5,282,000 yen~]
“What? Salary…? Ah~ right, this was called The Employee’s Game . The score that you earn gets displayed as your salary . Interesting~”
There was a “Cumulative Salary” count below the score so it seemed like my score gets added onto my “Salary” every time I played .
“I earned 50 million won in an hour and a half . Haha~”
Although I invested an hour and a half of sleep time to this game, my mood wasn’t bad . I closed the Game & Watch and went to sleep, satisfied that I became rich in the game . The events that what occurred in the arcade store still worried me, but after being focused on the game for so long, I felt mentally drained and fell asleep quickly .
***
“I’m team leader, Kang Junhyuk, who will be working with you all from now on . ”
A greeting to my new department . Customer Support was in a completely different department than the Game Development department so the employees were somewhat familiar with each other but never had the chance to get close .
I was stuck almost all the time in the Game Development office, so it was a given that I would feel awkward with employees from other departments .
“Don’t worry about me and just do what you were doing . I need some time to adjust too . Haha…”
After I said that, I heard the murmurings of the employees from the small office . I think I heard the word ‘relegated’ being whispered .
Relegated… that was the right term to describe me . From team leader of the Game Development team to an office manager of the Customer Service department; it was no different than a knight becoming a foot soldier .
“8 Americanos please . ”
After ordering, I leaned on a chair and looked out the window while waiting for the coffees .
8 cups of coffee costed 36,000 Won ($36) . This was more than most of my meals, how much money did I have to spend this month again?
Even though I lived alone, my situation was such that the money left as soon as it came in in order to pay off my loans, so paying 36,000 Won felt expensive . I might have to starve myself at lunch for a few days just to buy coffee for my new employees .
A little later, I wanted to make sure there were no errors with the payment process and checked my bank account balance through my smartphone . What I saw next made me gasp and swallow a mouthful of air .
“Wh-What is this?”
A balance of 53,000,000 Won? There was no way I would have a balance of over 50 million Won in my bank account! What is this, a new type of scam? I quickly took a look at the transfer history . 2:30 A . M . 52,820,000 Wons transferred from Game & Watch .
(TL: 53,000,000 is $53k . Just take off 3 zero’s at the end of Korean Won’s to convert it to dollars for future reference)
I blankly stared at the smartphone screen before rubbing my eyes . However, the money that came into my account was exactly the same amount as my game score . The only difference was that the Yen in the game was converted to Wons .
“Excuse me~!! Customer . Here are the coffees that you ordered~!!”
The voice of the cashier startled me as I looked toward the counter . As if they had called me several times, there was a hint of annoyance on the cashier’s face .
“Ah, sorry . I was thinking about something else…”
I hurriedly picked up the coffees and left the coffee shop . However, my thumping heart had yet to calm down so I sat on a bench to rest .
Calm down… Kang Junhyuk . Something amazing is happening to me, but I have to keep my composure .
A while later, I barely managed to calm myself down and went into the Customer Service department, holding the Coffees .
“Hey guys, coffee’s on me, come get some . ”
“Ah, okay… Thank you . ”
After passing out the coffees by hand to my future co-workers, it felt as if the awkward atmosphere was slightly lifted .
***
Lunch time .
I took out the Game & Watch from my backpack while the department employees all left for lunch and I sat alone in the office .
‘So this “Employee’s Game” apparently pays you in real life, huh?’
-Thwack
I opened the lid to the Game & Watch to try this out again .
-Beep Beep Beep
The quiet office rung with the melodious game music, I started to focus on the game so much that I forgot my hunger . How many minutes have flown by like that?
“Hmm? Team leader you haven’t had lunch yet?”
I was startled by the employee’s voice and lost the game tempo, so I had to give up on the game .
-Pi-Bee-Beep
GAME OVER . I achieved a score of 37 million after playing for about an hour .
“Ah, Mr . Narae . You came back already? You could have taken more time with your lunch break . ”
“I’m fine . I just had to check something really quick…”
I clicked the confirmation button on the Game & Watch and showed an awkward smile . I diverted my eyes to the screen and saw my score, that was in the top 5 leaderboard, being added to my salary in the game . Now~ should I confirm it?
I took out my smartphone and pressed the banking app .
37,453,000 Wons transferred by Game & Watch . Sure enough, it was real . A smile crept up to my face without me realizing . How could I resist smiling when I’ve earned 37 million won in just one hour?
In less than a day, money close to a billion won came rolling in to my account .
(TL: Refresher, a billion won = $100k)
***
Before leaving work that day, I walked to the CEO’s office while holding a white envelope .
“Come in . ”
-Creeaaakkk
As I opened the door and walked in, the CEO, who was picking his nose sitting on a leather chair in a tiny office, stared at me .
“Team leader Kang? What’s the problem?”
“Sir, I’m quitting this company . ”
“What?”
“The Customer Service department doesn’t suit me after all . There’s no need to replace me anyways because I got transferred yesterday, right? So please give me the resignation letter right away . ”
“Hey, Mr . Kang . Are you making a demonstration right now because you’re dissatisfied with your situation?”
“No, I would have quit yesterday if that was the case . I thought about it carefully for a day and I made the decision because I saw no future for me in this company anymore . ”
“What did you say? Hah~ this really is . ”
“This was the company that I’ve been worked 15 years for . I wasn’t a big figurehead but I managed to climb up to my position with my hard work . However, now I can’t stand this any longer . ”
“Alright, alright, Mr . Kang . What do you want? Do you want me to move you back to the Game Development department?”
“No . I just want to leave . ”
“This gentlemen . You’ve made up your mind about this . ”
“Yes, I want to quit . ”
“Where are you planning to work after you leave? You see, nobody will welcome you and your games in this field anymore . ”
(TL: Typically it’s hard to find another job in Korean once you get fired from a company when you’re old . )
“I know that . ”
“A person who knows this very well is acting like this?”
“I want to make a game of my own . ”
“What?”
That was the last conversation with the CEO of the company, whom I’ve dedicated the last 15 years of my life to .
***
“Now~ should I start?”
5 days after quitting my company . I showered with hot water and made my body and mind as relaxed as possible .
I can do this, I can do this .
For a moment, I took a moment to gather my mind and flex my fingers . They moved gracefully as if they were tapping piano tiles .
Good~ Let’s start .
-Thwack
With a resolute mind, I adjusted my posture and picked up the Game & Watch . I was aiming to beat the No, 1 score in the leaderboard today . My personality was to finish everything I’ve started; I’ve been playing this game non-stop for the past 5 days .
The outcome being, my current balance in the bank was close to 200 billion Won . I managed to get the No . 2 spot last night but unfortunately was 300 points away from 1st place . Due to that, I howled in frustration for quite some time last night .
It was enough to make my downstairs neighbor ring my doorbell . You can feel the mental torture I had to go through, right?
-Phew… I can do this .
With a long sigh, after I pressed the start button to the game that I’ve played for the last 5 days, the “Employee’s Game” started .