Chapter 105: Kagemusha
After enjoying lunch with the bento she brought, we hopped into the car and headed to a department store in Shibuya.
Sitting next to me, fastening her seatbelt, she exclaimed with a big smile, "We've successfully escaped from the devil's lair of excitement! Let's go!!"
"Sure, sure," I replied.
If someone heard her, they'd think I was only living for that, huh?
I stuck my lips out and stepped on the gas pedal.
My apartment was conveniently located in the heart of Tokyo, making it close to places like Shinjuku and Shibuya where I often met Yuki.
She had been enjoying the spring breeze with the window open for a while.
"Ah, this weather is so nice."
"Yeah, the weather is really great."
"It's about to be cherry blossom season. How about going hanami (flower viewing) together when they bloom? We could invite Morita and Hayashi too."
"If Yuki asks, I'm sure they'll come running."
"We'll bring bento too. We can have a flower viewing party at Yoyogi Park and, when the Hanabi (fireworks festival) happens, we can go there together."
"There's so much to do."
"Now that we're in Tokyo together..."
Yuki smiled gently and closed her eyes again.
After a short drive, we arrived at Marui Department Store in Shibuya, parked in the nearby public parking lot, and headed to the department store.
"Where should we start?"
"Well, how about choosing a bed first?"
Upon hearing this, Yuki stared at my face for a moment and opened her mouth.
"Oh, a bed, huh?"
"Why do you keep pushing it in that direction?"
Yuki chuckled and walked into the department store, seemingly amused by teasing me.
At that moment, a child, who had just finished shopping with their mother, was holding a Super Family console in their hands. Even though their mother offered to carry it for them, the child stubbornly clung to it and was walking.
"It seems like that kid won't be sleeping tonight..."
Watching the child walk with the game console, Yuki and I both observed the children and adults enjoying themselves with Super Mario and The Empty Streets.
Lately, they even sold game titles in the toy section of the department store...
"We sell our game here. Shall we check it out?"
"Do they sell 'The Empty Streets' here?"
"Well... It's easy to find nowadays, so maybe it's here?"
"Let's take a look."
Normally, if a girl went shopping and someone suggested going to the game corner, they'd probably object. But maybe girls who love games are a bit different.
Or perhaps she was more interested in the reactions of players to the game she had contributed to. After all, anyone would be interested in the results of their own work.
With the help of an information desk employee, we found the location where the game was being sold. Excited, we headed to the 4th floor. And we easily found the corner that handled game software.
"Oh, there it is."
As soon as Yuki saw the game corner, she rushed over and after a while, she looked back at me, drawing a victory V sign and smiling.
"Junhyuk, I'm here! But, I'm afraid the Nanase cartridge is sold out."
"Really? I heard that Nanase's ending has been receiving the best feedback lately, so it's not surprising."
Although Yuki had the highest cumulative sales so far, her popularity had skyrocketed this month with the overwhelmingly positive reception of Nanase's ending scenario.
Her decision to give up on the university she was attending with the protagonist, choosing medical school after his death, had touched many players.
I nodded in agreement after reading the ending, but...
"All thanks to a great scenario writer like you," I said.
"Are you still acting like a television writer?"
"I just wrote based on how I thought if I were in the same position as the heroines. I wrote it with the question of what I would do. I cried a lot while writing. And then I cried again while playing it."
"I found it hard to write too. Writing sad stories made me emotionally involved."
"Still, the voice recording at the end was really nice. Later, when I get a chance, they said they'd like to call me again. I was a bit embarrassed, but..."
While trying to fill the remaining 30KB of space, I came up with the idea of voice recording.
Although the capacity was small, I succeeded in inserting a piece of the most important dialogue into the game.
And that, while small, garnered a huge response in the gaming industry.
Voice recording was used for things like battle cries or move names in fighting games, but "The Empty Streets" was the first game to attempt delivering a whole sentence to players.
But to hold an audition just to extract that one sentence felt excessive, and it was hard to keep the secret, so I secretly asked Yuki for a favor.
I asked her to introduce me to a voice actor who could match Setsuna and Nanase's voices from her game.
But why only two?
Well, the character "Hasegawa Miyuki" was inspired by Yuki herself, so it made sense to use her voice.
Yuki was uncomfortable at first with her own voice being recorded in the game, but she successfully completed the recording with the help of the voice actresses.
In return for using the voices of the actresses, I paid them a reasonable guarantee after the game was released.
"But, by the way, why haven't you settled my guarantee yet?"
Yuki asked me out of the blue.
"It takes a little time to process. You have a share in the Nanase story, and a share in the voice of Miyuki, and..."
"Give me a lot."
"Sure, I'll make sure you're not disappointed."
We browsed the game corner together, sharing various stories.
Even at that moment, we saw many people coming and going, purchasing Super Family and The Empty Streets.
And shortly after...
As we moved to the furniture corner according to our original purpose, we examined the bed corner.
Among the beds, Yuki lay on one that looked luxurious and made of solid wood, then smiled and said, "Wow, it's so soft and comfortable. I feel great."
"Well, of course. It's a 1 million yen bed, after all."
"Huh, 1 million yen!? How expensive is this bed... That's why it felt so soft..."
A little earlier, when Yuki was lying on the display bed, she started to get up after hearing my comment.
"It's okay, please leave it. We'll tidy it up for you."
An employee rushed over to clean up the bed on Yuki's behalf.
"I'm sorry. I just lay down without asking..."
"No, it's usual to lie down and try out a bed. You're testing it as you should. By the way, the material of this bed you just tried..."
"I'll take this."
"What?"
Before I even explained the product, she asked to buy it, and the employee looked at me in astonishment. Yuki's reaction was the same.
"Are you buying this, Junhyuk?"
"Is it comfortable?"
"It's your bed, Junhyuk. You should lie down and decide!!"
"No, I'm just trying to match your preferences. Haha..."
Then, Yuki seemed to catch onto my intention and playfully pinched my side.
"Ouch!"
"Why is the customer doing this without any explanation?"
"Sorry, just charge this to my card."
"Sir, are you really making a purchase without any explanation?"
"Yes, please. Quickly! Ouch!"
A while later, I was following Yuki, who was squeezing my side, after her actions were caught.
"Seriously, I can't live if I'm embarrassed like this."
"It's fine. They probably didn't hear."
"Geez, anyway, who buys a 1 million yen bed without even trying it first?"
"It's right here. In front of your eyes..."
"Ugh, seriously..."
With a smile on her lips, as she appeared embarrassed, Yuki pushed me away from her chest and walked confidently.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. My bad."
Then, suddenly, her steps halted as we walked.
She was gazing at something, and I followed her gaze. It was a TV corner.
"I don't need a new TV, do I?"
"No, it's not that. Junhyuk, there's news..."
"Why? What's the news?"
"Breaking news. Currently, a man has been discovered attempting suicide on the rooftop of a building in Akihabara. Fortunately, a citizen who found the man first has alerted the police, and they are currently trying to persuade him. For more details, let's hear from the reporter on the scene."
"Junhyuk, that man..."
Yuki seemed shocked, her hand covering her mouth. The man standing on the rooftop of the building on the TV screen was someone we both knew.
"Isn't he the guy who bought the Miyuki scenario from the event office back then?"
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