Chapter 71: To Korea
After gathering my thoughts, I returned to the development team. I called Mr. Kawaguchi separately and headed to the lounge.
I asked him, "What do you think of those two, Mr. Kawaguchi?"
He replied, "I'm very impressed with both of them. Mr. Morita is already a character designer recognized by our Amano, and Mr. Hayashi is excellent at storytelling. It seems that having professionals on the team has taught us a lot."
"I see. Our Mintendo is advancing in a slightly different direction, and I'm worried about that. Mr. Morita has great talent, but his skills are limited to female characters, and Mr. Hayashi, while having excellent coding skills, doesn't have the best interpersonal relationships among our staff. He tends to speak his mind without hesitation."
"Oh, I understand what you mean."
"That's why I'd like to ask Mr. Kawaguchi first. How about bringing these two into Pentagon Soft directly?"
"What?"
"Their skills are too valuable to leave in Mintendo as it is. Currently, Mintendo has Mr. Shige at its core, along with numerous programmers and character designers. If we leave them there, their skills will surely deteriorate. Mr. Morita, for example, will be assigned to the Donkey Kong project from next month."
"A character designer highly praised by Mr. Amano joining the Donkey Kong project? That doesn't seem quite right."
"Mr. Kawaguchi seems to share my thoughts."
"We're in the final stages of the Frontier Frontier project, and we're really short-staffed, but..."
"In that case, isn't this an excellent opportunity for both parties?"
"If both of them come to Pentagon, we'll welcome them with open arms. However, I wonder if it's okay for me to increase the number of employees as I please while Mr. Sajang is not here."
"You can leave the hiring to the legal team, as you did before. Final Frontier 2 is also scheduled for release soon, so there shouldn't be too much to worry about in terms of profits."
"Alright, I understand. But shouldn't we also hear what they have to say? Will they be satisfied with a smaller company like Pentagon, considering Mintendo is a large corporation?"
"I'll discuss that separately. When you return to the development room, could you please bring Mr. Hayashi and Mr. Morita over here?"
"Sure, I'll do that."
Mr. Kawaguchi nodded in response to my request and returned to the development room.
A little while later, Mr. Morita and Mr. Hayashi entered the lounge together.
"Boss, you're here. I thought you suddenly disappeared and left us behind."
"I would never do that. How was Pentagon Soft?"
Morita responded with a thumbs-up, "It was amazing. I even had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Amano. The other employees were kind as well, and even though it's a small company, it felt like a family."
"That makes sense. You must feel like family with your mentor here. I nodded in agreement with Morita's response and asked Hayashi, "How about you, Hayashi?"
In response to my question, Hayashi pushed up his glasses and hesitated for a moment.
"At the very least, it's not a noisy office environment with jokes and banter. Mr. Kawaguchi seems to set the atmosphere well, and most importantly, the office is organized, so I think I can focus on my work."
"So, in summary, you like Pentagon Soft?"
"Well, if you summarize it, then yes."
"Alright. I just had a conversation with Mr. Kawaguchi, and it seems that both of you have made a strong impression on him as well. Pentagon Soft is a smaller company compared to Mintendo. The only success we can boast of at the moment is the Final Frontier series."
Morita and Hayashi looked at me with surprised expressions and asked, "You mean, Boss, you're suggesting that we switch jobs?"
"Yes, that's right."
"But still, this is a bit..."
I couldn't blame them for reacting this way. Even though there wasn't a significant age difference between us, it was quite unusual for a superior from the same workplace to suggest changing jobs to a different company.
Especially since relocating from Kyoto to Tokyo for Pentagon Soft would be a considerable challenge, not just for me but for them as well. However, both of them were unmarried, so moving their residence might not be too difficult.
Pentagon Soft, like Mintendo, shared the cost of office apartments for its employees, so the rest would depend on their determination.
At that moment, Morita slowly began to speak in his typical deliberate manner.
"I... I'll do it."
"Hey, Morita, are you..."
"To be honest, I've been feeling this for a while. I can't draw the kind of art that matches Mintendo's taste. It was a challenging company to get into, but all I ever did there was minor items and background work. Nevertheless, I thought that if I kept drawing characters little by little, I would eventually get an opportunity. However, I was only recognized for drawing lousy art in the team I was in, and I was treated like a pervert, which naturally distanced me from my colleagues. There were times when I even thought about giving up. It was when you, Boss, suggested that we create Psych Battle together that I was genuinely happy. I thought that someone who recognized me had finally appeared. Last year, during my four years at Mintendo, I enjoyed it the most while working on Psych Battle. I thought that maybe a door was opening for me. However, in the end, I returned to where I originally started."
"Morita's character design is excellent. I believe that it's thanks to Mr. Morita that Psych Battle has gained so much popularity."
"Thank you, Boss. During Psych Battle, I realized that I had to draw the kind of art I wanted. With my mentor, Mr. Amano, here at Pentagon Soft, I want to draw the characters I desire."
"Alright... First, we've captured an outstanding character designer, but how should we bring this perfectionist coding machine over?"
Unlike Morita, Hayashi was a programmer who was recognized for his skills even within Mintendo. So, it wouldn't be easy for him to decide on a job change.
"Morita is already decided... What about you, Hayashi?"
"I think I need some time to think."
"Sure, you don't have to move to Pentagon Soft right away. Take your time to think about it and let me know separately. Although Pentagon Soft is a smaller company compared to Mintendo, the welfare benefits are not bad at all. Moreover, as for the treatment, it won't be worse than what you receive at Mintendo. Do you know that, Hayashi? Currently, there's a vacancy in Pentagon Soft's development team 2."
"There's a vacancy in the development team?"
"With your skills, Hayashi, you could even take the role of the team leader when the next soft development comes in."
"Me... as a team leader?"
Okay, he's wavering, wavering...
Hayashi had a straightforward personality, but that didn't mean he lacked ambition. His work often involved dealing with human relationships, so it might be better to lock him in a private room and let him focus on coding, or even having him supervise the staff below from a higher position.
Of course, the employees working under him might have a tough time, but Hayashi generally didn't interfere as long as they did their own work well.
"But even if we move like this, wouldn't it be challenging to get involved in the final stages of the ongoing Final Frontier project?"
"Don't worry about that. If both of you come here, you'll be immediately assigned to a new project."
"A new project at Pentagon Soft?"
"Uh... The project name is still undecided."
After a brief pause, I continued, "By any chance, have you two ever dated anyone?"
At my question, both Morita and Hayashi looked like they had just hit the jackpot.
Well, I'm not in a position to comment, but watching them, memories of my life before the time slip came flooding back.
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