6 – 6. Slot (2)
“What’s going on here?”
Park Youngwoo, the executive, looked down at his phone’s screen and muttered in a bewildered voice.
The call had already ended, but it felt like Seo Woojin, the head of the headquarters, could still be heard in his ears.
– Yes, Executive Park. You handled the instructions well. Thank you for your hard work.
Park, the executive, clenched his molars.
“Why didn’t he refuse?”
It was incomprehensible.
It was a top-secret task completed in the shortest time possible.
Naturally, he had reported to Manager Seo Wooseong first about where and whom to send.
Take action first; if questioned about why, it would simply be a matter of throwing Director Seo Woojin under the bus.
Moreover, this kind of task didn’t even require reporting to the Chairman.
If there was a shortage, just recruit new inexperienced employees.
In case it got revealed later, it would be a problem easily solved by throwing Director Seo Woojin under the bus.
For no good reason, causing a ruckus about unnecessary politics among the kids was all that would happen.
So, after reporting to Manager Seo Wooseong and organizing the content, he had simultaneously contacted Director Seo Woojin while sending out the orders to the department heads.
“But? Understood? In that short time?”
This was impossible.
It was a matter of time.
There might be someone loyal to Seo Woojin among the department heads, but how did they know almost simultaneously about the call?
…Perhaps?
Vice President Park quickly scanned the office.
He wondered if there were any bugs.
But there were none.
He had no expectations from Seo Woojin, the third-generation chaebol who was fooling around without a care in the world.
“However, how? Could it be just a wild guess?”
No, it wasn’t.
The way he spoke was definite and confident.
In that case,
“…Is there something I don’t know?”
Vice President Park closed his eyes and pondered the situation carefully.
How on earth?
How did Director Seo Woojin find out about this fact…
…Wait.
“Could it be… Director Seo Sung?”
The stiffened mind began to race.
It might not be.
It could just be a suspicion.
But it’s a ‘what if’.
“If I mess this up, it could get complicated.”
Still, he had to survive.
To climb from a mere executive to the top at Seohwa Group, he had sacrificed years of his life. Even if it felt regrettable to recall, Park Youngwoo knew he had to endure a few more years.
Executive Park Youngwoo unlocked his phone.
His name was right there, visible without the need for a search.
He hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether to press the call button, but soon quietly lowered his phone.
“No… not yet.”
Making that call was like crossing a river from which one might not return.
So, he had to be careful.
He resolved that if a similar situation arose again, he wouldn’t hesitate to make the call.
Having organized his thoughts, Executive Park Youngwoo began composing an email to Director Seo Woojin as politely as possible.
# # #
Slurp.
“Sweet, isn’t it?”
I sipped my café latte with my legs crossed.
The place I was at right now was a coffee shop.
In this real-time field of dating games, if I chose [likability] on the street, the result would probably be me staring blankly into the void again.
Then I’d look like a crazy person, right?
Or maybe someone drugged.
So, I found a coffee shop.
It wasn’t a random decision.
Not only did I want to know why [likability] was blinking, but my stomach also growled.
Earlier, my ramen. Sob sob.
Anyway, so I also ordered dessert together.
“Isn’t it delicious?”
I ordered scones of various types, such as original, chocolate, and cream cheese scones, and the taste was absolutely amazing.
This, this.
I definitely didn’t feel like I was playing a game right now.
The nutty flavor that fills my mouth.
And at the same time, the sweetness of the dolce latte that overwhelms me.
I’m going crazy.
From Noble mtl dot com
Since I’ve become a conglomerate anyway, should I live a life of high-quality gastronomy?
From the moment I became a conglomerate, I thought I should try everything I wanted to do with money.
Gastronomy is just one of them.
I should try everything I can with money.
hehehe.
With joyful imagination, I took another sip of coffee.
And I closely looked at [Slot 1].
The [favorability rating] is still flickering.
It seemed like it wanted to explain something and was shouting out loud.
I have to make a choice, but…
Why is the favorability rating that low?
If the favorability is [+62], it’s a considerably high number.
As far as I know, favorability is measured on a scale from -100 to +100.
Naturally, if there’s no interest, it’s 0.
Judging by the celestial scale, it’s -100,
And if you love someone to the extent of risking your life, it’s considered +100.
But that’s in the context of the game setting.
Since the protagonist is exceptionally handsome, the favorability of the heroine in ordinary situations typically starts around +30 to +40.
But why is it +62?
As far as I know,
…when favorability surpasses +50, you can immediately spend a night with the heroine?
“However, +62 is quite high.”
Really?
The reaction of the girl, Yoon Yiseo, a while ago was a bit different from a +62 response.
She just treated me normally?
Maybe her gaze was transparent because her eyes are naturally like that.
Hmm.
Something feels off.
Is it because her personality is cool, and it doesn’t show?
I can’t quite grasp it.
Leaving that aside, do I have to choose that?
I chose the sparkling [likability] in my heart.
Then, like a tutorial explanation, multiple dialogue windows began to pop up.
[Likability is a numerical criterion that represents the intimacy between the slot owner and the slot target.]
[Likability ranges from -100 to +100.]
[As likability increases from the baseline, rewards occur at a certain probability.]
[As likability decreases from the baseline, penalties occur at a certain probability.]
[The baseline is the likability at the time of registration in the slot.]
[The numerical value of likability is fluid. It can change at any time, so let’s not be complacent and manage it.]
…Huh?
Rewards? Penalties?
Did this game have rewards and penalties based on the numerical value of likability?
I don’t think I’ve heard of such a thing…
Wasn’t it just a structure where I diligently crafted until the likability exceeded +50 and then proceeded with the task?
“I should have played the game to know.”
I have never played this game.
I was possessed during the download.
All I have is a vague idea of this game from the community and a quick glance at the manual.
So there must be systems that I don’t know.
But well.
What am I supposed to do?
Is this system causing any disruption to the mainstream?
Not at all.
Since the decision has already been made to send the protagonist abroad, there’s no need to fuss over such trivial matters.
“But where should we send that protagonist?”
I was a bit curious.
I didn’t specify.
Thinking that it might unnecessarily complicate things, I inserted the protagonist into the list of new employees to be sent to the head office and handed it to Vice President Park.
In other words, there is a (?) victim of goodwill.
Well.
I don’t feel sorry for them.
Thanks to them, I can enjoy a lot of overseas travel, right?
“I mentioned sending it by email earlier.”
I opened my email on my phone.
Sure enough, there was an email from Vice President Park.
The content was written quite politely.
It said to follow faithfully, pledging loyalty.
Since it’s meaningless, I’ll pass.
Looking at the attached file, it described the countries and tasks of the newly assigned employees.
“Mexico?”
Wow.
Is this a game?
They just copied the entire world setting.
At this rate, isn’t this just Earth mk-2?
Anyway, the protagonist Baek Seong-hoon’s destination has been confirmed as Mexico.
The job remains the same, marketing.
What kind of marketing is he going to do in Mexico?
Hmm.
I probably don’t need to know that much.
Is this enough to properly play the game?
Just as I was about to close my phone with a smile of victory,
my hand instinctively twitched and stopped.
Wait…
Come to think of it, this is important.
If I want to continue enjoying my chaebol life, I need to keep understanding the protagonist, right?
If I miss something and the protagonist reaches the ending, what am I going to do?
“…Maybe I should look into it.”
I opened my phone and started studying about Mexico.
# # #
“Oh? Did you call, Director Seo?”
Secretary Kim Chaeyoon stood up from her seat with a surprised expression on her face.
I guess she didn’t expect me to come.
Sigh. Seo Woojin.
What have you been up to lately?
I nonchalantly replied, “I’ll be going out again soon, so don’t worry about it.”
I came to the office to leave the heavy money bag behind, as I need to enjoy the life of a conglomerate in the evening.
Despite telling her not to worry, Kim Chaeyoon looked at me with puppy eyes.
Oh, those adorable puppy eyes.
I’m truly grateful that you don’t listen to me.
…Ah.
Wait a minute.
Did I have a slot for someone like Kim Chaeyoon?
Is there any reason not to put someone as adorable as her in a slot?
Not that I want to know her three sizes, not that I want to check her level of likability, and not that I want to see how I can handle a subordinate.
Since I have two slots left, wouldn’t it be a good idea to use one?
In my heart, I silently hoped for Kim Chaeyoon’s dialogue box to appear.
Desperately.
And then, the dialogue box appeared.
“You cannot register a character that has not triggered an event.”
…?
What nonsense is this again?