"Ahh—"
A warm breath grazed her ear, sending a shiver through Kawauchi Sayoko's body. A pink flush shimmered in her eyes as her slender hands instinctively tightened around the handbag clutched to her chest.
"Too fast."
+200.
A massive number floated above her head. At that moment, the elevator doors slid open.
Like she was escaping, she squeezed out of the elevator. But instead of hurrying into the office, she stood there, hands gripping her handbag, and turned to look at Fuyukawa Tetsu, who was stepping out behind her.
The elevator had felt a little charged, the air thick with something unspoken.
Breathing in the fresh air and watching Fuyukawa Tetsu shake out his suit jacket, a shy smile crept onto her flushed face. "S-sorry, Team Leader. It was… a bit crowded in there."
"No worries. Let's get to work."
Fuyukawa Tetsu casually ruffled her hair, oblivious to the flicker of satisfaction in her smile. He adjusted his tie and strode toward the office door marked Hikari Bird Studio.
Hikari Bird Studio was technically a game development team under NTsoft, but it was a small one. Including Kawauchi Sayoko and Fuyukawa Tetsu, there were only five members.
This was largely because Hikari Bird Studio focused on interactive narrative games.
This genre was incredibly niche, with almost no breakout hits to its name. Naturally, the budget and resources allocated to it were modest. That's why someone like Fuyukawa Tetsu, with just four or five years of work experience, could become team leader. Most managers at his level preferred staying as deputies on bigger projects rather than "exiling" themselves to a small studio like this. To lead a studio, you'd typically need to be in upper management.
NTsoft had created Hikari Bird Studio because the Galgame market was showing signs of a revival.
The company had noticed the emotional needs of male players but lacked experience in making Galgames. Competing with established companies in that space was tough, so they decided to try carving out a niche with interactive narrative games.
It was a low-stakes experiment. The development budget was small, and the team—aside from Fuyukawa Tetsu, a young elite sent to cut his teeth—was mostly made up of "scraps" like Kawauchi Sayoko, employees with little upward mobility.
Fuyukawa Tetsu knew full well that the company had assigned Sayoko, an older employee who hadn't "progressed" in years, to this team partly to justify transferring her out of headquarters later.
It was brutal, but that's how companies worked.
"Good morning, Team Leader Fuyukawa."
"Morning, boss."
As Fuyukawa Tetsu pushed open the door, the few employees inside stood up, greeting him respectfully with ingratiating smiles.
It was obvious they knew their positions were precarious—one wrong move, and they could lose their jobs.
"Morning, everyone."
With a casual wave, Fuyukawa Tetsu opened the door to his small office cubicle.
"Team Leader Fuyukawa's as sharp as ever. Tsk tsk, becoming a section chief at a big company at just 25? His future's limitless," said a chubby middle-aged man near the water cooler, his eyes gleaming with admiration.
Next to him, a plainly dressed woman in her forties nodded. "Yeah, normally it takes at least ten years to climb to section chief, but he did it in less than five. The higher-ups really value talent like him. But…"
She trailed off, her face clouding with worry. "I wonder if the boss has decided what kind of game we're making. If we keep dragging this out, the next meeting's gonna be rough. Oh, Sayoko-san, you're here."
Kawauchi Sayoko, who'd just set her handbag on her desk, was tying her hair back with a hairband while looking in a mirror. She mumbled through the hairband, "Nogi-san, Kawaguchi-san, you guys got here early."
"Got lucky this morning and caught the subway on time," the chubby Nogi replied.
Glancing at Sayoko's slightly flushed face and then at the closed blinds of Fuyukawa's cubicle, Nogi sipped her hot water. "Sayoko-san, did you just come up in the elevator with the boss?"
"Y-yeah, why?"
Did someone notice what happened in the elevator?
Her heart skipped a beat. Like a thief caught in the act, Sayoko tied her hair back, puffing out her chest defensively as she eyed Nogi warily. But the chubby woman leaned in conspiratorially, whispering, "Did you hear any rumors?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, come on, dummy. Like what game our team's gonna make! This is a big deal for our future."
Nogi's face was etched with worry, and Sayoko blinked in realization.
Oh! We talked so much about Fate last night that I totally forgot about work stuff.
But with Tetsu-kun's skills, making a story-driven game like this should be a breeze, right?
Sayoko smiled. "Don't worry, Team Leader Fuyukawa will figure it out."
"I hope so, or we're in trouble. Oh, by the way, Dogen Department Store's holding a huge clearance sale this weekend. Wanna go?"
"Clearance sale?! Which one…"
The mention of a mall discount lit Sayoko up. She applied sweet-smelling hand cream, eagerly diving into the conversation.
The office atmosphere wasn't exactly serious, and Fuyukawa Tetsu noticed but didn't mind.
The team had been formed, but since he hadn't submitted a project proposal yet, Hikari Bird Studio was still in the pre-production phase with a light workload.
With so little to do, he saw no need to act like some brain-dead manager forcing his team to fake "hard work." Still…
"I really need to get that proposal submitted soon."
Fuyukawa Tetsu typed away at his computer, lines of text reflected in his eyes. The document's title page boldly read: Love Is All Around!
Last night's dinner with Sayoko cost him 30,000 yen, leaving him about 200,000 short of the 500,000 consumption points needed. That amount was just right for a top-spec iPad Pro.
His current tablet was three or four years old, so he didn't hesitate to place the order.
The app showed the iPad Pro was still in transit, but Love Is All Around had already been redeemed.
"In my previous world, the production cost for this game was around 5 million RMB, roughly 100 million yen."
"That's more than what I discussed with the department head, but the biggest expense for this game is the actors' salaries."
His fingers danced across the keyboard as his mind churned.
Interactive narrative games like this weren't heavy on gameplay—just a few UI interfaces. The bulk was in filming. But the game's success hinged on whether the actresses they cast were captivating enough.
Some casual players claimed the game only blew up because of marketing, but a game with a 5-million-RMB budget couldn't afford a big marketing push.
A 5-million-RMB budget barely qualified as mid-tier in the gaming world.
With such a modest investment, the backers clearly weren't banking on the game initially, so they wouldn't have poured money into marketing.
It's simple logic: would you pair a 4,000-yen graphics card with a 10,000- or 20,000-yen power supply?
Love Is All Around broke through because of "Hao Hao's Mom," a character who carried the game's early hype. Players organically spread memes like "I just want to give Hao Hao a home" or "If you don't nerf Hao Hao's Mom, how can anyone play the other routes?"
Memes have incredible viral power. As the player base grew and the game's popularity spiked, investors caught wind and pumped in more money, amplifying the breakout effect.
It was a clear cause-and-effect chain, but the foundation was this: the game needed a female character compelling enough to spark player discussion.
"Based on our market research, Tokyo's male players from 2000 to 2005 are generally more drawn to tags like 'married women,' 'widows,' and 'mature women'—which perfectly align with Hao Hao's Mom's traits."
"Hmm, we need to launch with Hao Hao's Mom as the centerpiece. The actress for this role has to be perfect, and we can't skimp on the budget. But who to pick?"
Fuyukawa Tetsu opened another program on his screen.
Instantly, a flood of actress photos filled his view—current stars, retired ones, even amateurs.
All sorts of beautiful women bombarded his eyes, each with their agency and contact info listed below.
Without much hesitation, he typed "mature women" into the tag filter. Just then, a knock came at the door.
"Come in."
"Team Leader Fuyukawa, I brewed you some barley tea."
Click-clack.
Dressed in an OL uniform and high heels, Kawauchi Sayoko swayed in with a teapot in hand.
"Alright, set it here."
His right middle finger scrolled the mouse, fully engrossed in browsing actresses. Fuyukawa Tetsu didn't notice her approach, his eyes glued to the parade of women on his screen.
For the studio's future, Tetsu-kun's working so hard.
Carrying the teapot to his desk, Sayoko's heart swelled with admiration as she watched his focused expression. But as she deliberately leaned forward to place the teapot, her unbuttoned blouse revealing a hint of depth, her eyes caught a glimpse of the "mature women" images on his screen. Her eyes widened in shock.
This is…?!
Tetsu-kun's looking at this stuff during work hours?!
Oh my gosh, this is… this is…
-100.
+300!
Like she'd been electrocuted, Sayoko, fearing she'd be scolded for peeking at her boss's secrets, quickly straightened up. After the initial shock, her cheeks flushed, her breathing quickened, and her glossy eyes flicked to Fuyukawa Tetsu's tailored suit pants.
Is he really that thirsty?