Vol 5 Chapter 59

"How long will you keep sleeping, Team Leader?"

After uttering these self-deprecating words, Yoon Seok-ho remained silent for a few seconds as if waiting for a response, but then shook his head as if he hadn't expected one from the beginning and placed his palm on the cold glass window.

"I was hoping you'd play Snow White only to a certain extent... I guess it was just my wishful thinking after all."

He laughed with a deflating sound, but his face clearly showed signs of extreme fatigue and exhaustion.

"Aren't you curious about how far the game you wanted to create has come? I've been working hard to show you. Your physical wounds have healed, but your soul seems to be wandering somewhere, not knowing how to return. I might die waiting."

After that, Yoon Seok-ho muttered a few more words to the unresponsive person, then looked at his wristwatch and had to reluctantly get up.

"I'm busy today, so I have to go now. As you know, everyone wants to see you, Team Leader. But among them, the one who's waiting the most is..."

Speaking seriously, he suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly as if finding it amusing that he was whispering to someone unresponsive, and continued.

"...me, senior. Please don't forget that, at least, when you wake up. Well then, I'll come again next time."

Until he left the hospital room, his gaze never left the person lying on the bed. But that was only for a moment, and finally, the door closed silently. Even after Yoon Seok-ho had left, the white handprint on the glass window reflecting the quiet bed as if nothing had happened gradually faded away.

In front of the hospital's main entrance where Yoon Seok-ho had come out, Team Leader Jang Myung-jin was leaning against the wall in casual clothes, smoking a cigarette. The two men got into the car, leaving the hospital with expressions of those who knew what the other had done without having to see it.

"When did you arrive? I heard you couldn't leave America until yesterday evening at the earliest."

"How is that guy doing?"

Yoon Seok-ho smirked as he looked at Jang Myung-jin, who asked his own question without answering.

"The same."

Jang Myung-jin didn't respond and just blew cigarette smoke into the air. After a long silence between the two, Yoon Seok-ho was the first to change his attitude to his usual manner and speak.

"How are the directors these days?"

"They're the same too. They're desperate to get their hands on us. Still like pigs."

As if infected by Yoon Seok-ho's attitude, Jang Myung-jin answered with his usual cynical expression.

"Is the Chairman in good health?"

"Well, yes. Healthy enough to spread rumors with a newly rising actress."

"That's... a bit too healthy."

Jang Myung-jin laughed, squinting his eyes at Yoon Seok-ho's words, but quickly returned to an expressionless face.

"...Mage Soft, was it? Have they made any moves yet?"

"It doesn't seem so yet. Judging by the timing, I think they might start something soon."

"Handle it properly. This is the most crucial period for both the proof of the dream and passing through the gate. We can't have any interference, even by the slightest chance."

"Of course."

"Although we've come under Saturn, I never forget that our name is still within 'Project M'."

Just before the car stopped in front of Saturn's Korean branch building, Jang Myung-jin muttered as if in passing. Yoon Seok-ho quietly nodded.

"Of course."

"Alright, I'll stop by the hotel I've booked first and then come here, so I'll see you then."

"Understood."

The black car that dropped off Yoon Seok-ho drove away in an instant with the sound of its exhaust. Yoon Seok-ho watched until it disappeared, then turned around with an indifferent face and entered the Saturn Korean branch building.

Entering the right side of the twin buildings, every wall of the sophisticated interior was adorned with photos of buildings and people that seemed to have jumped out of a fantasy. The consistent "THE MIST" lettering beneath them immediately indicated that this place was related to THE MIST, currently Saturn's undisputed top game.

As he boarded the elevator past the busy lobby, the gazes of many who were already inside suddenly focused on Yoon Seok-ho. Although he was in charge of a country's branch, he had appeared so often in the media like a figurehead that not only regular employees but even part-timers mostly knew who Yoon Seok-ho was. People didn't hide their fondness and curiosity for their handsome and charming superior. The admiration for a man who had become a branch manager at such a young age was all too familiar to Yoon Seok-ho.

- Third floor.

Normally, he would have headed to his office on the top 7th floor, but this time he got off on the 3rd floor, where the GM department and operators worked. People who had surreptitiously followed Yoon Seok-ho as he walked somewhere without hesitation started gossiping after snapping out of their daze.

"Oh my, what's the occasion? This is the first time I've seen the Branch Manager in person in my 4 months as an English GM part-timer! He's really handsome."

"I heard rumors that he doesn't have a girlfriend, is that true?"

"Wake up from your dreams. That's obviously just something they say publicly."

The gossipers glared at a colleague who passed by, throwing cold water on their conversation.

"Who said we actually want to date him? In our position as baby GMs pulling all-nighters every day, we need to talk about this stuff just to catch our breath!"

True to its large scale, THE MIST had countless administrators. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the number of employees in the management and operations department made up the largest portion of all Saturn's departments.

Because so many operators were needed, Saturn mostly employed part-timers to handle minor user inquiries, which was trivial but required the most manpower. These part-time operators were called "baby GMs" in the department.

However, despite being the most trivial, the sheer number of issues that needed to be handled was so great that even with shift work, they often had to receive emergency nutrient injections in capsules due to lack of time, as problems kept pouring in daily no matter how many they resolved.