Getting Approval from Otherworld Clients - Chapter 3

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 3.
The Client’s Request is
Absolute Law (1)
The conference room, now empty of clients.
The Brand Design Team staff continued their conversation.
“The boss… I mean, Blere—why’d he take on a commission like this? The timeline is insane.”
The silver-haired man’s voice remained calm, but his tone had shifted from the polished delivery he’d shown the client to something looser, less measured.
“But if it’s rush work, the pay could be really good, right? Who knows—the boss spends plenty, so maybe he’ll throw in a bonus for our trouble.”
The petite woman with blue-tinged skin did her best to frame things positively.
It seemed she was trying to ventilate the gloom hanging over the room.
‘Their oral structure must be unusual.’
Perhaps because they weren’t human, her enunciation sounded deliberate, but her tongue kept catching on certain sounds.
“Look, just ask for time off to spend money. Is this our first commission from this world? Looks like we’ve cracked open another market to land contracts.”
The silver-haired supervisor muttered a few more curses before turning his gaze toward me.
“So you’re the new hire, then. You’ve been assigned to our Brand Design Team.”
“Yes, that’s correct. To be honest… I signed the contract today and was given my work assignment immediately, so I may not be fully up to speed yet. I apologize for any inconvenience.”
Upon hearing this, the man’s expression tightened slightly, and he muttered under his breath.
“For crying out loud, we’re already drowning in work, and now I’ve got to babysit a rookie. I asked for someone ready to jump in immediately, not someone I’d have to train from scratch.”
The unreasonable deadline seemed to have worn him raw—his tone had an edge to it.
…Though doing this right in front of someone wasn’t exactly professional.
I’d thought I was lucky with my supervisor until now, but I might need to revise that assessment.
‘Still, maybe the real problem is me—someone trying to enter as a new hire at this age instead of as an experienced hire.’
I was falling into this spiral of self-reproach when—
“Oh! Things have been lonely since we had someone quit and another take extended leave. Welcome aboard, Lee Hyeon!”
The blue-tinged woman spoke warmly, reaching out to include me.
“I’m Hena, by the way. And this is our team lead!”
“Call me Pascal.”
Like a foreign agency—or rather, an agency from another world—the place seemed to have quite a horizontal organizational culture.
There didn’t appear to be any visible hierarchy beyond the team lead position, and the fact that everyone used first names suggested as much.
For a citizen of a Confucian nation, it felt a bit unfamiliar… but I’d need to adapt to the company atmosphere.
“We should head back to the main office and give you a proper tour, Lee Hyeon!”
Pascal nodded and pulled out a door-shaped keychain.
The miniature door had the company’s symbol carved into it.
A V inside a circle.
*Whoosh, click—*
As Pascal detached the miniature door from the carabiner clip and set it on the ground—
It transformed into a full-sized door identical to the one the representative had shoved me through.
The only difference was that it stood alone in the middle of the room, like an island, rather than set into a wall.
*Whirr, whirrrrr—*
After a moment, a mechanical sound echoed from within the door.
“Time to step through,” Pascal said.
As he opened the door, the space beyond swirled with an odd, churning darkness.
‘I didn’t get a proper look last time because everything happened so fast. Can I really put myself into that…?’
Unlike me, hesitating, Hena stepped forward with casual ease.
The moment her foot crossed the threshold, she vanished with a *whoosh*, pulled into the swirl.
Pascal, keeping one hand on the door handle, gave me a slight nod. Go on, he was saying.
‘I already made it through once without incident… it should be fine.’
My heart wasn’t really in it, but there wasn’t another choice.
With a tense breath, I stepped toward the door.
* * *
“How about this desk for you, Lee Hyeon? The person who quit today left it spotless!”
Hena spoke kindly and helped me settle in. It must have been the desk of the woman I’d seen in the lobby earlier.
A computer sat in one corner of the empty desk—the only remaining equipment.
Hena powered it on and continued explaining.
“You’ll be using this design software from now on. I think humans have used something similar? You’ll pick it up in no time, Lee Hyeon!”
The screen displayed software similar to programs commonly used by designers in the human world.
The only difference was that Vanta’s V symbol appeared where the logo should be.
‘For a small agency, they’ve even got their own custom software.’
While Hena clicked through the interface and explained its features, Pascal returned from the executive office.
His dark circles seemed even deeper than before—or was that just my imagination?
“That bastard Blere… no, the director. Says three days is fine if we exclude the production phase. It’s a project where we really hammered home the deadline during the outsourcing contract, so we can’t back out now.”
“Ah….”
A small sigh escaped from both me and Hena as we absorbed the news.
Do we always work like this? The future suddenly feels precarious….
The jellyfish-like woman must have noticed my expression, because she offered a soft word of reassurance.
“Lee Hyeon, our company isn’t always like this. We usually have plenty of time for projects, but it seems the director pushed this one because we’re trying to land a new client.”
Her thoughtfulness stung a little, right at the bridge of my nose.
‘At least the team is kind. Agencies are always busy anyway.’
“Hey, rookie. Stop standing there looking lost and grab your notebook. Let’s go.”
But his tone of voice….
Just as I’d given him a point in the colleague column, he deducted it from the team leader column.
“We need to have a meeting, don’t we.”
…….
Without meaning to, I glanced at the time on my smartwatch. It was evening.
In other words, it was quitting time.
“It’s fine, Lee Hyeon! Our company has a sleep room and a shower room too!”
Ah….
So we’d now checked every box on the worst company conditions list….
My energy completely drained, I shuffled into the conference room after him.
Hena had handed me a notebook and pen from the company supplies, so I settled into a chair as a dutiful new employee ready to take notes.
Pascal connected his laptop to the conference room’s Beam Projector and began setting up for the meeting.
[Iron and teddy bear? That’s ridiculous]
In the mirrored projector screen, it looked like Pascal had hastily closed his notes app, but not before those words appeared on it.
Naturally, both Hena and I pretended we hadn’t seen a thing….
Pascal adjusted his laptop a bit more, and this time a proper presentation slide came up.
<#008291 – 01 Commission>
Fortress City “Opticon” Branding
– Output :
A) Main – Logo
B) Variation – Nameplates, printed materials, posters
– Direction :
A) Exterior – The fortress city’s strength and coldness
B) Interior – A warm space that provides a sense of stability
– Slogan : A perfect fortress city free of all impurities
Despite being a Beam Projector, the text came through crisp and clear. I think we brought this projector to the client meeting earlier too.
It runs on battery alone without any outlet connection, and though it looked compact and lightweight, the resolution was extraordinary.
Pascal began speaking along with the image the projector cast.
“This is a summary of the client meeting from earlier. As you can see, the most difficult part is these two contradictory directions.”
That’s right. The client has set two groups as the target for this brand.
And the values they want to convey are exactly opposite—the insiders and outsiders of the fortress city.
Because of that, the contradictory meanings of strength and warmth had to be expressed all at once.
“Time is limited and the direction the client wants is high difficulty, so let’s set our own direction internally and produce a cohesive proposal.”
The team leader flipped through the slides and showed reference images as he continued.
“To express these two contradictory directions, what if we use a sharp, linear font for the logo, and express warmth through color?”
As the slide reached the final page, Pascal wrapped things up.
“Each of you make a quick sketch, then we’ll meet back here later to review them.”
After the meeting ended, I went back to my desk and sat in front of my computer.
Beyond the partition, I could see Hena heading to the break room to get some water.
…Her hair moving freely like hands, carrying her tumbler!
‘I still can’t believe this is real.’
An ordinary job seeker living in Korea suddenly seeing all these strange things?
Despite the sudden situation, my head still wasn’t entirely clear, but I had to handle what was in front of me first.
So I unfolded the notes I’d written in my notebook and looked them over.
<Expressing two contrasting images>
→ Warm colors
→ Sharp font
It’s certainly an effective strategy to respond quickly in a short time.
But….
‘Something feels a bit lacking.’
Even if I worked in the direction Pascal suggested, there’d be no problem with the design itself.
But two unfamiliar elements collide.
‘The two directions are completely incompatible.’
Would it be enough to earn a favorable evaluation from the client?
The client’s request itself is unreasonable, but surely there’s some way to weave it together naturally.
I leaned back in my chair, lost in thought.
The office was quiet after everyone left—just our team remained. Because of the silence, the sound of mouse clicks from across the partition rang out loud and clear.
Click, click—
Beyond the partition, I glimpsed Hena working with both hands on the computer, sipping water from her tumbler by using her hair like an extra limb.
……
It bothered me to death, but to avoid thinking about it, I buried my head in the monitor.
‘Maybe I should look for more references first.’
Once I logged in with my employee ID, I could access the internet like anyone from the human world.
Apparently, the company had set up access so that employees could reach information suited to their home world for convenience.
So just as I was about to busily open several design websites—
…!
A flash of inspiration struck me like lightning.
‘This could actually work quite well.’
It was a bit different from the direction the team lead had instructed, but it didn’t seem bad.
So I put pen to paper and sketched out my thoughts in various ways.
* * *
“Everyone bring their sketches?”
Hena seemed to be the type who went straight to computer work without paper sketches.
So she connected her own notebook and shared her initial design concept through a program.
Work that faithfully followed Pascal’s suggested direction.
‘Not bad at all.’
She’d pulled off solid work in a short time. Then again, with braided hair that works like a fourth hand, I suppose the speed comes naturally.
“Good, nice work. Let’s see the newcomer’s concept next.”
Meanwhile, all I’d done was sketch and jot down ideas in my notebook.
These weren’t even polished sketches, so I was willing to draw them right then and there to show.
‘Besides, this direction is different from what the team lead instructed.’
On my first day, I wondered if it was better to just blend in quietly. I didn’t want to stand out either…
‘But is this the time to worry about what others think?’
I’m barely surviving as it is. So I made up my mind to show the idea I’d come up with in full.
“Um… I actually sketched out a concept in a slightly different direction. Would it be all right to show you?”
I opened my mouth hesitantly. Oh, my hands are shaking!
I flipped open the work notebook I’d just been issued that day and placed my pen against it.
And so—
…my concept ended up being selected.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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