Ryo Tanaka stared at the monitor in front of him, his bloodshot eyes trying to stay open. The digital clock in the lower right corner of the screen showed 11:47 PM.
The office was quiet, only a few soft-glowing lights and the monotonous hum of the computer fan remained. The rows of desks were empty, documents scattered, and chairs lined up like tired soldiers. Ryo knew he was the last person left on this floor.
He pressed a few keys on the keyboard, trying to find the cause of the problem that had been bothering him for the past few hours. On the screen, hundreds of lines of green code scrolled continuously like an endless rain. Suddenly, the error message appeared again.
"Error: Unknown Exception."
Ryo massaged his temples, feeling frustrated.
"What else is this? I've done everything, but why does it keep popping up?"
Ryo worked as a programmer and game designer at a large game company in Tokyo. They were in the final stages of developing a gacha-based MMORPG, an ambitious project that had been long anticipated.
Investors loved this project because of its enormous profit potential, especially from the gacha system that made players constantly want to spend money to get rare characters and items.
However, for Ryo, this project was just another task, a job that had to be completed to meet the never-ending deadlines.
Ryo sighed deeply and loosened his tie, which was already soaked with sweat.
"If life is a game," he muttered sarcastically, "then I must have quit playing this game."
As a nearly 30-year-old man, Ryo felt his life was nothing more than a boring routine. Every day, he woke up, went to the office, sat in front of the computer for hours, sipped stale coffee, and repeated the same thing day after day.
Even on weekends, he preferred spending time at the office rather than at home, which was just a small apartment with empty white walls.
Ryo grabbed the cold can of coffee lying on the table and took a deep gulp. His face grimaced as the bitter and sour taste touched his tongue.
"Like this stale coffee, my life has no taste anymore."
he said as he slammed the empty can into the trash. But the can fell to the floor and rolled away, like a joke from the universe that humiliated him.
He stared at the computer screen in front of him, hoping to find the error that kept the program from running.
"Come on, Tanaka. Focus. You must be able to find the mistake," he thought as he adjusted his sitting position.
He began to trace each line of code carefully, trying to remember every change he had made in the past few days. His fingers typed quickly, alternating with clicking the mouse.
He knew exactly how these codes worked; he was the one who designed the system, so he had to be able to find the solution.
After a few minutes that felt like a century, Ryo finally found a small error in a hidden line of code. He quickly fixed it and ran the program again
For a few seconds, the screen was blank, and Ryo held his breath, hoping that this time everything would run smoothly. However, his hopes were dashed when the same error message appeared again.
"Error: Unknown Exception."
"Seriously? Again?" he grumbled, his frustration mounting.
He wanted to smash the computer screen with his keyboard. But he knew it wouldn't help. He turned off the computer, deciding to give up for tonight. His body was too tired to care, and his brain felt like it was about to explode.
With a lazy movement, he grabbed his jacket hanging on the back of the chair and packed his belongings. When he walked out of the office, the lights automatically turned off behind him, leaving the office space dark and quiet.
"See you tomorrow, my little hell," he muttered as he closed the office door a little harder than he should have.
Outside, the cold night air of winter greeted him with a sharp, cold wind. Ryo pulled his jacket tighter, shivering slightly as the night wind hit his face.
The Tokyo streets were almost empty, with only a few passersby, mostly other office workers who were also returning home late or people who had just finished drinking at a nearby izakaya.
He walked slowly towards the train station not too far from his office.
When he arrived at the station, the platform was almost empty. There were only a few passengers waiting for the last train of the night.
Ryo looked at his watch, the train would arrive in a few minutes. He leaned against the barrier, staring blankly at the dark tracks. Thoughts about his stagnant life disturbed him again.
"Am I just going to keep going like this until I die?" he thought bitterly.
"Like an NPC in my own game, just doing the same thing over and over again."
A soft voice behind him caught his attention. He turned and saw a small child on the other side of the platform. The child looked confused, as if he was looking for someone. He walked towards the edge of the platform, too close to the edge. Ryo felt something was wrong.
"Hey, be careful!" Ryo exclaimed spontaneously.
However, his sudden voice startled the child. The child stumbled and fell onto the tracks.
"Oh, no!" Ryo was startled. In an instant, the instinct to save lives was faster than his own thoughts.
He ran towards the edge of the platform, jumped over the barrier without thinking twice, and landed hard on the tracks. There were screams from some of the passengers on the platform, but Ryo couldn't hear anything except his own rapid breathing. His eyes were fixed on the small child who was now trying to crawl back up.
Ryo ran and quickly grabbed the child's hand.
"Hold on tight!" he shouted, trying to keep his voice calm even though his heart was pounding.
With one strong pull, he pushed the child up onto the platform. Several adult passengers immediately caught him and pulled him to safety.
However, when Ryo tried to pull himself up, he heard another sound - the roar of a train approaching. He looked up and saw a bright, blinding light at the end of the tunnel. His face turned pale.
"No... too fast," he whispered.
Time seemed to slow down. He could hear the screams and panicked footsteps on the platform. The roar of the train engine grew louder, like a giant metal monster coming to get him.
Ryo managed a small smile amidst all the chaos.
"At least, I managed to save one life," he thought, feeling relieved and desperate at the same time.
He knew he wouldn't have time to climb up.
"Game over, huh?"
He closed his eyes, ready for the worst. The next second, there was a flash of light and a deafening roar. His body was thrown, but the pain he expected didn't come. There was only the thick darkness and a strange sense of peace.
And then, everything faded away.