Boss

We will have to see whether you can meet those expectations or not, though.

**Boss** is the leader of the ghosts and in charge of the Underworld Office in Underworld Office: Offline Mystery Visual Novel. As a ghost, he is paying back his 'debt' by taking care of monsters and saving other ghosts from dangerous situations.

## Appearance

**Boss** is a tall and lean man wearing a variant of *hanbok*, a traditional Korean clothing that can be traced back to the Goguryeo Dynasty (38 BC). In his ghost form, the *jeogori* (upper garment of the *hanbok*) is indigo and is the only colored part of his body. His *baji* (bottom part of the *hanbok*) is unconventionally tight. Unlike River, his eyes can be distinguished by its pure white color while the rest of his body and clothes are pitch black. Boss also uses a black handheld fan as a weapon to attack monsters or to smack River when she aggravates him.

In his human form, he wore a *kunbok*, which is the traditional male military *hanbok.*

## Personality

**Boss** is calm, strict, and irritable. He has a dark and sarcastic sense of humor that other characters often misunderstand due to his icy manner of talking. He is always serious and unwilling to express affection, though he sometimes gives compliments to those who deserve it. With the exception of River and Joan, his brooding nature often makes the other characters scared and intimidated by him. Eugene even remarked that they can feel chills just by standing next to Boss.

Boss dissociates himself from mortals and their problems, hence his initial distaste in having to adopt Eugene as one of his workers. However, he does display some kind of concealed empathy towards them as evidenced by his firing of Eugene and his later implication that Eugene alone can do something about the kids' dangerous situation.

## Biography

### Pre-game

Boss used to be a military officer in the 17th to 18th century Joseon. Although his exact rank is unknown, Boss was indubitably a rich person and even possibly a noble based on his clothing, habits, and favorite alcohol that only affluent people of the time can afford. He died quite young at 28 years old.

### Gameplay

Boss first appears in Chapter 1: Eugene when he saves a terrified Eugene from a horde of monsters. He has an unfriendly and no-nonsense attitude right from the start. He seems to dislike talking, shown when he leaves most of the job of explaining the Underworld Office rules to River. Boss is also initially not fond of the idea of taking Eugene in as one of his employees and only does so because he did not see any other way to charge Eugene for their debt.

As the manager of the Underworld Office, Boss is in charge of separating the ghosts into teams in missions. Boss assigns Eugene to different ghosts for every mission: first Hayden, then River, and lastly himself.

#### Helping Sean

After Eugene falls asleep earlier that night, River greets him. When the teen asks why Hayden isn't their partner tonight, River says that the child has to sort out some things about the case that took place the night before. She then starts to tease Eugene which causes Boss to smack River on the head with his fan. He then tells Eugene that they would be pairing up with River and that it would be a meaningful experience, provided they keep her out of unneccesary trouble. She then teases Boss asking if he is saying so because he wants to team up with her for another 300 years or so to which he says that he will seal her for that long instead.

    River then encourages Eugene saying their awesome teamwork would help show the black ghost who is boss. Before the other ghost could say anything more, they disappeared out the window. The pair decide to visit Linda after the teen told their partner about the mother and son. Once they meet Sean, he tells them that he is trying to get enough luck to help Linda win the lottery. This causes Eugene to think if they should follow Sean's way or not.

* You follow Sean's way
* You don't follow Sean's way

* River and Eugene take Sean back to the office and Joan starts to argue with River with causes Sean to lose his composure. After Eugene calms Sean down, Boss makes his presence known by replying to Eugene when the teen asked about him.
* Boss calls out River and Joan for arguing in front of Sean, Hayden and Eugene. River then tells Boss that Eugene was of great help to which Boss says that he would've assigned fifteen more cases or so had he known that Eugene would have been more useful than he originally thought.
* Boss then pats Eugene on the head and tells River to take them home.

* Eugene stubbornly refuses and decides to take matters into their own hands.
* When Eugene starts to doubt if it would be a good time to speak his mind, Boss encourages them by telling them to do whatever they wish.
* After Sean meets his mom in her dreams, Sean thanks River and Eugene. Boss interrupts the conversation between the three, which startles Eugene and Sean.
* River then tells Boss that Eugene was of great help to which Boss says that he would've assigned fifteen more cases or so had he known that Eugene would have been more useful than he originally thought.
* Boss then pats Eugene on the head and tells River to take them home.

#### Firing Eugene

In Chapter 4: Early Sleep, Eugene decides to sleep early and hang out with the ghosts instead of spending time in the real world during the day. The Underworld Office ghosts are surprised at Eugene's premature appearance but think nothing of it. Boss, however, is infuriated when he finds out and proceeds to drag Eugene back home, where he immediately fires them. When Eugene asks why, Boss vaguely answers that it's both his and Eugene's fault that it turned out like this and that he hopes to never see Eugene again.

Boss's words greatly confuse and, depending on the player's choice of dialogues, anger Eugene to the point of moping. This can also fuel Eugene's hatred for Boss if they decide to be distrustful of him early in the game.

#### Eugene's Return

After getting fired, Eugene encounters a vengeful monster named Charlie on the subway and attempts to solve the problem. However, Charlie cannot be pacified and instead threatens Eugene's life. When Eugene calls River, Joan will appear instead and save Eugene. Back in the Underworld Office, the rest of the ghosts are fretting over Eugene's abandoned physical body. Boss then coldly interrogates Eugene, during which it is implied that Boss fired Eugene because he feared that Eugene may be using the Underworld Office to escape their reality instead of facing it head on. Regardless of how Eugene answers his questions, however, Boss will take them back for one last mission.

#### Saving the Kids

In Chapter 6: That Man, Boss and Eugene break into a dirty apartment. Eugene discovers that this is the residence of the kids they often encounter at the playground — Tatum and Finley — and that the kids' mother has been murdered and stuffed in a locked cabinet.

Meanwhile, Jack, the kids' father, is having monster-induced nightmares in the opposite bedroom. As Boss prepares to subdue the monster, Eugene barges in and pleads for him not to as they reveal that the monster is actually the kids' mother, Susan, whom Jack murdered. Unfazed, Boss subdues the monster, stating that ghosts cannot meddle with the affairs of mortals no matter what, to Eugene's great distress. When Boss offers his hand to leave, Eugene has to make the crucial choice to either take it or refuse.

## Relationships

### Eugene

In the beginning of the series, Boss doesn't want anything to do with Eugene since they are a mortal. But the former is forced to take Eugene as an intern in order for them to pay back their debt to the ghost. Boss cares about Eugene and sees a bit of himself in the teenager. He cares deeply about Eugene and tries to help the child out whenever he can (as seen in Chapter 3, when he tells Eugene to do whatever he wants and when he fired Eugene in Chapter 4 because he was afraid that they would prioritize the underworld over the mortal world and fail to see his value should he continue to stay for a long time in the underworld office). As the story progresses, Boss (along with the rest of the underworld office members depending on how you treat them) slowly grows fond of Eugene.

### River

Boss seems to detest River's non-serious personality and antics, often threatening to punish her and smacking her on the head with his fan. But he acknowledges her capabilities (as seen in Chapter 3 when he says that if Eugene goes with River, it would most likely be a meaningful experience). He also cares a lot about her (shown in Chapter 5, when he gets angry at Eugene for calling River to a place she cannot go to).

### Hayden

Hayden respects Boss and does as the elder ghost says even if it is too much work. Unlike Sean and Eugene, he does not fear Boss and talks to him in a very casual way. Boss even compliments him and Eugene in Chapter 3 (if you choose to follow Sean's way).

### Joan

Although not many interactions between the two are shown in the game, Boss respects Joan. This is shown in Chapter 4, when Boss calls Joan "Ma'am" despite him being older than her. But he does not hesitate to call her out for her behavior if she argues with River in front of Hayden, Sean, and Eugene in Chapter 3 (The quarrel happens if you choose to follow Sean's way).

### Sean

Sean is scared of Boss and often hides when he is around. He acknowledges that Boss is a good person but he can't help but fear and call him Sir.

## Quotes

***Boss:** "Try to make a use out of Eugene. And tell me if you really cannot get anything done. We will just eat Eugene alive."*

***Eugene:** "E... eat me alive?"*

***Hayden:** "Boss, you eat humans?!?!"*

***Boss:** "...I am joking."*

—Chapter 2: Luke

***Boss:** "Any debtor that gets useless..."*

***Eugene:** "...?"*

***Boss:** "I will bite into tiny pieces."*

***Eugene:** "Eeeeeek!!"*

***Boss:** "...I cannot even make a joke."*

—Chapter 2: Luke

***Boss:** (to Eugene) "You shall go with River today. As long as you keep her from making unrelated moves... It will most likely be a more meaningful experience."*

***River:** "Are you flattering (sic) me because you want to be on my team, Boss? Wanna team up for another 300 years or so? Would you like that?"*

***Boss:** "I will seal you for another 300 years or so."*

—Chapter 3: Sean

***Eugene:** "Is there a problem?"*

***Boss:** (carrying Eugene) "I have one in my arms right now."*

—Chapter 7: Life and Death

```
    Boss:  "you are my sin"

```

## Trivia

* According to the creators, Boss's character design is based on 17th to 18th century Joseon clothing. It can be assumed that this is the era when Boss was born.
* His physical age is 28, while his height is 179cm.
* White is his favorite color.
* Boss's most hated nickname is 박수 (*Paksu*), which is the male counterpart of a 무당 (*Mudang*) or a female shaman. Korean shamanism (also known as Shinism) is a religion that dates back to prehistory and consists of the worship of gods and nature spirits. A shaman employs magic to effect cures, to tell fortunes, to soothe spirits of the dead, or to repulse evil. Interestingly, the design of a *kunbok* and a male shaman's clothes are quite similar, which can explain the reason for this nickname.
* His taste in alcohol is 이화주 (*Ihwaju*). It has the texture of pudding (a tart, boozy pudding) and makes for a great digestif or dessert. In ancient times, *ihwaju* was a dessert alcohol for the aristocracy, which implies that Boss may have been a noble or at least an affluent person when he was human.
* Boss had a habit of running off in the middle of the night with a horse.
* Boss might be left-handed as he often holds his handheld fan using his left hand
* It's slightly implied he died from suicide (In CIU)
* It was revealed that he lied to everyone, saying bad deeds turns you into a monster, the truth being you turn into a monster through regret over actions.
* Boss is the oldest Underworld Office character amongst everyone.

## Gallery

* "Boss's Past"
* Boss and Eugene
* The Underworld Office
* Boss with Glasses (translation below)
* Boss' laughing icon
* Boss getting ready to chew Eugene's head off
* Boss concept sheet
* Boss in a pink dress by rev-olutiion on Tumblr
1/9
### Icons

Boss, neutralBoss, neutral 2Boss, quite angryBoss, furiousBoss, laughing
## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/Team\_344/status/1315647326568890369
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/Team\_344/status/1315647326568890369
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/Team\_344/status/1324344970174627841
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/Team\_344/status/1324344970174627841
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/Team\_344/status/1324344970174627841
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/Team\_344/status/1324344970174627841