GITDS 01

Chapter 01

“Could you steal some blueprints for me?”

Jungwon’s hand, which had been lifting her coffee cup, trembled violently for a moment.

As if she had misheard him, she swallowed hard and looked at the man sitting across from her.

Jungwon forced the corners of her lips upward into a smile.

“What did you just say?”

“I said that I want you to join Haesin, create the blueprints, and bring them to me.”

His sophisticated suit, gentle manner of speaking, and soft smile made him look like a rather decent and honest man. But the words coming out of his mouth were anything but decent, leaving Jungwon completely flustered.

She calmly set down the coffee cup she had been holding and looked at the man before her, Kyle.

“I’m here interviewing for an engineering position with a director from BlueWave. I wasn’t expecting to be offered a job stealing things.”

A few days ago, Jungwon had been laid off from the American shipbuilding company where she had worked for three years.

Apparently, due to the worsening state of the U.S. shipbuilding market, the company was terminating its shipbuilding business altogether.

While Jungwon was desperately looking for another job after her sudden dismissal, she received a call from a headhunting agency.

They told her that BlueWave wanted her and strongly recommended that she attend an interview.

If shipbuilding companies around the world were ranked, Korea’s Haesin Group was number one, while America’s BlueWave was number two.

For Jungwon, who had nowhere to go at the moment, BlueWave’s offer had seemed like a gift from heaven.

But what on earth was the interviewer sitting before her talking about now?

“I’ll assume I heard you incorrectly.”

At Jungwon’s unexpectedly firm response, a broad smile spread across Kyle’s lips.

Meanwhile, Jungwon narrowed her eyes, thinking he was laughing at her.

“Although our company currently ranks second in the shipbuilding industry, as you know, Ms. Min Jungwon, the American shipbuilding industry has no future. The number of orders keeps decreasing, while Korea has exceptionally advanced technology and the largest number of shipyards in the world.”

“But how does that lead to you asking me to steal blueprints?”

“You know that Haesin recently developed its own ship-design software, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

“I once asked them to cooperate with us because I was curious about how they developed that program, but they rejected us outright. So I want you to join Haesin, learn that program before anyone else, and bring me the blueprints created with it.”

Kyle’s brow furrowed slightly, perhaps remembering the time he had been rejected.

He met Jungwon’s eyes as she silently listened to him, then continued.

“What do you say? Will you do it?”

Jungwon stared at Kyle for a moment.

“What kind of ship do you want?”

“Haesin announced in an article that they’re building a next-generation liquefied natural gas carrier… so we’re going to build an LNG carrier too. Ms. Min Jungwon, you worked on transport ships at Haesin before moving to U&Engineering, didn’t you? I think you’re the perfect person for this job…”

At his declaration that he wanted to steal someone else’s technology and become the world’s number-one company, a hollow laugh escaped Jungwon’s lips.

She reached for the handle of the bag beside her, preparing to stand.

Then she spoke firmly once again.

“I won’t do something like that.”

“Ms. Min Jungwon.”

“……”

“Your older sister is very ill, isn’t she? If you don’t find a job soon, you’ll have to worry about hospital bills, not to mention the transplant surgery. Especially here in the United States.”

At the mention of her sister, Jungwon’s hand stopped abruptly as she gathered her bag.

Using her sister as a hostage?

What an incredibly outdated way of thinking.

Besides, ever since leaving Haesin, Jungwon had been so disgusted by the company that she couldn’t even bear to go near anything with the word “Haesin” attached to it.

And now he wanted her to work for that company again.

And, on top of that, steal its blueprints?

No matter how desperately she needed money, she couldn’t even imagine doing something like that.

Jungwon narrowed her eyes at Kyle.

“Even so, I refuse. Consider this job offer withdrawn.”

As Jungwon stood up, Kyle gave her an intrigued smile.

She gave him a brief nod of farewell and turned her back on him.

But despite the determination she had just gathered, the words Kyle spoke behind her made Jungwon stop and turn around to face him again.

“Do you really think your father, Min Taesan, died in a simple accident?”

Her sister, and now her father.

Jungwon stared sharply at him, wondering just how much this man had investigated about her.

Hearing her father’s name for the first time in so long caused a rush of resentment and longing, and tears welled up in her large eyes.

Jungwon clenched her fists tightly, refusing to cry.

“What do you mean?”

“Why don’t you sit back down first? This story is going to take a while.”

With a broad smile on his face, Kyle took a tablet out of his bag and placed it on the table. Then he looked steadily at Jungwon.

Reluctantly, Jungwon sat back down.

Kyle moved his fingers across the tablet several times.

Soon, a familiar voice came from the device.

— About this explosion… make sure we put all the blame on Min Taesan.

At that moment, Jungwon felt as though her heart had dropped heavily to the floor.

— What? Chairman, but if we do that…

— No one will know as long as we keep our mouths shut. Can’t we just hire another designer? It’s only one ship designer.

— But this accident was clearly caused by a problem on our end. We rushed the construction because it was urgent…

— Be quiet. President Han, do as I say. As for the article…

“P-Please, stop!”

Jungwon could no longer bear listening.

She covered both ears with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut.

Watching her, Kyle let out an unpleasant laugh.

“Those are familiar voices, aren’t they? They belong to Haesin Group Chairman Han and Haesin Heavy Industries’ president, Han Jae-hyun.”

“……”

“I’m giving you an opportunity, Ms. Min Jungwon. An opportunity to expose the ugly truth about Haesin Heavy Industries and make them stumble in this industry.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Haesin blamed the entire accident on a design mistake made by your father, Min Taesan. On top of that, they even framed him by accusing him of trying to sell Haesin’s technology to another country. So you should get your revenge.”

At the word “revenge,” Jungwon’s eyes trembled violently, like a ship tossed about by waves.

He continued.

“Your father died unjustly because of Haesin. Doesn’t that make you angry?”

“Chairman Han and President Han also lost their lives in the same accident. There’s no one left for me to take revenge on…”

“There is one.”

“Han Tae-kyung.”

Jungwon looked at Kyle through tear-filled eyes.

Seeing the uncertainty in her eyes, his lips curved into another smile.

“So, what will you do? Will you bring me the blueprints, get revenge for your father, and save your sister? Or will you turn your back on the truth and lose another member of your family?”

Jungwon could not answer easily. Her lips trembled as she struggled to find the right words.

An odd silence fell between Kyle and Jungwon.

Eventually, Jungwon managed to speak.

“…I’ll think about it and contact you again.”

“Ha…”

Deep sighs repeatedly escaped Jungwon’s lips as she left the café and walked down the street.

She had thought this was simply going to be a job interview, but instead, she had learned something she had never expected.

Her heart began trembling again, and tears filled her eyes.

Trying not to cry, Jungwon looked up at the reddening sky and let her gaze drift blankly.

Then she felt her phone vibrating continuously in her pocket.

“Hello?”

— Are you Ms. Min Hyewon’s guardian? This is the hospital.

At the word “hospital,” Jungwon’s face instantly hardened.

Swallowing nervously, she asked,

“Did something… happen to my sister?”

— Ms. Min Hyewon’s oxygen saturation has been extremely low for the past few days. We ran several tests today, and… I don’t think we can postpone the transplant any longer. We’ll need to contact UNOS, the organ transplant system, have her evaluated, and put her name on the waiting list.

At the hospital staff member’s words, Jungwon squeezed her eyes shut.

Wasn’t this what people meant by being hit when you were already down?

She had just been fired from her company and was already worried about how she would pay her sister’s hospital bills and living expenses starting the month after next.

And now they needed to arrange the surgery as quickly as possible.

Jungwon had expected that the transplant would eventually become necessary, but after meeting Kyle today, her mind was even more troubled.

She slowly moved her lips.

“What if… we transfer her to a hospital in Korea?”

They had come all the way to the United States because they had found a hospital that understood her sister’s illness better than anywhere else and had a high recovery rate.

For three years, Jungwon had worked herself to the bone and earned as much money as she could, determined to cure the illness of the only family she had left.

At this moment, Jungwon felt utterly pathetic for even thinking about returning to Korea.

It felt as though she had failed to protect anything—neither her own life nor her sister.

— It’s far too dangerous. Even if we send medical staff with her, we can’t guarantee that she’ll survive the journey. She needs to remain on a ventilator continuously.

“Yes, of course… I was just asking. I’ll come to the hospital soon and fill out the paperwork.”

The call ended with a click, and tears streamed down Jungwon’s cheeks.

She roughly wiped them away and put her phone back into her pocket.

Her hand caught on a stiff, angular piece of paper.

It was the business card Kyle had given her moments ago.

Jungwon stared at it for a while.

Then she took out her phone again and called him.

After a short ringing tone, Kyle’s voice came through.

— I guess you’ve made your decision rather quickly?

Jungwon bit down hard on her lip.