GITDS 04

Chapter 4

As soon as she returned to Korea, Jungwon had gone straight to Haesin for her interview, and it was late at night by the time she finally returned to the hotel.

“Sis, how are you feeling?”

Before she could even catch her breath, she called her sister in America to ask how she was doing.

After meeting Han Tae-kyung, the chairman of Haesin Group, and then unexpectedly running into Ah-young in the lobby, Jungwon had spent the entire day unconsciously tense. As soon as she entered her room, all the strength seemed to drain from her body, and she collapsed onto the bed.

Jungwon frowned and slowly closed her eyes.

— How did the interview go? Was it okay? And how is Korea after all this time? Is it still the same?

Although Jungwon had been the one to call first, Hyewon immediately began asking one question after another, as if she had been waiting all day for her sister’s call.

Hearing her sister’s voice, Jungwon let out a small laugh.

“Ah, Sis. Ask me one thing at a time.”

— Ah, sorry. I was so curious all day that I just waited for your call. So, how did the interview go?

“Ah, well… it was just… I used to work there, after all…”

When asked whether the interview had gone well, Jungwon couldn’t answer easily. She moved her lips a few times before awkwardly trailing off.

Her sister quickly sensed her mood.

When Hyewon said nothing on the other end of the phone, Jungwon realized her mistake and quickly continued.

“Th-They said they wanted me to come back as soon as possible. They apologized and said that everything that happened back then had been their fault, and that they wanted to apologize properly. So they asked me to come back and build lots of ships for them.”

— Really?

“I’m telling you, it’s true. Why would I lie to you?”

Han Tae-kyung had said that he still deeply regretted what had happened back then, so it wasn’t entirely a lie.

Worried that her sister might become concerned if she hesitated again, Jungwon deliberately brightened her voice.

“What did you do at the hospital today? Were you bored without me?”

— I watched a new drama today. So I wasn’t bored at all~ Actually, it was nice not having someone come visit me every day and bother me.

“That kind of hurts my feelings.”

— Haha. Oh, right! Do you know what? I saw this on social media earlier…

Although she claimed she hadn’t meant it that way, Hyewon began telling Jungwon everything that had happened to her that day.

Listening to her sister’s voice made Jungwon feel at ease, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

Her older sister, Hyewon, was suffering from one of the rare diseases known as pulmonary arterial hypertension and was currently hospitalized.

It was a disease in which the pulmonary arteries gradually narrowed, causing the heart to become overworked and eventually fail.

For most people, a lung transplant would be enough, but in Hyewon’s case, both her lungs and heart had been damaged, making her condition even more serious than that of other patients.

The doctor had said that the disease was probably hereditary, passed down from their late mother.

About a week after their father died, Hyewon had gone to Haesin Group with a lawyer before Jungwon did.

She had been shocked by what they told her and collapsed.

When that memory surfaced again, Jungwon slightly furrowed her brow.

Then she heard her sister’s lowered voice through the phone.

— Jungwon.

“Hm?”

After chatting casually about all sorts of things for a long time, Hyewon suddenly called her sister in a serious tone.

Jungwon nervously bit down on her lip, then deliberately replied playfully.

“Whyyy?”

— It’s not too late, even now.

“…What?”

— If you went back there because of me…

“Sis.”

Knowing what her sister was about to say, Jungwon firmly cut her off.

After Hyewon collapsed, nothing mattered to Jungwon anymore—not even dealing with the aftermath of their father’s accident.

The only thing that mattered was saving her sister.

She couldn’t lose the only family she had left.

After that day, Jungwon searched for the best hospitals specializing in her sister’s illness. Around that time, she received an offer from an American shipbuilding company asking her to come work as a designer.

The hospital was also in America, so Jungwon left Korea with her sister without a moment’s hesitation.

Jungwon continued speaking.

“I don’t regret it. Everything was my choice. And I’m only able to do all this because I have the skills to do it. What kind of little sister would I be if I couldn’t? So don’t think about unnecessary things. If you feel even slightly unwell, tell the doctor right away. Understand?”

— …Okay. I understand.

“I’m a little tired because I came back from America to Korea and went straight to interviews. I’ll call you again. Text me from time to time, okay?”

— Okay. You worked hard today.

The long phone call finally ended with a click.

Only then did a quiet silence settle over the room.

Jungwon stared at her darkened phone for a moment before tossing it aside. Then she pulled the blanket over herself.

Bright moonlight streamed through the slightly opened curtains and spread across her face.

Jungwon slowly closed her eyes.

Time passed so quickly after the interview that Jungwon hardly knew where the days had gone.

Before she knew it, the day of her first day at work had arrived.

Without having had enough time to sort through all the memories of the past that kept resurfacing, Jungwon stepped into the lobby with complicated feelings.

She took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, trying to calm her nerves.

Then, as though encouraging herself, she quietly muttered under her breath.

“Don’t worry about what people think. I’m just here to do my job.”

Don’t shrink back, Min Jungwon.

I don’t have the time to worry about what people say. And besides, it doesn’t matter if I hear them, right?

Once I accomplish what I came here to do, I’ll leave this place again without any regrets.

“Have you been waiting long?”

Bora, the secretary from the chairman’s office who had helped Jungwon during her initial interview, approached her with a bright smile.

Jungwon shook her head.

“No, I just got here too.”

“Then shall we head to your workplace?”

As Yoo Bora walked ahead, Jungwon tilted her head slightly in confusion.

Isn’t this usually something handled by the HR department? Why is the chairman’s secretary personally here again?

As if she had read Jungwon’s thoughts, Yoo Bora began speaking.

“The chairman asked me to show you around personally. I suppose that means he has rather high expectations of you, Ms. Min Jungwon.”

“That feels like a lot of pressure.”

“You’re familiar with the main building, but this is your first time in the annex, isn’t it? The ship design department is in the annex, so I’ll show you the way.”

“Yes, thank you.”

At the mention of the chairman, the attention of everyone in the lobby turned toward Jungwon.

Ignoring the sharp gazes directed at her, Jungwon quietly followed Yoo Bora.

“This is where you’ll be working with your colleagues.”

With Yoo Bora’s help, Jungwon arrived at the annex.

She looked around briefly at the secretary’s words.

The annex was just as large and magnificent as the main building.

Jungwon asked,

“Was there a particular reason the ship design department was moved from the main building to the annex?”

“Since the company is launching a new project, the chairman wanted the design and security teams to be located together in the annex, rather than in the busy main building, so that greater attention could be paid to security.”

At Yoo Bora’s explanation, Jungwon simply nodded without thinking much of it and stood in front of the elevator.

While waiting for it, Jungwon examined the directory posted on the wall.

Then she noticed the words Chairman’s Office listed on the twentieth floor and asked again,

“The chairman’s office is… in the annex too?”

The chairman’s office was usually located at the highest point of the main building.

There was no rule saying it couldn’t be in an annex, but it was still unusual.

As they stepped into the arriving elevator, Yoo Bora answered her question.

“He said that since shipbuilding is Haesin Group’s most important business, he wants to keep a close eye on it personally.”

“Ah… I see.”

“The Design Team 1 where you’ll be working is on the seventh floor. Team Leader Yoo Do-jin, the senior engineer in charge, will be able to help you a great deal going forward.”

Ding.

The elevator arrived at the seventh floor.

Jungwon thanked Yoo Bora, and the secretary gave her a bright smile before disappearing from sight.

She had once walked through these halls every day.

Perhaps it was because the surroundings had changed from the main building to the annex.

Or perhaps it was because, despite firmly telling herself that she could do well, she still couldn’t completely trust herself.

Whatever the reason, as Jungwon stood in front of the design department’s door, her heart began beating irregularly.

With trembling hands, she gripped the door handle and took a deep breath.

That was when—

Bang!

The door suddenly swung open.

“Eek!”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to startle you… Are you all right?”

A man who had opened the door from inside smiled gently at Jungwon, looking apologetic.

The softly curved corners of his lips, his gently curved eyes, and his kind smile…

Even though they hadn’t exchanged a single word, there was something about his face that gave off the impression of a genuinely warm and kind personality.

Startled, Jungwon caught her breath and looked at him.

“Are you perhaps Ms. Min Jungwon, the new senior engineer starting today?”

“Huh? Yes…”

Although she had never seen him before, Jungwon nodded at the man who seemed to already know who she was.

He held out his hand to her warmly.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yoo Do-jin, a senior researcher. I’m also the team leader of Design Team 1.”