Chapter 1

My girlfriend's childhood friend claimed I stole his Game Design Document.

At the National Collegiate Game Awards, in front of all the cameras and journalists, my girlfriend demanded I apologize to him.

"What's wrong, Austin? You had the guts to steal Tristan's GDD, but you don't have the guts to admit it?"

I looked at her indignant face and let out a cold laugh.

If that was how she felt, then there was no point in continuing this relationship.

I left the city that broke my heart and started my own gaming company.

I thought we would never see each other again.

Until five years later, at the Global Gaming Expo, I walked onto the stage hand-in-hand with my partner to accept the grand prize.

Under the spotlight of millions, the woman who had once humiliated me ignored the security guards, ran onto the stage in tears, and grabbed the hem of my jacket.

"I was wrong, Austin. Can we please get back together?"

The opening ceremony of the Collegiate Game Awards began. Beneath the stage, countless cameras were aimed directly at the podium.

But whether it was the contestants on stage or the media below, everyone was whispering about the exact same thing.

I looked at the dense crowd in front of me and walked resolutely into the convention center.

The noisy but unified voices instantly became clear.

Even their eyes gathered on me, filled with overwhelming contempt and ridicule.

"Is that the guy who got in on his girlfriend's coattails?"

"So disgusting. He looks decent, but who knew he’d do something as low as stealing a GDD? Trash."

"I heard he did it out of pure jealousy because of his girlfriend's childhood friend. If you hate him, fight fair. Stealing someone's creative work is just sickening."

Those mocking words and insults kept pounding against my ears. I couldn't ignore them even if I wanted to.

When the rumor that I stole Tristan's GDD was spread by my girlfriend, Serena, everyone believed it without a second thought.

No one questioned whether Tristan could actually write a GDD. Serena had been hyping him up in every way possible. Even before the competition, he had already been labeled the "Best Young Designer" by the media.

Once it came out that our GDDs were identical, people didn’t even need to guess. They automatically assumed I was the thief.

And I, who had been working in silence, became the villain in everyone's eyes.

They believed I used my family's money and my girlfriend's connections to force my way into the finals.

They thought I did all of this because I was insanely jealous of Tristan.

I listened to those filthy words while tightly clutching the physical notebook in my hands—the only thing that could prove my innocence.

Under the hostile glares of the crowd, I slowly walked inside.

Just as I was about to walk backstage, Tristan's voice came from behind me.

"It's fine, everyone. Austin just made a mistake in the heat of the moment. We’re all striving to make better games. He just lost his way. Please, let's stop talking about it."

Tristan’s "noble" words won him a huge wave of sympathy and instantly sealed my fate as a thief.

Standing right next to him was Serena. She naturally linked her arm through Tristan's, looking at him with affectionate annoyance.

"Tristan, you're just too kind. You almost got disqualified because of him, and you’re still defending him!"

Then, she turned to face me, her eyes freezing cold.

"A thief like him doesn't deserve your kindness."

Serena's cold words and icy stare felt like a sharp blade piercing straight through my chest.

In the middle of this hot summer, I felt cold to my bones.

My heart trembled violently, and my vision blurred.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't believe Serena could say something so cruel to me.

I looked at her with deep sorrow, but she didn't show an ounce of pity. Instead, she frowned as if she was looking at a piece of garbage.

"I really misjudged you, Austin."

"It's bad enough that you stole, but you don't even have the balls to admit it. Are you even a man?"

She stood on her moral high ground, tearing me down with everything she had, completely ignoring the possibility that I was framed.

She didn't care how her childhood friend, who had never touched game design in his life, could suddenly write such a perfect GDD on his first try.

She didn't care that today was the culmination of my lifelong dream.

She only cared about Tristan shining under the spotlight.

Her harsh words didn't stop, and her eyes never softened for a single second.

Our three-year relationship felt like a clown's red nose in this moment. It served no purpose other than to remind me of what a joke I was to everyone else.

Seeing the deep sadness in my eyes, Serena grew even more impatient.

"You're the thief here, so stop playing the victim! Even Tristan hasn't complained!"

"Since all the media outlets are here today, why don't you publicly apologize to Tristan? We can put this behind us."

"I'm warning you, don't make things harder for yourself."

Me? Apologize?

You want the victim of intellectual theft, the one who was framed, to apologize?

The sorrow in my eyes gradually turned into burning rage. The surrounding reporters gathered around us like sharks smelling blood.

Fine. You want an apology?

I reached into my jacket and pulled out a thick notebook, holding it high in front of the cameras.

"To all the media representatives and fellow developers present, I apologize for taking up public resources, but I must make this clear."

"I am officially reporting Tristan for stealing my Game Design Document and framing me!"

If you want an apology, I’ll give you a show instead!