Chapter 1

The awards ceremony for the College Game Competition had begun, and countless cameras below the stage were aimed straight at us.

But whether they were the contestants onstage or the reporters below, everyone was talking about the same thing.

I looked at the sea of people in front of me and walked resolutely into the venue.

The noisy but unified voices suddenly became clear.

Their gazes gathered on me as well, carrying overwhelming contempt and ridicule.

“Is that the kept man who only got into the competition because of his girlfriend?”

“Disgusting. He looks so respectable, but who would’ve thought he’d steal a game proposal? That’s seriously disgusting. Ugh.”

“I heard he did it because he was jealous of his girlfriend’s childhood friend. If he hated him so much, he should’ve competed against him openly. Sneaking around and stealing things is revolting.”

The mockery and insults kept assaulting my ears, and I had no way to ignore them.

When my girlfriend, Sophie, spread the story that I had stolen Ryan’s game proposal, everyone believed it without question.

No one would doubt that Ryan could have written a proposal, because Sophie had always praised him in every possible way, and before the competition had even started, people were already calling him the Best Young Designer.

Once our proposals turned out to be identical, no one even needed to think about it. Everyone assumed that I had stolen Ryan’s work.

And I, who had always been unknown, became a thief in everyone’s eyes.

People even said that I had forced my way into the competition by relying on my wealthy family and my girlfriend’s help.

I had supposedly done it all because Ryan was my girlfriend Sophie’s childhood friend, and I was jealous.

As I listened to those filthy, unbearable insults, I gripped the notebook in my hand—the one thing that could prove my innocence.

Under the attack of everyone’s eyes, I slowly walked inside.

Just as I was about to step onto the stage, Ryan’s voice came from behind me.

“It’s okay. Ethan was just confused for a moment. We’re all working hard to create better games. He simply lost his way for a while. Everyone, please stop talking about it.”

Ryan’s magnanimous words earned him a huge wave of goodwill while once again firmly confirming that I had stolen his proposal.

Sophie was standing beside him, naturally clinging to his arm as she scolded him affectionately.

“Ryan, you’re always thinking about other people. You’re just too kind. You almost got disqualified from this competition, and you’re still saying things like that.”

Then she turned to look at me, her eyes cold and sharp.

“A thief like him isn’t worthy of your defense.”

Sophie’s icy words and gaze turned into a blade of frost that plunged viciously into my heart.

It was the middle of a blazing summer, yet my entire body felt cold.

My heart trembled uncontrollably, and even my gaze began to shake.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn’t believe Sophie could actually say something like that.

I looked at Sophie sadly, but when she saw my eyes, she didn’t show the slightest trace of concern. Instead, she frowned as if she had just seen something disgusting.

“I really misjudged you.”

“You stole something and still refuse to admit it. Are you even a man?”

Standing on the moral high ground, she criticized me without mercy, never caring whether I had been falsely accused.

She didn’t care how her childhood friend Ryan, who had never even touched a game proposal before, had managed to write such a perfect one on his first try.

She cared even less that everything happening today was a dream I had cherished for years.

All she cared about was letting her childhood friend Ryan shine in this moment.

Her criticism never stopped, and her eyes never became warm toward me again.

Our three-year relationship was like a clown’s red nose at that moment. Apart from reminding me that I was a clown and giving everyone else something to laugh at, it served no purpose at all.

The more sorrowful my gaze became, the more impatient Sophie grew.

“You stole something, and now you’re pretending to be pitiful? Even Ryan hasn’t said anything!”

“How about this? All the media are here today, so you can publicly apologize to Ryan, and we’ll let the matter end there.”

“I’m warning you, don’t wait until you hit a brick wall before you turn back.”

I should apologize?

She wanted me—the one whose proposal had been stolen and who had been falsely branded a thief—to apologize.

The sorrow in my eyes slowly transformed into anger, and the reporters around us crowded closer like sharks that had smelled blood.

Fine. She wanted me to apologize, right?

I pulled a notebook from inside my jacket and held it high for all the reporters to see.

“Everyone from the media, and all my fellow contestants, I’m sorry for taking up public attention, but I have to make the truth clear.”

“I’m reporting Ryan for stealing my game proposal and framing me!”

Then I would give her a proper apology.