Chapter 164: Morning in Philadelphia (8)

Richard was about to lift his head when he asked doubtfully.

"I understand the contract has already ended... ."

Doubt was buried in his voice.

"But the account still remains?"

Matthew calmly turned the laptop and showed the screen to the two people while continuing the explanation.

"What was used back then is not a typical audit account. It is a system account for joint verification."

He pointed his finger at the screen.

"When the Chinese LNG ship project was underway two years ago, separate access rights were granted for cross-verifying technical data with KPMG China. In principle, it is closed upon contract termination, but... since that project ended midway, there is a high possibility that the IT department did not go through the cleanup procedure."

Matthew slowly scrolled the screen and looked through past records. Old filenames passed by quickly like blurry afterimages.

"To briefly explain KPMG's internal network structure, the global headquarters system and regional offices operate completely separate networks. It is for security reasons. Because of that, project-specific accounts are sometimes left abandoned like a kind of independent island."

A faint smile brushed his mouth. It was not confidence, but the bitter expression of one who knew the loopholes of the industry all too well.

"Of course, access records will remain. However, it is a gray zone that no one officially touches. It is an ambiguous part because the audit is not unfinished, yet not completely finished either."

William took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His jawline hardened firmly.

"Fine. Then let's check it. But keep in mind. We must proceed while complying with legal procedures as much as possible."

Richard still looked at the two people alternately with a suspicious expression.

His lips twitched as if he were trying to say something, but in the end, he could not say anything.

Matthew's fingertips moved quickly over the laptop keyboard.

The typing sound broke the silence of the conference room.

That sound was regular yet urgent like the second hand of a clock.

***

It was a few hours before William Brady checked the material delivered from an anonymous source.

I, Lim Hyunjun, spoke after finishing dinner with the team members.

"Let's stop here for today. Everyone must be tired, so rest early. Let's have a meeting at ten tomorrow morning."

As the team members scattered to their rooms, I headed to the place to stay for today along with Choi Seo-jun and Hong Jang-gun.

The room we were staying in was a suite room.

It was a place where the living room and bedroom were separated.

Beyond the large windows, the night view of Philadelphia was shining.

These days, for my safety, Choi Seo-jun and Hong Jang-gun always stuck together and stayed with me.

Choi Seo-jun spoke while watching me take out a laptop from the bag.

"Representative, please sleep early today."

"There is something I have to do for a moment."

Choi Seo-jun made an expression as if he could not stop me and then entered the room.

The lights in the living room were turned on.

I took off my jacket, hung it over the back of the sofa, and opened the laptop screen.

As the screen turned on, my fingers moved quickly.

After a moment, the security module connected to the HJ Partners internal network was activated.

I placed a document on the newly opened window.

The title of that document was written like this.

[SinoaMarine_Internal_Risk_Report]

After sending the file somewhere, I looked at the watch on my wrist.

It was already pointing to midnight.

I exhaled deeply.

Fatigue rushed in suddenly.

As I turned my gaze out the window, the city lights under the night sky were distantly scattered.

While letting out a long yawn, Choi Seo-jun came out through the door.

Having come out in pajamas, he looked like he had just woken up from sleep.

"Representative... have you still not slept? Please sleep quickly."

"I should sleep now."

I also stood up while tidying the laptop.

Watching me enter the room, Choi Seo-jun scratched his head and drank a sip of water.

"Trying to do something alone again... ."

After muttering slowly, he entered the room again and laid his body on the bed.

The next day at ten in the morning.

The fragrant smell of freshly brewed coffee was spreading faintly in the suite room's living room of the high-rise hotel located in the center of Philadelphia.

The morning sunlight seeped through the large windows, and that light brightly illuminated the top of the conference table.

The table was full of documents along with each person's laptop and tablet.

Everyone was looking at the same thing. It was the draft of the official US Department of Commerce briefing. At the top of the first page, it was written like this.

[ HJ Partners selected as a core partner for the Korea-US advanced industry network strategic cooperation]

Choi Seo-jun looked at the laptop screen and opened his mouth calmly.

"I have finished reviewing the Department of Commerce announcement materials. At 2 PM this afternoon, HJ Partners will be mentioned as an official partner company at the Washington headquarters briefing room. Moreover, it was the first item. It was placed at the very front."

Cho Hana lifted her head and looked at Director Choi Seo-jun with surprised eyes. The ballpoint pen held in her hand trembled minutely.

"The very front? That means we are classified as one of the representative companies of this Korea-US economic summit, not just a participating company."

Choi Seo-jun smiled and nodded.

"Correct. That content was also included in the draft of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing. We are also at the top of the official achievement announcement items before the President returns home."

President Yu Hyeon-seok uncrossed his arms and his expression was bright as if he were in a good mood.

"This much is a great achievement. The fact that our name is mentioned first in an official announcement hosted by the US government means that we have effectively established ourselves as a symbolic company of this economic mission to the US. Our company's position will completely change from now on."

Legal Advisor Baek Yu-jin also watched the screen beyond her glasses and nodded calmly. Her gaze was sharp yet cautious.

"It will help a lot as a credibility index for our company. This work will act greatly when discussing follow-up cooperation with US defense companies or maritime-related companies later. In a way, it is like a government guarantee."

Choi Seo-jun turned his gaze toward me with a bright expression. Sincere congratulations and respect were contained in his eyes.

"Representative, I sincerely congratulate you. This is truly a meaningful achievement. Who would have imagined even a few months ago that we would be in this spot."

A warm atmosphere flowed around the table for a moment.

Then, the hand turning the documents stopped and someone let out a short sigh.

The tension and fatigue of the past few days seemed to melt away in the joy of this small victory.

However, even before that lingering feeling could fade, Yu Hyeon-seok carefully continued speaking.

"However, FMS is a bit of a shame. There is still no contact, right?"

Cho Hana answered.

"Yes, there is still none."

His expression hardened.

At that single remark, the air in the room cooled down in an instant.

The smile disappeared from Director Choi Seo-jun's face.

He locked the tablet screen he was holding and said in a low voice.

"You said it was as good as decided even if the stamp wasn't pressed. What can we do."

Baek Yu-jin slowly covered the draft contract spread out in front of her and said.

"The coordination of the contract wording was finished to some extent, so I didn't expect it to fall through like this. No matter how successful the Department of Commerce announcement is, if the core contract of the HJ Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering part falls through, the practical profit structure disappears."

As those words fell, the room fell into a heavy silence.

Everyone looked at each other's faces in turn, but no one could easily open their mouths.

The shadow cast over the conference table seemed to have become a bit deeper.

Hong Jang-gun was standing half-leaning against the wall near the window, watching quietly. His gaze was fixed on me.

After a moment of silence passed.

I quietly reached out and picked up the coffee cup placed in front of me.

After slowly taking a sip, I set it down on the table.

The small sound of the cup hitting the saucer rang out particularly clearly in the quiet living room.

Everyone's gazes headed toward me all at once.

I stared out the window for a moment.

The morning sky in Philadelphia was clear.

In the distance, high-rise buildings sparkled while receiving sunlight.

After standing up and looking out the window for a moment, I slowly turned my head and said in a firm voice.

"Well. There is a saying even in baseball that it is not over until it is over."

It was a short sentence, but weight was carried within it. It was to the point where Cho Hana unconsciously stopped her breath. An arc was drawn on my mouth as I continued speaking.

"It is not over for us yet either."

My gaze slowly scanned around the table.

Yu Hyeon-seok, Baek Yu-jin, Cho Hana, Choi Seo-jun.

The confusion and anxiety cast in each of their pupils began to clear little by little.

"Wouldn't there be a walk-off home run?"

At those words, the tension that had been lingering in the conference room vanished cleanly. Everyone smiled and their expressions relaxed.

Cho Hana smiled lightly and nodded, and Choi Seo-jun also caught his breath for a moment and then sat back comfortably in the chair. Moving my steps from the window, I approached the table.

"We should move to Washington after having lunch. Let's proceed with the afternoon schedule as planned."

At that sight, the lips of Hong Jang-gun, who was leaning against the window, slowly rose.

The sunlight of Philadelphia illuminated the inside of the living room, and the air in the room became distinctly different from a moment ago.

The heavily flowing silence disappeared and joy overflowed.

Just as the meeting was about to resume, the doorbell rang.

Instantly, everyone's gazes headed toward the door at the same time.

Since it was a hotel, it was not a place where an outsider could approach without permission.

Moreover, there was no one to visit them.

Hong Jang-gun walked cautiously toward the entrance.

His eyes flashed sharply.

The moment he approached the front of the door, a familiar voice was heard from beyond the door.

"Representative Lim, it is me. William Brady. Please, open the door!"

The moment that name was heard, the air in the room was filled with tension.

Hong Jang-gun turned his head toward me. After thinking for a moment, I said.

"Please open it."

As the door opened with a clicking sound, four people entered the guest room.

The person leading them was William Brady, the representative of FMS.

Behind him were Richard Brannan, the technical senior, Matthew Dillon, the financial director, and Sarah, William's secretary.

Even at a glance, their condition was a mess.

Their hair was disheveled like people who had stayed up all night, their shirt collars were crumpled, and dark shadows were cast deep under their eyes.

William was holding a leather bag in his hand with his tie loosened.

Richard had stains spread on his clothes as if he had spilled coffee while drinking it.

Matthew struggled to chase away sleepiness while rubbing his bloodshot eyes beyond his glasses.

Among them, only Sarah was in a neat state.

She was wearing a clean suit and had a calm expression.

As soon as William entered, he cleared his throat and then spoke.

"I am sorry about yesterday."

He brushed up his disheveled hair while giving a good-natured smile.