SPW 28

“If we lived in the same house, we would naturally see each other more often.”

“…”

Holding his breath for a moment, Sarang tilted his head up to look at Florian.

“Sarang, do you want to live with me?”

Florian’s eyes met his, and he smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting.

“I think that would be better for your safety and your health.”

“…”

“Of course, if you’re uncomfortable…”

“I do.”

His red lips moved quickly, and Sarang whispered again.

“I do. I want to live with you, Lian.”

“Haha. Alright, Sarang. Let’s live together.”

His other hand came over and pulled Sarang’s back in even tighter. Pulled in unexpectedly, even Sarang’s earlobes turned red. Florian, who inadvertently found himself touching the bones and muscles of the not-yet-fully-grown boy, pretended not to see the reddened earlobes. Even for a minor, a seventeen-year-old would not be entirely comfortable with this kind of contact with a guardian.

“I’ll have your things moved right away.”

“…”

“I remember the list of things you said you absolutely had to have, so don’t worry.”

Florian, who was about to take his hand off Sarang’s back to get his phone, paused.

“Um… can’t you do it after you put me to sleep?”

“Ah, are you very tired? Are you in pain?”

“It doesn’t hurt yet…”

“Alright, we have plenty of time. I’ll make the call after you’re asleep.”

“…Thank you, Lian.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Florian, smiling lightly, hugged Sarang tightly once more.

A knotting scandal broke out.

In January, during the winter break, twenty scandals erupted. It all started when the league office began to apply the regulations more strictly to greet the new year. Premier Leaguers, composed entirely of dominant alphas, received special treatment similar to extraterritorial rights. It was a league where the best soccer players in the world gathered, and they were dominant alphas who were highly valued in their respective countries.

Meanwhile, the big leagues were a symbol of wealth and honor, and also the form of entertainment closest to the daily lives of the common people. People reflexively showed aversion to any act that interfered with their entertainment. Thanks to this, the moral standards for Premier Leaguers were lowered, and they naturally changed into a group where moral laxity was rampant.

After the age of 18, the act of knotting a partner who was not one’s imprinted mate was not illegal. However, it was a clear breach of manners and an act that was morally condemned. Knotting was a coercive act used in the past by dominant alphas to restrain omegas or reduce them to tools for their ruts. Of course, the omega’s consent was not important in that act. Over a long period of research on secondary genders and development in awareness, such barbaric acts had decreased, but loopholes and side effects still remained.

Among alphas who pursued convenience, knotting unbound by imprinting became openly rampant, sweeping through each club like a trend until it was now an established culture.

The result of applying strict standards to an environment where immoral acts were frequently committed was as expected. The number of players making noise inside and outside the league with knotting scandals increased exponentially, and each club had a headache sealing up the scandals. In particular, the media, having caught on to the stories, cooked up the scandals to be more clamorous and palatable and served them to the public. The public, vulnerable to entertainment, cheered.

“Hey, kiddo.”

Sarang, who was about to enter the facility after finishing his training on the grass, turned to look at Sammy and replied.

“What? Kiddo.”

Sammy, who looked at Sarang with disbelief as he retorted with a smile, shrugged lightly, indicating he meant no offense.

“Kim, your rut’s coming up soon, right?”

“…Can you smell it?”

“A little? Not enough to be unpleasant, but I thought you didn’t know.”

“Thanks, Sammy. If you had just called me by my proper name, you would’ve heard your thank you much sooner.”

“Hah, right. It’s all my fault!”

Though looking dumbfounded, Sammy took his place next to Sarang and walked alongside him.

“I heard the captain got disciplined too? What are you guys gonna do with the entire leadership disciplined? The break’s almost over, too.”

“We’ll have to do whatever the manager tells us. How’s Canton City? It’s colder than Spain, isn’t it?”

“Felt like my muscles were gonna freeze. I underestimated Canton’s weather and got hit hard.”

“Be careful of injuries. The weather here is fickle, so muscle injuries are frequent.”

“Thanks for letting me know. I’m heading home right after this, wanna go together?”

“No, I’m going to eat first.”

“I heard the food at the cafeteria here is that good?”

“Yeah. It’s especially a hundred times more delicious than the food I make.”

“Right, hurry up and eat so you can grow.”

“Hey, you’d better get going. Before you get a kick to the butt.”

Even before the warning, Sarang had already kicked Sammy’s butt and headed for the cafeteria, ignoring the sound of laughter coming from behind him. If he ate lunch and then went home, he could handle his other schedules at a leisurely pace.

<
Group Chat

Gon (Kim Goun)
It’s a total mess over here. Any teams survive?

Backdoor (Baek Sangmoon)
Nope

Doong (Bae Dooyoung)
None of us got caught, right?

Backdoor (Baek Sangmoon)
If we did, would we be chilling here?

Sejong Cap (Min Ido)
Anyone who’s guilty, confess right now. Don’t be a nuisance with the Asian Cup coming up.

Hong-si (Hong Jungyoon)
Hyungs, it’s brutal in Korea too.

Gon (Kim Goun)
Yeah, if you’re gonna get exposed anyway, get it over with beforehand and don’t harm the country~, don’t cause harm and just get lost on your own~

Sejong Cap (Min Ido)
The youngest is doing well, right? Man, why’s he been so quiet lately?

Gon (Kim Goun)
Right? I want to poke our youngest’s chubby cheeks, I think I’m gonna get withdrawal symptoms

Sarang, who couldn’t keep up with the fast-scrolling group chat and was reading slowly, sent a reply much later.

<
Group Chat

Hyungs, I think my rut is coming.

Hong-si (Hong Jungyoon)
You’re on break there, right? That’s a relief.

Backdoor (Baek Sangmoon)
Isn’t this your first rut since becoming an adult?

Doong (Bae Dooyoung)
Hey punk, just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you can just grab any omega and knot them, okay?

Gon (Kim Goun)
To think our youngest is an adult—!

Backdoor (Baek Sangmoon)
This crazy bastard says the most unbelievable things!

Gon (Kim Goun)
Doong, you crazy bastard, won’t you shut your mouth?

Sejong Cap (Min Ido)
The kid’s not an adult here yet.

The national team members, who had even written their real names after their nicknames in the group chat in case the youngest would forget their names, chattered for a while before leaving one by one.

<
Group Chat

Gon (Kim Goun)
Youngest, get to sleep~ it’s 9 o’clock there

Backdoor (Baek Sangmoon)
Yeah, yeah, our youngest has to sleep early so he can grow up big and tall.

Hyungs, it’s true I’m going to sleep to grow taller.

Doong (Bae Dooyoung)
LOLOLOLOL

Backdoor (Baek Sangmoon)
LOLOLOLOL

Gon (Kim Goun)
How can he be this cute? What do we do?

Sejong Cap (Min Ido)
I’m going to bed too.

Sarang put down his phone and finished drying his hair. The group chat notification had gone off just as he was getting out of the shower. After drying his hair, Sarang headed to the kitchen and opened a drawer. Inside were suppressants exclusively for dominant alphas. Taking out two pills and swallowing them with a gulp, Sarang sniffed himself while drinking water.

Sarang, who was not yet skilled at controlling his pheromones, couldn’t smell the faint scent he was emitting, nor could he quickly recognize the symptoms of his rut. Although he was an adult in Korea, Sarang was still a minor in the Commonwealth of Nations and could only go through his ruts with suppressants. The national team members didn’t need to worry like that.

I wonder if Lian is home from work?

When Sarang had come home from work, Lian’s room had been empty. The first room and the third room on the second floor. Lian was in the first room, and Sarang was in the third. Even though their daily rhythms were different, they were on the same floor, so they could often see each other. Lian was still as dashing as ever, and kind to everyone. He wasn’t particularly kind only to Sarang. He was kind to the staff who managed the mansion, to the neighbors he occasionally ran into, and even to stray cats.

Still, Sarang liked that kindness.

[M]

Yo, you dead?

Sarang, who checked his phone at the notification sound, sighed before tapping out a reply.

[M]

What’s up?

[M]

Did we ever need a reason to talk?

[M]

I paid this month’s interest.

[M]

Ah, about that. You’ll have to start paying back the principal, too.

[M]

What?

[M]

Starting this month. So you still haven’t finished this month’s payment. Let’s see, you’re a week late, so you’ll have to pay the interest on that too?

[M]

You can’t just do that.

[M]

Oh yes, I can! If you don’t like it, pay it all back at once. Or ask your sugar daddy to pay it for you.

Sarang didn’t continue the conversation and just turned off the screen. It was a vicious cycle of having to respond to Mark’s messages that would pop up on the quickly lit-up screen, but he felt like he couldn’t control his anger if he didn’t at least do that.

[M]

You’re annoying.

[M]

You’re off this weekend, right? Come to the front of the church on Sunday.

[M]

If you’re not there by 3 PM, I’m going to find your sugar daddy first.

[M]

You bastard.

[M]

LOLOL see you on Sunday, beautiful?

Sarang turned off the screen again this time.

He was receiving a weekly wage of about 1.5 million won from his official youth contract, but that wasn’t enough to pay off his entire debt to Mark. It was barely enough to cover the interest, and he didn’t know what to do about Mark, who was now even mentioning Lian to threaten him.

If I report him to the police, it’ll cause trouble for Lian, right? But I can’t ask him to pay off my private loan. That’s too shameless…

Sarang, lost in thought with a thoroughly downcast face, felt his eyes droop shut. It was a little past 9:10 p.m. Having taken the suppressants on top of his usual habit, Sarang, without even a chance to resist, dozed off.