SPW 5

Colin Debussy.

Sarang Debussy Kim’s adoptive father, friend, and only family.

Sarang’s father, who had faithfully raised the little baby until he was seventeen in place of Sarang’s biological parents, who died a violent death in a car accident. Now, under that wide sky, Sarang had not a single family member left. The one person who would take his side no matter what he did, or at the very least listen to him, was gone. Forever. From Sarang’s side.

It’s okay if you don’t take my side, Colin. Just stay by my side.

Sarang, who had been holding back the tears that were about to well up, raised his head. Someone opened the door without knocking and entered the waiting room.

“…”

It was Matthew Kaia.

‘The’ Matthew Kaia, whom he had only seen on breaking news, was right in front of him, looking Sarang over with a displeased expression. Upon spotting his eyes, which were red as if they had been rubbed raw, he clicked his tongue, tsk, and turned away. That was the entirety of their first meeting.

The Kaia Corporation, which had established its foundation in the Commonwealth of Nations through construction, distribution, and the defense industry, was also famous for its mafia origins. The news that occasionally appeared as breaking stories was mostly about charges stemming from illegal or grisly suspicions such as contract killings, legal battles, or tax audits.

Until now, Sarang hadn’t truly grasped the fact that he was about to marry someone he had never even seen before. And on top of that, it was Matthew Kaia. Above all, everything had progressed too quickly. Sarang had transferred from the football club he had been with since he was six years old to a rival club in the same city, and was about to marry a seventy-year-old man who was the head of a mafia corporation.

All of this had happened within two weeks of Colin’s death. In that process, Sarang’s opinion, as a minor, was not reflected or respected at all.

It was only natural. Sarang no longer had a guardian. This meant there was no one to indulge his childish whims, teach him right from wrong, keep him far from danger, and stay by his side through joy and sorrow. Instead, Saman Debussy, who had sold Sarang off using the 4.4 billion won debt Colin left behind as a pretext, was now Sarang’s legal guardian. From now on, Sarang had to live on his own, and there was no one in the world on his side.

Coming face to face with Matthew Kaia, the reality that had been so vague seemed to hit him. Transferring to a rival club was no different from instantly turning the friends, neighbors, and colleagues who lived in the same town into enemies. Could he endure that?

Marriage. Sarang was still a seventeen-year-old minor, so how was marriage possible? The necessary few procedural steps must have been handled without any problems. The thought of imagining that series of ‘processes’ suddenly became frightening, and Sarang bit his lip.

It would be okay. When the transfer news broke, the people who liked and supported Sarang would be disappointed, turn their backs on him, and curse him, but with time, it would be okay. The marriage with Matthew Kaia… let’s just think of it as a good thing. Since he’s a corporate chairman, he must have a lot of money. There would be no more getting into debt to buy suppressors.

But Matthew Kaia is a Beta. Why me, a Dominant Alpha…

Sarang, who had quickly put on a confused expression again, belatedly raised his head. It was noisy outside the door. He didn’t know since when. A wedding hall was naturally supposed to be boisterous, but this was a different kind of noise. With a puzzled look, Sarang stared at the firmly closed waiting room door and stood up. The commotion coming from outside the door was not the sound of cheerful chatter. Rather, it was similar to the scene at a stadium, with the shouts and curses of rioting hooligans.

Sarang, with a tense face, stood in front of the door and grabbed the doorknob. At that moment, he almost got hit in the face by the door that was flung open, and he quickly stepped back. It was a good thing his reflexes were good, just as the coach had praised. At least he wouldn’t have to suffer the misfortune of breaking his nose here.

Sarang, who had relaxed his tension with such a silly thought, took another step back, and familiar faces came into view. It was the three sunglasses-wearing men who had been guarding him in the motel room so he couldn’t escape, unable to say a word even as they received all sorts of abuse from Maria.

Startled by their sudden appearance, Sarang’s black eyes widened, and he naturally looked outside the door. It was a scene of chaos. Men in black suits, shirts, and uniforms were all tangled up together, causing all sorts of commotion.

“What are you looking at, you little thing.”

“Follow us quietly if you don’t want to get punched.”

“Don’t even think about running away, got it?”

Each of them threw a word at Sarang as they dragged him out, avoiding the men in black suits and uniforms to exit the wedding hall.

It was a grand mansion.

The car, which had headed not to the center of Canton but to the outskirts, stopped in the middle of a forest densely packed with fir trees. The mansion, large and ornate but exuding a desolate atmosphere as if it had been neglected for a long time, showed no signs of life. In fact, it seemed to be just Sarang and the three men.

“Finding a little brat like you is nothing for us.”

“Before we come looking for you, you’ll be saying hello to a court messenger first. Guys like us just throw a few punches, but people like the owner of this house make a living out of screwing people over with the law.”

So they told him, with an attitude that screamed they couldn’t be bothered, not to run away, not to act up, and to just sit quietly and wait for the groom.

“So am I alone today?”

One of the men, who was taking out a cigarette, frowned and then gave him a pitying look.

“I thought he’d be a bit street-smart since he was a youth team regular, but a kid’s a kid.”

Click. The man lit his cigarette and exhaled the smoke he had deeply inhaled.

“You think someone who screws people over with the law for a living can’t butter up a judge?”

Sarang, whose red lips were pressed together as the cigarette smoke billowed into his face, held his breath. Colin had never touched a drop of alcohol, let alone a cigarette, in front of Sarang.

“He’s probably being released on bail by now.”

The man, who had sucked on the cigarette until his cheeks hollowed, exhaled a cloud of smoke again and winked.

“Meaning you won’t be left alone on your first night.”

“…”

“Good for you, kid. Having a rich husband. You don’t have to play soccer so hard, just suck up to the old man a bit and spend money like water. From now on, the only fun you’ll have is spending money.”

Sarang, who was staring blankly at the man who was spewing vulgar words as carelessly as his ugly face, asked.

“Can I not play soccer anymore?”

The man, who had been leisurely smoking, showed a flicker of realization. Then, with a look of annoyance, he answered perfunctorily.

“Why do you think a seventy-year-old man spent all that money to buy you?”

“…”

“At the very least, he has no intention of sharing you with any riff-raff.”

“…You said I was transferring.”

“Did you think just because you’re transferring, you’d automatically get to play on the pitch?”

Is he clueless, or is he pretending to be naive?

Tsk. The man clicked his tongue and flicked his cigarette butt away flippantly, sneering.

“If you miss it that much, ask him to buy you a soccer ball or something.”

The cigarette butt, its embers not fully extinguished, rolled on the dirt floor. The man, as if to say that’s enough talk, crushed the cigarette butt with the sole of his shoe and opened the mansion door. The other two men pushed Sarang, who was just staring at the man leading the way, from behind.

“Yada yada. Just shut up and get in.”

“Before you get your ass kicked.”

Pushed by the two men who bantered like Dumb and Dumber, Sarang entered the mansion.

☀️

Florian, who was looking over the documents Bailey had handed him, frowned slightly.

“Disgusting.”

After checking all the contents, he pushed back his sleeve to check the time.

“Will it take two hours for bail?”

“Wouldn’t it take a couple more hours if they have tea time? I hear the judge in charge is quite a chatterbox.”

Within the federation, there were not a few judges who, while acknowledging Kaia’s influence, were inwardly displeased with it. Among them, a particularly haughty judge had, by pure coincidence, been assigned to Kaia’s bail hearing. The fact that the person in charge of assigning judges was acquainted with the House of Duke Dietrich was also a coincidence that happened to overlap. In reality, in that small legal circle, it was nearly impossible to find someone who was not connected to the House of Duke Dietrich, even by the slightest thread of a relationship.

“And Simon Kaia?”

“He is in therapeutic custody.”

At the same time the police and prosecution raided Matthew Kaia’s wedding, a crackdown team also raided Simon Kaia’s luxury mansion where he was having a drug party. Of course, an anonymous tip-off was the starting point of the arrest.

“So.”

Florian, who had opened his mouth, still looked reluctant.

“Where is the kid?”

To him, who was asking for the whereabouts of the Asian boy while being noticeably uncomfortable, Bailey answered diligently.

“Our staff are on standby in front of Matthew Kaia’s private villa.”

Those men, who were quite well-known in the Canton branch, were employees of a private military company that was mobilized for international hostage negotiations or rescue operations.

“Shall we enter?”

Florian, who had been lost in thought for a moment, shook his head.

“The kid would be startled if a group of burly men stormed in.”

Bailey was truly, extremely curious about his boss’s inner thoughts, who not only consistently called the Asian boy he didn’t even know existed until a few days ago “the kid” and showed great interest in him, but also went so far as to mobilize mercenaries to ensure his safety when the police would have been sufficient.