* The organizations appearing in this novel are all fictional, and some settings differ from real-world laws.
#1
- Prologue
“Did you hear the rumor? They say a spy infiltrated our casino.”
With about thirty minutes left until the end of his shift, Kang Siwon stopped organizing chips at his sunbae’s words.
“A spy? No way. It’s not like this is some research lab or government agency that someone would need to infiltrate…”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. The casino business is cutthroat. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone planted a spy or two.”
His sunbae flicked the chip in his hand. Kang Siwon flinched as the sunbae snatched the chip spinning through the air like a hawk, as if he himself had been caught.
“Well, it’s just a rumor. Still, it’s interesting, right?”
It wasn’t interesting at all. Just as Kang Siwon was forcing himself to manage his expression, the door burst open.
Already tense, Kang Siwon jumped in surprise. Ju Xiang, who had just entered the cage room, sneered at the sight.
“What are you doing? Slacking off, weren’t you? That’s why you’re so jumpy.”
“Ju Xiang, don’t pick on Xie Wei. He was working hard. Until I started talking to him, anyway.”
“What were you talking about?”
“You know, that rumor going around lately. About a spy infiltrating.”
“…”
For a split second, Ju Xiang’s expression hardened. Another employee might not have noticed, but Kang Siwon, who was in the same situation, didn’t miss it.
He could even read Ju Xiang’s thoughts. Surely it was ‘We’re fucked.’ Because just now, when he’d first heard the rumor, he’d thought the same thing himself.
“…Ha. Who’s spreading such bullshit rumors? Must be someone with too much time on their hands. They have nothing better to do, so they make up crap like that.”
“You’re particularly prickly today. Did something happen in the surveillance team?”
“No, it’s just this new guy…”
His sunbae and Ju Xiang continued their small talk. Since the two had once shared a dormitory, they were close despite working in different departments.
Kang Siwon half-listened to their conversation as he began organizing chips again. But his concentration kept scattering. The rumor that a spy had infiltrated Sovereign Casino drifted through his mind like fog.
Was it just a simple rumor, or had his tail really been caught?
Before his eyes, it seemed as though the black waves of Macau were rippling. If he’d been found out, then he was now…
“Xie Wei, are you done?”
His sunbae’s question snapped him back to attention.
“Yes.”
Thanks to moving his hands mechanically even while distressed, he’d finished organizing the chips. His sunbae confirmed this and nodded.
“Good work. You can clock out now.”
“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Kang Siwon bowed his head. He greeted Ju Xiang as well, but he didn’t even pretend to hear. Since he hadn’t expected anything in the first place, he felt no particular emotion. Kang Siwon left the cage room with an inward sneer.
Outside, game machines were lined up in long rows. The dazzling graphics spinning endlessly seemed to bewitch people. LED decorations on the ceiling and walls emitted light, and even dragon carvings were etched into the thick pillars.
Like a night street viewed while drunk—outlines blurred but colors intensely vivid.
Being in this place made his breath catch. If he stayed here any longer, he might lose his mind somewhere along the way.
If not for the debt, he would never have set foot in this vulgar, glamorous world…
“…”
Kang Siwon gritted his teeth. Memories of that day when his life had truly spiraled into disaster crashed over him like waves.
* * *
Up until six months ago, Kang Siwon had been living a relatively ordinary life.
His daily routine of building a career as a chef, saving money little by little, and occasionally imagining a successful future. Though someone might find such a life boring, it was a peace he’d never experienced in childhood. Kang Siwon had been reasonably satisfied with his life.
But on one particularly humid evening…
From the moment the Baeksa Faction burst into his home, his life began to fall apart.
“Hey, Kang Siwon. Long time no see.”
No, come to think of it, his life had been twisted from the start—from the moment he was born under a gambling addict father. Otherwise, would he have faced gangsters the moment he turned twenty?
Three years ago, these people had also barged in demanding to collect his father’s debt. His father had already fled in the night, and Kang Siwon alone had to be dragged away, practically kidnapped. Being beaten nearly to death in a container after arriving blindfolded was something he’d never forget.
Fortunately, that incident had somehow been resolved. But Kang Siwon had always been prepared for them to return at any time. And today seemed to be that day.
“Well, I feel a bit sorry about delivering this kind of news the moment we meet again after so long.”
“…”
“Fuck it, let’s just get to the point. Your dad’s dead.”
Kang Siwon listened to the news calmly.
His father, who had lived soaked in gambling and alcohol, was someone who could have died at any time. Whether he’d been stabbed by someone, whether his chronic illness had worsened, or whether he’d even ended his own life—it all seemed par for the course.
For Kang Siwon, it wasn’t sad or shocking. He was just troubled by the things that would happen because of his father’s death.
The shackles of debt don’t break easily. The law stating that a father’s debt belongs to the father was merely theoretical, and reality was different. Since even the law is powerless before fists, once caught in a debt collector’s grip, there was no escape. Just like right now.
“Do you remember how much your old man owed us?”
“Wasn’t it… 1.3 billion?”
“3 billion.”
“…”
“So, what are you going to do?”
His breath caught. He’d been prepared for interest to accumulate, but 3 billion… It was an amount Kang Siwon, who’d only been employed for one year, couldn’t even dream of repaying. To begin with, Kang Siwon had no intention of inheriting his father’s debt.
Unlike when he was a fresh twenty-year-old who was only legally an adult, things were different now. Twenty-three-year-old Kang Siwon looked directly at Manager Park and said:
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to renounce the inheritance. In exchange for not receiving any assets from my father, the debt will also…”
“Yeah, go ahead and do that.”
Kang Siwon doubted his ears at the ready agreement.
The Baeksa Faction wouldn’t let him go so easily. Weren’t debt collectors the kind who would use any means necessary to extract money? Especially the guys in front of him—they were the real deal, with rumors swirling that they weren’t just ordinary organized crime but connected overseas to China, Japan, and more. Honestly, Kang Siwon had even been prepared for human trafficking or organ trafficking.
“Oh my, why’s your expression like that?”
“…”
“You think I came all this way, taking time out of my precious schedule, to screw you over? You’re mistaken—we just need to collect what we’re owed. We don’t care who pays it back.”
“But my father is already deceased.”
Somehow his mouth had gone completely dry. At the ominous feeling, he asked, and Manager Park smiled coldly.
“Yeah, he’s dead. But before dying, he left behind a joint guarantor.”
“Excuse me?”
Someone had agreed to guarantee for a man who’d been addicted to gambling for over fifteen years? It was hard to believe.
“Curious who it is?”
“Is it someone I know?”
“Who knows?”
Manager Park drawled.
“Someone named Jeong Gyucheol… Know him?”
Kang Siwon’s eyes widened. Jeong Gyucheol. How could he not know him?
Jeong Gyucheol was his father’s old friend and once a business partner. Even after his father became a gambling addict, he couldn’t completely cut ties, so it wasn’t hard to imagine how close the two had once been.
To Kang Siwon, Jeong Gyucheol was also a special person. When he was young and had nowhere to go, wandering the neighborhood, it was Jeong Gyucheol who took him in and fed him, who helped him prepare for elementary and middle school entrance.
A more fatherly presence than his blood father. To Kang Siwon, Jeong Gyucheol was that kind of person.
“…You’re saying Uncle Gyucheol stood as joint guarantor? Is that really true?”
“Did you live your whole young life being deceived? Want me to show you proof?”
As if prepared in advance, Manager Park naturally pulled out his phone. Seeing the photo displayed on the screen, Kang Siwon’s face hardened.
In the photo, he sat awkwardly on a plastic chair. Though not tied up, the atmosphere clearly showed he’d been forcibly brought there. His expression was full of bewilderment.
But what shook Kang Siwon’s composure was something else. The background of the photo—an ominous container.
The very place he’d been dragged to three years ago.
“Did you just kidnap someone? This is illegal debt collection. If you don’t release him right now, I’ll report you!”
“Ha, this is ridiculous. Why are you making me out to be a fucking kidnapper? These days, does calling someone in for a few words of conversation count as kidnapping?”
“A few words of conversation? You obviously did the same thing to him that you did to me. And you’re calling that conversation?”
“Kid, I’ll let you act cute while you’re young, but don’t overdo it. I’ll do it by the law you love so much. You said you’d renounce the inheritance, right?”
“…”
“Yeah, go ahead and try. Whether the son pays or some fool of a friend pays, 3 billion is 3 billion.”
It felt like the ground was collapsing beneath his feet. Even if the debt strangling his own neck moved to someone else’s, Kang Siwon wouldn’t be comfortable. Rather than suffering misfortune himself, he absolutely couldn’t stand by and watch Uncle Gyucheol come to harm.
“No. Not Uncle Gyucheol. He doesn’t have 3 million, let alone 3 billion…”
“Hey. The debt is 3 billion, so dying is okay, but collection isn’t? Like father, like son—you’ve got no conscience either, fuck.”
“…”
“Even if someone dies, the 3 billion remains. If you refuse to pay, we have to pass it on to the next person, right?”
Darkness fell before his eyes. He never imagined Uncle Gyucheol would have stood as joint guarantor. He had no idea how to resolve this.
Rage surged toward his father who, after pushing his friend into the abyss, had died alone with a clear conscience. But having reached this point, there was nothing to be done.
“…You’re saying if I renounce the inheritance, the debt passes to Uncle Gyucheol.”
“That’s right.”
“Then if I don’t renounce the inheritance… Uncle Gyucheol will be okay?”
“Exactly.”
It felt like there was a swamp beneath his feet. A swamp from which he was slowly sinking, from which he could never escape.
“I like that you understand quickly. Yeah, you’ve had a sharp mind since you were young. Your old man too… had a brilliant little brain. The problem was he used it for shitty things.”
“…”
“There’s a job that’s perfect for you.”
“…What is it?”
Manager Park pulled up the corners of his mouth. It was a smile rejoicing that his prey had taken the bait.
An ominous premonition swept through his entire body, but Kang Siwon had no room to retreat.
