“Fuck, my fate…”
Kang Siwon lamented as he got dressed. It was the white short-sleeved shirt and black pants he’d worn during new employee training. They weren’t luxury brands, but at least he wouldn’t be criticized for disrespecting the party’s formality. If it were up to him, he’d have worn anything and ruined the atmosphere.
When Kang Siwon, having finished preparing, left his room, Ray Jun, who was sitting on the sofa, looked up.
“Xie Wei, going out?”
“Yeah.”
“An appointment? Who are you meeting?”
Perceptive as always, he seemed to have noticed there was an appointment. Well, when someone who normally only wore hoodies or tracksuits was suddenly dressed in a shirt, it would be impossible not to notice.
“Just have some business to take care of.”
“Hm? Are you going to interview at another resort by any chance?”
Kang Siwon didn’t answer and put on his shoes.
If he said he was going to Feng Tao’s party, Ray Jun would obviously worry and try to stop him. It was unavoidable anyway, and having someone make a fuss beside him would only be more tiring.
“You don’t need to know. Anyway, I’m going. Take care.”
“How can Ray be well when Xie Wei isn’t here?”
Ray Jun, who had followed him to the entrance, acted cutely. Then he suddenly lowered his voice and added.
“If anything happens, contact me right away. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I’ll come running anytime.”
“It’s fine. You just have a good time too.”
Ray Jun also said he was planning to go out today since it was his day off. He said he had plans with Sovereign employees, and even Kang Siwon, who usually avoided company dinners, wished he could join them today instead.
“I’m really going.”
“Mm-hm.”
They exchanged goodbyes and he turned around. Click—the sound of the front door closing echoed through the hallway.
Kang Siwon took one deep breath and started walking.
* * *
Following the address written on the invitation, he arrived in front of a luxury residential-commercial complex building standing beside Nam Wan Lake.
Kang Siwon first encountered strict security. The entire building was guarded as severely as if it were a fortress.
“Invitation confirmed. I’ll help you board the elevator.”
The guard who accompanied him to the elevator as if monitoring Kang Siwon even personally tapped the card key for him.
Inside the rapidly ascending elevator, Kang Siwon clenched and unclenched his fists. Somehow the security level seemed even more thorough than Sovereign Casino. At this rate, he had an ominous premonition that getting out would be as difficult as getting in.
Ding—
When they reached the top floor, the elevator doors opened. Immediately, the interior view of the vast penthouse unfolded before his eyes. He hadn’t gone through a hallway or entrance—he’d come straight into the house.
“You’re here, Xiao Wei?”
Feng Tao appeared from the other side of the living room. Dressed in a tracksuit, he seemed unusually in a good mood today. He’d said to dress formally, but it seemed he’d dressed up for nothing. Kang Siwon awkwardly greeted him.
“Hello.”
“Haha, seeing you outside the casino feels different, doesn’t it? Come on in. Relax. Ah, right. Let me introduce you to my friends first.”
Feng Tao beckoned to him as if calling a dog. Thinking what nerve, Kang Siwon moved his unwilling feet.
In the center of the vast living room sat a long L-shaped sofa. At Kang Siwon’s appearance, four men who had been sprawled on the sofa sat up and sent interested gazes.
“Oh, is this the dealer you’ve been talking about lately?”
Two more men who joined from somewhere also looked Kang Siwon over from head to toe. Kang Siwon, who had suddenly become the center of the men’s attention, didn’t know what expression to make and only twitched his facial muscles.
“Not a dealer, cage staff.”
“And yet he plays poker that well?”
“I told you he plays cunningly just like he looks. But he’s more timid than he appears, so don’t tease him too much. He’s a friend I care about, so be mannerly.”
Feng Tao, the very person who should truly be mannerly, patted Kang Siwon’s shoulder. The men’s gazes, witnessing that action, seemed to become fishy.
They all looked young too, but for that, their eyes and impressions weren’t good. As they say, ‘birds of a feather’—they were guys exactly like Feng Tao.
“Well then, now that everyone’s gathered, shall we play a round?”
At Feng Tao’s words, the men snickered.
“That gambling addict is starting again.”
“If the world only had guys like Feng Tao, Sovereign would always be thriving.”
Their reaction was that he was incorrigible. But as if they didn’t entirely dislike it, everyone obediently moved.
They headed to a different space connected to the living room. Kang Siwon didn’t know what to call this place. Looking at the table, it seemed like a dining room, but there weren’t any dishes or water glasses. From the atmosphere, it seemed like a space prepared solely for gambling.
“Everyone sit down.”
One by one they sat in chairs around the large table. When he hesitated unwillingly, Feng Tao personally pulled out a chair for Kang Siwon and said.
“You should play too, Xiao Wei. You came all the way here, are you planning to skip out?”
“I don’t have money to bet on the game…”
“Should I lend you some?”
“No.”
He declined increasing his debt here. But if he firmly refused, knowing Feng Tao’s personality, he’d obviously force it more. Even though he thought they were dirty and petty bastards, for now the best option was to moderately humor them.
“I don’t play games I’m obviously going to lose.”
“You win just fine though. If you’re that scared of losing, you could bet something other than money…”
“Ti—”
“Ti?”
“…I need some time. I’ll get a feel for the atmosphere first.”
Kang Siwon, who almost blurted out ‘fuck,’ barely managed to make an excuse. Feng Tao looked disappointed but nodded.
“Fine, that’s not bad either. Then watch the first round.”
Feng Tao started shuffling the cards. There was no dealer, but everyone skillfully received their cards and finished preparing.
Soon the game began.
* * *
After a few hands passed, everyone’s eyes became serious.
At first he thought they were playing poker reluctantly to humor Feng Tao, but they all seemed to have gambler instincts. They were so busy playing among themselves that even their interest in Kang Siwon faded.
“Hou Yeqing, you lost again? How many losses in a row is that today?”
“It’s because you guys took all my luck too.”
“Heh, real masters don’t worry about luck.”
Kang Siwon watched the game like a sack of barley.
Actually, before he’d set foot in this penthouse, he’d been mentally prepared for a party full of entertainment. But when he actually came, everyone was just crazy about poker. At this rate, wasn’t it closer to a miniature casino than a place gathered for a party?
It was a rare day he wasn’t going to work at the casino, but the place he ended up was a gambling den—how sick and tired of it all he was.
“New hand.”
“I’ll sit this round out.”
The man who’d been losing consecutively until just now, Hou Yeqing, put down his cards. Then criticism poured in from all sides.
“Running away because you think you’ll lose?”
“Or did you run out of money?”
“So what. Are you going to front me?”
Perhaps hit where it hurt, Hou Yeqing got angry. But Feng Tao and his friends just giggled.
“Are you crazy, why would I?”
“If you need allowance, you should get it from your father.”
“Hah… The atmosphere at home hasn’t been good lately, so I can’t even bring it up to my father.”
“Ah, my mother also got angry after returning from the last board meeting. The atmosphere was really bad lately, she said.”
Listening to them, it seemed their families were also connected to Sovereign in some way. Perhaps that’s why stories about Sovereign’s internal affairs flowed out continuously. They should be careful since there was a stranger present, but the men exchanged conversation freely, either not caring about Kang Siwon or thinking it didn’t matter if he heard this much.
“The atmosphere on our side isn’t good either. That ‘year 25’ is next year, right?”
“Fucking jealous. I don’t know who that prince is though.”
“Isn’t it one of you? If so, say it in advance. Between us humans, we should at least know.”
“This bastard’s spouting blasphemy. That’s the same as asking if there’s a bastard child among us, isn’t it?”
“Ah, is that how it works?”
The men, who exchanged one round of vulgar jokes, burst into loud laughter. Then, Feng Tao twisted his lips and said.
“That guy, whether he’s a prince or a bastard, didn’t he already kick the bucket? Otherwise there’s no way we wouldn’t see a hair of him.”
“No way. He’s desperately alive. When you can just sit still and have 15% shares, how could he die from frustration?”
“How would that be up to him? With so many people targeting him, he might already be dead.”
“Whatever, so are we playing or not?”
He thought he understood why Ju Xiang had been so desperate to attach him to Feng Tao. Just being next to them for a bit and all kinds of talk was flowing out.
The problem was that Kang Siwon couldn’t understand what any of it meant at all. Prince, bastard—he couldn’t grasp the context of what situation they were talking about.
