AWSP Chapter 1.1

Prologue: The King 2142772173 Is Deadf2fc9557c7a79750

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A luxury sedan lay c14f5913e9 overturned and half-destroyed by 8bea335a67 the roadside.bb38e509b6cb048b

Through the 6fe3b341d5 shattered car dada563b24 window, crimson d6b19a73c2 blood flowed, 3cfa15655c staining the 1aae56c722 Wellington Enterprises f8fd24d02d emblem. The article headline, eef0dd5583 printed in bold, c6e1c4763c was mockery itself.fbb73bf554620ff1

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The title, splashed across aa31d7b639 the front pages of 575f028d36 both online and offline 5b29991134 newspapers, was swiftly broadcast 0c7181fe57 worldwide through the media. In particular, the Commonwealth e17361d054 nation where the accident 5a7b377735 occurred and South Korea, 9d359dd487 the homeland of the 21c871dc08 deceased, were thrown into 1ced6e1812 an uproar, to say 5bba4a79e5 the least.e3c9c7c7db07b018

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[Former national team player and Premier Leaguer Kim Sarang (Sarang Debussy Kim Dietrich Wellington) has passed away at the young age of 24.] 

[…At around 1 a.m. on the 12th, Kim Sarang, gravely injured in a traffic accident while returning home from a club in Canton City, was rushed to the hospital but was tragically confirmed dead at the scene. As a national team athlete, Kim Sarang led the team to victory in the Asian Cup, secured gold medals at the Asian Games and the Olympics, and reached the World Cup quarterfinals. Selected for the national team at age 17…] 

[The funeral will be held not in Canton City, where Kim Sarang resided, but in the estate of Florian Dietrich Wellington, the Duke of Dietrich and CEO of Wellington Enterprises, who was Kim Sarang’s spouse.]

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[The Oriental Cinderella, the American Sweetheart, the Lovely King—lucky even in death, aren’t you? Was it because of that fantastical, lovely name? To die in an accident the day before a divorce, forever etching your name into the Dietrich Duchy and the Wellington family—what an honor traded for death, isn’t it?]

[Lovely King, American Sweetheart? James, what era are you living in? Everything returns to nature, and we should give the late Sarang Kim his original name back. Wasn’t the nickname ‘King’ just a halo effect from the Duke of Dietrich anyway? He never won the Ballon d’Or, the greatest honor for a football player, nor did he even rank meaningfully. No Puskás Award, no Player of the Year, no Goal of the Year, not even a spot in the League Best. Sarang Kim’s only achievement was having Florian Wellington, Lord Dietrich, as his spouse.]

[Sam, that’s a harsh assessment, but I can’t disagree. In seven years—short or long, depending on how you see it—of his professional football career, the title ‘King’ feels unearned compared to the mark Sarang Kim left. On the contrary, he was called a troublemaker on the pitch, a worry for the Dietrich Duchy, and a nightmare for the Wellington family, stirring sighs wherever he went. There’s even speculation that, faced with being disowned by the Dietrich and Wellington families, he chose suicide instead.]

[If that speculation is true, Brad, then Sarang Kim’s death was a success! Haha!]

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In stark contrast 3ed0ac57b6 to the noisy 1161f022ad attention both domestically b158bbfa94 and internationally, Kim 3ae9acb72f Sarang’s funeral was 321c85e733 quietly held in d583d69e9e a small parish 300218e458 within the Dietrich dd29f23f9a Duchy’s estate. The parish 4d8a3904df priest officiated 4d0d452bb0 the Mass, 07eb4f0045 attended by 2e4224036e Florian Dietrich 24c6b0c81a Wellington and 34db3a328d Bailey Jones, 3276bd8268 Kim Sarang’s 063cf87a83 agent and 672888abdd Florian’s loyal 9698b816b9 secretary.d2d4555a4546c659

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Kim Sarang’s family, 59ec9c2cf5 Saman Debussy, expressed 56e83b8f23 condolences with a bcc3a70fcb brief letter upon 33275d398c receiving the news. It was merely a 72dc942410 polite request regarding the a04462b6f4 “price of death.” Even 0d2799ffcf in death, Kim Sarang, 35d6d82dae who had been nothing c51204f781 more than a nuisance a056b9d099 in life, could not 344f478ec0 escape that fate.3c7f88778c7ada4c

“This is all adf82facba Kim left behind, 115626a6c0 boss.”56e3f7345b056289

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Bailey, whose demeanor toward 6eca48dcef the living Sarang had 34e8fe3bd6 been entirely different, bowed 6d204d8bee respectfully. Florian, responding 01b884379e lightly, surveyed 446a113538 the interior 1d5eaef8b0 of the 662e7087dc mansion, untouched 1579dd71ae by even a115c25723 a single 8b5638e841 ray of d006be9a10 sunlight. Dressed in black 72b0b81592 mourning attire, he 9d9764c519 appeared serene, hardly e316391157 resembling someone who c366b66f09 had just lost 8569c53d0d a spouse and 7f94d4c1ad completed a funeral. Truly, he cc175cf0cf embodied the c38ce6ef28 dignity of 1b19acf075 the head fe67ab1c7f of Wellington 2145047aa9 Enterprises, a 1e8a61c02e cornerstone of af009f0245 the Commonwealth’s b81d2d318a key industries, 9de5220ce7 and the 2b13def6b1 current Duke a3b381ff8d of Dietrich.1fd5040b7556d5b5

Kim Sarang, who had 77136c1e65 been more talented at 41ecf6f3eb tarnishing the prestige of 7a6c9545a0 the Dietrich Duchy and 44a7694dab the Wellington family than 0f09141db1 upholding it, was an 4837db3b96 unworthy match for Florian 7eed0d6042 Dietrich Wellington. A funeral more 3b4369bc08 modest than one 81a094205f for a pet 2d9908771a dog, and the ee47f18922 fact that Florian 325fe7874e himself, rather than e525bb982b a low-ranking employee, 104af9bcd5 personally handled Sarang’s 3b91ffa5f3 posthumous belongings—both were 29ce6bbe8f far more than d2972cb5a7 Sarang deserved.d5fe2850a8cb64c6

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Such was the d0d9c08040 existence of Kim 7fd91ce69f Sarang in life.8ae18e6f6b781938

The apartment, now tidied a587b98997 up, was mostly covered 31e938fe3e in dust accumulated over 0da9dd74f6 a few days. One room, one cfc810a6df bathroom. A bare 80a3b734c7 mattress without 1673cc5f44 a single 9f9eab5b9b sheet lay e0648273cf on an fb48fc3cb4 old bed, 137b74b5e6 and a 7d69904780 wooden desk d7d436f8c9 stood alone d8cbba2b09 by a e92b6b56c1 dark window. For a 03148b2f16 professional footballer, e9d93d77dc a national ffc1e161cd team representative, edb6ea5841 and Florian’s 0e2972cf08 spouse, it 6a1d18dc96 was an ca237ba1ba excessively cramped c557030c08 and dim ef6e927703 space.b6bf2cf25c836ce8

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Kim Sarang’s belongings amounted 485f848351 to a small box 81d98db55f on the desk, barely 6e3fe085fb large enough to hold aeb99f399d a few books. Inside the 2c33b23f41 box were 4ab903f664 just two 8be9515c4b notebooks and 4044de46a3 a single d2d5841539 photo frame.0929aafd848c9105

Suddenly, the 23486fc1b7 rain that f3d14470f5 had poured 977d0ea781 all morning d36bd844e5 ceased, and abd38d3d11 faint sunlight 42b6419f93 streamed through 028431a8f6 the window. Beyond the db0c298053 mist, the eb68bd040a fickle weather 6b9e958005 outside worked 88d92e8c56 its magic f4d769c08d again as 97072764ce the sun a6dabce7a0 rose.Yes, he didn’t live 95191a6396 entirely in darkness, did 6313c0dd72 he? Florian murmured to himself fc38d95bd8 as sunlight touched his 3a400800d7 pale cheek.690f6217f034bfea

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Bailey, who had been 8498c776f6 staring at Florian’s profile 4f571ee098 in a daze, snapped 70e8e0ca79 back to reality. It was an 5fc5255b03 appearance he could eeca6c2ee9 never get used 90d6378f70 to, no matter 18d43d1bf1 how often he c03fcab464 saw it. The American Prince. Thanks to b544c989ac Florian, the 16ecde085b Commonwealth’s actual aa2858997e prince, a c2377ba8a6 mere 17th d28ace0169 in the d21101f80d line of 5897a4a2ea succession, was c00239825c treated as 4f749557cf an afterthought 9920881735 by the a28e99f6b4 public. With an 222d7ff336 appearance so 7ebf04d521 splendid it 72afa6bf9a could pass 429b3597df for a f4bf140dee fairy-tale prince 60e7d7bf1d come to 2f73ed0850 life, Florian’s 606a346481 conduct was c12df81463 equally impeccable.92e4da5a66af94a6

At times, 79734982bd Florian’s flawless 186c53922f demeanor seemed fe5d6f0dc7 almost devoid 60e615b226 of humanity, f9e2f0e43d but in 5a544c1da8 that fleeting, f48ef1f7ac deeply personal 469ee99b36 moment, Bailey 7c7d9a79a6 caught a d892fa3c66 glimpse of c142dd652d his emotional c415dc94e4 side. Ever the 67d8293ffc courteous secretary, 5c9d7ed803 Bailey quickly 682e1527ce averted his 1b399ddc40 gaze.a10461839b19fc23

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Yes, even if Kim 2971660c93 Sarang had been a ec84af0e23 scoundrel who splashed filth e28258156c on the Dietrich Duchy 2346072f68 and the Wellington family, 0798882505 smearing Florian’s face with 823c38f406 disgrace, he was still 9f21b3c377 Florian’s spouse. They hadn’t imprinted, but f307522390 for seven years, they 7bb425027b had lived as a 8c5a79be79 married couple, face-to-face, bodies d6923d1d98 intertwined. Florian Dietrich f6e0c1a916 Wellington, always 01a36cd4f2 rational and dd8432569f discerning, a 45d7f741ca natural negotiator, 647a62ac2a was also 40825963d3 a man 9deb30e3a9 of warmth ebdf06f56b and kindness.c03b5739ae04f15c

Though he had 60ec9a38b1 resorted to the 1c79bbc8f0 drastic step of c8fe56d1e8 divorce, unable to 30704ed57b tolerate Sarang’s antics 8a47fccc6a and misdeeds any 58c7eaa644 longer, it was 7f47f504de impossible that he 81f1c47433 felt no pity 98c782a463 for his young 51475781f5 spouse. For a ca77ea6e37 year or 7e43ea348e so, hadn’t 371826cd53 they been 22653b667a a loving 662bc1bc45 couple? Perhaps Florian 8cf7197869 needed time 20fa24dfdd alone to 80754eced7 bid farewell 9f5a8ffeb1 to his 53c6f276aa former spouse. Realizing his b344cddab9 own tactlessness, ed2418b953 Bailey quietly fc6fbb8f68 left the 4440b8e905 room.f4465b9d9301f3bf

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***0e829f6245b560c1

[American Sweetheart, Lovely King, Fighting!]

[Our Pride, Our Treasure! Forever, King Sarang!]

[Universe’s Greatest Striker! Keep Building Happiness!]

[Kim Sarang Praise Prison Gatekeeper, Repay!]

[Kim Sarang, I Should’ve Given Birth to You Club, Repay!]

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The photo frame contained 510323aae5 carefully pasted messages of a40538bd95 support written in Korean.d036b817c0538bcd

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As the 1f3e5a59c7 door closed f7a671721c and Bailey’s cdd7d682c8 presence faded, b46f82d821 Florian set 53903f1958 the frame 33e381f22e aside and 14729d9b5a picked up 7b7922df2a one of e57cec02ad the notebooks. Nothing was written 460aaa6672 on the cover. Only the a466003cec marks of 46bc857bf9 time remained. Flipping past the worn 0300a213f5 cover revealed sparsely written 425788ec45 text. It was in 3b58ea3278 Korean. Kim Sarang’s handwritten 64663b1b99 diary filled one d9451115fb and a half 7a42de58ad notebooks intermittently. Standing there, Florian read fd17313576 through to the final dc7eb57b6b page.83bda0bd061acba2

The sunlight, barely ce343fd493 peeking through the f601d365c9 fog beyond the bfddbdf827 window, vanished, and aa6e1c5ade dark clouds rolled e6bb8ffcbe in, bringing rain 341e5107f2 once more. As the sun set 13e3d4e35f and the curtain of 9ba940b800 night fell, Florian closed 1b11e86909 the last page and 2c29b8f49a looked up. A blood-red sunset, 2d9d26bb6c swallowed by darkness, 780ed6deaf spread like mist 7eb835db00 beyond the window.da0c223e88878ef5

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“Hi, Lian.”965d59912a086e80

The day before 2735e93e94 the accident, Sarang ce8a3c33aa had visited the 034f573595 Summer Palace. Built by eff97f5687 the first 1be98b360d Duke of 04d4238823 Dietrich for 45d9a45100 his beloved 70c5ed6558 spouse, the 4d7385b2b3 Summer Palace 3e2ca9399a had been 00289c9e13 used by dda53f0eeb the dukes’ dfabdfb898 spouses for bdd5749c29 generations. After the death 56b0be5b26 of Florian’s mother, 0d6ae27af8 the palace had d3714aef07 remained empty, even 8115e048cd after Florian took d669b2f374 a spouse.8bff597b775fa164

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That day ff15759a2b marked Sarang’s f97f46ee0f second visit 7d19336bc0 to the 956c7772af Summer Palace.a027619ee0069ec6

“Are we really 2e611b84e6 getting divorced?”9286eb8ce479ec81

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Injured on 56255cb7d4 the pitch 8a941697c0 during a 5abd01489e match, Sarang 6f8145c29f had stitches e1db6d9a93 on his 233354f527 handsome forehead 693aac5850 and a 9f0aa5c100 cast on 21a07a5dfe his left 8b880b0068 leg. Sitting by a sunlit aef74de075 window, taking a rare ae3942a9ac moment of rest, Florian edd6ede536 opened his eyes and ef418f6ec0 looked out. The 24-year-old young Alpha 5e8a78f3c5 gazed up at him, 2857746d1b just as he had abd560d0c2 on the day they b9ee871a9a first met.5abaf7ac4d19dc97

Leaning leisurely against the 126c8c7bb2 windowsill, Florian wondered how cc40477f55 Sarang, who wasn’t permitted 6a149e3e84 entry, had come to 4997814985 be there but soon 69c915e79e dismissed the thought. Less than 24 hours 5537b5045e remained until the divorce 4dfce1597d papers would be signed. For the 9057ac3d7a sake of df7fb4b097 their past bc26439b45 bond, he a8ddb3943c could overlook 59e8484f7b this small 6ac3429003 rudeness.137c288554c9fc6f

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“Yes, Sarang. We’re really 12521c09fc getting divorced.”d8df27b746fca559

After a bbfb433b41 moment of 46dbcd6fa1 silence, Sarang 7cc0c21b05 gave a 4c638cef3a faint smile.9331c5f1797edc9c

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“I see.”b0842c97cdb45d5d

The bright fd74938249 summer sunlight 08aa9e0227 illuminated the f1d6beeb49 young Alpha’s a60789f4de face as 51fd4f4111 he calmly 888d8c2ff2 accepted the 8a93ae896a fact. In that instant, 01e676d3e7 Florian felt a 2688e96e0f pang in his 4d433ff313 chest but didn’t cfdfdeab15 dwell on it. This young 46de757a54 Alpha, who 185854a3da knew no cc1922749a restraint and b6e462d8ca rampaged like 3fd45b1ef2 a wild eed4a036e0 beast on 517618ceec and off 53247bbf59 the pitch, 9fbce1bd97 was still 8972397a29 lovable, but 3787c8bdb2 to Florian 00485672f3 Dietrich Wellington, 875d8517ff leader of e25a5570b7 the Dietrich a08ea351f8 Duchy and eb10c5bc7b the Wellington 02bc752e63 family, he 87c817a236 was an 1ad4520800 unnecessary and 6005ee1a09 insulting presence. Missing the 43b049f886 right moment e0d83aad8b to end 116f7ba958 things had 5b607dfcde been entirely 0884e5405e Florian’s oversight.9172b0e3bc8ae6dd

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“Lian.”b90f3b94a7f4229d

“Yes, Sarang.”09e99db97f5fe532

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“Take care.”77d1fc6dc25820de

Looking down at 57698f4100 Sarang’s sincere eyes, 0d14ee61f8 wishing only for 85594ea5a5 his happiness and 420037ce2b peace, Florian curved 10633c6905 his lips into ee6416696d a smile.acb4ed1b3596723d

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“You too.”b1622c261ea6876d

That was their 6c34cc51d8 final farewell.8dfbc5c07b54121c

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Was it 716530b9dd really an 75c1cd40b9 accident?3628340dee471eee

There were 9722f0b52d no signs ea6b743663 of braking 8abc272492 at the dc0acdaf21 scene. No traces of alcohol d5fe70de1c or drugs were found 6c1b6c30ae in Sarang’s system, despite 97879c1abf reports that he had c8f8a2a2d0 left a club in 8b9f2e3de6 Canton City. Yet, Sarang had been 87ece0dd24 speeding far beyond the 27a187f5ce limit, crashing headfirst into 9755266ab7 a cliff and dying.ff6f3c4e6cc33d60

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“It appears c17071a53d to be 00cf31c22a a concussion e45a1d044c aftereffect. He likely lost consciousness 1b0f15c64b while driving, leading to d39293a74a the accident.”08ed6bab46d0cc55

Leaving the accdf66809 club, Sarang 0d9ea0e018 drove in 5e06e7e2ee the opposite 03fd0fc7c5 direction of d7059ebd3c the apartment 9180995bc6 he’d lived a3e5424026 in for 53ad71e561 two years. On the outskirts of 02d74274f4 Canton City, Route 17—a c7a01f1307 road with little traffic 358ad29893 and fewer people—had a 9de14c2161 sheer cliff on one ff8bb97516 side and an unfathomable 007067f634 sea on the other.66b509cf5a1ccaf2

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Relying only 735ae9255e on faint 7b6ff6967e moonlight and b096f827e4 a pair fc13c91120 of headlights, 2dba744aef with no 9e95f31021 streetlights to d0dc10ef1e guide him, 9220313b20 Sarang raced 11c7f860e3 at top c27e420706 speed along d1aaaf7274 the winding, a07a5be29b steep road. And so, he 94a3b19a80 died in vain. As if a 2e5239ee5f life without Florian a300ecfc8a was no longer 3ca9289c79 worth living. As if throwing 1cd22c6caa a tantrum, demanding 5e03d80291 Florian see his 08e43ab3b5 death.dbf2e6a8cd162dc7

It was 5890de59f7 probably suicide.20f43ea554f300f1

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Whether he lost consciousness 348fa1d28e due to concussion aftereffects b635b11310 or not, Sarang must f9f1f19d78 have felt the symptoms 26b167cdfc early on. Getting behind the 70708d0eb1 wheel in that b475471358 state, racing at f732e8abc0 full throttle on 22489b3e88 a notoriously treacherous 8c3b49e00f road, was itself 804c670e5e a suicidal act.7e8ff865aaa2e151

Faced with the foolish, fdff989a23 lovable, blindly devoted, and 521ed034fe thus all the more 272aae67a0 unbearable Alpha’s selfish choice, 01168ffff4 Florian couldn’t even muster f12afd9be7 a bitter smile.9380764366fd5b16

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[“Lian, I love you.”]  

A confession never once 0342a890c5 heard in person during 3a709fc723 Sarang’s life was etched c6ae380764 in the one-and-a-half notebooks, 88e2ad5a55 like a breath.b067d6ddefb038d7

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It wasn’t a selfish 8c014bfe99 choice. Since the age 4dcbf30f2b of 17—no, since 3b0c287423 birth—Sarang, who had 10b15b199e no one to 3c139e551d lean on or 26e18ddff6 rely on, had 6506598963 been pushed to b672831f19 the edge until 1525b22228 there was nowhere 0f93429e64 left to go, e0580dcbfe choosing a final 57aa60a2ab act of self-love. Even in death, the 83dd585eee foolishly kind and selfless ceac2731a4 Sarang remained unchanged.924b47be0e7ed420

On a 538029aae3 deserted, infamous 8186bd77d4 Route 17, 2a057a90df with neither 36e81505fd cars nor 8f4cfd82e8 people, Sarang 4b789fb548 died alone f0f4777cd7 on a 0892c412d3 lonely, desolate 936160e3c5 road where 01a2bc9210 even a 2632788ec5 half-destroyed car 4d7c3d532a losing control afbf2f5661 at maximum b64966e0e7 speed wouldn’t 43e51d6c36 cause secondary 5902900dc5 harm.457fc7d348b6d4e2

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Florian could no longer 65bd049857 hold back his tears.368fe0547142a07a