Tod
This is rural Thailand hot, sticky, and dull. Boring rules everywhere, nothing really exciting, nothing memorable, even though his roots came from this place…
No matter how remote, it's clear the people here will never live in luxury. Not everyone accepts that fate, and it's poverty that drives some to struggle harder than others.
His mother, or his grandmother Si, never had much formal education. They weren't born into wealthy families, yet they found a way to make the household rich by running underground number games.
A job with no time cards, no overtime, a profession most people wouldn't dare criticize everyone shows respect. Anyone who's played the numbers game knows that if the dealer gets annoyed and you win, they might claim they couldn't deliver in time, or they'll say the number was capped and only pay half but you could still come out ahead.
But no one really wants to go around bragging that they run underground number games. It's a gray-area business, a profession no one is eager to talk about because it's hardly something to boast of. If you wanted to show off, you'd have to live abroad it looks stylish, respectable, and intimidating.
England a land of refinement, far more advanced than much of Asia. Life there is more sophisticated, society steeped in high-end brands, and cuisine without the harsh, pungent spices. Wine comes by the bottle, far more prestigious than cheap local spirits. Nightlife, lights, people open and expressive, freedom in everything including sex everything there feels so perfect it makes turning back almost unthinkable.
But…
Father is gone.
Mother is ill.
The ex-wife is suing for child support.
And the son has no one to look after him.
Problems kept piling up all at once. Normally, he didn't care much about anyone else's troubles—unless they affected him directly. Life was simple: live for the day, no overthinking, no job, no money—just call mom for cash.
But now, he couldn't do that. Mom wasn't running the number games anymore, no money was coming in, and he had to come back to the countryside, to the hometown he wasn't proud of—only because he had no choice.
The thing he wanted to avoid most? His kid and the ex-wife from high school. The woman, always with someone, leaving him unsure if the kid was even his. But DNA doesn't lie… it was his.
He never loved her—just curiosity back then. He didn't want to be involved, so he let his parents handle the settlement and stayed out of it. On top of that, there was that incident with a fight that almost got him killed. The other guy wasn't skilled enough and ended up beaten badly. Fearing for his life, his parents sent him abroad to live with distant relatives, hoping he would survive to grow up.
Problems kept piling up all at once. Normally, he didn't care much about anyone else's troubles—unless they affected him directly. Life was simple: live for the day, no overthinking, no job, no money—just call mom for cash.
But now, he couldn't do that. Mom wasn't running the number games anymore, no money was coming in, and he had to come back to the countryside, to the hometown he wasn't proud of—only because he had no choice.
The thing he wanted to avoid most? His kid and the ex-wife from high school. The woman, always with someone, leaving him unsure if the kid was even his. But DNA doesn't lie… it was his.
He never loved her..just curiosity back then. He didn't want to be involved, so he let his parents handle the settlement and stayed out of it. On top of that, there was that incident with a fight that almost got him killed. The other guy wasn't skilled enough and ended up beaten badly. Fearing for his life, his parents sent him abroad to live with distant relatives, hoping he would survive to grow up.
Coming back, he had to deal with the funeral and all the inheritance matters—chaotic as hell. At least being an only child meant nothing had to be divided. The problem was when things got heavy and no one was there to help.
Living abroad for so long, used to always having money, had trained him to chase down anyone who owed his parents—lottery debts, loans, whatever was rightfully theirs—just to be able to return overseas once more. Anyone who didn't pay was threatened or pressured into putting up collateral. Those scumbags who tried to cheat his mom had better not hope for peace of mind. Coming back to settle the scores felt almost satisfying.
Checking the list of debts was exhausting; almost the entire district, nearly the whole province, owed his mother money from the lottery. The old folks who hadn't paid probably assumed his mother was lenient because of her kind reputation. But those greedy, selfish people had no idea—he, the sole heir of the biggest lottery dealer, wouldn't let a single penny slip from his hands.
Well, there were exceptions—like Teng's homeroom teacher, the little kid born seven years ago.
Luk Tan, the kindergarten teacher at Wat Sa Si.
The name had jumped out on the debtor list at first glance—he had imagined some old aunt with too much makeup and a sharp tongue. But it turned out to be the new young contract teacher, tiny as a puppy. Without the official uniform, no one would have guessed she was a teacher. He couldn't believe someone so innocent-looking could have the nerve to follow a stranger like that.
It was intriguing… but, well, when you're desperate and in debt, it's natural to want to latch onto someone with money—mostly to wipe out the debts.
…
Today was lottery day, meaning constant recording of numbers. Even though he'd sent his subordinates to sell in other areas, just taking calls and noting down numbers was exhausting. He couldn't imagine how his mom had managed this work, day after day, from youth to old age.
"Pa Bua, I'm hungry. Set the table."
The low, commanding voice called for the caretaker of the old family house, the one who always cooked meals, but there was no sign of the plump elderly woman, so he had to go into the kitchen to grab something for himself.
It was almost two in the afternoon, and Tod still hadn't had breakfast, grumbling irritably.
Then his gaze fell on a small figure curled up, and his thick brows furrowed in immediate curiosity.
…That was…
"Kindergarten teacher… Luk Tan."