Placing Bets

Placing Bets
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~Placing Bets~

            A cry of agony was heard in the distance.

            But Sehun ignored it, it was normal in these parts. Fights broke out like it was hell fire, he didn't give a damn as long it wasn't his own that was in danger. That was how you survived in this gambler sector, you don't worry about anyone's but your own because that was more than enough to deal with, adding another burden would only be a hindrance.

             It was a cold morning as it was every winter and all Sehun wanted to do was make it back to his home in one piece especially after a hard shift at the pawn shop he worked at down the street where he had a night shift that lasted all the way from midnight until the crack of dawn. Sehun plans to just go home and crash into his shabby bed as fast as he can so he could at the very least get some rest before his next shift and the sector event everyone is required to attend later.

            However, a shrill cry of "Sehun!" caught his attention, stopping him in his tracks as he whirled around to the voice that called him. It was none other than the local rat of the sector, no one knew the kid's real name, they just called him Jwi but his reputation on the other hand was infamous. Jwi would sell out anyone within a heartbeat, the kid had a way to find even the slightest amount of dirt on anyone and Sehun did not like associating with the kid one bit especially since Jwi was working for one of the big named gangs in the gambler sector at the moment, no one touched him unless they wanted to feel the wrath of the bosses.

            "What," said Sehun coldly.

            Jwi laughed in merriment as if Sehun's tone wasn't off putting in the slightest "Come now, don't be so stiff I'm off my ratting duties right now. You're safe… for now…"

            Sehun kept his expression blank, remaining cautious. The number one rule in this sector; trust no one.

            "Don't you want to know some information? This could be really beneficial for street brats like you who have nothing and no where to go, after all your game must be hell for you," Jwi grinned wickedly, showcasing his jagged teeth.

             Sehun narrowed his eyes at the ratty punk. The second rule of the sector; treat life as if it was a gambling game and place your bets well because once you lose it all, it's over, there are no second chances. The 'game' Jwi was referring to was none other than the life that Sehun is living, everyone did the same, life was simply a game that you had to bet on and whether you win or lose, well that's your own problem to deal with.

            "Are you curious yet?" asked Jwi leaning towards Sehun playfully.

            Sehun shot the small boy a warning look, "I don't give a damn, there is nothing in this sector that is remotely beneficial unless you sell your body, dignity, and pride."

            "Ahhh, still righteous I see," Jwi's smirk suddenly turned serious "But you won't be for much longer."

            Sehun felt his insides suddenly freeze over, the chill from the cold weather he was standing in seemed to seep straight into his bones. Never trust anyone in the sector but when the local rat decides to give you a warning, it's in your best interest to at the very least heed it.

            A sick grin stretched across Jwi's face as he saw Sehun's reaction to his words, "The Kings are coming to play today."

            That was the warning message.

            The rat boy was scurrying off once more, disappearing  through the streets as if he had never been there in the first place.

            Sehun didn’t even bother to try to follow after or bother with asking what that cryptic message was because he already knew what it meant but why the rat chose to tell him something that he knew was what concerned him most. Jwi had a reason for everything, especially for each piece of information he decided to let slip, there was more to this warning than Jwi was hinting to him.

            The Kings he was referring to were the eleven top players in the sector, each one had a game that they ruled over. They were the best of the best in their game and no one can ever beat them which is why they have earned so much respect and grandeur from the people in the gambler sector. Each ruled game and their king had a territory to themselves; the territories each formed a circle around the gambler sector which had no Kings and were only watched over by the top bosses in the elite gangs. It was a smart way to operate things, the gambler sector was stocked full of people who did nothing but gamble, it was life after all and when they were in the mood to play a certain gambling game like say poker, they'd head to the territory that was specialized in it to gamble away. If people were willing to commit to only one gambling game then they were permitted to leave the gambler sector and live within the King's territory but there weren't may willing to do this because they liked the idea of free choice in their gambling affairs rather than stick to only one game permanently even if it meant giving up a better lifestyle within the territory.

            There is more to the Kings as well, aside from just watching over their territories, they almost never leave the safety of their confines, opting to rather watch over their own territory than to wander. The only time they ever do is if they were heading out to play and playing did not mean frivolous merriment, oh no, the Kings only headed to the gambler sector to place their bets on one individual who will be taken back with them to their territory. The Kings' Playtime was an event that everyone knew of, however the reason behind why the Kings did this, no one ever wanted to know because once a King places their bet on you, you never come back.

            Sehun shook off the feeling of foreboding doom and continued on his way, he wanted to get home before the Kings came, he wanted to stay out of their sight as much as possible but he knew it was inevitable since everyone would be required to go to the town center once the event started. 'Crazy Jwi, stupid rat boy, this is going to drive me crazy all day, what the hell was that even supposed to mean? Everyone already knows that the Kings are coming today…' Sehun was finally outside his small house and was getting ready to get his key out to open the door, fumbling a bit with it, a sudden thought hit Sehun causing him to drop his key 'What if the Kings bet on me…'

            Lost in the thought for a moment Sehun didn't notice the stranger that approached him and picked up his dropped house key.

            "Hey, you dropped this, I'm pretty sure you're going to need this to enter your house right?" said the stranger as he waved the key in front of Sehun's face.

            Sehun flinched as the world came back into focus again, and he took in the sight of the person before him. The boy looked about his age, a bit shorter in height, big deer like eyes and a mop of bright red hair on top of his head, all messy and unruly because of the wind blowing.

            Sehun only stared at the boy as if not comprehending why in the world he was being spoken to in the first place because let's face it, the gambler sector was not a friendly place in general especially not to the brats on the streets, there weren't many 'Hey' unless it was followed by some threat like 'Get your back here so I can beat the out of you!'

            Sehun couldn't make an accurate judgment at the moment because this boy looked quite innocent and baby-faced but then again looks can be deceiving, he really couldn't decide if he should say anything back to the boy or just snatch the key out of the boy's hand to open the door to his house and slam the door shut on the other.

            The boy laughed seemingly amused at Sehun's contemplative expression, "Are you going to stand there to stare at my face? I have somewhere I need to be, you're an interesting one though but I have to go. We'll without a doubt see each other soon."

            The unknown boy grabbed Sehun's wrist gently and placed the key in the palm of his hand, smiling once more and darting away before Sehun could even react and question what the boy meant with his last statement.

            Once Sehun saw that it was pointless to even bother to call out to the boy who's name he didn't even know, he sighed and returned back to his own business of getting himself back into his house. 'Weird as people today I swear! Saying random left and right, why can't anyone be straightforward damn it!' Sehun slammed his front door closed out of frustration.

            Maybe after getting some rest before the King's Playtime event would do him some good, and hopefully pacify his foul mood that just seemed to get fouler with each passing moment. Crashing on to his bed, Sehun was out like a light, dreaming of a red fur deer and lost keys.

            Waking up what felt like minutes later but in reality was actually three hours, Sehun stumbled about after noticing the time to get himself ready for the event in the town center. Pulling on a jacket after rinsing his face quickly, Sehun was out the door once again.

            The gamble sector wasn't very large as compared to the other specialized sectors for the kings but it was more than enough space to fill everyone in it's town center. Sehun shuffled around along with the other people, choosing to stay more towards the back than anywhere near the front where the kings would appear on the center circular automatic stage.

            He could hear the people around him buzzing in wonder at what's to come for the Kings' Playtime and the most brought up subject was who was going to be betted on.

            Sehun wanted to scoff at all of them, as he watched them pointing fingers at one another and whispering about who is the most likely candidate. 'You all treat life as a gamble yet you fear to be betted upon,' despite these thoughts running through Sehun's mind he couldn't help the feeling of dread that began edging it's way back into his mind 'Jwi's warning… Is it about the Kings' bet? I can't be the bet, can I? Why would the Kings choose someone who doesn't even gamble…'

            It was true though, through all of Sehun's life he had managed to escape the cruel addiction that is gambling despite always living in a world that had him surrounded in it be it pure luck or just plain smarts; he still made it.

            There was a sudden hush that fell over the entire crowd as they all heard the crank of the automatic stage opening it's floor to reveal the lift. Slowly, eleven cloaked figures were elevated to the top of the stage, their faces completely obscured by their hoods with only their chins and mouths showing.

            The tallest King stepped forward from the group, a smirk playing on his lips as he spoke, voice reverberating all throughout the silent town center, "The Kings' Playtime shall begin."

            The tallest King lifted his left arm so that the cloak sleeve fell away revealing a pale arm that had a gold coin clutched between his forefinger and thumb, "Let's make our bet."

            It was as if those were the magic words that needed to be uttered because the next thing everyone witnessed was the gold coin beginning to glow. It went from a dim flicker to a full blown blinding light as it began levitating from the King's hand; it stayed above the stage for only another mere second before it shot off again. The gold coin began running circles around the crowd a streak of yellow following in it's wake, a few seconds of this passed by before the gold coin stopped and darted straight for the crowd of people, flying around and about through the crowd as people hastily got out of it's way.

            'Where the hell is that thing going to stop at?' thought Sehun warily as he kept his eye on the gold menace zipping among the people, at the moment the gold coin was quite far off from his position and he wanted to keep it that way.

            Fixing his sight quickly back to the stage for a moment to see what the Kings were doing during all this, Sehun's eyes suddenly fell upon one of the Kings standing close to the edge of the stage. The King was smiling and it caused a shiver to run down Sehun's spine because despite not being able to see the King's face Sehun got the feeling that this King was smiling directly at him.

            Wanting nothing more than to shake off this creepy feeling, Sehun looked away just in time as the golden coin decided to fly straight towards him.

            Letting out a gasp of surprise and utter shock Sehun took a step back from the golden coin that hovered right before his face.

            The golden coin seemed to dislike the distance Sehun put between the two of them and decided to float straight into Sehun's hand, sticking itself there and no matter how much Sehun shook his hand the coin would not fall off or unlatch itself.

            "!" grunted Sehun as he glared at the now no longer shining coin stuck to the palm of his right hand 'Of course the damn thing picked me, of course I got betted on, damn it all!'

            The people around Sehun moved several steps back as the tallest King stepped closer to the edge of the stage gesturing towards Sehun.

            "The bet has been made, come here on to the stage and we shall end the Kings' Playtime," ordered the tallest King.

            Sehun sighed as he shot all the Kings on the stage an exasperated look. He didn't know what was going to happen to him but at this point he hardly cared anymore. Be it as it will there was no way to get out of this now and Sehun wasn't one for fighting against the things that happened he just followed along with it, adjusting to whatever obstacle hit his path like right now in this moment.

            Gritting his teeth, Sehun began making his way to the stage, the people parted for him clearing his way as he walked, he kept his expression blank only staring towards the stage and nothing else.

            As he neared the stage he unexpectedly heard an all too familiar voice, "Good luck street brat, I warned you beforehand."

            Sehun faltered in his steps for a second as he turned his head to make eye contact with Jwi, the tiny punk was just grinning at him as if he had known this was going to happen all along.

            "You knew?" it was said without feeling as if Sehun couldn't have cared less.

            "There were rumors floating among the people about what the betting coin chooses in a person and you happen to fill the requirements that I happen to hear about, I guess I made my bet on you correctly, huh?" said Jwi smugly.

            Sehun only spared Jwi one last glance not even bothering to retort before he continued with his way towards the stage, it wasn't like there was anything that could change the results. As he walked up those last few steps, the tallest King reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him on to the stage to stand beside the other.

            Without much effort the King plucked the golden coin from Sehun's palm and held it up once more for the crowd of murmuring people to see, "The bet has been made, and this shall be the end of the Kings' Playtime. Please go back to your lives as they once were as we shall return to our own territories."

            The platform the twelve of them were standing on began descending in to the darkness below and Sehun took in the last glance he ever would of the gambler sector he had grown up and lived in for the past twenty-one years of his life, 'I guess I won't be going to my shift at the pawnshop after all… Or to my house ever again… This is probably my last goodbye to this place…'

            "I knew we would meet again," said a voice behind Sehun causing the boy to nearly jump in surprise, the voice continued though "Don't worry things will probably work out for you…"

            A shiver ran up Sehun's spine as he listened to the calm yet almost soothing voice of the King behind him, tempting him to turn around to face the other but it was already too late the platform descended completely and the top opening that was the only light source closed off leaving Sehun in nothing but darkness surrounded by eleven other beings he knew nothing about.

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            Sehun was lead by a hand pulling his wrist through the dark tunnel, his eyes hadn't adjusted to the lack of light yet and he tried his best to just stumble along. They had been walking for some time already and none have them have even bothered to say a word about what they were going to do to Sehun or where they were taking him.

            Sehun was becoming highly impatient with them, the very least they could do was explain things since he just basically gave up his entire life to go with these strangers.

            Just as Sehun was about to open his mouth and voice this, the King that was grasping his wrist stopped walking then there was a click noise indicating a door being opened. Light poured into the dark tunnel and Sehun had to squint his eyes at the brightness as he got pulled into the spacious lit room.

            Once his eyes adjusted to the light, it widened in surprise. Where the hell did these people take him!? At the very moment he was standing in a room that looked as if it was made for royalty of the highest degree but then again he should have assumed as much after all this was most likely the Kings' living quarters or something for all he knew.

            "Welcome to the Kings' underground meeting room, this is located directly underneath the Gambler Sector," said the King who let go of his wrist and took a step back.

            Sehun only nodded at the other, not really sure what else to say.

            "Hmmm, we got ourselves a quiet one this time around," said another King behind him.

            "Seems so. Good. The noisy ones are always a pain to deal with," replied the King beside that one.

            "Let's all introduce ourselves already," the tallest King stepped in front of Sehun and pulled the hood of his cloak down to reveal his face as the others followed suite.

            Sehun was quite surprised in all honesty because he really didn't expect all of the Kings to be so… good looking. He had expected them to look like thugs or at the very least similar to the gangsters that roamed his old streets at night to pick on any victims that happened to stumble in their way. But these eleven looked nothing like that at all. Sehun was left in awe.

            "Hey, kid. I'm Kris and I rule over the poker territory," introduced the tall King who was doing all the announcements before. That basically started the chain reaction as each King began introducing themselves to Sehun.

            "I'm Suho and I rule over the lottery territory."

            "I'm Xiumin and I rule over the craps dice game territory."

            "I'm Tao and I rule over the blackjack card game territory."

            "I'm Chen and I rule over the wheel of fortune territory."

            "I'm Lay and I rule over the mahjong territory."

            "I'm Kai and I rule over the baccarat territory."

            "I'm DO and I rule over the keno territory."

            "I'm Chanyeol and I rule over the bingo territory."

            "I'm Baekhyun and I rule over the pachinko territory."

            "We've met before but I didn't get to introduce myself. I'm Luhan and I rule over the roulette territory."

            Sehun's memory kicked in at the last second as he took in Luhan's appearance and red messy hair, "Ah! You're the guy that picked up my house key when I dropped it!"

            Luhan nodded his head enthusiastically, "Glad you remembered me too! I was smiling at you from the stage earlier during the Playtime event but I guess you couldn't recognize me because of the cloak…"

            "Creeped the hell out of me too," muttered Sehun lowly.

            "Anyways, now that you know who we are, what's your name?" asked Kris.

            "Oh Sehun."

            "Great, now place your bet Sehun," continued Kris.

            "Excuse me?" asked Sehun confused as hell about what he was just ordered to do.

            "Place your bet," repeated Kris.

            "Bet?"

            "Yes, there are eleven kings in total, now bet on one of us," said Kris as if it was the most obvious thing to do ever.

            "What does that even mean!?" exclaimed Sehun in exasperation at getting no explanation about any of this, "Wait a better question is why was I even betted upon and why the hell are you guys making me bet?"

            "The betting coin makes the decision based on ones' potential, we don't have a say in it, that's the best answer that we have for your first question. As for your second question well that can be explained after," answered Kris as he reached back in to his robe and pulled out the betting coin and placed the item in Sehun's hand.

            "Potential? What potential? I'm nothing more than just an average person, I don't even gamble like everyone else does!" protested Sehun as he looked at the golden coin in his hand "Why are you giving this back to me!? What am I supposed to do with it!?"

            "Then maybe your potential still lies untapped, the coin is never wrong," replied Luhan "We're here to release your potential but you need to make your bet first, use the coin to guide your decision."

            "Who do you choose?" said all eleven in unison as they formed a circle around Sehun.

            Sehun frowned as he looked at each and every single King that stood before him, each with their own specialty and talents. 'Eleven choices but one bet… I don't even know what they're talking about… What's their plan? Their motive? I have no potential the only game I'm familiar enough with are those stupid scratch cards since the pawnshop always sold them on the side but even if so I don't even play with those! What is this !?'

            Sehun glanced around once more, each of the kings staring back at him, all with equally blank expressions as if saying this was all his choice and none of them were trying to convince him to pick them. Sehun gripped the golden coin in his hand harshly the sides of it digging into his skin but he didn't notice or care about that, he had a decision to make at this very moment.

            He was unsure and at a lost as to what to do but his eyes found themselves returning to Luhan's eyes once more and the coin seemed to heat up in his palm the next thing he knew his mouth just seemed to open of it's own accord as words spilled out, "I bet on you, Luhan."

            Luhan's mouth stretched into a smirk, "The bet has been made, there are no withdrawals from it. Are you sure?"

            Sehun gave a curt nod, not dropping the eye contact he had with Luhan.

            "Alright then," Luhan extended his hand to Sehun with his palm face up as if expecting Sehun to give him something.

            Without anything else but the heated gold coin in his hand, Sehun placed it on to Luhan's palm.

            "Now it is official, you Oh Sehun have placed your bet on me Luhan, King of the roulette territory," The gold coin in Luhan's hand began glowing again.

            Sehun had to close his eyes momentarily as the light nearly blinded him and the next moment he opened his eyes the gold coin was no longer a gold coin but a black roulette chip.

            Luhan reached forward and grabbed Sehun's wrist, opening the younger's palm to place the black roulette chip in it, "This is now yours, it's proof of your bet. Don't lose it."

            Sehun could only stand there to stare at the black roulette chip now in his hand as Luhan's words barely registered in his mind. He felt more than confused at the moment and at this point all Sehun wanted was to think of all of this as a dream that he could wake up from because he didn’t ask for this, he didn't want to be betted upon and he certainly didn’t want to place any bets but now here in the palm of his hand was proof of his very first bet he had ever placed in his life and there was without a doubt in his mind that there were many more bets to come.

            "Since the bet has been made we'll be going aback to our own territories, we'll probably see you guys later on!" said Tao as he waved at the rest of the group.

            The others seemed to agree with Tao as they began making their own departures through the separate doors around the meeting room after saying their byes.

            "Let's get going, you'll be staying with me at the roulette territory at my penthouse above the main casino," said Luhan as he began leading the way towards the only door none of the other Kings had stepped into earlier.

            Having no other choice Sehun followed behind as the two began making their way to wherever Luhan lived.

            It felt as if they had walked for about an hour before the two of them finally reached the end of the pathway leading into another room that only had an elevator.

            Luhan pulled out a card and scanned it on the elevator's door before stepping inside with Sehun, "This elevator is only for my use, no one can get to it unless they have this card, so if you ever need to use it tell me."

            Sehun gave a nod at Luhan's instruction as the elevator doors closed and zipped all the way to the top floor where Luhan's penthouse was located.

            During the elevator ride Luhan was the first to initiate the conversation, "How familiar are you with the game of roulette?"

            "Not at all honestly, I may have come from the gambler sector but that doesn't mean I gambled," admitted Sehun.

            "Hmmm, still pure from the hell within each gamble…" mumbled Luhan lowly as his expression slipped into a serious one.

            Sehun suddenly felt nervous, at the sudden change in Luhan's expression. Had he done something wrong? Was he supposed to know how to play roulette?

            All of a sudden Luhan broke out into a smile, "No worries Sehun, I'll teach everything about the game so that you'll become a pro at it."

            Sehun found himself staring at the smile Luhan was giving him, the complete expression change from Luhan left him slightly confused but he did find Luhan's smile quite… nice… Which surprised him a lot considering anything he found cute or nice usually ranged under untrustable in his radar since in the gambler sector the prettiest and good looking ones were always the ones to swindle you out of everything you owned but Luhan's cute smile seemed to put him at ease even if only for a brief moment.

            The elevator dinged indicating that the duo were at their floor. Stepping out into the hallway, Sehun took note of how there were no other doors than the elevators and the door in front of them that Sehun assumed lead to Luhan's place.

            "This place is inescapable unless you get my elevator key, so there's no point in trying. Unless you want to just jump out the window," said Luhan suddenly as if he read Sehun's thoughts.

            "I wasn't thinking about escaping," replied Sehun bluntly. It was the truth though, it wasn't like he had anything waiting for him back in the Gambler Sector anyways, what motive could he possibly have to escape.

            "I was just stating the obvious, not accusing you of wanting to escape," replied Luhan as he unlocked the door to his penthouse for the both of them to step in.

            The two of them stepped in and Sehun looked around in awe. This was a penthouse!? It looked like a damn mansion! There were even stairs that led to an upstairs which no doubt had more than the needed amount of rooms a single person needed!

            Luhan smirked as he witnessed Sehun's shocked expression, "Like what you see?"

            Sehun instantly snapped his attention back to Luhan, "You said penthouse, this is a ing mansion. What the hell."

            Luhan shrugged, "I'm a King, as Kings we pretty much get the best of the best besides it’s not like I couldn't afford it, my bank account is overflowing with money. Remember there's a reason why I'm King in the roulette territory, I don't lose."

            "Right," replied Sehun as he took in one more glance around the living quarters, he could not believe that he would be living here. This was a major upgrade from the ty little place he called his home back in the gambler sector.

            "Let's go upstairs and I'll show you to your room," said Luhan as he began his way up with Sehun following behind once more.

            Luhan and Sehun made their way down the hall as Luhan pointed out different rooms along the way, "That's the game room, study room, book room, guest rooms, bathrooms, that's my office room, and this is my room which will be right beside yours."

            Luhan gestured his hand to the black and red double sided door before him, "All yours and you can wear whatever is in the closets I'm sure the clothes should fit you."

            Luhan opened the door and allowed Sehun to walk in.

            The room was huge, it looked to be about six times the size of his old home. "This is really my own room?" asked Sehun hesitantly, unsure since he never had anything luxurious like this before.

            Luhan laughed as he came to stand in front of Sehun, "Yup, unless you want to come to my room and share a bed with me?"

            Sehun blushed at the thought, "No, I'm fine right here, thank you."

            Luhan only grinned further at Sehun's embarrassed expression, "Hmmm, now that I see your face much closer, you're pretty cute. I wouldn't mind."

            Sehun twitched at the statement before shooting Luhan a look, "Are you a ert or something?"

            That inquisition caused even more laughter to spill from Luhan's lips, "Maybe."

            Sehun blanched at the answer before bluntly stating, "Great, I'll be sure to lock my doors when I sleep, change my clothes, or take a shower."

            "I have the key to everything in the penthouse, that won't matter," replied Luhan merrily "But no worries I won't be doing anything to you unless you want me to do it."

            "Don’t hold your breath," muttered Sehun as he walked towards the bed to take a seat. Luhan was good looking to him, there was no doubts in that especially with the other's pretty big eyes and innocent looking appearance but Sehun wasn’t really in the mood to be molested by the King of roulette. Actually now that he thought about it he still didn't even know why he was here in the first place.

            "Hey, none of you told me why I'm here, what's the purpose for those who are betted upon? No one in the gambler sector has known all we had were rumors," stated Sehun hoping Luhan could just give him a straight forward answer.

            Luhan deliberated for a bit, trying to figure out a way to phrase it to Sehun, "The betting coin believes you have potential and that potential just needs to be unlocked."

            "But why? There are more than enough gamblers out in the streets, why choose only one to develop their potential?" questioned Sehun.

            "There may be an abundance in gamblers but there's a scarcity in skilled gamblers," replied Luhan.

            "I suppose you're right about that but it still makes no sense why me of all people especially since gambling also relies on luck and I have practically none," sighed Sehun.

            "That decision is based only on the betting coin, we don't even know the reason behind it's choices but at least you're better than all the others who have been betted upon before," sighed Luhan.

            "How so?" wondered Sehun.

            "They were all crying and screaming and acting utterly depressed when they left  the gambler sector but you seemed pretty calm about the whole thing," answered Luhan bluntly.

            Sehun snorted "That's because I got nothing to tie me down back in the gambler sector, there's nothing there for me."

            "Huh, explains a lot then," replied Luhan nonchalantly before standing up, "I can tell you the overall plan of what we're going to do during the time that you stay here, you will learn the game of roulette. I will obviously be the one to teach you. Improve your skills, your luck, your chance, your bets, your overall game and from there well… I can't really say much more than that so for the time being focus on the present. I'll be going now, a lot has changed for you today so get a good night's sleep,"

            "Okay," replied Sehun as Luhan began making his way to the door but before Luhan could twist the doorknob to leave Sehun spoke up again, the question had been bothering him for quite sometime already (well aside from the question about what’s to happen after he improves his game but Sehun had the feeling Luhan wouldn't answer that at all), "Luhan, what ever happened to those that made the bet before me?"

            Luhan seemed to have stiffened at the sudden question but eventually he looked over his shoulder towards Sehun, expression utterly emotionless, "Is that something you really want to know?"

            The cold tone Luhan used sent a tremor up Sehun's spine and he suddenly found it hard to speak. Was it really any of his business? Was he truly curious about this to the point where he wanted to know the answer no matter what that answer was? It didn't seem like contemplating the question Luhan asked was even necessary since it turned out to be a rhetorical one anyways.

            "Life is a game, I'm sure you've learned this in the gambler sector. Every bet you make has to be a good one because once you lose a bet, you lose the game. The others before you lost their bets ultimately making them lose their overall game. I'm sure you can figure out the rest yourself by connecting the dots," that was the last of Luhan's words as he opened the door and closed it behind him with a soft click.

            Sehun remained frozen in his seat on the bed, feeling anxiety for the first time since his encounter with the Kings slam straight against his chest until it ached, 'What the hell have I gotten myself into this time?'

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            The beginnings of Sehun's roulette lessons began quite… boringly.

            Luhan had called him into his office and basically threw a book at his head (which he managed to catch just in time) and ordered him to just "Go and read all of that and memorize it, it's all the rules you need for roulette. So it's the basics of your training."

            Sehun looked at the book in his hand, it was about medium length and average thickness; it shouldn't be too bad to read and memori-

            "Oh and I want you finished with that by next week," noted Luhan as if that was completely manageable while he shuffled a few papers around on his desk.

            Sehun instantly snapped his head to look at Luhan with a bewildered expression, "What!? A week!? That's not possible!"

            Luhan looked up and raised an eyebrow, "Yeah it is. I've done it before, it's easy."

            "For you maybe but I can't! I'm slow at reading!" protested Sehun about ready to launch the book at Luhan's head.

            Luhan gave an exasperated sigh as he rested his cheek on the palm of his hand, "Fine, two weeks then."

            "Really!? Only one extra week, what the !?" complained Sehun.

            "Want me to make it three days instead? And might I add failure to finish reading and memorizing the roulette rule book will earn you punishment," added Luhan before Sehun could continue his complaint.

            Sehun glared at Luhan but didn't say any more. Sehun had the feeling that if he did talk back Luhan wouldn't hesitate to shrink the deadline for his new assignment and there was no way in hell he wanted to know what Luhan's punishment was going to be.

            "Good, that's what I thought. Go take a seat or something and start reading," Luhan grinned knowing that he had won the conversation.

            Sehun still glared at Luhan but took a seat on the sofa close by the desk where Luhan was still looking through what appeared to be documents of some sorts.

            With an internal sigh, Sehun opened the book he was thrown and began his reading. It took about two hours later and one fourth of the book in for Sehun to realize that everything he read made no sense to him and he remembered absolutely none of it. .

            It took him two hours to read only one fourth of the book and now he has to back track and read it again!? Bull! He came to one conclusion though, Luhan is an for making him read and memorize this in two weeks.

            Sehun's inner musings were soon interrupted by said when he felt fingers run through his hair

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hopebunny
#1
Chapter 1: Can Luhan being a commoner now still live with Sehun who is the new king though? Is Luhan allowed to remain in the king's quarters?
BubbleOhDeerLu
#2
So I'm back here again lol
So when exo's lotto was released, when I saw kai gambling, I was like "omfg why does this seem like Placing bets" idek what gample Kai is playing in this story (more likely I forgot) but just wanna say Lotto reminded me of this fic haha
BubbleOhDeerLu
#3
Chapter 1: BUT IN THE END LUHAN CAME BACK but is it okay? I mean having two kings of roullete? And why do they even have King's playtime?
BubbleOhDeerLu
#4
Chapter 1: This is my first time reading such kind of story. Istg I was so confused at first on how this story flows but as i further read, I understood scenarios eventually. PLUS I REALLY THOUGHT LUHAN DIED istg
baekbaekhyunie
#5
Whoaaa I really really loves this story XD I never expected that I will understand the gambling and all but I do understand^^ and the angst makes me cry but my heart got patches up by the end XDD I really respect u bcuz u are writing a genre that not anyone could do but u managed to nailed it XD thank u for this amazing story of HunHan :-* do continue writing amazing HunHan stories and I love u^^ ♥♥
megadamant #6
Chapter 1: This is a great fic but I'm still a little confused? I mean I immersed myself into the story's universe not knowing much about the world the characters live in, so I didn't quite get the rules in the world. Why do they play the Kings' Playtime in the first place? Just for the sake of the fun behind a gamble? I was actually looking forward to know about Sehun's potential that leads to him being chosen by the betting coin, but I guess you'd rather leave it to our own imagination? What does the betting coin represent, that allows it to change in appearance?

Anyway, I'm sorry, you might have actually been spammed by notifications notifying you about me subscribing and commenting on your stories because I'm currently binge-reading all your HunHan fics. Sorry though for the disturbance, I just can't help but loving your works. :)
Ohluhan101 #7
Chapter 1: Amazing...
KpopSumii
#8
Chapter 1: Woah it was amazing! I did not expect it to be like this at all! *^*
Love it love it love iiiit!
JEONJUNGK00K #9
I love this story so much oh my god i love your idea!! of writing stories with this kind of au. Its my first time reading stories like these and i got to admit that i hella love this. The slight angst part really <//3 me but im happy theyre together in the end!! And i love how you write quotes revolving around bets and life TvT I'd love to read more from you soon!!