?No one hears the pig’s plea for salvation.?

  2025, Chazra’s Wedding —One Day Before Zahir’s Arrest—

  The warmth of the wedding, filled with brilliant lights, the applause of countless guests,

  and the lingering scent of flowers that permeated the hall,

  still felt as if it reached the very tips of their chins.

  Chazra and Asha turned away from the crowd that had ebbed away like a tide and headed toward a modest reception where only the immediate family had gathered.

  As if finally released from the tension of their heavy wedding attire,

  a pleasant sense of exhaustion settled upon their shoulders.

  Tomorrow, their two-week honeymoon to Guam would begin.

  “Is there enough time for the flight?”

  With a face flushed from attending to guests throughout the wedding,

  the eldest brother, Ahmadi, asked while slightly loosening his tie.

  “Yeah, the flight is at 7 a.m. tomorrow. We have to be at the airport by 5.”

  Chazra replied, popping a piece of leftover cake into his mouth.

  The moment the sweet cream spread across his tongue,

  he felt the tension finally begin to melt away.

  “My goodness, 7 a.m.? Isn’t that much too early?”

  His mother, Raina, said, clasping her hands together in concern.

  “Haha, it seems your son is so eager to leave this house that he purposely booked the earliest one.”

  Zaydan teased with a mischievous grin, nudging Chazra’s shoulder.

  His joke lightened the stiff air of the room.

  “Our daughter is truly getting married now. Mother is just so… so…”

  Marta tightly held Asha’s hand.

  A teardrop fell onto the back of her calloused hand and blurred over the ring shimmering on Asha’s ring finger.

  Like the light of the sky that remains even after the sun has set, the moonstone shimmered in silence.

  It was a ring Chazra had chosen himself after learning the meaning of Asha's name.

  “Asha is all grown up now.”

  Adika cleared his throat awkwardly and wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulder to comfort her.

  “Mom, I’ll live well. Don’t worry. You know what kind of wonderful people the Al-Muradis are.”

  Asha held Marta’s hand and shook it gently as if to reassure her.

  Chazra also covered Marta’s other hand with his own and met her eyes.

  “Mrs. Verma, I will take good care of her. I promise I will never give Asha a reason to cry.”

  At Chazra’s firm voice, Marta finally nodded as if relieved.

  Chazra looked around.

  Zaydan watched his younger brother with pride, giving him a playful wink,

  while Ahmadi and Raina’s eyes flickered with a mix of pride and affection.

  “You rascals should be getting married soon too! How long are you going to act so immaturely?”

  From the corner, Grandmother Bashira, who had been quietly sipping tea, shot a piercing gaze at Zaydan and Ahmadi.

  The sound of her setting down her teacup with her wrinkled hand was intentionally stern.

  Zaydan wiggled his eyebrows comically at Chazra, signaling for ‘help.’

  Chazra stifled a laugh at the playful gesture and turned his gaze toward the fruit plate on the table.

  When Zaydan gave a slight chin flick as a signal,

  Chazra pushed the plate full of fruit toward his grandmother as if he had been waiting for the moment.

  “Grandmother, have some fruit. And don’t worry too much.”

  Ahmadi skillfully picked up a slice of apple with a fork and brought it to Bashira’s lips to soothe her.

  Bashira grumbled as if displeased but did not refuse the fruit her grandson offered.

  Watching this, Zaydan clenched his fist toward Chazra in a ‘mission accomplished’ sign,

  and Chazra nodded subtly, savoring the small victory shared among the family.

  But even in that harmonious atmosphere, Chazra suddenly felt a chill in a corner of his heart.

  He looked around, but the greatest elder of this gathering—his father—was nowhere to be seen.

  “Mother, where did Father go? I haven’t seen him for a while.”

  Chazra asked his mother, pausing just as he was about to put a piece of his favorite pork cutlet into his mouth.

  “Your father? That boy went to that lab of his even on a day like today.

  Sigh, research, research, every single day.

  Does he not even feel sorry for your mother? He’s my son, but he’s utterly heartless.

  That rotten brat. How can he just show his face for a moment at his own son’s wedding and then vanish?”

  Before Raina could even answer, Bashira slammed her teacup down, venting her frustration.

  The impact caused the food on the table to jump.

  Raina muttered, “Oh, Mother,” and began tidying the area.

  “What? Even on a day like today?”

  Asha asked in surprise, her eyes wide.

  Perhaps because Asha’s voice was a bit loud, Marta, who was next to her, looked startled and pulled her daughter’s hand back slightly.

  Realizing her reaction, Asha quickly covered her mouth and apologized for her discourtesy.

  Her words could have been misconstrued as criticism toward Zahir.

  “It’s alright, Asha. You’re family now. Your father-in-law just has his peculiar side.”

  Raina reassured Asha with a gentle smile.

  But Chazra did not miss the faint bitterness hidden behind his mother’s smile.

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  “By the way, it seems Father has been getting much busier lately. Brother, do you know anything?”

  Zaydan asked Ahmadi, who worked at the same research institute as Zahir.

  “I’m not sure. As far as I know, there’s nothing particularly busy. He’s just continuing the same research as before.

  Maybe he’s talking privately with Karida since they haven’t seen each other in a while?”

  As Ahmadi tilted his head in response, Adika, who had been listening, leaned forward with interest.

  “What kind of research is it? The EMS (Energy Storage System) was truly innovative.

  It increased battery life and capacity several times over. As someone in the IT industry, it’s a subject I’m very interested in.”

  “Oh, weren’t you just looking for places to invest in stocks lately? A man who does nothing but complain while giving orders to employees suddenly has an interest in research?”

  As Marta teased her husband with a sidelong glance, a burst of refreshing laughter broke out across the table.

  Even the usually stern Bashira wore a faint smile.

  “Karida left earlier. Father will be here soon. I’ll apologize on his behalf, Mr. and Mrs. Verma.”

  Zaydan bowed deeply like a medieval European aristocrat in a comical apology,

  making the room erupt in laughter once more—except for Bashira, who detested Western-style etiquette.

  Chazra felt as if every shadow in his heart had vanished.

  More than anything, he loved seeing his grandmother smile.

  He was immensely proud to be able to show his wedding to her, a woman who had suffered throughout her life.

  When he was young, he had disliked his grandmother for her constant nagging.

  But as he grew older and experienced the world, he began to understand her a little.

  Grandmother had personally endured the horrific wars of the Middle East and lost her husband in that crossfire.

  When his father decided to move to America, how many nights must she have trembled in anxiety as she watched her son leave for a foreign land?

  To a grandmother whose English was still awkward, this glamorous American soil might still feel like a chilly battlefield for an outsider.

  The next morning, Chazra and Asha left their family, who were still asleep from the previous night's drinks, and headed to the airport.

  Their honeymoon destination was Guam.

  The time in Guam, a famous tourist spot, passed like a dream.

  The food was delicious, and every sight and experience was new.

  For Chazra, more than any of that, the greatest happiness was watching Asha’s face as she laughed under the bright sunlight.

  “We’re home!”

  Asha greeted brightly as she opened the front door.

  Her voice seemed to still hold the warmth of the Guamanian sun.

  “Welcome, welcome.”

  Adika came out from the living room to greet them.

  His voice was as bright as usual, but Chazra’s eyes did not miss what lay beneath.

  ‘Something feels a bit off…’

  The corners of his mouth were smiling, but the area around his eyes was stiff.

  Contrary to his welcoming words, his shoulders were hunched, and his hands hovered awkwardly, not knowing where to rest.

  Chazra wanted to ask why immediately,

  but thinking it might be too sensitive a reaction for a son-in-law just returning from a trip,

  he kept his mouth shut for the moment.

  “Where’s Mom?”

  Asha asked as she handed Adika the souvenir from Guam in its colorful wrapping.

  “Ah? Oh… that, Marta is at the… Miller’s house right now.”

  Adika’s voice trembled slightly.

  Even in that short sentence, he couldn’t meet Asha’s eyes and kept glancing at the floor.

  ‘What is it? There is definitely something I don’t know. Is Asha really not sensing anything?

  The usual Mr. Verma would have shouted in delight the moment he received a gift.’

  As Chazra stood at the door, unable to unravel the thread of suspicion, Asha beckoned him into the living room.

  “What are you doing? Come in, Chazra!”

  Only then did Chazra force a smile and step into the room.

  Adika hurried to the kitchen and brought back drinks for the two of them.

  The tips of his fingers brushed against the glass, causing it to rattle softly.

  “Was the honeymoon fun?”

  Adika asked, sitting across the table with his own cup.

  “Yeah! Dad, do you know what happened there? Well, Chazra, he…”

  Asha began to pour out the happenings from Guam with excitement

  —from Chazra getting lost to his clumsy attempts at surfing where he only ended up swallowing water.

  At Asha’s cheerful stories, Adika nodded along and laughed.

  ‘It’s strange. He’s forcing himself to mimic a laugh.’

  Beside the chattering Asha, Chazra obsessively scanned Adika’s expression.

  His face looked like someone whose muscles had stiffened after receiving an anesthetic at the dentist.

  He was smiling on the outside, but a deep, abyss-like anxiety pooled in his eyes.

  Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Chazra interrupted Asha.

  “Asha, hold on a second.”

  “Hmm? Why?”

  At Chazra’s sudden interruption, Asha blinked in confusion. In that instant, Adika’s face turned visibly pale.

  Chazra was certain.

  In this awkward air, a massive truth remained unspoken.

  “Mr. Verma, is something wrong? It feels like you’ve been hiding something from us for a while now.”

  Adika slowly set down the cup he was about to bring to his lips.

  Because his fingertips trembled, the sound of ice hitting the glass wall echoed unusually loudly.

  Asha raised her hand to scold Chazra for breaking the mood, but then she, too, noticed her father’s strange behavior and froze.

  “Huh? Dad? What do you mean? Is something going on?”

  “Sigh…”

  Adika let out a heavy sigh.

  For a moment, Chazra felt a surge of regret for asking and opened his mouth to apologize.

  “I… I’m sorry. If it’s difficult to say, you don’t have to. I was being inconsiderate.”

  But Adika shook his head.

  Asha added urgently.

  “What is it? What’s going on? Is it something you can’t tell me? Is it because Chazra is here?”

  Chazra gently but firmly took Asha’s hand to stop her from saying more.

  He then quietly waited for Adika’s lips to open.

  “Chazra, I kept my mouth shut thinking you’d naturally find out once you got home… but your father… has been arrested.”

  At those words, which were like a bolt from the blue, Asha bolted up from the table.

  Her chair screeched as it was pushed back, but no one cared.

  “What does that mean? Dad, why was Chazra’s father…?”

  Chazra also felt his heart drop, but he instinctively suppressed his emotions.

  Right now, information was more important than agitation.

  He took Asha’s hand and sat her back down firmly yet gently.

  “Please, tell me. I need to know.”

  “You are… quite calm. Is it because you’re a soldier?”

  Adika felt a strange pressure from Chazra’s unwavering gaze.

  “…I don’t know the full details myself.

  On the very day you two left for your honeymoon,

  the CIA took Mr. Al-Muradi into custody on charges of acting against the interests of the United States.

  That’s what Ahmadi told me.”

  “The CIA? Why on earth? He’s a famous scientist who won awards for his EMS research! Why would an MIT professor like him be…!”

  Asha cried out, her brow furrowed in utter disbelief.

  “I’m sorry. This is all I know. Marta and I, and your brothers, all tried to inquire with the CIA, but there has been no response.”

  Chazra stood up quietly.

  His mind was a mess, but he didn’t have a single clue as to why this would happen.

  He had to meet the rest of his family as soon as possible to assess the situation.

  Asha, sensing Chazra’s urgency, quickly gathered her things.

  “Dad, we’re going to head out for now. I’ll contact you later, so please give my best to Mom.”

  “Thank you for telling us, even though it must have been difficult.

  Since it involves my father, I find myself in a hurry.

  I’ll look into it and visit again soon.

  Please apologize to Mrs. Verma for me since I couldn’t see her.

  Thank you for the drinks.”

  Unlike the agitated Asha, Chazra bowed politely with the controlled demeanor he had mastered over seven years in the military.

  “I… I should have told you sooner. I’m sorry.”

  “No, it’s alright. Well then, we’ll be going.”

  After watching the young couple hurry out of the house, Adika rubbed his forehead as if exhausted and turned back inside.

  Chazra got into the car with Asha.

  As he stepped on the accelerator, his gaze was already fixed far away, toward the house where his father used to be.

  Thank you for being here.