(And the second chapter 🥹💗✨️)
It happened so fast and so violently that neither Kim or Porchay understood how their bodies could just fall so rapidly on the ground. There were gunshots, suddenly, gunshots and their consciousness back after falling was the moment Big fell in front of them.
He had used his last incredible faith and strength to push them on the ground and take their place. He was their bodyguard. If he needed to die, he wanted it to not be from that bullet but from assuring their safety. He wanted to win time. He wanted to create confusion. He wanted to be the shield making the difference. It was his work but more than this, it was in his heart. He had seen their love. He had been surprised to witness how Kim could love openly when loved enough by someone showing his emotions, someone who wasn't from his family and would break his natural boundaries to make him evolve in this world, grow everydays, experiment.
He had been surprised but he also liked to discover this part he would have ignored if Porchay didn't appear in Kim's life. He wanted to protect this too. He also thought that his chances of surviving with that bullet weren't huge, so offering hope for life to the ones who could survive was something he was willing to do.
Kim fell hard and his body didn't like this at all. He stayed mostly unconscious, not understanding and being lost in all of that pain he was feeling from the surgery. All he could feel after was arms, arms hugging him tightly and the terror of something going on around.
Porchay quickly realised that they were the next one. Big did his best, he didn't want to look at him, to check his state, not now, not now that he was already drenched in his blood, not now that Kim was on the ground and not protected, not now that he could hear them walking further inside.
The surprise worked well, very well. Enemies had been taken aback by Big. But the bodyguard down, they knew what was left to do, they knew about the boys hiding between the beds.
Porchay wrapped his arms tightly around Kim, closing his eyes, waiting for the impact. He had the time to wonder what type of pain could create a bullet, how it would stretch his inside to the point of making it explode.
Guns were heard.
"Khun!"
Porchay raised his head and opened his eyes urgently.
Pete. Pete was here with Pol. They were here.
And close to them, Big's body, which already became a corpse.
--
"Chay!" Porsche screamed, getting in the room not so long after. He couldn't rest, not at all, he had pushed Kinn to help him to get here. The view froze his heart. Kim looked unconscious on a bed, he was surely resting but when he heard the voice, his tired eyes opened some seconds before closing back.
Blood. There was blood everywhere. It was terrifying, a real crime scene from the corpse of the minor family to Big. Porsche stared at him, in disbelief. They never really got along but he knew how much of his heart he was putting in it, and he surely lost his whole soul today. He surely lost his whole life to assure their safety. Porsche's eyes got teary. He couldn't imagine how it went here.
And when he focused totally on his first goal, finding Porchay, he let out a cry out of worries. He was sitting next to Kim, his knees curled up against his chest. His eyes were livid, his pupils looked far away, his hand was squeezing Kim's one. He didn't look calm, he looked as if something breathtaking just took all of his energy away. His face was one of the ones who saw too much, who saw what they might have not been able to support. And the blood. The red which was colouring his clothes and his skin so vividly, so horribly. It pushed Porsche to finally move, move and run to him even if his leg shook from the pain.
"Chay..." He whispered closer, the boy raising his head, close to the world. "This blood?".
"...Phi Big..." He just murmured. He murmured and it felt strange to talk suddenly, and it felt so weird to hear his voice again, and he felt that he belonged to that room, his body was on this bed. He was real and in the middle of what was his universe, what had happened. His lips trembled. His heart drowned himself and he could finally vomit the sorrow he had kept from the shock.
The sobs were loud. So loud, deep and heartbreaking.
Porsche pushed him against his chest, tightly and he also felt Kim squeezing his hand silently. And for his brother the most important human in his world was alive and safe. He should have felt relieved but he ended up feeling devastated.
Kinn walked closer to Kim's side. Just observing him, he discreetly called the medical workers who were all mostly still alive to check on him. They quickly made their report: they had nothing to do again on Kim, however he better rest the most he could or the efforts he just did could have awful consequences.
Tankhun ran on their side too. Crying loudly, he had been so terrified for them.
It seemed to have ended well but the atmosphere was heavy. They had lost too many men, there were a lot of wounded others and they surely would all be marked deeply by what they just lived.
They had no time to wait. The main family should take the lead. They should punish the ones to be punished. They should organise all other systems to survive and to not let any enemies want to continue the attack.
Kinn walked away quickly after kissing Porsche's forehead. He needed to be quick, he knew that he would need him, surely Kim and Tankhun too, but he needed to go exactly to protect them.
---
"Wait! Wait!" He heard, and Pete and Kinn turned around. Pol stayed inside in case anyone needed something.
"Yes?" Kinn asked to see Tankhun.
"Big...we can have a pretty ceremony for him right?"
"We will. I promise." Kinn smiled softly. "And for the question you can't stop thinking about but have no strength to pronounce...father died too..." He added, walking away.
Tankhun stayed. He stayed but soon Arm came close to him and he broke down. In the end, again, this man was also the person he had called "dad" this often.
--
"Pete, I am going to give you a long, long mission." Kinn said, while they were walking, only the new leader knew where.
"Yes, Khun Kinn."
"I want you to not leave Vegas alone, not even for five seconds, not even for toilets, I want you to be his shadow, and to be my light about his behaviour...I am not...trusting him but I also can't just throw him away..."
"Khun, is it about the minor family's future?"
"It is. I don't know what to do for now about this. He can either work with me or be against me as always...but I need time to decide and you will be my security that he wouldn't try anything."
"Yes, Khun."
Kinn smiled and opened the door. Arthee had been put in jail by other bodyguards some time ago. He was already surprised first to find them again inside. Vegas and Macau looked close, sharing the same pain. They looked immersed in a deep conversation but it stopped the moment they understood that they weren't alone anymore. And Vegas couldn't stop his usual behaviour to show up.
"What is our new leader doing around there?" He asked with a mocking expression.
"It's no time for your stupid game Vegas." Kinn said, standing in front of them.
"What time is it then? Clowning time?"
"Hia!" Macau protested. "Let him speak."
Vegas grew his cheeks, sulking a small amount.
"Listen to him, Vegas you better listen to him." Kinn added. "At this moment, I have to say that I an clearly not sure of what can be done with you...I don't know when you will try stab me in my back like you always did...or even when you will try something against my loved ones, like you already did." Kinn's voice grew colder, his face losing his calm. "But you're not this stupid, I don't think that you will want to let go of power...I don't think so and your gaze now is exactly confirming what I think...I am giving you a chance."
"What type of chance ?" Vegas asked seriously.
"Prove that I can count on you, that I can trust you and that we can work together. Prove me that and the head of the minot family will be all yours.
"To be your dog? Your slave? To only follow your orders? Do you think that I am that stupid?" Vegas ironically laughed.
"You know that I am more like my mom. I don't plan on giving you ideas to attack me. I don't want you to just be behind me but next to me. It annoys me to say this...but you're good at what we do...you're hot tempered and not easy to talk with, but you can handle things well...I am asking you to be part of this. But I won't tolerate anything, if I give you my hand and you want to cut my foreharm, I am going to cut your whole body in pieces." Kinn explained. Vegad stared at him, dumfounded, maybe doubting Kinn, maybe considering those words.
"Pete will stay with you. He isn't allowed to leave any of you two alone, so don't be harsh at him. And don't try anything and you can stay in that house as much as you want." Kinn finally walked away.
Vegas looked at him, Macau did the same but they didn't really react. Pete just kept silent near them.
His mission had started.
-
Kinn breathed out. He sat on the chair. He sat on it. He stayed there, in the middle of the room, his working room, his leading room now.
His father's and his uncle's corpse were still there.
He breathed loudly.
It hurt.
It felt weird.
And yet. Yet, he was the one to have that ring, full of power now. He was the one at the head. He was the one who might be able to create a better environment between the two parts of the family. Their future was in his hands and he felt that heaviness.
He didn't feel like just moving anything. He was contemplating for now. He was taking his time. He was trying to keep calm.
He could remember the time Korn was playing with him, the time he was kind to everyone because they were only children. Kinn wasn't that oblivious. He knew that some men sent behind him were from his father, to shape him.
It kinda rang a bell. He needed to check if the man who attacked Porchay and Tankhun could have been paid by him, for his family. He needed to clear everything up.
"Khub Kinn." Erika said, appearing. "Should I take care of the bodies?"
"Please do." He answered emotionlessly but when he was finally all alone, and all alive, he began to feel the sadness reaching his lungs.
Something else was keeping him from totally accessing the fatherless despair. He remembered clearly that his uncle talked about Porsche, something his father knew too. He felt a betrayal burning in him. He was disappointed. He realised that Kim might have known better all along by not trusting their father at all. Kinn just followed, he only knew about this, but now it would change, it wouldn't be the same.
Kinn would discover this secret. Kinn would give his all to be able to stare honestly into Porsche's eyes. No more lies. No more secret plans. He wouldn't be the one to create more problems for them, he didn't want anymore to be the one to bring this expression on his lover.
No more secrets.