"Trust me, Anita, if you get dead, especially if he blames himself in any way, he will be a force of destruction looking for a place to be aimed. And he's blamed himself for introducing you to Olaf here from the get-go. If Olaf did to you what he's done to some of his other victims, Edward would drown the world in blood to erase those images."

- Laurell K. Hamilton

***

Even though they were told that Kim was alive and would come to meet Korn in the morning, both Kinn and Tankhun felt they had to speak with him before their father could. Kinn had issued the order that he was to be alerted as soon as Kim reached and that his younger brother was to be brought to him before anything else. However, they were aware of the unreliability of both their father and Kim. That meant Kinn and Tankhun would have to spend an additional night at Kinn's office, speculating about Kim's potential involvement in the family business and why they were kept in the dark. Porsche was, by default, involved in their discussions, while Porchay had been told that he could go to his room as the adults talked.

Without a fight, Porchay turned to go to his room. But even after more than two nights of exhaustion, when he laid down on his cold bed, sleep didn't come to him for hours. Unable to switch off his mind from the events of the day and the videos that Vegas had shown them, he continued to toss and turn and check the time every fifteen minutes. He couldn't process that the dark shadow in those clips was actually Kim. Despite being informed that Kim had rescued him during his kidnapping and Porchay himself had seen the dead bodies lined in York's bar, witnessing Kim in action had been an eye-opening experience. He had thought that he knew Kim was Khimhant, the moody and broody mafia prince who still haunted the bodyguards' nightmares despite no longer living in the compound. But seeing him in action, moving like a shadow and killing seamlessly? No matter how much he tried, Porchay's brain kept glitching at the images, unable to take in the implications of that.

It was early morning when he gave on pretending he would get any sleep and made his way to Kinn's office. When he entered, he saw staff setting the table for the breakfast. Seeing him standing there, Porsche pulled a seat next to his and forced him to eat something, even if he refused.

"I feel like little Chay isn't telling us something," Tankhun suddenly said what the other two were thinking to themselves after noticing how oddly suspicious his behavior was.

Regardless of their attempts, Porchay didn't let their attention and suspicious glares intimidate him into giving them any more information than he already had. If it was any other day, he would have run away to avoid their questions. But he needed to stick around as he strongly suspected that catching Kim when he reached may be the only chance he was going to get to see him, especially after the elder would get to know that it was because of him that his well-kept secret was out in the open...

The more the hours passed by in anticipation of Kim's return, the more Porchay couldn't help but fear that maybe when the elder boy had asked him to give that paper mailer to Tankhun, he had meant to give it to him when he was alone and not in front of everyone. He didn't know Kim well, but he knew him enough to know that the elder didn't take it well when people got to know about things he didn't want them to know. And Porchay had revealed the secrets meant only for Tankhun to the rest without a second thought. Maybe he should have waited for Kim to give him the signal, or whatever was that he had meant by signal. Now that he knew that Kim was fine, Porchay's brain was finally catching up with what he had done and he was being haunted by questions and doubts...

A side of him stubbornly claimed that Porchay had done the right thing, and even if he hadn't, he didn't owe Kim anything. However, a part of him still feared upsetting Kim and tormented him with the possibility that the elder boy would perceive what happened as Porchay breaking his trust. Even after all that had happened between them, there was a stupid part of him that didn't want to be told by Kim that he shouldn't have trusted Porchay with his secrets...

'You are the only one I can trust with this...'

Kim had told him that and then gone ahead on a mission for God knows what and why. As Porchay thought about that night more, the more he could understand the reason Kim had acted the way he had. His words, the way he had stepped close to him before stepping away once again, the way his eyebrows had frowned, his eyes, the emotions displayed on his usually expressionless face, the way he had turned around to look at him one last time as if it was for the last time...

He had said his goodbyes ...

'That bloody cold heartless man,' Porchay couldn't help but swear.

That probably could have been the last time they saw each other, and maybe Kim actually thought it was, yet he was okay with how it went. Yet Kim left without a care about what Porchay would feel or do when he came to know that it had been their last meeting...

"That cruel and heartless man," he muttered to himself, hands shut in tight fists, eyes glaring at the wall in front of him, ignoring how the three elder brothers looked at him with confusion.

That heartless man didn't even hug him goodbye one last time, or clear the misunderstandings. He didn't even apologize or confess, didn't say a word about them except that Porchay shouldn't want him without giving any explanation as to why. Kim had once again left him crying over him, and would have been okay with Porchay crying over his death without knowing why and how Kim had died. He was okay with leaving Porchay behind, crying over his loss forever without even hugging him one last time.

"That cruel man," he repeated out loud, banging the meeting table in front of him and startling everyone.

'Wait till I get my hands on you, Khimhant Theerapanyakun, you are dead,' he thought darkly, fuming inside.

The knock on the door interrupted his murderous thoughts. A bodyguard came inside. "Khun Kim is here," he informed before opening the door to let the man in question enter.

"Is there a reason I am not allowed to go to my apartment, Khun Kinn? Why did you summon me here?" Kim asked with a glare as soon as he stepped into Kinn's office, clearly unaware of the havoc he had caused.

'Or was it that he didn't care at all,' Porchay thought bitterly.

As soon as Kim got close enough for his wounds to be visible, Tankhun yelled, "Kimmy, you are hurt!"

And there he was, Kim or Kimhant or the man of so many names and many personalities, at this point, no one in the room could claim to have known anything about him, especially after knowing what they now did. In his signature black leather jacket, adorned in black jeans and a black T-shirt, he stood there looking at his brothers with a bored expression on his face. If his face wasn't marked with bruises and cuts, one covering the entire side of his forehead, and a band-aid on his left cheek, he would have made more impact. Whatever of his neck that was visible had purple and bluish fingerprints, as if someone had tried to choke him. There were probably more wounds that were hidden away by his all-black attire.

"It's nothing, just a drunk fight in a club, a wild night," he lied with a shrug.

If it was any other day, maybe they would have believed that he was involved in a petty drunk fight in a club. But now that they knew the truth, and had seen with their eyes the clips that had captured what Kim actually had been up to, both of his elder brothers couldn't help but wonder just how many times their younger brother had smoothly lied to them without them suspecting a thing.

"We know, Kim," Kinn said, his eyes fixed on his younger brother as he tried to look past the usual nonchalant facade Kim presented himself with.

"Know what, Khun Kinn?" He asked mockingly.

"You missed our movie night," Tankhun commented with a glare.

Kim knew that some routines were sacred for his eldest brother and held significance, but he had spent those days bounded to bed, unable to move. However, he couldn't let him know the real reason. So he forced himself to hide away his regret and guilt.

"That was a few days ago, right? I was tired after the tour, and forgot about it," he muttered with a shrug.

"I gave him the latter and the USB," Porchay informed with a sigh, having enough of his lies. It was painful and pitiful, seeing him lying so effortlessly to save face. Was Kim a pathological liar? He wondered. Or was he so used to lying that he didn't even need a second to come up with one and deliver it without a blink of an eye?

"You did?" Kim asked, finally looking at him.

Porchay was sure that in the middle of everything that Kim had been, he must have forgotten about it, in the same way he had forgotten about Porchay. And when he nodded at the elder man, he could see in his eyes just how fast he was calculating the outcome and coming up with a new plan. He must be thinking that if Tankhun and Kinn had seen the content of the USB, they already knew how much Kim had known about everything even while pretending to want nothing to do with the family business, and that meant he could no longer play the uninterested and nonchalant little brother who has abandoned the family to pursue music. And sure enough, that's why his attitude changed.

"They know," Porchay confirmed. The previous worry of breaking Kim's trust vanished just as he realized how heartless and what a liar the man standing in front of him was.

"You were supposed to wait for the signal," Kim told him with a cold stare.

"And what was that signal supposed to be? The news of your death?" Porchay yelled with a glare on his own, daring the man to respond.

"P' Kim, are you even human? Do you think of me as a human? Why are you so cruel to me? What have I done to deserve it?" He demanded when, as always, the elder man remained silent to his questions.

Despite his efforts and promise to himself, he was yet again so close to crying because of Kim. He kept looking up at him, but the elder man seemed to have nothing to give to him. Again, nothing. Not even a few words...

"Hello, cousins," Vegas hollered with a smirk as soon as he busted the door open and entered along with Pete and Macau.

"Welcome back, Kimmy, looking roughed up," he snickered, before coming to take a seat.

"Kim, I am hurt. You know you are our favorite cousin, yet you went ahead to die without even saying goodbyes?" Macau complained with a pout.

"What is this? A family reunion? Surely you haven't called in him to interrogate me, Khun Kinn?" Kim asked, mockingly tilting his head.

"Shut it, Kimmy, your passive-aggressive tactics aren't going to work this time," Tankhun warned with an annoyed huff.

"What am I here for?" Kim asked with an annoyed sigh.

"Since when you have been working with our father?" Kinn asked with a frown.

"With? If you think I am planning a takeover or trying to impress our father so he would name me his heir, you are barking at the wrong tree. I am not interested in our family business," Kim sighed.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Kinn muttered, closing his eyes in frustration. 'Why was it always so hard to talk to him?' he thought, already tired as he looked at his younger brother.

"What do you want?" Kim asked again with a frown.

"The truth, Kim, for once tell the truth," Tankhun cried out.

Kim observed his brothers, noticing how the eldest had used his name to address him. Which meant they weren't letting it go until they got answers. He knew he could handle Kinn. Just a few minutes of silence and he would give up, but Tankhun? He wouldn't let go until Kim gave in. And maybe, for once, Kim did want to give in. Maybe it was his broken body that was still running only on painkillers, his hazy head, or maybe it was that he was tired of being buried under the weight of lies and secrets. Whatever it was, Kim felt himself breaking under the pressure of it.

"Truth? Which truth? Are you sure you actually want to know the truth?" Kim asked his brothers.

"Yes. I want to know why you were sent to kill the Italian Don and God knows who else. I thought father let you go, that you were free, so why?" Kinn demanded in frustration.

"Free?" Kim asked with a mocking laugh. "Why? Why did you think our father would let me go and be free without paying a price for it?"

Anyone who knew Korn would have known that there was no such thing as gaining freedom from him. He was someone who would hunt someone till their death if that benefited him. Their father knew how to cash messy situations and take advantage of even the tragedies.

"We didn't know, Kim. Is it so wrong for us to wish that at least you were free to do what you wanted?" Tankhun asked with a heavy heart.

"No, it's not, Khun," Kim whispered, guilty. He never wanted his elder brother to know that even though he wasn't living in the golden cage, he was still as tied down to it just as Tankhun was.

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Kinn demanded.

"Did you ask?" Kim asked him flat out. "You just assumed that he had let me go free," he said after seeing Kinn open his mouth and then closing it several times.

"Why did you think he would? Because I am the youngest? Or that I looked like our mother the most? Or because he has you convinced that I am his favorite?" He said with a bitter laugh. "Because that's not me, that's Tankhun."

"What rubbish, Kimmy. Everyone knows that it's Kinn who is Pa's favorite," the eldest refuted his claim.

"What are you both talking about? Kim is his favorite because he is the most like our father," Kinn scoffed at them.

Hearing them, Kim rolled his eyes before throwing his hands up in the air and addressing his brothers. "And that's what our father has done to us: let each one of us believe the other one is his favored one so we would be in competition and do anything he asked to gain his approval. But I don't want anything to do with these games, so if it's a rebellion or treason that has you worried, Kinn. Rest assured, I am not interested," Kim said firmly.

"Is it so hard to believe that I am asking because I care?" Kinn muttered with a pained frown. He couldn't help but feel disheartened. Did his youngest brother really have no idea how dear he was to him? That it didn't matter how much distance there was between them or how many misunderstandings there were, he cared for his brothers.

"Do you?" Kim asked in a challenge, leaving his brother gasping at him.

Seeing how their conversation was getting unnecessarily sidetracked, and how Kim was being mean to his brothers, who had been so worried for him, Porchay stood up and walked towards him. Getting a tight grip on his hand, he dragged the elder man toward the other side of the room. Shocked at his sudden attack, Kim let him pull him, only looking at him with wide eyes at the audacity of coming after him in front of everyone.

"P'Kim, what are you planning?" Porchay snapped at him with a glare.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked, confused.

"You are up to something, so whatever it is, come clean with it," Porchay said with a huff.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Kim denied it, pulling his hand away from the younger man's grip. And as he looked at him, he couldn't help but think how he shouldn't have involved Porchay, not in any manner. He couldn't help but regret it.

"You are being mean and unnecessarily defensive. You do that when you are up to something. Whatever it is, P'Kim, I will help you, and so will your brothers. You just have to talk," Porchay tried to persuade and kept looking at him with his big eyes that kept going back to his neck, which must have looked even more horrible from up close.

And Kim couldn't stand it. He had never liked people watching him with concern or pity, even when he had been just a child. Ever since his mother's death, he had made sure no one saw him as weak. He didn't need anyone's help or reassurance. He could do whatever he wanted on his own. And he had in the past, even if there were many setbacks, he had got what he wanted. So why would he involve someone else, out of everyone, Porchay, or even his brothers, for that matter, in the mess he was in?

"Do you think I have time to indulge your stupid teen crush, Porchay?" He sneered.

"P'Kim," Porchay whispered, hurt painting his expression.

'So transparent - too generous and forgiving,' Kim thought, his heart unable to take that he was once again hurting him.

"Please stop forcing me to be mean to you, Chay," he whispered after sighing out loud in frustration. "I can't afford people thinking you can be used to make me bend at their command, so no matter what I say or do, DO NOT let anything get to you," he said firmly.

"Why would anyone think that? You don't care about me," Porchay whispered, blinking his tears eyes away.

"My father suspects you to be my first love, and Theerapanyakun's first love always dies, mostly at the hands of their fathers," Kim whispered fearfully.

A generation of trauma passed on so seamlessly that no one before him had avoided it, or so he had thought he had. But Korn Theerapanyakun couldn't be fooled, especially now that he had already admitted to Kim that he had never believed in his lie of being in love with the senior when he was fifteen. Now that his father suspected Porchay to be his first love, he wasn't safe.

"Surely you are exaggerating," Porchay said after taking in how serious the elder man was about his claim.

"He perceives you as my weakness, and he detests when his weapon is weak. What if he wants me to have no weakness?" Kim said with a pained frown.

"You are not a weapon, you are his son," Porchay protested, disturbed at how the elder man was echoing Korn's words for him.

"You don't know him. He didn't want us brothers to have each other, to have that surety of someone having our back, therefore he isolated us so we would live in fear of each other, unable to trust each other even if when it comes to it we will die for each other. But ask Kinn if trusts me. Ask Khun if he trusts me. They don't. The day they decide to rebel against my father, they will kill me along with him," Kim said with conviction.

He had been trying so hard to protect them from doing that because he knew, always knew, that killing him would break their hearts. No matter how much Kinn tried to appear cold and indifferent, his brother was more emotional than he and Khun. His elder brother had already too many demons, and Kim didn't want to become another nightmare for his brother. But it will come to it soon enough. He could predict it...

"If it comes to it, that's okay. I am fine with that, but not you. No one can come after you to get to me. Never you, Chay..." he whispered with a sigh, unable to hold back.

"What are you even talking about, P'Kim?" Porchay asked, alarmed.

And right in time, one of Korn's newly appointed minions came to find him. Following that order, Kim turned to walk away but froze mid-step at the next words said by the said minion.

"Khun Korn demands the presence of everyone present here in his living room."

There were only a few things Kim feared more than being summoned by his father. But the presence of his brothers and Porchay in the same room as Korn was a nightmare he had wished would never become a reality.

Yet it seemed Khun Korn wanted every nightmare of his to come to life...

***

A/N:- I hope you liked the update. Please comment to let me know your thoughts on the chapter and if you have questions... :) 

Do you have any predictions about the past or future? Let me know your theories... ;D

Thank you for reading and commenting... <3

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