KINN
I stood looking at my neck through the mirror, appearing just beneath my
ears a dark red tooth mark. A little blood oozed from it. The surrounding area
is bruised, turning purple to faint yellow.
I tilted my neck to Big, one of my guards who slowly used a cotton swab to
clean the wound while complaining.
"Mr. Kinn, are you really going to take someone like him as a
bodyguard?" Big looked at my wound and sighed.
"He did this to you now just wait till tomorrow, I will hunt him down
myself and kill the bastard."
"If you do that, dad will kill you first." I told him, glancing sideways.
"But sir, getting killed will be just as the same as being humiliated like
this! He left you out of nowhere twice, and now he bit you on the neck?
How can you tame a wild beast like that?"
Big murmured until I glanced at him sharply that left him muted and focused
on cleaning the wound instead.
Actually, it wasn't me who really wanted the asshole to be my bodyguard but
my dad. He watched the CCTV footage behind the bar to hunt down the
bastards that kidnapped and tortured me for three days but instead found the
boy with amazing fighting skills, fascinating.
"Go find him first or else the enemy will beat you to it. If he falls into the wrong hands, we're in trouble. That boy is a treasure."
My father's words floated through my head. He is right though, with that accurate punches and agile body that even the biggest among the bastards cannot catch him.
Bodies of the gang men piled up in a mountain of bloody and dislocated body parts was a view to behold. As for me, I want to find him quick to seek revenge for what he did to my neck. That bastard!
No one has ever done this to me!
"Which of your lovers was wild enough to get your neck on a plaster like this?"
Mew laughed at me as I sat among my men under the faculty building.
"Fuck off!" I shouted back at him.
Normally, I will drive on the way to the university by myself but it's not safe for the time being so my subordinates came with me to check if it is safe for me to attend my classes.
"After school, I'll wait in the same place." Big said ready to go back and leave.
"Well don't forget to go to the address that I gave, Jom is the name!" I repeated to him one more time before they turned and walked away.
"What the fuck is that all about?" Ai Tae turned to me.
"Dad asked me to look for someone."
"Trouble with the second family again? You were gone for three days, don't tell me you were kidnapped again?" He grabs my jaw and turns my head sideways to check my bruises along the neck.
"Yes, but the person I am looking for doesn't belong to the second family. It's the guy that gave me this."
I gritted my teeth in frustration and gently peeled off the plaster on my throat to show the scars. I heard their soft gasps.
"Shit!" Time, Tae and Mew cried out at the same time.
This morning I was in pain due to the wounds and every time it stings, the hate I'm feeling for the bastard multiplies. I don't care if he will agree to become my bodyguard or what, the thought of beating him was the only thing that keeps me going.
I told my friends about the whole incident. They were my only friends since high school, so they knew everything about me. I'm not good at making acquaintances, besides a lot of my schoolmates were afraid to approach me because of my father's reputation. They would look at me with disgust and sometimes they already hated me without me even knowing why.
"Do you know anyone named Jom from the faculty of science?" I asked Mew.
It was lucky that the asshole wore a university uniform that day with the university badge and embroidered faculty name on the bottom corner.
"No! I don't think I know anyone named like that." He looked at Tae and Time. The two lovers exchanged glances.
Yeah, I could ask anyone but not Mew. He's one hell of a studious maniac that skipped classes not even once. Always a top student, I don't even remember how we became friends. He's the one helping me whenever I cannot attend university due to mafia matters. Unlike Tae and Time who know nothing but to flirt like a newly married couple, it irritates me sometimes.
"Come, the exam sheets are being distributed. We must get this done with, then we'll help you find whoever you're looking for."
After class, the three of us, excluding Mew who said he would visit the library first, headed to the faculty of science. It was my first time visiting the faculty that I have no idea where to start looking until....
"Hey P'Time, what are you doing here?" A student wearing the uniform of the sports science club came by and saw us.
"Oh Min! What luck! Come here, I need to ask you something." Time wraps his arm around the newcomer's shoulder making him wince in surprise.
"Hey, why do you have to stand too close?" Tae said in a dark voice, tightening his grip on the hem of Time's shirt.
"Babe, no need to get worked up, we know each other. His father works for us." Time smiled at him to ease the worried boyfriend's vibe until the frown turned into a smile and Tae slowly nodded.
"So, what are the famous gang members doing here?" Min asked, looking at me.
"Oh, we are looking for someone named Jom. Do You know him?"
"Well, I know a person with that name. But I don't know where he is now. Why? What business do you need him with?"
"Let's just say that we're here to collect a debt."
"Oh, I uh, don't know where he is but I saw Tem, his friend earlier on the elevator. He's not with Jom. But at this time, they might have gone home already."
"Okay, if you ever bump into him later, please tell him that someone is looking for him. Say it's his father."
"Hey Min, Let's go." A guy named Aom walked over to us to fetch Min.
"Okay, I will. Gotta go now, bye."
With that, Min left us and we went directly to Jom's address to try and stalk if ever he was home or not.
The thing that I'm wondering about is, no one in the neighborhood knows someone named Jom. Besides, the lady next door said that the house has been abandoned for quite some time now. We were just rounding up the corner of the house to look inside when my phone rang.
"Yes Dad, I'm coming."
I heaved a sigh as I put back the phone in my pocket. I looked back at the house with no traces of life on it.
I will find you, bastard!
Dad called to ask me to hurry back home. Seems like important guests are coming and he wants me to join them. For now, I must give up on looking for the asshole but A promise is rooted in my heart. Once I'm done with my business, I'll continue to hunt him down.
Just wait Jom, my boy. I'm coming for you.
"Thank you Khun Wichian" After our dinner with important business guests, I sent them home following the door.
Then I and all of my staff were called in for an urgent meeting in the main hall, the center of the house. Our Living room. Making some of my men tremble in panic.
"This doesn't matter to you does it?!" My Dad shouted loudly followed by a loud thump on the table. Making a lot of the guards startled in shock.
"In this Month, Kinn was attacked twice, kidnapped once and Kim was stalked. Do you think it's just a joke? Do you find this funny at all?"
The dark voice continued as his hands lit up a cigarette, sucking on it and exhaling the smoke slowly into the air. I glanced at Dad, who is furiously mad and trying so hard to get himself under control. Silence enveloped the hall. All our subordinates hung their heads low, not daring to glance up. I just sit across the white couch sipping the glass of water in such a tense atmosphere. I'm used to it since this kind of scene happens often.
"You are all his bodyguards and still you let this happen repeatedly?"
I understand why Dad is infuriated, he might be also stressed about his partners this month. While I was caught, my older brother Khun and younger brother Kim were no different. When something traumatic happens frequently, you usually get used to it that you don't care about being kidnapped anymore. For someone who was kidnapped more than 10 times in his life, it is pretty obvious that you will go crazy.
"Pete! bastard! As my son's chief bodyguard, answer me! Why did this happen? What are you planning to do after this?"
Heads turned to look at Pete, whose face was swollen red together with the rest. Beaming handprints are evident on their faces. The handprint of my Father. As expected, they got hit hard earlier.
"I apologize, Sir. I'll try my best next time" Pete's firm voice came in silence.
"I'm tired of listening to your excuses! Look at the bruises on my son, this includes your sick bastard's injury!"
Although we know they didn't mean to let this happen, they keep getting on my Dad's nerves by not doing their job properly. It is definitely not the competitors nor the debtors who have done such a daring stunt, as we know they don't have so much courage to attack the Mafia's Son. We just know it is someone closer.
Dad couldn't do anything because there was no clear evidence. Dad's partner?
Or my dad's relatives? As they called themselves the Second Family. As for my clan, we are called The Main Family. The family has been doing business for a long time. My Grandfather has three sons. The eldest son, who was my father, was given Casino stock and real estate to expand. While the other two siblings Jekkant and Ku Kim were vice-chairmen. Causing rivalry for the higher Power, until the next generation of children.
"I'm sorry sir, but we tried to gather the evidence as you told us and found out that the second family always hired another gang to hurt us." Big tried to explain.
"Are you trying to say that we are more stupid than them?"
Big hung his head low and swallowed all the curse words.
"It's not that we can't do anything, find evidence against Jekkant and get rid of him."
I don't want to get involved in this as the cycle of attacking and getting revenge just goes endless.
"In the future, If anything happens to any of my sons, I'll fire all of you!" Dad shouted loudly before turning to look at me.
"Kinn, what happened to that person I asked you to find?" I shook my head in response. Right now Dad wants to get that bastard with good skills.
"Hurry Up I will open a new Casino and the Second family definitely won't just stand by and watch."
"Brother Kinn, is there anything I can help you with? I don't want to let him go either. He's very skillful and I am afraid someone else has already taken the deal." P'Chan, Dad's secretary, spoke with concern. He wants to help me find the boy who saved me. And probably won't think twice about paying the guy a hefty amount.
"I'll take care of it P' Chan, just give me some time." I said smoothly which he nodded at and continued looking at my father.
"Hey! Are you having fun without me?" A bright cheerful voice breaks the stressful atmosphere, appearing before us, is a guy looking physically identical to me. Even though he's older than me by three years, we kinda look the same age. Maybe because of his face that's always smiling. My older brother Khun.
"I'm just visiting." I said bitterly. We aren't that close and we banter most of the time. And since the day that I was kidnapped for three days, I haven't seen my brothers.
"Can you at least talk in a civilized manner?" Father cut in before we both went for each other's throat.
"What nice souvenirs you have." He held my face below the chin and flipped my face left and right looking at the bruises and wounds. It's annoying.
"Just go wherever you want to go, leave me alone." I brushed off his arm.
He just smiled creepily and walked towards the couch, turned the TV on, and looked at it blankly.
Dad shook his head looking at Khun. My brother is a bit into the other world. Who wouldn't after multiple times of being kidnapped and tortured consecutively in ten years? It was expected as he is the first child. The heir as they say.
"Bring that bastard to meet me as soon as possible,"
Dad said suddenly. His voice was stern and dominant and I couldn't muster the courage to say anything so I just nodded.
"Who is this?" Khun asked, his eyes still glued to the television.
"We are looking for a new bodyguard for Kinn." Dad answered.
"Then what about me?" Khun turned to look at him and then me.
"What do you mean? You already have Pete." Father said while looking suspiciously at Pete.
"Nah, that thing is stupid. I want a smart one." He said pouting, rolling his eyes.
"Just be patient with him if something happens to you again, I'll find you a new one then."
And that is the purest evidence that my older brother is the spoiled son in this house. Everyone thinks that being the youngest gives you the immunity to be a spoiled child but no. This clan is different. There was no one more indulgent in this world than my older brother who seems to lose it every day.
"What about mine?" Another voice was heard and an exact replica of me came to view. Kim, my younger brother.
"Where the hell have you been?" I asked, pointing at him.
"Well, I just remembered my way home." He brushed his temple and smirked.
But it's true that Kim seldom gets home. He was never home. He would've been kidnapped months and no one in this house would have realized that he was missing.
"It's like there's going to be a storm today, all my sons are at home." Dad commented. I can sense the happiness in his voice though he never showed it.
"And what made you come back? I thought Khun and I were the only sons here." I replied teasingly.
"Dad! Listen to your second son. How could he talk to me like this?" Kim pointed out to me.
"Just like that, I'm already exhausted with you. Stop it." Dad deeply sighed then took the remote on tv, changed channels continuously as if finding something to focus on instead of listening to our exchange of banter.
"Well, it's good that the three of you were gathered here today. Tomorrow, come with me to the factory. Check on your accounts."
"Why aren't your secretaries not enough?" I said. As we all know, fathers have more than one secretary.
"You will be the owner of the factory in the future, don't you want to learn how to handle it? Especially you Kim, learn to sleep at home." After saying that, dad walked out of the room leaving us almost getting on each other's throats.
"Fuck. I shouldn't have come back." Kim cursed under his breath.
"Yes! you shouldn't have. It's all your fault." Khun replied.
"You are the eldest, and still you have the best benefits. It should have been just you to help Dad manage the business!" Kim was pissed off.
"Ohoi, Shut your mouth. I have been helping dad a lot while you go play with your ass somewhere else!"
I just shook my head in disbelief that these two were my brothers. Oftentimes I was misunderstood as the eldest son because of their immaturity. Khun already graduated with Business Administration and helped dad run the business for two years until he was asked to take a rest after being kidnapped for like a tenth time.
As for Kim, he was also studying business but in a different University as mine. We really don't ask him about school as long as he's not failing it, all is fine.
I walked away from the middle of the war and turned to talk to my subordinates about the hunting that we are doing. The next day, I was informed that there's no one named Jom in the neighborhood we were spying on. I was really upset.
"Really Mr. Kinn, we were up at The Root all night but all the staff there said that there's no one who works there naming Jom. And he also didn't show up last night." Big said frustratedly. I looked at the television blankly as I was sitting in my office.
Then I remembered, I have his number right? I stand up abruptly and almost run to find my father.
"Dad, let me borrow your phone." I just said snatching his phone from the table and taking a peek at it, taking the number I needed then left even before he could react.
"Hey, what's happening?" He asked as I was leaving by the door.
"I'm going hunting dad. As you have asked me to do."
"What? you haven't found him yet? It's been days ago!" His eyes widened in shock.
"He's not an ordinary guy dad. I gotta go, bye." I left not hearing his response.
I immediately called the number that I took from the old man's cell phone and waited for a while until it was picked up by a familiar voice.
"Hello?"
"Hello." I replied smoothly, a smile of triumph playing at the corners of my lips.
"Who's this?"
"Is this Jom?" The call got cut off instantly. Now I am sure my hunch was right. How dare he fool me?!
"Big, go get Jom. The second-year Sport Science student."
A scenario is playing in my head. No one can play with me. I am Kinn!
I let my subordinates do the hunting this time as I went with Khun and Kim to visit the factory. The two sleep through the whole duration of the trip, maybe trying to tone down the exchange of rants in the presence of dad. We rode in a luxurious van together with my father.
We stand in front of the chocolate factory, a subsidiary of TEERAPUNYAKUN. The factory has been schedule to shut down for its low profits since opening. But dad strived to make this work. Because this dessert house is very close to his heart as the logo on its wrapper shows three boys symbolizing his three sons.
We walked in our black suits, looking like the owner's son nonetheless. I came to see the accounting department first. Looking at the income files and expenditures then visited the production department later. I see no improvements in the sales but it wasn't bad either.
This chocolate factory was considered the cleanest business of the family despite owning a casino. We run a hefty lot of illegal deals such as trading guns, illegal weapons, and gambling sites. But that was up to my father to run those. I have no plan on taking part in any of it. The chocolate factory was enough for me.
"After we eat, can you call one of your subordinates to pick me up? I'm going somewhere and my men are all out on a mission." I asked Khun who looked up at me quizically.
"Why? Where are you going?" He asked.
"I'll just take care of some fucking rat." I smirked.
Later on, Pete stopped in front of the building with a Hyundai black van.
"Let's go eat at Vanista shop. The view there is magnificent!." Said Khun while seated inside like an agitated 3-year-old kid.
Vanista is one of the top notch restaurants in the country, the prices of the food it offers are parallel to the higher it is positioned on the building. It's on the top floor.
As soon as we took off from the car, Khun dashed out of nowhere. My eyes followed where he was leading to and I bolted on my tracks after him. Kim walked fast behind me.
"Hey, second family." Khun said the moment he stopped in front of the two familiar faces. Vegas and his younger brother Macau.
"Hello, second brother. " Macau greeted me.
"I came here first but you only greeted Kinn?" Khun murmured, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, second brother? Do you come here to eat?" He asked me again.
It is not unusual that he is polite only to me. As Vegas and Kim constantly get caught in a fight, both Macau and I never joined in the family feud.
"Yes, I replied."
"Kim, can't you go somewhere else? This place looks creepy and the atmosphere suddenly changes into a bad mood." Vegas mocked Kim who I knew wouldn't stay idle.
"Big bro, you talked too much. Kinn and Macau here are talking pleasantly until you speak and now it feels spooky in here." Kim retorted back.
"Your family really knows how to teach their children some manners."
"And the first family is?" Vegas wouldn't go down without a fight either.
"Hey, that's enough." I came in between them before they started a war here.
"But it is your brother who came to us first." Vegas raised an eyebrow at me.
"Why can't I come and greet you?" Khun asked, now irritated, and ready to join in the lip fight.
"Let's go!" I dragged my brother's arms to get out of the place as they seem to have no plan of stopping anytime soon.
"Brother, I must buy a mouthguard for you too!" I heard Macau shout at his brother.
I choose to eat in a simple Japanese restaurant instead. Slumped my brothers into their seats then I sat across them.
"Why did you stop us?" Khun turned to curse at me.
"You are starting a fight. It's not good for the clan."
"But he started it first."
The spoiled brat crossed his arm in annoyance. His self-arrogance couldn't be blamed on anyone else besides our father for letting him. The lack of a mother to guide him makes it worse. I'm not even jealous how dad just loves him so much.
"And how old are you to fall into their trap?"
I know that the second family was just waiting for a chance to pounce on us and they do it by annoying my brothers first.
"Are you my brother or him?" Khun was still pouting but I didn't pay much attention.
"Well, I can be both if that means no harming each other."
The three of us ate in silence then wandered through the mall with bodyguards following in the distance. Carrying paper bags and other things for us.
While my brothers were picking a million-dollar watch, I caught a glance at someone from the horde of people making their way towards us.
"Mister! Please help me!" A middle-aged man dressed in a dirty shirt screamed rather loudly. His bruised body easily escaped through the stunned guards and grabbed my arm.
But the guards eventually gained consciousness and seized the man. I frowned and looked at the strange man who was being carried away from me. The three of us stood still in shock.
"Mister, listen to me, I beg you, let me go. Mister!" His eyes were out of focus while trying to get out of the guard's stronghold.
"Let go." I said. My men looked at me before letting him go.
He looked relieved, his eyes that seemed hopeful darted towards me. Prepared to rush again towards me but was blocked by my men.
"Talk from there. Don't come closer."
"I know you, please talk to your father for me." My brows furrowed in confusion. Maybe I would've just ignored him after all. He seemed like a crazy old man.
"You got it wrong uncle, this is Anakinn." Kim laughed out loud. He thought that I was Khun, the oldest.
"Can the three of you help me? My name is Thi. I used to work with your father ten years ago. And now I owe him."
"You have a debt from gambling right?" It was the usual story.
"But I was a long-time partner of your father." He tried to reason out.
"Here, I'm paying for it." I mean the watch, not his debt. I gave my card to the employee to swipe.
"But I owe five million. He told me that I have to pay within three days or else."
"You will be killed by the sea." I smirked, enjoying the terror in the man's face.
I turn my attention to the expensive watch we have recently purchased. Though that kind of stuff hasn't happened yet, I know my father. It won't be long until that scene would happen in real life.
"You see, it's not possible to pay in three days. I will pay back my debt but I need more time, please. Please help me talk to your father for me."
"I want to eat Ice cream, you go ahead." I said to my brothers before I turned away ignoring the man who tried to follow me but was easily cut off by my men.
When it comes to the Casino, the three of us never intervene. Dad knows what to do best.
"Sir please help me!" The old man shouted.
These kinds of people thought that they could get their way with my dad if they talked to us first. But they're wrong. Then why don't they just run away? Oh, they won't. Because no matter where they hide, father would find them anyway.
I took a short walk. When it was time to go back, I came standing in front of the mall waiting for my ride home. But my eyes stumble upon a familiar figure. The same as the man who asked for help a while ago. When I caught the sight of a familiar motorcycle parked sideways, then I saw the old man being dragged by the same boy I was hunting for a few days now towards the motorcycle. I narrowed my eyes while my lips raised in a sheepish grin.
When the figure I was looking for came into full view, I was sure what to do.
The two of them rode the motorcycle and then drove away. Ah, when you get lucky out of nowhere. What should I do?
Let's go hunting!
Translator: iKON_BL