Chapter Text
You would never see their father’s mask drop. No matter what, he always remains calm, in control and apparently refined – if someone who could have you killed could be described as refined. But Kim had found out what was behind that mask and that was the start of what their father termed his “teenage rebellion”. A rebellion that lasted until he was eighteen years old, when he moved out of home and became a surprisingly successful idol/musician.
Now, however, he is still thirteen, newly radicalised and taking every opportunity to annoy his father. His father has brought them to a small town in the jungle. In theory for a nice holiday, but in reality to do business with some corrupt local land baron. Kim has slipped away his bodyguards and found a dusty arcade with a bunch of shooter games and is shooting zombies in the head and pretending they are his father. There is another kid there who looks the same age as him. Clearly bunking school. Clean and well-dressed enough in cheap designer knock offs but with a little bit of darkness deep down in his expression.
“There’s one more behind the water tank. It always lunges out just when you think you’ve got them all.” the kid offers, watching with the mild interest of the otherwise bored.
“You’ve played it before.”
“Not much else to do here. Swimming, nature and this arcade. Unless your family’s loaded.” Clearly assessing Kim’s clothes. Designer. Not knock offs. Then he gives a sudden smile that is surprisingly sweet as if to say, ‘But that doesn’t matter much.’
And Kim, who had been about to be as coldly dismissive as only a thirteen-year-old rich kid can be, glances up and says, “Do they have a two person shooter?”
They play for a while. Not talking much except to say, “Watch out!” or “Nice!” But then, just as their score is creeping up, the power suddenly cuts.
“Huh.” says Kim, slightly annoyed.
The boy shrugs. “It happens a lot here. I’m Mix. Want to swim, instead?”
“Kim.” he says and looks down at his clothes. “You got some spare shorts?”
Mix frowns. “Sure, but... My dad’s an asshole... so... Uh, he’s probably at the bar anyway. It should be okay. But if he’s at home we better skip it.”
Kim shrugs and follows Mix to his house.
Mix points out stuff as they go. “That’s the teacher’s house.” It was a bit less shabby than the other houses. “If you take that path it’s supposed to lead to the ghost forest. But it really doesn’t.”
“How’d you know?”
“I went there. There weren’t any ghosts.”
“Huh.”
“And this is our place.”
Based on Mix’s clothes Kim had honestly not thought it would be this rundown – several steps are rotten and the frame looks on its last legs. Mix caught his expression. “My dad doesn’t do shit to look after it. Sometimes I’m surprised we eat. Well, that’s more ‘cause of my brother Pete and my grandma really. Anyway my dad’s not here. Come in and I’ll find some shorts.” Kim shrugs again and they go in.
“Help yourself to some water if you want.” says Mix as he goes into the next room and starts rummaging through a trunk. But then they hear someone stumbling up the stairs.
“Fuck!” says Mix – and he drags Kim into the next room and under the bed. “Keep quiet!” he hisses. “And don’t move, no matter what.”
Kim nods. They’d played this a lot as kids. What to do when the bad guys came. In real life they usually went into the safe room. Not that the “other” bad guys came much these days. His father was too powerful.
“Hey, Petey!” slurs a voice in the next room. A man in his forties stands there. Solid and swaying. A fighter’s build. Petey, who’d come in after him, looks like a younger version of him – but fitter, not drunk and resigned.
“Fuck!” whispers Mix, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry you’re gonna have to see this. Maybe you should close your eyes.” But Kim knows not to look away from danger.
“Petey, Petey, Petey. Who was that guy you were talking to down there? You talking shit about your ol’ dad. Cause that’s not nice.”
“No, dad.” says Pete. But he sounded like he knew nothing he was going to say would make a difference. “He was asking me to come fight up at the big house tonight.”
“Asking you? Why would he ask you? Think you’re better than your ol’ dad do you? I’ll show yuh.”
And with almost no change of expression he pulled back his fist and whallops it straight into Pete’s ribs.
Pete takes a sharp breath but otherwise just stands there looking down. Kim, who has seen plenty of violence, is impressed. It was a hard hit.
“Got nothing to say for yourself, boy. Typical.” He says and hits him again. And again and again.
“Fuck, I need a drink.” he says then. And just turns around and ambles out like nothing much had happened.
Pete, stands there for a moment. And then he smiles. Not a nice smile. A contemptuous smile. And then he turns and goes into another room.
“We better go.” says Mix. He sounds tired but his face looks hard for a second. “He doesn’t like it when I see.”
Kim wonders which ‘he’ he’s talking about. Maybe both of them.
So he follows Mix down to the beach where Mix sits and throws rocks with increasing violence towards the waves.
“I hate him so much. If I could. I’d kill him.” He pauses and looks at Kim, like he was assessing him, looking for something. He looks like he found it because he sighs and says, “You’re gonna leave tomorrow right.” Kim nodded. “And I’m never gonna see you again.” he adds contemplatively. “So I can tell you something I never told anybody. And you won’t tell right.” Kim nods again.
“Dad hates Pete because he looks just like him. And he knows he’s a loser. So he thinks Pete oughta be a loser as well. But he’s not. He usually wins his fights now. But I look like my mum. Everyone says she was real beautiful.” He says this with no self consciousness as though it didn’t apply to him at all. “So he, our dad, thinks he loves me just like he loved our mum. Only she’s dead, so he fucks me instead.” He says it flatly, without flinching, or emotion. “And I hate him. I hate him so much. He’s a goddamn fucking monster. I wanna kill him.”
“Okay.” says Kim. “Let’s kill him. But then you have to help me kill my father as well.”
Mix tilts his head. And turns towards him and looks at him. “What did he do? Your dad.”
“What doesn’t he do?” says Kim. “He’s in the mafia. He’s always doing things. Well, he doesn’t do them. He gets other people to do them. Four years ago, he got my uncle to get some people to kidnap my older brother. He used to be the heir. But my uncle chose the wrong people and they tortured him and raped him and broke him. And taped it. And my dad still has the footage. And my dad said, ‘He should have managed the situation better.’ Tankhun hasn’t left our house since then. Not for anything. He’s still my brother, but he’s not the same.” Kim still shakes with rage when he thinks about it. He’s shaking now.
“That’s fucked up.” says Mix. “Okay, let’s do it. We’ll kill my dad tonight. And yours?”
“We’ll wait. I want to get them all.”
“Okay. Well I probably won’t leave this place anytime soon. If we kill my dad tonight. We’ll get yours later.”