KIMCHAY TALES: BITTERSWEET EXCHANGE

CHAPTER 28

"It is love we must hold on to, never easy, but we try."

—

It is very much the same. Everything he can remember from his hazy memory of the past, Chay knew the room never changed. It's still spacious as he expected. They both entered the room and he let his eyes roam around. The room was dark despite the light given from the ceiling.

Guns. Guns. Guns. Guns. Guns are literally everywhere. The one side wall of the room was displayed with guns, knives, machetes, and any other weapon a person could think of. They were all in various sizes. Chay had never seen such a collection before. Yeah, sure. Like Kim collects weapons out of a hobby. Chay takes a closer look at the weapons, letting go of Kim's hand and moving towards the display drawer.

He noticed one of the machetes was stained. He thought it was rust, but then he realized it was dried blood. Chay felt a shiver run down his spine. He was suddenly having a thought of Kim swinging the machete and killing someone, his hand stained with so much blood. The same hands that always held him so delicately like he was a porcelain doll. Before he could even stare at it for too long, Kim had pulled away the stained machete from his sight.

"You shouldn't have seen that," Kim said in a low tone and hid the weapon in one of the drawers. Chay could feel how tense Kim was. He couldn't even look at his eyes. Chay bit his lips and scanned the room again. One wall was filled with hundreds of files, all kept in black folders. Few of them were labeled with surnames.

Frias. (Deceased)

Marshall. (Deceased)

Morris. (Missing)

Noriniko (Deceased)

Many more files were there, either deceased or missing. In Chay's eyes, they were endless. "Did you... kill them?" he asked. He looked back at Kim who had been watching with fear in his eyes. He called out to him with a calm voice and Kim nodded in response. "And the missing people?"

"Let's just say they are all still missing," Kim answered. Porchay just nodded and whispered a soft 'okay'. Kim was staring at him with careful eyes, then his heart suddenly dropped when Porchay pulled out a folder from the cabinet, "Sweetheart, no!" he exclaimed. It was too late when he reached him because the young lad had opened a black folder in his hand.

"Oh my god!" Chay shrieked, just when Kim snatched it off from him. Chay stared ghastly at the floor, photos of a mutilated body flashed in his mind. Even with a glimpse of those pictures, it seems like it is etched on his brain. Blood. So much blood. Disfigured body parts. A head with no body. As he expected, mafias were way worse than he thought they would be.

"Porchay! Are you okay? Talk to me, sweetheart!" Kim called out to him, shaking his shoulder a little. This is a mistake. A fucking huge mistake. Porchay looked at him–eyes still wide from what he saw, and nodded in response. "Why do you have to pick the worst of the worst? You shouldn't have seen this," he said, putting the folder back in the cabinet.

"Are you telling me I shouldn't see anything from this room?" the young lad asked. Kim kept telling him that he shouldn't see this, that he shouldn't see that. It only made him confused. What is the point of bringing him here?

"Yes!" Kim answered, his voice quite loud. He instantly apologized. He didn't mean to raise his voice at Porchay. He was just over the edge. Despite what he did, Porchay seemed to be unfazed by it.

"You did those?" Chay asked.

"No!" Kim instantly defended and he slumped his shoulders as he continued, "Though, I did order those. But, it's not me, sweetheart." he explained. Fuck. What's the point of explaining? Kim knows that his hands are still stained with blood, regardless of whether he killed them or not. He really is a monster. A fucking beast. Porchay simply gave a nod and mumbled a quiet 'okay'. "Why do you keep saying okay? It's not damn okay. You shouldn't have seen that. You shouldn't have seen any of this." Kim muttered under his breath and ran a hand on his hair.