To the end

24

A New Beginning

The soft rays of morning light crept through the curtains, casting a warm glow across the room. Kim awoke slowly, feeling the comforting weight of Vegas beside him. For a moment, the world outside seemed distant, as if frozen in time, but the reality of the night before soon returned to his mind.

He turned to Vegas, who was still asleep, his chest rising and falling with the steady rhythm of his breathing. Kim took a deep breath, his hand instinctively reaching out to brush a strand of hair from Vegas’ face. The past week had been tumultuous, but in this moment, with the quiet of the room surrounding them, Kim allowed himself to relax. They had survived so much, and he wasn’t ready to let go of this peace, not yet.

Just as he was about to lie back down, there was a soft knock on the door. Kim’s head snapped up, a frown crossing his face as he heard Thankhun’s familiar voice from the other side.

“Kim, we’re heading to the drawing room. The kids are up and... well, they want to spend time with me. Are you awake?”

Kim sighed softly, rolling out of bed. He stood, stretching his stiff muscles before walking over to the door. He opened it to find Thankhun standing there with a knowing smile, his eyes flicking to Vegas, still asleep in the bed.

“Morning, Thankhun,” Kim muttered, wiping sleep from his eyes.

“Good morning. Just letting you know, we’re heading to the drawing room now. The kids are a bit... energetic this morning. You know how they are,” Thankhun said, his tone light, though there was an underlying tension. “They’ll probably want to say goodbye to you before we leave.”

Kim’s heart tightened. He didn’t want to deal with goodbyes, not when everything still felt so uncertain. But he nodded, forcing a small smile. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

As Thankhun’s footsteps receded, Kim turned back to Vegas, who was beginning to stir. His eyes opened slowly, meeting Kim’s. “What time is it?” Vegas mumbled, his voice rough from sleep.

“Early,” Kim replied softly, a faint smile on his lips. “Thankhun’s taking the kids out. We have the morning to ourselves.”

Vegas nodded, sitting up and stretching. Kim watched him for a moment before standing. “Stay here. I’m going to make us breakfast.”

. Kim leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead before heading to the drawing room.

When Kim arrived, the scene that greeted him was chaotic. Venice and Leiah were in the middle of an argument, their voices rising in anger.

“I told you! It’s mine!” Venice shouted, tugging at a drawing pad.

“No, it’s mine!” Leiah shot back, her hands clenched into fists. “You always take everything!”

Kim stepped in between them, his presence instantly commanding their attention. “Hey, hey! What’s going on here?”

Venice crossed his arms, sulking. “She took my stuff again. And I’m not allowed to have anything without her taking it.”

Leiah huffed in frustration. “It’s not true, Venice. You always blame me!”

Kim sighed, rubbing his temples. “Alright, enough. I’m not going to tolerate fighting first thing in the morning. Take a breath.”

The children quieted, though their anger still lingered in the air. Kim sat down on the couch, looking at them both seriously.

“Listen, you’re leaving today, right?” he said, his voice softer. “You’ll have time with Thankhun, but we need to work on being kind to each other.  So, no more fighting, okay?”