#progression 27

Chay: Kim and I have a son now. 🥹

Khun: Kim’s PREGNANT?! 🤰🏻 Kim! Why wouldn't you TELL me? 🖕🏼

Kim: I don't have the parts for that. 

Chay: Don't remind me 😞

Porsche: I'm going to ignore you just saying that and instead ask for clarification. Whose baby did you steal? You're too young to be a parent. You have your college interview and practical coming up. 

Macau: Does P’Pete’s dad have another baby he was mistreating that you took?

Pete: I am in this group chat, Macau. 

Macau: Sorry 😬

Chay: He's not a human baby! He's a dog! 

Porsche: Chay! Dogs are a big responsibility! What about college?

Chay: I can walk him on some parts of campus! You are acting like I can’t take him anywhere. And even if I can't take him somewhere, you are acting like you won't watch him. 

Porsche: I won't! You got yourself into this mess! I'm not taking care of him! 

Chay: Meet Koda! 

Porsche: …I will protect him with my life. 

With that, Vegas bursts into tears and buries his face into Khun’s shirt, all while Khun lovingly strokes his hair. Kim squints in confusion at the sight, scoots back from them, and gets his phone out of his pocket. It's only then that he feels the liquor really hit him.

Shit.

Kim: Whatt the fu ck is in this drin?

Chay: huh?

Kim: Vegas crying on floor. Khun rocking him.

Chay: 🙀 Take a picture!!!!

Kim isn't going to do that. It seems tempting, but rude.

But not as rude as what Chay also sent.

Kim: Why you send cat scream? You know I miss my cat. I want cat back. Think about her and feel sick and sad. Like failed her. You do it on purpose? To make me sad?

Within thirty seconds, Chay’s call lights up the screen. Kim pointedly declines the call, only for Chay to call again.

“What?” Kim says, his voice gruff.

“...Is that Vegas crying in the background?”

Kim glances at his brother and cousin, “Khun has now joined in too.”

“Huh. Sorry. There are four different liquors in that punch.”

“How it taste like juice?” Kim asks.

“I think it's more a question of how does it make you omit words from your sentences,” Chay says, then lets out a breath, “Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

“I'm sorry I used the screaming cat emoji. I didn't realize it upset you. I will try to be more mindful and practical about using cat emojis until we find her.”

“We won't.”

“There have been recent sightings of her, Kim! We’re gonna bring her home!”

“She deserves better than me!” Kim snaps, “And so do you!”

“Not this again!” Chay groans, “We are making your album together. We adopted a dog together. What else would you like me to say or do to prove that I am with you because I want to be?”

Lots of things. But even Kim isn't drunk enough to say them.

“I love you, Chay,” Kim slurs out instead, “I love you so much.”

Chapter 27 of Progression is now up!

Hello! I'm glad you liked the bonding between the cousins. It was definitely fun to write. I will say my favorite cousin dynamic tends to be between Tankhun and Vegas. They are the oldest sons and Vegas never treats Tankhun with disrespect - even after getting hit in the head with a tray. The most he does is attempt to stare him down, a challenge he quickly backs down from in silence, which is surprising when he had been smugly challenging Kinn through tense conversation just seconds before. The most negative thing he says about him is that he is "something" (at least going by the English translation). I like to think that they loved each other at one point, and maybe Vegas looked up to him and feels some semblance of sadness when he thinks about what Tankhun went through. Tankhun was old enough to be the big brother Vegas desperately needed - and maybe once had before their families became too strained and set on competition.

As for Kinn and Macau, they have a potential dynamic that interests me too. I can see Kinn as someone who wants to be both a protector and a friend to his brothers, but it is difficult with their very different personalities and the wedges forces between them due to their trauma and their overall situation. He was likely conditioned to be a protector by both his father as well as himself after Tankhun's kidnapping happened. While he likely adores his older brother, is present for him, and makes sure he has guards who are more suitable as friends, rather than just staff, there is likely some resentment, heartbreak, and grief for who is older brother once was and will likely never be again. His relationship with Kim seems like a distant one. In this story, this result is due to an upsetting incident during their childhood, Kim struggling to connect and express his emotions, and Kinn being the most involved in the family business while Kim wants nothing to do with it. There is likely resentment from Kinn as well, that Kim gets to follow his dreams while Kinn has to stay back and do all that is expected of him.

While both Khun and Kim genuinely love Kinn, there is a distance that Vegas and Macau simply don't have. While Vegas always feels like he is getting pitted against and beat by Kinn, he is more successful than him in at least one aspect: he actually has a healthy relationship with his brother. Macau is the youngest and not involved in the business either. Like Kim, I see him holding very little interest in it. However, he is present for his brother. He supports him, spends time with him, and is openly affectionate with him in a way that seems to come to both of them easily and without hesitation, which is something we don't really see between the major family brothers (although Khun does seem to want physical affection from him).

To me - at least in this story - Macau represents what Kinn would ideally want in a sibling. Macau may not show interest in any mafia business, but he also likely doesn't share any old lifetime goals Kinn once had for himself. On top of that, Macau is loyal. He is the one member of the family who successfully does his own thing and stays out of the business, yet stays loyal to his brother, who is very much tangled up in the expectations their family has. He is present, loving, there, and was never in a situation where he stepped back from previous responsibilities like Khun did. He also never distanced himself from the entire family due to his lack of interest in their operations like Kim did.

In some ways, Macau just being himself and resistent and avoidant towards the mafia/his father while remaining close and loving towards his brother makes him the most ideal sibling in either family. He is also the most "normal" by far. Kinn adores his brothers and wouldn't trade them for anything, but I think Vegas got something that Kinn simply didn't by having Macau as a brother: a healthy brotherly relationship that somehow was strengthened by their circumstances rather than tainted and strained. I think a lot of that deals with how Macau operates, which brings out Vegas loving, affectionate, protective, and nurturing side. This is a side Kinn has as well, but since his relationships with his own brothers were strained, that side sort of remains stagnant.

It's been coming out more that they have all become closer, and Kinn is incredibly grateful for it. That being said, he feels like a third wheel at times, and his role as heir/head made Tankhun and Kim hesitant to share certain things with him. Despite Vegas also being heir/head, Macau never faced this predicament. So when Macau and Kinn get drunk together after the cousin reconciliation and the two are left alone, I feel like Macau's sincere side comes out, all while Kinn's protective and caretaking side comes out. Talking with Macau was likely very easy in comparison to opening up with his brothers. Despite it being alcohol fueled, he felt genuine connection with his (now second) youngest family member. It felt easy, like how brotherly bonding should feel like.

We definitely might see more Kinn and Macau moments! I can see Macau just randomly inviting Kinn out to go jet skiing or something and Porsche being like, "Huh???" all while Kinn leaves the compound with an excited grin on his face because he's getting chosen over Tankhun and Kim lolol. But I think Chay will be invested, and Porsche will too after getting over his confusion.