A letter addressed to Klay from Kimothy.

Klay, My Brother, My Confidant,

By the time you’re reading this, I’ll already be gone. I didn’t want to disappear without leaving you something to hold onto, something that explains the things I’ve never said out loud. There’s a part of me that you’ve always seen, a part that’s yours, but there’s also so much more that I’ve kept hidden, locked away in the dark. You’ve been the light in my life, and I owe it to you to finally let you in on everything.

You know me as Kimothy Lee, but you don’t know the full story of how I came to be in this family. I wasn’t born into the luxury, the connections, or even the chaos of the Bidets. I was trafficked as a child, sold into the hands of powerful men who saw me as nothing more than a tool—a blank slate to be molded into something they could use. Krystal’s father wasn’t my biological father, but he was the one who purchased me, took me in, and raised me alongside her. I wasn’t a son to him at first. I was an asset, a bodyguard in training, taught to protect, to kill, and to survive.

Before that, I barely had a life. My childhood was a blur of violence, survival, and silence. My mother named me Kimothy—a mix of her surname, Kim, and the name Timothy—but I never really knew her. She was gone before I had the chance to understand what family even meant. I was bounced around from place to place, never having a home, never having stability. I learned to fend for myself, doing whatever it took to survive. It wasn’t until Krystal’s father brought me into the family that I even began to feel like I had a purpose, though it was a dark one.

And then came the day I met you.

It was by the pool—Krystal’s father had just assigned you as the poolboy. I remember it like it was yesterday. You were so full of life, so carefree, and there I was, the stone-faced shadow of the family, always watching from the sidelines. You didn’t know it at the time, but your presence changed me. In those moments by the pool, watching you joke around and live freely, you brought a light into my life I didn’t even know I needed. For the first time, I saw what it meant to truly live, not just survive.

I never told you how much life you’ve breathed into me, Klay. You made me feel human when everything in my life had been about turning me into something less than that. You’re the one person who ever saw the real me, the one who knew that beneath the surface, there was something more than just a weapon, a tool for the family. You saw Kimothy, the broken boy who never got to live a real life, and you gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, I could have something real.

Now, I’m leaving. Not because I want to, but because the past has finally caught up with me. There are things Krystal doesn’t know, and there are things about her father’s dealings that are darker than even you and I realized. These people coming for us—they’re ruthless, and they’ll stop at nothing to get what they want. I have to confront this head-on, alone. If I don’t, they’ll come for you, for Krystal, for everyone we care about.

You deserve to know the full truth, Klay. Everything about my past, the darkness I came from, the things I’ve done to survive—it’s all in your hands now. Whether you decide to reveal the truth to Krystal or keep it hidden, that’s your choice. I trust you more than anyone else. You’ve always known how to balance the light and the dark, and I believe you’ll make the right decision when the time comes.

You brought life into mine, Klay. You gave me something to fight for beyond the shadows. I’ll never forget the way you made me feel like a real person again, like maybe I could be more than just a bodyguard, more than just the family’s weapon. I’ll carry that with me wherever I go, and if I don’t make it back, I need you to remember that you saved me long before I ever left.

Take care of Krystal for me. She’s going to need you more than ever now.

With all my loyalty and love,

Kimothy Arthur Lee