Secrets in the Woods- Beomkai

Sunset

Kai ran downstairs, thrilled to see Yeonjun hasnt left yet. "Hey Yeonjun! I have a few extra things I want you to pick up please."

"Okay...? Sure what is it?"

"Can you get some packets of mint tea and honey?"

"Kai are you okay? You never drink tea. I thought you were loyal to your fruit juices."

"Yeah, right. I am but I wanted to try new things you know? Were out of high school now. Im trying to grow up."

"Well in that case, would you like an americano?"
Kai gagged.

"Thats what I thought. Youre still my baby. Ill get you anything you want! Ill get you tea, honey AND fruit juice!"

"Youre the best. I love you"

"I love you too"
He hugged Yeonjun goodbye and felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. He figured if he could supply Beomgyu with tea regularly. It would take him 2 days tops to be comfortable speaking again.

Kai saw Tae and Soobin bringing back logs from the forest and setting them up in the shed. "Guess I should go now then"

Kai grabbed his shot gun, custom made of course with a scope and a silencer, several rounds of buck shots and a couple magazines of bird shots in case he gets lucky and finds a buck quickly. He sets off into the forest to find his favorite look out. Its the only one his dad let him assist with building. The perfect spot, across the lake, a 10 minute walk north past the bush Joshua got caught in when he was 9. High enough to be able to see almost a mile of forest floor in every direction. Close enough to the water to where you could easily take down some ducks or wild turkeys.

Joshua also taught Kai how to shoot in this look out. Steady. Aim. Breathe in. Shoot. Breathe out. He eventually got so good he didnt need extra bullets but always brought them just in case. If you told Kai, 5 bullets, 5 birds, he would come home with 5 birds, occassionally 6 if one extra unlucky bird was close enough to the original target. Kai positioned himself into the window, shot gun pressed against his chest and waited.

His internal clock told him 20 minutes had gone by. The sun was beginning to lay on the horizon. He began wondering how Beomgyu was holding up in his room and that made him start to panic. Kai knew a shaky mind lead to a shaky shot so he started to use his scope to look at other things in the distance.

He spotted his neighboring look out, Joshua's favorite, and it made him smile until he noticed something unusual on the window. It was red? Blood? No it can't be. Was that where Beomgyu was held? The only people who knew about the lookouts that far away were the current people in the house and Kai's family. Soobin.

Soobin seemed more suspicious with every clue Kai found. He had to go over there. He was about to until he spotted it. A young buck. The buck was perfect. Big enough to provide enough meat for a few days yet small enough that Kai could carry it home without another person. The shot was perfect as it always was. Some birds scattered at the noise and Kai took the opportunity to shoot them down too. He grabbed the 3 ducks on the ground first and tied their legs to his belt. He then realized how heavy the deer actually was and decided to slit it's throat. The blood loss would make it managable.

The look out. Joshua's look out was 100 feet from him. He could either abandon the dead deer and risk fighting for it with a pack of wolves to investigate, or go back now and look later.

Kai couldn't tell you why but the lookout was almost begging him to investigate it. He propped the dead buck against the tree, neck down so it could bleed more, and climbed the stairs. Inside was one of his worst fears confirmed. The saw broken, bloodied ropes tied to various branches, blood patterned on the south wall, a few wrappers and water bottles in the corner and a mixture of different human wastes below the north window. If Beomgyu hadnt showered yet, Kai hoped he was going to soon.