Messenger Society- Beomkai

Starting anew

Taehyun offered to walk Kai to the apartment complex he owned but Kai insisted on being told the address instead. While he was writing it down on the other's palm, he grumbled "my god youre fucking stubborn."

"Yup. Feel free to fire me."

The shorter only smiled at the joke. "There. I'll expect you in the lobby in an hour."

Kai walked away saying "wouldn't count on it."

He kept walking as he heard his new boss grumbled to himself. Kai just wanted to get his stash of stolen goods and say goodbye to his roommates.

The walk up to the apartment was even darker than usual. His light source was now the moon shining through the barred windows. Someone probably broke the only light illuminating the stairs in a drunken fury. The smell of piss and old alcohol stunk the hallway.

Kai opened the door to his apartment and saw his homeless friends were gone. That was for the better. Made it easier to leave. He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down a note saying he wasn't coming back so the apartment was theirs. Three large black pearls were used as a paperweight. They should have enough value to pay for bills and rent the next 3 months.

He went over to his corner and took a knife out of his pocket. It was used to chip away a tile on the wall that had his stash. Small bags of various gems went into his pocket as well as a stack of $25,000, all in hundreds.

Kai looked around one more time for the thing he treasured most. He picked up the old mattress off of the ground and found his prized pendant. It was simple silver circle with 'Huening' written on one side and 'Kamal' written on the other. The pendant was attached to 24k gold chain. An upgrade from the cheap aluminum chain it originally came with.

The necklace was a gift from the only family he loved. The Huening family. His youngest foster sister, Bahiyyih, gave it to him on his birthday. She and the rest of the family was killed that afternoon when they were going grocery shopping for cake ingredients. He treated every birthday as a normal day since.

Kai wore it around his neck and tucked it underneath his black jacket. The winds began to howl. Kai sensed rain was coming. A gift he picked up from living on the run.

Taehyun began to get impatient. It hasn't been an hour but something told him his prospect wasn't coming. Just as he opened the door, he saw Kai standing in front of him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he welcomed him into the lobby.

The apartment building was situated in the lower class part of town. Out of the crime area but certainly not where regular people liked to walk. It was small, 3 stories, and completely made of pale bricks with graffiti sprayed on the side. Kai was walked to the top floor towards the end of the hallway. Taehyun handed him a key.

It was a 600 square foot studio. The appliances were outdated by a few decades and the whole thing looked tan. The floors looked like wood but the texture felt more like plaster. It was at least clean, warm and the lights worked. There was a mattress on the floor against the window, a cheap 48 inch TV across from it and a kitchen on the opposite end.

Kai's first thought was to look for a hiding place for his goods. Maybe he could make a false wall in one of the kitchen cabinets.

Taehyun cleared his throat then asked "what do you think?"

"It's fine."

"Fine?" Taehyun looked offended. This was a paradise compared to his last place. No smells of vomit or obnoxiously loud neighbors. What else could he want?

"Yeah. It's fine. You can go now." Kai kept looking around to get familiar with all of the escape routes. The window by the mattress led down to a fire escape. The window in the kitchen was close enough to a tree to where he could probably make the jump. No window in the hall but he figured he could outrun anyone on the stairs.

Taehyun saw Kai stuck in 'survival mode'. He asked "do... do you want to get some food? How long has it been since you've eaten?"

"I'm not hungry."

Taehyun walked out. Kai felt bad for a moment but brushed it off. After his week, he was out of Caspain and going to start over in Rynelda.

He took his knife out and began to inspect the inside of the cabinets. All cheap wood. Finding hollow points would be too easy for the average thief.

The light fixture above the mattress caught his eye. He used the knife to loosen it from the ceiling. The cone fell down onto the mattress. It produced a perfect hole to hide things. The gems and the cash went into it then the white cone got screwed back into place. Tomorrow he would repaint it so it didnt look suspicious.

Kai sat back down on the mattress and looked out the window.

Taehyun came back in with a folded blanket, a pillow and a large pizza box.

It had been two days since Kai has eaten. His mouth started to salivate just smelling it. He humbly stated "you didn't have to. I have cash. I could've at least paid for it."

"When did you plan on eating next if I hadn't?" Taehyun sat down on the mattress and opened the pizza box.

Kai didn't say anything. He rarely got hungry because he trained his body to live off of very little food to save money. He just took the bedding and placed it behind him.

Taehyun practically shoved the box in his lap. He then took a slice of the cheese pizza and ate it slowly. A small smile came to his lips when he saw his prospect grab a slice.

Kai realized how hungry he was on the first bite. He ate 5 pieces in under five minutes. The pizza only had 8 slices. He offered Taehyun the last two but his boss insisted he keep it for leftovers.

When they finished eating, Taehyun explained why he chose Kai and how he started the Messenger Society. "My day job is just a mail carrier. Yeonjun approached me after watching me do a few routes and offered extra cash for special deliveries."

"The letters?" Kai asked.

"Yeah. I was paid not to ask questions. It started out with one letter every month but soon all three of the Chois were in on it. I began hiring help but most didnt last. The ones that did last ended up using the money to move." Taehyun noted the change in Kai's expression as he said that last sentence. He continued. "I saved up to buy this apartment building for extra income. This floor is for my messengers. You wont really see each other and that's for the best."

"Same reason I wasnt supposed to see the Chois I'm assuming."

"Yes. Just keep your head down and you'll be fine."

Kai put the pizza box in the fridge then sat back down on the mattress. "Why me? What's the catch?"

"You're the only one on the wanted list that's young and has been consistent with crimes. Most people either get caught or they do something once and run away. You haven't been caught and you keep stealing high value items. Some homeless people directed me to you so I watched you for a while. There isn't a catch. Just dont get caught and leave me my 10% cut of the money in my mail slot. I'll pay your bills but youre on your own for food. Well... unless I see you're not eating again. Fair?"

"Fair. Thanks for the pizza."

Taehyun left Kai alone in his new apartment. He walked to the bathroom to see a simple white toilet, a white bathtub and a shower head hanging over. No hygiene products or even toilet paper. It was 1:20am. Nothing was going to be open except maybe a gas station. He could wait until morning but his pizza breath was bothering him.

Kai grabbed the key and a hundred dollar bill and walked out of the building. He found a mom and pop gas station with a tatted middle aged cashier behind the register. "Excuse me, sorry, do you have a toothbrush here?"

The man pointed to the back left corner of the store. Kai walked and saw everything he needed. Shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, all of it. The man sent him on his way after Kai paid.

First thing he did when he got back was brush his teeth. The pizza was delicious but ruined his breath. Mouthwash finished that off.

He then tested the water. The pressure was terrible but it warmed fairly quickly. He realized he had no clean clothes to change into. Showering could wait until the morning.

Kai stripped his clothes off then sunk into his blanket. There was worse places to sleep tonight as the rain started coming down. His new, clean, mattress wasn't one of them.