More Short Stories!- Kai Ships Only

Tyunning- Snowdrop

There was a beautiful small cottage on the white pearl beach. A dark cliff was in the background. The sun was high in the sky with seagulls gliding in the rays. A soft breeze swept along the tall grass. Tuffs of dried seaweed were scattered along the sand. Taehyun kicked a piece away with his sandal. He looked at his leather banded watch. His customer should be here any second now.

"Huh." Kai looked at the postcard with the address on it. He compared it to the actual cottage in front of him. The house itself was the exact same. The background, however, was completely different. He began to doubt he was in the right place.

In the postcard, the cottage was on top of the cliff. Not a mile away from it. The cliff was also double the height. The beach in the photo was black which was illumated by the crescent moon in the sky. Kai supposed that's how the sky could look at night. That still didn't explain everything else.

His suspicions were raised when he walked closer to the man by the door. He looked nothing like the guy who he had worked with before. His old business partner was a large middle aged irish fellow with brown hair and a Santa Claus beard. Their only similarities were their heights. This new guy was about the same height but he was skinny. He was also an entirely different race. Asian, not irish at all. The silver hair was a surprise as well as the guy's age. He couldn't have been too much older than himself.

Taehyun was delighted to see his customer. He clasped his hands together then gave a slight bow. "Welcome! I'm glad you found the place. I was worried you were lost!" The blonde didn't say anything. Taehyun knew he would have a lot of questions to answer but he didn't expect the silence. His eyebrow slightly raised. "It's a beautiful day isn't it?!"

The breeze swept Kai's hair back. He clutched the straps of his backpack tightly as he looked around.

"Not much of a conversationist I see. Well, as long as you have what I need then we're in business."

Kai clutched even tighter. "I have it."

"Perfect! Let's get started then!" Taehyun opened his door. He was a bit nervous to see one of his walls shift into place just as the blonde stepped in. Kai didn't seem to notice. Taehyun subtlety waved his hand. The oven dinged. The smell of a fresh apple pie filled the small cottage. "Would you like a slice? It's an old family recipe!"

"I'm okay." Kai looked around. The cottage was much larger than the outside made it appear to be. The walls were all pale blue. The floors were a light colored beachwood. Most of the furniture was white with a few dark blue accents here and there. Abstract monochrome art decorated the space between the windows. Kai looked at his postcard again. The outside only depicted two small windows but he was staring at four large ones instead. And that was just on one wall. "Okay. That's it. Who the hell are you and where's Ryan?"

"Whoa. Calm down." Taehyun raised his hands in the air even though there wasn't a weapon pointed at him. It was a force of habit. "My name is Taehyun Kang. Ryan wanted to retire. I took over his position. I'm his son."

"I've known Ryan since I was a child. You look nothing like him!"

Taehyun tried to remain calm. He smelled his pie starting to burn in the oven. That trick should've been saved until after he got what he needed. "My mom kept me a secret. I only found out who was father was last year. Please. I'm telling the truth."

The oven was smoking. Burnt sugar perfumed the air. Kai opened the nearest window before the fire alarm went off. When he turned around, a freshly baked pie was on the counter. The crust was golden brown when it should've been charred. That was it for him. "I'm leaving."

"Don't leave! I swear I'm telling the truth!" Taehyun kept lying through his teeth because he needed what was in Kai's backpack. That flower, the Royal Snowdrop, stem of crystal green, leaves of stained emerald glass, and petals of arctic blue diamonds, was the rarest in the world. It was a legend that even he doubted to exist. That is until Kai found one. That flower was the last ingredient in his recipe for power. "I have the money you want. Every single dollar."