More Short Stories!- Kai Ships Only

🍒Yeonkai- August 15th

The sun was shining bright in the summer sky. August 14th was supposed to be a happy day. It was Kai's birthday. Instead of being surrounded by loved ones, he sat alone in his living room with a single cupcake in his hand.

Kai's eyes watered as he sung to himself. "Happy birthday to you... happy birthday to you... happy birthday dear Kai... happy..." He wiped his cheeks then set the cupcake down on his coffee table. "Another birthday alone Kai... no one to love you. No one to celebrate with you. How can you be happy when no one gives a shit? If you died, no one would miss you."

A tear put the candle out. His arms rested on the edge of table as he sobbed into them.

This wasn't the first birthday he had spent alone. He learned early as a child that he was awkward and unwanted. He sat alone at lunch. He would often be the only person not invited to parties. When he threw his own, no one came. Eventually, he stopped caring about his birthday all together.

He was never the brightest or the prettiest in school. In fact, most people thought he was hideous due to being mixed.

Like all unpopular kids, he assumed everything would get better after high school. It didn't. If anything, it seemed to get worse. He graduated college but could only land a mediocre job. One that he hated. One that worked him to death while barely giving him enough money to live.

That small cupcake was all he could afford. That pathetic cupcake was now ruined because Kai couldn't stop crying. Frustrated, he threw it into the garbage.

The sunlight shined on his kitchen knives. They were hanging on a magnet strip attached to the wall. Those cheap little things whispered to be used. Kai gravitated to the largest one. He had never cut himself before but it felt tempting. He wanted the pain. He wanted to feel like he wasn't dead inside. He wanted to punish himself for just existing because the world seemed to punish him for that regardless. If he did it for the world (like a fucked up favor) then he would be in control for once.

Kai took the blade in his hands. He stared at his own reflection within it. He was disgusted at the way he looked. Every imperfection was taunting him to add another one. "No one will ever love you! Just give them another reason you piece of shit! You were a mistake! You're the reason your dad left." Those phrases and more were memories of his childhood.

He had no more tears left in him. Kai whispered "happy birthday Huening. Maybe in another life someone will love you." The tip of the knife pierced his wrist. In one quick motion, he made a large slice horizontally across. "FUCK! SHIT! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" The knife dropped to the floor.

Kai regretted it the moment he saw blood pouring down his arm. He realized he went too deep and now he was in real danger of dying. Dizziness was starting to set in. He couldn't walk. He could barely think. "SHIT! SHIT! AH GOD DAMN IT!" His wrist stung like hell. This was the worst birthday ever.

A neighbor heard him and started to knock on his door. "Hello?! Are you okay?!"

Kai yelled for them to call an ambulance. By the time help arrived, he was passed out on the ground.

Yeonjun was checking on a patient when his coworker started yelling his name. He ran over to see a blonde passed out on a stretcher. He didn't need to ask what happened. Those bloody clothes and his scarlet stained arm told him everything he needed to know. "Were you able to stabilize him?"

"Yes but he'll need more fluids soon. He's going to make a full recovery. That's all that matters."

Yeonjun snapped. "That's all that matters?! He tried to kill himself!" The blonde was wheeled into a space. Him and Taehyun quickly began to change his transfusions.

Taehyun argued "we can't change that! We can get him help but that's all we can do! You always do this. You always get too involved. You can't save everyone Yeonjun. Beomgyu dying wasn't your fault. You tried your best. He chose to take those drugs on his own. All we can do is try to save Kai now. Okay?"

"Kai?"

"Yeah. Neighbor identified him as Kai Huening. Why?"

"Nothing. Just someone I knew from high school."

When Kai's heart rate was stable, Taehyun checked his chart again. "Oh. Fuck, it's the 15th isn't it?"

"I think so. Why?"

Taehyun looked at his watch. The time was 12:09am. "His birthday was yesterday. Some birthday..."

"He tried to kill himself on his birthday?"

"Seems like it." Taehyun put his hand on Yeonjun's shoulder. "We saved him today. Please don't do this again. You can't fix everyone."

Yeonjun didn't react. He couldn't take his eyes off of the sleeping blonde. His shift was over as he looked at his watch. Before he went home, he asked a nurse to notify him when Kai woke up.

On the drive to his house, he tried to remember who Kai even was back then. Maybe they had a class together? Yeonjun had always been one of the popular kids. He searched through memories of him eating with his friends at their lunch table. Then it hit him. There was always one small kid who sat alone. That had to be Kai. He wasn't blonde back then but there was no mistaking his face.

Kai looked drastically different now. It wasn't even the hair. He was so much taller. His features were more defined. He grew up. He looked like a model or a prince of innocence. Kai had no idea either. He had been told he was ugly his whole life so that's what he genuinely believed. If enough people say it, it has to be true.

Yeonjun thought of what he could've done differently to avoid what happened today. To try and take your life on your birthday was something he couldn't get over. He felt guilty. Maybe he could've tried to talk to him. Give him just one friend to sit at lunch with. Would that have made a difference?

Taehyun's words sung in his mind. "You can't fix everyone." He knew he couldn't "fix" Beomgyu. His ex was a drug addict who refused help no matter how hard he tried to provide him some. Kai he could've prevented. That's what he kept telling himself. That all he had to do was talk to him. Try and be his friend and maybe he wouldn't have done this.

When Yeonjun got home, he couldn't sleep thinking about it. A therapist told him he was attracted to, for a lack of better words, "charity cases", because he had a savior complex. It's the base of why he chose his profession too. It wasn't about making others feel good. It was about making himself feel good and right now, he felt like total shit.

1am. Yeonjun was finally tired after over thinking for 40 minutes straight. Before he slept, he promised himself to not get involved with Kai's recovery.

At 8am, he failed that promise when a nurse told him Kai had woken up.