Short Stories-Kai Ships Only! Volume 3

Yeonkai- Dolls

"Okay! She's gone!" Yeonjun was happy to tear off his little elf costume.

Kai didn't mind it so he kept it on. What did bother him was how dirty the carpet was. The mother of the little girl who owned them, seemed to vacuum the house every three days. Dust caked his elf shoes as he made the short journey into the toy chest. "Come on Yeonjun! She's going to vacuum any minute!"

Yeonjun's shoes jingled as he ran over to the toy chest. Looking up at the edge made him wonder how the taller got into it. As a small doll, the climb seemed like everest. "How'd you get up there?!"

"I climbed the unicorn tail!"

To his right, was a large plastic unicorn rocking chair. The purple tail of it dangled a couple inches over the base. Yeonjun hopped onto the rocker and then leaped onto the tail. Arm strength wasn't his forte. Even though he only weighed seven ounces, it felt just as draining as when he was human.

"Climb faster! I can hear her coming!"

"I can't! Help me!"

Kai groaned as he reached for the tail. "I'm going to pull you up but it's going to shift the chair's weight so make sure you have a good grip!"

"Okay!" The unicorn's head tilted downwards as the tail was pulled up by Kai. Yeonjun almost lost his grip from the sudden momentum change. The loud roar of a vacuum crept closer up the stairs, warning the dolls they were running out of time.

Horror stories have happened to toys who were unfortunate enough to meet the monsterous machine. Hair was ripped out, parts were lost and the pain of being run over was never forgotten by those who had survived. At least that's what Kai said from the last house he lived in. Yeonjun didn't feel like testing it so he climbed faster towards the taller's hand.

"Gotcha!" Kai yanked Yeonjun on top of the box of stuffed animals he was laying on. They were safe on a panda bear's belly.

"It's so dark in here."

"You afraid of the dark?"

"A little. I'm just glad we don't need to breathe. Then I'd be freaking out."

"Me too. Don't worry. We'll get out when she's done cleaning."

Yeonjun made himself comfortable on the panda by dragging one of the arms over as a blanket for both of them. "So, remind me what happened to you again. This is all so new to me."

"Dated a witch's daughter and then made the mistake of breaking up with her."

"Right... so she just cursed you for leaving her? What an ass."

"Apparently my ex told her mom we were getting married and a bunch of other shit. I don't know. She's crazy. They're both crazy! And now I'm a doll."

"What about your parents?!"

"They died a long time ago. I've been a doll for I think... twenty years now? Their will is still waiting for me. I think they found a cure which is the sad part but I can't get it because I was given away as a doll when my aunt was clearing the house." Kai started to sulk under the fluffy panda arm. "I couldn't even yell to prove I was alive. I was just picked up and tossed into a box and then sent off to a donation center. How about you?"

"I died. My parents did some sort of resurrection ritual? Anyways, I ended up trapped in a Ken doll. They tried it again but clearly the only thing that changed was my appearance. After that, they kept me for as long as they could. Then like you, I was tossed into a box and sent off to a donation center and now I'm here."

"How'd you die?"

"I was shot. I didn't live in the best neighorhood. Wrong place. Wrong time."

"I'm sorry." Kai slightly lifted the lid of the toy box when the vacuum stopped. He watched the woman roll up her chord and then wheel the machine off to the next location. "Okay. We're clear!"

Yeonjun followed Kai's example by sliding down the tail of the unicorn to the floor. The carpet smelled and felt much cleaner. "Wow!"

"Yeah. Just wait until the bedding gets washed!"

"It's so soft." Yeonjun started to make an angel like shape on the carpet until the friction started to burn. "So your parents found a cure huh?"

"I think so. I think the witch actually tried to help them too because she felt bad. I won't know until I get my will."

"Do you know where it is?"

Kai ran over to the underside of the little girl's desk. Beneath it was a trashcan containing a couple of candy wrappers. "Help me flip this over."

Yeonjun followed Kai's example and gripped the bottom edge. Carefully, they flipped the container until they saw the large drawing on the underside. "Whoa!" Before him was a map of the city they were currently living in. It was highly detailed. A large circle surrounded where their house was and another circle surrounded what he assumed to be his childhood home. "How long have you been working on this?!"

"How old is she now? Seven? So seven years?"

"Damn."

"The will is probably in my father's safe. If the safe is gone, I'm fucked."

"Can you just go to a lawyer's office and get it?"

Kai shrugged. "I guess but I figured I'd try my house first. I don't even know which lawyer my dad used."

"Why haven't you left?"

"The girl. She actually plays with me. We're some of her favorites you know. I'd feel awful if I went missing one day."

"I wouldn't." Yeonjun rested his head on Kai's shoulder. He missed being human. Sure his neighborhood wasn't the best but he did have some wonderful memories with his family and friends. He wondered how they were doing. The more he thought about what he had been missing out on, the deeper he fell into a depression spiral.

"Memorize the map then. I'll stay here while you go to my house."

Yeonjun picked his head up to see if the taller was serious. "What?"

"What? My house isn't that far. I'm sure you'll make it within a week if the weather or other things don't fuck you over."

The thought of being that small in a storm terrified Yeonjun. He then thought of being a dog's chew toy or constantly hiding from humans while he ran.
"Go with me."

"I can't go with you. A little girl needs her doll."

"But you'll be alone! I'll be alone..."

"You'll be fine. You want to be human more than I do. Your loved ones are still alive. Mine either are dead or forgot about me." Kai stared at his lap while he played with a frayed part of the carpet. "She wants me. It's nice to be wanted."

Yeonjun looked out the window to see a sunny sky with leaves blowing in the wind. There was a whole life waiting for him out there. He had to try while he still could. He didn't want to end up like Kai. The map on the bottom of the trashcan was imprinted into his brain.

Kai became sad when he realized the other really was going to leave him. "Can you help me flip this back at least? I don't want to get her in trouble."

"Sure." After the trashcan was back to how it originally looked, Yeonjun took one last look at the taller. "Are you sure you don't want to go with me?"

"I'm sure. Good luck out there."

"Thanks..." Yeonjun jumped out of the open window onto the nearby branch. The outside world was scary at his height. In the far distance, he saw his destination on a hill. As much as he wanted to be human, he also didn't want to do this alone.

Kai was confused when he saw the shorter crawling back through the gap in the pane. "You change your mind or something?"

"No. I still want to be human."

"You forget something then?"

"Nope! I just decided that I want to become human with you. You deserve it too."

"I don't have anything waiting for me Yeonjun."

"Yeah you do." Yeonjun climbed onto the bed and then helped Kai to the top. They then tucked themselves under the sheets and watched a large cloud roll over the sunlight. Instinctively, he pulled the taller onto his chest and held him closely to his body. A small smile came when Kai snuggled closer. "You have me."