Wildfire And Rain

Chapter Forty-Two

Duct tape unraveling.

"Coward." he manages saying before Mr. Harrison puts a piece of tape on top of his mouth; the obnoxious noise of the tape unwrapping stickily from the roll is even more noticeable and abrupt being the only thing making noise around the cabin and inside of it.

"It's a shame." Mr. Harrison strains and Kai laughs shortly if only for the absurdity of Mr. Harrison's actions. He slams the truth in other people's face but can't handle being at the receiving end of it? Are a few honest words all it takes to rile him up? "I hoped we could chat within reason but it seems you are not on par with the truth. Spewing nonsense just like your father."

His shoes knock on the wooden floor and he emerges from behind. "I will talk now, and you will listen." his tone of voice is much less playful and eased than it was at the beginning; watching his calm resolve fall apart is quite amusing.

In class he seems so posh; and put together. Kai wonders if the two are the same people or perhaps the person in front of him is Jack Harrison who has nothing to do with his professor who always seems on top of things.

Then again, he has lost his calm once before when Kai broke into his house. Mr. Harrison swayed between peace of mind and a sense of madness in a matter of seconds.

Which leads Kai to confirm his suspicions. If Mr. Harrison has a similar job to Kai's which is ultimately, punishing people for their actions then he should not have personal feeling towards Kai's father.

Just like Kai doesn't have any personal vendetta or resentment towards the people he tortures, threatens, and hurt.

Mr. Harrison speaks about Finn with emotion in his voice; anger and blatant disgust. With no proof of any faults from Finn's side, he chose to kill him out of personal gain. He hated him, simple as that.

"Do you know why I paired you and Kang Taehyun together on the debate essay?"

At the mention of Taehyun, Kai is no longer amused. The glint in his eyes fades and they turn hollow. The hairs on his nape stand in attention and his right eye twitches right after.

He looks up at Mr. Harrison, tracking his movements. His mind fills with vicious intents.

"Bait," he says after what feels like an eternity but was only a few beats of tense silence. "I wanted to see how much self-control you had. After all, I couldn't put you in a box with your father. Maybe you were different, I had to put it to the test."

He pulls his nose again and sighs. "You failed, of course." He shakes his head. "I had no doubt you'd fall for it. But I am a fair person, I gave you a chance to prove wrong."

Why him? Kai wants to ask. Why Kang Taehyun when it could have been anyone?

"I have a good read on people, Kai. The bait I picked was after deep thought, not anyone could have tempted you."

Kai could talk about fallen resolve however much he wanted but he was the one who against all warning signs allowed Kang Taehyun into his life. Knowing the risk, knowing the danger.

For that, he deserves what is coming for him.

And more.

He deserves way more because even after he blindly walked into the bait, he is still plagued by this one pestering thought.

Did he call to say goodbye?

.........................

Taehyun sorts through Kai's stuff, not just the ones in the box that they collected from the Cadillac.