Short Stories-Kai Ships Only! Volume 3

✈️Sookai- Greed

Three in the morning.

A stack of cash was sitting on a small metal side table next to the dusty couch Soobin was operating on. Beside him was Kamal sitting quietly, almost stone like, while stitches were being sewn into the gash by his left eyebrow. Behind him was two security guards to make sure he didn't try to escape out of the abandoned airport lobby. He thought they were useless.

Since officially starting his new side gig, he never once thought of running away. Not after seeing what happened to the tiger that tried too.

You'd imagine that wild animals trained to hunt humans were the scariest thing Soobin had ever seen but it wasn't. That prize belonged to the person he kept healing. Patients often died in his care but Kamal always lived. The stone faced, blue eyed mystery, always made it out alive. He was the one person Soobin could count on to give him his pay. Today he saved three with Kamal being the last one. That was rare given the high mortality rate of the fighting ring.

In the two months he'd known him, Kamal never said much and Soobin was afraid to ask for any details about anything. All he was told was that the fighters were volunteers who were promised millions if they won and that "Kamal" wasn't his real name for anonymity.

Taehyun wasn't much help either. In fact, he seemed to know more than he let on but he always insisted he knew nothing. Only what had been told before. The fighters signed up for it and "Kamal" wasn't his real name.

As the last stitch was placed, Soobin carefully set his tools down to indicate the job was complete. Eye contact was avoided at all cost when he was handed $3,000 to avoid looking greedy. Even with his refusal to look at Kamal's general direction, he could always feel him staring intensely. Like the stranger was challenging him to do or say something.

That fixated gaze was the same one given to prey in the arena. Those blue eyes darted back and forth, reading the target, until it locked onto a weakness to exploit. It was a pattern only he noticed because he was the only one on the receiving end who got to live by the time it was over.

With the cash securely in his wallet, Soobin began to clean up so he could get some sleep before his shift at dawn. Those sharp icy blues lingered as if trying to stare into his very soul. They continued their gaze even after the kit was put away. Incredibly nervous, Soobin asked "did I forget something?"

"Did you?"

Doubts ran wild as a panic attack threatened to set in. Soobin attempted to mask his breathing techniques by fumbling with his track jacket. "I don't believe so. The um... the only injury I saw needing attention was the two inch gash which I mended."

"Do you believe you did your best with the woman you lost today?" The complete lack of emotion made Kamal incredibly difficult to read. His question could've been sarcastic. It also could've been genuine. Neither of which shown properly in his body language as a clue.

"I-I did what I could. There's nothing more that I could've done without a team around me." The woman in question died from being stung to death by a hive of giant asian hornets. If you asked Soobin, he would've said he should've killed her as a mercy. Trying to save her from all of the pain, the vomiting, and the asphyxiation was the equivalency of torture due to prolonged suffering. Dead patients didn't pay though and he still really needed the money.

"Interesting. You may go now."

"Interesting?! What the fuck does that mean?!" Intrusive thoughts left Soobin wondering if he was right about anything. Kamal drove him absolutely insane. He considered checking himself into a psych ward from time to time as an excuse to break the contract. But his loans were still in the high six figure range. Just a few years and he would be debt free.