Infinite: Power

Chapter 9: Family

Year 2010

South Korea

"... doesn't speak much."

"I can see. Boy, are you alright?"

Kai pretended not to hear while he carried a spoonful of soup to his lips. It smelled good. It was one of the fantastic things about this country: the soup. He had always loved the way his mother prepared it, with all kinds of vegetables. This one was very similar to hers.

"Leave him alone." His father coldly said to his wife. "He's a bit stupid."

"He looks a lot like you." The woman said. Her voice was as flat as her face and hair. "Let's hope he gets to be like you in every other area, to keep the business going."

Kai let his fist rest upon the table, a bit noisier than he meant to. The two strangers turned to him. He stood up, grabbed the bowl with both hands and walked out of the dining room.

No, he was not with his mother anymore.

The stairs led to a hundred rooms but he had befriended with the humblest one, a small room where his father's house's employees used to rest. He had claimed it for his own, alleging that they could use the rest of the luxurious rooms in the house to sleep. Father didn't like it but he surprisingly agreed to his terms. Kai was sure that these 'kind' attitudes from Father wouldn't last for long. There was something his father had planned to do with him. Something he wanted from him. It was something that made his father need him so badly that he would do anything he'd ask. It was intriguing and, he had to admit, terrifying.

His mother and Sora were alright.

That was everything he needed to know. They had been placed in a country estate, property of his father, and they were away from harm. Sora would attend a prestigious school, mother would manage to get rid of her past. Although Kai knew that his mother was probably still heartbroken for his sudden "decision" to go live with his father at the other side of the world, he was also certain that she would learn to get over it. His mother was a very strong woman. She would forgive him once she knew he had been threatened, forced, obliged, or whatever other name there was to what his father had done to convince him.

Inside his room was a body-sized mirror, right beside the bed; one of the few things he had asked to keep from his other house. Its borders and support were made of wood. Symbols in both Korean and English were carved around with proverbs and quotes that his mother had always wanted him to remember. He stared at himself when he entered, holding the soup bowl and looking blue.

"Don't pity me, Kaien." Kai said to the person in the mirror. Having encounters or conversations with himself were usual when he felt lonely. There was nothing he hated more than that. (Well, maybe his father) "I'm wealthy, I have it all. So does my mother and sister. Why can't we be happy, then?"

"Because Father is a perfect asshole." Kai in the mirror replied. "Because we're never going to be happy. Never, ever."

There was a moment of silence.

"Does it make sense to keep living like this, honestly?" Kai sighed, stirring the soup with his finger and instantly pulling out his finger because it still was too hot.

"Silly. If you kill yourself, Mother and Sora will get killed too. Remember? That's what Mr. Park said."

"There has to be a way out of this."

"Maybe there is. But... I don't think we'll find it in a long, long time."

"Then, what do we do?" Kai stared at the mirror, puzzled. "What do I do?"