Short Stories- Kai ships only!

Tyunning- Can't Move On

This is a tragedy.

Taehyun Kang had an amazing life before he died. Him and Kai had been together for three years. High school sweethearts about to enter their senior year together. Taehyun fell first. He clung to Kai until the younger finally gave in. They were inseperable. They were that couple who was annoyingly cute. 'Couple goals' as people called them. The kind that everyone knew wouldn't end after high school was over. You get the idea.

This is how he died.

Kai's parents took him on a vacation so he had a week to himself. Taehyun decided to do a roadtrip with his friends. They went up and down the east coast of the United States. The trip was so much fun. He bought a souvenir in every state for his boyfriend.

They were only 45 minutes from home when the driver decided to check a text message. Taehyun told him how uncomfortable that made him. He was assured it was okay because "he does it all the time". A text over a soccer game killed them. The brakes of the car failed to stop in time when traffic came to a halt. The two in the back seat lived. Taehyun was in the front.

Kai came home to the worst news of his life. His boyfriend of three years was dead. He would never see Taehyun's smile again. Never would feel the kiss of his lips or the comfort of his hugs. His voice only existed in his phone from videos they filmed together. His comfort, his best friend, the person he told everything to, was gone.

Taehyun couldn't move on. He was a ghost who could only watch his boyfriend sob at his funeral. Kai's internal sunshine was no longer present. He had never seen him so defeated while he was alive. All Taehyun wanted to do was hug him. He tried but Kai didn't react. Taehyun's arms just went straight through his boyfriend's body.

He followed him home once his wake was over. Kai didn't eat for days. All he did was lay in the darkness. Kai cried every time he looked through memories of them together.

Taehyun was screaming at him to eat something but like before, Kai heard nothing. He then tried to open the blinds. Bring sunshine to his sunshine. The blinds didn't move.

As a test, he floated into the bathroom. He wanted to look into the mirror to see if he could see his own reflection. There was nothing. Taehyun's hope vanished. He refused to move on until he knew Kai would be okay.

Kai was not okay. He continued to disappear from the world. His bed was his safety. Friends texted. Some even tried to come over to comfort him when his family couldn't. Everyone was concerned about him. While he was thankful for their good intentions, he thought they were wasted. Pretending to smile hurt more than accepting his misery.

Taehyun laid against Kai's chest to see what he was looking at on his phone. He saw videos of them playing on a loop. Taehyun whipsered "I miss you too... please go to school tomorrow. It hurts to see you like this baby..."

Kai started crying again when photos of their 3rd anniversary came up. They were so happy together. He started swearing into the darkness. His fist met the wall which made him cry more.

Taehyun yelled "baby stop!" He reached out to hold him but his arms fell through his body again. All he could do was watch Kai fall apart. His boyfriend kept praying he would come back and all he could do was watch. Taehyun whimpered "I'm here! I'm right here baby! Why can't you fucking hear me?!" He started screaming at the top of his lungs. "I DIDN'T LEAVE YOU! I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU! I'M RIGHT HERE! PLEASE HEAR ME KAI!...please..."

Kai fell asleep from emotional exhaustion. His parents quietly placed his backpack by his closet. They kissed his forehead then quietly walked back out. It had been two weeks since Taehyun Kang died. They prayed for their son to eventually be okay.

In the morning, Taehyun was thrilled to see his boyfriend stumble out of bed. The first day of senior year was here.

Kai really didn't want to go but it was time to get some fresh air. It wasn't even the school part that he was dreading. It was the mob of people telling him how sorry they felt. He didn't want their pity.

The mob is exactly what he got as he stepped foot into the hallway. Taehyun wanted to push them all away when he saw how uncomfortable Kai was. He followed him to his first class. Kai slumped into his chair then stared at the empty desk next to him. Taehyun recognized it as his old seat. He playfully sat into it. Some part of him thought his boyfriend actually felt his presence when he saw the smallest smile on his lips. The smile faded as quickly as it came. Taehyun looked up to see why. A guy he didn't recognize started to sit where he was. He moved out of the way before that guy sat into him.

Kai saw the guy look at him. The stranger introduced himself as "Soobin Choi". He didn't care. He just pretended he didn't hear him which wasn't hard to do since his headphones were in.

Taehyun felt bad for Soobin. He was probably new to the school and wanted to make his first friend. The girl next to Soobin explained why Kai was so depressed. It was sad hearing the story of his own death again. Then Soobin did something completely unexpected. He looked over and said "I know how you feel. My last boyfriend died in my freshman year." Taehyun was just as shocked as Kai was.

Kai took his headphones out. "I'm sorry for your loss. How did you cope? I just feel like... I don't know."

"That you're drowning in a sea of depression and the only person who can save you is the person you lost?"

"Yeah. Wow." Kai feigned a smile. "Yeah, that pretty much describes it."

Taehyun watched them talk. He was really happy to see that sunshine slowly return to his boyfriend. Then it dawned on him how much these two were clicking. He had only been dead for two weeks. Trauma bonding is real. He wanted Kai to be happy but not this soon. The rational part of his brain told him it was okay to move on now. Kai was going to be fine with more time. The part that controlled feelings was taking over. He was jealous that this Soobin was using HIS death to bond with him. He was so mad that Kai seemed to move on so quickly. They only dated for three whole fucking years. He continued to sulk while Soobin made his boyfriend smile.

Kai wasn't moving on. It was just nice to talk to someone who actually knew what he was going through.

When school was over for the day, his parents came to pick him up. Kai requested to visit Taehyun's grave. He insisted on going alone. He promised he wouldn't take long while his parents waited in the car.

Taehyun sat on top of his grave stone. He saw Kai place a fresh rose on it. "What are you thinking baby?"

Kai looked around to see if anyone else was in the area. He appeared to be alone. "I feel ridiculous for talking to a patch of dirt. It's not like you can hear me right?"

"I can! God, I wish you knew that..."

Kai wiped a tear that slipped with the back of his hand. "It's- it's so weird going to school without you. Someone had the nerve to sit in your desk. Turns out he was in my place around the time we started dating. We were dating longer than they were so we win!"

Taehyun giggled when Kai did. He knelt down to wipe his boyfriend's cheeks. He sat there defeated when he couldn't. His lips kissed his forehead as he continued to hold him.

"His name is Soobin. He's really nice. He asked a lot of questions about you. I told him about the time you surprised me with a rose because I was sad. I hope you're not sad... I know I am. I miss you. What am I supposed to do?! Tell me how to move on! It hurts knowing I'll never get to hold you again. We were supposed to graduate together! Why did you leave me baby?!"

Taehyun sobbed into the crook of Kai's neck.

Kai picked up the rose and held it. Tears rained onto the petals as he stared at a memory. "I love you Taehyun... thanks for listening to me. Goodbye."

Taehyun watched Kai leave his grave. He stared at the lone rose beside his tombstone. Grief overcame him as he watched one of the petals fly away with the breeze. This was hell. He knew that Kai was going to be okay with more time. Letting go was not going to be easy. Tomorrow, he was going to try.