Short Stories-Kai Ships Only! Volume 3

Tyunning- Second Chance

"Go away Kai..." Taehyun rubbed his temples as he sat up in bed.

"But I'm not really here! I don't mean to upset you Taehyunnie. Just wish me away and then I'll be gone!"

Taehyun knew it wasn't going to work but he closed his eyes regardless. Flashbacks of the car crash happened again.

One month ago, he convinced Kai to sneak out at night to go to a party. Drunk him insisted he was okay to drive back. He absolutely was not. The first portion of the ride started out okay. Things got dicey when they went on the highway. He was swerving between lanes. The police were quick to chase them down. In his attempt to pull over, he crashed the car straight into the wall splitting the road.

He lost his best friend and regretted it every single day since. Because his parents were rich, he got off with only 90 days in jail. There wasn't a day that went by where he wished he got the full sentence. Perhaps if he had, the hallucinations from guilt would be gone.

When he opened his eyes, Kai was still sitting in the corner of the room. His vision cheerily waved. "You can do it! Wish me away!"

"It's useless."

"It's not useless! Want to know what I think?"

"Not really."

Kai wasn't discouraged. He floated over then sat across from Taehyun on his bed. "I think that I'm still here because you don't want me to leave."

"No. I want you to leave. Trust me on that."

"But I left you before you woke up. You didn't get to say goodbye to me."

"I said it at your funeral. I said it to my therapist and to my diary."

"No, you only said what you thought people wanted to hear. You weren't honest with yourself."

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?! YOU'RE DEAD!" Taehyun stopped himself before he started crying. "You're dead Hyuka... I killed you. You're not here because of me. You begged me not to drive. It's all my fault that you're gone!"

"Taehyunnie..."

Taehyun sunk his back against the headboard. He looked at Kai with tears in his eyes. "It should've been me. I chose to drive that night. You should be alive Hyuka. I'm so sorry that I killed you!"

"Taehyunnie-"

"Please don't tell me that it wasn't my fault because it was! It was all my fault!" Taehyun sobbed when Kai sat down next to him. He rested his head on his shoulder and clutched his stomach tightly. His voice broke between his tears. "It was all my fault...Kai I miss you so much..."

"Taehyunnie." Kai kissed his forehead as he tightly held his hand over his stomach. "I was going to tell you that you are alive because of me. You were meant to be alive. I kept you alive because you didn't deserve to die for your mistake."

"...what?"

"I wasn't dead in the car. Just passed out. When I woke up in the hospital, I was told I had a 5% chance of living. I kept going in and out of consciousness because of how damaged my organs were. You didn't have a chance at all. You needed a new liver fast."

"...Hyuka?"

"I told my mom to do her best to keep me alive but if I died, I wanted you to have my liver."

Taehyun covered his mouth as he sobbed harder. "You-you gave me your liver?"

"Yes. I'd do it again too. Please stop beating yourself up. It was my dying wish to save you because I love you Taehyun. You were my best friend. I'm always with you. Literally."

Taehyun clutched Kai's stomach as hard as he could. His tears soaked his hoodie as he buried his face into his chest. "You saved my life even though I took yours... why? Hyuka I love you too! Why?!"

"Because one mistake isn't who you are. You're the best person I know. You have to forgive yourself. I forgave you. Please. I'm never leaving you. I'm always going to be with you. I promise."

Taehyun felt him start to fade away. "Don't leave me! Please stay!" Hyuka's shirt was quickly slipping from his fingertips. "DON'T GO!" He desperately tried grab onto him but it was no use. "KAI DON'T GO! I CAN'T LOSE YOU!"

Kai kissed his forehead then pressed his hand against the side of his best friend's stomach. "Take care of yourself alright? Take care of your piece of me? I love you Taehyun. Goodbye."

"NO! KAI STOP! KAI!" Taehyun reached out for the blonde only to find nothing there. He screamed into his blanket. He missed him so much that it physically hurt his heart. He cried himself to sleep.

When Taehyun woke up, he called the Huenings to ask if it was true. They confirmed it was. Kai's dying wish was to save his life. He felt unworthy but eternally greatful for this second chance. Knowing Kai would always be with him made it easier to move on.

He started to take therapy a lot more seriously. Instead of blowing off his friends, he found himself reaching out to them. It took a long time but he did reach a point where he was finally his old self again. His second chance wasn't wasted. Through that mentality, he ended up meeting the love of his life. She got pregnant a year after their wedding. One of the greatest joys came to him when he found out he was having a son. When his wife asked what his name should be, he knew his answer. "Kai."