Short Stories-Kai Ships Only! Volume 3

🎈Sookai- What I Want

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Kai had already rejected the Prince three times in the past three months. Each month seemed to bring a new unwelcome surprise. This month, he was going to bring his own.

Prince Soobin was astonished he hadn't made Kai change his mind yet. Extravagance wasn't working. This time, he didn't bring anything flashy to that cheap looking apartment building. Only himself. Unlike the rude tone that his interest gave, he politely replied "nothing is more important than you." A faint voice in the background asked his interest who he was talking to. He peaked behind to see if he could catch a face.

Kai yelled "who I was going to introduce you to! Get over here!"

"Wait! I'm not ready yet! Give me five minutes!"

Soobin saw the blur turn the corner into the bathroom. "What is he getting ready for?"

"Your blind date."

"I bet your pardon?"

"I called one of my old friends up. You wanted someone with power to marry so I found someone for you! That way you get to please yourself, your parents and most importantly, you get to leave me alone!" A shorter man came to Kai's side. He looked starstruck at the Prince. An interesting contrast to his own annoyance. "This is Taehyun Kang. Heir to the largest pharmaceutical company in the western hemisphere. Also recently single! Have fun guys!"

Soobin grabbed Kai's wrist and then pulled them into the hallway. "One moment Taehyun. I apologize." The door gently closed. "Would you care to explain this?"

"I just did?"

The politeness was stopping. "I had a wonderful evening for us planned!"

"That I didn't agree to like you didn't agree to this."

"Fine. You've made your point."

"Have I? You can't just show up here and expect me to be grateful just because you're a Prince!"

"I was told it's romantic to display effort."

Kai scoffed. "This isn't romantic. This is harassment. You only want me because of my family. You don't even know me!"

"And whose fault is that?"

"What did you just say?!"

"I've taken you on four dates. On each of those dates, I've asked you many questions about your life. None of which you answered. You must not hate me that much if you keep going with me."

Kai was over this. He opened the door then told Taehyun "he's all yours. Have fun you guys!"

The apartment was locked before either Taehyun or Soobin could react. Soobin's evening was ruined. He stood in silence, unable to process his next step. He didn't want to come off as an ass so he politely said "I'm sorry he dragged you into this."

"I'm confused..."

"I've been pining for Kai for quite some time and this is how he reacts."

"So, you weren't looking for someone to marry for the throne?"

"He told you that?"

Taehyun shrugged. "He told me everything."

"What is your confusion then?"

"I assumed you didn't care who was at the other end of the aisle as long as they came from an influential family."

"I don't..."

"Excellent."

"Might I ask why you're so keen on marrying me?"

Taehyun started to walk downstairs. Standing in the hall was weird. Seeing his childhood best friend go from a museum of a house to a hole in the wall, was even weirder. Kai insisted he was happier this way but how could you truly be happy when you're constantly struggling to survive? When he was told of this date, it was a no brainer. He could get what he wanted and not reduce himself to poverty. "I didn't want to inherit my family's company. With our marriage, I'll have a seat at the company table as an investor. I wouldn't have to do much work while satisfying what you're looking for as well."

"That's... great to hear."

"What is your hesitation? Isn't this what you want?"

Soobin took another moment to think. It was and wasn't what he wanted. He knew how Kai felt now. Being too polite to turn down a date even though he would rather not go. He opened the passenger door to his shiny silver Lamborghini and motioned for the shorter to sit. Once the door closed, he looked up towards Kai's apartment. His interest was looking at them through the window. The curtains snapped shut when they made eye contact. He opened the door back up and said "hold on. I'll be right back."

Kai sat on his couch counting down from five. "Five. Four. Three. Two. One." There was a knock at the door like he perfectly predicted. "It's open Soobin."

Soobin let himself in. He smirked while asking "jealous?"

"Not at all."

"Why were you watching then?"

"I wanted to see if you really were going to give him a chance."

"You can change your mind you know. I'd prefer your company over his."

"He's worth more than I am."

"Not to me." Soobin offered his hand to the beauty on the couch. "He's valuable yes. But he's valuable like gold. You're a diamond Kai. I'd love another chance to see why you shine so brightly."

"Which sappy book did you pick that up from?"

Soobin lowered his hand. "You're impossible."

"Does that mean you give up?"

"Yes. You'll never see me again. My feelings for you may have started out as an illusion but I assure you, they're very real. I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

Kai felt temporarily bad for letting the Prince leave the way he did. He reminded himself that he was the victim of a stalker. Nothing romantic was to be had about this. That's what he told himself when he resisted peaking out of the window again. Only when he heard an engine speed off, he got up to look. The car, the Prince and his friend was gone. Regret remained. Something he hoped would be gone in the morning.

A month later, Kai woke up from a nap from hearing someone knock on his door. He laid still, hoping they would go away. After shutting his eyes for two minutes, the person knocked again. "Ugh. I'm trying to sleep!" Kai tossed on his fuzzy yellow slippers and a robe before answering the door.

On the floor was a black invitation card. More specifically, an invite to Soobin and Taehyun's wedding. The card went into the recycling. Something reflective on the back caught his eye. He fished it out of the trash to inspect it. On the back was a handwritten note with silver lettering. It read "Taehyun insisted you come to the wedding. I'm asking you not to for fear that if I see you, I may not be able to marry him. If you do find yourself feeling fondly of me, then meet my driver outside 8pm tonight. -Your Prince Soobin."

"My Prince?" Kai tossed the card back into the recycling. "The audacity to be engaged to someone else. He's not mine. He never was! He could've been..."

The time was 7:55. It was now or never. Kai saw the driver pull up to the curb from his window. His entire life seemed to be riding on this decision. At 8:00 he ran downstairs, hoping he wasn't too late.