Short Stories-Kai Ships Only! Volume 3

Sookai- My Translator

Kai was speeding down the highway because he was late to meet his new diplomat. It wasn't exactly his fault. The plane landed early. Still, he couldn't be late or else he would risk losing the job. Who would want to hire a translator that wasn't punctual? He wouldn't.

Soobin felt awful from the string of apologetic texts from his new translator for potentially being late. He messaged back "don't risk your life! I can wait!"

Seeing the response on his dashboard didn't make Kai feel any better. Normally he wasn't one to be obnoxious on the road but this was about his career. His horn blared towards everyone who was in his way. A couple middle fingers were flashed in his direction. He ignored all of them.

Black rubber burned into the parking garage of the private airport. Soobin heard the squealing tires all the way from the front of the lobby. Out of the garage, came a man he didn't expect. Someone young and stunning. He was expecting someone older like his father. The blue haired beauty was walking rapidly. His hair bounced in his model stride. His smile was equally as charming. Pleased from the surprise, he offered his hand. "Hello. Kai Huening right?" His grip increased when Kai took his hand.

"It's an honor to meet you Soobin Choi."

"The honor is mine."

"That's noble of you. Shall we?"

Soobin took Kai's arm and they started walking together. The blue haired beauty was absolutely adorable to him. He wanted to kiss the top of his head and squish him until he popped. Since that would be incredibly unprofessional of him, he settled on keeping the shorter closely to his side. "Am I your first diplomat?"

"No. I've been assigned to three others before you. My father was actually a diplomat himself."

"And you didn't choose to follow in his footsteps?"

"I have more freedom in my profession. Basically I'm a contractor. Once my time with you is over, I plan on taking a vacation."

"Where to? I've probably been there."

"To your home country actually." Kai opened the back door for Soobin. The taller closed the door to sit upfront instead. "Huh..." Choosing to go with the flow, he started the drive towards the hotel.

"You want to visit South Korea?"

"Of course! It's the only country that I've been to where I'm fluent in the language but have never been. Well, that's not entirely true. I know Spanish but it's hard to visit every country that speaks it as a first language."

"You know Spanish? What else?"

"Have you not seen my resumé?"

"No. The government assigned you to me. I was told you're one of the best." Soobin thought the shorter was even cuter when he saw redness in his cheeks.

"Thank you. To answer your question, I speak English, Korean, Japanese and Spanish. My Portuguese is passable as well as my Italian and French."

Soobin joked "is that all?"

"I'm learning Russian too although given the current political climate, I have no intention on going there anytime soon."

"Why Russian?"

"My father insisted I can make more money if I'm fluent in it. Apparently translators for independent military contractors make enough to have me retire in my 50s." Kai turned the street and then pulled up to the hotel. He was expecting more security to pull up behind him but none came. "Sir? Where is your security?"

"Expected to arrive tonight. My mother insisted we hire a small, very expensive, team but they weren't available until later."

"I feel uncomfortable being in charge of your safety until then."

Soobin wrapped his arm around Kai's again. "We'll be fine. It's just a few hours."

A text went off on both of their phones. The diplomats they were expected to meet tomorrow, also had an early flight. They requested a late dinner after everyone checked in. Soobin knew it wasn't a request. It was an expectation. "So much for recovering from jetlag."

"I'm sure it will only be drinks. An hour at most."

"I hope you're right. Where are you staying?"

"My house?"

"Would you mind staying with me until my security shows up?"

Kai was a runner. Not a fighter. He silently prayed to the universe for nothing dangerous to happen to Soobin knowing he would be useless in a fight.

Soobin saw the hesitation. "Please?"

"Um. Sure."

"Nothing will happen. You need to relax!"

"Easier said than done."

Soobin giggled as he unlocked his hotel room. The room was the size of an entire luxury apartment. Modern touches were added in every space. He didn't understand why the curtains needed a remote but it was cool to be able to control them with a button. "So tell me. What's the weirdest thing you've translated?"

Kai sat down on the couch next to Soobin. "I've translated several dates. The worst was when they were giving each other a sex storyline on the ride back to the hotel. I almost vomited when I left."

Soobin laughed some more. "Was it that bad?"

"They were 60 years old to start with!"

"Ew!"

"Exactly! It was gross! No disrespect to them of course."

"What else? What else?!"

"Let's see... the most heated argument that I've translated wasn't even about trades or foreign policy. It was about soccer."

Soobin sat there confused. "Soccer? You meant football right?"

Kai wanted to be mad but he found himself laughing instead from Soobin's giant gummy smile. "We're not doing this!"

"It's okay to be wrong!"

"We're not doing this Soobin!"

"Okay fine. Which countries were they? I gotta know."

"Spain and England."

"Ooh. I wouldn't want to be in the middle of that."

"Trust me, it wasn't something I thought could get violent but the Spaniard almost threw his beer at him!"

Soobin was so thankful he got Kai as his translator. He felt like a friend. Conversation between them was effortless. He hadn't that had in a while. Before either of them knew it, he got a text saying the security team was in the lobby. That one little text made him sad. "My team is here..."

"You're in good hands then." Kai stood up to escort Soobin downstairs.

"Thank you for keeping me company. I'd love to give you a tour of my country when you're ready for it!"

"I'm honored. Thank you." The elevator door opened. Three younger guys, like himself, were dressed in suits awaiting their arrival. "I'll see you at dinner tonight."

"Yeah, see ya..." Soobin watched that patch of blue hair until it dissappeared out of sight. Only being here for three days wasn't enough. He wanted more time with him. At the end of the trip, he was going to see if Kai would go back with him that night.