Kittichai stood silently in the doorway for a few moments listening to his friends panicked gibberish. Jiwon had nearly been sacrificed to the gods by some crazy businessman. As Jiwon yammered on, Kitt felt eyes watching him. He turned in search of the other person's gaze and locked eyes with a man that he felt was familiar in a way. The man was quite handsome with his silver hair, white fleece sweater and brown jeans, but his gaze was making him feel uncomfortable. He narrowed his eyes at the man, did the man know him? Under Kitt's intense glare the man quickly turned his attention to the window. Jiwon must've taken notice of the direction Kitt was looking as he grabbed his wrist and led him over near the silver haired man. Jiwon happily introduced him to Minseok, who seemed genuinely nice. The blonde then turned to the other man.
"This is Taehyun-ssi." Jiwon smiled at the man.
"Is he your friend?" He examined the man. He felt angry and he wasn't really sure why at that moment.
"Well not exactly, but he is friends with... Seojun, Hanwoo and Yeongsu. I just wanted to introduce everyone who I met on the train, after all we could be friends." Jiwon responded more innocently than he could comprehend.
"He's friends with Yeongsu?" He asked in a tone that came out more than a little bitter "That is surprising, I don't really see Yeongsu being friends with such a.." Kitt's breath caught in his throat as he made eye contact with Taehyun, he looked fragile. He thought better of his next words, but they still came out harsher than he intended. "How would someone like him benefit as an ally?" He practically spat the words, making Taehyun flinch. He himself didn't even understand why he was saying such harsh words.
"Kitt!?" Jiwon gasped.
Yeongsu quickly whipped around in his chair to face him.
"What the fuck?" Yeongsu glared at him. Memories flooded back to him as his two friends started to scold him, but his memories began to drown out the noise.
Flashback: The home phone rang out as Kittichai dried his hair. As it rang he casually threw the towel onto the living room floor and made his way over to answer it.
"Hello?" A few moments passed before a voice responded on the other end.
"Hey kiddo, how are you doing?" A woman asked from the other side. Kittichai smiled widely in excitement, it was his mother. He hasn't seen her for almost two years and he only got to talk to her every few months. She had gone back to Thailand to take care of her father who was sick. She had tried to call more than one time, but she had the worst possible timing. Usually calling while he was at Jiwon's house or out of the house to study. The two hour time difference was also a big factor as to why calling was a bit complicated. "How's everything been? Is your father home?" She asked.
His dad was in the military full time and lived on base as a commander; Kitt rarely got to see him since he was always on base, but since his mother was away his father always made sure to somehow show up for a short time once every month.
"No, he's not home at the moment. Why do you ask, do you need him for something?" He questioned curiously.
"I was just going to see if he would come see me." She responded with a hint of excitement.
"What do you mean, 'come see you?' Like in Thailand?" He queried.
"I will be home shortly, I'm passing the seven eleven right now." She hummed happily into the phone. "See you soon, love." She hung up before the boy could say more, he was ecstatic. He quickly changed into appropriate clothes and rushed from his house. He couldn't wait any longer and left his house to find her. He ran down the sidewalk and safely crossed some streets.
The air was thick with fog by the time Kitt reached a point where he could see his mother. A large smile crossed his lips as he laid eyes on her. She had short brown hair that met with her jawline, a business woman's suit and platform heels. Exactly how he remembered her. She was crossing the crosswalk looking at something on her phone. When she looked up from her phone, her eyes met with her Kitt's. A sweet smile crossed her lips, it was the kind of smile that could cure any illness. Her round almond eyes lit up as she lifted her hand to wave at him.
The moment of happiness was short lived as everything seemed to turn into slow motion as a speeding car came down the road and barreled into the small woman. She rolled onto the hood of the car smashing into the windshield with great force and then flying into the air like some acrobatic rag doll. She flew over the car and landed heavily on the pavement with a loud thud. It was like time had stopped. Kittichai's eyes were wide in shock and his mouth was hanging open, his brain having a hard time registering what had just occurred. He didn't even flinch as a loud crash echoed in the background. His eyes glued to the motionless figure on the ground.
"Eomma!" Feet moving on their own he ran to the figure. "E..Eomma!" His voice broke as he bent down next to her. Almost every inch of her small frame was disfigured. He placed her shoulders on his lap and gently pet her head, blood stained his hand as he did so. She moved her head slightly so that her eyes met her sons. Tears slowly falling down her tan features.
"N-Never.. F-Forget...who y-you..." As she struggled to talk, he silenced her with a shake of his head. She weakly lifted her hand and touched Kitt's heart. Tears fell from his eyes and onto her face, causing their tears to mix sorrowfully. She gave him a sweet, yet heartbreaking smile before her eyes fluttered shut and her hand fell lifelessly to the street.
"P-please open your eyes... I still need you." He pleaded, "please.." It came out as mere a whisper.
A sudden noise sounded from behind him, making him look over his shoulder. Bricks had fallen onto the top of the car, which had crashed into a building. It dawned on him that at least one person was in that car, whether or not they were still alive was a different story.
"I-I am sorry... I will return to you soon enough." He stood wobbly from his mother's side and quickly jogged to the destroyed SUV. He examined the front of the car, nobody in the front could've possibly survived as the hood of the car was basically inside the front half of the vehicle.
He highly doubted anyone could've survived the crash even in the back, but yet he still cautiously opened the back passenger side door to the SUV hoping nobody was inside. Much to his dismay there were three kids in the backseats. The boy closest to the door slowly turned to look at him, completely dazed. The boy had blood practically covering his whole face, but it seemed that it was stained with someone else's blood.
"I'm going to get you out of there, alright?" He gently leaned over the redheaded boy and unbuckled him. He gently wrapped his arms around the boy and picked him up with ease. He removed the boy from the car and gently placed him on the ground. The boy was breathing irregularly fast. He looked at the redhead with understanding as he bent down in front of him. "Just breathe okay, you're going to be fine." Kitt tried to reassure him.
"M-My little sister is s-still in there..." The boy croaked out.
Kitt quickly stood and looked back into the car. The scene was completely disturbing, the two people in the front seats looked like a large bug that hit the windshield of a car on the freeway, and the boy in the back of the driver's side had half of his body split by the door. It was clear that those three people had died upon impact. He closed his eyes roughly and gulped before going into the car. He wrestled with the little girl's seat belt buckle, it had become a little messed up from the force of the crash. He lifted what was left of the little girl and slowly backed out of the car. She was missing the bottom of her left leg and most likely bled out. She dangled lifelessly in his arms.
As the boy laid his eyes on the little girl in Kitt's arms he let out a sorrowful cry. Tears streamed down his face as Kitt handed the redhead the small girl. He cradled her in his arms gently and began to sob loudly.
"I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry." He cried out apologies as he rocked himself back and forth still cradling the young girl.
Kitt simply shook his head and drew his lips into a thin line before walking back to the middle of the road and crouching down next to his mother's body. He cradled her head and began to pet her hair once again.
"Eomma.." He started talking to her, he wanted to tell her the things he had hoped to tell her when she had gotten home. "You know, I got to go to dad's military base last month. He let me buy a pair of boots." He sniffled as he ran his fingers through her hair lovingly. "You know... I loved the boots so much that I will only wear boots from now on." He blabbered. "I'm really happy that we moved here, Jiwon is the best friend in the whole world..." He paused as he looked at the sky, "I was hoping you'd be able to see me grow up and get married someday." He let out a sob as he wiped his tears with his arm. "I knew I'd have to say goodbye eventually, but why did it have to be so soon?"
Kitt continued to speak to her for a little while longer. As he held the lifeless woman he began to hear a soft noise coming from behind him, it was soothing. The redhead was humming a melody as he rocked back and forth with the girl in his arms. The melody put Kitt's mind at ease slightly as he stared at his mother's face. A face that looked peaceful, yet empty, a face that was originally bright with life. The thought of her brightness being torn away from him caused a pained expression to cross his face as he continued to pet her hair, continuing to add to the stains on his hands.
As the light of dawn began peaking through the gray clouds, Kitt was still cradling the cold lifeless body of his mother. His eyes were red and puffy, tear stains were running down his cheeks. He turned to look at the redheaded boy who was sitting on the ground motionless while holding the little girl. The boy stared down at the girl as if he too had had his soul stripped from his body. Kitt got up from where he had sat all night and slowly made his way over to the boy who looked devoid of any light. He quietly sat next to him.
"How old was she?" Kitt asked the boy in a soft tone.
"Seven... and it's my fault." The boy looked at him with remorseful eyes. "If...If only I had... had not.. Argued.. W-with him." He stuttered as tears flowed from his eyes. He had been wearing black eyeliner and it left dark trails down his face from his tears. "I.. I'm so sorry." the redhead wept as he hugged the girl tightly.
Kitt didn't know what to say, no words could make the situation better and he knew that. Instead he remained silent and reached his sleeve out and wiped at the boy's tears.
"S-she wouldn't have... ended up like t-this if it wasn't for me..." The boy mumbled as he leaned on Kitt's shoulder.
"What do you mean?" He asked almost inaudibly.
"I was mad..." The boy responded in a broken tone.
"Why?" Kitt questioned cautiously.
"My father... kept comparing me..." The boy hesitated before continuing. "T-to my older brother, he wished I was more like... like him."
"Nobody likes being compared to someone else. I'd be mad too" Kitt said. "People really begin to shine when they accept themselves. You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep others warm."
"I am not required to set myself on fire...?" He sat up as he tried to make sense of it.
"What I'm saying is that you don't need to give up your dreams to please someone else. It is your life, not theirs. Don't give up your happiness in order to make someone else happy." Kitt stated wisely. He wanted to make the redhead feel better even if it was just a little bit.
"...What is your name?" The boy asked. "I'm..." As he began to say his name it got drowned out by sirens as a firetruck coincidentally drove by and saw the accident. They had turned their sirens on as they rushed over.
After the fire department arrived they were soon followed by ambulances, and the police arrived last. They questioned the boys about what had occurred. Kitt explained the situation to the cops at the scene while they took the redheaded boy to the hospital. Once they were done interrogating him they decided it best to take him to hospital to make sure everything was okay emotionally. They knew that the two boys had witnessed something traumatizing, they just wanted to make sure it wouldn't result in something more. After they examined Kitt they put him in the same hospital room as the other boy. They both had to wait for someone to come get them from the hospital because neither of them were old enough to be released on their own. Kitt was only 11 and needed to wait for his father to arrive from the border.
As he waited for his father, Kittichai looked at the other boy from the corners of his eyes. The boy sat on a bed only a few feet away from Kitt's bed. He seemed to have had some slight injuries including a small leg and rib fracture. He figured that the redheaded boy would have to stay in the hospital until a relative or someone close to the family shows up to get him. He wanted to know the boy's name, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask since the redhead had been silent since Kitt had gotten put in the room. He figured that the boy probably hadn't really said anything since arriving at the hospital, he was most likely uncomfortable. He kept glancing at the other boy's bed. He wasn't sure why he kept looking over at him, maybe it was out of worry that the boy would try to do something to himself due to survivor's guilt. The words "it's my fault," playing on repeat in his mind.
Mustering up the courage Kitt finally peeled his parched lips apart to speak, "My name is Hosung, but I go by Kitt, I didn't quite catch yours earlier, may I ask your name again?"
The door to the hospital room flew open as Kitt's father rushed over to him and grabbed his shoulder intensely. His father looked him up and down.
"What happened son?" He asked.
"I.. mom got hit by a car." Kitt muttered sadly.
"Is she okay? Where is she?" His father said with a hint of worry.
"She... didn't make it.." He responded as a tear made its way down his cheek.
"... She didn't make it..." His father repeated in shock.
"No... I'm sorry.. She was right there in front of me and I couldn't even do anything." Kitt cried.
His father turned away from him as he spoke. "We are leaving." He grabbed him by the hand and began to lead him out of the hospital in a dazed hurry.
Kitt turned to the redheaded boy as he was led away. "Your name?"
"It's Lee Tae-" The boy quietly began just before Kitt's father stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut. Kitt hadn't even caught his whole name and he felt terrible leaving the other boy completely alone..
Present: The two men were still scolding him when he came back to his senses. Taehyun reminded him so much of that boy, but he didn't believe he was the same person. This man seemed gentler, he didn't seem like a person who experienced such hardships since he had a different aura and style to him. It wasn't like Kitt saw the other boy's face clearly through all the stains, though, so he hadn't ruled the idea out completely.
The scolding continued until Taehyun seemed to have had enough of it. It surprised Kitt when Taehyun stood up and interfered with the angered friends.
Taehyun stood in front of him protectively, "guys, it's fine... he's heard enough already. I don't think..." Taehyun paused, "it didn't bother me, I'm fine."
Jiwon and Yeongsu glanced at each other briefly before letting it go. Kitt's eyes began to tear up as he thought of the accident. He tried to hide himself behind Taehyun's back so that nobody would see him. As he hid, Taehyun stepped sideways in order to look at him. As they gazed upon him, their eyes widened in shock. Tears overflowed from Kitt's eyes, he quickly wiped at them with the sleeve of his blazer. He had never cried in front of anyone other than the boy from the accident, he has never even cried in front of Jiwon.
Jiwon didn't even know Kitt's mother had passed away. Sure they were best friends, but at the same time Kitt's mother died, Jiwon's mom was diagnosed with Leukemia. So instead of telling an already emotionally wrecked Jiwon that his own mother just died, he let the boy believe his mother stayed in Thailand. Honestly, Kitt felt bad about not being open with his closest friends, but at some point he had built a wall to keep his feelings in. Nobody knew about what happened to Kitt's mother and his father made sure nobody disclosed the names of the victims to the public.
Kitt wiped at his round eyes as he sniffled.
"Kittie?" Jiwon reached out towards him, but was swatted away by Kitt's wet arm.
"I-I'm fine." Kitt tried to give his friends a reassuring smile, but evidently failed. It caused a more worried expression to cross all of the onlooker's faces. "I just... Want to be alone right now." He stated before he quickly made his way to a different train car.
He sat in silence in the next train car over. Wiping his tears frequently, they just kept falling even though he wanted them to stop. He reached up and held his hand to his chest over his heart, smiling to himself lovingly as he remembered his mom always told him before she left on long trips that she was right there and would point to his heart. As he sat there holding his heart Kitt was completely unaware of the man who had followed him worriedly and was silently watching him from the doorway.
He looked around the train car as he sniffled. He eyed all the luggages that had no owners anymore. He walked over to a duffle bag that caught his eye. He grabbed the duffle bag that had gained his attention; it had the letters K.S sewn into the black fabric. Opening the bag he emptied it of its contents and examined all the clothes and other objects. He grabbed two large white button up T-shirts from the pile of stuff, a pair of knee high socks, and a thin double sized blanket and stuffed them back into the bag. Stealing was wrong, and stealing from people who were potentially dead... Unforgivable. As he went through the contents of the duffle he tried to convince himself that it wasn't stealing, since it could be used for his survival. After the first bag he began to empty any duffle bag or suitcase he came across. Collecting strange materials he thought might come in handy from the luggage. As he went through stuff he made sure to collect any unopened water and put it into the duffle he decided to make his own.
As he collected all the water for himself, something his father had said to him came to mind. "It is not your job to be everything to everyone. People aren't always going to be there for you, that's why you learn to handle things on your own." Kitt knew in some situations the less people the better. Therefore the only people he needed to be worried about were Jiwon, Yeongsu and himself even if the rest of the people on the train were good people, he wouldn't be responsible for them too.
He continued looting as he emptied a suitcase of its contents. In the pile there were some rather lewd objects, but he tried to ignore them and took a rope from the pile. He then grabbed a second duffle bag and loaded it with whatever he found that could be used as a weapon, only ones he didn't keep for himself though. When he finally reached the front of the train he looked over all the bodies that were spread throughout the last few cars. He recognized the one body, it was a girl he knew from school. She was Yongrae's girl, they even married right out of high school. Even though they weren't close he felt bad for her. He closed her eyes before averting his gaze to another set of bodies. His eyes rest on a black leather belt on the one body's waist. He cautiously bent down and took the belt from the dead man's waist. Before he stood back up, Kitt noticed that the body had something strange in its pocket, so he reached into it and pulled out whatever was in there .
"A switch blade?" Kitt thought as he put it in his own pocket, deciding it was about time to return to Jiwon and Yeongsu, he turned around. When he turned around there was a man standing a few feet away from him.
"Are you planning on leaving?" The man asked in a naturally deep voice. "If so can I come with you?"
He was a little frightened at that moment, he hadn't even heard Taehyun approach him.
"Why?" He queried, "you don't even know me."
"Well, the first reason is you fought those strange stalker-like creatures on the roof of a moving train. Second, you have a sword along with some other weapons." He gestured to the sword strapped over Kitt's shoulder. "Third, you seem to be close with Yeongsu." He stated in a matter of fact tone.
"What does Yeongsu have to do with this?" Kitt questioned.
"He's my brother, do you really expect him to leave me and go with you?" He responded confidently.
"Your brother? I didn't know Yeongsu had a sibling..." He paused, "fine, you can come if you can take care of yourself decently." Kitt smiled at the silver haired man before handing him the switchblade from his pocket. "If you're coming with me, I suppose you should get the better choice of weapons I found on the train."
Taehyun gave him a tight lipped smile at the gesture. Kitt watched as he took the knife and flicked it open. Like a klutz, he managed to somehow slice it across the palm of his hand.
"Ouch!" Taehyun let out a small gasp at the pain. The knife fell to the ground with a small thud. Kitt stared in amazement, his eyes were wide and his mouth formed into the shape of an "O". He was quite used to Jiwon's clumsiness, but this was a whole new level. He looked at the silver haired man's face and realized tears were silently falling from his eyes.
"Ah... are you okay?" Kitt asked as he quickly reached into his duffle, and grabbed a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a small box of band-aids he had found while looting. He hadn't thought he'd be using it so soon. He reached his hand out and gently took Taehyun's injured one. He poured the liquid over his wound causing Taehyun to hiss in pain. "I'm sorry, did that hurt?" He asked softly before gently putting the band-aid on the man's wound. The silver haired man's tears had stopped falling, but he had his bottom lip pushed out into a pout. He released Taehyun's hand and picked up the knife. "Here let me show you." He said as he flicked the knife open. "This is a reverse grip." He showed Taehyun one of the ways to hold the knife. "Then there is the sideways grip, hammer grip, and saber grip." He showed him the proper ways to hold the knife as he demonstrated.
"So amazing!" Taehyun exclaimed and bounced up and down like a little kid. Taehyun grabbed both of Kitt's hands suddenly, "Thank you!" The bouncing man smiled a wide boxy smile that made Kitt chuckle under his breath. He scanned over the man's features as he smiled. There was something about Taehyun that threw him off, he just wasn't sure what. Kitt shook his head as he came back to reality, he looked off to the side away from Taehyun's smiling face. He quickly withdrew his hands from the others grasp, turned on his heels with a huff and made his way back to where his friends were.
Kitt threw the duffle onto the floor. It was the duffle that he had made up for the other people he wanted to come with him. It technically only consisted of Jiwon and Yeongsu originally and now Taehyun. He summoned the other two boys over and told them to grab some stuff out of the bag. Taehyun had followed Kitt back and had also grabbed some stuff from the bag. Kitt couldn't help but eye everything that the silver haired man pulled from the duffle, hoping he wouldn't pull anything out that could possibly harm himself. He sighed in relief when he only pulled a few basic items from the bag such as a screwdriver, a baseball bat, a couple bobby pins, and some paper clips. He didn't even know the last two items were even in there. Jiwon had also pulled a baseball bat while Yeongsu continued to search through the duffle bag before deciding he wanted nothing. Some kind of strange idea clearly running through the green haired man's head. Yeongsu then went into the other train car and disappeared for the next hour...