The moon lit up the tears that have cascaded down his face. He wanted to move, to run after her, to beg her to take him with her, but her command locked him in place. He was immobile. Stranded in the middle of the night.

                After an indeterminate amount of time, the sky began to brighten. Far out in the horizon, darkness gave rise to light as the sun arrived. Soft beams of sunlight illuminated his body. Kai knew he should feel warm but all he could feel was cold emptiness. If he could move his limbs, he would be clutching his chest at this very moment to try to ease the pain he felt inside.

               The asphalt road pulsated as a fast-moving truck zoomed down the road. The driver must’ve noticed him because he quickly slowed down. The tires screeched as they were forced to come to a full stop. Less than a meter separated the front of the truck and the boy. Cursing, the driver got out of his truck to check what was happening. Cold sweat beaded the driver’s forehead as he hurried over the dark-haired boy.

               “Kid, it’s not safe to be in the middle of the road.” the driver scolded, shaking his head. He had been a trucker for nearly ten years and he’d never came close to hitting anyone before, and he sure as he wouldn’t let this kid be his first. Kai’s pupils dilated when the man shone a flashlight upon his face.

               The driver shivered when he noticed the color of Kai’s eyes. They weren’t brown — they were a dark topaz color. Even more peculiar, the boy didn’t blink. Not even when tears were falling down his cheeks. It was like staring at a crying sculpture.

              Choking with fright, the driver lowered his flashlight and took a step back, “A-are you okay?”

              Kai didn’t answer.

              The driver exhaled sharply. His instincts were barking at him to run back to his truck, drive away, and pretend this was all a dream. But he had a soft heart. If he didn’t take this strange boy under his wings, something bad might happen.

              “Do you have a home? A place that you need to go to?” the driver asked. Again, Kai didn’t answer. It was like taking to a brick wall.

              In the end, the driver decided to take action and bring the boy with him. Gently, he maneuvered Kai into the passenger seat of his truck. He secured Kai’s seat belt before restarting the truck. Maybe he could drop the boy off at the police station or an orphanage when he got back to town. He glanced at Kai again and decided to cross out the second option. The boy appeared to be in his late teens and was probably too old to be accepted into an orphanage. Maybe a hospital was better alternative option. The boy might’ve hit his head somewhere and lost all cognitive abilities, which could explain the boy’s lack of emotions and motile skills. The driver pursed his lips. There was still a hole in his hypothesis because it didn’t explain the boy’s topaz eyes. Humans could have topaz eyes…if they were wearing contacts. The boy wasn’t wearing contacts though.   

             On most days, the driver liked peace and quiet when he drive. In his opinion, music and radio stations were distractions that could lead to car crashes. However, he needed a distraction today. Sitting next to a non-talking, non-blinking, non-moving teenage boy was a bit too creepy for him. Reaching forward, the driver cranked up the radio and turned the dial to his favorite station. A familiar tune began playing and the melodic sound of the female singer's voice eased his heart. He loved Teresa Teng. Heck, he loved Chinese music in general. The language warmed his heart and he couldn’t help but reminisced the old days when he lived in China. Sadly, most radio stations in Korea were Korean-based. He’d been here long enough to be fluent in Korean, but every now and then, he liked to listen to songs sung in his native language.

             “Hey kid, maybe you should come to my house to eat and clean up a bit. My wife makes the best stew.” the driver said when he saw the entrance of his town. Taking a right turn, he drove down the stone-paved path that led to his house. It wasn’t a grand mansion like some of the estates here but it was cozy and had a beautiful backyard. He still had to unload his truck at the supermarket but that could wait until after lunch. Hopefully, the supermarket ahjumma wouldn’t penalize him for being an hour late.  

             Hopping out of the truck, the driver went over to undo the belt on Kai and pulled him into the house. Luckily, the boy walked on his own account when he was being pulled by the arm so the driver didn’t have to exert too much strength to keep the boy moving.

             The moment he entered the door, his wife screamed.

             “Thank heavens you’re back!” his wife cried as she rushed to hug him, “Guang Mei came home! She came home safely!”

             “What? HOW?” the driver exclaimed, overjoyed by the wonderful news. His niece, Guang Mei, had been missing for the past week. No one knew where she went. The police concluded that she’d been kidnapped on her way from school but they didn’t have enough clues to know who did it and where she went. It was a miracle that Guang Mei came home safely. They thought they'd lost her forever. Guang Mei's parents, who were still living in China, had entrusted their daughter on them. For the past week, guilt have been eating the couple alive from the inside out as they debated whether or not they should tell Guang Mei's parents the truth or keep it a secret until further notifications from the police. But all their worries were erased because Guang Mei was home. The couple hugged each other as they rejoiced together. When the driver finally calmed down, he held his wife by the shoulders and asked, “Did she tell you what happened?”

             The middle-aged woman shook her head, “She’s too tired to talk. She’s sleeping right now and I don’t think we should disturb her.”

             The driver nodded solemnly, “We’ll talk to her after she wakes up. The whole experience must’ve traumatized for her.”

             “She didn’t look traumatized…she just looks sad. Regretful, even.” The middle-aged woman bit her lower lip as she flashbacked to what happened earlier, “She keeps mumbling “I’m sorry, Kai” under her breath.”

             “Who’s Kai?”

             “That’s the thing, I don’t know. Guang Mei didn’t tell me. Like I said before, I think we should ask her when she wakes up.” The woman grazed over at the dark-haired boy next to her husband, “Who is this?”

             “A boy that I found on the road on my way back from the other town.” The driver patted Kai on the shoulders, “I think he hit his head somewhere and lost cognition. I’m going to take him to the police station later. Maybe they can help him find his family or something like that.”

             The woman furrowed her brows, “He looks dead. Are you sure he’s alive?”

             “Of course. I mean he’s…” The driver swallowed nervously when he placed his finger underneath Kai’s nose, “Not breathing.” Propelled by curiosity, the driver lowered his hand to Kai’s chest and realized there was no heartbeat either.

             “Get him out of this house immediately. I have a bad feeling about this…thing.” The woman warned, pointing a finger at her husband.

              “He’s harmless.” The driver tried to justify, “He hasn’t tried to kill me in the truck so I doubt he will try to kill me now. Besides, I’m taking him to the police station after lunch anyway. He won’t be living with us so you don’t have to worry.”

              “Fine. Go wash your hands. I’ll scoop you a bowl of stew and rice.” The woman disappeared into the kitchen to get the food. When she came back, the driver was already seated by the table. He gave her a thankful smile and immediately dug into the oxtail soup. She sighed as wiped off the excess juices dripping down the driver's chin, “Eat like a civilized person, please. Anyway, that Sehun boy came over again. He wanted to see Guang Mei but I told him not to disturb her when she’s sleeping.”

              The driver scoffed, “He’s like a lovesick puppy around our Guang Mei.”

              “Yeah. Too bad our niece doesn’t like him.” The woman sighed, “They would make a cute couple though, don’t you think?”

              The driver scoffed again, “He only likes her because he can’t have her. All rich boys are like that.”

              “But Sehun’s father is a rich businessman. If they get together, we’ll benefit. We’ll be semi-rich.”

              “Money isn’t everything. Isn’t love more important?”

              The woman sighed. Her husband made a good point but that didn’t stop her brain from fantasizing about Guang Mei and Sehun together. Even though she loved her husband, she wished they were richer. It would be nice to have servants that would do all the cooking and cleaning around the house. The woman almost fell off her chair when Kai suddenly stood up. She didn’t think he was capable of moving so his sudden change of position freaked her out. Clasping her heart, she turned her head to see who he was staring at.

               Guang Mei was standing directly outside the dining room. Her hands flew to cover when she locked gazes with the dark-haired boy. Without realizing it, the litany that had plagued her before came back, “Kai, I’m sorry.”    

Author's Note: Who's ready for EXO-K? And of course there will be more Kai + Guang Mei. :)