As minutes passed, the bright sun rose over the forest, rays of light peeking through the clumps of bare bushes and trees. The snow covered ground gleamed even brighter than before, hurting Kyungsoo’s lost eyes as he stumbled over logs and stone.

 

As he staggered on and on, drops of scarlet stained the beautiful blanket below, marking a grim trail. His breaths came out quick and ragged, the cold air freezing his lungs. The dark brown coat that was draped on his weak frame was ripped and torn as well as his jeans. His fingers were covered with crystallized ice.

 

He dropped onto the snow, knees sinking in, and head hung in defeat.

 

---

 

On the other side of the forest was a group of boys and girls, dressed in fur coats and pajamas. They carried large camping bags with them.

 

The group was laughing in glee, excited about the trip to the woods. It was a trip to test their endurance and persistence, gifted by their college.

 

“Naeun-yah, I bet you’re going to be the first one to quit and go back home!” a light brown haired boy said, playfully shoving a girl’s shoulder.

 

The girl, Naeun,  jumped back up, fire in her eyes and dark hair flying about.

 

“I don’t think you can be too sure about that, girly boy.” she retorted.

 

“Taemin-ah, stop flirting.” another voice sounded, somewhat nasalish and mother-like.

 

“We were like them in our youth Key, don’t be so harsh.”

 

Key’s pale face flushed in embarrassment. He flipped his dark brown hair to the side, biting his lip.

 

“Shut up Jjong.”

 

“We’re here.” exclaimed a boy with chesnut hair and a tanned face.

 

The girl next to him squealed in excitement, running ahead of the group to get a good view of the camping site.

 

“There there Krystal.” the tanned boy said with a smile on his face.

 

“Sorry Jongin oppa, I got bit excited.” Krystal said, turning around and beckoning the others to come.

 

 

---

 

 

They set up the tents by nighttime, and had made a blazing fire. They sat around the orange flames, laughing and telling stories.

 

“And his trail was marked by drops of crimson blood, throughout this forest.” Jonghyun said, ending a horror story with a note of mystery.

 

“And?” Krystal exclaimed, her eyes wide.

 

Jonghyun decided to add a little spice to his already suspenseful story.

 

“And, they say that every year on this day when the moon comes out, the blood reappears, and if you follow the trail, you’ll die.”

 

Krystal let out a gasp.

 

“Today?!”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“He’s just kidding Krystal.” Naeun said with a laugh.

 

“Jjong?” a weak voice whispered next to the storyteller, belonging to Key.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Th-there’s blood.” the whimpering boy said, tears filling his eyes. He had his hands on his ears.

 

“Key, it’s just a story!” Jonghyun said with a chuckle, embracing the other in his arms.

 

“It-it’s right behind me. I’m not kidding..look..” he said in a muffled voice.

 

Jonghyun just smiled, skeptical.

 

“Holy shit..” Jongin whispered, “there is blood.”

 

“Really?!” Taemin said and jumped up trying to get a better look.

 

Sure enough, there was a trail of blood behind Kibum’s log, disappearing into the thick of the forest.

 

“Follow it, follow it!” Krystal chanted, pointing to Jongin.

 

“Me?! You want me killed?!” the boy exclaimed, eyes wide.

 

“I’ll come with you if you want.” Taemin whispered.

 

“You want to come?!”

 

“Sure, it seems interesting.”

 

“Follow it, follow it!” the two girls still chanted.

 

“N-No.” Jongin said, adamant.

 

“You’re such a pussy.” Naeun hissed.

 

“Yah! Are you crazy?!” Key said, jumping from his seat and glaring at the two girls.

 

“Why the fuck would you tell him to follow it?!” the boy shouted, pointing with an accusing finger.

 

Krystal and Naeun rolled their eyes.

 

“Fine, then lets go.” Naeun said, motioning for Krystal to follow her.

 

“Wait!” Taemin said, eyes wide.

 

“Let’s go Jongin.” Taemin begged, not wanting Naeun to get hurt.

 

Jongin sighed.

 

“Fine..”

 

---

Jongin and Taemin followed the trail into darkness, the only light coming from their flashlights. Their footsteps crunched loudly against the snow, breaking the winter silence.

 

As they reached the end of the trail, a figure could be seen lying on the frozen ground, blood spilling from its leg.

 

“What is that?”

 

“I-I don’t know.” Jongin whispered, himself frightened.

 

He slowly crept up to the figure, and shone the beam of light onto it. He gasped.

 

It was a young boy! An actual person! Lying on the ground, hurt.

 

“We need to bring him back, he’s hurt..” Taemin said, right behind him. Jongin nodded, gingerly picking the boy up in his arms. The poor thing moved a little, groaning. His foggy eyes opened, staring somewhere to the right of Jongin.

 

“We’re here to help you.” Jongin whispered. The other sighed in relief, and hesitantly reaching for the others’ neck, but struggling. Jongin placed them over himself manually.

 

Jongin’s heart skipped a beat when those doe-like eyes looked up at him, as if begging, but shook the feeling off nonetheless.

---

“Oh my god, we need to get him some help!” Key cried as Jongin placed the weak boy onto a blanket inside a tent.

 

“But there’s no service here.” Krystal whispered, shaking her phone here and there.

 

“Let’s get him warm first.” Taemin suggested, and the others’ nodded in agreement.

---

Two days had passed, and the boy was somewhat stronger. His wound had been cleaned, he had been fed, but there was something about his eyes that was unnatural. He would always look to the right or left of Jongin, struggle to hold anything, and that’s when the tanned boy realized that the other was blind.

 

“What’s your name?” Jongin asked him one morning, as the other woke up. The boy jumped at the sudden voice.

 

“Kyungsoo.” he replied, breathless. His eyes searched here and there for the source, and Jongin took his hand.

 

“I’m right here.”

 

Kyungsoo smiled, squeezing the other’s hand tightly.

---

Over the days, Kyungsoo met all the members, learned their unique personalities and hobbies. He especially enjoyed talking to Key, the other was just so open and honest about everything. No wonder Jonghyun was so infatuated with him. Kyungsoo also started to develop foreign feelings towards his caretaker, Kai. Even though he couldn’t see, he felt the warmth radiating by the others body as Kai held his hand or helped him.

 

Yet, even Kyungsoo could feel the uneasiness settle over the group as days passed along. Suddenly, he was getting served smaller portions, less water, less medicine.

 

“We’re running out of supplies..Kyungsoo has been using them up.” Krystal whispered to Naeun one day as they were passing by the sick boy’s tent.

 

“I know, there’s nothing we can do about it.” the other said with a small sigh.

 

“Why can’t he go back home though? He seems fine to me.”

 

“He still has a slight fever, that’s what Jongin said. But still, we aren’t even sure if he has anywhere to live.”

 

Krystal let out a huff of air.

 

“But we should be fed first. We’re the ones doing the work. He’s not even doing anything for us..he’s blind for fuck’s sake!” Krystal said a bit louder than she meant to.

 

The two walked quickly away from the tent, hoping the other didn’t hear.

 

But he heard.

---

“Hey, have you seen Kyungsoo?” Taemin asked Jonghyun, a small portion of porridge steaming in his hands.

 

“No, he should be in his tent.” the other replied, eyes moving to the direction of the tent.

 

“He’s not there.”

 

“Kyungsoo’s not here?!” an alarmed voice belonging to Jongin sounded.

 

“No, he’s not in his tent.”

 

Jongin’s eyes widened, and he rushed inside the shelter, searching for the blind boy.

 

“He shouldn’t be going out, he’ll get lost!” Jongin said, frustrated as he threw the blankets aside.

 

“I’ll go search--”

 

“No. I’ll go.” Jongin cut off Jonghyun, running a hand through his ruffled hair.

 

“Be careful.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

---

Jongin wanted to cry. What the fuck was the other thinking going out when he was blind?! Something must have happened for the boy to do such a senseless thing.

 

“Kyungsoo! Do Kyungsoo!” Jongin shouted into the silent forest.

 

He had been walking for two hours now, cold and shivering, with little to no sense of direction.

 

“Jongin?” he heard a small voice from somewhere ahead of him. His footsteps changed into a run as he called out the others’ name once more.

 

“I’m right here Jongin.” the voice whispered. Just a few more feet and Jongin would be there--

 

Jongin caught a glimpse of Kyungsoo’s figure before it disintegrated into the mist.

 

“Kyungsoo! Kyungsoo!” Jongin cried again, his eyes scanning his surroundings. It was his mind playing tricks on him. Kyungsoo wasn’t here either.

 

The other sighed in defeat, face in his hands.

 

He had lost him. Lost Kyungsoo.

 

And that’s when he realized how much the other meant to him.

---

 

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, was running. He had heard Jongin calling his name, over and over again, and had sprinted away, tripping and falling, but still running. He was just an obstacle in the group’s health and fun. He had no right to be there, to be using up their supplies and materials.

 

He heard Jongin call his name twice more, then heard a frustrated sigh.

 

“I’m sorry.” Kyungsoo whispered to no one in particular, his hand reaching out to feel what was ahead of him. His footsteps broke out into a run when the path seemed clear but to his dismay, his foot caught on a twig and he fell on his stomach once more.

 

The fall sent a loud sound resounding through the forest, and before Kyungsoo knew it, two familiar warm arms were holding onto him for dear life, whispering sweet nothings into his ears.

 

“Where were you? What are you doing? I was so worried.”

 

The words that came out of the other’s mouth hit Kyungsoo’s heart in a surprisingly painful way. How could have Jongin been worried? He should’ve been grateful, if not ecstatic.

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes filled with tears, dripping onto the other’s coat.

 

“Why are you crying?” Jongin asked, taking the other’s face in his hands.

 

“I can’t do anything for you guys, and you all do everything for me. I’m just taking up space and supplies. I don’t deserve your comfort or support.” the other said between sobs.

 

“So you just ran away?”

 

Kyungsoo nodded, tears still flowing out of his eyes.

 

“Stupid.” the other said, turning Kyungsoo to face him.

 

“We enjoy your company Kyungsoo. Never think anything different. Our supplies may be running low, but we can always hunt or find a stream. We’re glad to have you here, and it would break our hearts if you ever left without telling us anything. We’d feel like we had done something wrong.”

 

“B-But Krystal and Naeun--”

 

“Shh..” the younger said, embracing the other in a tight hug.

 

Kai may have been younger, yet Kyungsoo was still the hoobae at heart. Maybe it was because he was raised blind, not able to trust anything or anyone, always depending on others to help him carry out even the simplest tasks of life. He always felt indebted, his insides churning with guilt every time someone did something for him. So when Kai said the comforting words to him, he broke down into more sobs which racked his body violently. His pale fingers gripped Jongin’s coat tightly, and pushed himself into the other’s broad shoulder.

 

“Let’s go back home.”

 

“Home..” Kyungsoo sniffed, nodding his head.

---

“Kyungsoo yah!” was the first thing the pair heard when they stepped into the clearing where the tents were. A warm body glomped onto Kyungsoo, almost knocking him down.

 

“Where were you?!” the voice, which belonged to Key, shouted.

 

“I-I..I was trying to help out with camp..” the other lied, “getting the fire and what not.”

 

“Don’t go out alone without informing anyone ever again.” Key said, squeezing him and letting go.

 

“Key’s right. We were all so worried.” Jonghyun said, frowning.

 

“Sorry.” the blind one said with a bow.

 

“Is he back?!” a voice shrieked from inside a tent. Taemin came rushing out, eyes widening at Kyungsoo.

 

He ran up to the other, and slapped him.

 

Jongin gasped, pulling Kyungsoo closer to him out of instinct.

 

“What was that for?!” the tan boy said, furious.

 

“Kyungsoo, why are you so stupid! Why did you leave?! You had us all worried! We thought you had gotten eaten by wolves or something.”

 

“Taemin’s been crying..” Naeun, also stepping out of the tent, informed.

 

“No I haven’t--”

 

“What ever happened to your facade of Taeman?” Jonghyun whispered with a chuckle.

 

“You-you were crying?” Kyungsoo squeaked out, shocked.

 

“Yup, he was.” Krystal said, who was following Naeun out of the tent.

 

Taemin turned a deep shade of red.

 

“Fine, I was crying. But I was so worried, ok?!”

 

Kyungsoo let out a cheerful laugh. The others smiled along, watching the other with his twinkling eyes.

 

“Don’t make fun of me.” Taemin mumbled.

 

But Kyungsoo kept on laughing. He buried himself into Jongin arms, his whole body shaking from laughs.

 

Jongin’s eyes widened, his cheeks heated up, and he looked down.  His skin burned from where Kyungsoo touched him, and he felt his heart beating at 100 miles a minute.

 

Krystal cleared her throat awkwardly, looking at the pair with something like envy in her eyes.

 

Things were going to get interesting.

 

 

Hiii guys <3 This is my first Kaisoo story ever, hope you enjoy :)

 

~SS