Chapter Six: Kim Minseok

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True to his word, Kris flew in next to the Middle Eastern places. From a bird’s eye view (pun intended) he could make out which country was at war because of the explosions and glints of fire. He landed in India as the last rays of the sun were gone and ducked behind a building as a team of soldiers ran by. He hopped up onto the rooftop while his wings weren’t completely folded yet and stumbled onto the roof. He looked out into the expanse of land.

It was a wasteland.

Fire rained down from the sky like meteors and exploded upon the ground, scattering shards of earth for about a mile. Explosions were heard all around, more so, some sounded dangerously close that buildings shook. The air smelled of blood, war, and gunpowder. Corpses were scattered all throughout the ravished city. Nowhere felt safe. The entire country was a battleground.

Kris scowled. It was like the Korean War all over again. His granddad was there when it happened. Wars were distasteful and pointless to him. Then he remembered who he came here for.

Shizz. I have to find Chanyeol soon, before he gets into any trouble. If he isn’t in one already. Then he shook his head. Aish, Kris, you don’t have to think negative thoughts. Being in the middle of a war is enough.

He got down from the rooftop and ducked among the shadows, hiding from occasional soldiers who were rushing by. No use losing his life before he could finish his task, and in a foreign place too. He walked to the quieter parts of the town he flew into and hid behind houses. The doors and windows have been boarded up. Kris peered into some and didn’t like what he saw. Some had families huddling together in deathly silence, as if waiting for a bomb to drop. Others had lifeless, bloody bodies littered all over the floor. It sent shivers down his spine.

Just then, a whole group of soldiers ran by. Kris ducked behind a small shack and waited for them to be gone. His keen hearing heard sniffling inside the house, and quiet voices. The voices were speaking in Korean, so Kris listened in on them.

“Grandma, please. Don’t leave me here. Not here, not now.”

Kris peeked through the loose boards nailed to the windows. The inside was darker than the other houses because it was rather small, but Kris could make out a boy hunched up on the floor and another body lying down. Kris squinted and saw that the boy was young, as young as he, and the one lying down is an old woman.

“Xiumin, dear, I’d hate to leave you. But sweetheart, we all have a limit in life. And I’ve reached mine.” The voice was raspy, weak, and old.

“No, please, you said we’d go home together. You’re all I have left,” pleaded another voice, the voice of the young boy.

“I’m sorry, grandson. I do not want to die in the hands of a foreigner, so this is probably the best way. My dying wish is hopefully you would find your way back home.”

“There’s no more home. Wherever you are is home. If you go, I should probably go die as well. There’s nothing waiting for me back in Korea, and there’ll be nothing I have left here. Where should I go?”

“I prayed, Xiumin. I prayed that someone will come find you here and bring you back home. I sense that he’s near. And the Lord always hears my prayers.”

“Grandma, if I go back to Korea, there’s still no one to welcome me anymore. Besides, with this war, I’ll hardly even get to move from this house without being arrested.”

“Home is where your heart is, Xiumin.”

“And you know my heart is here, with you.”

“No. Kim Minseok, you know you left part of your heart in Korea when we migrated. Find it, and then you’ll find home.”

The boy broke out in sobs while the old woman tried to comfort him. Kris noticed his necklace glow. The silver liquid inside grew in amount. He pried away the boards that blocked the door. He had to help that boy. After all, he owed him.

“Grandma, I think they’re here,” said the boy in a frightened voice. “They’ve come to get me too.”

“No dear, just wait.”

Kris heard what the boy said. “No! I’m here to help! I won’t hurt you!” He pried the rest of the wood from the door and kicked the door open.

He carefully approached the boy and his grandma. The boy cowered from him, but he put on his brave face and glared up at Kris.

“I won’t let you take me or my grandmother away!” He said with conviction.

“I’m not taking you anywhere,” said Kris. He glanced at the old woman on the floor. “Not without your grandmother’s permission.”

The old woman smiled. “I knew help would come. When I’m gone, go with him, Xiumin. He’ll take care of you and bring you back home.”

“No! I’m staying here!” yelled Xiumin.

“Xiumin, don’t you understand that once your grandmother is gone, staying here is pointless. It’s best if we go back to Korea,” said Kris gently.

“Come here, Xiumin,” said the old woman. “I want to bless you before I go.”

Reluctantly, Xiumin knelt by his grandmother again. Kris stepped back and turned around. The grandmother laid her hand on Xiumin’s head and murmured blessings. When she was done, she smiled at him one last time before finally resting in peace. Xiumin broke out in a fresh round of sobs. Kris put a consoling arm around him.

After a while, Xiumin and Kris have successfully buried Xiumin’s grandmother in the backyard. Xiumin managed to buckle up his tears and put on his brave face again.

“We’ll make it out of here,” said Kris reassuringly. “We won’t let your grandmother die in vain. I’m Kris, by the way.”

Xiumin took a deep breath and nodded. Kris frowned. He felt his pain. At least Xiumin had seen his grandmother die. The last time Kris saw his granddad was when he was 16, the day he ran away. And He’s 21 years old now. Then he remembered something.

“Do you, by any chance, know a person called Park Chanyeol?” he asked.

Xiumin’s brows knit in thought. “Tall, lanky, has a derpy face?” he asked.

Kris didn’t know about the derpy part, but he nodded. The Chanyeol he saw in the pictures was indeed tall and lanky.

“I know him. He’s a good friend of mine,” said Xiumin. “Will we bring him along too?”

Kris nodded again. That was the reason why he came to India: to find Chanyeol and bring him back to Baekhyun, but seeing as Xiumin needed him too, he decided to bring him along. He felt indebted to him, in a way.

“Come on, I’ll show you to their place,” said Xiumin. “It’s not very far from here.”

Before they left, Xiumin kneeled for a few seconds in front of the freshly dug-up grave of his grandmother and prayed. Then they went on their way.

Goodbye, grandmother. I’ll find home for you, I promise.