Soobin wandered the woods without any idea how he got there. His back was killing him. It stung so much. He stripped his shirt off to see a large patch blood on the left side. The pain on his back was from a cross that was carved into it.
The memory loss was only temporary. He was kicked out of the village for refusing to father a child. The idea was to drug him so he wouldn't remember how to get back. When the drug wore off, he would be so far away that he would literally not know how to get back. The cult was prepared to kill him if he did.
Soobin grew up in a very religious cult. It was the only life he knew. Soobin was always different. Besides being gay, he questioned all of his teachings of the bible. The questions annoyed the council but wasn't something you could get kicked out for. Unfortunately, his sexuality was. It too big of a sin to overlook.
He prayed every night to be different. Kissing girls was something he had to be forced to do. Not something he enjoyed. After he reached puberty, he was expected to start producing children. He manged to put it off until he was 16. The pressure from the society was becoming violent. Threats were made to himself and his parents.
His mother paired him with a 14 year old girl. They were 'married' within the week. After the wedding, he felt ill at what was expected next. He couldn't go through with it without vomiting. Kissing her at the alter was bad enough. He would rather die than go beyond that. The girl was coerced into revealing his refusal.
Soobin was kidnapped in his sleep that night. He was forced to ingest a cocktail of drugs then was driven into the woods. They dumped his unconscious body into the dirt. Before they left, they sliced a cross into the left side of his back. His sins were prayed for. Holy water was dumped into the wound. They drove off shortly after.
God abandoned him. Not only abandoned him. Branded him.
He kept walking forward without any idea of where he was going. All he remembered was his parent's disappointment. Shame washed over him. He cursed his parents for their lack of support. He cursed the village for threatening his life. Mostly he cursed himself for being the way he is.
Soobin stopped in a patch of sunlight. He looked up into the sun then screamed. A few birds flew away from the tree tops. He looked to the ground then screamed again. The woods were no longer silent. They were being filled with agonizing cries. Soobin pleaded to God. Pleading turned to damning. There couldn't have been a God because why would any God abandon him? Why would any God make him this way if it was wrong? He knelt to the ground then started crying.
No one loved him. His parents let their village toss him aside like garbage on the road. What was worse was not knowing where the hell he was. Was he previously walking towards another civilization? For all he knew, he was just walking further from one. There wasn't a road or a river in sight. Nothing to indicate human activity nearby.
Soobin decided to stop feeling sorry for himself. He stood up then put his bloody shirt back on. There was a time for self hatred but that wasn't right now. He was not going to die in the woods. He wanted to find someone and tell them the crimes that hell hole committed daily. His dream was to see it burnt to the fucking ground.
The sun was starting to dip below the tree line. The rays shone a glow of orange through the branches. It was really beautiful. Soobin admired the warmth of the sunset as he continued walking in some direction. Which direction? He had no idea.
His stomach started to rumble. He couldn't recall the last time he ate anything. There was a few scattered berry bushes that looked tempting. Some were poisonous. Others weren't. He decided it wasn't worth the risk and kept moving. His feet were starting to kill him. At least the pain in his back had subsided.
What would actually kill him is how cold the woods got when starlight replaced sunlight. He had no insulation. Nothing to warm himself. No way to start a fire.
The sunlight hit the horizon. It was still light enough to see but Soobin figured he had maybe another hour before that wasn't the case. Fireflies started to appear. They seemed to dance around him. He thought they were so cute as their little butts lit up. The company of the fireflies distracted his loneliness. He joked "yeah, I'm looking for someone to love me too. Your odds are better than mine." His smile faded as he kept walking. The soles of his feet were begging him to stop. He refused.
It took a few minutes but Soobin's eyes adjusted to the dark as the sun fully set. The crescent moon was bright. The stars twinkled in the sky. He decided if death was his destiny today, there was worse things to see before he died.
Just as he was about to give up, he smelled something. Smoke. His energy shot back up when he saw it in the distance. He began to run towards it. All of the pain in his legs was being ignored. It had to be. They acted as if they wanted to break off at any moment. But the smoke got closer with each step. There was someone out there.
Soobin stopped at the edge of the clearing to see a boy roasting marshmallows by the fire. He blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Those long brown strands framed the boy's face perfectly. The fire gave his face the softest glow. It made his lips more pink to match his cheeks. Soobin got lost in his eyes. The little bump in the bridge of his nose topped it all off. The boy stood up when his marshmallow fell into the fire. Soobin heard him say "God damn it. That's probably for the best. I've had four already."
The boy put the metal stick beside him. He then got up to grab a guitar. Soobin watched him sit back down and start to strum it. He unconsciously sat down, against a tree, when the boy started to sing. Heavenly. That's how he sang. Absolutely heavenly. Soobin didn't recognize the song but it instantly became his favorite. He was only ever allowed to listen to music approved by the cult. Hearing the boy sing only reminded him of everything he missed out on.
Soobin closed his eyes. He got lost in the melody. His eyes shot open when the boy sang a song he did recognize. He had heard a million versions of "Hallelujah" in the past. Some of which he sung himself for ceremonies. This version topped them all. It started as softly as the boy strummed his guitar. His voice became more powerful as the song progressed. Soobin, unknowingly, started to harmonize with him. He loved the way their voices complimented each other.
During the last verse, he realized he sang a little too loudly. The boy stopped playing. He looked over in his direction, trying to figure out where that came from. To Soobin's surprise, the boy announced "whoever you are, your falsetto is the best I've ever heard. It's angelic. Come out and sing with me!" Soobin was so scared. He stepped into the light of the fire. Their eyes met for the first time. He was at a loss for words when the boy smiled at him.
The boy started strumming again. He watched this stranger sit next to him. They began to sing together. He sung in a lower register so he could hear more of that lovely falsetto. Once they got to the last verse, he let the stranger sing by himself. His heart raced as he kept strumming along.
When the song ended, Soobin was at a loss for words.
The boy smiled again and introduced himself. "Hi. I'm Kai. What's your name?"
"Soobin..." Blush rose to his cheeks. He couldn't stop admiring every single thing Kai was doing. All the boy did was set his guitar down. When Kai looked back at him, Soobin looked away from embarassment. "I like your voice..."
Kai giggled. "Thanks." He finally noticed all of the blood on the back of Soobin's shirt. "Holy fuck! Are you okay?"
Soobin honestly didn't remember what he was talking about at first. It took a moment for him to catch on. "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt anymore."
"You should probably get it disinfected at least... um... I have a first aid kit." Kai went to grab it before the other could protest. He carefully lifted the back of his shirt then saw the bloody cross. He repressed a gasp. His entire body cringed from seeing it. Luckily the cross wasn't deep. He started the clean the dried blood off first. While he cleaned, he asked "you ran away from a cult didn't you?"
"How did you know?"
"Everyone knows about the 'Rebirth Village' around here. It's actually kind of a legend. The only reason we know it's real is because they try to recruit in the city every so often."
Soobin winced when Kai got too close to the actual cut. "I was born into it. They kicked me out because..." He stopped himself. He didn't know how the rest of world the tolerated homosexuality.
"Because you're gay?"
Soobin's eyes popped open. "Is that okay?"
"Yeah. Well at least here it is. Other parts of the world aren't as tolerant. You're not in danger if that's what you're asking."
"Wow." Soobin turned around to look at Kai. "What are you? Wait. How old are you?"
Kai smiled. "Turn back around. I'm almost done." As he finished cleaning his back, he answered "I'm 16 and I'm gay too. So are some of my friends. You're not alone."
"Why are you alone out here?"
Kai's smile faded. "My dad died last year. This was a tradition of ours. We always went camping. Just me and him. It was the only time I got him to myself. I wanted to carry the tradition on. In a way, I think he sent you here. Kind of like a miracle. That sounds stupid..."
"I don't think it's stupid." Soobin turned around when Kai was done. His stomach growled again. Tiredness was also beginning to set in. Kai handed him a quickly made sandwich. Tasting food made him even hungrier. He was handed two more sandwiches which were gone in less than three minutes. He brushed the crumbs onto the dirt then said "thank you. For everything."
Kai took his hands and pulled him to his feet. "I only have one sleeping bag so I guess we need to share. It'll be warmer that way too." He pointed to the small green tent a few yards away. "You go in. I just need to put the fire out. I'll join you in a moment."
Soobin gladly obeyed. He tossed his shirt into the fire first. Seeing the blood burn was like seeing his past go up in flames. The cold air touched his back. He then crawled into the sleeping bag. The fuzzy cloth was cold against his bare skin. He watched the light of the fire dim after hearing the sizzle of water poured onto it. His eyes closed with the added darkness. He heard the tent zipper open. He was then blinded by the light of a small lantern.
Kai sat it down on his side of the tent. He looked over to see Soobin's eyes closed. There wasn't anyone more beautiful in the world. He did his best to lay into the other side of the sleeping bag. The size of it made it difficult. When he was settled in, he flipped over to face the wall. The lantern was shut off. It was now time to sleep.
Soobin couldn't fall asleep. When he was sure Kai was sleeping, he flipped over to wrap his body around him. Kai was so warm. He felt like comfort. This was destiny. Kai and him were meant to find each other. Soobin finally fell asleep after resting his chin on top of those fluffy brown strands.