Veterinarian. That was Kai's official position on at his new job. He was told in the interview that he would be a traveling care taker, whatever that means. The interviewer was very vague. She didn't provide many details about the position or the company. Kai was going to say no until he heard the benefits. A free hotel room everywhere they went, his own suite on the train and a starting six figure salary. There had to be a catch. It sounded like a scam. Regardless, he accepted. They gave him a move in date and a hotel reservation. The next phase of his life had officially begun.
Kai settled into his hotel room. He put on a light pink v-neck, light blue skinny jeans and beige airforces. His white lab coat went on next. He took one last look in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable for his first day. Just as he was about to leave, someone knocked on his hotel door. "Just a minute!" He combed his fingers through his hair then opened the door.
The silver haired guy introduced himself. "Hi. You're Kai right?"
"Yes! Are you the person I'll be working for?"
"I am. My name is Taehyun."
Kai was confused. His boss was looking at him like he did something wrong. He glanced at his watch. He wasn't late. Maybe it was his age? It couldn't be his age because Taehyun didn't look that much older than himself. He asked "is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine. I'll be waiting for you downstairs." Taehyun wondered how long this guy would last. No one had stayed longer than a month besides him and he really needed the help. The majority of the people hired only lasted three hours. Based on how naive that guy looked, he guessed one hour before he quit.
Kai came downstairs to see his boss sipping tea in the lobby. He was only up there for three minutes after Taehyun left. It was weird but he figured everyone had their quirks. "Sorry I kept you waiting."
"Don't apologize. You were only up there for three minutes and twenty six seconds."
"Right..." Kai was just trying to be polite. Now it was awkward. "Regardless, I'm still sorry I kept you waiting."
Taehyun set his tea down then walked to the car. The blonde followed him into the back seat. Headphones went in so he didn't have to talk to him. He gave up on getting close to his new prospects years ago. They all left as quickly as they came. It was a lonely life.
Kai scrolled through his phone. He kept glancing at his boss, unsure of whether to try and talk to him or not. He began to wonder if this was why people left so quickly. All of the company reviews from clients were extrodinary. All of the ones from past employees basically said "do not work here!" Maybe Taehyun was why. He decided to follow his lead and put some headphones in. His curiosity heightened when he saw the train station.
The two got out of the car. Taehyun lead the way to the front of the train. They then boarded their private suite.
Kai looked around in awe. He wasn't quite sure where to sit. He felt too poor to be there as his boss motioned for him to sit across the table. An attendant handed them a glass of champagne. She brought out a tray of french bread, butter and cheese next. Little fruits were served on the side with a small honeypot in the middle. The attendant tried to wink at him before she left. Kai was too busy looking at the food to see.
Taehyun drizzled some honey over an apple slice. It was crisp, refreshing and delightfully juicy just like always. He offered an apple slice to the blonde before he ate them all. Kai politely declined. Taehyun noticed he wasn't eating. The blonde just seemed to watch the scenery change from city to countryside. This view wasn't anything new to him so he just kept eating.
Kai saw twin mountains in the vast distance. One of them was double the size of the closer one. His eyes followed the tracks. He realized they were headed straight towards them. He had never seen a mountain in person before. He had actually never left the city before. Nature was just in photographs. That's why he was so interested in the job. It gave him the opportunity to see things he never would've without. The tallest mountain had a snow covered peak. Clouds hung below the white tip. Trees were scattered up and down. He couldn't wait until they were closer.
Taehyun looked up to see Kai still watching the window. He saw the mountain reflected in his irises. His cold demeanor began to fade. He put together a piece of bread with butter, brie and honey then offered it to him. "Here. Eat it."
"It's okay. I'm not very hungry."
"It's good. I promise."
Kai took it. "Thank you." He ate the snack while continuing to watch the window.
Taehyun thought the small bites just added to how adorable he looked. It was hard to be angry at someone who looked as innocent as him. Still, he vowed long ago to not get attached to anyone. Kai was going to leave. They always did when the tour of the facility was over.
While Kai watched the window, Taehyun watched him. Something about him was just different. First impression was that he was sheltered. He imagined the blonde growing up within palace walls. He was obviously raised with love but he assumed he didn't have much exposure to the real world. That wasn't far from the truth.
The last thing he assumed was Kai would be different. He couldn't explain how or if that was even a good thing. Something about him prompted Taehyun to want to be around him. He just couldn't take his eyes off Kai. It was like the blonde was seeing the world for the first time and he was witnessing it with him. Taehyun asked "want to know something?"
Kai turned to look at him. "What?"
Taehyun pointed at the largest mountain. "That's where my facility is." He found himself smiling when Kai's eyes popped open. The blonde's jaw dropped as he looked out the window again. Taehyun giggled when Kai turned to look at him.
The blonde asked "we're based there?!"
"Yup. I'd like to lie to you and say we live there but I spend more time on the train and flying than my actual bed."
Kai couldn't wait until they arrived. This seemed like a dream. The world was so beautiful outside of the city. He couldn't believe this was what he was missing out on. 20 years of life and he finally felt free.
The train arrived at the station at the base of the largest mountain. They were the only two to get off. A small village was a mile away but Taehyun explained he was the only one who lived around here. The winters were especially deadly. His facility was designed to withstand even the roughest storms but the roads weren't. There was times he couldn't drive for weeks. He had his ways around it but that was something he could show Kai later. If the blonde didn't quit that is.
Taehyun unlocked his silver electric mercedes. His ego was mildly hurt when Kai didn't seem to care about his car like he cared about the mountain. It further confirmed his theory about him. He started to drive up the mountain towards his facility.
Trees flashed across Kai's irises. The pop of green made his eyes come to life. Snow started to lightly fall when they reached the middle of the mountain. Kai had never seen snow before. He rolled the window down and held his hand out. His cheeks turned the rosiest shade of pink. The wind swept his hair away from his face. He started giggling when he caught a snowflake. The smile turned into a frown when it melted.
As cute as Taehyun was finding him, the car was becoming freezing on the inside. "Aren't you cold?!"
"Not really!" Kai closed the window. He looked at his boss who was turning his seat warmer on the highest setting. "Sorry... I've just never seen snow before."
Taehyun glanced over to see the rosey tone still on Kai's cheeks. His lips looked especially pink. He looked back at the road and realized they were almost there. "You've never seen snow before huh?"
"No. It's better than I imagined it to be."
"Yeah just wait until you're three feet deep in it. You won't be thinking that then."
Kai shrugged. "I don't think so. I'll just make a snow angel. Plus, I've always wanted to try hot chocolate by a fire."
"Which have you never had? The drink or the fire?"
"Both."
Taehyun got sad for him. Kai didn't seem to notice as he stared out into the horizon.
The blonde's attention turned back towards the front when they pulled up to the facility. A large metal garage door opened up. They drove inside. When Taehyun opened the main door, Kai was greeted to a large lobby. Small tables were scattered throughout the space, each with dark wooden chairs to match. A large wooden desk with an expensive desktop was against the right wall. The entire back wall was windows. You couldn't beat the view. Clouds floated by. The glow of the orange sunset illuminated the grassy plains below them. Kai saw the small village as his eyes followed the road outwards. He gasped "I can't believe I live here now."
Before Taehyun showed him where he would be staying, he wanted to see if he would stay first. This was the part people usually quit from. "Kai?"
The blonde turned around. "Yes?"
"You can leave your suitcase by the desk. It's just us here. I'll give you a tour of your workspace now."
Kai dropped his suitcase off then ran back to join his boss. He followed him towards the left side of the room, into the middle door. There it looked like your typical veterinarian office just with the same impressive view in the back. They continued to walk to white hallway until they reached the back of the facility. Kai heard something through the door. It had a low growl.
Taehyun slowly opened it. The lights came on with the motion sensor. "This is your current patient..."
Kai froze in the doorway. Before him was a scarlet baby dragon. It snarled its teeth at him then growled some more. The baby was as tall as Kai in it's crouched position. It's large black eyes squinted murder at the blonde. A flame shot out of it's mouth to scare him. Kai didn't move.
Taehyun watched in the back to see what would happen next.
The dragon let out a loud roar towards the blonde. It stood up on it's hind legs then slammed back down. Kai slowly sat down on the ground with his hand sticking out. His legs were shaking as he sat criss cross in the doorway. As softly as he could, he said "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help you. My name is Kai. What's wrong with you little one?"
Taehyun's jaw dropped.
The dragon creeped up to him. It snarled a few times as it continued to crawl forward. It's eyes softened when Kais' did. The blonde radiated peace. The dragon began to calm down.
Kai didn't move his hand. He felt the snoot briefly touch it. The dragon pulled away from fear. He giggled "it's okay! I'm with Taehyun! You like Taehyun! Or at least I hope you do." Kai gasped when the dragon allowed him to pet it. Those shimmering red scales felt smooth. "You're so cute!"
Taehyun watched the dragon warm up to his new apprentice. He was right about everything. Kai was different. "So, you still want the job?"
Kai continued to laugh as the dragon pushed it's snoot harder into his hands for more pets. "Yes! I want the job!"
There was a whole magical world waiting out there for his new apprentice. Taehyun couldn't wait to show it to him.