Beomgyu was running for his life. Kai was already on the train. He was slipping behind further and further as the train picked up speed. "KAI!" His hand reached out towards his boyfriend as the distance between them grew larger.
"BABY! HOLD ON! I'M COMING FOR YOU!"
Kai climbed on top of the cargo box he was sitting in. He started sprinting across the roof. Each jump was a huge risk to his life. The wheels rolling along the tracks drowned out everything his boyfriend was yelling. He saw his mouth move as he tried to run faster. The distance between them stayed the same but never got smaller. Kai was nearing in on the last car. It was either jump and risk being paralyzed, or stay and risk losing his boyfriend forever.
Beomgyu saw him stuck on the edge as he continued to run. He started to panic. "BABY DON'T! I'LL FIND YOU! I PROMISE!"
"NO!" Kai saw him stop running. "BABY PLEASE! BEOMGYU!" Kai watched helplessly as his boyfriend faded from his view. Tears whipped into the wind as his boyfriend got smaller and smaller. It only took a minute before he couldn't see him at all. He fell to his knees on top of that boxcar. "FUCK!"
Beomgyu hated himself for not jumping onto the train sooner. He had the chance but his nerves kept him on the ground. Now he had no idea if he would ever see Kai again. He had no choice but to follow the tracks. Beomgyu started to jog. The next stop was 150 miles away.
Kai walked back up the train until he found an empty car. He sat into it and just stared at the endless wheat field. When the train reached it's next stop, he was going to get off and find his boyfriend.
They were just dreamers running towards a better tomorrow. Their heads were always in the clouds. Beomgyu was convinced they could be rockstars in California if someone just gave them the chance. They were inspired by the hippie movement of the 60s. People just getting onto a train with nothing but anticipation for the future. Their romanticization of the era blinded them from the ugly facts. People died catching the trains. People lost limbs. Some were paralyzed. Most didn't make it big even if they did survive the journey. They became homeless drug addicts if they couldn't land a job. Those who ran away were generally unskilled. Big dreams were just that. Dreams.
Kai and Beomgyu were realizing this as they stared at the stars. Kai sat on the train and began to regret everything. He left because he didn't want to take over his mother's dinky little restaurant. They were struggling enough as it is. Inflation meant people had less money. Their family business was hanging by a thread. He worked for 6 hour shifts, every day after school, for free, to help his family survive. Music was always his passion. He could never see himself as a chef. His parents were admirable but that life just wasn't for him.
Beomgyu was in a similar situation. His parents were doctors so naturally they pushed him towards that path. He used to sneak out at night to play his guitar. Studying was all he did when his parents were watching and they seemed to be always watching.
One night, after studying biology textbooks for three hours straight, he begged his parents to let him go out for food. They said he could. He chose Kai's restaurant because it was the closest to his house. Kai was just singing to himself while bussing tables. Beomgyu fell in love with his voice. Kai ended up waiting on him and they couldn't keep their eyes off of each other. They exchanged numbers then started secretly dating behind their parent's backs.
The decision to run away was Beomgyu's idea. They had a bunch of demos recorded. He really did believe they could make it if someone just gave them a chance. Kai was hesitant until he found out the restaurant wouldn't even be his. His older sister was supposed to get it instead. There wasn't any point of staying so they took off that night.
Finding tracks in Nebraska wasn't hard to do. They walked outside of the city until some appeared. Shortly after, a train came by. It was going slowly so it was easy to jump on. They lost each other when they got off in Wyoming to eat some food. This train was going much faster than anticipated. Beomgyu tripped. That's why he fell behind.
Now he was jogging under the stars while his boyfriend was god-knows-how-far away from him. He had to slow his pace down. His body was close to throwing up everything he ate for dinner. Crickets chirped into the night. Fireflies started to dance around him in the endless wheat field. The sky was so clear you could almost see the milky way. It was a view he could've appreciated had he not been lost in the middle of nowhere.
Kai fell asleep while staring at the stars. He was only out for an hour. His anxiety woke him up when something changed. Across the boxcar was someone who definitely wasn't there before. It was a young girl. She looked eerily similar to him. Regardless, he scooted backwards incase she was dangerous.
The girl sweetly smiled at him. "I'm not really here you know. There's a drug house nearby. They're making LSD. Well, they were. They set their factory on fire after being tipped off the police were coming. You're just hallucinating from the fumes."
Kai thought it smelled funny. "You're the sister I lost aren't you? Bahiyyih?"
"How did you know?!"
"Lucky guess."
"What are you doing brother? Why did you run away?"
"Oh come on. You know why."
Bahiyyih scooted closer to him. A rainbow began to arch over her. She grew big floppy bunny ears. Her eyes doubled in size. The drugs were really kicking in now. Kai kept blinking while his brain struggled to adjust to what was happening. His sister stuck her tounge out while her eyes squinted. She looked like a weird anime character. The rainbow turned into a circle that spun around her. She lightly slapped his leg then shouted "KAI!"
"OW! What was that for?!"
"Mom and dad work really hard!"
"I know they do! They work their asses off but for what Bahiyyih?! We're struggling! Their health is suffering for no gain! I don't want that!"
Bahiyyih suddenly grew large translucent fairy wings. She twirled in the air and a pink dress magically appeared on herself. She looked like a barbie doll, still with the large anime eyes. Her wand had a little pink star on top. She tapped it on her brother's head. "There! Find your boyfriend and you'll have all the success to help our parents retire."
Kai watched her poof away into a hundreds of colorful butterflies. He really was going crazy. He kept swaying back and fourth in the trance he was stuck in. The fumes were well out of distance now. Kai thought it was a good idea to stand up and try to catch one of the hearts floating in the air. He ended up falling out of the car when he reached for a big gold one. His head was busted as he rolled down the small hill. Bruises and cuts formed on his arms and legs. He yelled "WEEEE!" Kai thought he was on a rainbow rollercoaster. His head hit a rock then he passed out.
Beomgyu wasn't having nearly as much fun. He was so fucking tired of jogging. He had run 30 miles. The distance markers were just reminders of how far he still needed to go until the next train stop.
There was a farm in the distance. It looked to be a mile away. What's another mile when he had already run 30? He ran faster despite how much his body hated him for it. Rows of tomatoes came into view. It didn't matter how much he was starving. There was no way in hell he was going to eat those. Hundreds of tomatoes passed until he saw rows of strawberry bushes. He collapsed in front of the first bush and ripped the fruit off. Berry after berry was shoved into his mouth. He practically inhaled them.
To his right were heads off lettuce. He started eating those too to get more water into his body. Beomgyu ate until he couldn't anymore. He then stumbled towards the closest barn to see if he could sleep there. Rows and rows of pigs were stuffed into that barn. They had little space to move. Beomgyu felt kind of bad for them as he walked through the aisles. He chose the cleanest pen then used a pig as a pillow. The pig wasn't very happy but Beomgyu didn't care. He fell asleep as the cool breeze swept across his face.
Kai woke up with the sunrise. He rubbed his head because it was killing him. Dried blood flaked off on his fingertips. "Ugh. What the hell happened to me?" He then looked at his arms. They were dirty with large gashes running across the outside. His legs didn't feel too much better. There was large patches of blood on his jeans. His stomach began to rumble. He clutched it as he stood up. All Kai saw was a whole lot of nothing. Just wheat and the sunrise. He started to walk in the opposite direction the train was going in. Finding his boyfriend was more important than finding shelter.
Beomgyu woke up to a pig biting his hair. He harshly sat up then smacked the pig's snout. "Hey! I am NOT food!" The pig snorted at him. Beomgyu was not about to argue with a pig. He got out of the pen then made his way back to the tracks. A whole head of lettuce and a couple of strawberries went on the journey with him. He started to jog once he reached the tracks. Surely Kai was looking for him. He had to be.
Kai hummed as he attempted to jog. He hoped Beomgyu was doing better than he was. He actually couldn't wait to tell him about the whole psychedelic trip he experienced. Seeing his dead sister was weird. Seeing her turn into a bunch of butterflies was weirder. Being happy while he was sustaining serious injuries was the weirdest thing of all. He felt like a true hippie.
At mile 10, Beomgyu turned around to see a train coming towards his direction. He was so tired of running. He stopped in place to wait for it. This train he was getting on. He ate the head of lettuce while he waited. The uneaten part of the lettuce got tossed behind him, once the first few cars passed. He spotted an open empty one towards the back. That was the one he was getting into.
Beomgyu started to jog forwards while keeping his eye on the boxcar. He ran faster once it started catching up to him. It was now or never. The train was moving slower than the one he missed so he had no excuse not to make it. He said a small prayer then jumped. The momentum had him tumbling into the back wall. He curled into a ball to protect his head. Once the impact was over, he sprawled across the floor to stare at the roof. "Thank fucking God. I'm coming baby. I'm coming."
An hour later, Kai saw the exact same train Beomgyu was on. His confidence was low. His legs could barely run let alone jump. He decided to let it pass, figuring his odds of finding Beomgyu would be higher if he went back to where they started.
Beomgyu stared out into the horizon. He swore he saw Kai on the side of the tracks. He did a double take and knew it was him. "BABY!"
Kai looked up. Beomgyu's face passed him. "SHIT!" He started to run for his life. The pain was killing him but he was not going to lose his boyfriend again.
Beomgyu screamed "KAI! GRAB ONTO MY HAND!" His nerves got worse when he saw how beat up his boyfriend looked. His body was halfway out of the car. His left hand had a death grip on the bar while he desperately reached for his boyfriend.
Kai refused to give up. His breath was shaky as he reached his hand out. Beomgyu was so close. His legs wanted to snap off but he kept running.
Beomgyu reached out further. "YOU'RE SO CLOSE! GRAB MY HAND!"
Kai used up his remaining energy to sprint forward. Their hands touched. He felt himself being yanked into the car. Beomgyu pulled him into his arms then fell backwards in the middle of the floor.
The couple laid there catching their breath. Kai held him tightly. He was in a massive amount of pain due to the adrenaline subsiding.
Beomgyu panted. He pulled his shoulder but it was worth it.
Kai sat up once he realized he was laying on something wet. "Honey?"
"Yeah?"
"What's in your pocket?"
Beomgyu pulled out a handful of squished strawberries. He started laughing at how ridiculous it was. "That was my lunch."
Kai busted out laughing with him. He then told him how he sustained his injuries.
Beomgyu held in his laughter until Kai said "weee" when he described the rainbow rollercoaster. He imitated him as he was crying from laughing so hard. "You said weee. You're so fucking cute. I love you baby."
Kai kissed him. "I love you too."
They rode the train to California, stealing food and sleeping in boxcars along the way. The two never did make it big but they were able to sustain a living.
Beomgyu became a pharmacist after initially landing a job as a pharm tech. Medicine was in his blood. His hours were clinic hours so he had a ton of free time, unlike his parents.
Kai became a weather boy after a short stint as a journalist. He got lucky after interviewing a handful of network producers. One of them said he had a fantastic personality for TV so they offered to take him on. He sent a lot of money to his parents once him and Beomgyu were in a financially secure place.
Beomgyu happily told everyone his boyfriend was the hot weather boy. He especially proud of the "hottest weather presenter" calendar Kai got roped in to. His boyfriend was the photo for the month of May.
They made a ton of friends. Their schedules allowed them to go to as many concerts as they wanted. The best part? Artists actually came to California. No artist came to Nebraska for a concert.
It wasn't the rockstar life they dreamed but that was okay. This life was pretty good too.