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He tries not to flinch as the hall is filled with laughter, cheers, the smell of food, drink, all signs of celebration. Normally that would be the case, except Kyungsoo hadn’t seen much to celebrate at least on his end of things, working for the Royal Family as a servant and in the kitchens hadn’t been too exciting.
But it was much better than what he endured now, the prisoner and now servant of self proclaimed revolutionaries.
He honestly couldn’t see what was so revolutionary about it.
But he was lucky enough to still be here now, the kitchen had become somewhat of a sanctuary, a brief escape from the madness inside and outside of the walls. As long as he and the other members of the remaining staff did their jobs, they weren't bothered.
But he couldn't help but hope that at some point things could go back to the way they were.
Kyungsoo releases a sigh as he finishes drying off the last of the pans for the night. It had been a job cooking for the feast that the new occupants of the palace seemed so fond of throwing. But they'd come out of it pleased with his cooking once again, a position that he would never thought he'd see himself in.
He leans back against the space, relishing in the little bit of silence around him, there wasn't even the sounds of some of the workers walking down the halls. He could feel the tightness in his body ease just a little bit.
Just barely could he hear some of the celebration that he knew would go long into the night and morning hours continuing on.
He just had to make it day by day and step by step.
But how much longer will you be able to stand it?
The thought was not the most helpful, but he knew that it was right, he did not know how much longer he was going to be able to stand it. If things really didn't change, he knew trying to escape would literally be asking for death.
They would serve his head on a silver platter literally.
He shakes the thoughts from his head, pushing himself from the counter, ready to head in for the night before the dawn calls with Yet another early morning, and yet another day of hoping that it wouldn't possibly be his last. As he ponders this he can feel the tiredness finally settling into his bones now that he knew he was no longer needed upstairs, that fate was going to be left sadly to the ones that were to clean up after the festivities ended.
He had seen rich legacy reduced to nothing but practical ruin and trinkets in mere weeks, the thought still left a bad taste in his mouth.
With his bed sheets calling him, he pushes himself towards the doorway, beginning to move the apron from around his head.
But a pair of eyes greeting him from the dimly lit entrance has him pausing in his tracks, eyes he had only seen once from a distance. Once that under no circumstances did you want pointed in your direction lest they be one of the last things that you would see.
Yet here are the two different colored orbs peering out of the darkness at him, one a deeper blue and the other almost watery looking before the rest of the owner reveals itself from the shadows.
Kyungsoo finds himself slightly ducking his gaze, but he didn't think about going for one of the knives in the kitchen, he knew that the other man would be there before he could even get a hand on one of the handles.
"Kai." He greets, clasping his hands in front of himself to keep the slight shake from showing in them.
He hoped his voice didn’t share the same fear he was currently feeling.
The man doesn't respond immediately, but he can hear his footsteps as he moves around a little more, and then he braves a look upwards again. Kai is looking around the kitchen, shaggy hair obscuring the sight of his eyes in the moment, his expression twisted into something unreadable. The man's clothing was covered in dirt, and another substance that was darker, speckled across the fabric.
Where it had come from he didn't even want to think about.
And now any of the tiredness he had felt had left his body, as he was trying to think about any missteps in his cooking this evening, but he couldn't rack up any comments to come to mind. His new masters had been pleased as usual.
"How do I get something to fucking eat around here?"
The words come out slightly gravely, and Kyungsoo is almost surprised to hear such a simple request, and he had thought about it. The other man's lack of appearance at the dinner, he was always by one of the new occupants of the castle's side. Looking more like a pet than anything else whenever he saw him, and perhaps that was the correct assumption given how they often treated him.
Barking orders at the other man without even looking at him.
"I- I can do that for you. Is there anything you would like in particular?" He's already moving back inside of the kitchen, tightening his apron as he reaches for one of the cast iron pans.
He swallows the dryness that has suddenly overcome his mouth and ignores the small little voice in his head that is telling him that he should not turn his back on the other man, but the other part of his brain was asking him what exactly he was going to do if Kai wanted to do something to him.
"Whatever you have." He answers gruffly, the sound of one of the chairs in front of the counter is pulled out across the floor and it almost sounds ear shattering in the silence of the kitchen.
One that he knows, one of his assistants sits in the morning to help him with prep, peeling potatoes and making sure that they have enough vegetables for the stew he was working on for that day.
Whatever.
He could work with that.
Kyungsoo immediately goes for the simplest thing that he knew how to make, a couple of eggs coming into hand along with some peppers and tomatoes, soon the sound of an omelet hitting the pain is in the air, warm and reminding him of the morning. He finishes off the plate with some left over rice, the dish softly clinking with the wood as it hits the counter in front of the other man.
"Sorry it's so simple, we used most of our supplies for dinner this evening."
Kai releases a soft grunt, giving him a dismissive wave, his attention solely on the plate in front of him.
Kyungsoo can't help the eye roll that follows, but he doesn't say anything else in response to the action, knowing that the sooner that the other man was done the sooner he would be alone and hopefully have to never have this close of an interaction ever again.
It would be a hell of a story to tell though.
He'd spent time with the Hellhound and lived to tell about it.
Kyungsoo is readying himself to clean the dish that he dirtied up once again when he hears a soft clatter.
"Fuck!"
He whips around quickly, almost so fast he thought he might give himself whiplash, greeting him is a rather mad looking Kai. Some of the egg and rice on his hands, and the other slightly sticking his tongue out.
"What's wrong?"
The mitch matched colored eyes meet his again, and they look almost accusing. "What'd you do to the food?"
Kyungsoo is almost speechless, his mouth slightly agape. "N-nothing, I promise."
His brow furrows slightly in confusion as he takes in the scene, he knew that he'd not put anything spicy in the omelet, it didn't need it, and then he took the reddened fingertips of the other man as they still hovered around the plate and some of the scattered bits of food.
"Did you scald your tongue?"
Kai's tongue goes back into his mouth again as he regards him silently for a moment.
Kyungsoo moves then to pour the other man a glass of water.
"Here, the food was hot. Didn't you see the steam?"
The other man yanks the glass of water from his hands immediately downing half of the glass in one go before it too ends up on the table.
Kai shrugs not saying anything else as he looks at the plate again with a frown.
"That's what the utensils are for, so you don't have to use your hands." He gestures to the spoon and fork he'd put down beside the plate with the other man looking at them again.
Kai takes the fork looking over it before he stabs at it with a fist, it's a clumsy attempt but at least the food gets to where it's going in one large bite. Kyungsoo returns again to cleaning up the pan he'd been about to wash. There is silence in the room save the soft clink of the table ware as the other man finished his meal, and now he would just have to wait for the other man to finish up.
Kyungsoo was trying not to jiggle his leg, feeling that tiredness beginning to creep into his bones again as he set the pan aside to dry.
When he does turn around he has to keep everything in his power from yelling out as Kai is standing in front of him now, although he can't help the violent flinch that comes with the sudden realization that the other man is there.
Kai smirks at this, revealing rather sharp looking teeth, straight and pretty despite the rest of his appearance, this close he could smell the lingering diffuse of sweat and dirt coming from the other man. The small scratch that lined his cheek as the intense color of his eyes bored down into him. Leaning a bit more forwards into his space until they're almost nose to nose, locking him in place.
"If you tell anyone about this. I'll make you regret it. "
And with that he's gone in a blink, the only other sign Kyungsoo has of the encounter are the remnants of the food left on the table and the sound of his own heart racing in his ears.
***
The next morning yields him to be a bit more cautious as he cooks the next morning, still feeling a little more groggy as his sleep the night prior hadn't been all that restful, filled with the sight of heterochromic eyes.
And in the morning he found himself checking the spot where the other man had occupied, knowing better than anyone that the place was spotless, you wouldn't know that anyone had eaten there unless you had been in the room.
Knowing this, he still feels himself dreading more than usual having to go out and present breakfast, knowing that Kai would more than likely be there with his masters.
He knows he's right the moment he enters the room with a fruit tray in hand and can feel the other's eyes on him before he even sees him, siting just behind his master's chair at the head of the table, looking a little more cleaned up than what he had seen of him the other night, and some bandages on his face. However, this time he wasn't free of the chain that kept him at the side of the chair, looking clunky and heavy.
He knew that it was for show and that must mean that they were having someone over that they were trying to scare into submission.
"You."
Kyungsoo blinks out of his thoughts as the voice addresses him, bowing a little. "Yes, sir?"
"Get this mutt a plate." The man tugs on the chain a little and he can see how the jerk moves Kai around a little, but there was none of the glare in his expression he had been expecting when his eyes finally flickered over to the other man, finding his suspicions correct that he had indeed been staring him down.
"Right away, My Lord." He backs away then before escaping out into the kitchen.
"Looks like they're going to punish him again."
Kyungsoo slows in his actions a little as he grabs a plate from the back, despite the bustle of the kitchen, this conversation was still able to be heard.
"From what I heard he snuck out or something. They couldn't find him for hours." There's the slight drag of a crate against the floor before someone speaks again.
"You think someone is helping him?"
There's a snort. "I doubt that, would he really need it with his powers? I think they just let him do what he wants, and then punish him because they have nothing else to do." Another drag of a crate. "Did you see the chains this morning?"
Kyungsoo slightly frowns as he finishes collecting the plate, the conversation soon drifting away from his ears as he finally exits the room returning into the main dining room, feeling the cold porcelain under his finger tips.
"My lord."
"Sit it there." The man waves in the general area Kai was sitting in, not having shifted from the position that he'd seen him in earlier, the words are slightly muffled as they come out with the accompanied munching of food.
He has to restrain himself from actively looking disgusted as he notices small particles of food coming out with the words, but he does as he's asked, placing the plate down in front of Kai before backing away from the table with a respectful bow.
"Which one of these is the best?"
"I'm sorry, Sire?" Kyungsoo is sure some of the confusion shows on his face as the other man waves to the spread of food out on the table, all vibrant and fresh.
"The food , which one of these is the best? I want to know."
Kyungsoo clears his throat then. "That would be the glazed ham with the fried eggs, Sire. They made them all fresh this morning. The fruit too and the juice that was made this morning were also picked freshly from the grounds this morning."
The man nods pleased, looking happy with the answers. "What about your scraps? Where do they go?"
Kyungsoo feels something sick building up in his stomach thinking about the plate he'd just sat in front of Kai. "It usually goes into the slop for the pigs, Sire."
The man smiled, wicked, something that Kyungsoo could genuinely say that he hated.
"Perfect!" The man croons all joy as he flashes a yellow, crooked smile. "That will be what he has for breakfast."
Kyungsoo's eyes widen, and he can feel rather than see the similar shock that he is having. "Sire, the slop?" He echoes, hoping that with the clarification it would make his understanding any less true.
“Of course, I’m sure he would love it.” The man gives another rash tug at the chains keeping Kai in place.
"Since he seems to be so hungry. " The words are put through gritted teeth, one hand holding Kai’s face in between harsh fingers.
There's a part of him that freezes up at the comment, did they know, despite him not saying anything? And he of course never told.
Kyungsoo resists the urge to have his gaze flicker over to Kai, the other man remains silent, only the slight tinkling of chains to make his presence known.
"Get him what he asks." Kyungsoo gives the order, holding back a grimace.
Part of him was hoping on Kai's part that their scraps hadn't yet made it to be processed for the pigs food, but a better part of him knew that wasn't the case.
And his hopes are dashed when a couple of other servants do come back with a bucket, the slight smell coming from the container marking them successful in their task.
Kyungsoo is thankfully dismissed before he can see Kai receive the plate of slop, only the sound of laughter coming from the dining room following behind him to the kitchen to retrieve the next part of their meal.
***
Kyungsoo doesn't see any sign of Kai in the days following his punishment, part of him is relieved that the blue eyes hadn't shown up in his doorway while he cleaned up, as the less interest in him the better.
But at the same time he was hoping that the other man hadn't been left to deal with his own sickness following having to eat the foul mixture of leftover food.
Kyungsoo is finishing up his last minute tasks in the kitchen once again when he hears it, a shuffling at his doorway, and he turns to see the pair of eyes that had been in his thoughts since he'd first been able to see them up close.
But this time Kai doesn't linger in the darkened hallway, taking further steps in once Kyungsoo turns around, the man looked a little worse for wear since the last he saw him, although this time he wasn't bespeckled in blood. But Kyungsoo noted that the other man did look thinner, or maybe he was as thin as he was the first time he'd seen him and he just never noticed out of his own fear.
“Kai?”
The blue eyed man grunts in response, flopping down at the seat he’d taken in last time. “Food.”
Kyungsoo blinks at him for a moment. “Are you sure that’s a good idea… I mean–”
Kai gives him a look that is quick to shut him up, but there wasn’t as much fire as he’d seen behind it before. If anything he did look a little sickly, and in situations like this he can’t help but think of what he’d heard about sick animals tended to be the most dangerous.
And his gut turned at the thought of the other man having to eat the slop, he hadn’t stayed, but he had heard the whispers from the other servants. Apparently Kai had eaten everything given to him that morning.
Just the thought made him ill, so he couldn’t imagine how the other man had been feeling.
Kyungsoo is quick to pull out his pots and pans fixing the same meal that he’d made the man the last time, although this time he adds some sliced apples to the plate as he presents it to the man.
“Be careful, it’s hot.” He reminds him, setting a glass of water down.
Kai’s eyes flicker up to his briefly before taking the glass of water first, downing nearly the whole thing in one go before he turns his attention to the food. Hands once again gruffly attending to the utensils, one fist around the fork as he tears into the omelet.
He once again makes quick work of the dishes, turning around to see Kai once again making quick work of the meal in front of him, the rice soon standing no more chance than the omelet had. Little bits of food are scattered about the table and he has to hold back the urge to release a sigh.
Instead he sees the small cuts on Kai’s hands and instead decides to do something about them, as they looked sore and a little red around the edges.
He doubted his new masters cared about this aspect outside of the intimidation that the other man offered.
I hope I don’t regret this…
He takes a seat next to him, Kai tilting his attention to him a couple of bites of food in his mouth as his gaze flickers between him and the box he’d just sat on the table.
“Your cuts… it’ll help.” Kyungsoo explains lamely, the silence falling between them again.
Kai continues to regard him, eyes piercing through him as he finishes the last couple bites of food, only visible through the swallow that goes down his throat.
Kyungsoo waits for him to leave, cuss him out, scoff, something, and eventually he does sliding his hand over the surface of the counter. Slightly slouched in his posturing as he watches him place the first dab of the antiseptic on his wounds.
The reaction is almost immediate.
“Shit!” the other man hisses at him, looking further disgruntled, moving to pull his hand back. “Do ya have to do it so fucking hard?”
Kyungsoo looks at him, huffing. “I barely touched it. Now stay still or it’s going to hurt worse.”
Their stares clash for a moment longer and eventually Kai settles back down, twisted expression forming into a slight pout that’s actually almost cute. But he allowed Kyungsoo to finish what he was doing. Placing bandages over the wounds.
“There. Hopefully that’ll feel better.”
Kai flexes his hands, looking at the little bandages, and then at him, and similar to the first night he’d come into the kitchen he vanishes with a blink and without another word.
Kyungsoo feels a little exasperation settle into his being, but he knew in his heart that this would not be the last time he would see the other man in this kitchen again.