During the night, Taemin went back the abandoned trains. He wandered around and thought why Jongin spent most of his time here. Turning a corner, he spotted a light coming from inside one of the train cars. Traveling across the gravel silently, he peeked in and saw something that should not have surprised him. Jongin was curled up in the corner with a faded quilt blanket covering him. His eyes moved quickly under his closed lids before they opened. The other was quick to spot him.

Eyes widening in alarm, he stumbled before standing up. Recognizing him, Jongin slowly relaxed but remained on edge. Sitting back down, he watched as Taemin clambered up into the car.

“Sleep well?”

Jongin scoffed, “better than at home”

“Is that why you’re always here?” Taemin asked quietly, coming to sit beside the younger boy. Jongin was silent. Taemin noticed that he was usually silent when questions like that were asked. As much as he wanted to respect his privacy, Taemin couldn’t help if Jongin didn’t answer.

“…it’s quiet here, I can think,” Jongin replied, voice so low Taemin almost couldn’t hear it. He blinked; surprised that he actually answered…It was almost like he read his mind…

•••~|~•••

“You know, it’s really cold. I don’t think a blanket will cover it” with that said, Taemin hopped out of the train car and left a mildly confused Jongin behind.

He came back an hour later with a hand full of blankets and a portable heater. Jongin, who was dozing slightly, smiled despite himself.

Sitting next to the other, Taemin gave a bright smile.

“I don’t think I know your name,” Taemin commented casually.

“It’s Jongin” he gave a small smile to the other as Taemin introduced himself.

The two talked all through the night, mostly touching on light topics and laughing at their answers. After a rather intense laughing session, Taemin had to ask the question that’s been on his mind for a while.

“Okay, okay, okay, what would you do, if you only had three days left?” He tried to ask it as casually as possible.

Jongin stopped laughing as well to catch his breath.

“Three days, huh?” he started. “Most people would say something like, change the world or do something memorable, but me? I would honestly be relieved. I wouldn’t have to worry about my parents or watch my back every time I go out, you know? And three days isn’t a lot of time to do much. I’d rather spend it in comfort than be terrified of what’s going to happen afterwards”

The more Taemin listened, the more he felt his anger begin to rise. As a shinigami, he was taught that all life has meaning and that no human deserves to die, from the worst of criminals to the most selfish of billionaires. Their lives all end the same no matter what; by following a shinigami into the afterlife.

•••~|~•••

“Why do you think like that?” Taemin asked suddenly, no longer smiling. Jongin grew confused, he seemed upset.

“Do you want to die that badly?”

Jongin looked up to him and in that moment, Taemin didn’t seem…completely human. He was reminded of when he felt something watching him in the hospital room. Shaking off that feeling, he smiled in a joking manner.

“Of course not,” a sudden chill went down Jongin’s spine. He bit his lip in nervousness.

“…you’re lying…” Taemin whispered but Jongin didn’t hear him. He was too busy trying to clear his head of the sudden fuzzy feeling. Then his ears began to ring and his eyelids grew heavy. The last thing Jongin saw was Taemin’s apologetic face.

•••~|~•••

Taemin sighed when Jongin’s form slumped against his side. He didn’t mean to knock him out but Taemin was slowly losing control. He could tell Jongin noticed something as well by the increase of his heartbeat.

Footsteps sounded outside of the train car but Taemin barely noticed as he studied Jongin’s face. When he was asleep, his exhaustion was barely noticeable and he didn’t look so dull and empty.

“Be careful,” a familiar voice warned, Taemin looked up to see Jinki standing in front of them. He bowed his head slightly in greeting.

“You seem very infatuated with the boy,” he commented. Coming closer, he motioned to Jongin, “May I?” Taemin nodded.

Then he crouched next to Jongin and gently placed his hand on the other’s forehead. His eyes fell shut and they opened just as quickly.

“Have you seen his life yet?”

“I find it a breach of privacy so, no, I haven’t” Taemin replied. Jinki laughed slightly, finding the younger shinigami’s morals adorable.

“Knowing what he went through could really help you,”

Taemin sighed. He was right, like usual but still, it was weird, he thought, to just touch a human and see their whole life in seconds like it meant nothing.

Jinki smiled when he saw Taemin had given up. Turning to face Jongin, Taemin brought up his hand and gently placed it on Jongin’s cheek.

Snippets of his life flashed across Taemin’s eyes and he could feel his hurt, his pain and his loneliness. As if Jongin felt like he didn’t matter and was insignificant to the world. He was drowning and Taemin suddenly felt overwhelmed. Yanking his hand away, he gasped for breath. He looked over to Jinki for help.

The other watched with solemn eyes.

“It gets easier but people with a death wish are harder to see” he explained softly. Taemin felt his heart ache when he thought about Jongin’s life; which made him all the more determined to save him, even if it meant saving him from himself.

Taemin finally understood the gravity of Jongin’s situation and knew that Jongin was his own worst tormentor.

•••~|~•••

Jongin woke to shafts of light blinding him. He squinted as he moved out of the light and into the darkness. Bright spots danced across his vision and he closed his eyes tightly.

Groaning, he rolled over and fell into a more relaxed position. He bones popped as he stretched across the dust covered floor. Scratching his head, Jongin lazily looked around and mentally took note to clean out the train car later. The singing boy popped into his mind and he looked around for him. All of which was pretty pointless since the car was square and he could see everything already.

Standing up, he neatly folded all the blankets the singing boy—Taemin, he corrected—brought last night. Jumping out, he landed with a soft thud.

“Oh good, you’re up” A voice called out. Turning around, a smile spread across Jongin’s face as he caught sight of Taemin.

“What do you have there?” Jongin asked, spotting a brown bag hanging off his shoulder.

“I figured if you’re going to sleep here, it may as well be clean”

Agreeing with the older (which he found out last night), Jongin climbed back in.

•••~|~•••

Panting, the two collapsed on the spotless floor. Taemin had fixed the doors so they slide shut with ease now and the space was already heating up. Blankets hung on the steel walls and all in all, it gave the room gave a comfy, homely kind of feel. Jongin already felt more comfortable here than at home.

“Want to get breakfast with me?” Taemin asked, sidling up to Jongin. His eyes slide over to other. A feeling of happiness enveloped him but he still couldn’t shake the feeling he got last night. He may not remember when he fell asleep but he remembers feeling…off. Figuring he’d ask Taemin about it later, he agreed to go.

Walking side by side, Jongin grew shy. Then he grew flabbergasted. Why was he suddenly so shy? Taemin glanced at him them, shooting him a disarming smile. His heart beat quicker.

Because Jongin was slightly behind him, he didn’t notice Taemin smirking. Of course, he could hear Jongin’s heart beating quicker…because of him…The thought made Taemin giddy. Then Jinki’s words from last night came back to him and ruined his mood.

“What you going to do if he finds out you’re not human?” Jinki wondered, watching Taemin. But he had his eyes focused on Jongin.

“Falling for a human doesn’t end well for a shinigami but it’s even worse for them. Are you really going to put him through all that? After everything he’s already been through?” Taemin remained silent.

But Taemin knew that Jongin was already close to figuring out that he wasn’t exactly human. Yet, he didn’t seem afraid or worried, just curious; which gave Taemin hope. But every hour, he was reminded that Jongin is running out of time. Taemin looked back to him, who was busy watching a butterfly land on a patch of flowers. After everything he’s been through, he still had a child-like innocence to him. And Taemin felt the need to protect him and keep him safe.

So before Jongin could react, he grabbed his hand. Smiling, he walked on as if nothing was wrong but he could feel Jongin inwardly panicking and freaking out. He struggled to keep his laughs silent. 

Nothing will happen to Jongin…

A/N

This chapter was more light than I had originally intended but I think it's cute ^^

Tell me what you think so far because I'm sure there is only going to one or two more chapters.