This story starts just like any story at the beginning. The beginning of this story is in a car that was driving you and your twin brother to your home. It had been a long time since you had last seen him because his schedules kept him busy but before his comeback he finally was able to get some time off. You had missed him.

"Ah, finally some time to spend with my ridiculously famous oppa." You smiled as you took Taemin’s hand in your own. The grin on his face that greeted you asked a silent question you knew he wouldn’t want to voice out loud.

"Did you think I forgot you?" At his half mocking question you didn’t even flinch. Of course you didn’t. Though he was a famous star now Taemin had always clung to you as a kid and right the moment he saw you this morning it was obvious that he hadn’t changed at all in that manner.

"How can you? We’ve been apart for half a year but we spend more than fifteen years together, of which eight and a half months in mother’s belly." Came your joking reply. Taemin patted your head playfully.

"Ah, my little sister.."

"Only by ten minutes!"

"Twelve minutes and 37 seconds to be precise." A laugh of Taemin’s filled the car and you couldn’t help but smile as you observed him for a while. His laugh was something you hardly heard since he was busy so often. It was very like him to know such a thing, you noted.

"Why do you know that stupid?" You poked his cheek reproachfully. It didn’t matter how you said it, Taemin knew you didn’t mean it that way. He didn’t seem the slightest bit put off by it.

"We can try to pull a trick on mother now." He said with a longing expression on his face. Sometimes you wondered if he had taken the idea of being the darker twin too seriously since he used to be full of the idea that one twin was good and the other was bad. This wasn’t one of those moments. Both of you liked to play pranks on people at times. There was one problem for that though.

"Ah, but oppa we’re not that alike..-" You started your protest. Taemin was very quick to cut you off as well as send you a more sincere reproachful look than you had given him. Part of his obsession with your twin thing was his desire for the two of you to be alike. It wasn’t that healthy but you usually let him have what he wanted because it was easier that way.

"Only because you insist to grow your hair that long." While he said that his fingers tugged on your hair. You winced slightly and swatted his hand away. He still only smiled while taking your hand in his. As his eyes bore into yours you knew there was nothing you needed to say to him. He knew you better than most people did. The part that followed after that was a part you would always have trouble remembering. The car hit the brakes suddenly and you remembered being tugged out of your seat. And there was that one memory that didn’t stop haunting you until weeks later. Taemin’s arms wrapping around you and pulling you to his chest just before it all stopped.

The next thing you remembered was waking up in a hospital. A monitor was the first thing to grab your attention since it emitted a beeping sound. The display on it seemed like a fairly normal heartbeat and you remembered being confused as to why it was there. A smell of hospital forced itself onto your senses.

"Ah, miss Han. I see you woke up?" The suddenly question dragged your mind away from the past events as you looked up to notice a doctor. Your mind was slow but you processed what had happened had been an accident and that you had been lucky. Then your thoughts moved faster than they ever had to Taemin. He wasn’t with you.

"Where’s my brother?" The doctor didn’t answer you first but did a few mandatory checkups. It made you feel sick because it felt like he was holding something back.

"He’s in a more serious condition than you, I’m afraid. But he is awake." He finally told you. Your mind that had been working in overdrive suddenly shut down.

"Just let me see him." You told the doctor as soon as you had found your ability to speak again. As you slid out of the bed, you noticed a white dress on your body. It reeked of hospital which explained the scent that had been bothering you. You followed the doctor, barely realizing that your feet were getting cold on the floor. At the room where you stopped you saw your mother. You knew Taemin was inside before the doctor had confirmed it.

"He’s here." You nodded at the words and pushed the door open. There you saw your father, speaking to Taemin in a manner that made you feel like he was trying to calm him down. The situation felt uneasy to you since you hadn’t seen him in a while.

"Hi dad." You whispered. In an instant he turned and you noticed his eyes were swollen and red. Taemin was in worse condition than the doctor had been willing to tell you because your father wasn’t a man of emotions, something neither you nor Taemin had inherited from him.

"Hyun Ae.” Your name was a whisper on his lips before he ran up to you and pulled you in the tightest hug you had ever experienced from him. He was frightened. Frightened from the experience of almost losing both his son and his daughter.

"I’m sorry Hyun Ae. I’m sorry I never called you all this time.." When he let up and you saw the hurt look on his face close-up. Maybe he had been feeling a lot of this kind of feelings for a long time but he just hadn’t wanted to show them.

"It’s alright appa." It was the only thing you could say to him right now. As heartless as it might sound, he wasn’t important right now. You turned to Taemin who had noticed you and was attempting to reach for you.

"Hey there dongsaeng." He chuckled and then started to cough. Taemin. Always trying his hardest to make sure you didn’t worry about him, even if he was hurting.

"Oppa!" You could tell clearly from his face that he was in pain. Anyone could tell.

"Come a little closer silly." He didn’t even need to say that and you wished he had saved his breath. Within a second you were by his side, only afterwards realizing that your body was sore. Taemin reached out and placed his hand on your cheek. The face that was admired by so many was a strong one. Despite the pain he was in there was a smile on his face.

"What’s up oppa.." You whispered, trying to smile. Something was bothering him. Something other than the pain he was in was cornering him and Taemin hated being cornered.

"Five of my ribs were crushed. They’re going to do surgery on me. I won’t be able to go back to work." Work. You wanted to laugh at that but his genuine concern stopped you. Why was he so bothered by his work?

"You just survived a car accident and you’re worried about things like that." You gave voice to your thoughts. Taemin shook his head lightly and you cringed at the pain you saw him go through. In desperation you wanted to scream at him to stop working but you knew that it meant too much to him.

"Things are serious Ai. I need to do some shows for publicity. I’ve been preparing away for so long and I promised my fans I would be back this month."

"Idiot! You can’t!" Tears passed the border you had tried to give them. Gently Taemin’s fingers brushed over your cheek to wipe them away. Instantly you felt guilty. Here he was, waiting for surgery and you were complaining about his habits.

"I know.." He sighed.

"I could do it for you." You were dead serious about that though he seemed to take it as a joke at first. The grin it had caused on his face faded slightly and his hand dropped to the bed.

"Ai.." There was a conflict in him. Taemin wanted to protect you which would be the opposite of letting you take his place, but he wanted to get back to his work too. Before he could come to his senses you repeated yourself.

"I’ll do it oppa. You just rest.” Maybe he wanted to protest but he just didn’t have the strength to. A few seconds later he sighed and turned his head to look out the window and you knew you would get what you wanted. It scared you to get what you wanted.

It was still a shock looking in the mirror but you still looked at your reflection with interested. It was obvious that it was you in there to you and Taemin but no one else could tell the difference. Your dark hair that used to be longer had been cut to barely reach over your ears in uneven peaks just like Taemin’s and had the same highlights on the bottom inch. The clothes that Taemin’s assistants had given you finished the look perfectly.

“Ai.. You look too scared to be me.” With some effort you tore your eyes off your mirror image to look at your life sized double. Taemin seemed to be feeling a lot better but it might just be the two of you looking alike again. Though you were nervous about what you were about to do you still smiled at him, reconsidered and glanced at the mirror shortly. Then you smirked.

“How’s this?” You asked in your best imitation of his voice. Perfect.

“Absolutely perfect. Ai, are you sure you want to do this..?” The doubt was back in his voice. Given another chance to improve your acting you walked towards his bed with the same stroll you had seen him do often on tv.

“There is nothing you can say or do that will change my mind. Is there anything besides the stardom that I have to know about you?" It wasn’t as if Taemin had ever actively tried to keep something secret from you but during all the time you didn’t see him you knew there were bound to be things you didn’t know about that were important to him.

"What sort of things do you mean?” It was like him to be oblivious about them, too.

"Friends? I can’t..- You have to tell them!" For a second you felt all the courage you had melt away like snow on a warm afternoon. Taemin was the one to give it back to you with a shout.

"No! If I tell more people, it’ll leak out. If it leaks out we’ll both be in a lot of trouble!" After his outburst his expression suddenly changed to a smile as he nudged you lightly, “and you can use the experience for our joined tour after this is all over..”

"Taemin!” Your cheeks flushed and you dropped your forehead on his shoulder lightly, trying to soak in the last bit of his presence as if it would make you stronger. It was your fierce believe that it did actually make you stronger.

"I wish you didn’t have stage fright. Be confident Ai. You know me better than anyone else. I believe in you.” No matter what his image was, Taemin was a warm person. After you had leaned on him a few more seconds you knew it was time to go.

"Don’t worry about me oppa. Just rest and focus on getting better. I will do the rest.” After those words you gave him a soft hug and walked out of the room without looking back. It was too late for second thoughts. Now it was your turn to be strong so he wouldn’t have to.

"So, do you like your new hair?" The stylist who was driving with you to keep a watchful eye on you asked. The hospital had given you the green light but said to be cautious.

"It’s a bit.." You touched your hair which felt spiky and hard to find an answer, "different." Different is good, you told yourself. Ai, the girl who had grown up watching her twin brother, wouldn’t be strong enough to pull off what you were about to do.

"I’m ready, let’s go." You said after taking a deep breath and preparing yourself to become Taemin. ‘I can do this.’ You convinced yourself as you straightened your back with a little pain that was still in your shoulders.

"Can you drive?" Your shoulders deflated at the question.

"Huh? My brother can drive?!" Details like this that he forgot to mention to you. It probably wasn’t as big a deal to him but you wished you were back in his room at the hospital so you could scold him about this.

"He passed his test two months ago. I take it you can’t drive?"

"No?"

"You’ll have to learn it." Not for the first and not for the last time a grumpy expression formed on your face. You growled inwardly and glanced at your feet while counting to ten. He wore heavy shoes that resembled army boots the most so now you did too.

It was for the best that you didn’t know how to drive because your mind was filled with other possible things Taemin had hidden from you. Just like it always does when you’re going to do something you are nervous about, time was flying and there you were at Taemin’s house. That place would be your home for a while. It felt awkward. Though Taemin had sent you pictures it wasn’t the same; you’d never been there and Taemin wasn’t there to comfort you. In an attempt to get past that you decided to give him a call