Taemin still couldn’t decide which is better, knowing the exact date of your death or not having a clue at all. Knowing doesn’t make things better if Taemin would be honest with himself. Sometimes he wishes time would just stop right at that moment when everything is perfect and the sky is blue and the world is so pretty because Jiyeon is happy and he could tell that he was part of the reason why.

But Yoogeun showing up every now and then reminds him of the reality he was in. That life wouldn’t always be full of rainbows and blue skies. That at some point all the good things will have to end. And the little boy had been visiting too often for Taemin’s liking, disrupting his peace of mind.

“Yoogeun, it’s not that I hate to see you but don’t you think you’ve been visiting too often? Don’t you have anything else to do?”

Taemin isn’t very happy about the little boy’s visits not only because it’s surprising to have someone pop out of thin air but also because Taemin hates to think what those visits mean. Sometimes the boy scares Taemin so much and he had all these crazy ideas wherein the boy would suddenly transport him back to where he came from- back to that time when Jiyeon dies- or worse take him to a time when he and Jiyeon never met at all.

“Like what?” the boy asked.

“I don’t know. Play with your friends or something.”

Yoogeun scoffed as if the idea was too ridiculous for him. “Ajusshi. I’m not a six year old kid who plays around.”

Taemin was thinking, ‘well you look like one’ but he decided not to voice it out although the look on Yoogeun’s face tells him he must have an idea of what’s going on inside his head.

“I’m a hundred years older than you are ajusshi.” The boy added which made Taemin wonder if the boy could also read minds. “Well even if you don’t want me around, you really have no other choice. This is my job.”

“Following people around is your job?” Taemin wonders if having a job that annoys the hell out of people and doesn’t help anybody would give someone a sense of fulfillment somehow because even if it does he was sure as hell he never wanted to have that kind of job.

“Not just any kind of people.”

“Miserable, frustrated and remorseful kind of people?” Taemin couldn’t think of anything else to describe himself.

“No. Dying people.”

“Oh.”

~-*-~

Knowing that you're going to die soon is more nerve-wrecking if you have no idea how it’s going to happen. Of course being stabbed to death has the highest probability. That was how Jiyeon died after all. But Taemin still cannot rule out the possibility of other means of death. Will it be a car accident? A hit and run? Plane crash? Homicide? Drowning? They say that drowning is the most painful way of dying so Taemin hoped to God it wouldn’t be that. Sleeping it off doesn’t sound so bad. He heard of people dying of heart attack while sleeping. It sounds painless and easy.

But seriously, if Taemin would be given the choice, jumping off a building sounds like a good plan. Once you hit your head you'll be unconscious and you won't feel any pain. If he's going to die then of course he wanted the easiest way. But he wasn’t suicidal or anything so jumping off a 30 storey high building towards his doom doesn’t sound very appealing. So he decided to just wait and leave everything to fate.

Needless to say, he’s worried about Jiyeon and the implications of his death to her life. He had been there so he knew the feeling of living without a purpose, of missing someone so much that it’s too painful. Taemin never wanted Jiyeon to go through all that.

And so Taemin dreaded that day. He promised her he would tell her when its time but Taemin couldn’t bring himself to tell her because he didn’t want to say goodbye.

~-*-~

When Taemin saw Yoogeun again after a few days, he was in the back stage after a performance. He was just preparing to leave while the rest of SHINee and the staff already left for the after party. Taemin decided not to come with them so he could pick Jiyeon up at the café and they could spend the night at home watching movies. His friends understood that he wanted to spend more time with Jiyeon so they let him do as he pleases.

Yoogeun decided it was the right time to visit and Taemin was grateful the boy always chooses the time when he’s alone to show himself. It would have been hard to explain to people why he was talking when there’s no one around.

“Yoogeun, what are you really?” the question had been bothering Taemin more than he’s willing to admit.

“Well, most people call us reapers.” Even though the answer wasn't a surprise to him it still caused a lot of questions to form in his head.

“So you... uhm… take people's souls?” Taemin guessed Yoogeun is an angel or something but it didn't occur to him that he would be an angel of death. But then Yoogeun showing up more often these days explains a lot.

“Yes,” the little boy confirmed. “I also grant dying people's wishes. I visit people when they are about to die, grant their wish and take their souls, in that order.”

Taemin never knew granting wishes is part of a reaper's job description. He wonders if transporting him back in time is also part of Yoogeun’s job. "When you... granted my wish... you know that time at the park. Does that mean you were about to take my soul?"

“It wasn't your wish I was granting,” the boy simply said but Taemin looked at him with confusion so he had to elaborate. "It was Jiyeon's"

It took Taemin a while to process that information. All this time, he thought his wish to see her again came true because he was wishing for it so bad.

“It just so happened that you had the same wish. Yours was to see her again, hers was to relive the past with you.” Yoogeun said. “I was supposed to take her soul afterwards.”

“But you wouldn’t,” Taemin said more like a question than a statement. He needed assurance more so now that he knows the boy is the real deal. That he could magically take someone’s soul in just a snap of a finger. Well, maybe it doesn’t work that way but it’s probably close.

“Yes, I wouldn’t. Because I’m taking yours.”

~-*-~

“Do you really have to follow people around before they die?” Taemin asked the little boy. He didn’t even try to hide the look of irritation on his face for being followed by someone who no one else can see but him.

“We have to know everything about the person. It’s like being given an assignment and we have to prepare a report about it. That way it would be easier to understand the person and his/her wish.”

“How long do you follow people around before you take their souls?”

“A month at most. I don’t usually show myself to people before they die. But you’re a special case and since you’ve already seen me before it wouldn’t really matter.

“Why did you meet me then? At the park? If it wasn't to take my soul?

“I was never the type to follow rules. While I was following Jiyeon around, I was able to meet you for a while. Honestly I hated people like you –the kind of person who would take someone for granted. And when Jiyeon died, I wanted to see how you were coping.  I didn’t expect you to be so broken. You really surprised me. And I was curious. I wanted to know the extent of what people would do for love.”

“So you kept my memories intact while you made everything seem like it’s the first time for Jiyeon?”

“Yes, because Jiyeon didn’t have to be reminded that you were an before.” Taemin couldn’t agree more because he did take her for granted after all.

“Do you like it?” Taemin asked suddenly. The little boy looked at him with a blank expression and Taemin guessed that maybe reading minds isn’t part of a reaper’s special abilities. “Your job, do you like it?” he asked again.

“Taking people's soul is never fun ajusshi.”

Well, that’s just sad because Taemin loves his job, he loves Jiyeon and he loves his life but it’s about to ing end in a few days and he couldn’t ing do anything about it. How ing great is that?

~-*-~

A/N: another short chapter because i need to update so I can get comments so I can get motivated to write the next chapter and hopefully the ending. Yes, this is going to end soon. I really hope you will not be disappointed.

I think this chapter is more informative than entertaining. Hope I didn’t bore you.