Prologue

"My favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time."
Steve Jobs

Ten years ago:

„Naeun-ah, are you crying right now?”, Taemin asked, gently lifting the face of the young girl right in front of him.

“Ani, it’s just that the sun is so bright today. I am very happy that you get the chance to study abroad. It's a great opportunity to finish high school and get a degree over there.” Naeun quickly shook her head to disagree, making her two braided plaits dance around her slim shoulders.

“Son Naeun, why can’t you just admit that you’re going to miss me?” Taemin stayed persistent. “Aren’t I supposed to be your best friend? Isn’t it a little too cruel not to be sad at all?”

Up until now Naeun had never once mentioned being upset about him leaving for the United States although he only had one day left in Korea. It bothered him – a lot.

“Oppa, it doesn’t matter where you are. We will always be friends. It is important for you to study well so you can live a comfortable life in future. How could I ever hold you back from doing that?”

“Yah, you do remember that we promised to be each other's source of strength in future, don’t you? So you gotta work hard in order for us to live comfortably later on, too.” Taemin asked a tad annoyed with her reaction.

Even though Naeun was about a year younger than Taemin she had always been the mature and reasonable one. She never threw tantrums, she never darted for attention and she never tried to receive more than she merited. It surely was one of the reasons why Taemin subconsciously liked her right from the start. However, Naeun never dared to get her hopes up. She was too used to feeling inferior to everyone around herself. At times her behaviour also made him really sad, because he realized how much of a normal childhood she had missed out on already and still would in future.

Naeun grew up in an orphanage from a very young age and because of that mere fact many people around them would consider their friendship to be inappropriate. Compared to her he was really lucky. When his single mom died of cancer during his primary school days, he was sent to the same institution as her. However, after three years Mr. Kim found him and told him he was his godfather all along but hadn't been able to locate him earlier. He wanted to give Taemin a new home by having him live with his family from now on. Due to Mr. Kim's high position within the South Korean society (he was the owner of various businesses and the head of a chaebol family) no one ever dared to bring up Taemin's past in front of him. It was almost like people had already forgotten about it. People strongly believed that Taemin and Naeun came from completely different worlds.  

Taemin found it scary how money and a position could change lives. He was glad about the opportunities he had now. However, being viewed as someone worthier than Naeun made him highly uncomfortable. Hence he vowed to come back to Naeun as a successful person, someone who could protect her from the cruel side of society. 

“Oppa, why are you being like this? It’s great that you and your new brothers are all aiming to be in the family business. You’ll be able to work together and see each other often. A family is the most precious treasure in the world. Don’t ever take it for granted. This is your chance to become the best Lee Taemin that you can be. Just promise to come back for my twentyfirst's birthday, like you said before. That will make me very happy.” Naeun declared, trying hard to sound calm and collected. She put on her best smile, covering up the pain she already felt in her heart even though Taemin hadn’t even departed yet.

With a quick side glance at his watch Taemin sighed deeply. It was almost time for him to go back. He was only able to personally meet Naeun every now and then since leaving the orphanage a few years ago. It used to be okay though as they had other ways to stay in contact. However, with him leaving for the States things were more complicated now.

Naeun realised that their time was almost up, taking a deep breath.

“Naeun-ah-“

“Oppa-“

The both of them started at the same time...

“You go first.” Taemin ended up saying, being the gentlemen he occasionally was.

“Umn… I just wanted to thank Oppa for being such a good friend to me and for treating me so well all this time. You know I cannot buy you something expensive like your other friends. But still, I wanted to give you a goodbye gift before you go.” Naeun said softly. He could tell that she felt a little embarrassed by the way she tried to avoid his gaze. She shyly handed him a paper bag, trying not to look too keen on his reaction.

Inside the bag was a knitted scarf with the artistically entwined letters “LT” and "SN" on each end. It looked very well made and he wondered where she managed to buy something like that with the little money she had for her own.

Beside the scarf he also found an envelope, For Lee Taemin neatly written onto it.

“Please wait with opening it until you leave Korea”, Naeun said, slightly blushing. “I hope you like the scarf. I made it myself.”

It didn’t take Taemin long to realize why her delicate fingers had been wrapped in plasters these past few weeks. She must have worked really hard on learning how to knit properly. How could he ever believe that her injuries came from all the gardening in the orphanage? She had never appeared so clumsy ever before and he still didn’t put one and two together.

Lee Taemin, you’re such a fool. He thought to himself. He couldn’t help but feel extremely touched.

“You made a scarf for me?” He repeated the obvious, more to win time.

“Yes… I heard it is also very cold in New York during the winter and I don’t want you to get sick. I thought, if I put in our initials you will always remember your best friend who will be waiting for you at the Han River on her 21st birthday. However, since we’ll be apart for a long time and we will probably look very different when we see each other next I wanted to give you something to wear so I could instantly recognise you.” She explained with a slight smile.

Taemin felt his heart beat faster and ache at the same time. Although it wasn’t the most expensive gift he had ever gotten, to him it was still the most heartfelt and precious one.

“Naeun-ah… Thank you so much. I will surely treasure this scarf until we meet again.” He let her know while at the same time trying to control his emotions.

“You know… I thought about what kind of goodbye present I should get you for a long time, too… At first I wanted to buy you a plane ticket although I know very well that you cannot simply leave Korea without the authority’s consent or the agreement of your future adoptive family. But to be honest, the thing I hate the most about leaving Korea is that we won’t be able to spend time together for a very long time. So the more I thought about it the more I figured that the time we spent together was most precious to me.” Taemin told Naeun, who was looking at him as if she knew all too well what he meant by those words.

“When my mom died and I ended up at the orphanage all of a sudden, I thought my life would be over. I was so upset and depressed. I lashed out at everyone and did not want to receive any help or comfort. However, even when I was at my lowest, you always remained gentle and patient. Despite your own hardships you took the time to take care of me and just be by my side until I was ready to open up again. You are the reason why I started to appreciate life again and I will never forget that. Since then we experienced so much and I am so grateful for all the time we were able to spend together." He continued.

"I don't think I would have made it without you back then and I will never take that for granted. Luckily timing brought us together in the past. I want to believe that in future the right timing will be on our side once more. That is my wish.” Taemin explained while slowly pulling a small gift box out of his coat pocket and placing it within Naeun’s hands.

She subconsciously held her breath as she carefully opened the box. Inside was a beautiful, antique looking pocket watch together with a matching necklace.

“The clock is set after New York, I mean my time… Whenever you miss me, look at this watch. I promise you that when the clock hands are set between 8 pm and 9 pm I will think of you, the girl I met amongst all those people in Seoul; the girl who saved my life once and who was fated to become my special friend.”

Naeun felt tears burning in her eyes as she listened to his explanation of the meaning of the clock. It was the most perfect gift she could have ever imagined.

“Thank you” She said, almost choking on her breath.

“Turn it around” Taemin whispered.

On the back side of her clock were his initials – LT – engraved.

“I have one too. It has your initials and is set after your time zone here.” Taemin let her know while slowly pulling out his own clock from under his jumper. "With this I will never be able to forget you and our promise to meet again.” He ensured her once more.

Naeun only nodded, unable to say a word, fearing that she wouldn’t be able to hold back her tears for much longer.

Taemin carefully took the delicate necklace and put it around her neck.

“The clock really suits you, I chose well.” He said with confidence.

How much Naeun would miss hearing his voice, she thought.

“Gomawo, Oppa - for everything. I’ll never forget any of it.” She said, taking a step closer to him as she followed her impulse to hug him before he would eventually leave her behind.

Taemin guessed her reaction right and quickly took his chance to pull her towards himself, wrapping his arms tightly around her slender figure.

“Wait for me here on your 21st birthday around 8 pm. I will definitely come to pick you up on time.” Taemin said, his voice now thick with emotion. He inhaled her familiar sweet scent once more before finally letting go of Naeun.

“Goodbye.” He whispered.

Naeun only nodded, tears b in her eyes.

“Wait for me” Taemin told her once more before eventually turning around, leaving her behind at their usual spot right next to the Han River.

He didn’t notice anymore how Naeun’s strength finally left her body once he was out of sight, leading her to collapse to the ground while sobbing heartbreakingly. If he did their story might have been another one, because – stubborn as he was – Lee Taemin would have never left Son Naeun behind if she had just asked him to stay once. This was an unspoken matter of course.

Five years ago:

Lee Taemin was living a decent life. He had finished High School with flying colours and had since moved on to become one of the top students at the prestigious university he was now studying at. His graduation wasn’t that far away anymore and the thought of seeing Naeun again after just a few more months gave him the necessary extra motivation to complete his degree.

Things would have been even better if his older brother, Kibum hadn’t suddenly left the Kim family a little over a year ago. Taemin to a certain extend understood that Kibum didn’t want to become his father’s pawn - that he simply wanted to t