Minho blinked several times before he could finally open his eyes. He could hear his own breath quickly escaping with a gasp. His throat felt dry and inside him, he felt everything pushing down his body, as if an invisible force wanted to keep him on the ground.

He recognized what he was looking at, but it made no sense. Above him there was a bright blue sky, a few clouds went their way. But the Never Realm was beyond the sky, so why could he see it?

He couldn't think about it for long, his back hurt like hell and his head was throbbing. He could only sit up with a croak. He tried to his back as best he could. But after only one touch, he immediately placed his other hand on his back. Hastily he felt his back. He wanted to flap his wings, he wanted to see his feathers, but nothing. They were no longer there.

"! ! !"

His head snapped to the right and left. He was in an alley. But there were no alleys in the Never Realm, there weren't even dark places, and most importantly, there were no trash cans.

"Death be damned!" he screamed.

Minho staggered backwards and leaned against a stone wall. He breathed in and out quickly. With trembling fingers he clutched his neck. He was breathing. Why could he breathe? He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. Then, slowly and gradually losing his mind, he grabbed his chest.

Baboom. Baboom.

A heart, his heart was beating.

"You've got to be kidding me." Minho grinned at his own words. Death had to be playing a joke on him. It couldn't be. But what else could it be? Minho laughed. "This is how you're going to show me that life is precious? By putting me through all this again?" he shouted to the sky and clenched his fist in its direction. The whole situation was too absurd. He laughed out loud. His laughter echoed in the stone, painful and hopeless.

A mother held her child's hand tighter as they walked past the alley. "You see, my darling, you must pay close attention at school, or you will turn out like this." The child looked fearfully at Minho and nodded eagerly.

Minho brushed his hair back, straightened his tie and walked out of the alley. No matter what year, what country he was in, wearing a black suit he shouldn't stand out immediately anywhere. Minho had been leading souls to the Never Realm for over 200 human years. In the beginning, he had still watched the lives with his over-crossers with them. This way, the soul could not only see and feel all its most beautiful experiences again, Minho was allowed to witness the most diverse historical epochs, get to know foreign countries, and learn about old and new cultures.

The cars and the advertisements in the city showed him that he should definitely be somewhere after the 2000s. He walked past an electronics shop. A wide, flat television was showing a program.

June 18th 2022, 09:43am he read in the top left-hand corner. His gaze slid higher and his rage thus to immeasurable. Minho saw himself in the reflection of the shop window. He ran left and right, but the numbers running down were clearly above him, showing nothing good. It was his remaining time.

29 days, 23 hours, 43 minutes and 12 seconds he read in the reflection.

"That bastard!" he growled. 

"Psst! Psst! Hey!" came softly from somewhere. Minho looked around but saw no one talking to him. The people around him paid no attention to him. They quickly went their way or looked at their devices.

"Down here Minho, it's me."

Minho's gaze slid down. A small white cat with grey spots sat at his feet and beckoned up to him.

"Jong...Jonghyun?" Minho picked up the little ball of fur and was rewarded with a nod. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, now that you're going to be a lost soul in less than a month, I was wondering if you could use the time to write those reports you owe me." With his big cat eyes, he looked up sweetly at Minho.

"I wonder if cats go to the Never Realm or straight to hell when they die!" asked Minho with a frustrated grin.

"Just kidding!" Jonghyun quickly clarified. "Grim Reaper said I should help you. You haven't been human for a long time and could use my assistance."

"It may have been a while, but I can handle it. Please tell Death to go himself."

"Well, you say it so easily, but in no century and no country is it normal for people to talk to cats."

Minho looked around. Now people were paying attention to him. The pedestrians perceived Jonghyun's words as sweet meows, only Minho could hear what the cat was saying. They were whispering and some even had their mobile phones out. Minho stomped towards a young lady who had her mobile phone out, "Yes, record it. It's important for the police to know the reason for your hospitalization!" The young lady winced, people were outraged.

"Oh man, you really got up on the wrong wing in the human world." Said Jonghyun. Minho pressed his lips together. Quickly he walked on. Of course, that was only to be expected. He was human again for less than 20 minutes and already he was the freak. He stopped at a park bench. He sat down and placed Jonghyun next to him.

"How do I get back to the Never Realm?"

"Well, do what Grim Reaper said. Understand the value of life." Explained the cat and lay down on his back. "Come my belly." Said Jonghyun.

"Jonghyun!" Minho's voice was a little too loud. When some people looked at him again, he patted Jonghyun and gave a pretend smile to the people.

"You're about to rip my skin off." Said the little cat in agony.

"How do I get back?"

"Told you."

"Okay, what's the value of life?"

The cat shrugged its shoulders.

"You're not much help." Sighed Minho.

"Kkoong? Lee Kkoong?"

A young man was heard shouting from a distance. Minho's ears perked up. Goose bumps spread over his skin. Minho looked in the direction the calls were coming from. He had to swallow. It couldn't be.

"Kkoong!" a young man about Minho's age came running towards him. "My girl, I've been looking everywhere for you." With a gentle smile, he picked up the cat. Jonghyun was clearly enjoying the man's petting.

"Thank you for looking after my cat. She usually doesn't run away."

But Minho couldn't say anything. He remained standing in his position, looking wide-eyed at the slightly shorter man in front of him. He could not believe it. Was Death really trying to play a dark joke on him? Had Death known where he was all along? Or was Minho just mistaking him?

"Shh." Whispered Jonghyun. "People usually talk to other people."

But Minho knew it wasn't a mistake. He would recognize that smile in a million. That black hair waving lightly in the wind. Those bright brown eyes adorned with long, thick black lashes. And he still had that little birthmark above his left nostril, too.

"T...Taemin..."

Jonghyun's eyes snapped open. He looked from Minho to the man holding him. His mouth was open. "This is him?" he mouthed to Minho, but the latter did not dignify him with another glance.

The man in front of him looked at Minho with branching eyebrows. "Excuse me, have we met before?"

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