Taemin paced about at the side of the pools. He felt vulnerable. He was on his own, in a memory, collecting a Whisper. “Hurry up!” he muttered with impatience.

They had left Onew and the others and was using his pocket watch as a guide to the nearest newly formed soul. Taemin opted to work outside of the hospital, but near enough to remain shielded from the Kuro-yurei. He was uncertain to what happened when a Whisper was folded, but he knew it was prudent not to draw attention to themselves. And so it was out in an alleyway where Taemin emerged from the memory with the crystallised Whisper in his hand.

Yuki was subdued since his meeting with GD. It seemed as if Time had invaded his mind with a countdown to Hiro's death; and with the idea that 1000 folded cranes was the only way to save him. So it was without hesitation that he took the Whisper into his own hands. He had thought it was solid like a diamond – it certainly glowed and sparkled like one. But it was malleable and warm like kneaded dough.

“Do you know how to fold the origami?” Taemin asked him.

Yuki nodded, “My own Papa had shown me how, a long time ago.” He could feel the earnest desire of the Whisper to be spoken as he held it in his palm. And so he quietly asked it for forgiveness and flattened it into a sheet.  

Taemin watched him steadily fold the corners over. He still had misgivings about the quest, but Fate had directed him here and there was nothing he could do to change it. The wings of the Whisper were pulled out and the folded bird flashed brightly, momentarily blinding Yuki and Taemin. When they could see again, an animated crystal bird was hovering in front of them. It cried out, the words of the Whisper audible behind its pitiful scream. The bird then dived and gashed a mark onto Yuki’s arm - the number ‘one’. It then dissipated into a shower of golden energy.

Yuki dropped onto his knees with a cry of pain. The mark of the Whisper felt like hot needles pricking into his skin and travelled through his blood. He could feel something change inside him. Taemin lifted him off the ground and they moved along. Time on his pocket watch had shifted. They needed to collect more before they were done.

Taemin paced about the side of the pool, tapping his foot with impatience. He watched the coach walk up to his swimmer, sitting on the bench at the edge of the pool. The crowds were waving their flags and cheering. Taemin was in his memory to collect his Whisper.

“You’ll do well. I know it,” he encouraged her. She could only nod in response. He could see that her nerves were getting the better of her and that she was close to having a panic attack. She needed to slow her heart rate down; otherwise it would affect her performance. He opened his mouth to tell her that everything would work out – she had trained for this moment. However, the megaphone boomed for the start. Staff rushed about and the other swimmers moved towards their platforms. He patted her back one last time and she walked over to the starting board. He stood and watched her take her position and waited for the buzzer with her.

Flying off the board and diving into the water was the best feeling ever and he flew with her. It was as if he was swimming with her, matching with hers. Together, they turned at the end and powered ahead and into the lead. But it was not enough and Lady Luck was not on her side like everyone had told them. He watched her slam her wrist into the wall and signal her finish. She rose to the surface, gasping for air, and looked at the screen through watery eyes. Silver, again.

From the sidelines he applauded with the rest as she shook hands with the elderly gentleman and cradled the blood red roses. He could see the hot tears prickle her eyes and they mentally counted the times she had been so close to winning. Silver was all she ever knew. He went to her when the medal ceremony ended and gave her a hug of comfort.

Time froze the scene and Taemin quickly made his way to the pair. “What are your last words?” Taemin spoke the ritual words.

“You will get your gold one day.” the coach whispered into the swimmer's ear.

Taemin came out with the Whisper in his hand and heard Yuki’s shout of warning. They felt the empty coldness that followed the Kuro-yurei. Taemin cursed and threw the Whisper to Yuki, who immediately began working it into a crane. He then positioned himself between him and the approaching wraiths and focused his energies to transform his umbrella into a sword.

They were now far away from the hospital. Taemin had overheard passing death gods complain of the increased number of lost souls and Failed Whispers. He took it as a sign that they needed to begin collecting away from the major centres or risk being found out. They had been lucky for a while; this was their first encounter with a hungry supernatural monster.

The Kuro-yurei charged against Taemin and he cut through them as quickly as he could. However, fighting off the Kuro-yurei had always been a job for five, and Taemin was slowly overwhelmed. In the corner of his eye he saw the flash of the transformed crane and heard Yuki’s grunt of pain. Then a dagger flew past Taemin and landed into a wraith’s chest. Startled, Taemin turned around and saw Yuki painfully form another small dagger in his hands. “Impossible,” Taemin whispered in disbelief. He felt a cold claw graze at his jacket and turned back to dispose the offending Kuro-yurei. Taemin realised that now was not the time to wonder at how the mortal was fighting with supernatural magic. Another dagger flew by and destroyed another wraith.

There seemed to be no end to their fight and Taemin felt the change of Time on his pocket watch. They needed to escape. This was not a fight just the two of them could win. The sound of a horn was heard in the distance and Taemin's face lit up with an eager smile – that was their way out! What was it that Key had said before? Hijack a bus.

He grabbed a hold onto Yuki and told him to stay close. With a bout of fresh adrenaline, Taemin cut a path through the Kuro-yurei and they sprinted to stumble in front of the oncoming bus. The bus squealed to a sudden stop and narrowly missed them. Taemin quickly moved to the side and forced the doors open onto an alarmed bus driver and conductor. He tipped forward his top hat in greeting and pulled the winded Yuki up the steps.

“I suggest, good sirs, that we get a move on?” Taemin told them. “We don’t want them to ride with us too, do we?” And he pointed to the frenzied Kuro-yurei. The doors were hastily closed and the bus jumped back onto Heavens Road. The bus conductor did not look too pleased with the whole affair but he did not want to fight monsters if they could run away.

Taemin dropped himself next to Yuki and released a long, tired sigh. “Well, that was exciting, right?” he said to no one in particular. Yuki had stayed silent and he peered about and saw that they were the only passengers. “Ah!” he sheepishly amended to himself and settled down for the ride. His eyes fell onto Yuki’s finger, tracing along the number ‘302’ etched on his arm.

A/N: Once again I want to give credit to samiunni for co-writing this chapter with me. And check out her stories for some EXO love! <3