“Excuse me, is this seat taken?” asked a little girl. She stared at the older man sitting in the seat in front of her. “Mister?” she asked as she prodded him with her mitten clad hand. The man stirred and glared at her. “Is this seat taken?” she asked again, motioning towards the window seat.

The man grunted and pulled his cap lower onto his face and moved his legs aside for the young girl. Quietly, she thanked him and climbed into the seat.

The train slowly pulled out of the station and made its way towards its destination. The man glanced at the little girl who had found an interest with the scenery around her. She was bundled up warmly in a white coat with a matching scarf and hat. She wore white stockings and white boots. There wasn’t a scuff or a mark on any of her clothes, unusual for a small child like her. The whiteness of her clothes caused her pale skin to glow, drawing attention to her small pink lips and big brown eyes. Her face was framed with long dark waves.

“Aren’t you a little young to be traveling alone?” he asked. The little girl looked at him and smiled.

“My mom’s sending me to my granny’s. She’s too busy to go with me. What about you? Why are you travelling alone?” she asked innocently. Curiosity shimmered in her eyes as she stared at him expectantly.

“I…no one wanted to go with me. I’m visiting an old friend of mine.” replied the man. A wave of sadness overcame him as he spoke.

“My name is Joorin.” she said brightly.

“Taemin.” replied the man shortly.

“It’s very nice to meet you mister! How far away is your friend?”

Taemin stared at the girl. There was no way that she didn’t recognize him. Taemin - the maknae of SHINee. It was unheard of to be unknown. “Mister? I’m not that old.”

“But you’re old to me.”

He heard a small giggle escape her small lips. “I’m going to Busan. You?”

“Same. My granny lives there. Mister, we should go together! My granny is always excited to meet new people. She’ll be really happy to see you.”

Taemin chuckled at her innocence. “You can just call me oppa. I’m too young to be called mister.”

Horror took the place of the lightness he felt when he looked ahead. The train screeched to a halt. However, the momentum of the following cars caused everyone to be thrown forward. Upon instinct, Taemin hugged Joorin close to his body to protect her small frame. They were thrown about as the train twisted off the rails.

“Are you okay?” he asked her. He winced in pain as he found that she had fallen out of his arms. “Joorin! Can you hear me?”

Screams filled his ears while he searched for any sign of her. It was pitch black and Taemin could sense the feeling of death from everywhere around him. Panic coursed through his body as he tried to move around the contorted metal. Another round of screams could be heard as the tunnel collapsed around them.

A sharp pain shot through his leg as he tried to shift his weight to search for Joorin. He glanced down and saw that a piece of the train had fallen onto his ankle.

“Joorin!” he called out frantically. The weight on his ankle had become unbearable as he tried to free himself.

A faint coughing could be heard from the wall of metal between Taemin and Joorin, followed by scuffling.

“Oppa?” cried out Joorin.

“Joorin! Are you okay?”

Taemin gasped as he watched Joorin crawl through the small hole in the barrier. There wasn’t a scratch on her. A faint glow could be seen around her as she crawled closer to Taemin.

“Oppa, you’re bleeding.” she whispered as her hand reached out to touch his arm. “You have to visit your friend don’t you? Stay awake.”

His vision started to blur as he felt the effects of his blood loss. “Oppa,” he could hear her voice calling out to him. Her small hand warmed his skin as he tried to keep his eyes open.

“Oppa. Oppa! Oppa… Taemin-ah. Yah! Taemin!”

The shift in her voice brought him back from the grasping hand of death. “What…did you call me?” he asked. Taemin squinted at the glowing white figure that was holding his head in its lap. The young girl had transformed into a beautiful young woman.

“Noona…?” he asked hoarsely.

The young woman smiled at him. “It’s not your time yet, Taeminnie. You still have a long ways to go.”

A bright light shone in his eyes as the rescue workers pulled his body from the wreckage. He heard them calling over to each other before everything faded to black.

“Do you think he’s okay?” whispered Jonghyun.

“Of course he’s okay! Don’t be ridiculous!” Key whispered back, giving his friend a whack in the head.

Taemin groaned and scrunched his eyes to hide the sunlight that poured through the hospital window. “I can hear you guys you know. I’m not dead.” he mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

“Yah, Taemin,” said Minho. “Where did that necklace come from?” he asked, pointing at the chain around his neck.

Taemin looked down and saw a simple silver band hanging on a chain around his neck accompanied by a small silver cross. He examined it carefully in his hands. A small heart engraving caught his eye. He felt a warm feeling wash over him as he smiled faintly.

“Taemin, you have no idea how lucky you are. Your ankle is fine and you recovered quickly. It’s a miracle!” exclaimed Onew.

“It was her wasn’t it?” asked Minho quietly.

Taemin gave a nod and squeezed the necklace in his hand.

----------------------------

How was it? I started this while I was at my grandma's place. The news was on and there was a really bad bus crash in the headlines. I thought it'd be a nice break from the dramatic romance plot for once. Anyways, I'll head back to my main story soon. I just need some rest. 2 days straight on the road is very tiring.

~Emylie <3