Sungjong stared at the rich red velvet color of the train’s carpet and smiled. Everything was clean and organized—perfect for the days travel.

He reached into his small satchel and pulled out a passenger books. He quickly opened it and stopped at today’s lists of passengers.

“Hmm…three people on board today,” He mused. “That’s a lot!” He chuckled lightly as he shoved the passenger’s books back into his small satchel.

Sungjong turned his attention towards the passing scenery in front of him and frowned. The scenery slowly ebbed away as buildings and old churches started to replace it. “Oh, we’re going to there are we?” He said as he shrugged and waited for the train to make a full stop at the station.

With the station coming into view, Sungjong placed on his best smile and stood near the entrance of the train. “Never the exit, nope.” He reminded himself as the train slowed down into a crawl. When the train stopped the engine whined, the whistle blew, and he could slightly feel the rumble of the engine through his feet. Sungjong smiled brightly as the front doors of the train opened. He saw a tall young male standing in front of him with a solemn look. He’s coat was soaked and he was shivering.

“Oh dear,” Sungjong frowned. “Come on in, its warm here on The Train,” Sungjong encouraged as the tall male nodded and took a step forward. The moment his shoe passed through the threshold of the door, he could feel a heat so bright and so warm that from the tips of his toes to the tops of his head, he felt like he was being laid out in the sun but gently swayed by the wind.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Sungjong commented as the tall male couldn’t help but nod. “What’s your name?”

The tall male looked down to his shoes and bit his lip shyly. “L-Lee Sungyeol.”

“Right on time,” Sungjong noted as he took out his passengers book and smiled. “Sit down Lee Sungyeol.” He gestured towards the multiple of seats on the train—all empty. Sungyeol frowned but didn’t voice out his concern and took a seat.

“Where are we going?”

Sungjong hummed and stared at Sungyeol. “I don’t know, I’m just a conductor. The Train takes you where you need to go,”

Sungyeol furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Don’t you mean the driver?”

“No Sungyeol,” Sungjong smiled knowingly. “Well it’s going to be long ride…so why don’t you tell me your story?”

Sungyeol stared at Sungjong and furrowed his eyebrows. His eyes were big and bright but it was dulled down by the dark blue uniform he wore. His skin was as pale as snow but even that couldn’t even compare to the stark black of his hair. It was black true but it almost seemed to vibrate as if it were alive.

“D-Do I have to?” Sungyeol asked shyly and Sungjong shook his head.

“You don’t have to, but it’s going to be a long way until we reach your destination so…” Sungjong kept the sentence hanging so Sungyeol could fill in the blanks himself. Sungyeol bit his lip but something in him wanted to tell his story, something was tempting him to tell it.

“Okay,” Sungyeol nodded as he stared into Sungjong’s big black eyes. “But it’s going to take a while.”

“Take your time,” Sungjong encouraged as he turned to look at the doorway leading to the control panels of the train and smiled.

“The Train waits for everyone.”