Oh, I almost forgot to say thanks for the ongoing support and friendly comments. You really keep me going! :)

Do you remember SHINee and Yoogeun on a train? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEAw6WpfUoo

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While we are crossing the field slowly I fill the guys in about the truck driver or rather lack thereof and although it’s weird enough we’re glad that we at least don’t need to worry about anybody else for the time being.

“Did anyone get through to the police?” I ask but Jjong didn’t have any luck and Minho’s phone didn’t survive the accident.

I check my own phone and there’s a missed call from a suppressed number. Damn.

“Looks like the kidnappers called”, I say miserably.

“I didn’t get any calls apart from the company”, Jjong tells us.

Kibum checks his phone and turns pale.

“I got a video-message”, he says.

Taemin stops the car and we all huddle together to watch.

The video shows a room different from the one before that looks huge.

“A store house?” Jjong suggests and he’s probably right because there are lots of crates piled up at the back.

In the center of the big space there is a chair and somebody is tied to it. Kibum zooms into the scene and we see that it’s actually Yoogeun. He is gagged too.

“If they’re really sasaeng”, Jjong snarls, “they’ve definitely gone too far this time and they won’t get away with it.”

He is agitated and I will need to have an eye on him, when we’re there. I don’t want him to do anything he’s going to regret later.

The video is only 15 seconds. There is no accompanying message.

“That’s probably the meeting-point”, Minho says darkly.

“Whatever”, Taemin starts the car again, “we really need to get going.”

I have to smile. He has grown so much although a big part of him is still our sweet maknae who has to be looked after by his hyungs. But he can be really strong headed and resolute, too. I need to take him more seriously and start to ask him for advice more often.

It’s freezing cold without the windscreen. We’ve wrapped Minho in the blanket and Jjong and I are shielded from the head wind a little bit by the front seats, but Kibum and Taemin will be frozen stiff by the time we get to Mokpo. We really need to get another vehicle.

We can’t see very far although the headlights still work and Taemin is cruising randomly away from the highway to find some kind of town or village or at least any kind of residential area to get help.

“Look”, Kibum suddenly shouts against the wind and points towards a point in the distance. “I think that’s a railway-crossing.”

He’s right, there is a railway running in between the vast fields, I can see a chain of lights along the tracks and a lit level-crossing bar.

“If we follow the tracks we should get to a village sooner or later”, Jjong says, “Maybe that’s even the line leading down to Mokpo.”

Taemin speeds up a bit towards the tracks. At the level crossing he carefully gets back onto the road that seems slightly less slippery than the highway. There is a sign saying Sanwol-li and just about 50m further down there actually is a small railway-station.

“Lucky!” Taemin says although we can’t be sure that there will be a train to Mokpo anytime soon.

Leaving Jjong and Minho in the car Taemin, Kibum and I move over to the station that is no more than a shelter with a schedule board and a ticket machine.

The schedule has only trains running to Jeonju and back and the map next to it shows that it’s an east-west-connection while we need to go south.

Kibum checks with Korail on his phone.

“Well, this train goes via Iksan where we could catch an express to Mokpo, IF they’re still running in spite of the weather. The internet says they do, but we’ll only be sure when we’re on it.”

“The alternative would be driving on with the crippled Benz until we find another rent-a-car which in this weather doesn’t seem recommendable”, I say.

“But we’ll be losing time if there’s no train in Iksan”, Taemin ponders but Kibum decides:

“We’ll probably lose more time meandering around in search for a new vehicle and even if we get one the highways are in no condition to get us anywhere fast.”

“But what about the car?” I ask

“Hyung, let’s worry about that later. We’ll need to sort out lots of things when this is over but right now we should focus on Yoogeun.” Kibum nudges me and gives me a smile. “Don’t look as if someone killed your hamster”, he says, “we’re invincible as a team.”

That makes me smile, too. Are we?

Taemin gets Jjong and Minho while Kibum and I feed the ticket machine with money we fish out of all available pockets. It’s only enough for four tickets.

“We’ll just pretend that Taemin isn’t 12 yet”, Kibum says and adds, “actually I doubt that there will be an inspection.”

Ten minutes later we’re on the train to Iksan.

Four hours left.