Thanks again for reading and friendly commenting! I think I have a good idea now of where I'm getting at. Hopefully I'll pull through with it.

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvuTsmCmNq4

I just love Taem's reaction here. ^^

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It’s only a 20min ride to Iksan and the train is almost empty except for an old man dozing in the back.

I wonder if I’ve ever been to Iksan before but I can’t remember. We’ve been travelling so much in the past seven years that it’s impossible to keep track.

The station is an almost futuristically modern place and one of the few stops of the north-south express. And now we’re REALLY lucky because the train to Mokpo that was due half an hour ago is still there because they had to clear the tracks short of Iksan so that it arrived late.

When we get on it the doors close immediately and we’re leaving before we are even able to grip that it borders on a miracle that we made it so far.

There are a number of passengers in our carriage most of which are minding their own business. One younger woman though keeps staring at Taemin. He doesn’t notice.

Since his solo-debut he is an even hotter issue among girls than he used to be although I still can’t process seeing him as the y young man that he actually is. I don’t believe that he is fully aware of the transformation himself.

Jjong also went through a lot of changes and even actively tried to shift his image away from his old dino-self. Sometimes I envy him for his achievements and I feel like I’m falling behind although none of the guys ever made me feel that way. It’s more like an inward insecurity that I’ve burdened myself with for years now. I depend on SHINee much more than those two.

My eyes wander over to Minho who is leaning against Taemin. He looks pretty run-down; well, I guess we all do. After all we’ve just been in a severe accident.

But still, Minho even without makeup and injured looks dashing. The gash above his eyebrow might become a trademark scar that underlines his manly handsomeness.

That brings me to Kibum who already has a scar. He used to use an eyebrow pencil to cover it but doesn’t anymore. For a couple of years now his split eyebrow has been a much discussed and admired accessory.

He sits at the window in his women’s overcoat and uggs peering into the darkness outside. He’s really something else. I’m not always sure what’s going on in his head but I trust him with my life.

It looks like most passengers only want to get home as quickly as possible tonight since the weather is unpredictable and roads and tracks might be closed down completely soon. So nobody bothers us which I’m really thankful for. My head hurts and I feel sick, but I think I’m better off than Minho and Jonghyun.

When the carriage is almost empty Jjong takes off his right boot and sock to check on his hurt ankle. It’s swollen alarmingly and already turned a black-blue color.

“Oh ”, Taemin says, “that looks really nasty.”

“We should really get you to hospital”, I say although I don’t know what we should do without him ... and Minho.

Before Jjong can object my phone rings and I hastily fumble it out of my jacket: No number displayed.

My heart skips a beat yet again, I have a quick look around if anyone is near enough to listen in, switch to speaker and then answer:

“Yes?”

The chipmunk-voice says:

“Why didn’t you answer before? Do you want the brat to die?”

I see Jonghyun’s temper rising at that, but he still holds back.

“We were in an accident”, I tell them and then quickly add, “Jonghyun and Minho are hurt.”

We hear muffled voices discussing at the end of the line but can’t understand what they are saying.

“I don’t believe you”, the voice then comes back, “there was nothing about that in the news.”

“Have you seen the weather report?” Jjong can’t hold back anymore, “there are accidents all over the place, so we’re not really special.”

“I thought you were SHIIIINeeee”, the voice says dragging the name out mockingly, “fans would already have tracked you down.”

Giggles in the background. I’m really mad now, too.

“Look, we’re on our way to Mokpo on a train”, I tell them, “we’re really trying, but we need to take Jonghyun and Minho to hospital and we need more time. The rest of us will meet you and ...”

“NO DEAL”, the voice shouts, “NO NO NO, don’t try to mess with us. We’ve got the kid and you will come here, all five of you.” With this they terminate the connection and I’m sitting there still holding up the phone trembling with rage.

Kibum carefully lays his hand on my arm and pushes it down.

“Don’t let them get to you”, he says. But they already have.