Countdown: A TVXQ Story

Chapter 01: Jung Yunho

"Wait!!!"

Tintin drew one final deep breath before she hopped inside the bus she spent three minutes running after. The bus driver didn't even bat an eyelash and closed the door after sighing, as if he was used to people boarding the last minute. The bus lurched forward and Tintin almost rolled down the aisle.

"Come, come." her friend, Ji Hye, patted the free seat beside her.

"You're evil." Tintin groaned as she scrambled towards the seat.

"No, you're just slow." Ji Hye grinned.

She didn't know why she had to choose a bus, of all places.

"So..." Ji Hye gestured for Tintin's wrist.

"Yeah." Tintin pulled the sleeve of her sweater down.

The time read: 0 days, 0 hours, 15 minutes and 35 seconds.

"You do know that no matter where you go, you can't escape that." Ji Hye nudged her, her friend's elbow digging through the side of her ribs.

"This soulmate thing sucks." Tintin gave up the pretence of hiding the thin strip of clock on the inside of her wrist and stared at it. It read 0 days, 0 hours, 12 minutes, 28 seconds.

Ji Hye smiled and patted her friend's hand. She was younger than Tintin, but her clock has already expired long before. She knew what it felt like. Nerve wracking. Heart stopping. The wait will squeeze every ounce of insecurities and doubts out of you. And then worries plague your system until you feel it oozing out of your pores. And then you still wait. And wait. And wait.

Until you meet.

Tintin heard the telltale sound of the driver's all too hasty foot slapping the brakes down on the pavement. The bus has circled its route a second time, and Ji Hye stood to tap their cards to pay the fare at the front of the bus. Tintin didn't move. The clock on her wrist read 0 days, 0 hours, 8 minutes, 13 seconds.

She closed her eyes.

She stopped fantasizing a while ago, when she first realized that the years turned to months that then turned to days, to mere hours and then minutes on the clock on her wrist. She only had herself and Ji Hye, who else could possibly be her soulmate? That's why crushes are a dangerous thing to have. But she had one, and it happens to be Ji Hye's older brother, Yunho. And the odds were one in a billion for it to happen.

Tintin knew better than to fall deeper for him.

Tintin was a realist by nature. It was going to be the most cliche development in her life if that happens. What are the chances that Yunho, dear Yunho, will be the person that will appear in front of her when the clock on her wrist turns zero? She didn't want to know because she didn't want to be disappointed. All these years, growing up with JiHye also meant growing up with Yunho. Big brother Yunho who had always been there for her, teasing her, fighting with her, messing with her. He grew up to be a fine young man, devious inside but admirable outside. She liked the contrast between his appearance and his real personality. Not a lot of people knew him to be a devil prankster, or a scary older brother when he's angry. That sometimes he lies, and has a way with twisting words to suit him and what he wants to achieve. Tintin felt happy that she was one of the few who knew just how perfectly flawed Jung Yunho is. And that was supposed to be it. The eventuality that it wasn't him showing up when her clock was used up was too possible for her not to ignore anyway.