Chapter Text
Bang Chan couldn't wait to find his soulmate.
His mother had passed away when he was very young, leaving his father without his other half. While his father took great care of him, Chan noticed, even as a child, how much his father missed his soulmate.
One night, as his father read him a bedtime story, one of soulmates meeting, Chan decided he would find his soulmate as soon as possible. That way he could spend more time with them.
And so Chan grew up, always looking people in the eyes.
Due to his kind nature, he often found people gravitated towards him. However, despite the number of people whose eyes met his, none turned into Chan's onyx.
He wouldn't admit it, but he started to worry about finding his soulmate during college. As his best friends, Jisung and Changbin, found their soulmates, he was the only of their friend group still alone.
But that didn't stop Chan from trying. Most people were receptive to his friendly nature.
And then he met Lee Minho.
It wasn't that Minho was mean to him, but rather he refused to look Chan in the eyes. Chan found this quite odd, as many people in their society were eager to lock eyes in the hopes of finding their soulmate. But here was this man, who looked at Chan focusing anywhere but his eyes.
Many people would be put off by this peculiar habit, but not Chan. In fact, he was strangely drawn to Minho and his amethyst eyes. Even if they couldn't be soulmates, they could at least be friends.
It was almost too easy to befriend Minho with how often they were partnered for tasks. Chan started bringing Minho coffee and chatting with him every chance he got.
Chan knew the best step was to take their friendship outside of work, so he invited Minho to a local bar. Much to Chan's surprise, Minho accepted the offer.
So it became routine to get some drinks after work. Eventually, Chan suggested inviting their respective friend groups along, to which Minho also agreed. In this atmosphere, surrounded by people who cared for him, Chan could see the way Minho shined. And while he still wouldn't look him in the eye, Chan could feel Minho's protective outer shell chipping away.
He saw it in the little things. Catching Minho's smile when he thought Chan wasn't looking. The obvious look away when Chan would turn towards Minho. Chan even loved the banter that they shared, enjoying Minho's eye roll reactions to any extra attention Chan gave him.
Then suddenly, things changed.
If before Minho wouldn't look Chan in the eyes, he barely looked his way at all. He'd often see only glimpses of Minho as he'd speed past him in the office, eyes entranced with the carpet. When they had to work together, which they often did, Minho seemed to be interested in any direction that wasn't towards Chan.
He couldn't help but wonder if he'd done something wrong. He searched his memory, asking his friends, even asking Minho's friends, for any hint of a mishap. But his mind and peers drew a blank.
Chan couldn't help but feel his heart break, but he couldn't understand why he felt this way. Of course Minho always avoided eye contact, but why was this manufactured distance getting to Chan.
A few weeks went by. As he laid in bed one night, once again going through his mind for anything that could have triggered such a reaction from Minho, a sudden revelation hit him.
Chan hadn't thought about finding a soulmate for a good amount of time. While it used to be his every other thought, now the idea of soulmates was practically not present. Chan jumped out of bed when he realized the catalyst.
Meeting Minho.
The next day, Chan somehow convinced Minho, with the help of Felix, to come out to their favorite bar to hang out with their friends. True to his recent agenda, Minho never looked at Chan. He knew this because Chan couldn't take his eyes off of Minho.
His friends clearly noticed, Changbin patting him on the back, Jisung leaving with encouraging words.
Chan returned home and crawled into bed. He dreamed of a field of lilacs.
The next day, Chan steeled himself. With a coffee in hand, he walked to Minho. He saw the man typing away, so as not to disturb him too much, Chan set the drink down on the desk. He looked from the coffee to Minho, fully expecting him to have his eyes glued to the computer screen.
He couldn't help but gasp when he saw Minho looking straight into his eyes. He was glad he had already set down the coffee as he watched one of Minho’s amethyst eyes turn Chan's onyx.