Archive of Our Own

Woojin stares into the bathroom mirror, waiting.

He’s been doing this every night, lately. There’s no guarantee that it will happen tonight. It’s random, that’s what they’ve always been told. But still, he’s going to wait, at least for a little bit. If he’s waited for almost eighteen years, then why not wait a few minutes longer?

After a few more moments, he can feel the lethargy starting to creep into his bones. He’s had a pretty hectic day. He had completely forgotten about the fact that their last exam was today until the night before and ended up cram-studying on the way to school and through the first two lessons. Even with those few hours of studying, when he got into the test he found himself anxious and clueless, guessing more answers than the ones he actually knew . His friends had been loud and boisterous with joy when he’d gotten to the cafeteria-it was a little embarrassing, even though most of the other seniors were no different. They reminded him about the party tonight as if he was going to ditch the end of exams party (not that he hadn’t considered it, if only briefly.). He’d gone home to listen to his parents congratulations (even though they hadn’t gotten the results back yet and there was no guarantee he hadn’t failed everything) and eat a quick dinner at home before being rushed out to go to the party which was being held at Hyungseob’s house for no other reason except that Hyungseob’s mom’s were too nice and didn’t mind a group of too-loud teenagers in their home if it made them all happy.

Now, after midnight, he’s still here. He can hear the music and his friends voices behind the locked bathroom door. Hopefully, he’ll be able to go home soon and finally get some sleep. But first, he wants to check, just in case.

There’s a knock at the door.

“Hey, Woojin, are you okay?” Donghyun’s voice asks from the hallway.

“Are you puking?” Another voice asks- well, bellows would be a more accurate word.

“We don’t even have alcohol here, Jaehwan,” Woojin yells back.

“Maybe you don’t,” Jaehwan snorts.

Why did whoever actually planned this invite a bunch of their friends who are very much not high school seniors to an ‘end of senior year exams’ party?

“Woojin, can I come in?” Donghyun asks.

Woojin sighs and goes over to unlock the door. Donghyun’s standing there, a red solo cup of soda in his hand. Either Jaehwan had gotten bored and wandered off or been shooed away by Donghyun, because he’s no longer loitering in the hallway.

Donghyun shuts the door after himself and makes his way over to the bathtub, sitting gingerly on the ledge. Woojin stays standing, leaning his hands on the counter with the mirror behind him instead of in front of him this time.

“You were checking, weren’t you?” Donghyun asks softly.

Woojin just nods. He can’t hide anything from Donghyun, even if he wants to.

“Was there any sign of them?”

“No, not yet.” Woojin answers, unable to keep the little streak of disappointment he feels out of his voice.

“You’ll see your soulmate when the time is right, Woojin. You know it doesn’t happen absolutely every time you look in the mirror.” Donghyun reassures.

“You saw Youngmin the first time,” Woojin responds, maybe a little petulant. He’s probably only serving to remind Donghyun of the one year age-difference between them.

“I got lucky.” Donghyun laughs a little. “Come back to the party. After all, you only finish the worst part of your high school career once.”

“Yeah, okay,” Woojin agrees. He doesn’t want to leave his friends hanging over something that may not even happen tonight. That doesn’t stop him from glancing back into the mirror as they leave the bathroom though.

For a split second, he catches a glimpse of a soft face and a pair of round brown eyes that are definitely not his own.

They’ve always said that your soulmate is a reflection of yourself.

Not necessarily because they’re similar to you, they may not be like you at all. Rather, they’re the reflection of the things you hold dear, the things you aspire to be, the things you love more than you love anything else in the world.

Woojin supposes that’s why that when you start nearing your eighteenth birthday you start to see your soulmate in reflections instead of yourself.

It’s not a constant thing. You won’t see them all the time. Your soulmate will appear to you every now and then, in glimpses so short you could blink and miss them. For many people, it takes a while before they can solidly build a picture of their soulmate in their heads. No one really minds that-because once you find them, you’ve found everything you’ve ever wanted, and you are everything they’ve ever wanted.

Woojin has been hearing these stories since he was young. He’s seen friends find their soulmates and heard the story of the days when his parents first saw that little snippet of each other. He was never the type to obsess over the idea of his soulmate, but he is far from the type who scorns at it either. He’s just an average boy who knows that the love of his life is out there somewhere, and wants to find out who they were.

When he heads back down to the living room he finds the party starting to die down. It’s late, and everyone’s getting tired. Still, they sit and talk for a little while longer, the music turned down to a quiet hum around them. After that, everyone starts to head home one by one.

Soon enough, it’s just Woojin and Hyungseob left.

Woojin isn’t going home tonight. Hyungseob only lives down the road and sleepovers for special occasions are practically a tradition for them.

It had started when they were six. Hyungseob was the first, and for a while only, friend that Woojin had made at school. He’d been a painfully shy kid, too afraid to try and join in with his classmates or even say more than a few words to them.

Hyungseob hadn’t cared about that. Woojin still remembers the day when a bright, energetic six year old had clambered onto the seat next to him at lunch and offered him one of the cookies his mom had made. Woojin had asked why-didn’t he want it? Hyungseob had said of course, but he had one for himself as well as plenty more at home and, hey, do you wanna come over and play after school? We can share those cookies too.

After that, a friendship had blossomed easily. They were inseparable in school and out of it. They’d eat together at lunch, sharing whatever they had and sneakily throwing out the fruits and vegetables that their parents would pack for them. After school and on the weekends they were constantly begging their parents to let them go to each other's houses or to take them to the park.

Their parents were happy they were friends, but they’d probably expected that friendship to fade and disappear as they grew up.

It never had though. They’d stayed friends all throughout elementary school, middle school, and even high school. Now, they’re only a few weeks shy of graduating and they’re as close as ever. They’d even got applied to all the same colleges, albeit for different courses.

Hyungseob is the best friend he’s ever had, and he always would be.

They make a bed on the living room floor out of all the spare blankets and pillows lying around the house and climb into it once they turn the lights off. They’ve always shared a bed when they have sleepovers, at this point Woojin is so used to it that he prefers it to sleeping alone.

“So, anything?” Hyungseob asks.

It’s dark, but with the moonlight streaming through the window and the lack of space between their faces Woojin can just make out that Hyungseob is smiling.

“Nothing,” Woojin admits quietly.

He sees the way Hyungseob’s smile drops. “That’s a shame. Tell your soulmate to get a move on. Some of us are curious about the apparently ideal person for their best friend here.”

“Shut up.” Woojin shoves playfully at where he guesses Hyungseob’s shoulder is. “I still don’t know who your soulmate is either. You’re gonna turn eighteen months before I do.”

“You know i’ll tell you as soon as i know. I promised after all. But I’ve only seen them three times these past couple of months, and I’m really not sure.”

“Not sure? So...do you have any idea?” Woojin asks.

“Hmm, maybe,” Hyungseob muses.

“So, tell me!”

“I don’t want to tell you until i’m sure. It might just ruin things,” Hyungseob sighs.

Woojin doesn’t see how it could ruin anything. Well, unless Hyungseob thinks it could be someone they know. Woojin wonders who out of their friend group would be fitting to be Hyungseob’s soulmate. Euiwoong? He’s always been the closest person to Hyungseob other than Woojin himself. Sohye? They’re both dorky and adorable. Haknyeon? Hyungseob wasn’t that close to him, but that wasn’t a necessary precedent for soulmates. A lot of soulmates haven’t even met by the time the reflections start appearing.  No matter who he suggests to himself, he feels an uncomfortable discontent wave through him at the idea.

“Okay,” Woojin says, and then “Whoever they are, I hope they’re good to you.”

There is silence for a moment before Hyungseob softly whispers “I think they would be. Goodnight, Woojinie.”

“Goodnight, Seobbie.”

Woojin falls asleep that night thinking of his best friend and the glimpse of the person he caught in his reflection.

Woojin had been looking forward to the day he graduated since the day he’d started school, but now that it’s happening he can’t believe it’s really here.

He watches Hyungseob go up to collect his diploma and has to stop himself from snickering in his seat. Hyungseob had decided the two of them should join in the age old tradition of decorating their graduation caps, but none of their ideas had been exactly inspirational.

Hyungseob collects his diploma with “ravioli ravioli give me the diplomuoli” written in a mess of rainbow glitter on his cap.

When Woojin is finally called up to collect his he knows the rest of the year can see the “four years later” written on his black cap in white (though hyungseob had thrown some glitter over his too).

Woojin clutches his diploma in his hand, in a state of disbelief that this has really happened. He’s free from high school forever. He’s no longer a child-even if he technically is for a few more months. He’s about to go out into the larger and more difficult world of being a college student.

It’s terrifying, really.

What if he isn’t cut out for college? He knows that he’s good when it comes to music, but this place only lets the best of the best into their program. What if he falls behind compared to the no-doubt insanely talented people he’ll be learning with?

What if he can’t take the stress? Or being away from home? He’s lived with his family his whole life and he can already feel how much he’s going to miss them while he’s halfway across the country.

All of a sudden, the fear and anxiety that he’s been ignoring for almost a whole year are building up inside him. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do. His entire life is changing before his eyes and he doesn’t know how to cope with it.

A voice breaks him out of his thoughts.

“Hey, Woojin! There you are!” Hyungseob comes bounding up to him with a big smile on his face. Some of the glitter from his cap has fallen onto his face, making him sparkle under the warm sun.

Woojin feels himself calm instantly.

Yes, he’ll be going off to college, and it’s a scary new step in his life, but Hyungseob will be there with him.

Hyungseob will be by his side, and as long as he is Woojin thinks he can do anything.

“Come on, I found our families. Let’s go let them embarrass us for a while before we make our escape.” Hyungseob slings an arm around Woojin’s shoulder and leads him away from the spot where he had been standing alone and all of his negative thoughts.

His family immediately smothers him in a group hug and it takes him almost a minute to escape (okay, so maybe he isn’t trying too hard to.)

“I can’t believe my little boy is so grown up,” His mom coos.

“Seems like just yesterday he was throwing his toys at me because he’d rather play than learn the alphabet,” His dad reminisces fondly.

“Hmmm, I don’t know, I can still imagine him doing that,” Yerim, his sister, adds.

“You’re so mean to me,” He sighs at Yerim.

“It’s what little sisters are for,” She replies in a voice too wise for a thirteen year old.

“I am an almost grown man capable of doing things without throwing a tantrum,” He states.

Yerim just snorts.

After being thoroughly praised and fussed over by his parents and bullied by his sister, their families finally head home and leave Woojin and Hyungseob to their post-graduation plans.

The pizza place is surprisingly empty considering it’s nearly dinner time. Then again, the weather is so warm maybe most people would rather stay at home than brave the non-air-conditioned streets.

They order a large half-and-half pizza, because Hyungseob is an inhuman demon who’s favourite pizza is ham and pineapple . Woojin, a logical, fully human person, prefers barbecue chicken.

“So, how are you feeling, Mr. High school graduate?” Hyungseob asks him as he grabs himself a slice of (evil) pizza.

They’ve changed out of their graduation robes and shoved them in their bags. Hyungseob is sat across from him in a bright yellow t-shirt, glitter still on his face. For some reason, it takes Woojin a second to formulate an answer.

“Pretty good.” Woojin smiles. “How about you, Mr. High school graduate?”

“Oh, wow, we have the same last name? Are we married? And you didn’t tell me?!” Hyungseob gasps dramatically.

Woojin almost chokes on the bite of pizza he’s just taken. “Shut up,” He says through his laughter, throwing a couple of fries at Hyungseob for good measure.

“Don’t throw things at your husband! It’s rude!”

“Be nicer to your husband then!”

“I am perfectly nice to you,” Hyungseob protests. “I’d be a great husband!”

Woojin can’t help but think that he’s right.

“So, how are you feeling?” Woojin reiterates.

“I’m happy,” Hyungseob says. “We did it. We graduated. Now I get to go off to college and stay up all night and eat ice cream for every meal because no one can stop me. Plus, I get to do it with you. So yeah, I’m happy.”

“Yeah, me too,” Woojin says softly.

They finish their pizza and get ready to leave. Woojin is already headed out of his seat when he realises Hyungseob hasn’t moved. When he looks behind him, he sees his friend staring with wide eyes at the metal dish their pizza had once been on. It’s only when he got closer that he realises the dish is reflective.

“Did you see them again?” Woojin asks.

“Yeah, Hyungseob breathes.

“Any idea yet?”

Woojin doesn’t know what else to say. The atmosphere suddenly feels so thick. It’s strange, to be around when someone else catches a glimpse of their soulmate. It’s not like it’s a private thing, everyone talks about their soulmate. It’s rare, however, to be around when someone else sees their soulmate.

“Maybe,” Is all Hyungseob says.

The summer before college isn’t all that different to every summer that came before it, but Woojin feels as if it is. There’s something different inside him. He can feel it. He can feel that the end of one chapter of his life is coming to a close, and even more so he can feel that another one is beginning.

Most days he and Hyungseob wander around, watching their small suburbia come to life as children play on the grass and couples go on dates to the beach.

Woojin’s getting ready to meet him now. He’s in the bathroom brushing his teeth when he sees it.

In the mirror, there is a soft face and big brown eyes that clearly do not belong to him.

It takes a long time for most people to put together an image of their soulmate, but it’s different when you’ve been seeing that face your whole life.

He’d recognise Hyungseob anywhere.

He drops his toothbrush and stares into the mirror long after the image has disappeared.

Hyungseob’s his soulmate?

Hyungseob is his soulmate .

“My soulmate.” Woojin lets out a shaky laugh.

It makes sense. He hadn’t actually considered it before, really, but now that he knows, the idea sinks into him like it belongs, like it has always been there.

He just stands and lets everything settle in for a moment. It’s a good feeling, warm and homely, bright and massive.

It takes perhaps longer than it should for the realisation to hit him that Hyungseob still doesn’t know about this.

He has to tell him.

He runs. He’s never been the type who’s big on exercise but he finds himself sprinting to Hyungseob’s front door. He doesn’t even question why, he just knows he has to see Hyungseob. He wants to be with him right now-he needs to.

He knocks frantically and probably too loudly when he reaches Hyungseob’s house. It isn’t until he’s there, waiting for the door to be answered, that he realises he had no idea what he’s going to say.

How do you tell someone they’re  your soulmate? It should be romantic, surely. He should have brought flowers or chocolates or something. He hadn’t thought about that, though. He’d thought about nothing but seeing Hyungseob. He debates scooping up some of the daffodils growing in Hyungseob’s front yard but he’s sure that Hyungseob would notice, and after that one of Hyungseob’s mom’s would probably kill him for ruining the garden they put so much work into whether he’s their son’s soulmate or not.

“Oh, hey Woojin. You didn’t text me to say you were on your way over? Oh well, I’m ready anyway.

He almost jumps when he hears the door open. There Hyungseob is. Woojin has always known that his friend is good looking, but Woojin can’t believe it took the reveal of their soul bond for him to realise he’s beautiful .

“Woojin? Are you okay?” Hyungseob’s face scrunches into an expression of concern. It’s simultaneously cute and hard to look at because even before he knew they were soulmates Woojin has never wanted Hyungseob to worry about anything.

“You’re my soulmate!” Woojin blurts out. He has to resist the urge to crawl into a hole and die somewhere after he says it. That was definitely not romantic.

Hyungseob’s expression of concern melts away into the softest smile Woojin has ever seen. He kind of feels like his heart may be singing.

“Oh, good.” Hyungseob says.

“Good?” Woojin asks. He feels like he’s standing on the edge of a precipice. He isn’t sure when the last time he breathed was.

“Good,” Hyungseob repeats. “It’s good it’s you. I was always hoping it would be you.”

“Always?” Woojin asks. He’s not quite sure what he’s hearing right now.

“Well, yeah,” Hyungseob laughs a little and if it wasn’t already summer Woojin thinks that laugh would make the flowers grow. “I’ve kind of been in love with you since like fifth grade.”

“You never said anything.” Woojin says. He thinks that’s probably a dumb thing to say, but he doesn’t have a brain to mouth filter right now. His soulmate is in front of him telling him he’s always loved him and Woojin thinks this is too good to be true.

“I didn’t want to ruin anything.”

“You wouldn’t have ruined anything. I’m sorry- that it took me so long to realise. I shouldn’t have needed to see you in the mirror to realise I loved you.”

“You love me?” Hyungseob breathes, like he can’t quite believe what he’s hearing either.

“Of course I do, stupid,” Woojin says, because wow, he does love him, and he thinks he always has.

“Oh, good.”

Woojin laughs, and Hyungseob laughs too. When Hyungseob let’s him into his house nothing has really changed. When Hyungseob pulls him into a hug, he feels that same soft warmth he always. When they kiss, awkward and giggling, it’s new but it feels like it should have always been this way.

For Hyungseob’s birthday they decide to make it just the two of them. Most of their friends are busy packing for college, so they don’t really mind not being invited to the celebration. They haven’t made a big deal of it, anyway. They decided to go down to the lake at the edge of their small town. They played here a lot as kids, and it just felt right for them to head their again before they make the move for college at the end of the month.

The sun is shining brightly but there’s a cool breeze that makes the weather pleasant rather than unbearable. They set out a blanket in the shade of the trees to sit on and set the picnic they’d packed aside for later.

They waste no time rushing into the water. It’s nice and cool and Woojin appreciates it until Hyungseob splashes it straight in his face.

“What was that for?!” He exclaims.

“It’s a sign of my affection!” Hyungseob tells him, giggling.

“It’s a terrible way to show your affection! I want kisses and like...maybe poetry about how beautiful I am! Not to be attacked with water!”

“Wow, I can’t believe I show you my love and you complain!”

Woojin gives up the argument and instead just splashes Hyungseob right back. He looks so shocked that it makes Woojin laugh, you’d think after a lifetime of friendship Hyungseob should have realised he wouldn’t not fight back.

“I’m just showing you my love!” Woojin mocks Hyungseob’s earlier words.

This, of course, descends into an all out splash-war. By the end, they’re both soaking wet and happily exhausted. There’s no real winner, because they’d never kept count and even if they’d tried they probably would have lost it just like they kept almost losing their will to fight every time one of them pouted at the other.

They decide to get out of the water then. When they get back to their blanket they wrap the towels they’d wisely remembered to bring around their shoulders and start nibbling their way through the food they’d brought. Neither of them had been on a picnic before, so they were unsure what to take. Because of this, they’d ended up packing a lot of chocolate as well as some fruit they’d found in Woojin’s kitchen.

Woojin gets distracted from the chocolate he’s eating watching Hyungseob. His hair is wet. The sun is dappling through the trees leaving patterns on his smooth skin. He’s eating a slice of mango, the juice dribbling down his chin a bit. It’s all so simple, but Woojin thinks it’s the closest thing to perfect he’s ever seen.

“Where’s my shirt?” Hyungseob asks when they’re both full and the sun has dried them off.

“Uhh, I think you left it down further by the lake. I’ll go get it.” Woojin replies, already getting on his feet.

Woojin finds the shirt easily. It’s right by the edge of the water but it thankfully hasn’t been soaked. He bends down to pick it up, and pauses.

It takes a long time for most people to put together an image of his soulmate, but it;s different when you’ve been seeing that face your whole life.

He’d recognise Hyungseob anywhere.

And he recognises that the face reflected back to him in the sparkling water isn’t Hyungseob’s. This face has soft cheeks like Hyungseob’s but they carry a blush whereas Hyungseob is usually pale. They have big eyes but they gleam like the night sky whereas Hyungseob’s eyes glow solid and warm. That isn’t the way Hyungseob’s lips quirk into a smile. That isn’t the shade of Hyungseob’s hair.

It’s not Hyungseob.

He finds himself sinking to the ground. He stares into the water even though the image has disappeared, leaving him with nothing but his own face.

He knows that the face he’d seen before was Hyungseob’s. There’s no mistaking that. Hyungseob is his soulmate, he can feel that in his heart. But…

But what does this mean?

He doesn’t know how long he sits by the water until he remembers that Hyungseob is waiting for him to come back. He stands up on shaky legs, Hyungseob’s t-shirt clutched tightly in his hand, and starts the short walk back.

“Woojin? What’s wrong?” Hyungseob asks him when he sits down in front of him. He should have known that the other boy would know that something was wrong. Hyungseob knows him too well, he can read him faster than he can all those old poetry books his moms gave him as kid.

Wooin looks into Hyungseob’s face, so filled with worry and so, so beautiful, and knows he has to tell him. He isn’t even sure what it is he’s telling the other boy. He just knows that whatever it is affects them , it means something for their soulbond and their relationship. Woojin doesn’t know what yet, and he’s scared of the answer.

“I- I was by the water and I saw...I saw a reflection, not mine...and not yours either,” Woojin explains shakily.

To his surprise, Hyungseob’s worry disappears. There’s something different on his face now, but Woojin can’t pinpoint what it is.

“Remember-” Hyungseob says slowly. Woojin is hooked on every word already. His heart is a heavy bassline pounding against his ribs and he just needs to hear what Hyungseob has to say. He just needs to hear Hyungseob . “When I always used to tell you I wasn’t sure my soulmate was?”

Woojin just nods, not knowing where this is going and not trusting himself to say anything.

“The reason I wasn’t sure is because sometimes...I would see you. I knew it was you. There were other times though, a couple of times where it...it wasn’t you. I didn’t know what it meant, so I didn’t tell you that I’d been seeing you. After you told me I was your soulmate, I thought that was the end of it. If you saw me too, we must be meant to be right? But I know I saw someone who isn’t you too. I’ve seen him-I think they’re a him, anyway-since we got together too. I didn’t mention it because if you didn’t see him too then I was scared of what that would mean.” Hyungseob speaks slowly, carefully, and Woojin would almost think he was calm if he couldn’t see the way his eyes flit about and his fingers fiddle with the edge of the blanket.

“What does it mean? That we both see him?” Woojin breathes the question quietly, scared that if he’s too loud it will break whatever he and Hyungseob have right now.

“I don’t know,” Hyungseob admits. “...We could ask our parents? Or google it. This is the twenty first century after all.”

Woojin can’t help but laugh at Hyungseob’s suggestion, and when Hyungseob smiles back at him he knows that no matter what they are going to be okay. He doesn’t know what it would take to actually break them apart, he doesn’t think it’s actually possible, not in this universe.

They do end up asking Hyungseob’s moms when they get back to his house that night. They’re sat in Hyungseob’s light blue living room, with homemade lemonade and birthday cake. He’s not even the one doing the asking, but Woojin can feel the nerves bubbling up in his stomach when Hyungseob explains the situation to his moms. They know that Woojin is their sons soulmate already, would they hate him if they knew that there was something...different (he can’t bring himself to say wrong , he tries but then he gets a flash of the face he saw in the water and Woojin feels like it would be unfair to him to call this wrong. In fact, the idea physically hurts him, though he doesn’t understand why.) about their soul bond?

When Hyungseob finishes the story, his mom's look back at them with nothing but understanding. They’re smiling, actually, and Woojin feels more lost than ever.

“Boys, what you’re experiencing is perfectly normal. Not particularly common, I’ll be honest, but definitely normal.” Jieun explains.

His other mom nods in agreement. “It means that you both have more than one soulmate. You’re soulmates, but there’s someone else out there that’s meant for you both just as much as you’re meant for eachother.”

Now that Woojin is hearing it, recalls vague memories of the idea of people having more than one soulmate being taught in school. It was treated as more of a footnote than something that they actually needed to learn, as if their teacher had just thought “Well, since this isn’t the norm I’m sure that it won’t affect any of you.” He can feel a sudden curl of anger at the fact that his soulbond was thought not important enough to learn about it, and then a burst of the shock that he’s already so defensive of this and the person that is apparently their other soulmate.

“Do you know who this person is?” Jieun asks.

Hyungseob shakes his head. “I really don’t think i’ve ever seen them before, not in real life.” Woojin can feel the tinge of disappointment in his boyfriend's voice and wonders if he already feels something towards their unknown soulmate like Woojin does.

“They’ll come into your life someday. Fate works in mysterious ways, but when the time is right you’ll meet them,” Hyesun assures.

Hyungseob just nods. He looks pensive, and Woojin wants to know what’s going on in his mind but he doesn’t want to interrupt.

Jieun comes over and places a gentle kiss on the top of Hyungseob’s head. “We love you, sweetie. I am so happy that there are two people in this world who will love you as much as I do.”

She turns her gaze to Woojin. “I love you too, Woojin. You have made my son happy all these years and I can never thank you enough for that. You both deserve all the love in the world . ”

Woojin doesn’t know what to say back. He’s filled with a rush of emotions. He loves Ahn Hyungseob, his childhood best friend who was willing to get to know the shy boy who sat on his own at lunch and stick with him throughout all these years. He loves Hyungseob’s family, for welcoming him all these years and treating him as if he was their own son. He loves the mysterious figure he’d seen in the lake, and maybe it should scare him that he already loves someone he’s never met, but instead it just feels right .

“Thank you,” Woojin says, because he is thankful, he’s so thankful to all these people for being in his life and helping him grow into  the person he is today.

He and Hyungseob go upstairs after that. They’re both quiet on the walk up to Hyungseob’s room, but Woojin knows that their minds aren’t.

Hyungseob’s room is a second home to Woojin and he feels himself relax a little when they’re in there. The messy desk scattered with abandoned pieces of poetry Hyungseob had been working on, the warm glow of the amber lamp, the messy unmade bed with light yellow covers. Even though some of the stuff Woojin is used to seeing is already packed up in the boxes shoved into one corner of the room it still feels the same. It all calms him almost as much as Hyungseob’s presence itself does.

Hyungseob sinks onto his bed and Woojin carefully sits next to him. There’s a beat of silence that Woojin doesn’t think has ever existed between them before and it leaves an uncomfortable feeling in his chest, as if an organ integral to keeping him alive is out of place.

“How do you feel?” Hyungseob finally asks. Woojin doesn’t know why he’s feeling so overly emotional right now, other than the sheer weight of everything that’s happened today, but he’s so grateful to hear Hyungseob’s voice that he could cry.

“We have another soulmate,” Woojin says. It’s a dumb and obvious thing to say, but it’s the thing that’s consuming all his thoughts.

“We do.” Hyungseob nods.

Woojin takes a deep breath. He’s ready to spill all his feelings out to Hyungseob. He can’t just keep them inside or he thinks they might take over. He can only hope that Hyungseob feels the same way he does, or at least won’t look at Woojin differently after he knows everything he’s been thinking the past few minutes.

“I know that maybe I shouldn’t be okay with this. I know that we’ve known each other our whole lives and were so obviously meant for eachother and we’ve never even met him . But I am okay with this. I think I’m more than okay with it, in fact. I want to meet him. I want to get to know him. I want to love him- I already do, but I want him to know that I love him and that I love you and I want him to love us back. I just-he’s our soulmate , Seobbie.”

“He is,” Hyungseob repeats. He turns to look at Woojin and Woojin can see the tears in his eyes. They remind him of a sad song with just a tinge of sweetness to make it into something beautiful. “I want to meet him too. I love him too. I was scared you wouldn’t feel the same, but of course you do, because we’re meant for eachother and we’re meant for him too.”

Woojin is so overwhelmed with love for the boy next to him that he can’t help but lean over and kiss him. He wipes the tears off of Hyungseob’s cheeks as he does so. When Woojin pulls away, already missing Hyungseob’s soft lips a little but knowing that they have more important things to do, he tries to make sure that Hyungseob can see in his eyes just how much this means to him.

“I wonder when we’ll meet him,” Hyungseob says softly. There’s a small smile on his face now, and he’s running his index finger along his comforter in a way that Woojin knows means he’s daydreaming.

“I hope it’s soon. I wonder what he’s like.” The fact that they nothing about this mystery soulmate hurts, but it’s kind of exciting as well. It’s something they have to look forward to amongst all the stress that they’re going through with packing and moving and the fact that soon they’ll be in a new environment with people they’ve never met.

“I think he’ll be beautiful. I’m slowly starting to put together what he looks like and he seems beautiful. I don’t know about anything else. Maybe he’ll be an art student. That seems like it will fit with a music and a poetry major. Maybe he’ll sketch us every morning; maybe he already tries to. He could be anything, though. Maybe he’s a business major and he’ll actually make enough money to keep our future starving artist selves alive. I don’t know. I don’t want to build up an idea of him in my head because I know I’ll love him no matter what.”

Woojin knows that Hyungseob is right. He knows that they could come up with a million ideas for what this boy could be like but it could never compete with the real thing.

When they squeeze into Hyungseob’s bed that night, it’s with sleepy smiles on their faces. Woojin wraps his arms around Hyungseob and Hyungseob rests his head on Woojin’s chest and everything is okay, and one day, when they find their other soulmate, they’ll probably need a bigger bed for cuddles but everything will be so much more than okay.

Saying goodbye to his family for what would be the longest time he’s ever spent apart from them, even it will only be three months rather than the forever it felt like, is one of the hardest things Woojin has ever done.

If anyone asks, he won’t admit that he cries when they wrap him up in a group hug, awkward because his mom is half a foot taller than his dad and Yerim is still small even for her age, but he does.

It’s only the fact that Hyungseob is waiting that gives him the willpower to get into the car instead of just throwing this whole higher education thing away and staying put.

“I’ll call all the time, I promise,” He says to his family.

“That’s right you will! Don’t think we’re above annoying you if we don’t hear from you for a few days,” His dad says. He’s trying to keep a smile on his face but Woojin can see the tears in his eyes.

“I’ll miss you,” Woojin says.

“We’ll miss you too, Woojin. Don’t worry though, you’ll get settled into the dorms and then by the time winter break comes you’ll think it’s too soon to come home again.”

Woojin struggles to believe that, but he lets it comfort him anyway.

When he climbs into the driver's seat, all his stuff packed up in the trunk and Hyungseob in the passenger seat next to him, his tears have mostly dried. Hyungseob still notices them though.

“It’s gonna be okay, Woojinie. You can call them everyday and if you ever feel lonely then i’m here,” Hyungseob says comfortingly.

“I know. Thank you.” Woojin grabs Hyungseob’s hand and holds it tightly for a moment before letting go again to put the key in the ignition.

“Anyway! Look on the bright side! Maybe we’ll meet our other soulmate when we get there!”

Woojin smiles softly at the idea. He knows that it could happen at absolutely any time in their lives, that it could still be five or fifty years away, but he really hopes that Hyungseob’s right.

The university hadn’t agreed to let them share a dorm room. They said that they never let people pick their rooms unless they’re unable to live with the roommate assigned to them for a valid reason, and being childhood friends and/or soulmates doesn’t make the rules any different for them.

It’s okay, Woojin supposes, ideally he would have been able to room with Hyungseob but the other boy is only going to be a few doors down the hall. It’s not much different to when they lived on the same street, it’s closer in fact.

They decide to tackle unpacking Woojin’s things first. He’s brought the least amount of stuff with him out of the two of them, really just his clothes as well as a few books and old mixtapes and the stuffed rabbit Hyungseob had given him as a birthday present when they were still six that no one but Hyungseob knows he still has.

They’re basically done by the time a head pokes its way around the door.

“Hi, I’m guessing one of you is gonna be my roommate?” The boy asks once he’s let himself in.

Woojin just points to himself, surprising even himself with how nervous he is.

“Okay!” The boy seems fairly unperturbed by Woojin’s silence and just drops his stuff on the bed not covered in Woojin’s stuff. “I’m Kim Donghan. I took a year out so unless you did too I’m probably a year older than you, just so you know.”

“Okay,” Woojin says, cringing at how awkward he sounds.

“I take it you’re not a big talker? Whatever, I can deal with that.”

Thankfully, Hyungseob comes to his rescue.

“Hello! I’m Ahn Hyungseob! This is my soulmate, boyfriend and longtime best friend Park Woojin!” He gestures dramatically at Woojin. “Please look after him for me.”

“Wow, he’s sure a lot of things. I don’t know if i can remember all that. Can you print me out a list?” Donghan says a little dryly, but he smiles at Hyungseob and adds “I’ll try not to let him die on my watch.”

Hyungseob has to go and start unpacking for himself a few minutes later. Woojin would like to follow him but he doesn’t want to seem rude to his roommate so he stays and offers to help Donghan with his stuff instead.

“So, soulmates, huh?” Donghan wiggles his eyebrows at Woojin.

“Yep,” Woojin says. He kind of wants to tell Donghan that they have another soulmate too, but he also wants to keep it between him and Hyungseob until he gets to know people around here better. “Have you found yours?”

Donghan smiles. “Yeah. it’s why I took a gap year, actually. He lives on the other side of the country. We found each other on instagram, of all places. After the first time we finally met it just kept seeming too soon to part, and before I knew it summer was over and I’d completely forgotten about college applications so I just...stayed there, and then we spent the year travelling.”

“Sounds nice,” Woojin comments. He’d love to travel, theoretically, but he doubts he’ll ever be able to afford it and doesn’t know where he’d go even if he could.

“It was.” Donghan nods. “It sucks that I can’t see him as often now, but he insisted i couldn’t keep leaving my education behind for him.” He laughs. Woojin wonders if he has the same wistful expression on his face when he talks about Hyungseob.

They sort some of Donghan’s stuff into drawers and gently stick some posters to the walls. They’re nowhere near done but when Donghan’s phone rings he immediately stops to answer it, a wide smile growing on his face.

“Hey! Taedong!” He greets into the receiver. “What? Yes i promise i am actually at college and not on my way back to see you!”

Woojin wanders out of the room to give Donghan and who he presumes is Donghan’s soulmate some privacy. As he heads to Hyungseob’s room, he thinks a lot of his fears of college may have been unfounded.

It’s less than a month into their first semester and it’s Hyungseob who finds him first.

He comes rushing into Woojin’s room one afternoon, flushed and out of breath but smiling wider than Woojin’s ever seen-and that’s saying something.

“What’s up?” Woojin asks, looking up from his laptop with an expression so alarmed he’d probably laugh at himself if he had a mirror.

“I found him, Woojin, I found him,” Hyungseob breathes.

“...Found…who?” If Hyungseob got super-invested in a game of where’s Waldo again Woojin is going to kill him.

“Him,” Hyungseob stresses, as if Woojin’s missing something obvious. “Our soulmate.” And oh.

Oh.

“Oh,” Woojin says. “Oh my god.”

Hyungseob nods frantically.

“How? Where? Who is he? Are you sure?” Woojin doesn’t think he’s ever heard himself talk so fast and he isn’t aware he’s gotten to his feet until he realises he’s holding onto Hyungseob by the shoulders.

“I’m sure,” Hyungseob says. “His name is Park Jihoon, and I was wrong. He’s more than beautiful, he’s ethereal .”

When they’ve both calmed down as much as they can in this situation, Hyungseob tells him the whole story.

The lecturer had told Hyungseob’s class that their first real assignment would be a joint project with the freshman photography majors. They’d work in pairs and choose a subject, the photography majors photographing it and the people in Hyungseob’s class composing a poem about it.

As soon as the photography majors had entered Hyungseob’s eyes had locked onto “a very cute boy in a very ugly pink sweater” and he knew . He’d grabbed the boy as a partner before anyone else could and before the boy could protest.

“-and then he said his name is Jihoon,” Hyungseob continues. “Isn’t it just the best name you’ve ever heard.”

Woojin is torn between making fun of Hyungseob for sighing so dreamily over a name and agreeing.

“Does he know?” Woojin asks. “Who you are? Who we are?”

“I don’t know,” Hyungseob says, quieter now. He looks deep in thought. It’s probably only just occurred to him that just because he’d been able to recognise Jihoon doesn’t necessarily mean Jihoon recognised him in return. “We didn’t get enough time to talk before the lecture ended and-I mean, I didn’t really notice anything on his face or whatever that would indicate he knew who I was, now that I think about it but-” Hyungseob is rambling now, words hurried and nervous.

“Hyungseob,” Woojin says quickly, clasping his boyfriends hands in his own. “Seob, Seobbie.”

Hyungseob is looking at him now, finally quiet, and just like every other time he’s looked at him Woojin falls in love.

“It’s going to be okay. You can see if he knows who we are when you see him again. If he doesn’t, then we can tell him, or wait for him, whatever works. You are going to see him again, right?”

Hyungseob nods. “It’s a two week long project. He’s coming over tonight so we can discuss ideas, actually.”

“Okay, that’s good.”

“Will you be there? I want you to meet him, Woojin.”

Woojin’s heart is a heavy drumbeat in his chest. He’s been thinking about this day for roughly a month now.. He’s going to meet his other soulmate-meet jihoon-tonight. He is happy and scared and in love all at once.

“Of course I will,” Woojin promises.

Woojin is pacing outside of Hyungseob’s door.

It’s seven o’clock and Jihoon is getting there at quarter past. Woojin should be in there already, waiting, but as he’d waved goodbye to Donghan for the evening and stepped outside his room the nerves had hit him.

He hadn’t had to worry about making a good first-impression with Hyungseob. Hyungseob had already known him; he’d known all of Woojin’s flaws and nervous habits and little details. Hyungseob had accepted everything about Woojin long before they’d realised they were soulmates and could never have believed him to be something he wasn’t.

Jihoon has never met Woojin. Tonight, Woojin will be making his first-impression. What if he messes it up? In situations where he’s uncomfortable he has tendencies to be too quiet, and in situations where he is comfortable  he has tendencies to be too weird. What if he does something wrong tonight and then Jihoon decides he doesn’t even want to get to know Woojin and see who he really is? What if he sees who Woojin is and decides he doesn’t like it?

The rational part of his mind (that sounds a little like Yerim and a little like Hyungseob, he can’t believe the most rational people in his life are his thirteen year old sister and Ahn Hyungseob. ) tells him that that won’t happen. Jihoon is his soulmate and he can’t hate Woojin because how could his soulmate hate him? But his anxiety is a stronger force and it refuses to listen.

Still, he takes a deep breath and pushes the door open. Even if Jihoon would hate him, Woojin would never give up the chance to know him.

Hyungseob is perched on the edge of his bed, though he jumps up when he hears Woojin come in. Hyungseob’s roommate isn’t here often, so they’re alone. It’s a good thing, explaining to someone why they need the room for the night may end up being weird even though there’s not actually anything weird about it. They’d ended up telling Donghan about the fact they had another soulmate, and he hadn’t judged them whatsoever, but they still haven’t mentioned it to any of the other friends they’ve made in the last few weeks. They won’t hide it forever, but while Jihoon was still just a concept in their distant future the’d wanted to avoid any possible bad reactions. The idea of people judging them, and judging Jihoon, hurt too much.

“Hi,” Woojin breathes.

“Hi.” Hyungseob says back.

They’re both so nervous they can feel it radiating off the other, though Hyungseob’s nerves lean more towards excited while Woojin is plain scared. There’s not much they can say to each other to calm down, but being around each other helps. It helps Hyungseob not to get ahead of himself and it helps Woojin think more rationally.

The fifteen minutes they have to wait feel like an infinity, but at the same time it’s as if it’s not even a second has passed when there’s a tentative knock at the door.

Hyungseob opens it, and then Woojin is overcome.

There really is no word to describe the boy who walks into the room other than ethereal. There is something so delicate yet so strong about him. The blush in his cheeks, the twinkle in his eyes, the soft waves of his hair; he’s so stunning that Woojin wouldn’t believe he was human if there was a possibility he could be anything but.

Woojin had thought that he was already in love with Jihoon, but that was nothing compared to what he feels now. What he feels now will probably pale in comparison to the pure burst of emotion he’ll have when he actually gets to know him, and that will probably pale in comparison to everyday that comes after it.

Woojin could write more than a song about this boy; he could write a symphony-he could write twelve of them. No number and no talent he has within him will ever come close to capturing the person in front of him as much and as well as he deserves.

“Hello, I’m Park Jihoon,” Jihoon directs at Woojin.

“Oh, yeah!” Hyungseob says. “Jihoon, this is my boyfriend, Woojin. It’s okay if he hangs out here while we work, right? He’s kind of my muse.”

The muses were godly. Woojin thinks if one of Hyungseob’s soulmates fit that description it should be Jihoon and not him, but he understands because Hyungseob is his muse too.

There were nine muses in Greek mythology, therefore there’s no reason they shouldn’t each have two.

“I don’t mind, no. Just focus on the project and not making eyes at him, yeah?” Jihoon is playful, but there’s an edge of seriousness in it too. He understands. He’s always taken his music seriously, giving it all his focus and not being able to stand even the smallest distraction. Hyungseob is different; easily distracted from his work and able to make the poetry flow onto the page even if he’s only half-paying attention. Jihoon is probably somewhere in between those two extremes.

If you ask Woojin later how their first meeting went, he wouldn’t be able to tell you. He finds himself struggling to pay attention to anything but noticing every little detail about the way Jihoon looks and speaks and moves; the way he interacts with Hyungseob and Hyungseob’s face lights up and looks at Jihoon with love in his eyes and how they look so good together even if they’re just sat talking.

His good first impression is probably lost between all the staring and the way he doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t realise that until Jihoon calls him over to share an idea with him.

“I really don’t know anything about photography,” He admits, but he shuffles closer anyway because how can he not?

“Well, anything’s better than you just sat over there. I don’t you to be bored.”

Jihoon sounds more amused than offended but Woojin blushes and reminds himself that he is supposed to be making a good first impression here and letting it seem like he doesn’t want Jihoon around definitely isn’t one.

“I’m not, I promise.” Woojin smiles at Jihoon.

He feels Jihoon’s eyes linger on his mouth. He knows that he’s probably looking at Woojin’s snaggletooth or simply looking because it might be the first time he’s seen Woojin smile. That doesn’t stop the way it kickstarts the drumming in his heart again.

“I was thinking of doing something a little like this.” Jihoon’s eyes are back on his portfolio like nothing happened and maybe it didn’t. He flicks to a page featuring a double page spread with multiple photographs. To Woojin the photos seem to be of large blurs of colours. “This was a piece I did. It’s like...love as colours, both the good and the bad.” 

The longer Woojin looks, the more he can see details he hadn’t noticed before. In one photo different shades of red glass crash into each other and shatter across the concrete, as if they tried to be together only to break each other. Another is soft smoke swirls of blues and greens working together and blending easily. Pink, yellow and black string, all laid out close together but never quite touching.

Woojin isn’t sure he entirely understands them, but they look beautiful and they make him feel something and really, isn’t that the point of all forms of art?

“It’s incredible,” Woojin says honestly. “Have you been in love, then?” It slips out of his mouth before he can stop it.

It isn't impossible to fall in love with someone who isn’t your soulmate. The relationships were thought to be more tumultuous and  less real than those formed by fate. Woojin has never really agreed with that, if people are in love then they are in love. It almost makes him reconsider his stance to think that Jihoon may have already found a love who isn’t them, though. He’s thought of a lot of possibilities, but never that Jihoon may not want them because he’s already decided on someone else.

Jihoon puts an end to that train of thought quickly.

“No.” He shakes his head. “Not myself. I asked almost everybody i know who has been what it’s like as research for this, though.”

“Okay, cool.” Woojin nods dumbly.

“So...are you guys soulmates?” Jihoon asks suddenly.

Woojin and Hyungseob’s eyes find each other immediately. What do they say to that? Yes? Yes but it’s not just us? Yes and you’re our soulmate too, by the way? For all they’d knew this was going to happen one way or another, they hadn’t came up with any real semblance of a plan.

“You seem like you are,” Jihoon adds when he doesn’t get an answer.

Woojin wants to dissect Jihoon’s tone but he is distracted by the sweet lilt of his voice and when he glances to his face for a hint he is once again left dumbstruck by the other boys mere presence.

“We’re soulmates, yeah,” Hyungseob says.

Jihoon nods.

“But!” Hyungseob continues. “We actually have another soulmate too.”

Woojin doesn’t know if Hyungseob doing this right now is the smart thing or the right thing, but he knows that if they’re doing this then he wants to do it the way his soulmate deserves. But once again he doesn’t have any clue how to make this romantic without having had time to think about it in advance.

“Is your other soulmate dating you too?” Jihoon asks. His voice is free of judgment; in fact, it’s completely devoid of any emotion. That strength he’d noticed when Jihoon had come in comes out in the careful and controlled nature he seems to be able to pick up on a whim. It’s not really a surprise, considering he’d managed to make Woojin comfortably join in with only a few words and convince Hyungseob of his vision for the project with even less.

“No,” Woojin says. He has never felt words weigh on his tongue like they do now. That weight could be in gold or it could be in jagged scrap metal, it all depends on how Jihoon reacts to what he says. “We kind of...just met him.”

“So-“ Jihoon breathes. “It is you?”

Woojin and Hyungseob just stare at him. There feels like there’s no air around them, no anything; the universe has contracted to this very room, centering on the three of them instead of the sun or the stars or any of those other massive, cosmic forces that seem so insignificant right now.

“You’re my soulmates?” Jihoon clarifies. Woojin thinks he can hear something behind Jihoon’s managed voice but he doubts anyone but the two of them would be able to.

“Yes.” It’s Hyungseob who says it.

Woojin braces himself for whatever it is to come.

“Okay.”

The universe expands again, all at once, a big bang that science can’t quite explain.

What does ‘okay’ mean?

“What does ‘okay’ mean?” He asks.

His eighteenth birthday is next month yet he’s never felt more like a child.

“It means okay. It means where do we go from here. What do you want from me.” Jihoon says.

“We just want you .”

Jihoon looks up into Woojin’s face and holds his gaze. His stare is a little calculating but it softens the longer he looks- like he feels as much when he looks at Woojin as Woojin does when he looks at him.

When Jihoon breaks his gaze to turn his eyes on Hyungseob Woojin finds himself both grateful and longing for it back.

It isn’t until he’s found whatever he’s looking for in Hyungseob that Jihoon speaks again.

“I want you both too.”

The night ends not long after due to the fact they are all emotionally drained. They offer to let Jihoon stay but he says he’d like to go back to his dorm room for now and they accept that no matter how much their souls crave his presence.

They’re meeting again tomorrow.

It occurs to Woojin later that tomorrow will basically be his first ever date.

He drags Hyungseob outside with him as soon as the shops open. He knows what he’s looking for but not where to find it, and maybe leaving so early is overkill but it’s better than leaving too late.

There’s a little flower shop crammed between a used bookstore and a tiny diner; it’s painted in a shade of light green. Ivy grows up the walls and bright, perfect flowers bloom in pots outside.

It seems a little too flawless, a little otherworldly- it seems perfect for Jihoon.

Woojin doesn’t know much about flowers. He thinks the only time he’s ever bought a bouquet was once for mother’s day, and his father had been the one to choose and pay for it; the only thing Woojin’s five-year-old self had been responsible for was handing it to his mother along with his homemade card that was more scribbles than art (she still has it, stuck to the fridge at home, and Woojin feels a pang of missing his family but it’s not as hard to bear as he thought.)

Hyungseob knows a little about flowers. Flowers are mentioned in poems almost as much as rain and food and tears. But Woojin is not looking for a metaphor, he’s looking for a bouquet that Jihoon will hopefully like- Hyungseob says the act of giving a bouquet itself is a metaphor for love, but then he laughs and says he’s not that pretentious.

They ask for help at the counter and a teenage boy who’s name tag reads Daehwi lights up at the words ‘soulmate’ and ‘do you have any suggestions’. He asks them to tell him a little about Jihoon and they tell him that they know nothing but also tell him everything. Daehwi sets out to make the bouquet, the dreamy expression he wore when they spoke turning into one of pure focus.

They walk out of the shop with a bouquet of pink hibiscuses and white roses and other flowers Woojin has already forgotten the names of. It doesn’t matter what they’re called, what matters is that Woojin can look at them and see how they fit Jihoon all too easily. He hopes that they gave Daehwi a big enough tip. After that they go to buy chocolates and it’s less pressure than the flowers because they just pick the prettiest box that carries more than one type of chocolate and call it a day before heading back to their dorm to get ready for the date itself.

This time when they hear the knock on the door it’s Woojin who answers it. He shuffles awkwardly with the flowers and box of chocolates before swinging it open to reveal Jihoon standing on the other side.

One thing that Woojin had not thought to consider in his grand plans of romance was that he has never been particularly good with words unless they’re lyrics and that the sight of Jihoon still makes him a little dazed and tongue-tied.

“Are those…for me?” Jihoon asks, staring at the gifts in Woojin’s hands.

“Oh! uh, yes!”

He pushes the bouquet and box of chocolates into Jihoon’s hands. The permanent blush on his cheeks flushes a little pinker- a prettier colour than any flower, and he smiles and it’s sweeter than chocolate could ever hope to be.

“Thank you,” Jihoon says, admiring the flowers in his hands.

Woojin is willing to buy him flowers everyday if it means Jihoon smiles like that.

Hyungseob is grinning at them both from across the room.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“You took me to a mcdonald’s?”

“We’re broke college students who maybe didn’t think ahead and spent all our money on a bouquet,” Hyungseob says. “I’m sorry, we can take you somewhere else if you really want.”

“Are you kidding? I want chicken nuggets,” Jihoon replies.

They order at the drive-thru and stop in the parking lot so they can all eat. Before they do Woojin and Hyungseob pile into the backseat with Jihoon instead of staying up front. It’s a small, old car that only just fits three people comfortably but none of them care, though being pressed into Jihoon’s side almost makes Woojin forget that he hasn’t eaten since breakfast because the feeling of Jihoon’s warm arm brushing against his is more consuming than hunger.

“Jihoon? How did you feel when you realised you had two soulmates?” Hyungseob asks when they’ve finished their food.

Woojin wants to know too. He wants to know everything about him from the moment when he was wondrously brought into this world as a baby. Hyungseob is a song that’s been playing on repeat since Woojin was six, a song that he could never got tired of no matter how much he hears it. Jihoon is a new song he only gets to hear in bits a pieces until hopefully, finally, he’ll be allowed to listen to the whole thing everyday alongside Hyungseob’s. What was Jihoon’s childhood like? His family? What does he dream about at night and worry about in private moments? Woojin wants to know all of it.

“I don’t think I really felt any differently to how I would have just finding out I had one soulmate. There were two, and that was the way it was.”

“So you’re happy? with us?” Hyungseob asks.

Jihoon laughs. It’s prettier than any song Woojin’s ever heard. “I barely know either of you.”

It’s not exactly the answer Woojin is hoping for, but he smiles despite himself. “Okay, do you think you could be?”

Jihoon’s smile turns teasing. “Maybe, yeah.”

Woojin stares at Jihoon’s smile and doesn’t doubt that they will be.

Jihoon nestles his way into their life easily, as if they’d left an empty space for him without even realising. Their first date had been a little over a week ago, and since then they’ve seen each other almost everyday. They try and at least meet up for lunch, even though Jihoon and Hyungseob are dedicating most of the time to their project and Woojin is busy preparing for his own upcoming first assignment.

They try, anyway, things can’t always work out.

Hyungseobbie ♡
Hey, I can’t make it to lunch today :( our professor asked for the whole class’ help with something. Say hi to Jihoon for me?

Woojin stares down at his phone, chewing his lip nervously. He hasn’t spent time with Jihoon alone yet, and he’d be lying if he said the idea didn’t give him butterflies in his stomach, he’s just not sure if they’re good or bad. He feels a lot more confident when he has Hyungseob’s comforting presence next to him; he feels a lot more himself . If Hyungseob is there to support him he finds it a lot easier to come out of his shell, and to not let worried thoughts invade his mind.

Jihoonie ♡
Hey, Hyungseob said he can’t make it. Are you and me still on for lunch?

He hesitates before sending back a ‘Do you still want us to be?’

Jihoonie ♡
Sure!

That message from anyone else would make Woojin doubt the sincerity of their words, but he’s already gotten used to Jihoon’s succinct texting style. He smiles, even though he’s in the middle of a lecture and shouldn’t be on his phone in the first place, let alone smiling to draw attention to himself.

‘It’s a date then,’ Woojin texts back.

Woojin spots Jihoon at one of the outside tables before Jihoon notices him looking over. Woojin takes this opportunity to admire Jihoon. The other boy is sat with one arm resting on the table, phone in hand. His hair is a little mussed, soft and wavy. He can’t truly see Jihoon’s face, but he can see the little grin forming as he looks up to Woojin’s approaching figure and he’s once again hit by the word ‘ethereal.’

Before Woojin can sit down, Jihoon raises the camera he carries around his neck and takes a photo with absolutely no warning.

“What was that for?” Woojin asks.

“You looked radiant,” Jihoon replies easily.

Suddenly there’s a heat crawling under Woojin’s skin. His heart thumps, wild but still caged, against his chest. If he is radiant then that’s only the glow of being in love with the boy in front of him.

Woojin sits down. He tries to hide how much Jihoon’s words affected him but he’s not sure if it works. It doesn’t matter, anyway. Jihoon’s eyes are focused on his camera as he looks through the picture previews.

It had started just as they were about to leave the mcdonald’s parking lot. Woojin hadn’t even noticed that Jihoon was carrying his camera then, it had been tucked away in his bag instead of hanging around his neck like it usually is after class. Before Hyungseob had the chance to get back in the driver's seat Jihoon had pulled out his camera and snapped a picture of him, then he’d done the same to Woojin. The pictures had come out breathtaking, especially Hyungseob’s. The ros é glow of the setting sun had been streaming through the windows, casting Hyungseob in a soft pink light. He’d smiled, not concerned at all that the photo had come out of nowhere (woojin wonders if Jihoon still has that photo, he wants a copy, even though the beauty of it is etched in his mind.) Since then, Jihoon takes photos of them all the time. Woojin was still getting used to having to be always prepared to having his picture taken, but if it’s what Jihoon wants to do then Woojin isn’t going to stop him.

“Do you want to order?” Jihoon asks him.

Woojin smiles. “Sure.”

Throughout lunch it’s clear that they both miss Hyungseob, but that’s okay because he and Hyungseob miss Jihoon when he’s not with them; they have done since before they even met him and it’s only grown stronger since they have. Other than that, spending time alone with Jinhoon is easier than he’d thought. He’s still struck by how incredible Jihoon is at inopportune moments, but if he halts halfway through a sentence because he forgets what to say Jihoon just laughs, but not unkindly. They talk about their classes and their friends and Woojin tells him some of the embarrassing stories from when the and Hyungseob were younger than bring that mischievous glint into Jihoon’s eyes.

It’s damn near close to perfect.

Woojin is having a crisis.

They have known Jihoon for almost a month now. They see eachother almost everyday, even though Jihoon and Hyungseob handed in their joint project last week. A lot of what they did could definitely be considered dates: getting lunch, going out for coffee, dinner on a few occasions, they’ve even been planning to go ice-skating once it truly hits winter.

But Woojin doesn’t know if they’re actually dating.

He’s definitely dating Hyungseob, and Hyungseob is definitely dating him, and they definitely both want to date Jihoon. He has, until recently, considered without a doubt that what the three of them were doing was dating. He just doesn’t know if Jihoon considers what they’d been doing dating too. Woojin thought it was pretty obvious, but at the same time except for the moments where Jihoon has complemented their looks nothing strictly romantic has happened between them. They haven’t kissed, or cuddled, they haven’t even held hands. For a while he’d thought that maybe Jihoon just wanted to take things slow, and Woojin and Hyungseob hadn’t exactly made the first move because they felt that that should be up to Jihoon. The thing is that now he’s thinking that maybe Jihoon doesn’t consider what they’ve been doing dating at all, and maybe he doesn’t even want to date them. He’d said that first night, the night that they met, that he wants them, but did he definitely mean that he wants them romantically?

Soulmates are romantic most of the time, but not always. Some soulmates are lifelong best friends who are never interested in being together and go on to have romantic relationships with other people.

Is that what Jihoon considers their relationship to be? A friendship? Maybe he doesn’t feel their soulbond the same way Woojin and Hyungseob do. He’d been happy to meet them, sure, but he didn’t act like it was the life-changing moment that Woojin considered it to be. Maybe he just doesn’t care for them as much. There was a moment that first night where it seemed like he did, but Woojin hasn’t seen that same look since.

Just the thought of it is a decrescendo in Woojin’s heart; the love and happiness it beat with slowly vanishing until his heart was an empty concert hall.

He already knows that he’d accept it if that’s what Jihoon wants. He’d do anything to make Jihoon happy. But every moment they’d spend just as friends would break Woojin’s heart when what he really wants to do was hold Jihoon’s hand and kiss him like he deserves to be kissed and announce to the world that he was this impossibly amazing boy is their soulmate .

To find out where Jihoon stands, he has to talk to him about this. He knows that. They’re meeting up in an hour to get ice-cream-it’s his idea, Hyungseob has long accepted that he’s indifferent to the weather around him and Jihoon doesn’t seem to mind it either.

He’ll bring it up then, then at least they’ll all be on the same page.

Jihoon had been the one to recommend this ice-cream place; apparently he has a friend there who always gave discounts to his friends and their friends. The place itself is small but cute, and Hyungseob seems to fall in love with it the second they walk in.

“Hey, Daniel!” Jihoon calls as they walk up to the counter. Woojin guesses this is the friend Jihoon was talking about before. He’s tall and broad has one of the friendliest smiles that Woojin has ever seen, he’s kind of not surprised that this Daniel’s apparently fond of giving discounts to people he likes.

“Hey, Jihoonie!” Daniel greets, then turns his smile on him and Hyungseob. “Who are your friends?”

“This is, uh, Woojin and Hyungseob,” Woojin thinks that maybe, just maybe, Jihoon looks a little nervous. It’s cute, the way his cheeks are a little rosier and his eyelashes flutter. Woojin doesn’t understand what he’s so nervous about, though.

There’s no sudden look of recognition on Daniel’s face at their names. Has Jihoon not told his friends about them?

“Well, it’s nice to meet you guys! Any friend of Jihoon’s is a friend of mine!”

Friend.

“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you to,” Woojin forces the words out but he’s not really focusing. Jihoon hasn’t told his friends that they’re his soulmates, maybe hasn’t even mentioned that he found his soulmates. Surely if he cared about it he would have mentioned it to someone?

Daniel takes their orders. Woojin’s not even sure what he asks for, he just points to something and nods when Daniel asks for confirmation.

Hyungseob looks at him with concern in his eyes and Woojin shakes it off. They can’t talk about this here, not with Jihoon right next to them listening to whatever story Daniel is telling him as he sorts out their orders. Jihoon laughs at something Daniel says and Woojin feels a flare of sickness in the pit of his stomach-jealousy.

He knows that Jihoon smiling at someone else is something gross and unhealthy to be jealous of. Still, he thinks about Jihoon maybe not being interested in them and wanting to date other people again and Daniel is sweet and attractive and has known Jihoon since before Woojin and Hyungseob showed up in his life.

“Woojin?”

Woojin blinks at the hand being waved in front of his face.

Oh, when did they sit down?

“Woojin, you there?” Jihoon laughs. It sounds so sweet that the dark sickness in his stomach is replaced by one made of butterflies and spun sugar. “Your ice-cream is going to melt,”

Woojin finally looks at his ice-cream then. It’s looks like a sundae of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. It could be a lot worse, at least he didn’t order anything weird, like rum raisin or pistachio or something.

Woojin eats but as he does it doesn’t leave his mind that he needs to talk to Jihoon.

It should be easy, it’s just one question.

“How do you feel about us?”

“Do you want to date us or do you just see us as friends?”

“What the fuck is going on in your head and why won’t you just tell us?”

“Can you stop smiling like everything is perfect when it’s very clearly not?”

He doesn’t say any of that though. He watches Hyungseob and Jihoon talk and smile, there’s a little bit of ice-cream on Hyungseob’s lip that he wants to lean over and wipe off. It’s cloudy outside now but it feels warm and hazy like the best kind of summers.

If he asks, he’ll ruin the moment. If he asks, he can’t pretend that there’s nothing missing from this scene. He might ruin more than just this ephemeral moment of happiness, he might ruin everything forever.

He leaves without saying anything he’d planned to. It’s a bittersweet silence but it’s better than what it could have been.

He knows he can’t keep pretending forever, but he chooses to push it to the back of his mind again until the next time he sees Jihoon.

Next time he sees Jihoon ends up not being the next day.

Jihoon’s professor is apparently a very big fan of projects; she’s already set another one even though they’d only just gotten their grades back for the last one-Jihoon and Hyungseob had gotten an A. Woojin wanted to treat them for something for that, but Jihoon has asked if they could reschedule because he wants to have his project at least planned before the days out.

Woojin tries not to overthink it.

He and Hyungseob silently and unanimously agree that they don’t want to celebrate without Jihoon. Instead of going out anywhere they sit on Woojin’s floor and he makes them instant ramen for dinner because he’s been living away from home for over a month now but he still has absolutely no idea how to cook.

They eat cross-legged on the floor out of bowls that may actually belong to Donghan (who is out with his boyfriend and their friends and therefore can’t say anything about it provided Woojin washes them before he gets back)  and it’s certainly not an evening out but it’s fundamentally college in a way Woojin can still appreciate the novelty in.

“Do you think Jihoon likes us? He asks quietly.

Hyungseob pauses, noodles hanging from his mouth. He swallows them before saying, as if it’s as simple as that: “He’s our soulmate.”

Woojin nods slowly. “But is it that easy?”

Hyungseob cocks his head. “What do you mean, Woojinie?”

“I mean.” Woojin swallows, nervous. “Does he..like us the way we like him?” Hyungseob bows his head, pensive. Woojin wishes he’d just talk . He doesn’t want to sit in silence. Hyungseob’s silence is worrying.

“He has to, right? We’re meant to be together.” Hyungseob doesn’t sound as sure as he did a moment ago.

“Are we? We’re soulmates, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to be boyfriends. It doesn’t even mean that he has to stick around us. Nothing bad will happen if he doesn’t want to. Soulmates only stay because they want to.”

“B-but he wants to, right? He has to want to!” Hyungseob’s sureness has devolved into desperation faster than Woojin could blink.

Woojin wants to end the conversation here. He wants to comfort Hyungseob. But they need to talk about this; Woojin has already been dealing with these thoughts alone. He needs to know what Hyungseob thinks too. This is about the three of them, not just Woojin.

“I don’t know. I can’t figure out how he feels about us. We...we need to talk to him.” Woojin sighs.

Hyungseob looks at him. There’s a despondance in his gaze but also a fierce dedication. “Okay. We’ll do that.”

Woojin is hit with by how grateful he is for Hyungseob. He feels like some of the weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Sharing this with Hyungseob has eased his turbulent mind and the pain in his heart.

He remembers that as long as Hyungseob is with him, he can do anything.

They finish their ramen in silence, but it feels less heavy now. After that they fall into bed even though it’s still pretty early. Woojin holds Hyungseob in his arms but he can’t help but miss the presence of a third person in the tiny dorm bed even though he’s not actually felt it before.

“Are we going to talk to him tomorrow?” Hyungseob asks him in a whisper.

Woojin can’t pretend that he was anywhere near sleep. He tightens his hold on Hyungseob before he answers.

“If you think that’s best, then yeah.”

“Do you think that you’re ready for it?”

“I don’t think I ever will be,” Woojin answers honestly. “But I don’t want to not know for any longer either.”

“Tomorrow it is, then.”

Woojin doesn’t get much sleep at all that night. Tomorrow, he is going to know one way or another the thing that he’d been wondering for days. He’s going to get the answer for something that affects the rest of his life. He’s going to know if he gets to live the life he dreams of with the two boys he’s irrevocably in love with him or if a piece of him is always going to be missing.

Woojin never knew that he’d be this invested in this whole soulmates thing. He thought it was only a casual interest, that he’d never let it control him like it did for the people who thought that having their soulmate was the most important thing in their lives,

Having a soulmate isn’t the most important thing in his life.

But Jihoon and Hyungseob are.

Woojin has never put much thought into his appearance. He keeps up with his personal hygiene and all the necessary stuff. He’s dyed his hair a few times for the fun of it. But he’s never been the type to sit and fret over his outfit or if his hair is falling correctly or which cologne smells nicer.

Love changes a lot of things. Especially when you’re basically about to confess.

“Woojin, that shirt is fine,” Hyungseob sighs for the third time.

“What’s ‘fine’? ‘Fine’ isn’t good enough, Seob,” Woojin says, frantically going through his wardrobe again.

“Woojinie.” Hyungseob’s hand on his arm stills his movement. “Look at me. Come on,”

Woojin does as he’s told and is floored by the soft, unadulterated love in his boyfriend’s expression.

“You look incredible. You have never not looked incredible, from the moment I saw you as a shy little kid who smiled at me when I gave him one of my mom’s cookies. You look especially breathtaking right now though. That shirt really brings out your eyes.”

Woojin snorts. “Sometimes I think my eyes are all you ever talk about. Remember that poem you wrote where you said they were glittering.”

“Hey!” Hyungseob laughs. “I was still figuring out my style then. Besides, I wasn’t wrong.”

Woojin kisses him. Soft and gentle. Just like the love he’s always felt for the boy who’s lips are pressed against his.

“I love you,” Woojin breathes when they part.

Hyungseob sighs contentedly, resting his forehead against Woojin’s own. “Yeah, I love you too. So much, Woojinie.”

“We need to finish getting ready. Jihoon will be here soon.”

“I love him too.” Hyungseob says. He hasn’t moved, clearly still basking in the moment.

“Are you going to tell him that? Tonight?” Woojin asks.

“I don’t know. I want to. But do you think it’s a little much? It could be, especially if he says no.”

“I think-I think we should be honest with him about what we feel, about what he’s getting into.”

Woojin feels more than sees Hyungseob’s nod of agreement, and then they part, and the fear and anxiety rush back into Woojin and he can see how Hyungseob’s movements to get ready are slow and tentative.

Tonight is going to change everything.

Woojin had been the one to pick the restaurant they were going to-it being his treat also left him with the organisation and he’d spent a good few hours scouting through the internet for the perfect place-but even he’s shocked by how fancy it is. He worries for his wallet, but it’s worth it if Hyungseob and Jihoon have a good time.

A waiter shows them to a booth at the side and leaves them to look at the menu. The food all sounds delicious, and came highly recommended by every review he could find. They order; the service is surprisingly fast and soon enough they have three steaming hot and aromatic plates in front of them.

Woojin struggles to truly appreciate the food. His stomach is tangled up, twisting in knots more stubborn than the most annoying pairs of headphones. Hyungseob shoots him looks all through dinner, asking ‘is it time yet?’ with his eyes. Woojin always sends a ‘no’ back, though he knows that all these moments are as good as any one in the future. Jihoon surely notices their non-verbal conversations, but he doesn’t say anything, just looks away and eats some more.

They order a dessert to share-one of those melting chocolate spheres with strawberries and brownies inside.

It’s now or never, Woojin tells himself.

“Jihoon.” Woojin wants to come off as casual and unworried, there’s no need to show just how nervous he is yet.

“Are you okay, Woojin?” Jihoon frowns.

So much for that.

“I’m fine,” Woojin lies anyway. “I was just wondering if we could talk to you about something.

“Shoot.” Jihoon shrugs one shoulder. His expression is unreadable; Woojin may as well have asked him about the weather. It only makes his stomach twist more.

Woojin doesn’t know how to go about doing this. It’s a confession, so yeah, it should be romantic. He’d tried but he still doesn’t think that romance is his forte. Besides, if it’s too romantic, it could come out forced or even put pressure on Jihoon. He glances to Hyungseob for help, for reassurance, for comfort.

The familiar warmth in Hyungseob’s eyes says ‘go with your heart’. Hyungseob is far better at speaking from the heart than Woojin could ever hope to be. Hyungseob can spin his feelings into words as if they’re gold thread. He had always been a poet but as well as pouring his heart onto a smooth cream page he could speak words as if they’re just as practiced. Woojin could write lyrics he was rather proud of but without a melodious background his feelings came out stilted and hard to understand. He wishes that Hyungseob can be the one to tell Jihoon how they feel, but Hyungseob needs him as much as he needs Hyungseob. They need to do this together.

He forces himself to not think too much about his words and instead close in on the rhythm of his heart and all the emotions there.

“Jihoon,” He starts; he can already hear the raw chords of his voice. “I know we haven’t known each other very long; this might feel too fast, I don’t know. I don’t know how you feel. What I do know is that you are one of the most incredible people i have ever met. I know that you’re beautiful, inside and out. I know that you’re kind, and talented, and creative, and a little mysterious. I know that everything about you makes me fall for you even more every day we spend together. I know that there is nothing I want more than to be with you for the rest of my life, as our soulmate, and our boyfriend, and maybe even something more one day.”

Woojin can’t bring himself to look at Jihoon’s face. He keeps his eyes focused on the dark wood of the table until Hyungseob starts to speak. Hyungseob’s words tumble out, but their cadence and meaning make them sound like a well-worn record, imperfect only because it has  loved so much and been loved in return.

“You don’t have to do anything. We’re not pressuring you to do anything. We just want you to know how we feel about you. You mean the world to us. You’re the person we’ve been waiting for for so long, but you’re even more amazing than we ever could have thought. We want you to know how loved you are, but if you don’t want us the same way then that’s okay. Just please...stay around, even if we aren’t your world we still want to give you ours.”

Woojin finally looks at Jihoon then. There’s so much on his face that Woojin is floored. Tears shimmer at the corner of his eyes, reflecting the low light like drops of amber. Woojin doesn’t think he has the words to explain everything he sees in Jihoon’s expression right now, he’s not even sure there are words or that he’d understand them if he knew them. Jihoon’s walls have come crashing down, this is the very core of one of the boy that he loves, and it’s marvellous.

The corner of Jihoon’s lips quirk into a smile. “Woojin and Hyungseob, are you saying you want to date me?”

“Yeah, that’s the start of what we’re saying. Do you-do you want to date us?” Woojin asks. The rush of blood in his ears is louder than his own words, but he knows he’ll hear Jihoon over it because he’s waiting to hear this for so long.

“Yes,” Jihoon says. “That’s what i’ve wanted for a long time.”

Woojin’s soul sings. This is the most wondrous thing he’s ever heard. Woojin is so, so happy and so, so in love.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Hyungseob asks, leaning over to clasp Jihoon’s hand on top of the table.

“I was...worried,” Jihoon breathes quietly. It’s clear that whatever he is admitting now is something Jihoon has been keeping inside for a long time. “You two have known each other almost your whole lives. You had years to get to know each other, and be with each other, and fall in love. I never thought that you’d know each other before we met-I don’t know what i thought. Then we met and you were happy together and I wondered if i was just some guy who’d walked into your life one day. I didn’t want to fall in love with you, I tried not to, but I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t sure where I stood though. I didn’t want to get in the way of what you already had.”

“Jihoon, you could never get in the way. We’ve wanted to be with you since the moment we knew you were out there. There has always and will always be a space in our relationship that’s meant for you,” Hyungseob says softly.

Jihoon nods. There’s still tears falling down his cheeks but he’s smiling, soft and open and beautiful.

“So,” Woojin starts, a smile on his own face. “Will you, Park Jihoon, be our boyfriend?”

“Yes. I would love to be your boyfriend.”

They walk home holding hands, clinging to each other for warmth as the weather is slowly growing biting and because they can and because they love each other. In front of the door to their dorm Woojin gently pulls Jihoon into a kiss. His lips are a little cold but he tastes like chocolate and strawberries and something a little otherworldly that Woojin can’t place; he tastes like everything Woojin has ever wanted. When Jihoon kisses Hyungseob afterwards Woojin feels their soulbond pulse in happiness and warmth flood his veins. He doesn’t think he’s ever been as in love as he is in that moment.

The cold nips at Woojin’s skin even through his large winter coat. He didn’t mind it, in fact he’d probably forgo the coat entirely if his boyfriends wouldn’t give disappointed looks every time he shows up with bare arms.

His subway pulls to a stop and he gets off. He orders three to-go cups of hot chocolate before continuing his short walk-or at least Jihoon said it was short, Woojin is trusting him here.

He hears Hyungseob laughing at something before he sees them. He turns the corner and follows the sound and finds himself in front of an outdoor ice-rink nestled between the trees.

Hyungseob and Jihoon are sat at two picnic tables to the side of the rink. Night had fallen a while ago, leaving the sky inky black but the glow of the stars and the lights strung around the rink is more than enough to make them out.

“You finally made it, I see,” Jihoon comments when he sees Woojin walking towards them.

“Is that anyway to talk to your boyfriend who brought you hot chocolate?” Woojin places the cups on the table and both boys dive for them immediately.

“Never mind. We love you,” Hyungseob says, taking a sip.

“So, I guess we’re going on that ice-skating date after all?” Woojin asks, gesturing around him. “How did you even find this place?”

“I have a friend who works here. He said he’d keep it open after hours for us,” Jihoon explais.

“That’s nice of him.”

“Nah, Seongwoo just wants to get out of getting me a real christmas present.” Jihoon laughs. “Shall we skate then?”

“Uh,” Woojin says. “The thing is I don’t actually know how to skate.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Hyungseob adds.

“This was your guys idea!” Jihoon splutters.

Woojin can see his laughter in the cold air. “It sounded like a good date idea! Maybe we didn’t entirely think it through.”

“Fine. I guess i’ll teach you,” Jihoon sighs fondly.

Woojin puts his skates on easily and thinks that maybe this won’t be so difficult, only to immediately stumble the second he actually sets foot on the ice and have to grab onto the barrier.

Jihoon is laughing that tinkling laugh from somewhere behind him.

“Shut up!” Woojin moans.

“I’m sorry,” Jihoon says-though he doesn’t sound it-as he glides into view. “Come on, just watch me.”

Jihoon starts skating. He makes a flawless loop around the rink. His movements are graceful and precise. It’s so mesmerising that Woojin has to shake himself out of it when Jihoon comes back and tells them to try it themselves.

“Hey, I’m doing it!” Hyungseob exclaims proudly.

Woojin glances over to Hyungseob. He resembles a fawn taking its first steps but he is indeed moving across the ice. After the first few steps he manages to straighten up instead of stumble on his face and he’s skating-albeit wobbly so.

Jihoon cheers. Woojin joins in.

“Okay, now you,” Jihoon says to Woojin.

Woojin gingerly lifts his hands off the barrier. He moves his feet only to find himself immediately losing his balance. Thankfully, Jihoon is there to catch him.“You’re really worse than Hyungseob at this? I’ve seen Hyungseob trip over thin air Woojin,” Jihoon snorts.

“Hey, I have something for you,” Woojin says, definitely not deflecting from his lacklustre skating skills.

“Yeah?” Jihoon raises an eyebrow curiously.

“Yeah.” Woojin nods. “Hyungseob, come on!”

“Oh, are you doing it now?” Hyungseob asks, skating over to them.

Woojin nods again and they all walk off the ice, pausing to take their skates off and put their shoes back on.

“What is it?” Jihoon asks.

“Just hold on,” Woojin says, rummaging through his bag until he finds what he’s looking for. “Okay, close your eyes.”

Jihoon does so, only to immediately open one when he thinks Woojin isn’t looking.

“No peeking!”

Jihoon sighs but obediently closes them again.

Woojin presses the gift into Jihoon’s waiting palms. He feels nerves and excitement sparking through his veins when he says “Okay, you can look now.”

Jihoon opens his eyes slowly and looks down. A beat passes before he says “Woojin, is this a mixtape?”

Woojin nods. “It was actually our first assignment. Something about having to appreciate other artists music before we could make our own. As I was making it, I realised that almost every song I loved reminded me of you. I already handed it in, and showed it to Hyungseob. But I wanted to make you a copy of it too. I’m not the best with words, so I’m hoping I can show you how I feel through music, I want you to know how much I love you, how much I want and have always wanted you in my life.”

Jihoon smiles softly. “You know i’m not afraid of that anymore, right? I know you guys love me and want to be with me.”

“Good,” Hyungseob drapes his arms around Jihoon’s neck from behind and plants a kiss on his cheek. “We’re never gonna stop reminding you, though.”

“Thank you, Woojin.” Jihoon breathes, then he pulls Woojin into a kiss. When they separate, breaths mingling with the winter air again, Hyungseob grins at them both from where his head is still resting on Jihoon’s shoulder.

Woojin’s life is finally in harmony. It’s perfect.