Chapter Text
It started one night when Yoongi was heading to sleep. It'd been a long night day at school, and although he wanted desperately to pass out, his busy mind was keeping him awake. No matter how long he laid in bed, his mind wouldn't drift into unconsciousness. It was frustrating, needless to say.
The music major rolled over in his dorm bed, dragging the sheets with him. Just SLEEP, Yoongi, he tried to tell himself. It didn't work. Taking a deep breath, he tried again, doing his best at soothing his mind. For a moment, it actually seemed to be working.
And then a voice entered his head, scaring him half to death and ruining any progress he'd just made. Yoongi barely managed to resist the urge to swear out loud, for the sake of his roommate Hoseok.
After calming down, Yoongi came to 2 conclusions. One, he was hearing the voice of his soulmate for the first time, since it was obviously him singing, no instruments supporting him. Two, his soulmate had a gorgeous voice.
Although it seemed to be a male, it had an almost gentle feminine sound, and the way the boy sang the notes eased Yoongi considerably. His soulmate might as well be singing him a lullaby with the slow, sweet tune he was singing too. Yoongi felt his mind drift off easily after that, and by the time he realized he'd fallen asleep listening to his soulmate, it was morning.
-
Things got more familiar after the first time. Yoongi can't say he wasn't surprised when the night after that his soulmate began singing at the exactly 11:30, like last night, but he wasn't scared half to death this time. Instead, he found a smile unwillingly make its way onto his lips, his ears perking up at the sound.
The next morning, Yoongi thought about what he should play for his soulmate. He hadn't once sung or played any music, wanting to do something with meaning. Though he wasn't even sure if his soulmate knew that he could hear him, he wanted his first impression to be memorable. The thought kept him busy throughout all his day’s classes.
"Yoongi? Yoongi snap out of it!" A voice hissed. Yoongi blinked, frowning when he saw Hoseok's waving arms in front of him.
"What?"
"The professor's shot you a look like 3 times already! Pay attention before he calls you out!" Hoseok whispered, yet despite his warning, he seemed mildly entertained by the thought. Yoongi, the bad boy of the school who still got good grades, getting called out by the teacher?
Yoongi grumbled to himself, but reluctantly pushed thoughts of his soulmate out of his mind. Hoseok had yet to find his own soulmate, but his friends Namjoon and Jin had. The two had met when Namjoon transferred to the college, eyes meeting and widening as something just clicked. They were apparently able to talk to each other in their minds since they met, and Yoongi couldn't help being a bit jealous. Before finding Jin, Namjoon had always gone on about how he'd rap one of his songs and after half a minute his soulmate would play some encouraging, upbeat song in response. Now, they could finally have actual conversations with each other in their minds.. They were adorable, and endearingly sweet.
Again, Yoongi realized his thoughts had already drifted towards his soulmate. Since he was a kid, he wanted to say it was the prospect of being connected through music that had Yoongi entering that field of study. Now that he'd finally heard his rumored other half- and the boy's actual voice nonetheless- he was anxious. Hearing your soulmate's music meant up to a year of waiting at the max before you’d meet. It would be soon. It had to be soon.
"Mr. Min Yoongi? What do you think?" His professor's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, forcing him to refocus on the present. Besides him, he thought he heard Hoseok snicker.
-
"What do you think I should play for him?" Yoongi asked his friends. His soulmate hadn’t left his thoughts the entire afternoon, and everytime he went out in public he wondered if he’d run into his soulmate.
"He sung for you, why don't you rap for him? Then you can both hear each other's actual voices," Jin suggested.
Namjoon frowned at his lover. "You didn't sing for me when I rapped for you."
"My voice isn't that good. My looks, on the other hand..." Jin began, but Namjoon cut him off.
"You sung for me yesterday! Your voice is beautiful! Your looks are too, but..."
Yoongi tuned the two sickeningly sweet lovebirds out, looking at Hoseok and Taehyung expectantly.
Tae snickered. "You could play a dirty song to show him how you really feel," he dodged the pillow Yoongi whipped at his head, still grinning. “I did that to Jungkookie one day.”
"Or you could play some movie's dramatic opening theme," Hoseok suggested, getting an approving sound from Tae. “It’s like introducing yourself!”
Yoongi sighed. "You guys are hopeless." He needed to think of something. His soulmate had to know that they were to meet in the next year. But what could he play...? Shaking his head, he pushed it aside. He'd think of something later.
Later ended up turning into several days, and several days turned into several weeks. Every night, Yoongi fell asleep to his soulmate's voice. Hoseok talked about thanking Yoongi's soulmate when he met him, since hearing his voice made Yoongi less grouchy in the morning. The older boy smacked him on the head for that.
-
Finally, on a late evening, Yoongi decided on something. It was a song he'd written awhile back with Namjoon, and although it was more a love song about missing someone, it felt right to Yoongi. The right amount of longing, the right amount of soothing.
"I miss you..."
As the song played, Yoongi wondered how his soulmate would respond. It was about an hour before his soulmate usually sang him to sleep, so he had to be awake.
When the song ended, silence filled the air. Yoongi waited for a while, hoping, but no sound came through. With more disappointment than he assumed he'd have, he moved to get ready for bed.
Then, a beat. Yoongi recognized the song instantly, a popular song by a group Seventeen called Very Nice. He couldn't help smiling. It wasn't his soulmate's voice, but the response was positive enough. He'd never even met the boy, yet already he was excited, awaiting the day they'd find each other.
That night, much to Yoongi's relief, his soulmate did sing again. It was a little later than usual, causing Yoongi to panic for a few minutes, but it was him nonetheless. Maybe it was all in the music major's head, but he swore the boy sounded more happy as he sang, the notes coming out more cheerful than previous nights, as if they were bouncing gracefully off his soulmate's tongue. Yoongi slept well that night.
-
“Listen to this song!” Jungkook demanded the instant Yoongi stepped into the room.
Yoongi frowned at the younger boy, who was waving his phone in the other’s face. “Is that an American pop song?”
“Yeah! I want do a cover of it!” Jungkook exclaimed excitedly, before getting a distracted look in his eyes. The younger male calmed down not two seconds after, before a smirk drifted across his face.
Yoongi sighed. Jungkook must’ve been having a conversation with Taehyung, who happened to be his soulmate. Why was it that all his friends had started finding their soulmates except him? Sure, Hoseok hadn’t yet, but the fact didn’t seem to affect his roommate at all.
“Anyway!” Jungkook snatched his attention again, looking noticeably more lighthearted. A twirl of jealous curled in Yoongi’s gut. “Hyung, listen to this.”
With a jolt, Yoongi realized that his soulmate was going to be able to hear this. “Wait Jungkook-” But the younger had already hit play, looking at Yoongi in confusion.
Yoongi prayed his soulmate was asleep. This was not his music taste, and he did not want his soulmate thinking it was.
His prayers, however, went unanswered, as a voice that was certainly not him or Jungkook began to sing along with the song, a noticeable accent on his words. “You have to be kidding me,” Yoongi muttered out loud, a grin breaking through the austere demeanor he had on.
Jungkook glanced at him, a question written in his gaze. Yoongi couldn’t hold back from responding. “My soulmate’s singing to this song,” he admitted, grin still present on his face.
A mischievous smile spread across Jungkook’s face, but the lack of smartass words from his mouth led Yoongi to believe he was talking to Tae. “What’re you telling Taehyung, you brat?”
“Just about how far gone you are for your soulmate already,” Jungkook hummed playfully, confirming Yoongi’s suspicions. He moved to hit Jungkook, who’s eyes sparkled playfully as he dodged.
-
More days passed. Yoongi stopped searching crowds anxiously for his soulmate when he was out, deciding to let fate do its thing. Every night, his soulmate would sing him to sleep, and during the daytime, he’d sometimes find a voice making its way into Yoongi’s head, sometimes his soulmate's sometimes not. It was always 100x better when it was voice. The music major liked to convince himself he wasn't so obsessed to the point he'd be able to recognize his soulmate's voice instantly, within a second of a singing. Nope, obviously not.
Yoongi gradually began playing more songs for his soulmate, even adding in some American pop songs Jungkook would find, smiling stupidly to himself when his soulmate would attempt to sing along and randomly cut off when he’d sing it wrong. For awhile, it was peaceful. Sure, Yoongi longed to meet his soulmate, but fate would pull them together, right?
As days went on, however, his soulmate stopped singing along as much. Yoongi noticed instantly, but didn’t think too much of it. His soulmate wasn’t obliged to always sing along to whatever he played, especially if he didn’t know the song.
Then one night, Yoongi pulled himself in bed after Hoseok, waiting patiently to hear his soulmate’s voice. It was usually around 11:30, but it wasn’t uncommon for him to be a few minutes late.
But it didn’t come.
11:35. Still nothing. Yoongi found himself suddenly much more awake, worries flying through his mind. Perhaps his soulmate was busy? Ideas of what his soulmate could be doing zipped around his messy brain, just building more and more anxiety.
11:40. Silence. Had his soulmate fallen asleep? The minutes seemed to grow longer as time went on.
12:00. By now, Yoongi was worried. Despite having different schedules, his soulmate had always managed to find time to sing to him for the past weeks . Just now, he was starting to realize how much he relied on his soulmate’s voice. He couldn’t sleep. Yoongi couldn’t even think of sleep, which wasn’t like him at all. He’d admit it. He needed his other half’s voice to fall asleep.
It could be he was just overreacting, but something told him that wasn’t the case. Fumbling in the dark, Yoongi grabbed for his phone, fingers flying to unlock the screen and pull up YouTube.
A video in his recommended caught his attention and he frowned. It was in English, probably due to all the English songs Jungkook had shared to him. He translated the title.
“ Please Don’t Go ” by Joel Adams. Clicking on it, he turned on Korean subtitles.
This one . It fits, Yoongi thought after listening to the first verse. He turned the volume up a bit louder, hoping his soulmate could hear it. He quickly checked to make sure Hoseok was still asleep, not wanting to risk him waking up and questioning Yoongi.
“ Now please don’t go… most nights I hardly sleep while I’m alone… now please, don’t go. I think of you whenever I’m alone… so please don’t go.”
Halfway through, Yoongi realized that in his panic that he’d forgotten his soulmate was also Korean, and therefore probably had no clue what the singer was saying. A curse left his lips, but it was too late now. Yoongi hoped with all his heart his message would somehow be understood.
The song ended, plunging the dark room into silence. The only thing left was the white glow from Yoongi’s phone, and the heavy breathing of Hoseok. No beautiful voice Yoongi had grown so used to hearing.
Yoongi didn’t sleep.
-
Little did Yoongi know, in a different room, Jimin was curled in a blanket, tears in his eyes as he clutched his phone, listening to the song Yoongi had played after a difficult time searching on the internet. The soft blanket was pulled up over his shoulders, and his blond hair was splayed messily across the pillow.
His eyes slipped closed as tears fell from his eyelashes, and he inhaled a shuddering breath. He didn’t want to respond. His soulmate seemed like such a caring person, someone Jimin didn’t think he deserved. Or rather, someone his father didn’t think he deserved.
He needed to get out of this house. He couldn’t be here anymore. Fingers still shaky, he pushed the blankets back, slipping out of bed silently. With the thin walls, Jimin was very aware of the loud snores of his father next door.
“ I’m sorry,” Jimin whispered in the silence, “ I can’t do it anymore. I… I hope you find them.”
-
By the time 6 am rolled around, Yoongi had given up hope of hearing back from his soulmate. He was mentally and physically exhausted, and had class in 3 hours.
Then, a sound. Yoongi strained to hear, before realizing that it was his soulmate’s voice. Something was off about it though, he could tell immediately. It didn’t sound as clear, like it was recorded. He also sounded younger. Still, Yoongi listened attentively to the lyrics.
They broke his heart.
“ Please return my smile… Caught in a lie… free me from this hell…”
By the time his soulmate’s recorded voice stopped, Yoongi was shell-shocked. How was he supposed to respond to that ? Analyse all the lyrics? But what if he misunderstood? And what could he do even if he did know? The questions pounded him, leaving him more of a mess than before, which was saying a lot. He needed to get himself together. He could think about why it wasn’t his soulmate singing live later, when his mind wasn’t cloudy.
Stumbling out of bed, Yoongi grabbed his backpack. He needed to clear his mind.
But is your soulmate ok..? The thought taunted him. Gritting his teeth, Yoongi slipped out the door, careful to not wake his sleeping roommate. He needed coffee.
-
Yoongi walked into the nearest coffee shop, ordering quickly. The employee at the desk didn’t seem to want to converse with him, as if sensing the dark cloud that hung over the music major.
Yoongi peered around the room as he waited. There were a few equally as groggy-looking students around, but for the most part the warm, nice-smelling shop was empty. A blonde-haired boy caught his eye, face buried in his arms on the table. His friend, it appeared, was rubbing a soothing hand down the boy’s back, looking distressed.
Yoongi frowned, squinting at the pair. Wait, was that Taehyung rubbing the boy’s back?
The instant his order was done, he walked over there. “Taehyung?”
Both boys jumped slightly, and the one standing was indeed Tae, who turned around to greet him with a sad smile. The other boy kept his head hidden in his arms. “Hey, Yoongi-hyung, what’re you doing here?”
“I… couldn’t sleep last night. Something happened with my soulmate…” Yoongi began, voice trailing off and gaze flickering towards the boy as he saw him stiffen.
“Your… soulmate?” The boy looked up, a strange hesitance in his actions. His eyes looked red from tears, bags under his eyes like he hadn’t slept the night before. But that was merely a second thought to Yoongi.
The boy seated in front of him had a voice he knew all too well, despite it not being singing. A voice that he could easily pick out from thousands. And though he didn’t even know this boy’s name , he just knew. This teary-eyed boy was his soulmate .
“My soulmate,” Yoongi mumbled intelligently. The boy continued staring at him, eyes widening as it seemed to dawn on him too.
“Jiminie? Chim?” Taehyung’s voice held obvious levels of concern, and he tapped the boy on the shoulder gently. The boy didn’t acknowledge Taehyung at all, eyes still glued to Yoongi.
“Can you hear me?” The clear voice came through in his head, matching perfectly to the one Jimin had just used. It felt like a waterfall had just crashed onto the music major, waking him up instantly. His soulmate’s voice sounded beautiful in and outside of his head, and Yoongi wanted to never stop hearing it.
“ Jimin…” Yoongi thought into his mind, “ That’s a beautiful name.”
The boy in front of gasped, sweater-covered hands flying up to cover his mouth, eyes shining.
“So you’re… you’re my…” Jimin’s voice broke, unable to finish his sentence. Taehyung’s eyes widened as well as he caught on, and Yoongi would have laughed if he wasn’t equally as shocked.
“You guys are… oh my god… I’ll give you time alone!” Taehyung ran off, humming “I knew it!”
In the back of his mind, Yoongi briefly processed that his humming would catch Jungkook’s attention and all his friends would find out in approximately 1 minute, but he had other things to worry about.
Turning to Jimin, he smiled softly. “Jimin, huh?” The name felt right on his lips, like he was meant to speak his soulmate’s name. He didn’t want to ever stop talking to his soulmate as long as he'd respond, which was strange, considering how introverted and guarded Yoongi had always been. His soulmate felt like home. Which Yoongi supposed wasn’t wrong. Jimin was his, if he’d have him.
Jimin gave him an adorable smile, looking slightly shy still. “Yep. What’s your name?”
“Min Yoongi. It’s good to meet you, dear soulmate.”