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The box came wrapped in a neat pink bow with several holes scattered on the sides. Sungwoon would have kicked it had he not dropped his phone directly next to it. There was a little squeak that sounded from within the box when the phone hit the ground and Sungwoon’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Lifting the square box, Sungwoon found it lighter than he had anticipated. Granted, his soulmate was akin to a novelty toy and shouldn’t weigh a ton anyway.
If he could have, Sungwoon would have called out of work but the books and customers weren’t going to tend to themselves and he was already a few minutes late. Taking one last look at the box, he tucked it under his arm and kept moving towards the stairs. He was curious to open it but he didn’t want to just take a peek and then leave the box unattended while he went to work and rather than leaving it inside his home he figured he would take his new soulmate with him as company.
The bookstore on Main Street was quiet for a Saturday afternoon. Probably had something to do with the storm clouds fogging up the sky. Sungwoon greeted Jinyoung at the counter with a wave and friendly smile and retreated to the breakroom.
“Sungwoon hyung, you’re on tonight, too?” Minhyun asked in lieu of a greeting as he pinned his nametag to his off-black apron.
“Yeah, I-”
Minhyun took in a large breath and pointed at the pink box Sungwoon had placed on the table. “Your soulmate box!”
Sungwoon nodded briefly and turned to his locker, pushing his bag inside and taking out his own nametag. “Just got delivered to my doorstep.” He explained and looped an apron around his neck. “Who delivers them?”
Minhyun shrugged. “That is a mystery. Don’t bother asking online about it either. Nothing but urban legends and folklore.”
Sungwoon laughed. “I bet.” He set the box on top of his bag and closed the locker door gently to not scare his pintsize friend.
“You’re going to leave it in there? Have you even opened it?” Minhyun approached with concern.
Sungwoon tied his apron and then popped the locker door open again. “Hey.” He spoke to the box. “You okay in there?”
“Yes!” The voice squeaked and Sungwoon predicted it belonged to a male. Didn’t surprise him in the least.
“He’s fine. I’ll check on him later.”
By the time Sungwoon made it back into the breakroom to take his lunch, he’d just about forgotten about his little pink box and its contents. He moved it onto the table and while he heated up last night’s leftovers he eyed the box. There was no movement or sound coming from within and that made him a tad nervous so he reached over and tactfully lifted the lid enough to see a blonde head pillowed on his own arms.
Ah, he was sleeping.
Sungwoon replaced the lid again and let the little guy sleep. Prior to returning to work, he dropped a small piece of bread into the box in case the little guy woke up hungry before they got home.
The last half of Sungwoon’s shift was utterly dead. Raindrops had begun to splash against the big window of the storefront and the light in the customer bathroom started to flicker. Sungwoon spent the night alternating between reorganizing the bookshelves, making small talk with Minhyun and thinking about the toy-like figure sitting in his locker. Working at the bookstore was as peaceful as a job could be yet sometimes it brought on a mind-numbing boredom when there were no customers to entertain. Sungwoon was relieved when his boss dismissed all of them two hours early citing that it had been slow all day so closing early wasn’t going to do much damage.
Following Minhyun into the break room, Sungwoon took his bag and kept the box tightly in his grasp. He pressed a finger to one of the holes on the side and felt a nibble. He smiled to himself.
“If you have any questions feel free to call me, hyung.” Minhyun said.
Sungwoon looked up at him in surprise. “You have yours?”
Minhyun nodded. “It’s been about a month.”
“Oh.”
“It can be a little nerve wracking because it’s like raising a little kid at first but you get used to it.” Minhyun smiled. “So if you have any doubts,” He gestured towards himself.
“Okay, thanks. I’ll see how it goes.”
The owner of the shop bid everyone good night after locking the door and Sungwoon jumped from under head to under head trying to avoid getting himself and the box wet as he walked home. Fortunately it was a close walk home and took less than 15 minutes.
Letting himself into the building, Sungwoon bounded up the steps to his second floor apartment. Once inside he quickly discarded of his bag and damp clothes opting for his plain gray sweatsuit and cozy black slippers.
Sungwoon was more anxious than eager to open the box but the little guy had waited long enough. He put the box on the kitchen table and pulled his chair in close. Unlacing the pink ribbon, he opened the flaps and held his breath.
Sungwoon’s soulmate was sitting right in the middle of the box with his back towards Sungwoon and his legs spread out in front of him as he seemingly stared at the wall. The bread piece was missing and Sungwoon could only imagine how hungry he was. When the miniature person noticed the light pour in, he eagerly peered upwards until he met Sungwoon’s interested gaze.
“Hi!” He called over his head, and then put his hands out to push himself upright. Realization flashed in his eyes then and he pressed both hands against his stomach and bowed formally. Then he raised his hands over his head creating a cover for himself and followed that movement by making a rectangle with his hands.
“What is it?” Sungwoon asked. “Does the light brother you?”
His soulmate shook his head and raised his hands over his head again. “Roof!” Sungwoon looked up at the ceiling. “No! My roof!”
“Your roof...?” Sungwoon looked around the table confused until he saw the lid of the box. “Oh!” Attached to the inside of the lid was a letter which explained the rectangle his soulmate had been making with his hands. “This?”
The miniature person nodded and Sungwoon noted how floppy his blond hair was.
The letter was more of an instruction guide to be exact. It was addressed to Sungwoon and read:
MINI KANG DANIEL
Official Care Guide
- Feed 3 times a day
- Needs gummies
- Encourage him to dance
- Bring him to a cat café
- Keep him away from bugs (!!)
- Let him skateboard
- Read webtoons with him before bedtime
VERY IMPORTANT:
Give him LOTS of LOVE!
Keeping the note in hand, Sungwoon eyed his soulmate who was waiting patiently in the box.
“Daniel?” His soulmate raised his head with a bright smile. “Kang Daniel.” Sungwoon repeated and Daniel raised his hands in the air and shook his hands in a tada motion.
Sungwoon grinned and laid his hand in the box for Daniel to hop on. He put him down on the table and pushed the box away resting his chin on his knuckles.
As Daniel looked around the room in awe, Sungwoon took another look at his care guide.
Feed 3 times a day.
“Are you hungry, Daniel?”
Daniel paused his sightseeing to dramatically wrap his arms around his stomach and make a pained face. “Hun..gry…”
Holding back a laugh, Sungwoon got up to check the refrigerator. “What do you like to eat?”
Daniel put his finger to his mouth in thought and shrugged.
Sungwoon rummaged through the fridge and pulled out a banana yogurt, a container of kimchi and a bowl of rice. “Here. Pick one.”
Daniel raced over and sniffed the kimchi first; the smell must have been really strong for him. He checked the yogurt next, putting the palm of his hand against the lavender cup.
“Cold!” He said, retracting his hand quickly.
“Everything is cold. They were in the refrigerator.” Sungwoon explained in amusement.
Daniel pointed to the banana picture on the cup and looked up. “Banana?”
Sungwoon nodded.
Daniel hummed and walked to the bowl of rice. He hung his hands on the side of the bowl and lifted himself up to see what was inside. Coming face to face with the rice he pushed his face in and took a bite.
“Rice!” He yelled as a means to coming to a decision.
“Just rice? Do you want,” Sungwoon perused the counter and came back with a green package. “Seaweed?”
Daniel clasped his hands under his chin and nodded excitedly.
“Here.” Sungwoon ripped open the package and handed Daniel one seaweed crisp. “Let me heat this up for you.”
While Daniel munched on the seaweed with both hands Sungwoon took a spoonful of the rice and dumped it onto the smallest plate he had and stuck it in the microwave. By the time the rice was ready Daniel had eaten more than half the seaweed crisp. Said crisp that was almost the length of his entire body. Daniel was about five inches big, Sungwoon decided holding his iPhone next to him.
“I only have this toothpick for you to use as a fork so be careful.” He cautioned.
The toothpick in Daniel’s hand looked more like a spear at his height. Watching him stab a a grain of rice was almost comical. Watching him try to maneuver the tip of the toothpick near his mouth was even better. Eventually Daniel threw the toothpick to the side and opted to eat with his hands because he was too hungry to put up a fight. Grain after grain Daniel ate until the entire spoonful had been devoured plus the half sheet of seaweed he had started. He fell to his behind afterwards with a dazed look on his face.
“Did you eat enough?”
Daniel closed his eyes. “Yes.” He whispered.
Sungwoon smiled. His soulmate was cute as a chibi in both appearance and personality. It could only be a good foreshadowing for big Daniel.
“You’re tired now, aren’t you?” Sungwoon asked as Daniel yawned. “I don’t have a bed for you. Or anything actually.” He ran his hand through his hair thinking about how he had to go to the store tomorrow to pick up some necessities for the little guy. “I guess for tonight you’ll have to sleep with me and hope that I don’t crush you.” Daniel’s eyes widened in panic. “I’m kidding. Come on.”
Sungwoon had to shower still so he deposited Daniel onto his big bed and turned the tv on for him with a short lesson on how to use the remote control.
“I’ll be back in five minutes. You cannot leave this bed, okay?”
Daniel stopped running around the sheets to salute at Sungwoon.
Luckily Sungwoon did take really fast showers and was dry and dressed in exactly five minutes. The television was blasting when he walked into his room, toweling his hair and he cringed at the volume.
Daniel was giggling as he jumped on the bed, bouncing into the pillow and then back to his feet again while he watched SpongeBob. Minhyun was right. It was like taking care of a child.
“Your bed is so fun!”
Sungwoon was surprised to hear a full sentence from his soulmate. Now he was unsure how developed his speech and behavior was.
“Can you turn it down? It’s too loud, Daniel.”
“Sorry!” Daniel squeaked and dug under the blanket for the remote. He used both hands to press the down arrow for the volume and peeked at Sungwoon silently asking if it was low enough.
“That’s good.” Sungwoon sighed and made himself comfortable on the right side of the bed. Daniel climbed on top of the blanket to sit at the very top of the mound and folded his legs to watch tv calmly.
Sungwoon had a soulmate. There he was watching SpongeBob. He wondered how old he was. Their soulmates didn’t appear unless both sides were of age so Sungwoon knew at the very least he wasn’t really a child. Perhaps a man-child.
Minhyun had had his soulmate for a month already but it was presumably still miniature. How long did it take before they grew to their full size? What would happen after they were full size? Everything would be different, Sungwoon supposed.
He sighed sleepily and felt his eyes start to droop. Letting them close, he nuzzled his pillow and relaxed.
Until he felt pressure on his bottom lip.
“Um. Hello? Mister?”
Daniel retracted his hand right away when Sungwoon’s eyes opened. He dug his chin into his chest shyly.
“What’s up?” Sungwoon asked groggily.
“What’s your name?”
If Daniel hadn’t been standing directly in front of Sungwoon’s face he wouldn’t have heard him over the tv. He hadn’t realized that he never gave his name either.
“Sungwoon.”
“Sungwoon hyung, can you read me a webtoon?” Daniel blinked innocently.
Oh, that’s right. The care guide mentioned reading to Daniel before bedtime. Sungwoon sat up and located his phone.
“Is there something specific you like?”
Not being an avid webtoon reader himself, Sungwoon downloaded an app and opened it, propping the phone against his thigh so Daniel could maneuver the site.
Sungwoon watched Daniel’s process as he tapped the discover button and reached up to change the genre then click around until he found something he liked. With one final press of his hand to the screen, Daniel pointed.
“You want to read this one?”
Daniel nodded. Blankly staring at each other, Sungwoon made the next move. He pinched the back of Daniel’s striped T-shirt and plopped him onto his thigh so he could see better.
“Comfortable?”
“Yes.” Daniel replied but he was far from it. His back was rigid and his hands were in his lap. Sungwoon tried to pet his hair but he accidentally poked it instead, underestimating the size of his finger. Daniel flinched and caved in on himself even more. His nervousness made Sungwoon nervous so instead of reading the webtoon out loud, he settled for holding the phone in front of Daniel and letting him scroll up when he was ready.
Halfway through the second chapter when Sungwoon had woken up from dozing off he realized the screen had turned black and Daniel had fallen asleep sitting up; his neck hanging at an uncomfortable angle.
Sungwoon did his best in scooping up his miniature soulmate and laid him on the other pillow. He pulled a tissue from the tissue box on the nightstand and covered his sleeping body. Once Daniel was comfortable enough, rolled into a ball beneath the tissue, Sungwoon turned off the light and headed to sleep himself.
The next day went a lot smoother for the both of them. Sungwoon chalked up the awkwardness from the previous night to introductory jitters. He tried harder to make Daniel feel more at home with him by opening up their channels of communication and being more open to change- because this was a huge change for the both of them. Not to mention Daniel also made sure to let his needs be known.
The first thing he did in the morning when he woke up was poke Sungwoon in the eye and point to his mouth begging for something to eat. Sungwoon had acquiesced, feeling hungry himself so he fixed up a bowl of cereal for himself and gave Daniel one Fruit Loop and let him dip it into his milk. Afterwards they played an impromptu game of charades until Sungwoon figured out Daniel was asking for his skateboard which was apparently still in the pink box. It was a little red board that had Supreme written in white.
“Where did you get a mini Supreme skateboard?”
Daniel had only shrugged in response. Yet another mystery in this mini soulmate debacle.
The next task on Sungwoon’s list of things to accomplish was buying Daniel clothes. The striped shirt and gray joggers were cute- as pajamas. Sungwoon couldn’t have his soulmate dressed like that for the next month so he texted Minhyun for the location of a specialty shop. Minhyun responded with an address a few stores from his bookstore so without pondering it too much Sungwoon grabbed Daniel and sat him in the chest pocket of his black plaid shirt and went on their way.
It wasn’t unusual to see people with their mini soulmates but it was unusual that Sungwoon was the one getting looks this time. Daniel’s little blond head peeked out from the top of Sungwoon’s pocket and he stayed smiling throughout the entire walk. Every so often he would yell “Dog!” and point at it excitedly.
The store offered quite the selection of clothes for both males and females- Sungwoon was impressed. Only people with mini soulmates were allowed entry which explained why Sungwoon had never even acknowledged the place.
The entire store was set up amongst various counters where Daniel could actually shop for his own clothes while Sungwoon kept an eye on him. And Daniel sure did have a good time frolicking in the designer clothes section. Sungwoon let him pick out a few things like a Supreme hoodie and Calvin Klein underwear- those were purchased not without a fight. Daniel had seen his underwear last night and demanded he have the same ones and Sungwoon couldn’t deny him that simple joy. Especially not with the angry pout that had settled on Daniel’s face. He made Daniel pick up some basics like white and black shirts and a good jacket because autumn was coming and he didn’t need his soulmate falling deathly ill before he was full size.
“Boots?” Daniel picked up a pair of black combat boots and held them at arms’ length.
They were nice but the laces were so tiny Sungwoon wouldn’t be able to help him tie them. “Can you put them on yourself?”
Daniel tilted his head and kicked his shoes off. There was only one way to find out. He struggled to put his foot in until Sungwoon reminded him to loosen all the laces from the top.
“I did it!”
Yeah after ten minutes. “Good job.” Sungwoon smiled at him encouragingly.
“Will you buy them for me, please?” Daniel’s puppy dog eyes were absolutely going to be an issue in the future. He was sure of it.
“Of course.” Sungwoon answered. “Get a pair of sneakers too.”
At the end of their shopping, it was apparent that they’d gone overboard but within good reason! The majority of the clothes were very cheap and well, if Sungwoon wanted to splurge a little on his soulmate so what?
“Come on, Daniel.” Sungwoon called, scooping him up and tucking him into his pocket again. “We’re having dinner with some friends.”
“He’s really clumsy, but his heart is in a good place.” Minhyun excused, drying the water that had spilled all over the table.
Sungwoon watched as Daniel consoled Minhyun’s mini soulmate with a gentle rub to his back. Seongwoo was his name and even at his short height, the three moles on his cheek were clearly visible.
“How often do you clean up his messes?” Sungwoon joked which earned him a scowl from Seongwoo. Daniel pressed his index finger to his lips and Sungwoon stifled his laughter.
“It’s never too bad.” Minhyun said, gazing warmly at Seongwoo. “Nothing I can’t handle.” Seongwoo threw himself over Minhyun’s hand in thankfulness and Minhyun ruffled his hair.
Daniel viewed the interaction and ran to Sungwoon, bending his head beneath Sungwoon’s finger waiting for the same action. Instead, Sungwoon bopped his head playfully and Daniel took hold of his finger to bite him.
“Daniel is pretty big to be miniature. How tall is he?”
Sungwoon propped up his phone and made Daniel stand next to it. “About five inches. How tall is Seongwoo?”
Seongwoo walked over and stood next to Daniel. They looked like cell phone service bars. Daniel was a few centimeters bigger than Seongwoo.
“Maybe that means Daniel is going to be bigger than you when he’s full size.” Minhyun noted.
Daniel smiled excitedly and clapped his hands.
“If that’s the case, I hope you stay small.” Sungwoon said with a tinge of bitterness.
Daniel shook his head and spread his arms out showing Sungwoon how big he was going to grow.
Seongwoo motioned for Minhyun to come closer so he could whisper in his ear. “Are you ready to order, hyung? Seongwoo wants dessert already.”
The mini soulmates requested hamburgers so Sungwoon and Minhyun ordered just that. One with smoky bacon and one with fried onions. Once the plates were delivered Daniel and Seongwoo stopped playing tag around the glasses of water to zone in on their meals.
So far, Sungwoon had done a poor job at feeding Daniel three times a day but he was going to make up for it with a bag of gummies when they got home.
“Daniel, may I have some bacon, please?”
“Certainly!”
Sungwoon and Minhyun glanced at each other silently and grinned. Their soulmates were getting along better than expected. Daniel ripped off a piece of bacon and placed it on the napkin they were both using as a picnic blanket.
“When you first got him,” Sungwoon cleared his throat. “Did things go smoothly?”
Minhyun chewed on a French fry. “Not exactly. He was very shy and hard to communicate with. Stubborn too. He never wanted my help.” He reached over to Seongwoo who’s tiny piece of burger was starting to fall apart. Seongwoo smiled gratefully and gathered the messy ingredients to take a bite. “We had to learn to get used to each other.”
Daniel happily devoured an entire French fry and stared at the grease on his hands before wiping them on his black jeans. Sungwoon frowned and handed him a napkin. Daniel threw it to the side.
“There’s going to be ups and downs but it’ll be worth it.”
The way Minhyun looked at Seongwoo said much about how he felt. Minhyun was always gentle but with Seongwoo, he was even more. Sungwoon felt something towards his miniature mate but it was too early to tell what. Maybe compassion because Daniel was too small to take on the world by himself. Maybe he felt safe because although he wouldn’t admit it to anyone he had been afraid that his soulmate would never appear and he’d be left alone. But here was this tiny blond action figure that was his to cherish for the rest of his life.
It was a complex matter. Love and life always were.
Days continued to pass with no sign of Daniel becoming full size but there was never a dull day with him. One day Sungwoon came home from work to hear Daniel yelling in the bedroom. Sungwoon had dropped his bag on the floor and zoomed into his (their) room ready to squish any bug or untangle Daniel from whatever he had gotten caught in this time.
“The Power of Christ compels you!!” Daniel shrieked. He was holding a cross made out of Pepero sticks. And of course the crumbs were all over Sungwoon’s bed and not his makeshift tissue box bed. Figures.
“What are you doing?” Sungwoon asked flatly.
Daniel deflated instantly. “Oh,” He said. “I’m watching The Exorcism?”
Sungwoon pressed his lips together and curtly nodded.
“I’m not scared!” Daniel refuted. “I can fight off the evil spirits!” He put up the chocolate sticks again to show Sungwoon.
Daniel slept curled up under Sungwoon’s chin that night. He could fight off evil spirits but not the nightmares that came with them.
If Daniel wasn’t right next to Sungwoon like he usually always was, he could be heard skateboarding around the hardwood floors, bumping into things. He was too scared to crawl under the furniture which was a plus for Sungwoon. A few times he had found his little one sprawled across the floor with his skateboard a few inches away after taking a reckless fall.
“I see stars.” He would claim, dazed.
One time Sungwoon took him to work which happened very rarely after that.
“Daniel, you’re distracting me.”
“Play with me! I’m bored! This place is boring!”
Sungwoon had gotten so offended he left Daniel by the register with Jinyoung to greet all the customers. Poor Jinyoung had gotten his ear talked off and by the end of his shift, Sungwoon had been informed of how cute and handsome Jinyoung was in about a million different ways and how Daniel wanted to have a sleepover with him. (“No! Please!” Jinyoung had begged.)
Sometimes Minhyun would come visit and bring Seongwoo with him and they would play Bruno Mars really loud and watch Seongwoo and Daniel battle it out. Daniel breakdancing and Seongwoo popping. Those nights were always the best and Daniel would request that Sungwoon cuddle him in the big bed.
They continued reading their webtoon every night before bedtime; Sungwoon holding up his phone, Daniel swiping at the screen until he fell asleep. Sungwoon would tuck him into his bed and caress his hair. (He’d gotten the hang of touching Daniel without poking him or being too aggressive.)
Shower time consisted of Sungwoon placing a bowl in the sink, filling it with warm water and squirting a drop of soap into it and letting Daniel lather himself up in bubbles while he supervised. The first time they tried to give Daniel a shower he had almost been swallowed by the drain, hence the bowl now. They never talked about that moment again.
Every day Sungwoon grew more and more fond of Daniel but he still didn’t understand what the secret to his growth was.
“Hey Minhyun! Do you want to get something to eat?”
“Sorry, hyung. I have plans tonight.” A bashful smile adorned Minhyun’s face and Sungwoon looked at him oddly.
The bells above the door to the bookstore chimed and with a breezy draft came a thin man with dark hair.
“Sungwoon hyung!”
And three moles on his cheek.
“Hyung its me!”
Without the introduction, Sungwoon clearly knew who he was. What baffled him was his size. Selfishly, Sungwoon had found solace in the fact that Minhyun’s soulmate was still mini like his but now that Seongwoo was big all his doubts came raining down.
“I’m so happy for you!” He told Minhyun when the latter had explained how Seongwoo became full size overnight. He was happy for him but it was tainted with subtle envy.
That night when he thought Daniel was asleep, Sungwoon called his little brother to complain and rant his heart out.
“I just don’t get it! What am I doing wrong, Jihoon? Why doesn’t he grow bigger?”
“No one knows, hyung. It’s not your fault. It’s just up to fate to decide. It will happen-”
“Fate is playing me dirty! How long did I have to wait for Daniel to come into my life and now I have to wait even longer for him to be full size? It sucks.”
Throughout the course of his loud conversation, Sungwoon failed to notice the tossing and turning in Daniel’s bed. In the middle of the night when Sungwoon was snoring away, Daniel unwrapped himself from his bed and jumped down from the nightstand to the big bed. He walked over to Sungwoon, crossing over the extra pillow he had and left a featherlight kiss on his forehead.
Come morning, Sungwoon had a hard time waking up. He was accustomed to Daniel’s weird pokes in the face that always brought him back to life but that morning he woke alone. Rubbing his nose, Sungwoon rolled over to the other night stand and looked at Daniel’s makeshift bed.
Empty with the sheets properly tucked in.
There was something wrong. Daniel never did his bed. Popping up out of bed, Sungwoon frantically searched the room. Disrupting every flat surface, opening every drawer and checking under every piece of furniture.
“Daniel?” He called to an empty room.
“Daniel!” He yelled into the living room, ripping apart the couch cushions and flinging the blanket carelessly onto the floor.
Sungwoon pulled at his hair anxiously and stood in the middle of his mess. His heart rate at an alarming speed and his chest pumping aggressively.
“Daniel, where are you?” He whispered brokenly.
He sent a frantic message to Minhyun and was checking each mug in the cabinet when a knock arrived at his door.
Sungwoon flew to the door, ripping it open and disregarding his terrible appearance.
“This belongs to you? I found him sleeping in the stairwell.” The man, who Sungwoon knew was the office manager, opened his hands revealing an equally disheveled and frightened Daniel.
“Daniel!” Sungwoon cried and caught his mini soulmate’s attention. He reached out for him and hugged his shaking body to his neck.
Sungwoon repeated thank you after thank you long after the office manager had excused himself while Daniel apologized continuously with tears choking him up.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Daniel pleaded much like a child regretting his actions.
Sungwoon rested his head on top of Daniel’s and shook his head vigorously. “No, no, no. It’s okay. I got you. I got you.”
When the hysterics had subsided and Sungwoon had wiped Daniel down with a baby wipe and changed him into clean pajamas they returned to bed. Sungwoon did not take an eye or finger off of Daniel at any given second.
Daniel burrowed under his blanket on Sungwoon’s pillow and yawned.
“Daniel.”
The little one brought his face up from the blanket only enough to peek his eyes out. By now, Sungwoon could read him well.
“You’re not in trouble but we have to talk about this.”
Daniel dove under his blanket again.
Sungwoon sighed. “How did you get outside?”
Daniel mumbled something that sounded like “I crawled under the door.”
“Why did you leave the house?” Sungwoon leaned his weight on his elbow and rested his head on his left hand. The right one stroked Daniel’s back through his blanket.
“I heard you.”
“You heard me what?”
“You were mad… Because I’m still little.”
Sungwoon paused and scratched his eyebrow in grief. “I’m not mad at you though.”
Daniel didn’t answer so Sungwoon reached over for the remote control and prayed that some cartoon was playing. It was just his luck that SpongeBob was on. He gave it a few minutes and just as he predicted, Daniel came out to watch. It took Daniel a few scenes to realize Sungwoon was watching him and when he did, he stared at him with his big sad puppy dog eyes.
“I’m sorry I left the house. I thought you would be happier without me.”
“I was terrified when I couldn’t find you, Daniel.” Sungwoon spoke honestly. “I’m happier because you’re here with me. Not the other way around.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Daniel’s face flushed and he finally smiled bringing some peace to Sungwoon’s being.
“Take a nap. You must be tired.”
Daniel nodded and tucked himself in. In an affectionate gesture, Sungwoon leaned down and tenderly kissed his head, laying down also for a much needed nap after a very tense morning.
It was sometime in the early afternoon when Sungwoon resurfaced again. There was a finger poking him in the cheek and he smiled. This was how he liked to wake up.
Stretching his arms across the bed he bumped into something solid and wondered how he had gotten so close to the nightstand without squishing Daniel.
“Good morning.”
Now that was a voice Sungwoon was hearing for the first time. He squinted his eyes open and blinked the bleariness away, slowly coming to.
In bed with him was a very large man. A very handsome man but a large one no less. Sungwoon jumped back, completely startled and almost fell off the bed but a strong arm reached out for him.
Sungwoon pushed his arm off and threw himself to the end of the bed. The familiar stranger observed him with humorous eyes. Sungwoon felt strangely self conscious and patted his ratty nest of hair down.
“Don’t you recognize me?”
This… man was not who Sungwoon thought he was. No way. Just because he had the same messy blond hair and soft eyes didn’t mean he was him. His voice was off, for starters. It was too deep. He was not small enough.
“It’s me, hyung.” He said and raised his hands enough to wiggle his fingers. “Tada.”
Sungwoon gasped.
Everything came rushing back to him and he was dizzy.
“I’m… going back to sleep.”
“No!” Daniel caught him before he could throw himself into his pillow and it was strange.
Minhyun was right. Daniel grew to be way bigger than him. Sungwoon fit snug in his arms, his bare arms. In this position, Sungwoon could analyze every one of Daniel’s features up close. Without thinking, he brought his hand up to Daniel’s cheek, running his finger over the mole beneath his eye.
Daniel smiled warmly at his fond touch. “So this is what it’s like to hold you.”
Sungwoon squealed, internally of course and turned red but didn’t push out of his hold. He averted his gaze as Daniel continued to look at him. There were too many endorphins floating around the room at that moment and it was suffocating Sungwoon. It was different when Daniel was small and cute and could fit in his pocket but now the roles were reversed and Sungwoon could fit in his pocket. He couldn’t hide from him.
“I’m feeling that you’re embarrassed.”
“Shhh!” Sungwoon propped a nervous finger against Daniel’s soft lips to quiet him.
“I’m not.”
Daniel hummed. “You were a lot more put together when I was small.”
“Yeah, well, you were a lot less attractive when you were small, alright?” Sungwoon huffed.
“I’ve seen you dancing in your underwear to Red Velvet but now you’re shy?”
Sungwoon closed his eyes. “You’re making me dizzy holding me this close.”
Daniel smirked, an expression never before seen on his face. “Is it my burning love for you?”
Where had this side of his soulmate been hiding the last two months?
“No,” Sungwoon replied although the real answer was actually yes. “Your breath stinks.”
K.O.
Daniel released him and covered his mouth. “It doesn’t’ stink!” He whined. “Hyung!”
Sungwoon grinned. There was the Daniel he knew.
“Come on.” He said rolling off the bed. “There’s one thing I never did for you that was in your care guide.”
“What?” Daniel asked, hands still covering his mouth.
“A cat café.”
Daniel’s face brightened and he smiled. “I just have one problem.” Sungwoon faced his not so mini soulmate worriedly. “Uh.” Daniel reached under the blanket and pulled out a tiny set of pajamas that were torn apart and then removed the blanket off his body completely, revealing a toned physique and a decently sized gift.
“Oh my god.”