Archive of Our Own ^beta

“What was that?” Jaemin asks. He looks first at Jeno sitting across from him, then around the study room when Jeno also looks confused.

“What?” Jeno asks.

“I thought I heard something…” Jaemin gives up. There is no one else in the study room with them; the only thing between them is their notebooks and CSAT practice questions.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, cheu…du…ji,” Jaemin attempts to say.

“Do you think it was your soulmate?” Jeno asks.

“I seriously don’t know, I’m not even sure I heard anything.”

“Did it at least sound Korean?” Jaemin shrugs.

“I can’t remember it.”

“But—”

“Stop trying to procrastinate! We have math to do,” Jaemin says playfully smacking the table. Jeno pouts, but picks up his pencil again and stares down the math problems. The silence lasts barely a minute.

“I mean, you are seventeen, a year early isn’t too surprising.”

“Jeno-yah,” Jaemin says. “Work.” Jeno sighs and gets back to work. Even though Jaemin is committed to focusing, he can’t get that thing he heard out of his head.

He forgot all about until about a month later, when he’s in the middle of taking a test. Wuhaonanbanye, goes through his head like a whisper, making Jaemin jump. He can’t believe someone would talk in the middle of a test, especially not in Lee Ssaem’s class. But everyone else is looking at the own papers and Lee Ssaem is glaring Jaemin down.

Zhegeshizhuangju, the same voice says sounding more disgusted and exasperated than before. Jaemin’s heart is racing while he turns those syllables over and over again in his head. Chinese? It has to be Chinese, right? Okay, that’s a complication, but nothing they can’t work through.

Jaemin tries to reach out to his soulmate, to let him know that he hears him. The voice definitely sounds masculine—though higher than Jaemin’s and cute enough to make him smile—and while Jaemin wasn’t necessarily expecting his soulmate to be a guy, he’ll roll with it. He hopes his soulmate feels the same way. Jaemin doesn’t hear anything else for several minutes and he tries to will his soulmate to speak again.

“Jaemin-ah?”

That voice is definitely not in his head. Jaemin snaps his gaze up to meet his teacher’s. Lee Ssaem gestures him forward. Jaemin glances at his test, suddenly remembering where he is, before standing and crossing to his teacher’s desk.

“Is everything alright?” Lee Ssaem asks barely above a whisper. Jaemin jerks his head in a nod.

“Fine, fine, I just—” he can’t help a full smile pulling at his lips before he says the next words in a hushed tone. “I think I heard my soulmate’s voice.”

“For the first time?” he asks even quieter than before. Jaemin nods. “Well, that’s exciting. Truly, I’m happy for you. But please focus enough to finish the test, then try and talk to your soulmate.”

“Yes, Seonsaengnim. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright. I just want what’s best for you.”

“Of course. Thank you,” Jaemin says. His teacher smiles one last time and Jaemin goes back to his desk. He can’t believe he can finally hear his soulmate.

Jaemin doesn’t hear anything else for the rest of test, probably for the better since he can at least attempt to focus on translating the sentences from English to Korean. He doesn’t particularly care about doing well in this class anymore, for certain reasons of course. He’ll have to talk to Lee Ssaem after class.

“Seonsaengnim,” Jaemin says while the other students file out.

“Yes, Jaemin? How was the test? Was it too hard to focus?”

“No, but I think I’m going to change my foreign language class,” Jaemin says. Lee Ssaem raises an eyebrow. “I think Chinese would be more useful for my future.”

“Ah, I see,” Lee Ssaem says with a knowing smile. “Best of luck then. Jiayou.”

“Thank you.” Jaemin bows to him then heads off to the office to make the change official.

Beginner Mandarin sucks. Not being able to talk to his soulmate equally sucks. It’s been almost two months since transferring to the Mandarin class. The mandatory Hanja he has had to study during school made the transition somewhat easy. Until he learned that Hanja is traditional, and he needs to know simplified. At least his mother also signed him up for Chinese hagwon classes so he can progress faster. Maybe it’s a blessing that Jaemin can’t talk to his soulmate yet. If he studies hard enough, the first thing he says to him can be in Mandarin.

His parents both reassured him that his soulmate not hearing his voice isn’t a cause of concern, but Jaemin still spends far too many hours each night trying to reach out to him. He’ll hear random snippets of his soulmate’s thoughts maybe once a week, and Jaemin would kill to understand them, let alone be able to respond.

“Still nothing?” Jeno asks.

“If you mean control, no, I still can’t control it. And if you mean respond, nope. Still can’t respond.”

“That sucks.” He sneezes, cat fur now covering his shirt, but Jeno continues to hold the cat in his lap. She looks unbothered by the sneezing and mewls until Jeno pets her again.

“I don’t understand why you always insist on coming here,” Jaemin says. “You sneeze all the time at home because of your cats and then leave the house to come to a cat café? We could go to a dog café or something, you really should give your allergies a break.”

“I like their bubble tea,” Jeno says and then coos at the cat.

“Yeah, sure, that’s the reason.”

“You know, at least you can hear your soulmate’s voice. That’s lucky. Most people don’t hear it until they’re like, eighteen? Seventeen internationally or whatever. So you’re almost a year early.”

“But I can’t understand him, and I can’t even let him know I hear him.”

“Hmm, does he at least sound nice? Like does he have a pretty voice?”

“Of course his voice is pretty, he’s my soulmate. But whenever I hear things from him, he sounds kind of angry.” Jeno snickers along with Jaemin.

“Maybe he’s hot-headed. Opposites attract, right? Sweet Nana and his angry soulmate.”

“Hey, I’m offended on his behalf.”

“He’s probably short. Short people are always angry.”

“You’re not funny.” Jeno shrugs, his eyes on the cat.

“She’s so cute, isn’t she?”

“Adorable,” Jaemin says. He holds his head in his hand, elbow propped against the table, and swirls his iced americano. “Have you ever thought about your soulmate, what they’re like?” Jeno shrugs.

“I don’t know. I’ll probably start thinking about that once I hear their voice. I hope they’re Korean, I don’t think I could handle a language barrier.”

“I think I like it. It’s frustrating, but I speak Korean, I know some English, and now I get to know Chinese. I’m sure he would try studying Korean for me.”

“If you guys are supposed to be soulmates, he probably would.”

“At least he’s Chinese, so that’s the same school system as ours, right? They graduate at the same time?”

“Hmm, I think so?”

“Maybe we could go to university together.”

“You think your Chinese would be at a university level by then?” Jaemin shrugs.

“Hopefully.”

“Ugh, you’re probably going to start researching Chinese universities now and planning your future with him.”

“I might be.”

“You’re so cringey.” Despite Jeno’s judging look, Jaemin daydreams about Chinese university while Jeno sneezes on the cat.

Gŏu zăizi, you are zéilā biāo a! startles Jaemin. He’s in the middle of cooking and he almost splashes boiling water on his hand. The voice has been getting louder, though Jaemin can’t control it yet. Jaemin isn’t quite sure what he said, but he tries to respond.

Can you hear me? Jaemin asks. He asked his Mandarin teacher how to say that on his first day in her class so he can try asking his soulmate each time.

There’s a moment of silence. Then he hears his soulmate ask, You chŏu shá? What does ‘chŏu shá’ mean? Jaemin has no idea, but he’s pretty certain whatever his soulmate said, it wasn’t an acknowledgement. It’s been four months. Why can’t he talk to his soulmate?

At least he understood most of what he thought that time. He’ll have to search chŏu shá later. Jaemin waits patiently to hear anything else, the bean sprouts forgotten in the water.

“Honey, you’re letting them overcook,” another voice, his mother, says. It startles him the same as his soulmate’s voice and Jaemin drops the chopstick in the water. Boiling water splashes off and hits Jaemin’s hand.

“Dang it,” Jaemin hisses.

“Aigoo, are you okay?” his mother asks, cradling his hands in hers.

“I’m fine, I just—I’m sorry about the beansprouts, I heard my soulmate’s voice again and I got distracted.” He lets her lead him to the sink and run cool water over the red marks.

“Oh, did he hear you this time?”

“No, I still can’t talk to him.” The heat slowly leaves his hands. The burns stop hurting by the time she turns the water off.

“I’m so sorry, Jaemin-ah,” she says, patting his hands dry with a towel.

“But this time, I could kind of understand what he was saying,” Jaemin says.

“That’s good—sit, I’ll finish cooking,” she says. He leans against the counter and she handles the overcooked bean sprouts. “What was he thinking?”

“I couldn’t understand enough to tell. He sounded angry again.”

“Ah, I can’t wait to meet him,” his mother says. “He seems so cute and you would be so happy.”

“I’ll be happy once he can hear me too.” Soon maybe, he thinks, trying to push those words all the way to his soulmate. He’s met with a silent void.

“You know, I could hear your father’s voice for quite a while before he could hear mine,” she says. “It might be an old wives’ tale, but they say the more empathetic a person is, the sooner they hear their soulmate.”

“I guess so, but does that mean my soulmate isn’t empathetic?”

“Maybe not. If that’s the case, then you’ll have to teach him.”

“I can’t teach him if he can’t hear me,” Jaemin says with a pout.

“Honey, be patient. I’m sure he’s on the edge of his seat waiting to hear your voice too.” Her attention goes to the food. Jaemin crosses his arms and looks off to the side.

“I hope so,” he says to himself.

“You’re really taking this seriously, huh?” Jeno says. Jaemin doesn’t respond, too focused on his book.

“Yeah, he asked me to get in touch with Sicheng Hyung for him,” Donghyuk says. He grabs Jaemin’s coffee while he isn’t looking and takes a sip. Immediately, he gags from the bitterness and regrets his decision. He grabs Jeno’s bubble tea to wash the taste out of his mouth.

“He’s still in Seoul? I thought he moved back to China after he graduated,” Jeno says. “Jaemin, it’s your move.” Jaemin looks up briefly from his book to play a card. Jeno quickly plays the next.

“Nah, he moved in with Taeyong Hyung and Yuta Hyung,” Donghyuk says, eyes scanning his hand and trying to decide. “He’s going to SeoulArts next year.”

“Taking a year off already?”

“Yeah. Which made Jaeminnie say that Sicheng Hyung has time to tutor him.”

“Like he’ll tutor for free.”

“No, Jaemin says he’ll pay him.”

“Isn’t he saving money for a plane ticket?” Donghyuk shrugs. “Well, what did Sicheng Hyung say?”

“I haven’t asked him yet. I’m busy and I haven’t talked to Taeyong Hyung in a long time, he’d be upset if I called Sicheng Hyung before him.” Donghyuk throws down his card and nudges Jaemin until he plays a card with hardly a glance at his hand.

“So call Taeyong Hyung?” Jeno gives him a confused look and Donghyuk rolls his eyes.

“He’s going to grill me about my grades. He’s less of a brother and more of a mom, honestly,” Donghyuk says. “Play a card.” Jeno plays his turn.

“No way, how could you do this to me!” Donghyuk whines, almost too loud for the public space. Luckily, none of the other café patrons look at them.

“Draw four, it’s the rules,” Jeno says with an evil smile. Donghyuk sighs and accepts his fate.

“Jaemin, it’s your turn—hey, put the book down for one minute, honestly, how much are you even learning from reading that if you only know like three hundred characters?”

“Excuse you, I’m learning a lot,” Jaemin says, but he shuts the book. “I’m looking up the characters I don’t recognize and making note. I’ve learned several new words, too.”

“Like what?” Jeno asks. He picks up his drink to take a sip and is shocked to find it empty. He glares at Donghyuk. “You drank it all?” Donghyuk doesn’t have enough shame to look apologetic.

“I’ll buy you another. Stop being so dramatic.”

“Black milk tea, seventy-percent sweetness, regular ice. Thank you,” Jeno says. Donghyuk sighs but goes to the counter to order it. “Anyway, what were you going to say?” he asks Jaemin.

“Rén’ài,” Jaemin carefully pronounces. “It means ‘kind-heartedness’ or ‘benevolence’. And it’s easy to write.” He grabs a post-it-note and draws the characters.

“The second one is ‘love’, ae, right?” Jaemin nods. “Yeah, that makes sense. And the first one, isn’t that ‘two’, ee?”

“No, look at the article before it, idiot. That character is ‘kindness’, in.”

“Right,” Jeno says. “Not gonna lie, I kind of cheated my way through our hanja classes.”

“Bro, in isn’t even that hard of a character.” Jeno shrugs unapologetically. Donghyuk comes back to the table and places the drink in front of Jeno.

“Is it my turn? Or did you two do nothing while I was gone?” Donghyuk asks. Jaemin quickly plays a card.

“I don’t get how ren,” Jeno says messing up the pronunciation, “becomes in in Korean.”

“Mandarin is different than Sino-Korean. A lot of Sino-Korean is closer to Cantonese,” Jaemin says.

“Your obsession with Chinese has made you insufferable,” Jeno says while playing a card.

“It’s more of an obsession with his soulmate,” Donghyuk corrects. “And you can’t blame him for that.”

“Exactly,” Jaemin says. Donghyuk plays a card.

“Have you been able to talk to him yet?”

“If he can hear me, he hasn’t acknowledged me yet,” Jaemin says. He plays a card.

“So no. Can you understand him?”

“Kind of, sort of, not really. My listening skills are trash.” Donghyuk offers Jeno’s drink to Jaemin as consolation. Jaemin accepts, ignoring Jeno’s whining.

“I was never really close with Sicheng Hyung, but maybe I can call Ten Hyung for you?” Jeno offers.

“I thought Ten Hyung was Thai? He speaks Chinese?” Donghyuk asks.

“Bro, he’s Chinese-Thai. He speaks Mandarin. Especially these days, he’s been practicing a lot because his soulmate is from Macau. He was lucky, his soulmate was already living in Seoul.”

“He finally found his soulmate? Wow, I’m out of the loop.” Donghyuk says.

“It was like, six months ago. I don’t know, something like that.”

“I never believed Ten Hyung when he said he could speak Chinese,” Jaemin says.

“I’m pretty sure he’s legit,” Jeno says.

“Oh, okay. I have his number, so I can call him. But thanks, Jeno.”

“No problem. Now, play a card, we’ve been waiting an eternity.”

“Ummm, I don’t think that translation is right?” Ten says, sounding unsure of himself. He scratches his head and stares at the textbook on the floor table like it’ll surrender answers.

“No offense Hyung, but your Korean kind of sucks,” Jaemin says. Ten sticks his tongue out at him.

“I’m trying to help you. And your Chinese sucks,” Ten says in Mandarin.

“Babe, your Chinese isn’t exactly perfect either,” Guanheng calls from the kitchen in English. Jaemin almost forgot he was there, if not for the occasional crackle of oil from Guanheng cooking frozen mandu.

“You’re supposed to be on my side!” Jaemin vaguely understands the English exchange. He doesn’t comment though, only tapping on the textbook to redirect Ten’s focus.

“Right, let’s move on. Read this,” Ten says pointing to a line of characters. Jaemin takes a deep breath to steel himself.

“Zuótiān wŏ kàn diànyĭng,” Jaemin reads. Yesterday, I watched a movie. Off to a good start, those are all basic characters. “Diànyiĭng shì jīngsŏng, wŏ shì …máole.” It was a horror movie, I was… something about scared?

“Xià,” Ten supplies. Jaemin repeats it. “That’s good, you only missed one character.”

“Xiàmáo means ‘scared’, right?” Jaemin asks.

“Right,” Guanheng says walking to the table. He sits across from them and puts a plate of mandu on the table. He hands them both chopsticks. “Your pronunciation was good.”

“Seriously?” Jaemin asks. Guanheng nods enthusiastically.

“Yeah, it was decent,” Ten says. Guanheng playfully rolls his eyes.

“Stop teasing him,” Guanheng says in English before switching to Korean to ask Jaemin, “Ten said you wanted me to translate something your soulmate said?”

“Right,” Jaemin says around a mouthful of mandu. “I understood some of it. But what does dèse mean?” Guanheng furrows his brow.

“That sounds like dialect,” Guanheng says. “It kind of means ‘to show-off’, and if he’s using that then he’s either really into comedy shows or he’s from Dongbei.”

“Northeastern China, right?” Jaemin asks.

“Yeah, it’s pretty close to North Korea. A lot of Cháoxiānzú live in in Dongbei provinces.” Neither Ten or Jaemin knows that word, so Guanheng grabs Jaemin’s notebook and writes it in Chinese. Jaemin recognizes it after a moment.

“Ah, Joseonjok: Koreans living in China. So he might be Korean?” Jaemin asks in disbelief. Guanheng shrugs.

“Maybe. Even so, doesn’t mean he knows Korean. Also, not everyone who lives in Dongbei is Korean. Don’t get your hopes up, he might not be from Dongbei anyway.”

“You’re right,” Jaemin says.

“Is there anything else you remember him saying?”

“Uh, chŏu shá? I think. I couldn’t find it in the dictionaries.” Guanheng laughs.

“Oh yeah, that’s Dongbei dialect for sure. Nĭ chŏu shá means something like ‘why are you looking at me’. People say it when they want to start a fight.”

“Charming,” Ten says, dead pan.

“The stereotype is that they’re hotheaded. But also funny, so there’s that.”

“Jeno made a guess that he would be hotheaded,” Jaemin says.

“It’s a stereotype, so who knows,” Guanheng says. “But if you want to learn dōngbĕihuà, watch comedy shows. Even if they aren’t from Dongbei, most comedians speak in the dialect.”

“Oh cool. Thanks, Guanheng Sunbae.”

“I told you that you can call me Hyung.”

“Right, thanks, Hyung,” Jaemin says.

“Do you want to get back to the lesson?” Ten asks with fake impatience.

“Nah,” Jaemin says. “Anyway, I was wondering, when could you hear each other?” They look at each other, smiles on their faces.

“I heard you first,” Guanheng says. “Which was surprising, giving our ages.”

“Yeah, you made me so worried for a long time, since I couldn’t hear you until I was like twenty.”

“You heard me a few days after I heard you the first time, right?”

“Then a couple weeks later, we could start talking.”

“Maybe you’ll be able to hear your soulmate when your seventeen properly—or eighteen, whatever. You know what I mean, nominal age and all that,” Guanheng says. “Age differences make the communication thing irregular sometimes.”

“I guess,” Jaemin says unsure. “I always thought my soulmate would be my age. Like same year in school. Go to university together, enlist together if he was a guy, take our years off at the same time, get our degrees together. I don’t know. Well, I guess not, since he won’t have to enlist.”

“Things don’t always work out how we plan,” Ten says, “But it’s for the better. We have soulmates, and that’s the one thing reliable in our lives. Whatever you plan, the truth you’ll live with your soulmate will be so much better.”

“Why do you only sound fluent in Korean when you’re talking about Guanheng Hyung?” Jaemin asks.

“Aish, seriously,” Ten says rolling his eyes.

“It’s because he’s romantic,” Guanheng says with a loving smile.

“We came here to study,” Ten says. “How will you be able to tell him your name when he can finally hear you? How will you give him your number? We need to study!”

“Wŏ jiào Na Jaemin. Wŏ shì hánguórén. Wŏ de diànhuà hào mă shì—” My name is Na Jaemin. I’m Korean. My phone number is—

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Ten says. “But after that?”

“Text through Line. You can click on messages to translate them. This isn’t the nineties, old man.”

“I’m only four years older than you, brat.”

“Lăo péngyou,” old friend, “you know kids these days and their technology,” Guanheng says. Ten glares at him but Guanheng is not threatened. He only breaks his staring contest with Guanheng to check his phone.

“It’s getting late, let’s finish the lesson so I can spend some time with Guanheng before he as to go home.” Jaemin pouts. “Hey, you demanded to have Guanheng here since you don’t trust me, and this was the only day he could take off from his busy schedule. He’s closer to taking the CSAT than you are. I barely get to spend time with him as it is.”

“It’s almost winter break,” Guanheng says. “We’ll have plenty of time soon.”

“I can head home now,” Jaemin says. “We honestly made a lot of progress—I learned I need to study a dialect now.” Jaemin pulls out twenty thousand won and hands it to Ten. He grabs his textbook and notebook. “Thanks again, Hyung.”

“No problem,” Ten says.

“Good luck,” Guanheng says. “I hope you hear him soon.”

“Me too,” Jaemin says, trying hard not to sound too hopeless. They both wave goodbye at him and he leaves Ten’s apartment.

“Did you ask your parents yet?” Donghyuk asks.

“Me?” Jaemin asks.

“Yeah, I already got permission,” Jeno says before taking a bite of chicken.

“I haven’t,” Jaemin says. “I’m not sure if I want to go—like, obviously I’d love to go to Jeju and hang out with you guys, but I need to get a part-time job.”

“Plane tickets aren’t that expensive, haven’t you saved enough? I’m sure he would contribute anyway,” Donghyuk says. He digs through the box of seasoned chicken to find a piece he likes.

“Going on vacation is expensive, then I won’t have time to work during school, then it’s summer break. I’m so sure we’ll be able to talk to each other before summer break, so planning to meet in person then is the best option.”

“That plan relies on a lot of undecided stuff,” Jeno says.

“Why are you guys so apathetic about all this? You realize you’ll probably hear your soulmates next school year.” He grabs a piece of chicken that Jeno was reaching for, eliciting a frown from his friend. Jaemin concedes the piece and grabs a different one.

“I’d rather not think about my soulmate until the time comes,” Donghyuk says. “What if I don’t hear her voice for years? It would be painful if I was anticipating it all the time.”

“Exactly,” Jeno says. “I’ll hear it when I’m ready. Right now I want to go to Jeju with my friends and try to get into college.”

“It’s only for two weeks anyway,” Donghyuk says. “You can get a part-time job after.”

“And you know your parents will give you pocket money to spend in Jeju,” Jeno says. “They always have.”

“Plus the weather is nicer there,” Donghyuk says. “It’s not below freezing every other day.”

“Okay! Okay, fine, I’ll ask my parents.” He sets his chopsticks in the take-out box and grabs his phone. He sends his mother a text about going on vacation with Donghyuk’s family next week.

“It’ll be a lot of fun, you won’t regret it,” Donghyuk says.

“I know,” Jaemin says sounding less than happy. He grabs a piece of radish, letting the sourness coat his tongue.

“Should we order another?” Jeno asks, picking through the last couple of pieces.

“No, I’m done eating,” Donghyuk says.

“Me too,” Jaemin says. Jeno quickly eats the rest of the chicken and radish.

“I would say you eat too much, but you’re always dancing so I guess you need to?” Donghyuk says unsure.

“That’s exactly how it works,” Jeno says. Jaemin’s phone goes off.

“She said it’s okay,” Jaemin says.

“Perfect,” Donghyuk says. He half turns around to look towards the door and yells, “Mom! Jaemin’s mom said he can come to Jeju too!” There’s a moment before she responds.

“That’s great!”

“There,” Donghyuk says turning back to his friends. “We’re all good now.”

“We should order another box,” Jeno says, staring at the carnage before him.

“If you want to, go ahead, but use your personal card, not ours.” Jeno pouts, but Donghyuk does not budge.

“Fine.”

“While we wait, do you guys want to play something?” Jaemin asks.

“Sure, did you bring your laptops?” Donghyuk asks. They both nod. “Alright, I’m going to crush you guys.”

One week into winter vacation, and Jaemin is glued to his phone. “Nana, please actually interact with us?” Jeno asks.

“You’re doing exactly what we do in Seoul,” Jaemin responds without looking up from the screen. The air smells like sea salt and the cool breeze has them all in long-sleeved shirts.

“But this is vacation!” Donghyuk says. Jaemin doesn’t respond. “At least let us restart so we don’t deal you in again.” Jaemin shrugs and puts his phone down long enough to play his turn.

“Are you messaging Guanheng Sunbae?” Jeno asks.

“Yeah, he’s helping me out,” Jaemin says. “I trust his Chinese more than Ten Hyung’s.” Donghyuk ends the trick and starts the next one, having won the previous.

“You can study when we get home,” Donghyuk says. “What’s the point of vacation if you don’t spend any time relaxing?”

“I guess,” Jaemin says. “But it doesn’t feel like studying. We’re just talking. You know, he could also help you with your English studying, Donghyuk. He’s fluent in both.”

“Nah, Mark Hyung helps me with English.”

“Seriously? Any time I asked for help it was kind of worthless,” Jaemin says.

“He’s not the best teacher, but we hang out a lot anyway,” Donghyuk says. “I make some of that time talking English, so it’s good practice. But don’t ask about specific grammar points or he’ll say, ‘I don’t know, just feel it’,” Donghyuk says in a dramatic impersonation of Mark.

“Exactly,” Jeno complains. “He’s no help. I had to get my brother’s soulmate to help me.”

“I thought he was Korean? He speaks English?”

“He lived in America for four years, so he’s fluent enough,” Jeno says. “Hey, Hyuk, do you have any hearts?”

“No table talk,” Jaemin scolds. Donghyuk leans towards Jeno conspiratorially.

“And what if I do?” Donghyuk asks.

“Nothing!” Jaemin says. “Start the trick.” Jeno leans closer to Donghyuk and opens his mouth to whisper, but Jaemin smacks his arm. Jeno gives up on the endeavor.

“Fine,” Jeno mutters. He throws down a high diamond. “Have you heard anything from your soulmate recently?”

“Nothing recently, and even then, it’s only ever things I can’t understand,” Jaemin says. “According to Guanheng Hyung, he’s mostly thinking in dialect, which makes my study of normal Mandarin kind of useless. He probably knows Mandarin, but privately he’s using dialect.”

“So you’ll only really be able to understand him after he knows you can hear him?” Jeno asks. Jaemin shrugs.

“Hopefully. If we can exchange numbers, then it would be easier to translate using apps and stuff. But for now, I’m trying to learn his dialect the best I can.”

“Still think he’s going to respond before summer break? It’s only five months away,” Jeno says.

“I think so. I feel it in my heart.” They both roll their eyes.

“I would say study hard then, but I don’t want you to ignore us soooo,” Donghyuk trails off.

“I’ll still hang out with you. But as long as Guanheng Hyung is free, I’m probably going to text him.”

“Ugh, fine. Just play your turn, I’m tired of waiting on you and your divided attention.”

Except Jaemin isn’t listening. He’s looking off into the distance, concentrating on what he just heard. You are zéilā bèn dàn. He has to think for a moment before he remembers zéilā, a common intensifier in the dialect. Bèn dàn probably means something bad, since it involves eggs. Maybe ‘idiot’? Jaemin isn’t sure, but whatever it is sounded like an insult.

“You’re so mean,” Jaemin says fondly under his breath, not even aware he said it in Mandarin.

“Hey, earth to Jaemin,” Donghyuk says while Jeno waves his hand in front of Jaemin’s face. “Nana, Na Nana, hello!”

“Huh?” Jaemin focuses back on his friends. “I’m sorry, I heard something.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing nice,” Jaemin responds with a smile. “I seem to only hear him when he’s angry at something.”

“You truly are a match made in heaven,” Donghyuk says only a little sarcastic. “Let’s get back to the game, it should not be taking this long.”

“Sorry, sorry.” But his phone goes off again and Jaemin has to respond. Donghyuk and Jeno share a look and sigh at him.

A little more than a month before summer break, Jaemin hears something from his soulmate while he’s sweeping a classroom. He listens well and translates it. I hate math so much. Jaemin smiles to himself, ignoring the look of the student cleaning with him.

Me too. Can you hear me yet?

What tā mā de? the reply comes quick, so quick it stuns Jaemin. Are you my soulmate? Yet? How long— It stops halfway through.

I am. I do not know much Chinese, but I heard you since September last year. There is no response. Hello?

It’s silent for too long before Jaemin hears, “Jaemin-ah, let’s hurry,” from his classmate.

“Right, sorry Naeun,” he says. He shakes his head and starts sweeping again. Not exactly how he planned for it to go, but he can’t help smiling that his soulmate finally heard him. Soon, almost there. Jaemin wonders if he should think in Chinese more often in case his soulmate is listening.

“Are you hearing your soulmate already?” Naeun asks. Jaemin nods.

“Yeah, I’ve been hearing him, but I think he heard me for the first time.”

“Ohh, how exciting,” Naeun says.

“Yeah. Maybe we can talk to each other soon.” He looks out the window at the sunlit courtyard, a smile turning his lips.

“So you’re telling me he finally heard you, but you couldn’t even exchange names?” Jeno asks. Jaemin nods glumly. “Man, that sucks.”

“I’m sorry,” Donghyuk consoles. He pays no mind to Jeno picking the leftovers off his tray.

“At least you’ve heard each other now,” Jeno says with a tinge of bitterness, mouth full of pajeon.

“It’s only been three months since your eighteenth birthday,” Jaemin says.

“And like a week since mine,” Donghyuk mutters.

“How tragic,” Jeno says, but there’s no bite.

“It’ll all work out,” Jaemin says trying to be positive. I wonder if my soulmate had to wait at all, if his eighteenth birthday—or seventeenth—do they do nominal age in China?”

“Of course they do, idiot. What do even learn in your Chinese class?”

“Right, well, I wonder how long he waited if it was earlier.”

“Did he seem like he’d been waiting a long time?”

“I couldn’t tell. The first thing he said, I had to ask Guanheng Hyung what it meant. From what I’ve gathered, my soulmate has a pretty dirty mouth.” He slides his tray to Jeno who immediately starts polishing it off.

“What does your Chinese teacher think about that?” Donghyuk asks. Jaemin rolls his eyes, but can’t help checking down the long table to make sure his Chinese teacher doesn’t hear them talking about her. Luckily, she’s busy chatting with some of the Chinese exchange students.

“Ask her, your next class is Chinese, right?” Jeno asks.

“You aren’t funny,” Jaemin says.

“Nah, he’s the funniest in this group,” Donghyuk says. Jeno gives him a full smile and Donghyuk returns it.

“Aren’t you two cute,” Jaemin coos. They both cringe and throw him dirty looks. Revenge exacted.

A teacher tells them that lunch is finishing up over and the assigned students start cleaning. Jeno finishes eating and Donghyuk lets him share his apple juice before the cleaners come by. Jaemin bids farewell to his friends and heads to his Chinese class.

The class passes as normal, but Jaemin doesn’t pay attention. He practices sentences he’s going to say to his soulmate and recites his phone number in his head until he’s sure he has the tones down. He can just give his Korean name, right? Or maybe it would be better to give his Chinese name. He knows his hanja, how to pronounce it in Mandarin. He’ll have to ask Guanheng after school. Jaemin goes back to reciting random Chinese sentences in his head to practice.

What did you say? Can you hear me? Jaemin suddenly hears in the familiar voice of his soulmate.

Yes, yes, I can! Jaemin thinks back excitedly.

What is your wēixìn number? His voice sounds so much sweeter and softer than how Jaemin normally hears it. There is no angry edge or sarcasm in it.

My what? I’m sorry— But before Jaemin can respond, his soulmate is listing off numbers. Jaemin writes them, even though he doesn’t know what it means.

My name is Huang Renjun. Jaemin hears the name and cherishes it, holding it in his heart. Jaemin wants to respond, but he can tell his soulmate is no longer listening, their inexperience pulling the connection apart.

Damnnit, Jaemin curses to himself. He stares at the number he wrote sloppily. Wēixìn is probably like KakaoTalk. After they start texting, everything will get easier.

If only Jaemin didn’t have to wait another four hours to get to his phone.

“Jaemin, it’s so much more than KTalk,” Guanheng tells him. “Search ‘WeChat’ and you’ll find it.”

“Oh, thanks Hyung.” Jaemin traded work assignments with a couple of students until he got mopping the canteen floor with Guanheng and some other upperclassmen.

“You’re lucky he gave you his WeChat though,” Guanheng says. “It’s practically SNS. He most likely has a whole bunch of photos on it from the last several years. Also it has translating like Line does.”

“That’s good,” Jaemin says. He’s even more antsy to get to his phone, but they have to finish cleaning first. “I hope he isn’t taking it the wrong way that I haven’t messaged him immediately.”

“It’s the middle of the week and China is in school this time of year. I doubt he wouldn’t consider that.” Guanheng wipes the sweat off his forehead and gets back to scrubbing. Jaemin follows behind him with the dry mop. “Did you at least get his name this time?”

“Yeah,” Jaemin says, unable to control the smile. “Huang Renjun.”

“Did he give an introduction?” Guanheng asks. “Ren as in Ren An and Jun as in ‘extremely gifted’?”

“I don’t know. I barely got his name. I’ll see how it’s written on his WeChat.”

“So we should hurry.”

“Exactly, Hyung.”

“Let him go early,” one of the other upperclassmen suddenly says. “We can finish—the poor kid should be able to talk to his soulmate already.”

“Agreed,” one of the others says.

“No, I don’t want to be a burden,” Jaemin says.

“It’s not a burden. Go!” another one says. All the upperclassmen implore him to go so Jaemin concedes.

“Thank you,” he says bowing to them.

He puts away his cleaning supplies and practically runs to his locker. His footsteps echo through the hallways and Jaemin can hear his heart pounding from how nervous he is. Of course his soulmate is going to like him—they’re soulmates. But Jaemin doesn’t know how difficult it will be getting to that sweet spot.

It takes far too long to download the app and create an account. He memorized Renjun’s number without even trying so he doesn’t bother pulling out the paper. His fingers shake while he types the numbers in. The account appears and Jaemin’s breath catches.

Holy shit, why is he so cute? The profile picture is of him backlit at a wooden table, arms cross and the side of his head leaning on them. He looks so soft and sweet, round eyes looking up at the camera and a delicate smile on his lips.

Jaemin forces himself to refocus on the task at hand. He taps the message icon. He agonizes over what to send for several minutes before typing something.

I’m sorry I took so long to message you! -your soulmate :Na Jaemin

It might take a moment for Renjun to respond, so Jaemin messes around on the app until he finds Renjun’s story? Feed? He doesn’t know what it’s called, but it looks like an Instagram page. The first post is a cute drawing of an animation character with a caption Jaemin can’t understand. There a few pictures of him with friends going out to eat or for coffee. Several more drawings and some digital art.

He so talented and artsy why am I so lucky? Jaemin asks himself. There’s even a video of him singing and Jaemin’s heart melts. He so enraptured in scrolling through the posts that he startles when his phone vibrates.

黄仁俊: hahaha my soulmate and you have nothing on your profile?
黄仁俊: how do you write your name? Send a picture~

Jaemin silently thanks the translating feature because his reading skills are sketchy at best. He sends the hanja for his name, then another message with the hangul.

I’m actually Korean, so forgive my bad Chinese :Na Jaemin
I’ve only studied for nine months :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: Oh, you’re Korean? Your Chinese sounded good in my hed, but I guess it’s easier to think the correct pronounciations then to speak them

For a moment, Jaemin wonders if his eyes are playing tricks on him because that is hangeul. All that talk about Joseonjok and the possibility of his soulmate being Korean never seemed likely. Spelling mistakes aside, this is too good to be true.

Seriously? You speak Korean but every thought I’ve heard from you has been in Chinese this past year? :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: You’ve herd me for the past year!?

Well, a little more than nine months. It’s why I started studying Chinese! :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: Aigoo, I hope I didn’t think anything embarrasing ㅠㅠ

Not really, it was mostly curse words kk :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: Sorry about that kkkk
黄仁俊: And yeah I’m Chinese but my heritage is Korean, you can call me Injoon if you want
黄仁俊: Where do you live? How old are you?

Seoul, and I’m a ’00 liner :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: So were friends, shall we speak informally?

Even if I was older, I’d say yes! We’re soulmates after all :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: True
黄仁俊: I live in Jilin, which is in the northeast

I figured. My Hyung from Macau was helping me with the Dongbeihua :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: Aish I really hope I didn’t think anything embarrasing

Nothing too embarrassing, don’t worry :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: Sorry to cut this short, but I have to go to study sessions
黄仁俊: Can we maybe video chat tonight?

Sounds good! I’ll text when I get home, probably around eleven, your time :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: I’ll look forward to it!

There’s a pause before Renjun sends a second message with a heart sticker. Jaemin smiles to himself while he screenshots the first few messages to send to Jeno, Donghyuk, Guanheng, and Ten. He remembers that Renjun asked for a picture, so he takes a basic selca with his shaking hands. It’s not good enough, so he does a few more before finally settling and sending one. Renjun can see it when he gets a break from studying. As an afterthought, Jaemin uses an older photo of him, Jeno, and Donghyuk as his profile picture.

“Hey, what are you smiling about?” The question makes Jaemin startle, almost dropping his phone.

“You scared me!” Jaemin says, turning around to see Jeno. All he gets is a smile.

“Sorry.” Jeno opens his locker and sorts through his things. There are a few other students trickling to the lockers. “But seriously, what’s the good news?”

“Oh, I’ve been, well, today after lunch we were able to talk together.”

“You and your soulmate?” Jeno asks with wide eyes.

“Yeah, he gave me his number and we were texting—I sent you a screenshot.”

“Ah, I see,” Jeno says pulling out his phone. “Bro, I don’t know Chinese—oh, he’s Korean. That’s such good luck! Who’s the other number in the chat?”

“Guanheng Hyung,” Jaemin says. He pulls up Renjun’s profile picture and shows it to Jeno.

“He looks nice, I’m happy for you.” He turns back to his locker and pulls out his shoes to change.

“And he’s our age so it’s comfortable.”

“Yeah.” Jaemin doesn’t miss how Jeno’s tone gets a little bitter and wistful.

“Anyway, he had to go study, so we’ll talk later. Are you going home for dinner?”

“I’m going to Donghyukkie’s house, do you want to come too?”

“No, my mother would be offended if I didn’t immediately tell her the news.”

“Say hi to her for me.” He closes the locker right as Donghyuk joins them.

“Hey, Jeno-yah, you ready?” Donghyuk asks. He grabs his things and switches out of his school shoes.

“Yeah.”

“Jaemin-ah, do you want to come to my place for dinner? My grandmother is cooking.”

“No thank you.”

“He messaged his soulmate,” Jeno says.

“Seriously? That’s so exciting!” Donghyuk claps Jaemin on the shoulder hard enough to make him take a step back. “You’re so lucky it happened early for you, even if you didn’t like the one-sided thing for so long. Man, I hope I hear my soulmate soon.”

“I’m sure you will,” Jaemin says while he closes his locker. “Catch you guys later?”

“Yeah,” Donghyuk says. “Keep us updated!” He grabs Jeno’s hand and leads him out of the school. Jaemin waves at them as they leave. Right as Jaemin is about to head out, he sees Guanheng walking towards him.

“How did it go?” Guanheng asks.

“Good, unbelievably good,” Jaemin says. “He’s Korean-Chinese and he’s so cute and sweet and I love him.”

“Already? Did you talk a lot?”

“No, we didn’t have time. We only talked a little. But, if you’re free later, can you go through his WeChat with me and translate some of the posts? I see the pictures, but I don’t understand the captions.”

“Sure, maybe later this week? I’ll get Ten Hyung to cook for us if you wanna meet at his apartment.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Hyung.”

“No problem. See you later.” Guanheng goes off to his locker and Jaemin is left alone again. He has the urge to message Renjun, even though he knows he’s busy. So instead he just thinks Injoon-ah, I already miss talking to you! He’s not sure if Renjun hears him, but Jaemin is more at peace knowing who his soulmate is.

黄仁俊: Zài máng?
黄仁俊: Are you busy? Sorry if I seem impatient

Not at all! :Na Jaemin
And I’m free, but I don’t know how to video call on this thing :Na Jaemin

黄仁俊: Okay one second

Jaemin is lying on his bed with the door closed. He made it well known to his parents about his video call and asked them to leave him alone. His heart is beating too fast while he waits. When his phone goes off it nearly gives him a heart attack. He fumbles to answer.

The picture comes on, Renjun sitting on what looks like his bed, back propped against the wall. “Hello?” he says unsure. Jaemin smiles from hearing his voice for the first time outside his head.

“Hello, how are you?” Renjun laughs at him, a hand covered by his long sleeve coming up in front of his mouth.

“Good. How are you?”

“Wonderful. I’m really happy right now, but I’m sure you know why,” Jaemin says.

“Hmm, why?”

“Because I’m talking to you,” Jaemin coos.

“You can’t be this cheesy at the beginning of our relationship,” Renjun says.

“I can’t help it! You’re so cute,” Jaemin says. His cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

“Aehh, lies.” Renjun looks away from the camera and the red on his cheeks just shows up through the blurry lens.

“I wouldn’t lie about this,” Jaemin says. “Your smile is cute, your little crooked tooth is cute, your hair is cute, your accent is cute.”

“I don’t have an accent.”

“Of course you do, you hardly sound like you’re from Seoul.”

“I haven’t actually heard you speak Chinese, I’m sure you have an accent,” Renjun says. “Shuō Hànyŭ ba.” Speak Chinese. Jaemin tries not to appear too uncomfortable.

“Where? I don’t know Chinese,” Jaemin says, his face hot.

“Yeah, you don’t,” Renjun teases. “But it’s fine. We can speak Korean, and your accent is cute anyway.”

“Noted,” Jaemin says. “And, it might be too early to ask, but did you maybe want to meet in person soon?” Renjun looks surprised.

“Well… how? When?”

“When is your summer break?”

“Mid-July. I’d have to look up the exact date.”

“That’s around the same time ours starts. Mid-July to September. And I’ve been saving for a plane ticket ever since I first heard your voice, since living in different countries makes this more expensive than if you lived in Busan.” Renjun purses his lips.

“I don’t know if my parents would be okay having someone over.”

“If they’re okay with you coming to visit, that would be alright. We have an extra room.” Renjun still looks apprehensive.

“I can’t let you pay for that.”

“Take it as me being selfish. I want to see you.” Renjun doesn’t respond right away. “Think about it, you don’t have to answer now, there’s time.”

“Okay,” Renjun says softly. “I’ll see what they say. But for now, tell me about yourself.”

So Jaemin rattles off about school and his friends. He talks about his family and the part time job he had, the vacation in Jeju, and the games he’s been playing recently.

“You don’t play games?”

“Nope,” Renjun says.

“Not even Battleground? Or League? Starcraft?”

“Not really. I’m bad at them anyway.”

“So what do you do?” So Renjun tells Jaemin about his hobbies, how he loves singing and drawing. He’s taken up dancing recently and jokes about coming to Korea to become an idol.

“I’d root for you,” Jaemin says. He’s rolled over on his side, his arm propping up his head, so he appears on camera. “I’ll go with you to your auditions and provide moral support.”

“Then it’ll be like Boa. They’ll sign you and not me.” He’s curled up in his duvet, only half his face visible in dim lighting.

“Noooo, you’re the talented one. I only sing at noraebangs.”

“We should go to one sometime, if I’m in Korea.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jaemin says. “You know, you sounded so much more aggressive in my head.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know, you were always upset about something. But you’re so sweet and shy!”

“I’m not sweet,” Renjun insists.

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Renjun yawns before he can retort. “It’s getting late for you. We should go to bed.”

“No, I want to talk,” Renjun says, but his words are slurred.

“We can text tomorrow night. I’m meeting with friends, but they won’t mind me texting while we’re out.”

“Hmmm, ‘kay. Promise?”

“Promise. I’ll text you right when I get out of hagwon.”

“Fine. Don’t make me wait.” Jaemin chuckles.

“I don’t plan on it.”

“Good.”

“Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Mmhm, bye-bye,” Renjun murmurs.

“Goodnight, sleep well.” They end the video call and Jaemin pretends his clock isn’t blinking menacingly. He’ll feel like shit tomorrow morning, but it was worth it. He’s almost too excited to go to bed.

“You’ve been acting weird recently,” Jaemin says.

“No, I haven’t,” Jeno says too quickly.

“Bro, we’re best friends you can’t lie to me. And it’s always when Donghyuk is around. Did you guys have a fight or something?” They both look to the coffee counter where Donghyuk is busy ordering their drinks.

“We didn’t have a fight,” Jeno says. His words are clipped though and Jaemin knows he’s lying.

“So if it wasn’t a fight, what’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“Jen-ah, I’m not going to let it go.”

“Let it go.”

“Ha! ‘It’—so you admit there’s something.”

“Nana, I didn’t mean it like that, please.” The last word catches him off guard so Jaemin doesn’t press it. “Donghyukkie is coming back now anyway.”

“He is?” Jaemin looks to the counter, but Donghyuk is exactly where he was watching the barista. Sure enough, though, it’s barely a second later before he turns around.

“He had the drinks already; he was just stealing a sip of mine.” Jaemin has no idea how Jeno saw that since he has a worse vantage point than Jaemin does, but it’s par for the course, so he’s probably right.

“What’re you guys talking about?” Donghyuk asks.

“Nothing,” Jeno says. Donghyuk frowns, but sets the drinks in front of them.

“When I told the barista your order, she looked like she was about to ask me to sign a waiver,” Donghyuk tells Jaemin.

“I don’t need someone else on my case. Renjunnie is always telling me to drink something else and take care of my health.”

“Speaking of, did he ever give you an answer about travelling for summer break?” Jeno asks.

“I was going to ask again tonight. He feels weird about me paying for it, but he doesn’t have the money.”

“It’s understandable.”

“Yeah, but I really want to meet him in person.”

“At least you know who your soulmate is,” Donghyuk says.

“It’s barely been two weeks,” Jaemin says.

“Yeah, but I haven’t even heard her.”

“Maybe he’s heard you already,” Jeno says.

“You think it’s a guy?” Donghyuk asks. “I always thought my soulmate would be a girl. Very traditional. Maybe not, I don’t know yet.” There’s something in Jeno’s eyes like he’s upset, but Jaemin refrains from asking what’s wrong.

“Who knows,” Jaemin says. They’re silent for a moment, enjoying their drinks. Jeno and Jaemin check their phones while Donghyuk tries to pull his out of his pocket.

“It’s two fifteen,” Jeno says suddenly.

“Oh, thanks. I was about to ask what the time was,” Donghyuk says mostly to himself. Jeno looks a little frazzled but tries to play it off cool. Jaemin stares at them for a moment, so close to a proper conclusion before it falls into place.

Jeno catches his eyes right when Jaemin realizes it. Their gazes are locked in a challenge. Are you going to say anything? Jeno seems to ask. Jaemin casually looks back to his phone, lips sealed. There’s no way to talk about it privately, so Jaemin sends a text.

How long? :Na Nana

Jenojam: Three days but it’s so frequent I feel like I’m losing my mind
Jenojam: You hearing your soulmate was like once a week at its most frequent, but I hear him almost every hour

And you haven’t told him? :Na Nana

Jenojam: I don’t want to make things weird. I’m waiting until he hears my voice

That could be literally forever :Na Nana

Jenojam: I know, but I just don’t know what to do. He’s one of my best friends! I didn’t expect this

Are you upset about it? :Na Nana

Jenojam: No… it feels right, actually. But I don’t know if he’ll agree before he’s heard me

Jeno-yah… I’m sorry… I wish I had advice :Na Nana

Jenojam: No worries. I’m glad I at least told you.

Jaemin looks up at him across the table sadly. Jeno gives him a bittersweet smile. Donghyuk stares at his phone, oblivious.

“I hear there’s a new coffee shop on garosu-gil,” Donghyuk says. “It has sheep. We should go.”

“We just got drinks here,” Jeno says.

“But sheep,” Donghyuk says pouting at him.

“You two can go without me, I have homework to get done,” Jaemin says. Jeno gives him a scared look.

“Oh, we’ll miss you,” Donghyuk says. “Shall we go now?”

“Yeah,” Jaemin says. Jeno glares at him as Donghyuk stands. “See you guys later.”

“Bye,” Donghyuk says. He drags Jeno to his feet and out the café. Jaemin doesn’t understand why Jeno is worried about it when it’s so clear that Donghyuk likes him.

“Wednesday. The plane lands at seven thirty in the morning. I’m sorry I couldn’t find something later,” Renjun says. He’s walking around his house and there’s a television playing in the background. He slips out of frame every now and then while he moves.

“Don’t be, it’ll be even earlier for you.”

“It’s going to be so early. Don’t be surprised if I fall asleep on the ride to your house.”

“You can sleep on my shoulder.” Renjun laughs shyly. “I don’t get you,” Jaemin says. “You’re all brash and blunt until I say something sweet to you.”

“Shut up,” Renjun says but his face is flushed. “Tell me how Jeno-ssi and Donghyuk-ssi are doing.”

“Fine. If Donghyuk hears him, he hasn’t mentioned it and they haven’t communicated in their heads. I can’t wait for you to meet them.”

“Soon, soon,” Renjun says. “Have you finished with your midterms?”

“Tomorrow is the last day,” Jaemin says. He thumbs through the pages of the notebook in front of him, counting the pages he hasn’t gone through yet. “I’m studying right now. Yours already finished, right?”

“Yeah,” Renjun says. “I’m packing right now.”

“The flight isn’t for a few days?”

“Yeah, but I’m excited. I haven’t been outside of Jilin before, and I always wanted to visit Korea,” Renjun pauses, “and it’ll be especially nice that my first-time visiting is to see you.”

“Aww, don’t flatter me,” Jaemin says, but he’s smiling ear-to-ear.

“I’m only looking forward to visiting you because it means I get free boarding.”

“Boarding—no one says that in this context,” Jaemin teases. Renjun rolls his eyes. “Say ‘a free place to stay’.”

“You’re always giving me shit about my Korean,” Renjun says.

“And you always bother me about my Chinese,” Jaemin says.

“Your Chinese is shit.”

“I’m working on it.”

“Renjun watch your mouth,” Renjun’s mother says somewhere off camera. It’s a phrase Jaemin only knows because he’s heard her say it before.

Renjun sighs and calls back “yes, Mā.” He turns back to Jaemin. “You should get back to studying.” Jaemin’s phone vibrates and a notification pops up saying that Donghyuk is trying to call him. He swipes it away. The notification immediately reappears. Whatever, they’re almost finished and Jaemin can call him back.

“I’d say get back to packing, but you’re way ahead of schedule.”

“Shut up. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Alright. Goodbye.”

“Bye-bye.”

Jaemin can’t even consider calling Donghyuk before his phone vibrates again. He sighs and accepts, Donghyuk’s face appearing on his screen. The moment Donghyuk opens his mouth, Jaemin has to pull the phone away from his face in order to save his ears.

“You knew, and you didn’t tell me?” Donghyuk screams into his phone.

“What, what?” Jaemin asks.

“How long?”

“How long for what?” Donghyuk gathers his composure and takes a deep breath. He answers much quieter.

“You knew Jeno was my soulmate and you didn’t tell me.”

“Why would you want me to tell you before you heard his voice for yourself?” Jaemin asks.

“I feel cheated that you knew before me,” Donghyuk says.

“He didn’t even tell me—I figured it out by watching you two. I’m surprised you didn’t. You’re usually so perceptive.”

“Don’t try and charm your way out of this. I’m upset.”

“Are you upset about me knowing before you, Jeno not telling you right away, or because he’s your soulmate.”

“I’m not upset he’s my soulmate,” Donghyuk says too quickly. Jaemin waits for Donghyuk to stop lying to himself. “It’s not that I don’t like him… I just wish I didn’t know him. I spent all my life imagining a fairytale story of love at first sight. I don’t even remember the first time I met Jeno.”

“You don’t?” Jaemin asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Okay, I was being dramatic. It was secondary school, right? It was right after we moved back from Jeju, so I was like twelve. Yeah, secondary school. The teacher told me to sit next to Jeno. That’s why I talked to you guys; he was right next to me. He told me a bad joke as a greeting, but I laughed at it. His smile was so cute, especially the way his eyes got all squinty. He was fun to banter with, still is of course. It’s just, I already know him. What do we do now?”

“There’s no way you know him completely,” Jaemin says. Donghyuk rolls his eyes. “No, think about it. Seriously. I’ve known Jeno since we were babies, and I still learn new things about him. You know Jeno now, you don’t know who he’ll be in a year, or two. We aren’t even adults yet, you’ll both become different people by then. You’ll get to meet Jeno as a stranger plenty of times.”

Donghyuk is silent for a long time and Jaemin can’t read his expression. “I don’t like that you’re right,” Donghyuk finally admits. Jaemin laughs.

“Okay, but did you honestly expect your soulmate to be anyone else?”

“Yesterday, I would have said ‘never in a million years’. But ever since I’ve heard his voice… it slowly starts to look like he is the only possible person who could be my soulmate.”

“You two compliment each other well, stop being bitter,” Jaemin says. Donghyuk sighs.

“Damnnit. I have to rethink my whole life plan.”

“Or don’t plan it and let it happen naturally.”

“Stop being wise. I called you to complain, not get a life lesson.”

“You wanted to complain so you’d feel better. Did my life lesson not do the same for you?”

“No,” Donghyuk lies. “Fine. I feel a lot better. I want to call him now and apologize in case he heard any of my earlier thoughts.”

“I don’t know if he told you, but he’s been hearing you near constant for like the last week.”

“Oh my god, that explains so much! I’d be upset about how I did on a test or whatever, didn’t tell anyone, and he’d show up at my house with bubble tea. That bastard.”

“Only you would be upset about free bubble tea from your soulmate.”

“I should call him,” Donghyuk says.

“You should. Tell him congratulations, for the both of you.”

“Sure. I hate you,” Donghyuk adds.

“Love you too.”

“Yeah, yeah, love you too.”

“Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

The moment the call is over, Jaemin throws his phone on the table. The clock shows an unforgiving number and there’re several pages of notes to review before tomorrow. He groans and holds his head in his hands.

“Honey, can I get you anything?” his mother suddenly asks. He had thought she’d gone to bed.

“No, Mom, I’m fine.”

“I’ll make you coffee.”

“Thank you.” She steps out of the kitchen and Jaemin stares back at the notes he doesn’t want to read. So instead he sees if Renjun is up.

Are you asleep?

Not yet, Jaemin hears back immediately. After they started messaging, it took barely a couple of days to be able to control when they hear each other’s thoughts.

I don’t want to study.

I’m not going to date someone who doesn’t finish high school. I don’t care if we’re soulmates or not, do well on your exams.

Okay, Māma.

You wanted to talk to me just to be a brat?

No… I just really don’t want to study. Is it worth it?

I’ll cancel my plane ticket if you don’t get good marks.

I won’t even know my grades until after break.

I’ll read your mind and find out how you think you did. Study.

Unconvincing, but I do appreciate talking to you. I already feel better.

Of course you do. You’re going to do great, I believe in you.

Thank you.

I’m going to get some rest. Study some, but not too much. You need to sleep.

Goodnight.

His mother comes back with a cup of coffee and a plate of cookies. “Oh, thank you,” Jaemin says. She must have warmed them in the microwave and the coffee is flawlessly bitter. “This is perfect, I’m going to cry.”

“Don’t cry. Study, dear, I want you to do good.” She ruffles his hair and kisses his forehead. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” he tells her. Jaemin bites into the cookie and gets to work.

“There are too many people,” Jaemin mutters. No one pays attention to his words. The strangers around him walk across his path, dragging luggage or hunting down gate numbers. He cranes his neck to look over everyone’s heads. Renjun said he had just dyed his hair a light brown since he’s out of school. Jaemin had thought it would be easy to notice amongst all the pitch-black hair, but no. He sees nothing.

Renjun-ah, where are you?

Customs. Have patience. Jaemin pouts. It’s another half-hour before Renjun reaches out to him. Where are you?

Here, I’ll raise my hand so you can find me.

Please don’t, that’s embarrassing. But Jaemin raises his hand. Renjun mentally sighs.

Found you, Renjun says.

Jaemin lowers his hand when the crowd parts enough for Renjun to appear. The smile comes forcefully and Renjun returns it immediately. “Hey,” Renjun greets and Jaemin opens his arms. Renjun hesitates before going into his embrace.

It’s surreal, actually feeling him in his arms. “You’re so short,” Jaemin coos. The blissful moment is ended with Renjun punching him in the kidney, but honestly Jaemin should have expected this. “Ow, seriously?”

“I’m not that short,” Renjun says looking up at him. He’s smiling though and Jaemin knows there is no real malice. The punch wasn’t even that strong.

“It’s so good to see you,” Jaemin says. It takes all his willpower to not reach out and touch him, his cheek, his hand, anything really.

“It’s good to see you too,” Renjun says. His voice is soft like it always is when Renjun gets shy. He’s looking away from Jaemin, his fingers fidgeting on the handle of his suitcase. “Where’s the car?”

“This way,” Jaemin says. He sends a quick text to his mom that they’re heading out, then he turns away and offers his hand. Renjun stares at it a moment before taking it. “Is that a bruise?” Jaemin asks.

“Birthmark.”

“Oh, it’s cute.”

“Cute, really?”

“Everything about you is cute.”

“Aish, seriously, you’re so cringey.”

“You like it,” Jaemin says. “I can take this bag.” Renjun protests, but Jaemin grabs it off his shoulder and slings it across his.

“You’re insufferable.”

“Was that outfit comfortable to wear on the plane?”

“Perfectly comfortable.”

“So you didn’t dress up for me?

“Not in a million years.” But the loose button-up half tucked in the front and the fitted pants cuffed at the bottom seem too planned out, too color coordinated. Jaemin knows, because he planned his outfit too.

“But I dressed up for you,” Jaemin says in his typical cute tone. Renjun curses under his breath.

“This is going to be a long two-weeks.”

“I hope you packed enough.”

“Are we almost out of here? I feel like we’ve been walking in circles,” Renjun says.

“Yeah, the entrance is right there,” Jaemin says gesturing with his free hand. He checks his phone to see if his mom has pulled the car up. “Come on.” He leads Renjun out the entrance and down the walkway to where the car is.

They put the bags away and get in, Jaemin stubbornly holding his hand the entire time. “Hello,” Jaemin’s mother greets from the front once the door is closed. “You must be Injoon.”

“Who else could it be?” Jaemin teases. She laughs and Renjun bows his head.

“Hello,” he says quietly.

“How was your flight?”

“Good, good. I’m sorry to be a burden and make you get up so early.” Jaemin lets them make small talk, Renjun being polite despite the tired cloud over him. Halfway into the city, she stops the line of questioning and Renjun drifts off on Jaemin’s shoulder as promised.

Jaemin jostles him awake when they finally arrive. He’s groggy, so he hardly complains when Jaemin takes his bags inside. “My dad is already at work, so you’ll get to meet him tonight,” Jaemin says. Renjun nods along and follows him into the guest room. “You’re staying here. My room is right next door if you ever want to visit. The bathroom is the second door on the left.”

“Okay,” Renjun says. He rubs at his eyes and yawns.

“Do you want something to drink? Coffee?” Jaemin’s mom asks.

“Tea?” Renjun asks.

“Oh, we don’t have any tea. We don’t really drink tea.”

“Do you want to go get some?” Jaemin asks. “We can go to a café.”

“Or you can rest if you’re too tired,” his mom says.

“No,” Renjun says, reading Jaemin’s disappointment in that idea. “Tea would be good, and I’m not that tired. Let’s go.”

“Great!” Jaemin says. “Give me one moment to find a good café and then we can go.”

“Sure, I’ll start unpacking.” He gets to it and Jaemin’s mom leaves them. Jaemin pulls out his phone and texts Guanheng and Ten.

Quick, I need recommendations for cafés with good Chinese tea :Na Jaemin

Cucumber Hyung: Oh is Renjun-ssi already here?

Yes, and his favorite is jasmine so a café with good jasmine tea is ideal :Na Jaemin

Cucumber Hyung: You should take him to Ten Hyung’s place later today, or tomorrow so we can meet him

Ship Hyung: I can’t believe you’re inviting people to my place without asking

All due respect, I need recommendations and time is of the essence :Na Jaemin

It takes a moment for them to stop bickering before they send recommendations. Jaemin decides on the closest one since they can walk there. “Are you ready?” Jaemin asks while memorizing the location.

“Sure. I can finish when we get back.” He stands and takes Jaemin’s outheld hand, albeit with an eyeroll. “Too cheesy. I can’t believe I have to be seen in public with you,” Renjun jokes.

“Tell me how you really feel.”

“Fine. I’m happy.”

“Me too.” He squeezes Renjun’s hand and Renjun blushes. “Mom, we’re leaving!” he calls when they’re at the front door. She calls back acknowledgement and they head out.

The walk together in comfortable silence. It’s morning and the summer break means there aren’t any students heading to school. Hardly anyone is out but grandparents. Renjun looks around while they walk, staring at the tall buildings and at the green spaces. Jaemin sees vague flashes of what he assumes is China.

“How is Seoul compared to China?”

“Similar, since I’m from the Korean part of China. But it’s different. There are still grandparents exercising and too many cars on the road, even so early in the morning.”

“I’d like to visit. Maybe for next vacation, if we aren’t too busy studying for the CSAT and Gaokao.” Jaemin takes him down an alleyway.

“If my parents allow it,” Renjun says. “We don’t have a guest room, so I’d have to stay in their room or something. I don’t know.”

“We can talk about it later then,” Jaemin says. “Right now, we’re here and I couldn’t be happier.” Renjun rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. “This is it, I think.” They stare at the sign for a moment. “Wàng…chá…”

“Wángye chálóu,” Renjun says. “’Your Highness Teahouse’ or something like that.”

“I thought teahouse was cháguăn,” Jaemin says.

“Yeah, chálóu is what they say in like, Guangdong.”

“Oh, okay.” They go inside. The staff greets them in Chinese and then in Korean. Renjun responds in Chinese so Jaemin goes along with it.

“Hm, this is actually Chinese,” Renjun says to himself while perusing the menu. The décor is simple, but what Jaemin assumes a typical teahouse would look like. It’s empty except for a young couple in the corner and the two staff members behind the counter, so the atmosphere is quiet and relaxing.

“Guanheng Hyung recommended it, so I’m not surprised it’s authentic.”

“The Macau Hyung, right?”

“Right. You know, I haven’t had Chinese tea. I’ve only had milk tea.”

“It’s not sweet. Well, at least not in the way you’d think of ‘sweet’.”

“If I want something sweet, what should I get?” He leans in closer to Renjun, almost whispering in his ear, but Renjun leans away. Best not to move too fast, Jaemin thinks to himself. He takes a step back to a more comfortable distance.

“You like peach flavor, right? Then you should get the diān hóng,” Renjun says.

“Hóngbāo de hóng, duìbúduì?” Red as in ‘red envelope’, right?

“Right,” Renjun says with a smile. “That sounded kinda fluent.”

“Thank you. So, diān hóng, I trust you.”

“Okay, I’ll order.” Renjun steps to the counter and says, “Nǐ hǎo, wǒmen yào yī bēi diān hóng chá hé yī bēi mòlìhuā chá. Xièxiè.”

“Hăo,” the cashier says and tells them the total cost. Renjun grabs for his wallet, but Jaemin has already handed her his card.

“I’ll pay,” Jaemin says.

Your pronunciation is garbage, Renjun thinks, but Jaemin knows he’s only saying that because he’s flustered.

And you’re just showing off by ordering in Chinese. You know she speaks Korean. She hands Jaemin back his card and they find a table to sit at.

“Mòlìhuā is ‘jasmine’ I’m guessing,” Jaemin says. Renjun nods.

“You didn’t have to pay.”

“I’m taking you out, wŏ qĭng nĭ.”

“You’re not funny, and that’s not how it works in Korea,” Renjun says. “I’m older, I should be treating you.”

“Five months doesn’t count. We were born in the same year; we’re friends.”

“I’ll pay for the next date,” Renjun settles on. The worker calls that their order is ready, so Jaemin picks it up at the counter and brings it to the table. “So how did your exams go?”

“Good. I’m pretty sure I’ll get good grades. Maybe not on the Chinese exam.”

“I thought your Chinese was pretty good? I mean, I give you a lot of shit, but it’s not bad.”

“I can’t recall the characters. Like I can recognize them, but if I have to write them on my own, I forget a line or two.”

“Hmm, a lot of Chinese people are like that too these days. We type and we rarely have to write, so a lot of people have trouble producing characters on their own.”

“Even with school exams?”

“No, students tend to be better at writing than older people. But after graduation, you pretty much never handwrite things, so people forget how to write the more complicated characters. Like, everyone knows how to write chī fàn and stuff like that.” Jaemin’s expression betrays his thoughts. “Seriously? Those characters are so easy!”

“I forget the radical for fàn sometimes,” Jaemin says petulantly.

“It’s literally the shí radical, you know, as in ‘food’?”

“But it’s simplified.”

“Simplified makes it easier.”

“It makes it different than how shí actually looks.”

“There’s no use in arguing with you,” Renjun says. “Drink your tea.”

“Right, of course,” Jaemin says. It’s a little cup, smaller than most coffee mugs. It smells ambiguously like fruit when Jaemin holds it under his nose. He takes a sip. The taste is vaguely sweet and Jaemin’s mouth is dry. He immediately takes another sip.

“Good, right?” Jaemin nods. “Here, try mine.” Renjun switches the cups in front of them and they try each other’s drinks. The jasmine is less sweet and a bit sharper.

“I like the diān hóng better.” Renjun hums and goes back to drinking his jasmine tea. “By the way, Guanheng Hyung and his soulmate want to meet you.”

“Today?” Renjun asks with a frown.

“We can visit them tomorrow,” Jaemin says. “Or not at all. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Tomorrow is fine. I’m just tired today, and I’d rather spend it with you than someone else,” Renjun says. “And I also have to meet Jeno-ssi and Donghyuk-ssi.”

“You’re here for two weeks, there is plenty of time if you want to settle in before meeting anyone.”

“No, I want to meet your friends. But tomorrow.”

“Okay, I’ll tell Ten Hyung—Guanheng’s soulmate—to invite us for lunch tomorrow.”

“Is it really inviting if you’re telling him to do it?”

“Yes, it is. He’s a pretty good cook, so it’ll be nice,” Jaemin says while sending the text message to them. “Anyway, how do you think your exams went?”

“Well enough.”

The conversation goes on long, a new subject appearing once the old one is exhausted. The sun is past the middle of the sky when they finally decide to head home. They have nothing else planned for the day, but Jaemin knows it’ll be wonderful since they’re together.

“You’re late,” Guanheng greets them at the door.

“Only by a couple minutes,” Jaemin says. “Are you going to greet us properly, Hyung?” Jaemin asks.

“You’re supposed to introduce us.”

“Right, right—zhè wèi shì Huáng Guānhēng.” This is Huang Guanheng. Jaemin turns to Renjun and can’t help smiling. “And zhè wèi shì Huáng Rénjùn, wo de línghún bànlǚ.” This is Huang Renjun, my soulmate.

“Nice to meet you,” they say to each other and shake hands.

“My Korean isn’t too good, so excuse me if I speak more in Chinese,” Guanheng says while he leads them to the living room.

“Korean, Chinese, it doesn’t matter which one you want to use,” Renjun says.

“English?” Guanheng asks with a cheeky smile.

“Maybe not,” Renjun says and they all laugh. “I can understand a lot, but my speaking is kind of bad.”

“Okay, English is usually what Ten Hyung and I speak together, but we can make this work. Have a seat,” Guanheng says gesturing to the floor table. “He said he finished, so I’m not sure what he’s still doing. Yŏngqīn!” he calls.

“What?” Ten yells back. “Come here, don’t yell across the apartment at me.” Guanheng sighs and goes into the kitchen.

“You look nervous,” Jaemin comments after they sit. Renjun shrugs.

“I don’t know about nervous, but there has been a lot going on these past few days. It’s adrenaline, I guess.”

“That makes sense. Both of these hyungs are nice though, so be comfortable. And they’re foreigners and Chinese, so it’s not like they’re going to be judgy or anything.”

“I know, I know.” Jaemin puts a hand on Renjun’s knee and it startles him. He relaxes immediately, though, so Jaemin leaves his hand.

Ten and Guanheng come in, holding dishes of food and playfully bickering in English. They set the dishes on the table and Ten says, “Hello, Renjun-ssi, right?”

“Right.”

“Wŏ jiào Ten Lĭ Yŏngqīn,” he says and Renjun introduces himself properly back.

“So what is this?” Jaemin asks looking at the food.

“Honestly, I just made food. I guess like… pad kra pao gai style bibimbap and there’s fried rice in the kimbap, and there’s fish cakes with tom yum sauce. Look, it’s food. Eat it or leave.”

“No, it looks delicious,” Renjun says. “I just thought…”

“What?”

“I thought you were making Chinese food, Ten-ssi.”

“I barely know how to cook Korean food. Only one of my Chinese friends knows how to cook, and he’s insufferable.” Renjun laughs.

“Is this really Korean food?” Jaemin asks.

“Sounds like Thai food,” Renjun says.

“Oh, I never mentioned Ten Hyung is Thai,” Jaemin says.

“Nope, you never did.”

“Ah, kids,” Ten says like he’s scolding them. “Communication is key in a relationship.”

“Of course, Ten-ssi, my apologies,” Renjun says.

“Jaemin-ah, you didn’t mention your soulmate was sassy. First Donghyuk, now him?” Ten asks. Jaemin shrugs.

“Jeno says opposites attract,” Jaemin says. “I’m too sweet, so I need someone fiery.” Renjun side-eyes him. “What?”

“I’m literally in your head, you can’t hide things from me,” Renjun says.

“What’s that like?” Guanheng asks.

“Let me tell you,” Renjun says leaning forward.

“Yah, don’t go around sharing secrets!” Jaemin says with red cheeks.

“We can exchange,” Guanheng offers.

“You come into my house and offer my secrets to people you just met?” Ten asks.

“Jaeminnie’s thoughts aren’t all as sweet as he acts like,” Renjun says.

“Not surprised. Ten Hyung will only speak Chinese with me in his head because he’s conscious of his accent.”

“Guys,” Jaemin says cutting them off.

“What, do you have secrets you want to keep?” Guanheng asks. Jaemin doesn’t answer.

Well, do you? Renjun asks.

“I do, everyone does,” Jaemin says casually. “They’re not bad secrets—and most are only temporary.”

“Temporary?” Ten asks.

Like if there’s something I want to try, but I don’t want to ask too soon, Jaemin thinks. Renjun chokes on his drink.

“What did he think?” Ten demands.

“Nothing,” Renjun says. “I just swallowed wrong.” But his skin is flushed so Guanheng and Ten are not convinced.

“We should eat before it gets cold,” Jaemin says. They take the hint and let the topic drop.

What do you not want to ask too soon? Renjun asks.

By your reaction, it still seems too soon, Jaemin responds. He doesn’t hear anything else in his head for the rest of the evening and the aural discussion remains lighthearted while they eat. Jaemin had to retract his hand from Renjun’s knee to eat, but Renjun set his free hand on Jaemin’s thigh, small fingers delicately splayed out.

“It’s kinda surreal,” Renjun says. “Like, we have Korean shops and signs and people walk by speaking Korean, but I haven’t seen or heard Chinese outside of that teahouse and Ten’s apartment. It’s all just Korean,”

“There are Chinese areas in Seoul,” Jaemin says. The streets are busy, as always on a Saturday afternoon when there’s a cool breeze chasing away the heat. Jaemin doesn’t mind, because it gives them a reason to walk too close together, hips knocking together every now and then and fingers tightly intertwined. “We just haven’t gone to them. Yet—if you want to check them out.”

“No, I’m just saying it’s strange. You said Jeno-ssi and Donghyuk-ssi don’t know any Chinese?”

“No, they study English. I guess they’re pretty good, but my English was never perfect.”

“Okay, just wanted to check.”

“Don’t be nervous,” Jaemin drawls. “They’re going to love you.”

“I don’t want to make a bad impression on your best friends,” Renjun says. A month in Renjun’s head lets Jaemin know exactly how much he tends to overthink things.

“Stop that,” Jaemin says, pouting his lips.

“You aren’t cute,” Renjun says even though Jaemin clearly hears him think kĕ’ài. “Are we almost there? I thought you said the café was close to the cinema.”

“It is,” Jaemin says. “We’ve only been walking a couple minutes.”

“Well, I’m thirsty.”

“It’ll only be a little bit longer, but I can buy you water from one of the street vendors?”

“I’m being dramatic. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but if you need anything, just ask.”

“Sure. Are they almost there too or…?”

“Jeno texted me when we left the movie theatre. They’re already there. Oh, this way. It’s right here,” Jaemin says turning a corner and gesturing to the end of the alley. “I told you it was close.”

“Sorry I ever doubted you.”

“No need to apologize. It’s fine, cause it’s you.”

“Don’t be cheesy.” The crowd thins out a little and Jaemin takes him to the entrance of the café.

“This is one of Donghyukkie’s favorites,” Jaemin says. He finds them immediately, the two sitting at the central most table, Donghyuk showing something funny to Jeno on his phone. “Guys!” They look up from the phone to see Jaemin waving at them.

“Oh, hello,” Donghyuk says as they approach. “Ni hao, Renjun-ssi.”

“Hello,” Renjun says. You’re right about the not speaking Chinese thing.

Be nice, Jaemin playfully scolds. “Guys, this is my soulmate Huang Renjun. Renjun-ah, these are my best friends, Lee Donghyuk and Lee Jeno.

“Nice to meet you,” Renjun says. “You can call me Hwang Injoon, if you want.”

“You’re shorter than I expected,” Donghyuk says.

“You’re tanner than you look in your pictures,” Renjun says.

“And is that a bad thing?”

“Not at all. Neither is being short,” Renjun says.

Donghyuk is silent for a moment, as if he’s challenging him. Jeno has wide eyes looking between them. Donghyuk finally turns to Jaemin and says, “I like him.” Renjun laughs and Jeno looks relieved.

“I knew you would,” Jaemin says.

“We’re all friends, right?” Jeno asks. Renjun nods.

“Oh, it’s interesting, actually,” Jaemin says. “Jeno-yah, what’s your birthday?”

“April twenty-third,” Jeno asks with confusion.

“Wait, seriously?” Renjun asks. “Mine is March twenty-third.”

“Wow, that’s crazy!” Jeno holds out his hand and Renjun gives him a high-five.

“So much in common,” Jaemin says. He’s pleased that they’re getting along already. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d do if they didn’t like each other.

“Since we’re all friends,” Donghyuk says. “Should we speak comfortably?”

“Of course,” Renjun says and Jeno nods.

“Does Chinese have honorifics?” Jeno asks. “I mean, Jaemin has been non-stop talking about the language since he first heard you, but he never mentioned any of that.” Renjun laughs, embarrassed but happy Jaemin was so interested in him.

“No, there are a lot of titles of respect and some words have formal or informal forms, but there are no honorifics like in Korean.”

“So everything is comfortable? Even if you’re speaking with someone older?”

“Yeah. You can call them ‘older brother’ or ‘older sister’, but it’s not a requirement.”

“Sounds like a language Park Jisung would like,” Donghyuk says.

“He’s a student in the year below us,” Jaemin explains to Renjun. “He’s in Jeno’s dance class.”

“Oh, you dance?” Renjun asks. Jeno shrugs.

“Yeah, a lot actually.”

“You dance more than you study,” Donghyuk teases.

“Jaeminnie says you dance too?” Jeno asks, brushing off Donghyuk’s comment with a smile.

“A little.” Renjun gets enraptured in conversation with Jeno and Donghyuk, so Jaemin steps away to order the drinks. He guesses what they want based on what they usually order. It takes a bit longer for him to remember what kind of milk tea Renjun likes.

“How much?” Donghyuk asks when Jaemin returns.

“For you, nothing.”

“Let me pay you back.”

“No. I know you forgot your wallet, don’t even pretend.”

“I was going to make Jeno pay you back,” Donghyuk says.

“Heh?” Jeno exclaims.

“Kidding, love, I’m only kidding,” Donghyuk says and puts a hand on Jeno’s thigh under the table.

Jaemin pouts at Renjun and asks, “Why don’t you have any pet names for me?”

“Do you want one?” Renjun asks. His tone is abrasive to cover his discomfort.

“I can’t ask for it, that ruins it.”

“Everyone calls him Nana,” Donghyuk offers.

“Na Nana,” Jeno says, laughing to himself.

“Nana?” Renjun asks. “Like the After School member?”

“Mmhm,” Jaemin responds.

“It sounds like a girl’s name.”

“Yep,” Jaemin says with glowing confidence.

“Well, it does kind of suit you,” Renjun concedes. “Like, not as in you’re like a girl, but like. I don’t know.”

“You get so flustered,” Jaemin teases.

“Shut up. Nana is a name that sounds qīngchún, and you’re qīngchún so it suits you,” Renjun says softly.

“What? What does qīngchún mean?” Jaemin asks. They’re both aware of Jeno and Donghyuk staring at them, and Jaemin knows Renjun isn’t mean enough to insult his Chinese while they’re watching. Renjun rubs at the back of his neck.

“Uhhhh, like innocence. But like in a cute, lovely type of way?” Renjun says. It’s easier to say these things to you in Chinese, I can’t believe you’re making me translate.

“Qīngchún—ah, cheongsoon,” Jaemin says drawing the connection. It was just that one word I needed to know, don’t be dramatic.

“So what about innocence?” Donghyuk asks.

“Nothing important,” Jaemin says.

“If you’re not going to explain, you shouldn’t say anything,” Donghyuk says petulantly.

“Anyway,” Jeno says. “You sounded kind of cool. I didn’t think you spoke Chinese so well.”

“I don’t,” Jaemin says humbly, though he’s smiling to himself. Renjun rolls his eyes. Jaemin puts an arm around Renjun’s shoulders. He tenses for a brief moment before relaxing into the embrace.

“So, Injoon-ah,” Jeno says. “You’ve been in Korea for a few days already. What do you think?”

Jaemin considers Renjun to be a little shy, but seeing him talk with Jeno and Donghyuk makes him reconsider that conclusion. They spend far too long talking together, Renjun assimilating effortlessly into the group. Jaemin also doesn’t mind when Renjun leans more against his torso and sets his hand on his leg.

“We should probably get going,” Donghyuk eventually says. “My mother is making dinner tonight and she’d hate for us to be late.”

“Yeah, it’s late,” Jaemin agrees. They clear the table and head out, parting ways in couples.

“Did you have fun?” Jaemin asks while they walk home.

“Mmhm, they’re interesting,” Renjun says. “I don’t know why you always say Jeno is unfunny.”

“You’ll see the more you hang out with him.”

“We should meet again soon.”

“How soon are you thinking?”

“Well, I was thinking we could have tomorrow to ourselves,” Renjun says. “If you want, anyway. Maybe we can go to Han river?”

“Ah, the typical date,” Jaemin says dramatically. “Sure. I have a picnic blanket and everything.”

“Sounds good.” There’s something Renjun is thinking about but not voicing, Jaemin can tell that. But he can’t figure out what the subject is.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Renjun replies quickly. He’s still happy. The secret is making him nervous, but not upset.

“Okay, but you can tell me if it’s bothering you.”

“Nothing is bothering me. I just want to get home.”

“Makes sense. We’ve been out all day,” Jaemin agrees. Renjun’s mental walls are adamant, so Jaemin gives up. He has his own share of ideas that he doesn’t let Renjun see. Jaemin has thought about kissing him so many times, but he doesn’t want to scare Renjun by letting him see all that. They’ll get around to their first kiss when they’re both ready, and Jaemin isn’t sure if Renjun is ready yet. “At least we’re almost home.”

“We have different definitions of ‘almost there’,” Renjun says.

“Stop being impatient,” Jaemin whines.

“You know, most guys talking with that aegyo tone is honestly cringey.”

“And me?”

“It’s cute,” Renjun says. When he sees Jaemin beaming, he follows it with, “But don’t overdo it.”

“Of course,” Jaemin says, laying on the aegyo thicker than he normally does. Renjun rolls his eyes, but it does get a laugh out of him.

“You’re lucky we’re soulmates.”

“I don’t know what you mean, all my hyungs and noonas find the way I talk adorable.”

“Hmm, I guess it suits you. Like being called Nana.”

“I like it when you call me that,” Jaemin says softly, leaning his face closer to Renjun’s. Renjun doesn’t back away this time, even with the uneven rhythm of their steps making Jaemin almost kiss him on the cheek.

“Is that enough of a pet name for you? Even though Nana is what everyone else calls you?”

“It sounds different, the way you say it,” Jaemin says. “I’ll have to think of a pet name for you, though.”

“Like what?”

“What about injeolmi?” Jaemin asks. “Injoonie injeolmi.” Renjun laughs.

“Seriously? Rice cake?”

“For now, if I don’t think of something better,” Jaemin says.

“Why not jagi? Sweetheart?”

“You want me to call you sweetheart?”

“No, that’s—I didn’t mean it like that,” Renjun stutters. “But if you insist on a pet name, don’t make it weird!”

“I’ll think about it over dinner, sweetheart,” Jaemin says. Renjun is already blushing and it gets worse when Jaemin leans in again and kisses him on the cheek. Renjun jerks away and his hand not in Jaemin’s grasp comes up to touch where Jaemin’s lips were. Renjun has stopped walking, and the few strangers out on the streets part around them like a river. The thoughts that Jaemin hears can only be described as frantic butterflies.

“Too much?” Jaemin asks seriously despite his light tone. Renjun bites his lip for a moment, but ultimately shakes his head. They start walking again. Renjun’s thoughts seem even more nervous, but the walls stay firm. At least Jaemin’s house can be seen at the end of the street, twilight casting a glow on the concrete.

“Well, we’re here,” Jaemin says. He senses something in Renjun that makes him hesitate at the door. Renjun grabbing his other hand and making Jaemin face him head-on doesn’t help his worrying either. “What is it?” Renjun is fidgeting and not making eye contact.

“Just…” Jaemin raises an eyebrow, but he tries not to push Renjun. He can hear Renjun berating himself in his head, accidently letting the insults slip through the walls. Don’t be stupid, just do it! Do what? Jaemin questions it until Renjun grabs the back of Jaemin’s neck and presses their lips together.

It’s a little frantic, but Jaemin keeps up. He sets his hands on Renjun’s waist and lets him lead it. The kiss is exactly like Renjun, pushy but sweet and pure. It’s Jaemin’s first and only kiss, but it’s instantly his favorite and he can’t imagine anything topping this, the perfect amount of pressure pushing his lips and the lovely scent skating across his tongue and up through his nose. Jaemin doesn’t want it to end, but he’s so breathless, he has to pull away.

“So that’s what you were worrying about all day?” Jaemin asks, still close enough to feel Renjun’s breath on his lips. Renjun’s hands have moved to his shoulders and Jaemin’s remain on his waist.

“I wasn’t worried about it,” Renjun lies.

“Uh-huh, sure,” Jaemin says. “I won’t tell anyone how nervous you were about our first kiss.”

“Oh shut up, like you were so confident about it!”

“I was,” Jaemin says inching forward. Renjun doesn’t back down, his stubborn nature too strong.

“It’s getting late,” Renjun says pressing forward, almost closing the distance. “Your mother is probably wondering where we are. Let’s go inside.”

He steps away, leaving cold air where he stood. Renjun goes to the door and looks back over his shoulder at Jaemin. “Are you coming?” Renjun asks, a mischievous smile on his lips.

“Of course,” Jaemin says matching the expression. So Renjun enters his home, Jaemin close on his heels, his heart fluttering with excitement at what lies ahead.