Chapter Text
There were a few things that Na Jaemin didn’t like. Waking up at six in the morning was definitely one of them. Renjun was already gone for the day, and it’s usually him that wakes Jaemin up but today, he had to do it himself. The pink haired boy forced himself out of his bed with a grunt and stumbled around the room as he gathered all his things and made his way to the bathroom.
It was a shared bathroom, connecting his and Renjun’s room to Donghyuck and Chenle’s. When he went in, Chenle was there brushing his teeth. “Woah,Hyung, rough night?” He joked, but it was barely audible due to the toothpaste in his mouth. Nevertheless, jaemin understood.
“Oh please, like you look any better,” Jaemin teased as he started getting ready. “Did you stay up to watch that basketball game last night?”
The young visibly looked tired, dark circles forming under his eyes. Jaemin was honestly a little worried for him. Chenle smirked though as he bent over and spit. “Yeah, it was awesome.”
Jaemin rolled his eyes and was about to lecture Chenle when Donghyuck busted into the bathroom in his typical dramatic fashion. “Jaemin, my love, Chenle, my baby, good morning.” He greeted as he pushed them both out of the way to get to the mirror.
“Good morning to you too, Hyuck. Could you please not kick me off the sink?” Jaemin said exasperated.
“Can’t,” Hyuck replied. “Today is the day that Mark finally realizes that we are soulmates. I can feel it, and I need to look my best.”
“You say that everyday, Hyung.” Chenle chimed in, equally as frustrated. Donghyuck kept his focus on himself as he washed his face. “This is different because he’s going to be at Taeyong-Hyung’s party with Jeno and Jisung. I’ll finally be able to make my move.” He finished with a smirk.
Jaemin paused for a moment as he turned his gaze to Hyuck again. “Jeno will be there?” He asked curiously. Hyuck smirked at him through the mirror. “Yes, my love, your man will be there too.” Jaemin blushes and playfully shoves Hyuck as both he and Chenle snickered.
It was no secret amongst his friends that he liked Jeno, the co-captain of the boys soccer team. Jaemin had liked him from the very first time he saw him play. Jeno scored the winning goal that game, and when he turned to the crowd, he had the world’s loveliest smile on his face, stealing Jaemin’s heart.
Even just thinking about that moment made Jaemin shy, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. It didn’t go unnoticed by the other two occupants in the room as they teased him. Jaemin’s response was to stick out his tongue in a childlike manner at them and then he exited the bathroom, having enough of the two of them for the day.
Checking the time, he quickly got dressed, throwing on a pink sweater and some jeans before he put on his coat, and gathered his books together before saying goodbye to his friends. He still had time to stop at the campus coffee shop on his way to class, so he did. One iced americano and a doughnut later, he was on his way again.
When he arrived in the lecture hall, he was twelve minutes early (which is a rarity for him if he were honest) so he quietly shuffled down to the middle section where there was enough space to sit away from people.
He was in the middle of going through some of his notes when he heard a few loud cheers come from the back. Along with a few others, he turned to see what the commotion was about. Mark and Jeno had just walked in and their buddies were going crazy. It was always like this; people adored Mark, jeno and Jisung as they were the golden boys of the university. Having their hands in multiple extra-curriculars(especially Mark and Jeno as they were co-captains of the soccer team), they made their impressions on everyone by being good at what they do and also good looking. Soccer had ended two months ago, and people were treating them like they had just won a game. To be fair though, they did win the championship.
Jaemin sighed as he looked at Jeno smiling at his friends, he prayed some nights that his smile would one day be directed at him. He silently laughed at himself, as he looked down, almost ashamed. But when he looked back up Jeno’s eyes were trained on him, or at least in his direction, with that same smile. Jaemin panicked and whipped his head around so fast that he was sure he heard a crack.
Thankfully, he didn’t have much time to dwell on it as the professor came in and switched off the lights then turned on the projector. He hurriedly pulled open his textbook and began to follow along with the lecture. It was about twenty minutes in when Jaemin started to feel a tingling sensation on his arm, but Jaemin was too focused to fully think about it. His first thought being that maybe it was his body’s way of telling him to slow down with the note taking, as his wrist was beginning to get sore. But as the feeling got stronger, he soon started to realize what was happening.
He had only felt this sensation a few times before, all of them leaving him with drawings etched into his skin. His soulmate. Discreetly, he sat his pen down and pulled up the sleeve of his sweater. Instead of a drawing, this time he was met with what seemed to be a note. It said:
Nana,
You look absolutely adorable in that sweater. The way it matches with your hair makes you look so soft. I just want to wrap you in my arms and hold you tight.
Dumbfounded, Jaemin didn’t know how to react. He continued to read over the words again and again until they were all but burned in his brain. His soulmate has never reached out to him like this before, only sending drawings of things Jaemin couldn’t interpret. So as he read it again, all he could think about was how his soulmate knew his nickname, what he was wearing and the color of his hair. Did they see him today? Were they in the lecture with him?
At that thought, he lifted his head and began to scan the room for anyone that looked suspicious. Nobody caught his attention until he found his gaze drifting back to the black haired boy sitting in the back. Jeno was paying attention to the professor unlike everyone else in the back row who were either playing on their phones or talking to each other. Jaemin couldn’t help but take in his profile, his strong jawline made him look tough but the way his eyes turned into crescent moons provided a cuteness to him. He wasn’t quite sure how long he was staring but the next thing he knew, Jeno’s eyes connected with his for the second time that day.
Instead of outwardly panicking this time, he calmly gave the older a smile and turned back around, mentally berating himself in the process. It was hard for him to focus for the rest of the lecture, the words on his arm ran through his mind. Soon enough everyone had their bags packed up and were leaving the room.
Jaemin, in his dazed state, began to slowly put everything back in his bag. This information was in all honesty just too much to take in for him. He thought for sure his soulmate was halfway across the world, in another country, speaking another language, a far off dream that he was sure would never come true. But his soulmate was right here, in the same country, in the same city, speaking the same language. They told him he looked adorable, and they wanted to hold him tight. How was he supposed to process that?
There was nothing in this world that Jaemin wanted more than to find his soulmate, and the fact that they were so close, was making him dizzy with excitement and maybe a little fear. Was he ready to meet his soulmate? In all honesty, Jaemin wasn’t sure. Somehow, he managed to make it almost out of the classroom without even realizing it, and most importantly, without falling. He was right by the door when a loud laugh broke him out of his thoughts; it sounded like Mark. For a moment, he hesitated, wanting to to look over to where Jeno sat, to see him smile with his friends. But then he decided against it, not wanting to be caught staring for a third time. He made his way out the door, missing the longing gaze that was already on him.
The rest of his day played out like that, his thoughts still focused on the words that were etched on to his skin. He even burnt the cake he was making in his culinary class because all he could do was think about it. Even when he ate lunch with his friends at the cafe on campus, his mind was somewhere else. His friends took quick notice of that, sharing a look before bringing it up.
“Nana, are you alright?” Renjun asked gently, his normal snark gone. Everyone’s attention was on Jaemin now, and normally it wouldn’t bother him, but now it made him squirm. That made the alarms in Hyuck’s mind go off as he leaned over to press the back of his hand to Jaemin’s forehead. “Something is definitely wrong, your cheeks are super red. Are you sick? Did you eat one of Ten-hyung’s pies in class again? You know he’s not that great at baking.”
Jaemin laughed a little at that, feeling his cheeks. They felt like they were burning. “He’s laughing, that’s a good sign!” Chenle exclaimed. The other two boys cheered and clapped as Jaemin felt his cheeks get redder.
“My love, you can tell us if something is wrong.” Hyuck spoke again. Jaemin hesitated, thinking about if he should tell his friends about his soulmate. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell them, but rather dreading how much they would tease him for it. They knew of Jaemin’s desire for his soulmate as well as his feelings for Jeno, and if they found out his soulmate left a love note on his arm... he doesn’t think he’d ever live it down.
But even then, Jaemin still found himself ready to spill his guts. “It’s my soulmate.” was all he said as he raised the sleeve of his sweater and held his arm out for the three of them to see. They all gave him a curious look before reading what was on his arm. And just as Jaemin predicted, Chenle and Renjun’s expression slowly changed from curious to mischievous, while Hyuck sported an ecstatic look.
“Jaemin, your soulmate knows you!” Hyuck practically shouted, gaining some looks as he pushed his chair out and wrapped Jaemin in his arms. “And they already have a crush on you. Oh my god, this is so cute!” he continued to ramble as he squeezed jaemin harder. Chenle let out a laugh as he watched the scene, while Renjun stayed oddly quiet. That made Jaemin a little nervous.
“Looks like Jeno might have some competition.” Renjun commented with a smirk, as Jaemin let out a groan. Renjun let out a fake gasp and pretended to be shocked “What if Jeno is Nana’s soulmate?” and Jaemin thinks he might be ready to die.
Hyuck loosened his hold, looking at Renjun like he was a genius. “You’re right, he could totally be his soulmate. Jaemin, you have to go to the party tonight.”
Jaemin tried to interject, but Hyuck shushed him with a finger on his lips. “No backing out. Besides even if Jeno isn’t your soulmate, whoever it is could still be there, and I think it’d be the perfect opportunity to show off a little.” he said with a glint in his eye. If there’s anything that Jaemin is positive about, it’s that when Hyuck has that glint in his eye, no one can change his mind.
The rest of the lunch played out exactly how Jaemin figured it would, with him being teased until his face was the color of a tomato. When they were all back in their dorms, Renjun plopped himself on to Jaemin’s bed looking at the other with a knowing look as Jaemin played a game on his phone.
Jaemin, making it a point to ignore Renjun, didn’t respond to the pokes on his side nor the calls for his name. It wasn’t until Renjun stuck his whole hand under his armpit that jaemin gave up, jumping at the ticklish feeling. “What do you want?” Jaemin asked, narrowing his eyes at the other.
Renjun put his hand on his chin, acting as if he was thinking. “Do you think your soulmate knows where our dorm is? What if they’re watching us right now?” He faked a gasp at the last part. Jaemin just gave him an unamused look in return. “Seriously, they could be outside the door, listening to us right now-“ Renjun didn’t get to finish as jaemin pushed him off of his bed, the other landing harshly on the ground with a loud thump.
“My soulmate is not a creep.” Jaemin said defensively. Renjun let out a loud chuckle while he just laid on the floor. “Could have fooled me,” He said as he began to tease the younger even more, “Nana, the way you look in that sweater makes me wanna hold you tight!” Renjun said dramatically.
Jaemin chucked a pillow at him, “That’s not what it says!” He exclaimed.
“That is so what it says.” Renjun laughed. Off to the side, Jaemin spotted the door to their bathroom opening up little by little, Hyuck poking his head through the crack. “Are you guys alright in here?” He asked, eyeing the way renjun was on the ground.
Before Jaemin got the chance to say anything, Renjun was up and pulling Hyuck inside the room. “Oh nana, your pink hair looks so soft, I could kiss you!” He said dramatically as he pulled Hyuck closer and puckered his lips, making fake kissing sounds. Hyuck, catching on quickly and never missing out on an opportunity to be affectionate with his friends, started to play along too. “Oh soulmate! I wanna kiss you too, but what about Jeno?” Hyuck mocked in a voice that was way too high pitched to be Jaemin.
Jaemin groaned as he glared at his friends, but the other two paid no attention as they carried out their second round of teasing. “Jeno doesn’t matter anymore! The only one you should concern yourself with is me!” Renjun said as he turned Hyuck in his arms and dipped him, pretending to kiss him.
Hyuck, in turn, decided to take it upon himself to start making very loud noises as he pretended to kiss back. And for the second time, Jaemin saw the door to the bathroom open again, only this time it was Chenle who came through. “Hyungs? What the hell is going on?” He questioned, a disgusted expression on his face.
Jaemin threw another pillow at them, “Great, look what you’ve done, you traumatized the baby.” He yelled. Renjun and Hyuck collapsed into a fit of giggles on the floor. Sometimes Jaemin wondered why he was friends with them, but then he took one look at Hyuck chasing Chenle around the room while Renjun watched and laughed, and he couldn’t help but smile fondly.
After they stopped playing around, they all began to get ready for the party. Jaemin, with the help of Hyuck, was dressed in ripped jeans that showed off his smooth legs, and a white, long sleeved shirt that had a plunging neckline that was loosely tied up with some strings, exposing some of his chest as well. His eyes had some light, peachy eyeshadow on and some eyeliner as well.
Jaemin looked around at each of his friends as they waited in the dorm’s rec room for their rideshare driver to come pick them up, admiring their outfit choices. It was cold outside, so they all tried to dress the warmest that they could without having to bring unnecessary extra layers with them. In Jaemin’s opinion, he had never seen a more attractive group of boys in his life.
Hyuck, who had caught Jaemin staring at him, sent him a wink and blew a kiss at him. “Have I made you forget your soulmate already, my love?” He teased, “Sorry to disappoint, but my heart belongs to mark.” Jaemin snorted and rolled his eyes with the other two who were watching the exchange.
Moments later, their driver arrived and they found themselves finally on their way to the party. Jaemin enjoyed going to parties like this from time to time, even if he was quiet around people he didn’t know, he still somewhat liked being around people. But this time, he found himself shaking a little at the thought of Jeno being at the party. And then adding in the possibility of his own soulmate being there, he was on the verge of just asking for the driver to stop and let him out so he could walk back to his room. But he knew Hyuck would never let him do that, especially at this time of the night.
Chenle, who was sitting next to him, seemed to sense his unease because the next thing jaemin knew, he had his hand in the younger’s and the blonde resting on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Hyung, we’ll have fun regardless of what happens tonight.” He reassured. Jaemin smiled at Chenle, and squeezed his hand a little bit.
They were there in no time, thanking their driver as they got out of the car. The frat house was big, bigger than any house that jaemin had ever stepped foot in. It was the farthest fraternity from the campus, having enough space between the neighbors to where it made it the perfect party house. Taeyong, the president of this specific one (you’d think Jaemin would know the name of it considering the amount of times he’s met the guy, but he doesn’t), is always happy to host them, and isn’t afraid to invite anyone and everyone.
As they walked inside, Jaemin took notice how much it looked like a scene straight out of one of those teen movies. People were dancing in the front room, the DJ was blasting some song Jaemin’s never heard before. There was confetti all over the ground, making it look like some sort of golden dance floor. In the back of his mind, Jaemin wondered who Taeyong was trying to impress tonight.
Squeezing through everyone was hard, but eventually they all made their way into the kitchen, automatically going for the drinks. When they all had what they wanted, Hyuck shouted over the music to them. “Let’s go dance!”
Jaemin was fairly shy when it came to dancing, but he still went along with his friends and found himself moving enthusiastically to the beat. He wasn’t the best dancer, but he still knew how to dance. They all danced and danced until they needed to take a breather, which led them straight back to the kitchen. It was sizable and there weren't a lot of people in there, so they all comfortably stood around the island in the middle. Where they were standing had a perfect view of the entire dance floor, and Jaemin found himself just watching everyone enjoy themselves.
They were all joking around and laughing when Jaemin heard some people start to cheer. When he looked over he saw Jeno and his friends stand at the entrance. Mark and Jisung were already greeting people with high-fives and pats on the back, but Jeno remained at the front entrance, almost like he was scanning around the room for something. It was an odd sight seeing these three at Taeyong’s party as they usually only went to the more exclusive ones.
“If you two stare any harder at them, they’ll evaporate.” Renjun said with a snort, Chenle chuckling along with him. When Jaemin turned to look at Hyuck, he saw that the other boy’s gaze had not wavered from Mark. Jaemin could tell that Hyuck was nervous as this was the closest that Hyuck had ever been from a chance to talk to his crush.
“Go get your man, Hyuck.” Jaemin encouraged. This got Hyuck’s attention as he finally looked away from Mark to look at Jaemin. He smiled and gave him a wink “go get yours too, Nana,” was all he said before he walked off. They all cheered and clapped as they saw him make his way to where Mark was standing, drawing a little bit of attention. They got quieter as he got closer, and watched in anticipation as Hyuck was about to walk up right behind Mark. But just as he was about to reach out to tap him on the shoulder, a girl came up on the other side and began to talk to him. They all groaned in unison as they watched the scene. When Hyuck walked back defeatedly, they gave him a little pat on the shoulder.
“You still have the whole night to talk to him,” Chenle reassured, “For now, why don’t we go dance again.”
Hyuck agreed, and was pulled back on to the dance floor by Chenle. Renjun was walking behind them when he noticed Jaemin staying put. “Are you not coming?” he asked. Jaemin just shook his head “I’ll watch you from here.” Renjun shrugged in return and proceeded to follow the other two again. From where he was he watched his friends dance with each other, a fond smile spreading on his lips. There was a certain kind of happiness Jaemin experienced when he watched the people he loved having fun.
“Are you having fun tonight? A voice beside him spoke, scaring the living shit out of Jaemin. He jumped back as he turned toward the source of the voice. He was absolutely not expecting Jeno to be standing right in front of him, but there he was in all his handsome glory. Jeno looked at him with an expression of worry and guilt, and Jaemin just looked at Jeno like a frightened animal. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that! Now that I think about it I realize how creepy that was.” he apologized with that same expression on his face, like a kicked puppy. This pulled Jaemin out of his shock “N-no, it’s okay! You just caught me off guard, but I’m fine!” he stuttered out.
Jeno smiled a little bit at that, but he still looked unsure. Jamein, still in a daze at what was happening, tried his best to salvage the moment. “I’m having a great time by the way!” Jaemin finally answered. Jeno’s smile widened, and Jamein felt his heart skip a beat. “Would you like to get out of here? Maybe we could go to the back and talk?” Jeno asked. Jaemin was so caught up in how surreal the moment was that he doesn’t remember whether or not he said yes, but he still found himself following Jeno out into the backyard.
Jaemin wasn’t sure how long he and Jeno had been out in the yard, all he could focus on was the way the black haired boy gushed about his cats. He’s much cuter than I thought, Jaemin thought to himself. This was not a side to the campus soccer star that he thought he’d ever see. Jaemin loved seeing this more realistic side though, and he could feel himself fall harder for the boy in front of him. They talked and talked about anything and everything, and Jaemin’s nervousness around the other had completely disappeared. It somehow felt like they had known each other for years.
They had just moved on to a conversation about anime when a loud, distinct laugh rang through the air. Chenle was running, more like stumbling, over to where they were on the grass. Jaemin could see the drik in his hand sloshing around. “Nana, hyung, we’ve been looking everywhere for you!” he exclaimed with a smirk growing on his face. Jaemin inwardly groaned; he’ll never hear the end of this.
“Looks like you made a new friend, hyung~” he drawled out as he sipped his drink suggestively.
Jaemin just gave the younger boy a glare. Jeno chuckled, amused by Chenle “Sorry to keep your friend from you…” he apologized, asking for the boy’s name. “Chenle” he answered.
“Ah, so you’re Chenle. Jaemin told me about you.” Jeno smiled. Chenle’s smirk grew wider at that, and Jaemin had to physically restrain himself from pulling his hair out. “Good things I hope.”
Jeno was about to reply when he stopped himself, staring at Chenle in surprise. Jaemin followed his eyes and found his own expression changing into something similar. Chenle, unsure of why the two older boy’s moods suddenly changed, cautiously lowered his drink. “Why are you guys staring at me like that? Is there a bug on my face?” he asked, standing completely still.
Jaemin was the first to break out of his staring, quickly jumping up with a laugh. “There’s no bug, but I’m afraid you’ve grown whiskers, my child.” he said with an amused grin on his face. “Isn’t that funny, Jeno, we were just talking about cats too.” Jeno just snorted in response.
Chenle raised an eyebrow at his friend, confused at his statement. But then Jaemin held up his phone, his camera on and facing the front so that Chenle could see himself. And sure enough, Jaemin was right. There were three lines on either side of his nose and a circle on the tip of it. Chenle gasped as his hand flew up to the markings and swore to the others that they weren’t there a minute ago. Jaemin giggled, “yeah, we know, it appeared on your face as we were talking to you.”
Jaemin could practically see the gears in Chenle’s brain turn, until his eyes widened and he gasped. “My soulmate!” was all he yelled as he bolted back inside the house. Jaemin, without hesitation, followed him, which made Jeno follow along as well. The three of them ran through the house, dodging people as best as they could. Although, bumping into people was inevitable, and they ended up with glares and curses directed at them. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was the way Jeno grabbed his hand, but Jaemin couldn’t control the giggles that left his mouth. They stopped, however, when he slammed into Chenle’s back, the other having ran into someone else just as hard.
When Jaemin looked up to see if Chenle was alright, he saw the other staring with an awestruck expression at… Jisung? Jisung had the same expression as they both stared at the markings on each other’s faces. Jaemin couldn’t contain his excitement for his friend as he shouted “Chenle, Jisung is your soulmate!” extremely loud, causing the people around them to turn and stare. Jeno, who was standing directly beside Jaemin now, still holding his hand, chimed in as well. “Our Jisungie found his soulmate!” eliciting shy smiles from the younger boys. Everyone around them cheered, a few mumbled in disappointment, but the reaction was still overwhelmingly positive.
In the corner of his eye, he could see Renjun and Donghyuck make their way over. “What’s going on?” Hyuck was the first to ask as he eyed Jeno and Jaemin’s hands. Chenle and Jisung who had been doing nothing but stare at each other this entire time, randomly bursted into laughter at the same time. “I’m Chenle.” he introduced himself with red cheeks as he extended out his hand. Jisung shook it and replied “I’m Jisung” with a smile.
Jaemin cooed at how adorable the two were being and grabbed on to Hyuck and began to pull him and Jeno away. “Come on, let’s leave these two alone. I’ll tell you everything somewhere else.”
Jaemin, Jeno, Renjun, and Hyuck were all upstairs in one of the many rooms so Jaemin could explain what happened. Renjun and Hyuck both looked like they were both holding in the biggest smirks as they looked at Jaemin and Jeno sitting side-by-side. After Jaemin was finished, Hyuck shot up, startling all of them. “This only means one thing, I have to go talk to Mark.” Hyuck stated with a newfound determination.
Jeno looked at Jaemin questioningly and lowly asked, “Mark? My friend Mark?”
“Yeah, Huck has a giant crush on him. He believes that they are soulmates because one time Hyuck drew on himself with a marker and claims he saw Mark with the same thing on his hand.” Jaemin explained in a low voice. “I can still hear you~” Hyuck said in a singsong way as he exited the room. Renjun cheered him on from the other side “Go get him, Hyuck!”, then he turned to Jeno and said “think you could put in a good word?”
Jeno looked a little worried, which made Jaemin nervous. “What’s wrong?” Jaemin asked.
“You gotta go stop your friend. The whole soulmate thing is a very touchy subject with Mark, and he hates it when people claim that they are his. He’s very harsh and I don’t want your friend to get hurt.” Jeno explained. Jaemin and Renjun knew how sensitive Hyuck could be even though he tried not to look like it, and being yelled at in front of all those people was something they didn’t want him to experience.
They all ran out of the room after Hyuck, desperately trying to catch up with him. But when they got down the stairs they saw him already speaking with him on the dance floor and by the look on Mark’s face, it wasn’t going well. They couldn’t hear anything over the music, but as they got closer they saw Hyuck take out a small marker out of his pocket and draw a line on his forearm. Jaemin gasped as he watched Mark hold up his arm after a second and there, right on his forearm, was the same line that Hyuck drew on his. Jaemin grew hopeful for a moment, surely since Hyuck wasn’t lying, he would accept him. But Mark just looked at his arm with an unreadable expression, and then looked at Hyuck with the same stoic look and walked out of the party.
Hyuck’s face visibly fell, and without a second thought both he and Renjun ran up to him and sandwiched him into a hug. Jaemin could see the tears in Hyuck’s eyes, but he held them back well. They left the party shortly after and bid farewell to Jeno, exchanging phone numbers. But as he left, the butterflies disappeared as he thought about how such an amazing night ended on such a bitter note.