Archive of Our Own

There are a lot of unexplainable things in the world, even with the help of scientists. No one knows why people dream during sleep, why people express romantic love by kissing, who built the Stonehenge, why you can feel the wind but unable to see it, and why soulmates exist.

Same as how nobody can explain why a human’s eyes only see black-and-white until they meet the love of their life, their other half, their soulmate.

Jungkook doesn’t understand why life has to be that way. He doesn’t understand why everybody needs a soulmate that badly. He doesn’t understand why they have to live in a dull monochrome world while listening to other people blabbering about how wonderful colours are. He wonders why they have to experience less because of something they can’t even control.

It’s not easy to find your soulmate in such a big world. Logically speaking, it’s impossible, but some lucky people managed to find their soulmates – that includes his own parents. His parents met each other in the rather early phase of their lives, during their high school years exactly.

It was what people called fate. His mother was living in another city that time and her school was holding a business trip to Busan, the city where his father lived. His mother was only there for three days, yet she still managed to meet his father in a night market. It was truly fate, they said.   

Ever since Jungkook was young, his mother often told him the stories about colours.

What you’re seeing right now is black and white. The brightest colour is called ‘white’ and the darkest colour is called ‘black’. The ‘gray’ colour is the range between black and white, the lighter the gray colour is, the closest it is to being white.

Red is a fiery colour. It symbolizes energy, power, passion, and even love. When you see the colour red, your heart will beat a little faster and your eyes will light up with power. Red is a very eye-catching colour.

Blue is a serene colour. It’s the colour of sky and the sea. It is sincere, reserved and quiet, and doesn't like to draw attention. It is almost the opposite of the red colour.

Now, green is a colour of balance and harmony. It is the colour of trees, grass, and plants. green is also the colour of growth, the colour of spring, of renewal and rebirth. It renews and restores depleted energy. It is a very relaxing colour.

Jungkook had no idea how all those colours look like, but he enjoyed listening to his mother’s stories. Back then, he could spend hours just listening to his mother repeating her stories about colours. Back then, he was so obsessed with the full-colour world that he kept wishing to meet his soulmate as soon as possible.

Back then, he wanted to know how his favourite shirt looked like with colours, he wanted to know how pretty the flowers in his backyard were, and he wanted to know how the sky really looked like if he could see colours.

After a few years of fruitless searching, however, he has pretty much given up in finding his soulmate.

During his school years, he would spend his school breaks to travel around the cities with his family in hope to find his soulmate, but he never found the one. Turns out, the world is too big to find one person who’s made for him.

His parents told him not to worry since he’s still young and they believed his soulmate would come at the right time. The question is when is the right time?

He tried not to think about it. He was still young back then, so he should have fun and enjoy life instead of thinking about his soulmate – at least that’s what people told him all the time. That’s what his parents and his friends told him. So he studied well, he entered a prestigious university in the city, and he graduated with a pretty decent grade.

While the people around him were busy falling in love and finding their soulmates, he kept himself focused on his study. He was still young, so he’s not supposed to be so invested with the idea of soulmates. There were a lot of people who found their soulmates at very young ages and no matter how much he envied them, he knew he wasn’t alone either.

His best friend, Jimin, had not found his soulmate until they attended university together. Jimin was very carefree about his soulmate, his best friend didn’t think too much about it and he wasn’t as invested as Jungkook was.

That’s probably why Jungkook felt that the world was being unfair when Jimin stumbled upon his soulmate one day; a man named Yoongi. They met each other in the most cliché way. Jimin was doing his usual groceries at the beginning of the month when his trolley accidentally bumped into the other man who was trying to choose the best watermelon at the fruit section.

Jungkook was there to witness their fateful meeting too. He didn’t know what Jimin saw that time, probably a burst of colours. His best friend’s mouth was unhinged and he was completely stunned for a few seconds until Yoongi pulled him into a hug. It was a happy sight. He was happy to see Jimin finally finding his soulmate in such a fateful way.

Despite that, he couldn’t stop the vast amount of loneliness filling his chest that time.

He is still young right now. He just graduated university and there’s still a long way to go in his life. Yet seeing everybody around him being happily in love, he can’t help but to wonder if he’s really going to meet his soulmate one day.

In this world, there are few unlucky people who didn’t get to meet their soulmate due to various reasons, and maybe he’s one of them.

===

“So, when are you meeting up with that guy?”

Jimin asks when they’re sitting together in the couple booth at the corner of their favourite restaurant in the city.

“Which guy?” Jungkook asks as he picks up a piece of meat from the grilling pan.

“That guy you’ve been seeing from that dating app.” Jimin swallows his food before speaking again. “That Tae guy.”

Jungkook pauses momentarily before replying to his best friend. “We’re not planning to meet up.”

“Why?” Jimin’s brows twitch at the odd answer. He has never used a dating application before, but he thought the whole purpose of it is to meet up for a date or something.

“We’re just not interested.” Jungkook shakes his head and takes a gulp of his cold tea. “We like talking to each other as friends and we like to keep it that way. It’s nice, you know. We can talk about everything without really knowing each other.”

“You still don’t know who his real name is?”

“No, and he doesn’t know my full name.”

“Interesting.” Jimin nods thoughtfully like he just learns something new. “So… do you like that guy? Like… do you have feelings for him?”

Jungkook stares at his empty bowl for a second before looking up to Jimin. “…Why do you ask that?”

“Well, I’m going to meet Yoongi’s friend next weekend, maybe you want to come along?” Jimin smiles sheepishly, unable to hide his real intention of asking his best friend to come along. “You know, there are some guys you’ve never met before. Maybe you can get to know them? We can grab dinner or go drinking together.”

Jungkook knows Jimin means well, his best friend is always so thoughtful and kind, but he wishes Jimin will stop trying to set him up with random guys. He knows Jimin is just trying to help him. Jimin must have thought that he’s been feeling very lonely that he chooses to stick with dating applications instead of meeting other guys, but it’s not really like that.

He is fine this way. He doesn’t need to meet every single man out there as if he’s so desperate to find his soulmate.

“You know I won’t be comfortable being surrounded by a group of strangers.” Jungkook huffs out a chuckle and shakes his head again.

“Me and Yoongi will be there too.” Jimin puckers his lips. “Yoongi’s friends are nice guys, so you don’t have to worry.”

“You’re so eager about introducing me to guys. What if my soulmate is a woman?” He asks jokingly.

“Impossible.” Jimin says without any doubt. “You like men, so your soulmate must be a man too.”

Jungkook laughs at the answer. It was said that a soulmate is someone who will complete him, someone who is perfectly made for him, and someone who will have all the things he’s looking for in a partner.

Honestly, Jungkook has no idea what exactly he is looking for in a partner. He just knows he likes men, probably someone who can understand his rather closed-off personality, so his soulmate should be a man too.

“It’s okay, Jimin. I don’t really care about it anymore.” Jungkook hums and picks up the last piece of meat from the grill. It’s slightly burnt since he leaves it in the pan for too long, it tastes a little bitter.

Jimin doesn’t say anything in response, he doesn’t really know what to say. He has known Jungkook since they were in elementary and he knows how invested Jungkook was with the idea of soulmate. Somewhere along the way, Jungkook gave up on searching for his soulmate and it saddens Jimin to see the light in his best friend’s eyes dimmed slowly as the years passed by.

It saddens him to see Jungkook, who once was so excited about the whole soulmate thing, giving up like this.

“Alright then, I won’t force you to come either.” Jimin flashes his best friend a smile before finishing the rest of his food.

It’s almost nine when Jungkook reaches his apartment. Yoongi picked them up in the restaurant since Jimin will be spending the night with him, and Jungkook, being the third wheel he is, got a free ride back to his apartment.

He doesn’t dislike Yoongi, not at all. Yoongi treats Jimin very well and the elder is also nice to him even though he’s just a nobody. It’s just that there are times where he feels a little jealous when Yoongi and Jimin are together – because Jimin used to be by his side all the time, but now his best friend is spending more time with Yoongi.

Well, he can’t blame Jimin at all though. He’s just being selfish because he thought he owned Jimin just because they’re best friends.

Jungkook takes his shower and flops onto his bed with his sleepwear before checking the messages in his phone. A smile slowly curls on his lips when he sees a certain name in the notification.

Tae: You are already home? At this hour?

Tae: What a good boy!

Tae: You didn’t go to a bar or something?

Tae is one of the guys he met on a dating application six months ago, the guy Jimin mentioned earlier during dinner.

Jungkook was bored that night, and he was also sulking that day because Jimin chose to watch a movie with Yoongi instead of grabbing a meal with him. He was scrolling through the application store in his phone to download some games to pass time, but he somehow ended up clicking a popular dating application instead.

Despite this whole soulmate thing, dating applications are extremely popular. He has heard wonderful stories where soulmates met each other through a dating application, but there are actually more stories about them searching for sex friends instead of soulmates. It works either way, he thinks.

He remembers swiping on all the guys until Tae’s profile appeared on his screen. Tae’s main profile picture didn’t show his face at all, which was weird since face was the first thing people would look at in a dating application. The picture was only showing his back, but Jungkook was somewhat intrigued, so he slid his thumb to look at more pictures.

Tae was very good-looking. Jungkook dared to say that Tae is his type. Tae was handsome overall, but he looked so cute when he smiled – at least that’s what the pictures told him.

Tae didn’t put a lot of information about himself in the profile section. He only stated his age, the city he’s living in, and his nickname Tae. A lot of people weren’t interested in someone who didn’t explain about themselves in the profile section, but it’s not that way for Jungkook.

There’s something interesting about this Tae guy, so he mustered some courage to hit Tae up in the chat.

Surprisingly, they got along very well, it’s like they were long lost friends who found each other again. After just a week of constant chatting, they finally exchanged numbers to move the conversation into a more convenient messenger.

Tae is only two years older than him, but he seems so mature with the way he talks and the way he sees things in life. Jungkook was attracted to the pictures at first, but the more he talks with Tae, the more he admires the older male. Aside from his somewhat-mature mind, Tae can be very quirky at times and Jungkook thinks it’s a very attractive trait.  

They became good friends not long after, even without sharing too much details about their identities. They send each other pictures sometimes, mostly to show their outfits of the day, but they never talk about private matters. Until now, Jungkook doesn’t even know who Tae’s real name is and he’s sure Tae also has no idea about his full name.

It’s alright though. Jungkook loves the relationship they have right now. Tae is like the internet best friend who he can talk about anything with. It’s not only once where he shares his opinions about soulmates to Tae. It’s weird because he’s not very comfortable talking about his view in soulmates with someone who’s not very close with him, yet he can tell Tae everything and the older male always listens to him.

He doesn’t even use the dating application anymore at this point. He’s happy enough to be talking to Tae every day like this. He originally used the application to find a friend after all, and he has found Tae now.

Me: You know I can’t hold my drink very well -.-

Tae: You can just call me. I’ll pick you up and send you home (´ ･ω ･`)

Jungkook chuckles at the other’s message before typing his reply. One of Tae’s amusing traits is his habit of putting weird emoticons on his messages.

Me: Hmmm, I’m scared. You might do something to me while I’m drunk.

Tae: What!?

Tae: How could you think so lowly of me?? Σ( ﾟД ﾟ;)

Tae: I am a man of dignity!

Jungkook breaks into a laugh. Talking with Tae always cheers him up. Sometimes they can talk about the most serious thing, but sometimes they can joke around like this. It’s almost as if Tae can sense his mood.

Me: LOL ok I trust you.

Me: You know, my friend tried to set me up with random dudes again.

Jungkook bites his lip after pressing the send button. He wonders if it is a good time to whine at Tae about this.

Tae: What did you say?

Me: I refused. I told him I don’t care about soulmates anymore.

Tae: I think he just wants to help you, but if what he does makes you uncomfortable, you have to tell him nicely.

Tae: Not everybody likes to be set up with random people for a date they didn’t even ask for.

Jungkook smiles softly at the reply, but it disappears just as fast when he types his message.

Me: What about you?

Me: Will you go on random dates that your friend set up for you?

Tae: Sure.

Tae: There’s a possibility I might find my soulmate, so I’ll take the chance ^^

There’s an ache growing in his chest as he reads Tae’s cheery message.

Unlike him who’s grown to be pessimistic with his views on soulmates, Tae is still very optimistic about it. Jungkook has no idea how Tae can stay positive when he’s older than him and hasn’t found his soulmate either. Maybe it’s because Tae is simply more mature than him, Tae doesn’t sulk over other people who have found their soulmates, Tae doesn’t get jealous just because his best friend has found his soulmate.

Tae is not like him.

Me: You’re always so positive about this whole soulmates thingy.

Tae: Is it bad? :<

Jungkook wonders how Tae would react if he said that he wishes for the elder to never find his soulmate. It’s horrible. Jungkook even hates himself for thinking so, yet he can’t help the ugly feeling stirring in his stomach whenever Tae talks about his soulmate.

He can’t help the ache in his chest at the thought of Tae falling in love with someone and leaving him behind.

Me: No, it’s not bad at all.

Me: I do hope you will find your soulmate soon!

Jungkook wonders if it’s silly to say that he’s in love with Tae, someone he has never even met in person before. There’s a possibility that Tae is using someone else’s picture all this time. There’s a chance that Tae is nothing but a catfisher.

Jungkook isn’t a very positive person, at least not anymore, yet he believes that Tae isn’t a liar.

Tae: I hope the same for you too.

===

On some days, Jungkook likes to spend his weekend by himself.

When he feels like going out, he tries out the newly opened café in town, he goes to the bookstore to see if there’s any interesting book, and sometimes he goes to department stores for window shopping. On some days though, he prefers to stay at home with a movie playing on his laptop or cleaning his apartment.

Today is just another day where he decides to go out on the weekend. The weather is nice and he figures he should buy a storage box to keep the things scattered around his apartment.

After reheating last night’s dinner for lunch, he heads out of his apartment and takes the bus to the central area of the city. He stands up inside the bus since there’s no empty seat, but at least he doesn’t need to be squeezed like sardine in a pack like how it usually is during the weekdays.

He has planned how his day goes for today. He will stop by a variety store to buy a foldable storage box, then he will drop by the shopping center to see if there’s any sale, and then he will grab some dinner nearby before heading back home.

Jimin is going out with Yoongi to meet some friends tonight, and Tae told him earlier in the day that he will be hanging out with his friends until night. Tae jokingly asked him to join him in the bar tonight, but he refused politely.

He’s not ready to meet Tae yet, not when he still has these growing feelings for the other man. He’s afraid of falling even deeper for Tae, for someone who only wants to be with his soulmate and no one else. It’s pointless to fall in love with Tae, yet he can’t seem to stop this feeling.

If only his heart can choose who to fall in love with.

He looks out of the window with a sigh, scanning over the parked cars along the side of the street as the bus moves.

Then he sees it.

There’s a guy climbing into his car that’s parked beside the tree, but it’s not just a random guy. His hair has colour.

Jungkook obviously has no idea what colour it is, but he knows it’s colour since it stands out so much, and it’s the only thing that’s not monochrome in his vision right now. He is seeing someone in colour.

Before he knows it, he is already running towards the window and pressing his palms against the glass. Just like how fast he sees it, the colour disappears from his vision and everything goes back to normal when the bus makes a turn around the corner. The other passengers are surprised by his sudden move, some are even frowning unhappily at him for causing ruckus, but Jungkook isn’t paying attention to them at all.

His world turns back to normal, but his heart isn’t. His chest is tightening and he can hear his heart pounding in his ears. His surroundings slowly turn into a blur as he thinks about that man, about his colour.

When the bus reaches the next stop, he quickly hops out and runs back towards that street, to the place where he saw that man; his soulmate. It’s ridiculous to see him running so desperately like a madman when he has been very pessimistic about this whole soulmate thing.

He thought he had stopped caring about his soulmate. He thought he had given up. He thought he was happy living in his current world.

Yet here he is, running down the street like he’s losing his mind, and maybe he really is.

When he finally reaches the street, the man is no longer there, leaving him with his dull monochrome world. People are giving him weird looks, but all he can feel is the twinge in his chest.

He swears he saw it, he saw a colour on that man’s head. It was bright, vivid, and strong. He has no idea what colour it was, he has no idea how to ask Jimin, he has no idea how to describe that colour to someone who can see colours, but it was a very beautiful colour. It was like magic to see that man light up, surrounded by the monochrome world of black and white.

It was magical, but it’s gone now.

Jungkook has no idea who that man is, what his name is, and where he lives. He doesn’t even remember the plate number of his car or anything else. Just like that, his soulmate slips away from his grasp.

There’s a knot forming in his throat, like he’s about to cry. It’s so silly to cry over something like this. He thought he had stopped caring, he thought he had stopped hoping, but he’s not fooling anybody by pretending.

He looks down to his feet, noticing how his vision is blurred by tears. He brings his hand to his face, placing it over his eyes as he tries not to break down in the middle of the street where everybody else is enjoying their happy weekend, everybody else but him.

In the end, he doesn’t spend too long outside. After grabbing the foldable storage box he needs, he heads home immediately with the void in his chest. He was in a particularly good mood when he left the house earlier in the day, but not anymore now.

The rest of the day goes relatively slow in his apartment. He sets up the box and arranges his things inside to create more space in his small studio apartment. His phone is left on his desk as he’s not in the mood to talk to anybody for now. He thinks about telling Jimin about what happened, but his best friend is enjoying his date and he doesn’t want to ruin it.

It’s okay. He should feel better tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.

When the night falls, he steps out to his balcony and looks at the sky. The stars are visible tonight, how rare. When he moved to Seoul a few years ago for university, he needed to adjust with the fast-paced lifestyle and bustling city. The stars are not always visible at night since they’re outshined by the lights of the city that’s alive all night.

Does his soulmate live in this city too? Seoul is such a big city, but he has been staying here for a few years, so how come he only met him today? Is it because he doesn’t go out that much? Could it be that his soulmate is only here for a short trip perhaps?

The ringing of his phone snaps Jungkook out of his thoughts. He turns around to look at his cellphone before walking back inside his room to check it.

Incoming call: Tae.

It’s rare for Tae to call him. They mostly talk through texts and Jungkook is comfortable with it too. The only time they talk on the phone is when they have a story to tell that would be too long to be written in texts.

“Hello?” Jungkook says carefully. If he remembers correctly, Tae is supposed to be in the bar with his friends at this hour. Did he change his plans?

“Hey.”

Jungkook remembers the first time he heard Tae’s voice from the phone. It was so deep that he was taken aback for a moment.

“What’s up? Aren’t you supposed to be at the bar right now?” Jungkook tries to sound cheery, not wanting Tae to sense anything wrong.

“I feel like having some fresh air, so I’m smoking outside the bar right now.” Tae hums from the other line. “You haven’t replied to me since morning. I want to make sure that you’re still alive.”

Jungkook huffs out a laugh at the joke. “Yeah, sorry, I was… doing stuff…”

There’s a beat of silence before Tae speaks again. “Is everything alright?”

“Y-Yeah, everything’s alright. Why did you ask?”

“Your voice sounds like you’re not alright.”

Sometimes, Jungkook is amazed at how sharp Tae is. He thought the elder was simply a cheery and carefree person when they first talked, but Tae is so much more than that. They rarely talk on the phone, yet Tae can sense it when he’s not feeling good.

“Is that so…” Jungkook tries to huff out a chuckle, but to no avail. The event that happened earlier in the day starts playing in his head again. “Are you free to talk right now?”

“…Hold on, I’ll hop inside my car first. It’s quieter there.” Tae says.

Jungkook can hear some footsteps, the beeping sound of a car, some rustling noises, and then silence.

“What’s wrong?” Tae asks again, his voice sounds clearer right now with the silence.

Jungkook sits on the floor beside his bed. “I saw a colour today.”

There’s a few seconds of silence and Jungkook knows it must be a surprise for Tae too.

“You did?” Tae whispers. “You met your soulmate?”

“No, I didn’t meet him.” Jungkook sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I was in the bus that time, and I saw this guy getting into his car. His hair was… coloured…”

Tae stays silent on the other line, so Jungkook keeps blabbering.

“I don’t know what colour it was, obviously, but it was so vibrant, so different than the rest of the world. I immediately got off on the next stop and ran back to that street, but he was gone… just like that…” Jungkook realizes his voice is starting to shake, so he takes a deep breath to keep his voice and his emotion steady. “It disappeared just as quick as I saw it. I have no idea about his face, his name, his age, and everything else. I just know his hair is coloured, bright and vibrant.”

There’s a long silence follows, but Jungkook can hear Tae’s soft breathing, so he knows the call is still connected. He wonders what Tae thinks about this. Will Tae sympathize with him or be happy for him? He doesn’t even know whether it is a sad or happy thing to meet his soulmate and lose him in a blink of an eye.

“…What colour was it?”

“Huh?” Jungkook blinks at the unexpected question. “I don’t know, I have no idea about colours. I had never seen one until today.”

“No… I mean describe the colour for me. What kind of colour was it? How did you feel when you look at it?”

“It was… a strong colour. It’s bright and vibrant, but very beautiful. I feel like it’s an eye-catching colour, even though I’ve never seen other colours before.” He tries to explain the best he can.

“Did you ever dye your hair?”

“No, I heard our natural hair is black in colour, right? I don’t dye my hair since it will be pointless when I can’t see the colour.”

“I dyed my hair. I have no idea how it looks like, but the hairdresser called it ‘red’. It’s the colour of fire, passion, and energy.”

“It sounds like a beautiful colour.” Jungkook hums softly. “I wonder what colour his hair is…”

“…You will meet him again, Jungkook. I’m sure of it.”

“How are you so sure?” Jungkook can feel his chest aching again as he recalls how his world turned back to monochrome when he lost sight of the man. “I’ve been living in this city for years, Tae. This is the first time I saw him and I lost him just like that. How can I see him again in such a big city when I don’t even know how his face looks like?”

Tae doesn’t say anything in return, but Jungkook’s emotion is taking over him. He thought he didn’t care about soulmates anymore. He thought he’s already in love with Tae. He thought his soulmate would never show up. He thought he’d rather be with Tae than with his unknown soulmate.

But why does his heart hurt this much?

“Why didn’t he look up? Why didn’t he look at the bus that passed in front of him? Why didn’t he look at me?”

Jungkook knows he must sound like a child throwing a tantrum right now, yelling about his life not going the way he wants it to be. He isn’t a child anymore. He knows life is not always rainbows and butterflies, yet right now, he feels that the world is being unfair to him.

How can he be in love with Tae, yet still so desperate for his soulmate?

“I’m sure he will regret it.” Tae’s voice is gentle and calm, the opposite of what Jungkook is feeling right now. “I’m sure he will regret not looking up that day. I’m sure he will regret missing his chance of meeting you. I’m sure he will hate himself for that.”

“I don’t even know if we’re going to see each other again.” Jungkook croaks out and a drop of tears finally falls down his cheek.

He brings his hand to cover his mouth, but he’s sure Tae can hear him crying. How embarrassing of him to break down on the phone like this. Tae doesn’t even have anything to do with this.

He wonders why he can’t be content with living in a monochrome world.

“I can help you.”

“…What?”

“I can help you search for him. I have a car, so we can drive around the city. It will be easier.”

Jungkook doesn’t know how to feel about the offer. On one hand, Tae is being really sweet for going this far just for him. On the other hand, it sounds like a joke to have the person he’s in love with searching for his soulmate. Life sure is funny.

If only Tae knew about his true feelings. Jungkook wonders what Tae would say if only he knew the turmoil in his heart right now.

“Is it okay?” Jungkook sniffs.

“Of course it’s okay.” Tae says softly and somehow, Jungkook can imagine a small smile curling on the other’s lips. “When are you free?”

“Oh, um.” Jungkook wipes his face with a hand and stands up to look at his desk calendar. “I should be free at the end of this month…”

“How about meeting on the 28^th? You’re alright with weekends, right?”

“Yes, it’s more convenient for me on weekends.” Jungkook says, still dumbfounded about what just happened.

For six months, he avoided meeting up with Tae due to his own fear, yet he easily agreed to meet up just because Tae mentioned his soulmate. His feelings are turning into a mess just because of a random stranger who holds the other end of his red string.

Are his feelings for Tae really this shallow?

“Alright, let’s meet up on 28^th then.”

“Tae.”

“Hm?”

“Why… are you doing this much for me?” Jungkook doesn’t even know what he is asking. He should be grateful for Tae’s help instead of questioning his intention like this, but he can’t help it.

Why are you willing to go this far for me? What about your own soulmate? Have you tried searching for him in every corner of his city?

“I don’t want you to cry. I don’t want you to be sad.” Tae hums. “You’re a good person. You deserve to be happy with your soulmate.”

It’s such a simple answer, yet so honest and genuine. Jungkook thinks Tae’s soulmate must be the luckiest person in the world. He hopes Tae’s soulmate knows that there’s a hopeless guy like him who’s in love with Tae, despite having a soulmate of his own.

“Thank you, Tae.” Jungkook finds himself smiling, albeit just a faint one. “You can go back to the bar. Your friends must be waiting for you.”

“…Alright then, I’ll talk to you later.”

“See you.”

“…See you.” Tae pauses for a second and then speaks again. “Cheer up.”

The elder hangs up after that and Jungkook finds himself staring at his desk calendar once again, wondering if he’s making the right decision.

===

“That guy sure is nice to help you search for your soulmate.” Jimin beams after hearing the whole story from Jungkook.

“Tae is a very nice person.” Jungkook smiles wryly.

He’s finally meeting Tae next week, but he still doesn’t know how to feel about this. He’s excited, happy, nervous and scared. His feelings have been a complete mess since the day he stumbled upon his soulmate.  

“Why don’t you look very happy?” Jimin asks, snapping him out of his trance.

“…Do I not look happy?”

Jimin takes a moment to think before answering. “You’re not as happy as I thought you’d be.”

“Yeah, I wonder why I’m not as happy as I’m supposed to be.” Jungkook chuckles lightly, but there’s no humor in his eyes. “I don’t know what I’m feeling anymore.”

Poor Jimin must be very confused. His best friend only knows about his past obsession with soulmates and not about his true feelings for Tae, or about the mess of thoughts in his head, or the turmoil in his heart. Jimin doesn’t know about his mixed emotions and the void in his chest.

“Is everything alright?” Jimin asks, voice careful and eyes attentive. “Kook, you can tell me anything, you know. I will listen to you.”

Jimin has always been his best friend for the longest time and Jungkook knows Jimin is still his best friend until now. Even though Jimin has found Yoongi, his best friend doesn’t throw him aside. Jimin still cares about him so much.

All this time, it’s Jungkook who’s being childish towards everything. He’s the one feeling jealous just because Jimin found his soulmate earlier than him. He’s the one feeling abandoned when no one is abandoning him.

He’s the one who’s feeling lonely even though Jimin always reaches out to him.

“I’m in love with Tae.” Jungkook says in one breath and he can see Jimin’s eyes widen visibly.

“That’s why I’m having mixed feelings about this.” Jungkook continues, his eyes flicking down to his half-empty cup of coffee. “I know I’m in love with Tae, but just a glimpse of my soulmate is enough to make me think twice about it. I was always afraid of meeting up with Tae because I didn’t want to get my heart broken. Tae is the type of person who is so invested with the idea of soulmate, just like how I used to be.”

Jimin stays quiet, listening to him. This small coffee shop doesn’t have many customers at this hour, probably because there’s a bigger coffee shop chain around the corner of this block, but this is a comfortable place for the pair of best friends. It has been their hang-out spot ever since they discovered it during their first year in university.

“I was simply being a coward, but after seeing my soulmate that day… I figured I should put an end to this feeling. I don’t think I have the right to fall in love with someone else. I was so confident about my love for him, but it was shaken the moment I set my eyes on a colour.” Jungkook blows out a long sigh before looking up to his best friend. “Are people not meant to fall in love with someone else other than their soulmate?”

“There are few cases where people who aren’t soulmates stay together, you know.”

“That’s because they never found their soulmates, and not all of them stay together. Some of those people prefer to live alone and stay single for the rest of their lives.” Jungkook sighs again and turns to look outside the window, seeing two women walking happily hand-in-hand, looking so in love with each other. “I thought about it, you know. I thought about having a relationship with someone else, someone that I’m in love with. What would happen to that relationship if I finally meet my soulmate?”

Jimin can’t answer the question since he has never had a relationship with anybody else before he met Yoongi. He knows Jungkook is the same. He knows the reason why Jungkook is never interested in pursuing a relationship is because he’s waiting for his soulmate.

“Have you ever thought about the possibility of Tae being your soulmate…?” Jimin finally asks. He doesn’t know if it’s possible, but when he thinks a little deeper about the matter, he doesn’t think it’s something impossible either.

Jungkook thinks about it for a second before shaking his head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“If he’s my soulmate, I should have seen colours bursting from my phone screen the moment I saw his picture in the dating application.”

“Oh.” Jimin furrows his brows at the logic and then nods his head a second later. “Is that how it works?”

“I think. They said colours will burst in your vision the moment you set your eyes on your soulmate, so I should have seen it when I saw Tae’s pictures.” Jungkook says, retelling the theory he read in an internet blog a few years ago.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tae’s pictures before. Did you ever send me?” Jimin asks when he remembers about it.

“I don’t think I’ve sent you any. The only pictures I have where his face is visible are the ones in his dating application profile.” He takes out his phone and starts scrolling through his gallery. “Wait, I’ll see if I have one.”

While Jimin is waiting for the picture, his phone suddenly rings on the table, showing an incoming call from Yoongi.

“Hello?”

Jungkook glances across the table, seeing how tender Jimin’s eyes are when he speaks to Yoongi.

“Right now? I thought you had some work to take care of… Oh, I see… Um, I’m with Jungkook right now in the coffee shop… You want to grab some dinner?” Jimin glances at him, looking a little troubled.

“Just go with him.” He smiles.

Jimin hesitates for a second before he speaks into the phone again. “Alright, I’ll wait for you here.”

“He’s picking you up?” Jungkook asks after Jimin is done with the call.

“Yes. Come on, join us for dinner.” Jimin says cheerily.

“It’s still five right now.”

“We can hang out together before having dinner.” Jimin nods, still with a smile on his face.

“It’s okay. I still have some leftover food I can reheat for dinner tonight.”

Jimin puckers his lips, obviously disappointed by the refusal. Jungkook chuckles lightly at the other’s expression.

“Sorry, I guess I just want to be alone these days.”

“It’s okay.” Jimin flashes him a small smile. “I’m sorry I can’t help much.”

“You’re already a help for listening to me.” He pulls out his wallet to take out some money. “Alright, I’ll get going now. Yoongi is arriving soon, right?”

“He can drive you back to the apartment if you wait for him.”

“It’s fine. I want to take the bus today.” Jungkook smiles reassuringly at his best friend. “See you, Jimin.”

“See you, Kook.” Jimin says softly, eyes watching Jungkook until the other male walks out of the coffee shop.

===

Jungkook wonders if it is a bad idea after all.

Since Tae is driving his car while he’s taking the subway, they decide to meet near the exit of the station. Gangnam is such a crowded area especially on the weekends, but Tae said that it might be easier to find his soulmate in a sea of people.

It sounds like a good idea, if only he’s comfortable in crowded spaces. He’s not exactly bad with crowds, but it’s not something he will willingly put himself into.

He checks his phone as he walks towards the exit of the station. He sticks close to the wall while walking slowly, not wanting to bump into anybody who’s walking in hurry.  

Tae: I’m near exit 11.

He doesn’t know what to expect once he meets Tae. He doesn’t even know what he’s feeling right now. He wonders if Tae is going to be mad if he cancels on him right now. Tae probably won’t talk to him again if he does so.

Maybe it’s the best thing. That way, he can slowly forget about his feelings for Tae.

Taking a deep breath, he walks up the stairs to exit the station. There are a lot of people walking around the street, just as crowded as he expects on the weekend. He takes a quick scan of the crowd before finding an empty spot to stand.

He pulls his phone out and opens Tae’s profile in his contact list, thumb hovering over the call button, but not pressing yet.

While he’s thinking about his decision, another message pops up on his screen.

Tae: Call me if you’ve arrived! :D

Jungkook feels his heart clenching, unable to let go of his feelings for Tae. Still, he musters his courage to press the call button and puts his phone against his ear.

With only a single dialing tone, Tae picks up.

“You’ve arrived?” Tae’s voice sounds so cheery and Jungkook feels his heart aching even more.

“Yes, but… I think we should forget it. I think it’s not a good idea…”

“What? Why?” Tae sounds confused, which is very understandable. “Where are you right now? Where are you standing at?”

“It’s a bad idea Tae.” He runs a hand through his hair, trying to fake a chuckle. “I… I have feelings for you. This isn’t going to work. You helping me to search for my soulmate is not going to work for me.”

Tae doesn’t say anything in return. Jungkook can only hear the murmuring sound of the crowd from the other line. He waits for an answer, a response, anything, even if Tae hangs up without saying anything else.

The longer he waits for it, the more anxious he feels. When he doesn’t hear any response for more than fifteen seconds, he calls out carefully.

“Tae…?”

“…I found you.” Tae says before hanging up immediately.

Jungkook pulls his phone away from his ear and stares dumbly at it. What does that mean? What is he supposed to do now? Should he call Tae back to confirm it or should he just head back inside the station and take the subway home?

There’s a hand grabbing his shoulder out of sudden and within a second, he’s whirled around to face the other person. He’s so taken aback by the action that his phone slips off his hand and falls to the ground.

Bright, vivid, and strong colour. It’s so vibrant, striking on the eyes, but very beautiful. It’s the same colour he saw on his soulmate’s hair that day.    

When he finally shifts his focus to the other’s face, he realizes that it is someone he’s very familiar with. He realizes that it’s the man he’s in love with.

Jungkook watches with wide eyes as the colours seem to spread out from Tae to their surroundings, filling his vision with a burst of colours. He gasps and looks up to the colourful sky, buildings, trees, and everything else. Everything’s no longer dull and monochrome, it’s vibrant with colours.

His heart is pounding, his chest is swelling, and the emotions are flowing out of him.

He flicks his eyes back to Tae, seeing the other guy copying his movement of looking at his surroundings, and then their eyes finally meet each other. He can see the happiness gleaming in Tae’s eyes as a big smile blooms across the elder’s face.

“Tae…” Jungkook says dumbly, still trying to register what’s actually happening.

“I found you.” Tae says breathlessly as if the elder just ran all the way here to grab him.

The next thing Jungkook knows, there’s a pair of lips pressing against his own and a warm hand cupping the side of his face. His mind is going into overdrive at the sudden kiss, but the tenderness of Tae’s lips calms him down and he finds himself closing his eyes, melting into the kiss.

They stay like that for a while, not caring about the fact that they’re kissing in public, in a broad daylight and on a crowded street.

Jungkook is still dumbfounded when Tae finally breaks the kiss. Both of them are breathless, but they share the same look in their eyes; surprise, relief and most definitely, happiness.

“I finally found you. I knew it’s going to be you. I knew it and I was right.” Tae blabbers mindlessly as he pulls Jungkook into a hug, squeezing him tightly.

Jungkook opens his mouth to speak, but everything is stuck in his throat. There are too many things he wants to say and his emotions are overflowing. His phone is even left forgotten beside his feet as he wraps his arms around Tae to hug him back.

The next time he blinks, tears are gathering in his eyes. By the next second, he finds himself sobbing in Tae’s embrace. He isn’t a crybaby, he doesn’t particularly cry during sad movies either, but his emotions are overflowing right now, like a broken dam.

Tae seems panicked by his tears and if he wasn’t so emotional, he would have laughed at the other’s reaction. Tae tries to stop his tears by picking his phone up from the ground, patting his head, hugging him again, and even cooing at him as if he’s a crying child.

The people around them clap their hands at the scene, congratulating them for finding each other in such a big world. Tae smiles sheepishly at them while Jungkook is too embarrassed to show his crying face to strangers.

In the end, Tae pulls him into a café around the corner after his tears stop, which takes a while.

Jungkook is still not used to his new full-colour world and he doesn’t think he can get used to it quickly. Everything is so bright now, so vibrant and vivid, just like Tae’s bright red hair. The sight of his soulmate sitting across him on the table with a plate of waffles is almost surreal for Jungkook.

Tae tells him that his real name is Kim Taehyung, and that he moved to Seoul during his school years and has been staying here since then. Jungkook thinks it’s ridiculous that he didn’t stumble upon Taehyung at all until a few weeks ago when they have been living in the same city all along.

“I’ve had a feeling that you’re my soulmate, you know.” Taehyung says as he cuts his waffle into smaller pieces.

“Really?” Jungkook blinks his doe eyes.

“It’s an intuition, I guess?” Taehyung munches the waffle in his mouth, his right cheek puffing up slightly. “Talking to you feels like fitting two pieces of perfectly fitted puzzle together, and I like you, like a lot. It is rare since I’m not the type who falls for someone easily, especially since we’ve never even met.”

Jungkook feels his cheeks growing warm at the other’s confession. Taehyung is so blunt and casual about it, as if there’s nothing to hide about his feelings.

“Of course, I was worried and anxious that my intuition was wrong, but…” Taehyung trails off at the end of his sentence.

“But…?”

“But that night, you told me your soulmate has a vibrant hair colour, and I decided to take a gamble on it…” Taehyung says sheepishly, like he can’t believe his intuition turns out to be correct.  

Jungkook feels his own lips curling up into a smile as he darts his gaze to Taehyung’s bright hair again. “So… that’s the colour red?”

“It is! I guess it’s really vibrant, isn’t it?” The elder grins and turns to look at the window beside them, staring at his faint reflection.

“Yes, it’s so… eye-catching, compared to all the other colours around us right now.” He chuckles lightly.

“And your hair is the same colour as your clothes today. I guess that’s what they call black, hm?” Taehyung turns his eyes back to him, grinning from ear to ear.

“I figured that since I can’t see the colours with my own eyes, I should just stick to the neutral tone, and I just prefer the darker shades…”

Unlike Taehyung who is wearing coloured outfit, Jungkook is wearing all black from head to toe. The only thing that’s not the same colour is his shoes. They’re not exactly black, but they’re also somewhat dark in colour, though he has no idea what to call it.

“That’s alright, we’re learning a lot of new things today.” Taehyung says before taking another bite of his waffle again.

“I guess we should buy some books about colours now.”

“We should do that.” The elder nods in agreement. “We should go watch a movie too while we’re at it, and then go shopping if you want, and grab some meals. Then after that, we can settle at my place or your place while we learn about colours together.”

Jungkook blinks at the schedule. This is going to be a date, isn’t it? And what does it mean by settling at his place? Is Taehyung saying that he wants to stay over the night?

Perhaps noticing the younger’s confused face, Taehyung’s eyes widen in realization as he starts waving his hand dismissively.

“Sorry, wait, don’t get me wrong. Listen, I’m not planning to rush things at all. It’s just… I finally found your after so many years, so I’m not willing to spend just a short moment with you today.” Taehyung blabbers, still moving his hands around. “I know we can hang out any other day, but I just want to spend time with you today. You know what I mean? I want to spend the whole day with you, I want to cherish this moment to make sure I’m not dreaming. ”

There’s a colour blooming across Taehyung’s cheeks. It’s faint, but it looks like the colour red. Jungkook remembers being taught in school that your face would turn red when you blush, and now he can see it with his own eyes. His chest is swelling, like it’s struggling to accept the amount of love he is feeling for Taehyung right now.

Jungkook supposes that he is the luckiest person in the world to be Taehyung’s soulmate. There are still a lot of things they need to learn about each other, but he knows everything will be alright. After all, the managed to find each other in such a big world.

It’s not really a fateful meeting like what happened to his parents or Jimin. It was a little bit of a mess with tears and heartache, but in the end, Taehyung is here with him. The elder tells him about how he regrets not looking up to the bus that day when he was inside the bus, how sorry he is for making him cry on the phone, and how nervous he actually was to meet him today.

With a smile on his face, Jungkook leans over Taehyung’s half-eaten waffle and kisses his soulmate on the lips.

===

“You know, I was actually very sure that we weren’t soulmates.”

“Why is that?” Taehyung frowns, his one hand holding the steering wheel and his eyes focusing on the road. His other hand is of course, being held by Jungkook’s own.

“Because I didn’t see colours when I saw you.”

“What do you mean? You saw my red hair that day, right?” Taehyung’s frown grows deeper, confused.

“No, I mean when I saw you in the dating application. I saw your pictures and they’re all monochromes.” Jungkook says innocently, clueless like a rabbit.

Taehyung stops his car at the red light and slowly turns his head to the younger. He wonders if Jungkook is joking, but seeing the clueless look in his eyes, Taehyung knows Jungkook is serious with his words.

“Kook, it doesn’t work that way. When you saw my pictures, you didn’t see me, you saw pictures. They’re two different things.” The elder starts laughing lightly by the end of his words.

“Really? But I remember seeing a blog on the internet saying that it’s possible to meet your soulmates from pictures.”

“You can’t just trust anything you see on the internet.” Taehyung laughs again before driving his car towards his apartment where Jungkook will be staying for the night as they go through every page of the colour books they just bought.