Archive of Our Own

At the stroke of midnight on your 21st birthday, a mark appears on your wrist, one that you share with your soulmate. It could be anything. A heart, a face of a dragon, a wiggly line—literally anything that has any significance to your relationship with your soulmate. 

For Jimin, it was a music note. Two eighth notes connected with a beam etched into the skin where his pulse was. It was this dainty little thing but it held a deeper meaning than he thought.

He had to hide it for a while, though. Excited as he was to finally find his other half, he and his six other friends made a promise not to reveal to each other their marks once they turn 21. Nobody really knew the reason behind it. Seokjin thought of it and whenever they asked why, he would shake his head and turn to another subject. 

But that night he could finally show it off. Jungkook, the youngest of their group, was turning 21 and would be getting his mark like the rest of his friends. That night, Jimin could finally tell them all about his mark and his theories on how he was going to meet his soulmate. 

Truth be told, however, he was expecting something grand to happen that night. Something he’s been dreaming, hoping, and wishing so hard for ever since. That’s why he was standing in front of his full body mirror, trying on the 7th outfit in a row. He needs to look perfect for tonight. 

He caught a glimpse of Taehyung sitting cross-legged on Jimin’s bed. Taehyung looked solemn as he regarded the mark on his wrist. 

“Are you okay, Tae bear?” Jimin turned around and gazed at Taehyung, careful not to accidentally take a peek at his best friend’s wrist. 

Taehyung shrugged. “Nervous.” He placed the wristband back to cover his mark before he looked up at Jimin. He opened his mouth as if to say something but he shook his head and smiled instead. “Not as nervous as you’re looking, though. Absolutely pale, Chim. Lighten up will you?”

Jimin wanted  to ask what was bothering him but it’s Taehyung—if he wanted to say something, he would have. So Jimin simply smiled and gave Taehyung a playful slap on the shoulder. “I’m more excited than nervous, to be honest. You know how much I’ve been waiting for this.”

“Right.” Taehyung nodded. “But, Chim?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t get your hopes up too much, okay?” 

At that, Jimin stilled “What do you mean?” 

His best friend took his hand and sat him down on the bed. “I know how much you like him. Jungkook, I mean. If his mark doesn’t match yours, promise me you’ll still be happy for him.”

“Tae—“ 

Jimin tried to find the right words to say but he couldn’t even form a proper sentence to address that. To be honest, he hadn’t thought about the possibility of Jungkook getting a different mark. It seemed so unlikely. 

There’s a connection between him and Jimin—Jimin could feel it. A connection that one can only pinpoint as what soulmates would have. He only heard about it in stories from his parents and friends who found theirs, but he was positive that what he felt for Jungkook was it . 

He was happy when he was with Jungkook. There were things that only both of them can understand and converse on wholeheartedly. They could even finish each other’s sentences and have a whole conversation with just their eyes! 

Wasn’t that what soulmates did?

“You don’t have to worry, Tae,” Jimin finished. “Everything will turn out well. I just know it.”

Though that didn’t really answer Taehyung’s concern, it was the best explanation Jimin can muster. There really was nothing to worry about. 

When the clock landed on 12 midnight, Jungkook would show them his music note mark and Jimin would show him the exact same on his own wrist. They would hug and all their friends would cheer them on. 

It was going to be a love story everyone will coo and awe when they tell it. 

♫♫♫

For his birthday, Jungkook said he wanted to go see a movie. They decided to book tickets for a 10:30 PM showing the night before his 21st, so when the movie ended it would be midnight and his mark would appear.

And everyone would show off their marks at the same time. It was a special day for all of them. 

Jimin is practically hopping on their way to the theater. Taehyung, on the other hand, is somber. He fidgets with the purple wristband as they walk.

This alarms Jimin but doesn’t push Taehyung to explain why, so he holds his hand to somehow ease his best friend’s mood. Taehyung offers him a weak smile but it drops almost immediately.

When the theater is just across the street from them, they see all their friends already at the entrance. Hoseok waves at them enthusiastically with both arms above his head. Jimin waves back and is about to run towards them when he feels a strong pull.

“Tae?” Jimin looked at his best friend quizzically. He brushed a few strands of his blue hair in a way to comfort him. What’s wrong?”

Taehyung sighed. “I’m nervous.”

He didn’t change the subject after that like what he did earlier but he was preoccupied with something else. His intense and glassy gaze is directed at someone and Jimin pinpointed who exactly he was looking at. 

And then he saw him. The guy in the rainbow sweater with the biggest and brightest smile on earth. All fell into place in Jimin’s mind.

“I don’t think I’m the only one who can’t have high hopes for tonight,” Jimin teased Taehyung in a light, soft tone. 

The blue-haired boy huffed. “We’re both idiots in love who might not end up with the person they’re actually in love with.”

“Don’t say that. Like I said, everything could turn out well.”

“But if it doesn’t, promise me we’ll both help each other out to move on.” Taehyung looked up at Jimin expectantly. 

Though Jimin wanted to say that they won’t have to do that and Taehyung had nothing to be afraid of, he offered him a curt nod before pulling him to a warm hug.

“Now, come on.” Jimin pulled Taehyung to where the others were waiting for them. “We have a movie to go see.”  

Namjoon, Hoseok, and Seokjin greeted them with high fives that turned into hugs. Jimin could help but notice how Taehyung stiffened when Hoseok hugged him and how red his cheeks had gotten but he didn’t comment on it. 

Instead he asked, “Where’s Jungkook?”

“Him and Yoongi are buying us some popcorn,” Namjoon said, pointing with his thumb to where the brothers are located. 

“I’ll go help them.” 

Jimin skipped towards the snack bar where he found Jungkook and Yoongi holding two large paper bowls overfilled with popcorn. They were playing around—Jungkook tried to catch popcorn with his mouth that Yoongi was throwing at him. 

When Jungkook succeeded, the brothers bent down and laughed out loud. Jimin’s heart warmed at the sight of them. Their laughter simmered down when Yoongi caught Jimin’s soft gaze. 

Jimin waved enthusiastically, “Yoongi hyung!” 

Yoongi stilled, coughed awkwardly, and lifted a shy hand up as a form of wave. “Jimin.” His voice was quiet, shy. “Hi.” 

It took a lot not to coo at the older’s actions. Jimin always found Yoongi endearing. Even though he’d been friends with him for a long time, even long before he was friends with Taehyung, he still got shy around him. Jimin assumed it was just his gentle personality and he was like that with everyone.

“What flavor did you get?” Jimin pointed at the bowl Yoongi held in his hand. He stepped forward to take a closer look but Yoongi stepped back before he could smell it. It looked yellow, though. 

“Plain butter,” Yoongi sputtered out with wide eyes. “I’m gonna go… there. Yeah. See you, Jimin.” He briskly walked with his head down to where the others were. 

Still so shy. 

Not giving it much thought, Jimin turned his attention to Jungkook. He almost cried at how beautiful he looks in all white with a hint of blue like he was an angle. 

Jungkook simply grinned at him. “Great, you’re here! We need help carrying the drinks. Chop chop, peasant.”

Okay, maybe he was more like a devil in disguise. 

“Since it’s your birthday, I’m not gonna hit you for calling me a peasant,” Jimin grumbled and did whatever he was told. He ignored the way his stomach flipped when Jungkook giggled. 

The two of them met with the others and they entered the theater together. It wasn’t as filled with people as Jimin expected. They were free to sit wherever they liked. He took a seat next to Taehyung and to his surprise Jungkook sat next to him. 

While the movie played, Jimin paid little to no attention to it. He was playing another scene in his head, one that involved what could happen that night. 

As he thought about his confession, he stole glances at Jungkook whenever he wasn’t looking. He liked seeing him smile, especially when he went to whisper something to Yoongi about the movie. 

Jimin also couldn’t help but look at the purple wristband on Jungkook’s right hand. He already put it on despite it still being mark-free. 

He couldn’t help but ask. “Are you excited?” 

“Hm?” Jungkook turned to him dumbly before registering his question. A shy smile formed on his lips as he studied his wristband. “Ah. About my soulmate? I’ve been looking forward to meeting them my whole life. I’m so much more than just excited.”

“Me, too” was all Jimin could say because he locked eyes with Jungkook and could form more words. 

The moment stopped when they heard a watch beeping. They all turned to the noise, which  came from Seokjin’s watch apparently, and looked at him expectantly. 

“It’s midnight,” Seokjin announced. 

As if on cue, Jungkook gasped. His eyes  grew wide as he stared at his wrist.

“You’ve been marked,” Namjoon said to the youngest in wonder. 

Jimin’s heartbeat drummed in his ears when the realization hit him. It was really happening.

He looked at Jungkook wide-eyed but the latter was too busy studying his wristband. But then he said, “Can we go now? I can’t wait any longer to see it.”

No one protested; They all immediately filed out of the theater to go to Jungkook’s apartment. As they walked, Taehyung and Jimin stayed behind the group, holding each other’s hands tightly. 

“Remember what I said, okay?” Taehyung said as he squeezed Jimin’s hand. 

But Jimin couldn’t answer. His mind reeled and his heart was about to explode. He was going to confess to his soulmate. He was going to pour his heart out to him and tell him how he felt. 

♫♫♫

All seven of them stood in a circle in Jungkook’s living room. The room itself was quiet but Jimin swore he could hear several hearts beating at the same speed.

“Okay,” Namjoon breathed out shakily. He opened his mouth to add something to that but just closed it instead. 

Jungkook took a deep breath as he studied the others with worried eyes. He put out his hand in front of him and said, “Let’s do it at the same time?” 

Everyone nodded and followed the youngest’s actions. They were all wearing matching purple wristbands on their right wrists. 

“Thank you for agreeing and sticking to the pact,” Seokjin told them in sincerity. “I made the pact 5 years ago because—I didn’t want to find my soulmate just yet. I still wanted to spend time with you guys.”

Jimin furrowed his eyebrows. “Hyung, are you saying—“

“We’ll still hang out when we meet our soulmates, hyung,” Yoongi told Seokjin in his quiet voice, speaking out what Jimin and the rest were thinking. “Are you afraid you’d lose us?”

Too ashamed to answer, the eldest gave a timid nod. “Sorry,” he mumbled. 

Hoseok pulled Seokjin, who was standing beside him, in a hug and the rest followed suit. 

“Hyung, you dummy,” Hoseok laughed. “We’ll always be together even when we’re married, grow old, and probably even in death.”

Jungkook sniffed. “Yeah, we’ll have our tombs side by side or something.” 

Their group hugs are always warm and made Jimin all fuzzy and emotional. He basked in it. 

“And don’t apologize, hyung.” Taehyung added. “We’re all glad you made the pact anyway.”

“Me, too,” Seokjin replied as they pulled away to form the circle again. “But we’re on our own now. I hope all your soulmates will treat you right. Promise me you’ll love them and treasure them, okay?”

After they all collectively agreed, they put their hands out again and on the count of three, they pulled their wristbands off to reveal their soulmate marks. 

On Jimin’s left, Taehyung revealed a paper airplane on his wrist. Namjoon, who was next to him, had a mark in the shape of sunglasses. Seokjin had an open book as a mark while Hoseok had a paper airplane—

Wait.

Jimin almost squealed in excitement when he saw Hoseok admiring the mark on Taehyung’s wrist. Taehyung, on the other hand, looked like he couldn’t quite register what was happening. 

Hoseok marched towards him and engulfed him in a bear hug, closing his glassy eyes. 

“I knew it was you all along. I wished for it,” Taehyung whispered. 

He and Jimin locked eyes and the latter gave him the I told you so look, with his eyebrows raised and grin so wide he’s hurting his cheeks. 

The hope that fired within Jimin only grew bigger. His love story could happen like theirs did and he was going to make it perfect. 

But as soon as he turned around and his eyes landed on Jungkook’s wrist, suddenly it was like someone washed away all the hope he had and his heart plummeted fifty feet below him.

It can’t be...

On Jungkook’s wrist was a footprint mark, not the delicate music note Jimin had on his. The youngest’s face did not show remorse, however. In fact, he was beaming with glee. 

“This is the same one that Yugyeom has,” Jungkook declared happily. “I can’t wait to tell him tomorrow.” 

No. That wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

That wasn’t what’s supposed to happen. 

“Jimin, let me see yours!” Jungkook pulled Jimin’s hand to look at his mark. He let out a gasp when he saw it, turning around to Yoongi who stood a few feet away from what once was their group circle. 

Jimin was too weak to ask why, so he looked at Yoongi instead for answers. The latter looked a little lost, an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes were wide as he gazed at the former, lips slightly apart.

When Jimin traveled his eyes down to Yoongi’s wrist, his breath caught in his throat—

—because on Yoongi’s wrist was  the same two eighth notes connected with a beam. 

While all the others smiled at them in excitement, apart from Taehyung, Jimin couldn’t accept their happiness or the congratulations that would for sure follow after. He wasn’t about to pull a Hoseok and hug Yoongi for it. 

Yoongi couldn’t be Jimin’s soulmate. 

“Jimin—“ Yoongi started but Jimin shook his head, tears undoubtedly falling on his cheeks.

They all started calling out his name but all he could do was back away. When he exited the apartment with shaky breaths, stubborn tears, and a broken heart, he heard Yoongi call out to him. 

But all he did was run. 

♫♫♫

“It’s going to be okay, hyung.”

When Jimin was out of his reach and kept running away from him, Yoongi came back to his brother’s apartment and heard these words said back to him over and over by everyone.

Yoongi appreciated the gesture but it wasn’t helping him. Not quite.

He still couldn’t believe any of what happened was real, and if everything would be alright for the days to follow. He couldn’t even process in his mind yet that he was Jimin’s soulmate. 

Park Jimin was his soulmate.

Seemed like a dream if you asked him.

But no, it was as real as it could be. Yoongi saw Jimin’s mark first. His eyes automatically landed on the younger’s wrist when everyone pulled off their wristbands. He saw the music note on his skin and it took him a minute to realize he had the same one.

His eyes looked hard for differences on their marks, but when he was certain that there weren’t any—let’s just say he stopped functioning.

While they were congratulating Taehyung and Hoseok, Yoongi stood there and waited for Jimin to realize that they have the same mark too. 

He didn’t expect anything great to happen or as sweet of a moment as his friends had. But he certainly did not expect for Jimin to cry and run away.

Did he not like him that much?

When Yoongi voiced this out to his brother once everyone else had gone home, Jungkook said, “Jimin does not hate you, hyung. Why would you even say that?”

“Then why did he run away?” 

They sat side by side on the edge of Yoongi’s bed. Jungkook placed an arm around him and rested his cheek on his shoulder. It gives the comfort that he sorely needed. 

Jungkook sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know either. It’s something that you two should talk about soon, though.”

At that, Yoongi shook his head and laughed humorlessly. “He probably doesn’t want to see me.”

“Just give him time, hyung. He’s your soulmate. He’ll come around to it and when he does, you talk.”

Yoongi went to sleep after deciding to talk to Jimin the next day when he saw him on campus. 

Only, he didn’t see him all day. Yoongi went to his classes like usual and roamed around the Literature building where Jimin usually took his classes. But he wasn’t there. 

Even Namjoon, who shared a few lectures with the silver-haired writing major, says he was absent. 

“Sorry hyung. Haven’t seen him. But try asking Taehyung,” Namjoon helpfully suggested when Yoongi saw him at the front steps of the building.

So when his last class ended, Yoongi went to the chicken restaurant Taehyung worked at and asked him. 

“He’s at our apartment, hyung.” Taehyung smiled at him softly from across the counter. “Our door’s passcode is 1330 if he doesn’t let you in. And bring this—“ he handed him a box of flavored fried chicken. “—he probably hasn’t had lunch yet.” 

What?

A little in shock, Yoongi mumbled a quick thanks before making his way to their shared apartment. It isn’t the first time Taehyung has been so straightforward with him but it still leaves him a little clueless. 

When he reached their place, Yoongi knocks three times at the door. But there’s no answer. He waits another minute before knocking again.

Still nothing. 

He bites his lip as he ponders whether to use the passcode. The last thing he wants is to intrude. It seems like trespassing, even though he was entrusted with the code. 

Whatever. Shaking off any doubt, Yoongi types in the numbers on the keypad and enters the apartment slowly. 

“Jimin?” Yoongi whispers. He passes through the small hallway and leaves his shoes to the side before stepping further into the apartment. 

The first thing you’ll see is the small kitchen-slash-dining area. Yoongi notices the empty plate and mug left on the table. He places the box beside them before turning left to the living room.

There he sees his soulmate. 

Jimin is lying down on the sofa, wearing a white shirt and saggy pants. He has big headphones on and from where Yoongi’s standing, he can hear faint music coming from it. Maybe he didn’t hear him knock earlier. 

And his eyes—his eyes gaze on his right hand, where the mark is, that he’s lifted up above him. Instinctively, Yoongi looks at his own wrist. At his own mark. He never once looked at it in a bad way. The symbol seems so fitting for him, a music major. 

But now—he doesn’t know how to feel when he sees it. A big part of him was ecstatic to find out that Jimin was his soulmate. But to know the other doesn’t feel the same way? 

He can’t find himself to be completely happy.

“Hyung?”

Yoongi’s eyes widened when he looks up. Jimin’s already sat up looking at him, headphones placed on the coffee table. 

“Hi.”

“Not to sound mean but how did you get in?”

The older hooks his thumb behind him to where the box of chicken was placed. “Taehyung told me to bring you chicken and he told me the passcode in case you won’t open the door.”

As Yoongi mentally cringed at how fast he was talking, he watches Jimin’s gaze go from his eyes down to his wrist. To his mark.

“I—uh,” Yoongi continues, scratching his ear. “I also came here to talk to you. If that’s okay.”

Jimin still looks distracted by the mark on Yoongi’s wrist and the latter thought he might not have heard him. But to his surprise, he met eyes with him and slowly nods his head. 

“Sit, please,” he says and Yoongi hesitates for a second before moving towards the couch to sit beside him.

The younger adjusts himself so he’s sitting a bit sideways facing him and he does the same.

He ignores how hard his heart is beating being face to face with Jimin like this. His soulmate’s hair’s a mess from lying down, his eyes are swollen, and his lips are chapped, but he still takes his breath away.

They just sit there in silence, both of them seem to be waiting for the other to speak. But then—

“I’m sorry—“

“I want to apologize—“

Two pairs of brown eyes stare widely at each other once they realized they spoke at the same time, until Yoongi shakes his head and, the gentleman that he is, let Jimin go first. 

“Okay,” Jimin breathes out, playing with the hem of his shirt. “I want to apologize for running away. That was completely rude of me. It’s also unfair to you because it wasn’t a very good first meeting with your—“ He breaks his steady gaze on Yoongi and looks down on the floor. “—soulmate. I let you down. I’m sorry.”

“No, you didn’t,” Yoongi is quick to reply because Park Jimin has never disappointed him, not then and especially not now. “You didn’t let me down. But I was confused, I have to admit.”

It’s in the way Jimin refused to meet his eyes and the way a long silence stretched upon them that Yoongi realized he isn’t getting a reply any time soon. 

So he keeps talking. “I actually wanted to say sorry. To you.”

“What? You did nothing wrong, hyung.” Jimin looks up at him with furrowed eyebrows.

What he’s about to say is going to sound stupid but he’d rather let it out than keep it in. “I thought maybe—“ It was Yoongi’s turn to lower his eyes. “Maybe you were disappointed? That I was your soulmate. You deserve someone better and I’m not the best catch, really.”

“Oh, Yoongi hyung.”

Yoongi does not dare look up. His cheeks are burning with shame right now and he can’t let Jimin see. 

“You’re an amazing person. Don’t put yourself down like that ever again.” A sigh escapes Jimin’s lips. “I didn’t run away because I didn’t like you. It’s never that. But as much as I should to tell you why, I can’t right now hyung. I’m sorry”

Exhaling all the worries building in his system, Yoongi says quietly, “It’s okay. Take all the time you need.”

Yoongi means that. He can wait an entire lifetime for Jimin. Well, he kind of has been doing that already. But he can wait several lifetimes more. 

For him, Park Jimin is worth all the wait.

“Why don’t we start over?” Jimin pipes up after a bout of silence. “Pretend like it’s the first time we met.”

“A reenactment?”

Jimin lights up. “Exactly.”

Yoongi frowns. The first time they met wasn’t all that pleasant, if Yoongi’s being honest. “You want me to get bullied so you can stand up for me and take me to an ice cream shop?”

“Wait, no.” Jimin shakes his head. “You still remember that?”

How could Yoongi ever forget anything about Jimin? He doesn’t say that though and just shrugs shyly.

“No. We’re not going to do that.” Jimin hides his smile with his small hand. He shakes his head and says, “Let’s just introduce ourselves again. I’ll go first.”

The younger stands up and smiles, a genuine toothy smile that makes his eyes disappear. Yoongi’s heart is going crazy seeing it.

He extends his right hand to him and says, “Hello, I’m Park Jimin. I’m studying creative writing at K Arts. I like ice cream a lot, I trip over my own feet sometimes, and I spend half of the day staring into space because I daydream too much.”

“I’m your soulmate, too,” Jimin continues, expression getting softer. 

Soulmate. It’s nice to hear it coming from him.

Yoongi isn’t sure what to do at first but he gathers the courage to hold Jimin’s hand that’s quite small compared to his. He doesn’t stand up, afraid his knees might fail him, but looks up to meet him eye to eye. 

“I’m Min Yoongi, also studying at K Arts but as a Music Tech major. I go out for a walk when I need inspiration for my music because Seoul really inspires me. And I like coffee more than tea.”

He squeezes Jimin’s hand softly and lightly, hoping the younger would understand its meaning. 

Jimin lets out a breathy giggle, and he hopes he understood.

“It’s nice to meet you, soulmate.”

♫♫♫

After Yoongi and him finished eating the box of chicken while talking about anything and everything, Jimin was left alone once again with his thoughts. But it isn’t as bad as they were that morning. 

Talking to Yoongi somehow made him feel better. Not completely but still—better.

Jimin admits that he spent the entirety of the day thinking about Jungkook. He thought about the misfortunes of not being his soulmate after harbouring these feelings for him for almost 2 years. 

He’s pathetic, he’s aware.

But he also thought about Yoongi. 

Yoongi. He’s known Yoongi longer than he knew Jungkook. Heck, now that he thinks about it, he used to be closer to the older of the two brothers. They used to go get ice cream everyday after school and ride their bikes around the neighborhood on weekends. Jimin used to tell Yoongi everything, and though the latter was shy around him he always had a story to share, too.

He loved spending time with him. He loved teasing him when all he did when they were together was just nod along to whatever Jimin had said.

Since he was 10, Yoongi had been a part of Jimin’s life and he’s grateful. He could never hate him just because things didn’t go the way he wanted them to. 

It was when Yoongi started college that they kind drifted apart and Jimin spent the majority of his time with Jungkook. They became close, Jimin finding himself constantly leaning towards Jungkook everyday. 

And eventually, Jimin had fallen for him.

But now, he has to stop. He knows he has to. 

“I’m home!” Jimin hears Taehyung announce from where he’s sat on the couch. He watches as his roommate pads his way over to him and settles beside him. “How’d it go, Chim?”

Jimin lets out a deep sigh and rests his head on Taehyung’s shoulder. He began to relay his and Yoongi’s conversation, not missing a single detail from the moment they both apologized up until he left with a promise to talk as often as they can.

“That’s a good way to start, don’t you think?” Taehyung wonders.

“It is.” Jimin sits up straight and turns to his best friend with a determined expression. “I still love Jungkook, Tae, and I know it won’t magically disappear overnight. But I can’t let myself pine over him forever.”

Taehyung simply nods at this and Jimin takes this as a sign to continue. “Yoongi hyung’s my soulmate. My other half, my partner. I know can’t force myself to love him now but I also want to be happy with him. To accept him as who he is destined to be in my life.”

Jimin grew up cherishing the concept of a soulmate. Your soulmate will be with you forever. They’ll be the one to accept you wholly. They’ll be the one to take care of you. They’ll be the one to love you unconditionally. 

Now that he found his soulmate, and though it’s not who he thought it would be, he still believed in these things. And he doesn’t want to miss any of that by loving someone that he can never have.

“I’m proud of you,” Taehyung tells him with a smile reserved only for him—a little lopsided to the left and eyes that danced as he looked at him.

Jimin can only shake his head. There’s nothing to be proud of him at the moment. He simply wants to move on and be happy with what life has offered him.

He just wants to be happy with Yoongi, his soulmate.

Their first date comes on a Friday.

Three days after they talked, Yoongi finds himself once again knocking on Jimin and Taehyung’s apartment door. Jimin and him have been texting back and forth. Just random messages about their days or a meme they thought funny and wanted to show the other. 

But yesterday, Yoongi received no texts from the younger. No memes, no checking in on the group chat with the seven of them. Nothing. 

And so he was worried. He didn’t want to do anything about it at first. He probably was just busy with writing. The younger had mentioned several times how stressing it was, but he assured that he could handle it. 

Until Taehyung called Yoongi and asked if he could pass by their apartment. Yoongi didn’t hesitate to agree.

“Hey, hyung. Sorry to disturb you on a weekend,” Taehyung greets and gestured for Yoongi to come in. Much to his surprise, Hoseok’s sitting on their dining table eating breakfast.

“Eggs?” Hoseok offers his plate with a smile.

Yoongi shakes his head. “I already ate, Seokie. Thanks.” He looks around the living room for Jimin but he doesn’t see him. He does notice that one of the bedroom doors is closed, so he assumed that he’s still sleeping.

As if he heard his thoughts, Taehyung says, “Jimin’s locked himself in his room since yesterday to write a project in one of his classes. I don’t think he’s come out to eat anything other than two packs of ramen.”

That’s not good. Yoongi knows how Jimin overwork himself with his studies. He’s dedicated and passionate, but Yoongi wished the younger knew how to take a break.

“Should I ask him to come out?” Yoongi turns to Taehyung with a frown. He doesn’t think he’s going to be of help here. He can’t disturb Jimin when he’s working; unless he has a death wish.

Taehyung picks up Hoseok’s now empty plate and goes to the sink to wash it. “No, he’ll come out eventually. I just— I didn’t want him to be alone when he does.” 

Only then does Yoongi notice the bags placed by the door. “We’re going to Gwangju,” Hoseok tells him excitedly when Yoongi turns to him. “Taehyungie’s going to meet my parents.”

Taehyung and Hoseok share a loving look that made even Yoongi blush. “Guys, that’s great,” Yoongi gushes and waddle his way to his best friend and his soulmate to give them a hug.

“I didn’t want to leave Jimin but Hobi’s parents really wanted us to visit as soon as possible.” Taehyung scratches his head. “I’m sorry to disturb you on a weekend.”

“No, it’s okay,” Yoongi says, his hands in front of him as if he’s stopping Taehyung to say anything more. “I’ll take care of him, don’t worry.”

After exchanging farewells and well-wishes, Yoongi’s left in the apartment. He decides to cook a proper meal for Jimin as he waits for the other to come out of his room. 

When he does, it’s already noon, and Yoongi’s going over some notes for one of his classes on his phone. But he immediately sets it aside when he hears Jimin’s door unlock.

Jimin ambles out of his bedroom door, dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. Yoongi resists the feeling of pity because he knew the younger wouldn’t appreciate. Instead, he offers him a smile.

“Hyung. You’re here?” Jimin’s voice is small as he stands weakly by his door.

Yoongi waves shyly. When will he ever not act shy around this boy? “Yeah. Hi.” 

He stares at him blankly for a few beats before he gasps audibly and hides his face with his small hands. “Don’t look at me! I look horrible. I mean, I haven’t looked at a mirror but it’s safe to say I don’t look human.” 

“You look alright to me,” Yoongi quickly says because it’s the truth. He’s seen worse on himself after two straight all-nighters.

But Jimin shakes his head, face still covered. “I stayed up late to write without eating anything and I just woke up, so I know I don’t.” 

Yoongi frowns. “Why haven’t you eaten anything?” He can’t help but activate his hyung instincts on Jimin and starts to worry. It’s probably ten times more than usual because, well, this is Jimin. 

“No, I did! I ate some ramen but...” Jimin sighs. “I can’t really stomach anything when I’m stressed. Sometimes I think I’m wasting time eating to write.”

Without saying another word, Yoongi stands and walks to the kitchen to reheat the food he made. 

“I cooked,” Yoongi says, “and we’ll eat and finish it together, okay? You can’t work properly on an empty stomach, I should know.”

Jimin stays silent for a moment but when the elder gives him a stern look, he immediately joins him on the round dining table. “Okay. Seems like there’s no saying no to you right now.”

He can’t quite pinpoint the wave of emotions that he felt upon hearing those words but whatever they are, he pushed them aside and focused on taking care of Jimin. They finished the entire meal in comfortable silence, only the sound of food being chewed and cutlery filled the room.

It was nice, Yoongi thought. He couldn’t really recall the last time they hung out just the two of them. And though he loved spending time with  his five best friends, he missed being able to be with just Jimin.

He was reminded of the times they used to have before he moved to Seoul for college. The quiet nights watching movies, the after school trips to the convenience store for ice cream, the running around the park playing tag—he missed all of that. 

But when they stopped happening, he didn’t make a fuss over it. Sure he was sad but he always assumed Jimin made more friends, not just Yoongi. And he was away for college while the younger stayed back in Busan. So it was okay. He wanted to see the younger spread his wings and get out there like he was meant to do. 

When the seven of them all met and hung out together, Jimin still talked to Yoongi but not as much as before. He was either with Taehyung or Jungkook—but then he was just glad to know his younger brother was finally opening up to people other than him.

No resentment. No confusion. Just genuine happiness that he sees Jimin as happy as he can be.

It never really dawned on Yoongi just how much he missed Jimin, being able to hang out with just him. And he hopes that they’d be able to do this often now that they know they’re each other’s soulmate.

They were bound by fate to find each other and spend the rest of their lives, happily ever after—that sort of thing. But he doesn’t mind taking it slow.

Jimin offers to do the dishes when they’re done eating but Yoongi insists that he should rest before working again. They bickered for a couple of minutes before Yoongi simply instructs the younger to wipe the dishes dry after he washes them.

When they finish, Jimin leans his hip on the sink and sighs. “I gotta go finish that project, assuming that I actually do.”

There’s no hiding the exasperation in the younger’s voice and Yoongi just grows more concerned. He can’t help it.

“How’s it going?” Yoongi mimics Jimin’s position so they’re standing face to face.

“Not good.” Jimin shakes his head. “Not good at all. My mind’s not in the right state to write. I type words like I’m vomiting them out, and they don’t make sense when I read them through. I end up starting over every time.”

“I’ve been there. When I write songs, I mean.”

The younger looks at him curiously, as if he’s waiting for the rest of his sentence. He looks genuinely interested on what he’s about to say that it makes Yoongi’s cheeks go warm.

“I get stuck a lot with writing lyrics, thinking of themes,” Yoongi continues, “But when I do, I take an hour or so to breathe and walk around.”

“Does it work?” Jimin’s tone is hopeful, like he’s considering this option. 

Now Yoongi truly can’t explain how he got the courage to ask Jimin what he’s about to ask him. He guesses it’s all because of the excitement from having more him with Jimin or the longing that he feels for the younger. Or maybe both. 

“You want to try it? With me, maybe?”

And he also can’t explain the fond smile on Jimin’s face when he says, “I’d love to go on a walk with you, hyung”, but he’s certain that he’s over the moon when he does.

After taking a quick shower and changing into warm clothes for the chill that September brought to Seoul, Yoongi and Jimin wound up strolling in the streets of Insandong, where inspiration’s abundant—or Yoongi thinks it is.

When Yoongi first found out about Jimin renting an apartment around this neighborhood, he wasn’t surprised at all. The love he has for the arts definitely shows, even in his living choices. 

Both of them take their time, walking slowly as they talk. Well, Jimin does most of the talking. When he sees something that tickled his interests, he won’t hesitate to tell Yoongi about it. And Yoongi just chuckles at the younger, finding him adorable. 

“I missed this,” Jimin wonders aloud next to Yoongi as kids laughing run pass them that reminds the latter of the past. “Remember when your bike had a flat tire and we had to walk home?”

Yoongi does. “I remember specifically telling you that you didn’t need to walk with me since your bike was fine, but you still did.”

“Because I didn’t want you to be alone.”

That stops Yoongi in his tracks because of how touched he was. Sure, it happened way back then in the early years of their friendship, but little things still mean the most to him.

“I also remember appreciating it a whole lot, I still do,” Yoongi finds himself saying.

Jimin studies Yoongi intently, like he’s trying to decipher the message behind his words like it has a hidden meaning in them. To Yoongi, they don’t. 

But when Jimin speaks, it feels like to him, there is. “I’m sorry, hyung.”

They stand under a canopy roof of a tea shop, tall plants standing beside them and people rushing to get to where they need to be passing by in front of them. 

“What for?” Yoongi asks in a quiet whisper.

A sigh escapes Jimin’s pursed lips and then, “For unconsciously leaving you alone for so many years. You were my best friend hyung and I stopped acting like it when I got to Seoul.”

A lot of things has failed to make Yoongi talk, and this is one of those moments. But he knows he has to because Jimin can not be more wrong.

“I never saw it that way,” Yoongi reassures a frowning Jimin. “We still hung out with the guys and I cherish those times. I was just happy to see you happy, you know?”

“No, I didn’t because I never talked to you.” 

At this, Yoongi laughs. “It’s not like I did a good job of talking to you either. I act so shy around you.”

“But that’s just you being you!” Jimin argued, eyes going wide and that means he’s trying to make a point. It’s cute. “You’re naturally like that.”

“I guess.” And though Yoongi’s shy around everyone, but it’s more so when it came to Jimin for reasons only he knows—for now. “It’s okay. Let’s just enjoy now. Hmm?” 

Jimin nods firmly. “Yes, I’ll make it up to you.” 

With how determined he sounds, Yoongi doesn’t argue. Instead they start to walk and talk again, a happier vibe surrounding them. Though Jimin still looks tired, his smile is brighter than anyone else’s.

They pass by a street filled with shops. Some sold antiques, stationery, and jewelry. All of them unique in their own way. The one that Jimin stays behind to study longer are the artworks displayed by the walls. The street is full of them. 

Jimin calls Yoongi’s attention upon seeing a painting of of sunflowers taped to a wall. 

“Those are beautiful,” Jimin says to Yoongi as he points to the particular artwork. 

The painter who’s sat in front of her easel glances back at them and smiles. It must be her drawing. “It’s the symbol I share with my soulmate,” she says, her voice soft and rather shy. “Actually, all my artworks are inspired by people’s soulmate marks.”

That’s when they take notice of all the other artworks taped next and below the sunflower. They aren’t painted with bright colors. All of them are left alone with how they are, sketches made with light and dark shades of black. 

“I think that’s really sweet,” Yoongi hears Jimin tell the artist, who blushes with the kind words.

“Thank you. I try my best to incorporate people’s marks and the stories of their relationship to my art.” She looks from Jimin to Yoongi, eyes downcast to glance at each of their marks. She smiles. “Your marks are music notes? Did you meet at a concert?”

The two share a look that hold confusion and shyness, both uncertain how to answer because not even them know why. 

But Jimin, forever good with words, answers with a knowing smile, “We’re still trying to figure out what it means to us.”

And with his whole heart, Yoongi agrees. The two of them hold each other’s gazes, eyes dancing as they study the other intently; smiles wide and bright. It’s the most intimate moment he’s shared with Jimin and one he’s going to remember for a long time. 

When the night is nearing, the sky turning an orange shade, they headed back to the apartment. They talk more, laugh a little louder, and Yoongi thinks he hasn’t been this happy in a long time.  

“I think I found my inspiration, hyung” is Jimin’s parting words to him that night when they stood by the entrance of the apartment building. “Thanks for the date, if you’ll let me call it that.” 

Of course, Yoongi lets him. 

—

Over the course of the next few days, Jimin and Yoongi have been spending a lot of time together. They’re finding it a lot easier to be with each other now. Awkward silences were replaced by hearty laughs and conversations about anything that comes to their mind. Everyday Jimin’s reminded why he became friends with Yoongi in the first place, and why, maybe, they were destined to be together.

Jimin’s invited Yoongi to their apartment to hang out and study. He’d watch Yoongi type away on his laptop with his big headphones on. Yoongi lets him listen to some of his song projects and there’s one song played with a guitar that he can’t get out of his head. 

“For the song with the guitar,” Jimin asks one day. “Why do you have no lyrics for it?”

Yoongi’s sitting on Jimin’s bed, laptop on his lap. Jimin’s lying on his stomach on the floor, reading. 

“I do. I just haven’t recorded them yet.” Yoongi always looks at Jimin when he’s talking. He’s very attentive and Jimin likes that a lot. 

“Can I hear it?” 

“No. I can’t sing it.”

Jimin whines, “Why not?”

“Because I can’t,” Yoongi laughs. “I tried but my voice doesn’t sound good. I’m better off as a rapper.”

“I’ve heard you sing when you’re cooking.” Jimin stands up and kneels in front of Yoongi. There’s electricity in the space between them when they locked eyes. “And you sing a lot when you don’t think I can hear. And you know what? Your voice is beautiful, hyung. I kind of want you to sing me a lullaby.”

Yoongi smiles, gums in view. “Someday, I’ll sing you that song.”

He still has yet to sing it for Jimin. But Jimin hums the melody every chance he gets. Yoongi crosses his mind every time and the smallest of smiles graces his face. 

It’s good with Yoongi, more than he expected. 

But there’s still something that’s been bothering Jimin. 

Yoongi’s tried to invite Jimin over some days over to his apartment but the younger would make up excuses and suggest another location for them to meet. 

Bless Yoongi’s soul for not asking Jimin for reasons. He wouldn’t know how to answer him. He can tell him the truth but—

It’s really not an easy task to tell your soulmate you were in love with his brother. And that you refuse to be near him for as long as possible.

But Jimin knows he has to tell Yoongi at some point. “I’m just waiting for the perfect opportunity,” he kept saying to himself and to Taehyung, who was constantly nagging him about it. 

“He has to know,” Taehyung said. “He’s your soulmate. No secrets from your other half, remember? It’s also a pressing matter that you’re in love with his brother.”

“Were. Past tense,” Jimin corrected him. But, really, between him and his best friend, he was fooling no one.

His best friend rolled his eyes. “Tell. Him.”

“When the opportunity comes,” Jimin pressed and it was the end of that conversation.

The opportunity did come one night. It’s not a situation that he wanted to be in, much less make a confession, but he can’t be choosy any longer. 

Especially not when life has given him this time to say it, literally throwing it at his face for him to deal with it.

Yoongi knocks on their apartment door on a Saturday night. Jimin doesn’t recall them making plans but he welcomes Yoongi in anyway with a hug. 

Yes, they’re in hugging terms now. It’s pretty cute. Yoongi feels warm and smells strongly of pine. 

“I know it’s last minute and I’m sorry,” Yoongi starts to ramble as he pushes himself off of Jimin a bit. “But Yugyeom’s making dinner at our place and he’s inviting us over. Like a brother, soulmate meet-up dinner.”

Yugyeom. Jungkook’s soulmate, Yugyeom? Jimin doesn’t ask that, though. 

The arms Jimin has wrapped around Yoongi’s torso drops and he steps back. “Right now? As in tonight? Right now, tonight?”

Yoongi nods. “Jungkook also says he hasn’t seen you in a while, so you should really come.” 

For a reason, Jimin wants to say but he purses his lips before it accidentally slips out. Instead he asks Yoongi to wait a couple of minutes as he gets changed. He runs to his bedroom and starts a staring contest with his closet. There’s no Taehyung to help him pick a good outfit. He’s hiking somewhere with Hoseok. Should he call him to ask for an opinion?

That’d be rude. 

In the end, he picks a loose gray V-neck, black ripped jeans, and a brown jacket. 

Yoongi drives them to his and Jungkook’s shared apartment. The whole ride is engulfed in silence. No radio, no mindless chatter. Nothing. Jimin’s mind is too far away from where they are to engage in any conversation. 

Good thing it doesn’t take more than 15 minutes to get there. Yoongi intertwines their hands together when they’re inside the elevator. It’s warm against Jimin’s cold and clammy hands. 

There’s a comforting feel to it. He’s starting to notice more and more how much he melts when he and Yoongi touch. They haven’t gone past warm embraces and hand holding but the feeling from those alone makes his heart warm. 

When Jimin turns to look at him, Yoongi’s smiling. It’s small, fond, reassuring. He tries to smile back even though heart is in his throat. He wants to make a run for it. There’s no way he can face the boy he once loved.

Physically impossible. 

But it’s now or never.

“Thank you,” Yoongi mumbles, pulling Jimin out of his reverie. 

Jimin breathes. “What for? It’s just dinner hyung.”

“Still. I want you to know how much I appreciate all the time you give me.”

He’s left speechless and before he can even think of a reply, but he knows he wouldn’t be able to, the elevator dings and the doors slide open. Yoongi pulls Jimin down the hallway and to the apartment. 

The spicy smell of kimchi immediately hits Jimin’s nose when they enter. Yoongi calls out to Jungkook as he helps Jimin find slippers. But who appears from the kitchen is not Jungkook. A tall man with a face so fair and pretty, hair parted perfectly in the middle, slightly curly bangs reached his eyebrows.

Jimin stills. This must be Yugyeom.

“Welcome back home, Yoongi hyung.” He beams, eyes shining with the diamonds on his ears. He then notices Jimin and he smiles wider. “Park Jimin-ssi. Hello.”

Jimin stands up straight and clears his throat. “Yeah, hi. Yugyeom, right?” 

“It’s nice to finally meet you.” Yugyeom bows in greeting. Jimin does the same. “Both Kookie and Yoongi hyung told me a lot about you.”

Jimin doesn’t know if he’s smiled since he came inside the apartment but he puts on one as he nods mutely at Yugyeom.

As Yugyeom and Yoongi bicker back and forth about who’s going to set the table, Jimin wanders to the kitchen. He immediately sees Jungkook by the stove, stirring something in the pan. He hummed to himself, a melody Jimin recognized as a song of Yoongi’s that he heard a few days ago. 

Jimin just stands there. He doesn’t really know how to approach him. Funny how he used to be the first person he looked for in every gathering. The first he’d come to and greet with a hug. 

But all the guilt and restraint just made it difficult for him to do all that. 

Jungkook turns the stove off and turns around to put the food he cooked on the plate. But his eyes immediately catch Jimin’s stare before the latter could walk back to the living room. 

“Jimin hyung, you’re here!” Jungkook immediately pours the contents of the pan on a plate, sets it aside, and rushes to Jimin to give him a hug.

It took a couple of seconds before Jimin found any sense to wrap his arms around the younger’s body, too. 

“It’s been weeks since I last saw you,” Jungkook says with a pout when he pulls away. “You’re working too hard on projects, I bet.”

“Yeah, I have.” 

That isn’t a lie but it isn’t the complete truth either. 

“Good thing Yoongi hyung’s there to take care of you. I’m glad you worked things out, hyung. When I saw both your marks, I was so happy. I thought there wasn’t any two people that fit together more than you two will.” Jungkook squeals and pulls Jimin into a hug again. “My best friend and brother are soulmates. It’s so cool, don’t you think? I wish you both happiness.”

It melts Jimin’s heart like an ice cream cone left under the sun. He looks up at the ceiling to stop the tears forming in his eyes. He doesn’t have the words to reply to that, so he simply pat Jungkook’s back and pulls away. 

For a moment, just for a couple of seconds, he was reminded why he loved him. He’s sweet, honest, sassy, and kind. He’s lucky to have him in his life, even if it isn’t the kind he originally wanted. 

“I hope you and Yugyeom are happy, too,” Jimin says. “And I hope you treat him well. Don’t make him do everything for you.”

“Hey! I don’t do that,” Jungkook whines, slapping Jimin’s arm, who started to laugh. 

“You do that with everyone. Don’t even try to argue with hyung.”

The younger sighs in defeat. “Fine. But I do treat Yugyeom well. He makes me happy and I really want him to be happy, too.”

Jungkook’s happy. He said so. And he looked like he was, too. Jimin hadn’t seen him glow so much. He decided there and then that he should be, too. Not just for Jungkook and Yugyeom but for him as well. He has one of his greatest friends, and overall amazing person, as his soulmate after all. These feelings he has for his dongsaeng shouldn’t be in a way of anything. It didn’t have a place anywhere, anyway. 

He breathes in and let it all go with a smile. 

“I’m happy for you,” Jimin says. He means it. 

“That means a lot to me, Jimin hyung.” 

After one last shared look, they proceeded to bring the dishes to the table where Yoongi and Yugyeom were still bickering about setting the table. It’s funny to watch them talk over each other.

“It’s my house and my plates,” Yoongi whines.

“Well, it’s my food that’s going on the plates,” Yugyeom whines back.

“Aish. Both of you hyungs sit down, Brownie and I will set the table.” Jungkook pulls Yugyeom to the kitchen, ignoring Yoongi’s protests.

When they’re all settled, they have their dinner. It was filled with conversations, laughs, and even the occasional bickering from the two brothers. Jimin encouraged Yugyeom to talk about himself. He learned that he was a communications major, met Jungkook in dance class, and had a girlfriend before finding out about knowing who his soulmate was. 

“It really didn’t end well with her,” Yugyeom shares after a sip of water. “But I wasn’t going to keep the relationship when my soulmate was literally right there.” He then turned to a blushing Jungkook. “I knew I had a soft spot for you the moment you stepped on my foot during our first class.”

“You stepped on his foot?” Jimin blurts out, finding it hilarious. 

“I was flustered!” Jungkook defends himself, glaring at his soulmate and brother who can’t keep their laughs in. “He was cute. I got so distracted that I missed a step and accidentally stepped on him.”

“I think it’s sweet you had a crush on me.” Yugyeom pecks Jungkook’s cheeks. 

Jungkook shakes his head. “I had a different crush back then. You know this.”

What?

“Right.” Yugyeom says at the same time Jimin gasps “Who?”

And all eyes turn to Jimin. 

He said it a little louder than necessary but he deems it reasonable. After all, if Jungkook had a crush on anyone Jimin would know. But he doesn’t. Jimin turns to Yoongi and is shocked to find him not surprised about this revelation. 

Jimin puts his attention back on Jungkook. The younger shrugs and says, “I guess it doesn’t matter now that we both found our soulmates. It’s Taehyung hyung.”

“Wait, really?” Jimin’s eyes go wide. 

“Don’t tell him, though! He won’t let it die if he found out.”

Knowing Taehyung’s knack for teasing, that’s 100% true. 

Jimin doesn’t know he feels about that. There’s no pain, though. No pang in his heart. He opts to laugh. “I won’t tell him, Jungkookie.”

“I always find stories of people getting crushes before meeting their soulmates endearing. A little sad. But in the end, it always works out.” Yugyeom munches on a lettuce before pointing his fork to Yoongi. “Did you have a crush before meeting Jimin-ssi, Yoongi hyung?”

In the middle of sipping his wine, Yoongi spits it out, on to his glass thankfully, and coughs madly. Jimin immediately pats his back to soothe the pain somehow but he’s confused by the reaction. 

“You haven’t told him?” Jungkook hisses at his hyung. 

At this, Jimin frowns. Yoongi had a crush before? He doesn’t recall Yoongi telling him anything about it when they were still the best of friends. Did it happen after they drifted apart? Why was he freaking out about it? 

Jimin doesn’t ask himself why he’s freaking out, too. It’ll be a pretty long discussion and that’s not necessary for now. 

Yoongi sighs. “Not yet.”

“Is it someone we know?” Yugyeom asks.

The two brothers share what seems to be a silent conversation with their eyes before Yoongi ultimately sighs. He’s been defeated. For what? Jimin can’t say he knows. 

Yoongi closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Jimin retracts his hand from his back to give him some space. When he opens them again, he speaks in a small voice that Jimin barely hears it.

“Yes. You know him.” Yoongi’s eyes land on Jimin. He stays silent. They all do.

Jimin doesn’t understand the tension and he doesn’t get why it’s making him so frantic. He just really wants to know.

“I know him?” Jimin prods on, eyes focused on Yoongi. “Is it someone from the other hyungs?”

Yoongi shakes his head.

“From your classes? Oh, Kihyun?” Kihyun’s Yoongi’s classmate. Jimin met him once. He was funny. Cute. They’re pretty close, too. He’s not going to blame Yoongi for liking him once upon a time.

“No.”

Jimin’s starting to get a little impatient. “Then who?”

“I liked this person for a while,” Yoongi tells Jimin quietly like they’re the only two people in the room. “A long time, actually. I wanted to tell him sooner but I get really scared every time I get the chance to.”

“Who is it?” 

A beat. Or two. Jimin hears buzzing and he knows it’s in his head. 

And then—

“You.”

The buzzing continues, accompanied by something thumping so hard, so fast. Was it Jimin’s heart? Did Yoongi hear it, too? Everything seems muted. He thinks he hears Jungkook say something, followed by a chair gliding on the wooden floor. The door clicks close, too. Did they leave?

Jimin doesn’t know. He can only see and think about Yoongi. 

“I’m sorry. What?” Jimin whispers. “You—” He points a finger at Yoongi. “You had a crush on me?” He points the same finger towards himself. “Me? You said you liked me? For a long time?”

“Yeah,” Yoongi breathes. “I like you, Jimin. I like you a lot.”

“Since when?”

“Hard to tell exactly. But I realized when you got here to Seoul that my feelings for you weren’t just the friendly type even before then.”

“Yoongi.” A part of Jimin knows this isn’t the right thing to say at a confession like this but he also believes it isn’t fair for Yoongi that Jimin has to hide his feelings longer than he already has. “I have something to tell you, too. I don’t think I can keep it a secret from you any longer.”

The hope that lit up in Yoongi’s eyes made Jimin’s stomach ache. He didn’t let it persuade him into backing away, though. 

He has to do it. 

“I used to have a crush before I knew we were soulmates, too. I liked him. Maybe even loved him? I think it was strong enough to be called that. But it was all one-sided, of course. I didn’t tell him. I wanted to, though. I hoped that he was my soulmate once upon a time.” Jimin looked down on his lap, licking his dry lips. He can’t bare to look at Yoongi. “That’s why I ran that day. I wanted him to be my soulmate.”

Yoongi stays silent. Jimin looks up briefly to find Yoongi supporting an unreadable expression. The light in his eyes are now gone. They’ve become a little distant. His eyebrows are furrowed but his lips are pursed in a thin line. 

“Who is it?” Yoongi asks somberly. 

Another deep breath and then, looking into Yoongi’s eyes, Jimin whispers. “Jungkook.”

At this, Yoongi smiles. It’s not soft. It’s not genuine. It’s too sardonic looking that Jimin has to look away to avoid looking at it. He hurt Yoongi.

“Jungkook,” Yoongi repeats. “You were disappointed it wasn’t him?”

“A little. Yes,” Jimin admits but he quickly shakes his head. “But then I realized that I shouldn’t be. I have you as my soulmate, hyung. I love being with you. I’m starting to realize why we have the same marks. It makes sense. ” 

It seems like Yoongi isn’t listening. “You love Jungkook,” he whispers. He stands abruptly and, without looking back, walks towards the door.

“Hyung!” Jimin calls. He walks in big steps and grabs Yoongi’s wrist before he can walk out. “Please don’t. Talk to me, please.”

“I just need time, Jimin. Okay?” Yoongi pries his hand off Jimin’s grip without looking at him. 

Jimin watches his figure walk away down the hall. He stands there, hands shaking and heart slowly breaking. He really hurt Yoongi. 

Jungkook and Yugyeom cross paths with Yoongi in the elevator but he ignores both of their calls. The couple, plastic bags in hand, run towards Jimin and start asking him questions. But he can’t answer. He doesn’t even realize he’s crying until he tasted something salty pass his lips. 

“I’ll run after him.” Jungkook announces, dropping the plastic bags on the hallway floor. “Look after him, okay?” He instructs Yugyeom before running to the door that leads to the staircase. 

“What happened, Jimin-ssi?” Yugyeom asks. He holds a sobbing Jimin in his arms. Jimin doesn’t even think about the fact that the soulmate of the person he loved was consoling him. It doesn’t matter to him anymore. 

Jimin tells him everything through tears, through sobs. He hiccups as he speaks but what he says is nothing but the truth. He expects Yugyeom to look at him like Yoongi did. He expects him to leave him there, too. 

Surprisingly, Yugyeom stays. “No matter what happens, Yoongi hyung will come around and he’ll come back to you” is all he says. 

They fall into a comforting silence after that. Yugyeom invites him inside and wait for the two brothers, their soulmates, to come back. 

—

When the elevator door opens to the lobby, the first thing Yoongi sees is Jungkook. Panting. 

“Hyung.” Jungkook’s hands are on his bent knees. His breathing is hard and uneven. “Stay right there.”

Yoongi steps forward out of the elevator and sighs. “If I do, I’ll just go back up.” 

Jungkook scoffs as he stands straight back up. “Are you serious, hyung? Jokes?” He frowns at him. “What happened?” 

At this, Yoongi shakes his head. 

Yes, Yoongi wants to talk about it. Yoongi wants to let out all these negative feelings that he’s feeling inside so it won’t settle there for as long as he would like. But he doesn’t want to do that with Jungkook. 

Not when he’s a part of the negative feeling. 

“I just have to go somewhere,” Yoongi says. “I’ll try to be back by morning. Let Jimin sleep in my bed.”

Yoongi fails to walk past his brother. Jungkook’s grown taller and broader than him. If he tried to run away, he’d catch him and carry him back home. He grabs his shoulders and turns him around so they’re face to face. 

He’s met with concerned eyes and a frown. “Where, hyung? You can tell me what happened here, right now. You can tell me anything.”

“I will. Just not now.” 

With one last apologetic look, Yoongi walks out to the cool crisp night. He doesn’t know where he should go. But he needs to get out of there. He needs to think and organize his thoughts. It’s a mess in there. 

So, he let his feet wander while his mind is elsewhere. 

Yoongi can’t help but replay over and over again what Jimin told him. After all this time, the guy he loved, his soulmate, was in love with someone else. His brother. What sick unfortunate tale is this? 

A piece of his heart breaks each time he thinks about it. He keeps walking to somehow ease the pain. Maybe, he thought, walking out at night, in the cold, would help. But after walking several blocks, and going around one too many times that his feet began to ache.

He noticed the familiar stores, though. Seokjin lived nearby. It was nearing 11 PM. Surely his hyung was fast asleep but he didn’t want to go back to his own apartment just yet. Yoongi walked some more, rode the elevator in the building, and rang the doorbell to his hyung’s apartment. 

Seokjin opens the door a few seconds later, surprisingly happy. “What a pleasant surprise, Yoongichi. Haven’t seen you in a while. Definitely didn’t expect to have you knocking on my door near midnight, though.” 

“Sorry, hyung.” Yoongi buried his hands in his pockets. “Can I stay here for the night?”

“Sure.” Seokjin’s smile dropped a bit. He ushered Yoongi inside, got him some water, and settled him on the L-shaped couch in the living room. 

They sat side by side, warm mugs of water in their hands. Seokjin drapes them with a fluffy yellow blanket as he sits comfortably. Yoongi stays seated with his back straightened until Seokjin says “Rest, Yoongi.” and he melts into the couch. 

Yoongi doesn’t regret coming here. Seokjin’s very warm, great at comforting them. His door is always open for any of them. 

“What’s been bothering you?” Seokjin asks. 

That’s why Yoongi doesn’t hesitate to tell him what happened, what he thought about it, how he reacted to it. 

“It’s been really good, you know?” Yoongi tells him. “We were going somewhere. He was talking to me like we were back in Daegu. It felt right. So right.” He sighs, avoiding Seokjin’s sympathetic gaze. “But I guess it was too good to be true.”

It’s silent for a while. Seokjin’s gaze never left Yoongi while the latter kept his down on the mug he placed on the table in front of him. Then, Seokjin places a hand on Yoongi’s. Warm meets cold. 

“I guess I can’t say I was surprised,” Seokjin mumbles but he smiles. “I’ve seen how Jimin looked at your brother. Funnily enough, it’s the same way you look at Jimin. But I never thought he’d do anything about it before. Now that he knows who his soulmate is, do you think he will?”

“Will what?” Yoongi furrows his eyebrows. 

“Do something about his feelings for Jungkook. Do you think Jimin will leave you, meddle with Jungkook’s own relationship, and run off into the sunset?” 

Yoongi didn’t have to think about it twice. They talked about that, him and Jimin, before they moved to Seoul. It was a conversation made one night, hours after their bedtime. Two teens wondering about love.

Jimin admitted that he wanted to meet his soulmate already. “I want to know what they’re like. If they prefer tea over coffee. Kimchi or no kimchi.”

“What would you do if they hate kimchi?” Yoongi gasped. “You love kimchi.”

“I’d still love them.” Jimin’s eyes shined with the stars. “They’re my soulmate. Fate brought us for a reason, hyung. I’m not going to go against fate.”

In the present, Yoongi shakes his head at Seokjin. “No. He won’t.”

“He won’t.” Seokjin smiled. “Our soulmates are our other half. They’re a part of us. One way or another, two people, sometimes more, find each other and they realize that they’re the only people they ever want to be with. It’s the soulmate magic. These marks,”  he holds up the wrist with his mark, an opened book, “are here for a reason. It connects us to our soulmates. It’s what makes them ours.”

“Jimin is your soulmate, Yoongi.” His hyung holds Yoongi’s hand in a firm grip for emphasis. “Nothing can change that.”

There’s not much to say after that. Seokjin leaves Yoongi some pillows and the yellow blanket for him to sleep with. But Yoongi didn’t do much sleeping. He lied down on the couch, tucked the yellow blanket up to his chin, and stared at his music note mark for hours on end.

He thought about Jimin. He thought about their future, their love, their purpose. Why them? Out of all the people in the entire universe, why did fate bring them together? 

Yoongi patted his pockets for his phone but he realized he left it somewhere in his apartment. He had to wait until tomorrow to talk to Jimin again. 

He falls asleep some time after 3 AM and wakes up with a jolt at 10 AM when there’s continuous knocking at the door. 

“Jin hyung! I know hyung’s there. Open up please.” 

Seokjin’s awake. He quickly walks to the door and lets Jungkook in without a word. At least, Yoongi doesn’t hear them talk. 

Yoongi just sat up and was still rubbing sleep off his eyes when Jungkook flops down on top of him so they’re both lying down. 

“Ow!”

“Hyung!” Jungkook whined on Yoongi’s shoulder. “Don’t ever leave your phone behind again. We were so scared you’d gotten lost or your phone got stolen. Good thing Seokjin hyung messaged me this morning.” 

Jungkook was heavy but Yoongi didn’t mind the weight. It’d only been a few hours, given that few hours was spent being a little mad, but it was nice to have him around again. His heart didn’t ache as much as last night, thanks to Seokjin’s words and a little bit of thinking time on his own. 

What he wanted to do today is set things straight. 

Yoongi wrapped his arms around his brother in a hug. “Sorry for worrying you.”

“Just don’t do it again, hyung. Now I know how you feel when I don’t call to let you know I’ll be home late.”

Yoongi chuckles. “I won’t do it again if you won’t.”

“Deal.”

They sit up on the couch, leaning on each other side by side.

“Jimin confessed to me when you left,” Jungkook says and Yoongi stills. “Are you mad at us, hyung? Is that why you just ran in the middle of the night?”

Yoongi breathes through his nose, picking his next words carefully. “I wasn’t mad. Jealous. That I was. The entire time, you were the one he wanted and not me. He was disappointed that I was his soulmate. It hurt a lot, Jungkook.”

Jungkook nods. He can’t really say he knows how that feels. He was elated when he found out Yugyeom was his soulmate, and Yugyeom chose him in the end. 

“He chose you, though,” Jungkook replies. “He stayed with you. That’s more than enough to tell you where he stands now, hyung.” 

And that’s just it. Yoongi doesn’t think too much into it anymore than he already has. With Seokjin and Jungkook’s words in his mind, Yoongi leaves Jungkook, who wants to spend the afternoon with his other hyung, with Seokjin and heads to his apartment where Jimin is.

“He didn’t want to leave,” Jungkook told Yoongi when the latter asked about Jimin. “He said he’d wait for you.”

Yoongi tried to calm his quick beating heart when he reaches the front door of his apartment. He lifts a hand to knock but he drops it, realizing that he doesn’t have to knock at his own house. His nerves are getting to him.

Shaking his head, Yoongi enters his apartment. He notices Jimin’s shoes are still where he left it last night. Yoongi doesn’t think twice and heads straight to his room. 

There he finds Jimin sleeping soundly on his bed, wearing a big yellow sweater and gray jogger pants he recognized as his. Something about that, and how Jimin’s frowning in his sleep, pinched at his heart.

His eyes are swollen. His cheeks are puffy. His lips are chapped.

But even so, he looks beautiful. 

Yoongi sits down on the edge of the bed. That’s when he notices something on Jimin’s hand that he’s clutching loosely at his side. It’s Yoongi’s notebook. 

His eyes widen. 

It’s not just any notebook. It’s his lyric notebook. And it’s opened on a particular page. Yoongi’s seen it enough to recognize the scribbles and crossed out words.

There were tear stains and coffee stains, too. But he was sure those tear stains weren’t his. 

“Hyung?”

Yoongi has his eyes too focused on his notebook he doesn’t notice Jimin stirring awake. They lock eyes as Jimin sits up. For a minute, they do nothing but stare at each other. None of them knew what to say or how to start the conversation they should be having. 

But Yoongi finds himself reaching for the notebook in Jimin’s grasp. Jimin hands it immediately, a little shaky. 

“I’m sorry I went through your stuff,” Jimin mumbles. “I saw it on your table and got curious.”

Yoongi shakes his head, dismissing his apology. “Did you like them?” He asks boldly. 

“What?” That’s clearly not the reaction Jimin was expecting from Yoongi but what was Yoongi to do? Get mad? 

“My songs,” Yoongi explains softly. He maintains the space between him and Jimin no matter how much he wants to cradle him in his arms until they both fall asleep. There’s still so much to talk about. 

And he’s going to start with this.

“I did.” Jimin nods without hesitation. “I was looking for the guitar song but I got distracted by that one.” He points to the page with coffee stains and familiar scribbles.

“Why?”

Yoongi looks at Jimin curiously and determinedly. Out of all the songs, why this one?

Jimin answers with a shy smile. His eyes turned to crescents. “It reminded me of you.” He laughs lightly, as light as a person who just woke up would laugh. “All of these songs do, of course. You wrote them after all. But this one just… It spoke to me more than the others did. The message of it, after last night, I wanted to dedicate them to you.”

They share another look. Yoongi’s so fond, devastatingly smitten for his soulmate. It’s getting stronger each day.

“You can’t do that,” Yoongi says softly. Like a whisper. 

Jimin’s smile falls. “Why not?”

“Because I wrote this song for you.” As Jimin’s jaw drops, Yoongi continues. “A few days after we found out we were soulmates, I thought about what happened a lot. I thought I must’ve done something for you to react like that. We talked about it. You explained and I’m glad that you did. But it was still in my head, so I did the only thing I could do about it. Write a song.

“It’s also the guitar song, coincidentally.”

Jimin stays silent for a while. His expression unreadable. But then he says, “Can you sing it to me, please?” in a quiet plead.

Who was Yoongi to say no?

Yoongi grabs his guitar that’s resting by his computer. He tunes it first. It took a while but Jimin’s patient. He sits with his back straight, hands intertwined on his lap, and studies Yoongi’s every movement.

The elder tries not to focus on the younger’s stare but it’s so obvious that he feels himself blush from the attention.

When Yoongi plays the first chord and sings the first syllable, Jimin closes his eyes. 

Yoongi, with all the pain he felt from the night Jimin ran to yesterday when he found out he had feelings for someone else, sings the notes as properly as he can even if he was no singer, channeling all his emotions into it.

Though he tried to make the lyrics as positive as he could when he wrote it, wanting to be his own light in the darkness that surrounded him, it all came out too sad. Too heartbreaking.

Jimin was hurt because of him, his own soulmate. It was probably why he was hurt in the first place. He was fine but maybe it was just all a lie? 

The song ends with Yoongi reassuring himself and Jimin that they’ll be all right. They’ll be fine. They’re each other’s soulmates, each other’s light and night. Down the road, they’ll be alright.

But there was an uncertainty to it. The future is nothing but that, after all. And Yoongi ends the song with a question. 

“Can you promise me?” 

And he plucks the last chords, finishing the song. 

There was no title for this song. He rarely ever gave one to drafts. And this song, in particular, he didn’t really want to remember ever since things started to look up between him and Jimin. He knew he wasn’t hurt anymore and he felt Jimin’s happiness radiate when they were together.

They were alright, until they weren’t again.

Perhaps that’s just how the way things would be in this life. 

It's a funny coincidence that it was the melody to this song that got stuck in Jimin's head. A really strange way of fate for Jimin to choose its lyrics as his favorite.  

Yoongi’s eyes then travel down to his wrist, his mark, and all the pieces fell into place. Music. Of course. That’s what connects them. That’s why they were put together by fate in the first place. 

“Yoongi hyung,” Jimin calls. Yoongi lifts his head up to meet Jimin in the eyes. “I like you. I truly, really, honestly like you a lot. I want to make this work with you and no one else but you. Okay? We’ll be alright. I promise.” 

"We'll make beautiful songs together." 

For a second, Jimin furrows his eyebrows in confusion. But then he smiles. He knows. "Yes." He brings his free hand to cover his mouth. "Oh my God, hyung. Yes. Exactly! I can't believe we managed to figure out what these marks mean."

They both end up laughing, Jimin leaning forward so his forehead was touching Yoongi’s knee. 

Yoongi was happy. He truly was. He could finally look at the mark on his wrist again, knowing that everything was alright. It had been okay for a while but there was still a grey cloud of uncertainty hanging above his head the entire time. 

And now it’s gone. 

The song he wrote, Yoongi realized, needed some changes now because of it. He wanted it to be their song, something they can have and remind them of who they were meant to be for each other. 

“Do you want to rewrite this song?” Yoongi asks Jimin, who had laid down on the bed with his head on his lap. “Together?” 

Jimin breaks into a smile. “I’d love to, hyung.”

They spent the night turning the song from one that was merely hoping for a happy ending to one that reached its happily ever after but still promises to keep the love and happiness alive even after that. 

• ♫ • ♫ • ♫ •

“I don’t understand why all of us have to wear all-white.” 

In the reflection of Jimin’s full body mirror, he saw the frown on Taehyung’s face behind him. “It’s what the groom wanted, Tae bear.” Jimin studied his own outfit. He adjusted the collar of his black polo underneath his white suit jacket and dragged a hand through his new blond hair.

He smiled excitedly. 

“Hopefully Seokjin hyung’s wearing different colored suit,” Taehyung continued, “otherwise people might think all 7 of us are getting married.” 

“Stop whining, will you.” Jimin laughed and turned around to fix Taehyung’s tie. “You look gorgeous. And to answer your question, I heard Seokjin hyung’s going for a glossy suit of his own.” 

“Good.” Taehyung hummed. “Can you believe he’s getting married first out of all of us, even though he was the last one to find his soulmate?”

Jimin thought it made perfect sense, given Seokjin was the first to get his mark out of all of them but took him years before doing something about it. “He waited long enough. I wouldn’t be surprised if the first thing out of his mouth when he met his soulmate is ‘Will you marry me?’”

“Wanna bet?” Taehyung raised his eyebrows up and down challengingly. 

“Go make a bet with your soulmate.” Jimin laughed as patted his shoulders. “Come on, they’re waiting for us at the theater.”

“Excited are we?”

There was no denying it and he didn’t need to tell his best friend that. Jimin and Taehyung headed out, walked to the theater where they’d meet the others. They caught some stares due to their matching white suits but they continued to walk hand in hand, laughing and basking in the morning sunlight. 

When they reached the theater, the first ones they see are Hoseok and Namjoon. Taehyung made a beeline for Hoseok to give him a big bear hug, his legs wrapped around the other’s torso. 

As Jimin laughed, Namjoon whined. “Some of us have soulmates that are thousands of miles away from here.”

Namjoon found his soulmate online in a forum for a book he really liked. They promised to meet in the near future. 

Jimin looked around for the others but it was just the two of them there. “Where’s Yoongi?” Jimin asked Namjoon. The other two were still preoccupied with their love for one another.

“Him and Jungkook are buying some drinks.” Namjoon hooked his thumb behind him. But then he tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows. “Weird. I just had a whole deja vu moment.” 

“Strange,” Jimin giggled. It was deja vu but it had a vastly different situation at the same time. “I’ll go help them.”

“See! Deja vu!”

Jimin left a shocked Namjoon standing there and walked to the concession stand where Yoongi and Jungkook were sipping on their own bottled water and sharing a laugh or two about what the other said. 

Yoongi saw Jimin first. He stood up from where he was leaning on the counter and marched towards Jimin with a dorky smile on his face. 

“Hi,” Yoongi greeted, gummy smile in view. “You look beautiful.”

“I should say the same for you, hyung.” Jimin snaked his arms around Yoongi’s neck. They stare deep into each other’s eyes, elated to see each other again even after being away for just about a week due to Yoongi and Jungkook’s trip back home. 

It was the longest time they’d been away from each other. Don’t blame them for missing each other so much. 

Yoongi was midway to closing the gap between him and Jimin when Yoongi was being pulled away from him. 

“No kissing in front of the baby brother!” 

“Are you kidding me?” Jimin glared at Jungkook. “You’ve seen us kiss before.” 

“So? Doesn’t make it less gross.” Jungkook stuck out his tongue. 

To annoy him back, Jimin grabbed Yoongi’s arm and planted a kiss on his cheek. He ignored Jungkook’s protest and continues to plant kisses on his soulmate’s cheek. Not because he wanted to annoy Jungkook further, but Yoongi looked so cute with eyes shut tight and smile so wide that Jimin couldn’t help himself. 

“Jimin-ah, come on. You’re giving Jungkook a heart attack.” 

Jimin stopped only because Yoongi told him to. When he pulled away, Yoongi held on to his hand. They didn’t let go of each other even as their car arrived, even as the wedding ceremony went on and Jimin cried his heart out at Seokjin hyung’s speech and Yoongi had to wipe his tears for him, and even as they ate during the reception. They had to feed each other because Yoongi refused to let go of Jimin’s hand. 

“Hyung, come on,” Jimin chuckled when all the empty dishes were being picked up from their table. “We’re going up there soon to perform. You won’t be able to 

Jimin felt good seeing his hyung finally be with the person he was meant to be with after waiting for so long. 

Jimin felt good watching Jungkook sitting beside his own soulmate, laughing like they’re the only two people in the world.

Jimin felt good hearing Taehyung whining when Hoseok tried to pull him to the dance floor. Both of them danced obnoxiously, hands stretched out as they tried to waltz around Seokjin and his soulmate. 

Jimin felt good looking at the soft smile on Namjoon’s face, busy typing on his phone, no doubt chatting with his soulmate he has yet to meet face to face. 

And as Jimin turned to the side to where Yoongi’s strumming the guitar, he felt exceptionally good to finally be with his own soulmate.

Their love story hadn’t been one that he imagined but he couldn’t help but admit that it was the best part about them. Jimin could continue their story with no expectations of what he wanted it to become. 

Yoongi and Jimin’s story will continue with nothing but love and hope.