Chapter Text
~ 2 years ago ~
“And now, we’ll be moving on to the part of the tour I’m sure you’re most excited for!” The tour guide’s chirpy voice cheered over the crowd of eager freshmen. There was a chorus of giggles at her comment as they made their way from the enormous library and walked across the courtyard to the equally large gymnasium.
Taehyun, along with the other freshmen around him, marveled at the vibrant and colorful garden that lined the pavement around the cluster of buildings. In the middle of the courtyard was a wide, large space with neatly cut green grass and a fountain. Benches were scattered around the field with students either sitting or laying in them leisurely. It seemed to be a nice, serene area for students to hang out and enjoy the scenery. Taehyun always liked observing nature, he could definitely see himself coming to this courtyard often.
“Wow! Can you believe how big this place is?” His best friend from high school, Choi Beomgyu, gasped as he waved his camera around, snapping pictures at the speed of light. The brunette turned around and snapped a couple of pictures of Taehyun, who blinked in surprise for a moment, before narrowing his eyes at the taller. “Aww, you look so cute Tyunnie!” Beomgyu cooed in a teasing tone, grinning down at the display screen of his camera.
Taehyun glared in mock annoyance at the brunette for a moment, but decided to let it go just this once...today was a special day afterall. Today was the day Beomgyu and him started their lives as university students. It was as exciting as it was nerve-wracking, but from all the legendary stories they’ve heard in high school about this place, Taehyun knew his next four years here would certainly be memorable.
“This is so exciting!” Beomgyu said with a big, silly grin on his face, “You think we’re gonna meet our soulmates here? I really hope I meet mine.”
The shorter snorted lightly at that, “You’re such a hopeless romantic.”
“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with being a hopeless romantic! Besides,” Beomgyu continued, taking another picture of the fountain as their group walked past it, “Most people meet their soulmates between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five. This is our prime time to look for our other half! Aren’t you at least a little curious to find out who it is?”
Taehyun gave a nonchalant shrug, adjusting the drawstring bag on his shoulders, “You know I don’t really care about all that stuff right now. I just want to focus on my studies.”
“Yeah, yeah. Mr. I-Only-Want-To-Study-Math-And-Play- The-Saxophone-For-Four-Years-Straight.” Beomgyu replied in a light-mocking tone, “Just mark my words, I bet you’ll be all sad and stuff by the time we graduate cuz you spent all your time studying and working and missed out on all the fun stuff!”
“I highly doubt that.” The blonde replied flatly.
They entered the stadium, marveling at the spacious concession stand/eating area, and the long row of shiny trophies behind a glass case in the main hallway. Their tour guide- Taehyun thinks her name was Sooyoung- herded them to the large gymnasium where the rest of the groups of freshmen were gathering for the conclusion of orientation; which was the freshman pep rally. The bleachers were pulled out on both sides, already filling up with students. There was a podium placed in the center of the court where the dean and a couple of other professors were standing, talking among themselves casually.
Taehyun and Beomgyu watched with wide, enthusiastic eyes as the band began to play, cheers and shouts filled the air as students started chanting the university’s motto. The exciting energy was infectious, and the blonde found himself quietly cheering along while Beomgyu cheered and whooped loudly. Taehyun’s big eyes stayed trained on the band, watching the director and the players as they played from the bleachers. The band was just as loud and lively as the crowd, doing a medley of some popular songs the blonde was sure he’d heard on the radio before. There was a fancy drum solo, and Taehyun found himself smiling in enjoyment. Pretty soon, he would become one of them. The dance team performed right alongside the band on the court, and halfway through their routine, members of the basketball team started rushing onto the court from the sidelines. They started doing the dance routine too, and a chorus of laughter rang out from the crowd.
Taehyun couldn’t help but join in on the laughter, genuinely amused as he watched the players struggle to keep up with the dancers. Although his eyes were automatically drawn to one of the players, who easily kept up with the dancers, even danced better than them. He was in the middle with vibrant, uniquely pink-colored hair which was long enough to be pulled into a messy ponytail. He was also...well, extremely good-looking, Taehyun could tell even from several feet away. There was also something about the way he carried himself that drew attention to him like a moth to a flame. Even though the dance was for show and the sake of entertainment, Taehyun could tell he was a really good dancer. Every pop-lock, jump, spin, and body-roll was done smoothly and with powerful, purposeful execution. His eyes were bright and alight with satisfaction as he danced, no doubt drawing in the gaze of everyone around him. His smile was magnetic and Taehyun suddenly felt like he could watch this person dance forever.
Whispers and giggles rose from all around him, especially a group of girls sitting below him and Beomgyu. They all pointed and giggled at the pink-haired player down on the court.
“Oh my god, he’s so hot. Who is he?” Taehyun heard one of the girls ask. He found himself subconsciously leaning closer to listen.
“That’s Choi Yeonjun!” Her friend squealed.
Taehyun raised a curious brow at that. Hmm….Choi Yeonjun….why does that name sound so familiar?
The performance ended and everyone stood to applause. The one named Yeonjun took a sudden lap around the court to give some of the dancers and students sitting on the lowest row some high-fives, before heading back to his designated spot on the bleachers with the other players. Realization suddenly dawned in on Taehyun.
Ah, that Choi Yeonjun. He’s heard about him before. Out of all the legendary stories Taehyun heard from this school, the story of their basketball team was the most popular. They were national champions for five consecutive years in a row, known for their incredibly talented players, Choi Yeonjun being the star player. Taehyun didn’t know much about him, other than the fact that he had single-handedly won them the championships last year. He was known to be super easygoing and charismatic, very popular and well-accomplished despite him only being a sophomore.
“If all the guys look like him, then I’m definitely excited for marching band.” Beomgyu said with a mischievous grin.
Taehyun rolled his eyes playfully at his best friend’s words, but couldn’t help himself from silently agreeing with those words.
That was the first time Taehyun had ever seen him, but he hadn't actually met him until a week later at his first practice for the band. There was going to be a game- the preliminaries scheduled in two weeks for basketball. And since this school was best known sports-wise for their basketball team, the games were always packed and the most talked about event. It was about ten minutes before the end of their practice when the basketball players started to trickle into the gym- their practice started immediately after Taehyun’s ended.
Taehyun found himself focusing less on the notes he was playing, and more on the double-doors, subconsciously waiting for a certain pink-haired athlete. Yeonjun entered the gymnasium, arm wrapped around a taller boy with dark-brown hair as they chatted zealously with each other. There was an immediate wave of gasps and whispers that erupted around Taehyun at Yeonjun’s entrance. He felt the not-so-subtle nudge of Beomgyu’s shoulder, who was sitting right beside him. He kept nudging his shoulder excitedly, but when the blonde turned his head to glare at him the brunette sat with a perfectly calm posture, playing the clarinet diligently.
Yeonjun was wearing an oversized gray hoodie with loose, black shorts underneath, his pink hair tied up in a messy bun. Yeonjun grabbed the ends of his hoodie, and in one fluid motion, pulled it over his head, subsequently flashing a little bit of skin in the process. All the girls swooned and and if Taehyun’s heart picked up a slightly faster pace in his chest...well, that wasn’t anyone’s business but his own. Even Beomgyu let out a choked-gasping sound, but the shorter couldn’t blame him. Yeonjun’s toned and tanned arms were out on display, and to put on even more of a show, he started to lift his arms over his head to stretch. More intense whispering and giggling ensued. Taehyun hadn’t even realized he’d stop playing his instrument completely, so caught up in the show the pink-haired boy was putting on. His heart was hammering furiously in his chest, and he couldn’t for the life of him understand why. Sure, he’s had crushes on hot jocks before, but this...something about this felt different. He just couldn’t put his finger on it yet.
“Hi Yeonjun~” One girl in the drums section- Hyemin- called out. Yeonjun turned and winked at her, which caused her cheeks to redden while her friends giggled and squealed around her. Suddenly, everyone was calling Yeonjun’s name, vying for his attention. He sent a couple more flirtatious winks and waves at his audience, before the taller boy that was standing beside him rolled his eyes with a loud huff.
“Okay loverboy, enough fanservice. We actually need to practice.” He said, tugging the pink-haired boy away, to the disappointment of the girls in his class.
Yeonjun groaned dramatically, turning back to Hyemin and raised his hand to his ear with his thumb and pinkie sticking out, mouthing the words ‘call me’ to her, which only set off another round of commotion in the gym .
“Wow, isn’t he so cool Tyunnie?” Beomgyu whispered to him.
Taehyun swallowed the small knot that formed in his throat, feigning an air of indifference as he raised his saxophone back to his mouth with a shrug. “He’s certainly the school flirt.”
“I’d be a school flirt too if I was hot and talented.” Beomgyu retorted, completely abandoning their practice as he lowered his clarinet, “I wonder if I could be friends with him.”
At the realization that it was basically hopeless to continue practice, their director called an end to practice, and everyone eagerly packed up their instruments. Taehyun and Beomgyu were walking down the bleachers, casually talking to each other, when a basketball suddenly flew in their direction. Distantly, he heard someone yell “watch out!”. If it weren’t for Taehyun’s sudden sixth sense, he wouldn’t have been able to side-step the ball that came barreling at his face. Shock froze his features for a moment, before the shock bled away to bewildered anger as his gaze snapped to the direction of where the ball came from. Yeonjun, of all people, was the one who came jogging over, his sneakers squeaking against the newly-polished floor. Beomgyu mumbled something excitedly but Taehyun couldn’t hear him. Everything was drowned out by the pink-haired athlete approaching them.
“Sorry about that.” He said simply, but the problem was his face looked not the slightest bit apologetic. His dark eyes were alight with some hidden amusement, and the corner of his rosy lips were curled. He looked like someone had told him a funny joke, and he was holding in a laugh. Taehyun wasn’t sure what was so funny, if he didn’t move out of the way in time, he or his instrument could've gotten damaged.
“What’s so funny?” Taehyun voiced his thoughts, his eyes narrowing in an accusing stare, “Did you...did you do that on purpose?”
Beomgyu turned to him with an alarmed expression, but the blonde ignored him, focusing on the pink-haired boy’s expression. He remained frustratingly nonchalant as he ran his fingers through his bangs, “Of course I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Then why were you smiling?”
Yeonjun sighed, “Well, I- look, you can’t deny it was kind of funny.”
Taehyun’s glare sharpened, his admiration for the older going down by the second. He held up the case where his instrument resided, “Do you know how expensive this is? What were you going to do if you broke it?”
Yeonjun just shrugged again, crossing his arms against his shirt, “I guess we’ll never know, huh?”
Taehyun’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at that response, before they narrowed again. “You’re kind of an asshole, aren’t you?”
“Tyunnie!” Beomgyu hissed at his friend, before turning back to the older. “I’m so sorry sunbaenim, he didn’t mean that!”
Yeonjun just laughed, as if this was all some funny joke, “That’s okay,” His gaze landed back on the blonde, “You’re not afraid to speak your mind. I like that.”
Taehyun scoffed, feeling any semblance of a crush on the older disappearing quickly. Now all he felt for the pink-haired boy was annoyance and irritation. What a let down, he thought. He shook his head to himself, moving his way past Yeonjun and may or may not have purposely bumped into the taller’s shoulder on his way out. He was half-way down the hall when Beomgyu started calling for him, pointedly ignoring the brunette’s calls until he was left with no choice but to catch up to him.
“Tyunnie, what the hell was that about?” Beomgyu said, once he caught up to the fuming blonde.
They entered the locker room, and Taehyun walked over to his locker silently. He didn’t say anything until he cracked his combination and swung open his locker. “You saw what happened. He basically threw that ball at me.”
“It was on accident. He said sorry.”
“Well, he sure didn’t seem so sorry about it.” Taehyun muttered, carefully placing his case inside the locker before closing it. “I just don’t like him Gyu, he seems really cocky and annoying. Sorry.”
Beomgyu frowned and pouted, but he knew once the blonde had made his mind up on something, it was nearly impossible to change it. So Beomgyu gave up with a resigned sigh. They walked out of the locker room, the incident behind them.
Except Taehyun found himself thinking about that strange incident later at night when he was laying in bed. He just couldn’t wrap his head around it. Everyone always called Yeonjun funny, cool, easy-going, charismatic, flirty, fun. So why did he act that way towards him specifically? Did he manage to offend him or something? Taehyun couldn’t see how that was possible since he’s only ever seen the pink-haired boy one other time, and that was on orientation day. So what gives?
Taehyun sighed harshly as he pulled his covers up and turned on his side, facing the window. I suppose it doesn’t really matter why he did that, the blonde thought to himself, all this tells me is that I dodged a bullet and should just focus on my studies. And with that, he drifted off to sleep.
The second time he met Choi Yeonjun, was four days later at a party.
Beomgyu had been begging him all week to come with him, promising that they wouldn’t be there any longer than two hours. Taehyun didn’t even know why his best friend was so interested in this party; from the sound of it, it was just another excuse to get drunk on a Friday at some fraternity house. Beomgyu wasn’t even interested in joining a fraternity- or at least, Taehyun thinks he isn’t. Beomgyu is the type that if he was really interested in something, he’d talk about it all the time, and he has never brought up rushing for a frat in any of their many conversations. So, that leads the blonde back to his current predicament of wondering why the brunette was so eager to bring them both here to this crowded house.
It was your average frat house; a two story building with most of the furniture pushed back, and the room decked out in LED lights that kept changing colors with the beat from the speakers. It was loud and congested, so much so that Taehyun had to walk really closely behind the brunette as not to get separated, and basically had to shout everything he needed to say. Parties weren’t his thing, but the music wasn’t so bad. Neither was the booze, which was the first thing they went to get once they arrived.
Taehyun took a sip of his drink, idly watching a group of older students (loudly and drunkenly) play beer pong a couple of feet away from them. He then switched his attention to his best friend, who stood a little too straight to be casual. His eyes kept skimming across the crowd, as if he was looking for someone.
The blonde raised a curious eyebrow, “Expecting someone?”
“Hmm?” Beomgyu mumbled, snapping out of whatever trance he was in to look at the shorter, “Oh, not really. I’m just people-watching.”
Taehyun has known him for too long to believe that. “It feels like you dragged me here for a specific reason, though.”
“What makes you think that?” Beomgyu stopped making eye-contact.
Taehyun narrowed his gaze in suspicion, “How did you find out about this party, Gyu?”
The taller let out a sigh, “Okay, fine you got me! I met this really cool sophomore in my photography class named Soobin and we really hit it off. He’s super tall, kind of awkward and shy, but really endearing! And well, I wanted to meet up with him again and he suggested this frat party, which kind of surprised me because he didn’t seem like the frat boy type but you never judge a book by it’s cover! Anyway, I want to talk to him again.”
The blonde’s eyes widened at his ramble, “Wow, that’s good to hear.”
“Right!” Beomgyu replied excitedly, before letting out a content sigh, “I don’t know Tyunnie, something about him...no one has ever made me feel like this before. I’ve only met him a few times, but I get butterflies every time I do. I can’t explain it.”
A part of Taehyun wanted to say ‘I’ve felt something like that,’ but his brain caught up to him and managed to stop his lips from forming the words. It was a bizarre thought, it felt like it practically came out of nowhere. Just like the glimpse of dark eyes, thick-lipped smile, and pink hair that danced across his mind. Don’t be ridiculous, he scolded himself internally, it was just a fleeting infatuation. It didn’t mean anything.
“-Taehyun? Hello?” Beomgyu was staring at him with a confused expression.
It just occurred to the shorter blonde that he had managed to get lost in his thoughts, completely forgetting that he was in the middle of a convo. “Sorry,” he said quickly, “What did you say?”
“I said he’s on his way here right now. I told him we came.”
Well. That gave Taehyun little time to prepare himself. Beomgyu downed the rest of his drink to simmer his sudden nerves. Not a minute later, did a tall, scrawny guy dressed in a simple hoodie and jeans come up to them. And within the first few minutes of introducing himself, Taehyun couldn’t help but agree with Beomgyu on the endearing part. Soobin, with his button nose and bunny-shaped eyes, had a very soft and innocent aura to him. He was soft-spoken, very gentle and polite with the way he spoke. It made Taehyun wonder how someone like him ended up in a frat house like this.
Beomgyu did most of the talking though, excitedly gushing to Soobin about some photography project they had coming up, and Taehyun watched them talk. It seemed kind of surprising that they would click; with Beomgyu’s loud and outgoing personality one would think it would clash with Soobin’s more quiet, mellow one. But they suited each other, in an endearing way. Despite just listening to Beomgyu and Soobin talk, Taehyun didn’t mind being here anymore. He knew he was here for moral support, and of course he hoped everything worked out between them. Beomgyu had been going on and on about wanting to find his soulmate since high school. But the easy-going atmosphere didn’t stay that way.
Because an arm had thrown itself casually around Soobin’s shoulder, slightly startling the taller. “Soobin, where have you been!” He called out cheerily.
Taehyun’s content gaze hardened into stony irritation as he glared at the person attached to the arm around Soobin. Choi Yeonjun, of course. Given his reputation, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he was here too. Despite his annoyance, his heart picked up in his chest again without his permission at the sight of the pink-haired boy- laughing with that magnetic smile. That annoyed Taehyun even more.
Beomgyu’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, “You know Yeonjun-sunbae?!”
Soobin laughed a little breathlessly, “Yeah, he’s my roommate.”
Taehyun glowered at that. What are the odds.
“Wow, that’s great!” Beomgyu gushed, but the pink-haired athlete wasn’t even paying him any attention.
His gaze was focused solely on Taehyun. The blonde would think it was a pretty bold thing to do, if it wasn’t a part of Yeonjun’s personality to be bold. Taehyun pointedly did not look in his direction.
“Yeonjun, this is Beomgyu.” Soobin said, politely making the introductions.
Yeonjun nodded, a teasing smile curling on the edges of his lips, “So this is the guy you’ve been talking about.”
Despite the dim lighting, everyone could see the way Soobin’s face flushed bright red. “A-And this is Taehyun.” He continued, trying to act unaffected by the older’s words.
Taehyun could feel his gaze on him without having to look.
“Oh, we’re already acquainted.”
The blonde snorted, “I wouldn’t say we’re acquaintances.” At the confused look on Soobin’s face he elaborated, “We’ve met before. Just once.” He grimaced at the memory.
“Oh, are you still mad about that?”
This time, Taehyun looked up to meet the older’s gaze. He had to see for himself the expression on his face because he couldn’t be serious. Yeonjun’s face still held that same light amusement, as if he was in on a joke that nobody else knew. He cocked his head to the side, scrutinizing the blonde as if he was under a microscope.
Taehyun felt his irritation spike up again, and found himself gripping his bottle with a little too much force. “I’m gonna go get another drink.” He said, trying his best to keep his voice leveled as he smiled respectively to Soobin. He shot Yeonjun a glare that could melt steel before he excused himself from the group.
“Wait,” He heard his voice call gently from behind him, but Taehyun ignored him and kept walking. He wanted to be civil for Beomgyu and Soobin’s sake, and the best way to do that was to remove himself from the situation entirely. “Hey, I just wanted to say so-” He felt a hand grab the back of his shoulder gently.
Yet something jerked intensely inside of Taehyun’s body at the touch. He’d never felt something like this before, and he couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped him. It felt like all the air had been momentarily sucked out of his lungs. Once he gained his senses, he immediately turned around and wrenched himself out of Yeonjun’s grasp. The pink-haired boy looked just as startled as he felt.
There was a tense moment of silence that passed between them, before Yeonjun cleared his throat to try again, “Listen, I-”
“Just forget it. I don’t care about it anymore.” The blonde answered quickly, a little more harshly than he meant but he was still bewildered from whatever feeling he just felt. He quickly turned away and ran before Yeonjun could grab him again.
The next day, Taehyun was up bright and early despite it being Saturday. He liked to go ahead and get schoolwork done early so he wasn’t stuck doing everything on sunday night. He happened to be standing in front of his mirror, yawning and wiping the sleepiness out of his eyes, when he noticed something strange. There were dark marks on his lower collarbone, exposed by the loose t-shirt he was wearing. At first, he thought it was something that came from the party last night, and tried to wipe it away. But when it didn’t go away, Taehyun frowned at his reflection tiredly. Gingerly, he reached up and pulled on his t-shirt, discovering to his horror that it hadn’t been just some random marks from the party.
Part of the mark curled into each other, and there were other parts of the mark that pointed outwards at random places around the inside, almost resembling a blazing sun. Taehyun blinked slowly, staring in utter disbelief. But despite his shock, he knew there was no denying what these marks were.
A soulmark . The mark that was activated once someone had made physical contact with their other half.
He touched his soulmate yesterday? A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind. He met a lot of people yesterday- touched many too, since it was so crowded and hard to walk a straight line without bumping into anyone in that frat house.
Who could it have been?