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It was a serene morning. Taehyung didn’t have to wake up early to open his shop as the mall opened no earlier than eleven. Slowly opening his eyes, adjusting to the brightness of the sunlight pouring through the window blinds, his gaze ventured to the hand in front of his face. To be specific, the tiny sliver of black on his wrist, peeking from behind the fabric of his hoodie.
He pulled the sleeve back a little, examining the tattoo etched across the honey-colored skin. “May 5, 2020”, in such a beautiful cursive, it looked like it was carved by angels. And it really was, too.
You see, the cursed universe he lived in was bound by rules. Not bad ones per se. But bad enough for him. Every person was born with a tattoo on their wrist. The date on which they will meet their soulmate. The one person meant for them and them only. To spend the rest of their lives with. To share their happy and sad -and all the emotions in between- with them. To love and be loved by a single human for eternity.
Most people would squeal at the thought, get butterflies in their stomach and wish the day to come sooner. Not Taehyung. For him, the thought of someone else, be it the universe, deciding for him the person he would eventually settle for, was absolutely absurd. It was binding. But he was a butterfly, he didn’t want to be tied to a garden he didn’t choose. He wanted to fly, feel the wind on his face, land on any flower he wished to and eventually build a garden for himself. Metaphorically of course. And not have the universe hand it to him.
One look at the clock on his night stand told him the time was half past nine and he had more than an hour to get ready before he had to head to work. In the spine-chilling January weather, his small gift shop in the town mall was like a cozy cabin filled with goodies. People loved to come to his shop and buy gifts or souvenirs for their significant others.
He loved going to work. On most days. Not today though. It was almost February and although he knew the upsurge in customers he would experience because of the upcoming valentine’s week and day, he was never mentally prepared for it. It was good for business, not for his sanity.
Nevertheless, he got up, made a cup of hot chocolate for himself and went to sit on the balcony to enjoy the light breeze before taking a shower and heading to work.
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Jungkook was woken up by his elder brother yelling for him to come down and have breakfast. He groaned and pushed his face back into the soft pillow. A few moments later his door opened and someone jumped on his back. “Get up little one. I want to eat with you before I go.”, was spoken next to his ear. His brother lying fully on top of him, using him as his own personal mattress.
"What's so special about a simple date?" Jungkook mumbled, pushing his brother off of him and getting up. He stretched his arms above his head, yawning, and went towards the bathroom to brush his teeth.
"You'll understand when you'll find your one baby bun." his brother replied sitting on the bed and facing him. "Sure." He said and turned back to the mirror.
He couldn't picture himself with anyone in his arms. Kissing them and caressing their face, or receiving soft hugs after a long work day. No, he definitely couldn't.
"It's going to happen so suddenly you won't even realize it. In the blink of an eye, your soulmate, whoever she is will make her snug space in your heart and you wouldn't be able to fill it with anything other than them."
Jungkook snorted at this, spraying his toothpaste onto the basin, luckily, before rinsing his mouth and turning to look at his brother dead in the eye.
"You know I'm gay Hyung. What makes you think I would be willing to settle with a woman. A stranger no less." His brother opened his mouth but no one words escaped. "And this is precisely why I think all this", he pointed back and forth between his and his brother's wrists, "is stupid and nothing but a scam."
"Think what you want Kookie but you can't play with the universe. Now come down fast and eat your food." Junghyun retorted before going back downstairs.
'You can't play with the universe'. The words revolved around in his head like planets. Is liking boys and not girls against the universe? He didn't think so. He was allowed to love whoever he wanted regardless of gender.
He also hadn't seen any male couples around. Or two males who claimed to be soulmates. But there's no way they won't exist. Jungkook himself was an example. Sure he had dated boys before but it was just fun and games since both of them knew their dates hadn't arrived yet.
So who was to say he wouldn't find a boy for his own. If the universe wanted him to spend his lifetime with someone he didn't love, he would be more than happy to bend, or even break some rules to get his way.
"I'll prove it to you Hyung." He said, sitting on the kitchen island while his brother put eggs in his plate, voice laced with a newfound determination. "I'll prove that regardless of if it's a girl or a boy, the universe can't force me to do anything or meet anybody. I'll sit in my room the whole day and play video games. Watch me."
☀☼︎☀⤄☼︎☀☼︎
"I'm telling you Jimin I've heard this before too. It'll just end up in the boy falling in love with the girl while she chooses her career over him and moves to another country and then they never meet each other again." Taehyung replies to his best friend who's sitting at the counter while he is arranging greeting cards into their specific genres on the shelf.
"You're such a buzzkill. I know I ask you this question ten times a day but what do you even have against soulmates." The mock exasperation was clear in his voice, making Tae snicker and flick his best friend's chin.
"So you already know I would hate to live with and love someone that I didn't pick out myself. There's just too many uncertainties." he shrugged. "And the amount of stories and rants these walls have had to bear is more than enough for one lifetime don't you think?"
Jimin sighed. "I still don't believe it, Taehyung. There's no way you'd meet your soulmate and decide you don't want them. You might not even realize they're your soulmate. The universe works mysteriously."
Okay Jimin had a point. But Taehyung wasn't going to back down either. He didn't know how this conversation started and what he actually wanted to stand up against but in that moment, his pride won over him.
"You know what. Remember this. My date is 26 days away. I will not take a foot out of my house that day. And not let anyone in either. There's no way I'll meet anyone if I stay inside my house all day."
With this, he turned around and went to greet the customer who had just entered the shop, not giving Jimin any chance to respond.
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Fast forward to a week left and Jungkook is nervous. What if it really does come true? What if he doesn't meet anyone and has to be lonely for the rest of his life? What if he does meet someone but doesn’t like them? He had decided to camp in his room for the whole day but what was he going to do to kill time? His mind was a jumbled mess and he knew most of the questions were vapid, but he couldn’t do anything to stop the wandering thoughts.
The tattoo on his wrist had gotten comparatively darker the closer they moved to the date. But he disregarded that as just an afterthought and moved on to focusing on his studies.
It was already half past ten at night when he found himself at the general store near his house craving a boiling pot of cheap ramen, slightly panicking about reaching home before midnight.
He decided to roam the aisles while waiting for his order to be prepared. Something caught his eye in the video games aisle. “Rainbow.. Six Siege? Sounds interesting enough.” he figured he could spend the next day playing it online, or completing the campaign. It was good for killing time. He enjoyed video games, just didn’t have a group of friends to play them with. But since he had the whole of tomorrow, why not try something new?
Finishing his ramen cup and treating himself to an ice cream come, he reached home, took a late-night shower before falling face-first into his mattress. Thoughts of the next day still occupied his mind but his sleep was dreamless.
☀☼︎☀⤄☼︎☀☼︎
Taehyung woke up to his phone ringing on the nightstand.
“Find anyone yet?” his best friend’s chirpy voice came through the receiver. “Seriously Jimin? You called me to ask this at… ten am?” he cringed a little at how deep and husky his morning voice was, but Jimin didn’t mind.
“Who knows? A burglar might’ve gotten into your house last night, gotten a look at that pretty face and decided you were his forev-” he rolled his eyes and cut the call without letting the one on the other finish his sentence.
Jimin was ridiculous and so over the top sometimes, Taehyung wondered how he managed to store all that energy in a tiny body.
He got up, did his morning routine and decided to paint to pass time. So engrossed in the world of colors, only got up to feed his dog, and himself, the sun started to set before he even knew it. At least he completed his masterpiece. The only thing left was for it to dry and then if he deemed it good enough, he could frame it and sell it in his shop.
“So far so good.” he thought. It was seven in the evening now so he dialed up his best friend once again. They really couldn’t stay away from each other, even calling themselves ‘platonic soulmates’ because of how good of a bond they had.
“Hey tiny, how about a game of Overwatch?” he asked as soon as the line was connected. Jimin huffed on the other end. “Excuse me mister. Unlike you, I believe in love and have my weekly date night to get to. So tell me I look pretty and go play some Siege like a noob instead.” There it was. The daily dose of sassiness. “Okay your highness. Even though I can't see you I know you look freaking handsome. Have fun!” he rolled his yes but the fond smile on his face was an attestation of how much he adored his best friend.
Siege didn’t sound like a bad idea after all.
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The first time Jungkook heard the deep, husky voice through his headphones, he was a little taken aback. The guy was pointing out the location of an enemy to their team. He immediately went to check his username. “Taeplay” A little trivial, but ok. His focus was diverted back to the game with the sound of gunshots to his right.
The next time he heard the voice, it was a simple “I’m sorry man.” towards his teammate who was cursing at him for dying so fast in the final round. Common gaming insults of ‘you’re a noob’ and ‘potato aim’. The deep-voiced person tried to justify himself but when the insults got obscene and absolutely unnecessary, he heard the voice stop. Guessing the person was a little hurt, he decided to send him a text through the in-game feature.
“Don’t mind him, he’s probably just Hentai-deprived.” The voice laughed. A simple giggle. But it caught him so off-guard. He figured the other guy forgot to mute himself. But he wasn’t going to tell him. He wanted to hear more of this beautiful, deeper than the ocean, soulful sound.
“Probably. But thanks.” Came through the chatbox.
And just like that, the conversation was over. But Jungkook didn't want it to be. For a reason he couldn't quite point out, he found himself typing that he would like to play the rest of the games of the night with him. And surprisingly enough, the other agreed. They befriended each other in the game and turned on the voice chat.
“So what should i call you? My name is Jungkook.” “Hey Jungkook, I’m Taehyung but you can call me Tae.” What a beautiful name. Jungkook didn’t know where these thoughts were coming from. It was not like he hadn't heard that name before. It was really common in all genders too. Still, he basked in the other’s company for the rest of the night, laughing and cursing at their opponents together, and even exchanging numbers before saying their goodbyes so they could schedule a time to play together again.
But that was not it. The most astonishing thing that happened that night was the text he received right before closing his droopy eyes.
“It was so fun playing with you tonight. You seem really nice. I would love to meet outside of the virtual world if you’re up for it. Goodnight Jungkook.”
None of them realized the date flashing from their phone screens or from the bottom right corners of their desktops.
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Taehyung was happy. It was a few months later from their online gaming session he was headed to the riverside for his date with Jungkook. The other had asked him to be his boyfriend on their third date and Taehyung had been ecstatic ever since.
He never thought he would meet someone who could produce butterflies in his stomach. But Jungkook was different. In the short span of thirty days, the younger had managed to disprove all of Taehyung's misconceptions about dating and intimacy. Wedging himself between the crevices of Taehyung’s heart and mind and never leaving it even for a moment.
Jimin had bounced around his house chanting “I knew it. He’s your soulmate. I’m telling you!” when he had delivered the news of Jungkook and him being an official couple. Taehyung had just rolled his eyes at the absurdity of his words at the time. It couldn't possibly be true right? Sure they first talked on may 5th but until he didn’t find out what Jungkook's date was, he couldn't jump to conclusions.
Especially when he wanted them to last. He deeply cared about the younger and he knew Jungkook did too. The heartbreak of finding out they weren’t for each other and that the universe would somehow find a way to tear them apart if so, would be unbearable for the both of them.
But it had to be done. Before they fell too deep. The band aid had to be ripped before it merged with the skin.
And Taehyung was willing to do it for the sake of their hearts.
So when they were cuddling on the couch, his head on Jungkook’s firm chest, he decided to pop the question. But discreetly, because he knew how Jungkook felt about the whole soulmate thing and frankly he shared the same opinion.
“You know,” he started, waiting for Jungkook’s hum of approval to continue, which he got within a millisecond. “I used to hate the idea of tying down to one person. Hearing all the stories and going through the agony of finding the perfect gifts for imperfect partners.” He felt Jungkook’s eyes on the back of his head, but didn’t turn to look at him, focusing instead on the muted television in front of them.
“But you changed everything. Sometimes I thank the guy in my head for cursing at me that day we first played Siege together.” Jungkook snickered at this and planted a soft peck on his temple. “Me too, honey. But why are you telling me all this now?” “I wanna see your tattoo Jungkook. Don't you think we’ve both been in the dark long enough?” he decided cutting to the chase was better than rambling to find meaningless words.
It was quiet for a moment and Taehyung thought Jungkook was going to sit up and tell him to leave. Anything would be better than this. So just closed his eyes and expected for the worst to happen.
“Only if you show me yours first.” Came from beside his ear. Taehyung was dumbstruck for a moment but instantly pulled his sleeve up, bearing his mark. Like an omega obeying their alpha. His heart was racing. Anticipation building with every passing second. It was over wasn’t it? Jungkook was going to leave. They couldn’t be together because all of the universe opposed it.
But Jungkook just pulled him closer with the hand on his waist. What he didn’t know was that the younger was smiling like a mad-man. He brought his left hand in front of Taehyung’s face and told him to “see for yourself, love.” And when Taehyung pulled the sleeve of his lover’s hoodie back with shaky hands, he couldn't help the laugh escaping his lips. There it was, proudly stamped on the soft, pale skin. “May 5, 2020”. The surge of happiness that went through Taehyung’s body was unlike any other.
He lifted himself up from Jungkook’s chest and turned around to straddle him. “I guess the universe really did beat us.” he whispered in the space between them with a smile on his face. “Hmm, it really did, didn't it? But I’m not complaining. I wouldn’t wanna have anyone else but you.” Jungkook said before gently placing his lips on Taehyung’s.
The kiss was soft and sweet. Just like him. And in that moment Taehyung decided he didn’t want to kiss anyone else but Jungkook. He broke apart from him and mumbled a “Me neither. I love you.” against his mouth.
“I love you too. I'm yours, and you’re mine. For eternity.”