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Yeonjun frowns at the merchandise shelf in front of him, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at each individual box. The female models pictured on the cardboard continuously mock him with their fake smiles and perfect teeth. Yeonjun can’t help but scowl at their stupidly luxurious and colorless hair.
Every single shade of hair dye looks the exact same. The colors are listed right on the box, but those words are completely meaningless to Yeonjun. There’s only one “distinctive” factor between them—some ladies have slightly darker or lighter gray hair than others.
…picking colorful hair dye in a world that’s perpetually stuck in black and white is a lot more difficult than Yeonjun anticipated.
It’s all so frustrating. Just because Yeonjun hasn’t found his soulmate yet doesn’t mean that he should be denied the privilege of dyeing his hair insane colors. He has no idea what “red” looks like, but that shouldn’t stop him from buying very colorful, semi-permanent hair dye.
When Yeonjun was a child, he always dreamed about meeting his soulmate for the first time and watching the world burst into color around him. People describe the sensation of seeing color as something akin to rebirth—viewing the world in a completely different frame and appreciating every aspect of life around you. His mother has always been a hopeless romantic at heart, telling him stories of magical first meetings and the power of strong soul connections. She loves to describe the gorgeous colors of fading sunsets and the natural wildlife surrounding his childhood home. Yeonjun has been craving the personal connection (and visual stimulation) of a soulmate bond ever since he was just a little boy.
Now, as Yeonjun enters his third year of college without seeing “green” in real life, he’s starting to become a bit more of a cynic.
So many people around him have already found their soulmates—constantly talking nonstop about the colors of the rainbow and how they easily found the love of their life. Yeonjun isn't lonely per se, but his soul has been craving a special connection for far too long. And the fact that he doesn’t know what the hell “mauve” could possibly look like makes it a million times worse.
“Are you sure you don’t want our help, hyung?” Beomgyu tentatively asks from further down the aisle, eyes flickering between Yeonjun’s frown and the supposedly multicolor boxes. Even though he doesn’t intend to pity the elder, Beomgyu’s smile seems a little sad around the edges.
“Maybe we can describe them to you?” Taehyun offers hesitantly, pointing to different boxes that might interest the eldest. “We’re still a little bit new to this whole seeing color thing, but—”
“It's fine.” Yeonjun rolls his eyes, shooing them both away from the hair dye section without much thought. He doesn’t need the two of them hovering over his shoulder. “I can make baseless assumptions about what prouple looks like on my own, thank you very much.”
Taehyun’s expression looks mildly pained. “Purple…it’s purple, hyung.”
“Whatever it is, I can manage on my own.” Yeonjun huffs petulantly, placing his hands on his hips with a determined expression. “You lovebirds don’t need to explain color theory to me… again.”
Beomgyu and Taehyun share a secret look, mentally communicating something that Yeonjun doesn’t understand. Typical soulmates. Yeonjun resists the urge to roll his eyes.
Taehyun and Beomgyu discovered their soulmate connection on the younger’s first day of university. Moving away from home is already a scary situation, but literally slamming into your soulmate during freshman orientation makes it even more overwhelming. Beomgyu had been trying to string up the welcome banner in the auditorium, balancing precariously on a spinning desk chair. Taehyun had nervously cleared his throat from behind him, stuttering through a question about where the sign-in sheets were. When Beomgyu turned around to answer, the world immediately burst into color and the elder almost busted his head on the tile floor. Both of them were incredibly disoriented by the bright colors around them, but somehow Taehyun managed to make sure Beomgyu didn’t break any bones. They’ve been incredibly annoying ever since, slowly navigating their relationship as soulmates and adjusting to the multicolor world around them.
The two of them have been trying to describe a wide variety of colors to Yeonjun for months now, but it’s still no use. Yeonjun loves the two of them and their insanely misplaced optimism. Without much success, the elder has come to terms with the fact that he’ll have to wait and see what each color looks like in person.
“Hyung, we just don’t understand why you go through all this trouble to dye your hair when you never get to enjoy it.” Taehyun questions, scrutinizing the shelves of hair dye. “Why don’t you just wait until you find your soulmate and pick from the colors yourself?”
Yeonjun momentarily stops reading the packaging of the box to consider his answer. He’s had a lot of reasons for dyeing his hair over the past few years, but there’s one specific answer that sticks out in his mind.
“I want my soulmate to see an amazing burst of color when I eventually meet them. If my hair is bright and colorful too, maybe my soulmate interaction will be more…memorable. Like the ones my mom always talks about.”
“You don’t need crazy hair colors for your soulmate to appreciate you, hyung.” Beomgyu replies softly, placing a comforting hand on the elder’s shoulder, “Whoever your soulmate is, I know that they’re going to be completely obsessed with you.”
“It’s true!” Taehyun nods, sending a fond smile towards his soulmate, “Our first meeting was a little strange, but I’m so glad I was able to meet Beomgyu-hyung—even though he almost broke my arm.”
Beomgyu gasps dramatically, shoving at the younger’s shoulder. “I was disoriented and balancing on top of a spinning office chair—of course I lost my balance! Besides, you caught me just fine. How long are you going to hold this over my head?”
“Until we’re old and withered, my love.” Taehyun grins mischievously, pulling Beomgyu closer to kiss him on the cheek. Without any hesitation, the elder melts into his embrace and snuggles even closer.
Yeonjun resists the urge to gag at the display. Their nasty soulmate adorableness follows him everywhere—even the beauty aisle of the convenience store.
“Anyways,” Yeonjun interrupts pointedly, shaking a box of hair dye in front of their lovestruck faces, “I just think that fun hair dye will be a nice surprise for me and my soulmate once we can finally see color.”
“If that’s what you want, we’ll help you pick out something amazing!” Beomgyu answers, dragging the elder further down the aisle, “This is where most of the fun colors are—do you want something bright or pastel?”
If he’s being completely honest, Yeonjun doesn’t really understand the difference. Beomgyu has explained it to him before, but the elder’s mind is quickly drawing a blank. “That’s…pastels are the softer ones right?”
Beomgyu nods excitedly. “Pastel colors are the ones that look like what being wrapped in a soft blanket feels like. They’re much more soothing.”
Yeonjun smiles softly, eternally grateful to his friends for explaining color in random, relatable ways. Although he does like the idea of wrapping his soulmate in warmth upon their first meeting, the elder wants his other half to be dumbstruck by an electrifying color sensation instead.
“I want a super bright color—something that will shock my soulmate when they see it on my head.” Yeonjun picks up a random box, examining the instruction label carefully, “I want something crazy.”
Taehyun snickers, eyeballing the box in Yeonjun’s hands with a wary expression. “If you’re going for crazy, that one is definitely a good choice. That’ll absolutely get someone’s attention.”
“Perfect,” Yeonjun answers confidently, trusting his friend’s colorful opinion. “I’ll buy this one.”
Intrigued by his boldness, Beomgyu comes over to inspect the box as well. When he sees the color, he gasps quietly. “Hyung, are you sure? That’s—”
“This is it, Gyu.”
The elder doesn’t even read the name on the side of the box, placing the hair dye into his cart without much more thought. Reading some random word isn’t going to change his decision. Yeonjun doesn’t know how much more color theory he can take before his brain explodes. “If you both think this color is crazy, then it’s perfect for me.”
Beomgyu grins, sharing a look with Taehyun. “Your soulmate won’t know what hit ‘em, hyung.”
———
After hours of struggling with hair dye and pestering his friends about the color, Yeonjun is finally satisfied with his new look. Or at least as satisfied as he can be without seeing his newest style.
His hair has shifted from a darker to a lighter gray color, which is apparently a very major shift. Everyone on campus looks amazed by his hair transformation, stopping in their tracks when they spot him. Most people look amazed or shocked by his appearance, which is the exact reaction that Yeonjun is going for.
Yeonjun desperately wishes to find his soulmate soon—partially because of the whole celestial romantic connection thing , but also because he wants to see what all the commotion is about.
His last lecture of the day finishes early and Yeonjun couldn’t be more thrilled. He briefly wonders what his friends are up to, secretly hoping that he’ll be able to crash their date night plans. It’s been a while since they’ve hung out just the three of them.
To: Thing #2
yo beomgyu where r u
Luckily, his reply is immediate.
From: Thing #2
at the library ;)))
feeling extra studious today
….very motivated 😈
Yeonjun frowns, confused by Beomgyu’s response. That answer is incredibly suspicious.
To: Thing #2
you literally hate the library ???? you complain about it all the time
you say it’s too quiet
what are u working on?
From: Thing #2
watching taehyunnie study <3
he’s so hot when he’s focused
Yeonjun shakes his head, laughing quietly to himself. Now that makes a lot more sense. Before he can even respond, Beomgyu is flooding their messages with hearts and kissy-face emojis.
From: Thing #2
I take back everything I said about the library being boring and stupid
I’m having the time of my life here 🥵
taehyun is so mf sexy
To: Thing #2
I should’ve known you had ulterior motives
you are a drain on society, gyu
absolutely shameless
From: Thing #2
love u too bestie <3
come keep me company tho
I can only keep myself busy staring at my boyfriend’s gorgeous face for so long
Yeonjun sighs, shifting his backpack higher over his shoulder and heading towards the library.
To: Thing #2
you two better not be gross
From: Thing #2
no promises ;))))
———
“You two are absolutely shameless,” Yeonjun grumbles, glaring at his two best friends from across their study table. The couple has been staring at each other with heart eyes for the last twenty minutes, flirting loudly and distracting Yeonjun from his homework. “I don’t know why I decided to come.”
Beomgyu is practically sitting in Taehyun’s lap, openly snuggling with his boyfriend as the younger attempts to read his textbook. Leaning further into Taehyun’s chest, Beomgyu somehow has the audacity to roll his eyes at Yeonjun’s complaints.
“I don’t know why you’re so surprised.” Beomgyu shrugs, sending the elder a knowing smirk, “This is much better than our last study group.”
Yeonjun visibly shudders at the thought. Now that was horrible. The elder has never felt so awkward in his entire life. “Don’t remind me. That was so—”
A loud thud echoes throughout the library, effectively derailing Yeonjun’s train of thought and startling him beyond belief. Beomgyu nearly falls off his boyfriend’s lap in surprise at the sudden intrusion. The quiet atmosphere of the library is forcefully broken.
Yeonjun quickly turns around in his seat, curious about who could’ve possibly made such a loud echo. It seems like everyone else in their section of the library had a similar idea, quietly scrutinizing the source of the noise.
There’s a tall, lanky boy frantically picking up a scattered pile of heavy-looking textbooks. By the looks of it, he must’ve dropped at least seven different textbooks on the ground. How and why would someone carry that many books at once? Yeonjun can’t see color, but he assumes that the boy’s face is bright red in embarrassment.
The boy’s friend is awkwardly standing next to him, failing to stifle his laughter and grabbing a few books off the ground. He looks absolutely delighted by his friend’s misfortune.
“That’s really embarrassing.” Beomgyu suddenly whispers, humming apologetically as the boy scrambles to pick up the rest of his belongings. He quietly curses under his breath, trying to make himself as small as possible. Judging by his height, Yeonjun doesn’t think that “small” is very possible.
Regardless of his awkward clumsiness, Yeonjun finds this library boy to be somewhat charming…in a shy, endearing way. He has a pair of thick-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and fluffy, light gray hair. Despite his tall stature, the boy is practically swallowed by the comfy knit sweater he’s wearing. The boy keeps his head down, pointedly ignoring the curious and judgemental stares of other library patrons.
The boy has almost picked up each of his fallen textbooks by now, but Yeonjun notices that one of his smaller books somehow slid underneath the table next to them. For some reason, Yeonjun feels almost drawn to help this stranger. It’s not like the elder is doing anything of substance anyway—the only productive thing he’s done all afternoon is throw wadded balls of paper at Beomgyu from across the table.
Taehyun makes a noise of surprise when Yeonjun suddenly stands up from his seat. The elder ignores his friends, reaching down beneath the table to grab the stranger’s missing textbook.
He takes a step forward, tapping the taller boy on the shoulder with a small grin. Yeonjun is secretly proud of his helpful deed. “Excuse me, I think you missed this one—”
THUD.
As soon as he turns around, the boy immediately drops every single textbook in his hands. Again. A few people from the surrounding tables groan, annoyed by the noise, but Yeonjun barely even notices them. Instead, he stares at the stranger in front of him with wide eyes, holding his breath as the world bursts into color around them.
His soulmate.
“Soobin-hyung! What is your problem today? Why do you keep dropping everything and—uh, hyung?” The stranger’s friend questions tentatively, staring between the two of them with a weird look on his face.
Yeonjun is practically frozen in place. He wants to admire everything else around him—all of the new, exciting colors and hues—but he can’t seem to tear his eyes away from the boy in front of him. An asteroid could destroy Earth right at this exact moment and Yeonjun wouldn’t even notice. His soulmate has the most gorgeous brown eyes, blinking back at him with wonder behind his thick-framed glasses. Just like Yeonjun assumed, the boy’s cheeks are dusted bright red and his lips are pouted in a pretty pink color.
The most breathtaking color explosion stems from his soulmate’s hair. Yeonjun has no idea what color it is—he’s far too stunned to remember all the terminology from Taehyun's lessons on color theory—but the hue is cool and calming. Despite his failing memory, everything is just like Taehyun has always described it. The same unique visual sensations, but so much more breathtaking than he ever could’ve hoped for.
Yeonjun doesn’t know how he lived day to day without knowing that all of this beauty existed in the world. Taehyun and Beomgyu’s constant amazement makes a lot more sense now.
“It’s you.” The stranger whispers with reverence, gazing down at Yeonjun like he’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. Butterflies erupt in the elder’s stomach, flapping around his digestive system without a care in the world.
“Your hair…” Yeonjun whispers quietly, afraid that his voice might break the sanctity of the moment. Like he’s in a trance, the elder reaches out to touch the other boy’s bangs. Just as he comes to his senses and begins to pull away, the stranger grabs his hand and presses Yeonjun’s palm to his cheek.
“Your hair.” His soulmate mutters, smirking softly as Yeonjun’s eyes widen in surprise. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
“Obviously.” The stranger’s friend mutters, rolling his eyes.
Yeonjun flushes, staring down at the scuffed toes of his favorite sneakers. Does he look ugly? His soulmate is so breathtakingly gorgeous that suddenly Yeonjun feels inadequate. Maybe he should’ve listened to Beomgyu’s warnings about the color.
Yeonjun takes a tentative step back, playing with the edge of his sleeve nervously. “I wanted…I wanted to give my future soulmate something to look at. I’m sorry if it’s too much or—”
The stranger gasps, hurriedly stepping forward again until they’re basically nose to nose. Yeonjun goes cross-eyed trying to focus on the details of the other boy’s face. His soulmate has adorable dimples and insanely smooth skin. Distantly, Yeonjun remembers the number of people that are probably watching them right now and realizes that he doesn’t care at all.
“No, you look incredible ! I actually dyed my hair for the same reason…” The boy answers honestly, gazing at Yeonjun like he’s trying to memorize each and every detail of his face. “But when I imagined my soulmate, I never thought you’d be this…breathtaking.”
Yeonjun wants to melt into a pile of useless, colorful goo. Ignoring the burning flush on his face and the intensity of his pounding heartbeat, the elder tries not to giggle like a schoolgirl. His soulmate is so incredibly perfect that Yeonjun wants to scream.
“What color is your hair? It’s beautiful.” Yeonjun asks softly, pushing a stray piece of hair away from the other boy’s eyes. His soulmate stares at him with overflowing fondness and affection.
“My brother says that it’s b-blue, but I’ve never—I don’t—I’m not sure if—” The other boy stutters, nervously running his hands through his hair. Random pieces stick up along the back of his head and Yeonjun wants to cry.
“It’s okay,” Yeonjun reassures, shrugging his shoulders with a small laugh, “I don’t know what color my hair is either. My friend called it neon highlighter yellow but I have no idea what that means.”
His soulmate bursts into giggles at the description, shaking his head slowly. “This is insane.”
“Uh, hello…Earth to hyung! Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Yeonjun startles when he hears Beomgyu’s voice right behind him. He feels like he’s been trapped in an underwater bubble, head practically swimming with overwhelming color sensations and feelings. How much time has passed since their meeting?
Yeonjun turns, sending his best friend a mildly exasperated look. Beomgyu pointedly ignores him, stepping closer to the couple with interest. “You must be Yeonjun-hyung’s soulmate! We were starting to get worried that you didn’t exist—”
Taehyun harshly elbows his boyfriend in the side and Yeonjun groans loudly, hiding his face in his hands. Leave it to Beomgyu to embarrass him in under thirty seconds flat.
“No way! I was just telling Soobin-hyung the same thing!” The other boy finally speaks up, pushing further into the group conversation with a lopsided grin. He sends Soobin a teasing look and turns to Yeonjun. “You’re way hotter than I expected. Definitely out of hyung’s league!”
“Kai, please shut up!” Soobin practically shrieks, immediately slapping his hand across the younger boy’s mouth with wide eyes. “Why do you always insist on embarrassing me?”
Kai says something in retaliation but his words are still muffled by Soobin’s hand. Yeonjun doesn’t hear what he says, but apparently the other boy understands him perfectly fine. Soobin shoves the younger away, looking even more terrified than before. His face is bright red once again and Yeonjun finds himself addicted to the color.
“Do you guys want to sit down? We have plenty of room at our table.” Taehyun interrupts, pointing to the abandoned study table behind them. Beomgyu and Kai immediately start giggling together, teasing their hyungs for being so embarrassing and pathetic about their soulmate situation.
For the first time in his life, Yeonjun feels completely content. Soobin tentatively reaches out to take Yeonjun’s hand in his, sending the elder a secret smile.
“I think that sounds perfect.”
———
Exactly one month later, Yeonjun finds himself right back where he started—staring at different boxes of hair dye with a deep frown on his face.
“You’re thinking too much, hyung.”
This only makes Yeonjun frown harder, pouting as he stares at the almost identical boxes in his hands. They’ve been standing in this aisle for almost twenty minutes now and the elder still has no idea what to choose—this decision was much easier when Yeonjun didn’t know what color looked like. Back then, there was only light gray or dark gray to choose from.
“I already picked out my hair dye.” The voice teases again, stepping closer to Yeonjun’s hunched frame. “Now you’re just stalling.”
Strong arms slowly wrap around Yeonjun’s waist, pulling him back against his boyfriend’s firm chest. The elder tries to ignore him and focus on his color options, but it’s no use. Yeonjun melts into the embrace, leaning his head back to stare at Soobin in mock-annoyance.
Soobin. The love of his life. His soulmate.
“There are so many options now, Soobinnie. Now that I can actually see my hair, I want to pick something that we’ll both like.”
Soobin leans forward to hook his chin over the elder’s shoulder, humming softly. “I’ll still love you no matter what color your hair is, hyung.”
Yeonjun tries to ignore the way his heart thumps insistently against his ribcage. Soobin always knows exactly what to say when the elder is stressed. Must be a perk of being his literal soulmate. Yeonjun is so in love with him that it hurts.
“You’re such a sap.”
Soobin grins, pressing a soft kiss underneath Yeonjun’s ear. “Only for you, soulmate.”
“You two are actually disgusting.” Kai groans from further down the aisle, picking up random boxes to compare their mystery colors, “I don’t know why I agreed to third wheel you both today.”
Soobin sends his best friend a knowing look, keeping Yeonjun secure against his chest. “Because Gyu and Taehyun are visiting Beomgyu’s parents and we promised to buy you ice cream if you helped us dye our hair?”
Kai pauses, contemplating Soobin’s answer. “Oh, right. That makes much more sense.”
Yeonjun rolls his eyes, giggling softly under his breath. He’s finally narrowed down his choices to only two boxes—Pretty in Pink or Revolutionary Red. Or maybe Bangin’ Blue? Yeonjun can’t seem to decide.
Soobin chose Promiscuous Purple after only a few minutes of debate. After staring between these colors for almost seventeen minutes, Yeonjun feels like he’s on the brink of insanity.
Kai is starting to get antsy as well. The youngest pouts petulantly, glaring at the rows of monochrome hair dye boxes, “Can we leave soon? This is so boring…you guys know I can’t see color yet!”
“I’m almost done, Hyuka, I promise.” Yeonjun answers, rolling his eyes and pointing towards the other side of the store, “Go find some snacks for movie night instead of staring at those boxes.”
Kai perks up at the mention of snacks, practically skipping towards the food section with an evil grin. “You’re paying!”
Turning around in Soobin’s arms, Yeonjun stares up at his boyfriend with pleading eyes. “I can’t choose. It’s too much pressure.”
“This isn’t going to be your permanent hair color, hyung. I know that we’ll be back here having this exact same conversation in a month or two.”
Yeonjun sighs, knowing that Soobin is completely right. This isn’t a permanent choice and he knows that his boyfriend will like any color he chooses. But because he constantly strives for Soobin’s approval, the elder steps forward until they’re practically nose to nose and bats his eyelashes prettily.
“Which color would you like better, Soobinnie?” Yeonjun slowly wraps his arms around his boyfriend's neck, tugging the taller even closer. He starts whispering Soobin’s ear, relishing in the way the younger shivers helplessly. “Pink? Maybe red? I want to be pretty for you.”
“Uh—well, I—I think that—uh—” Soobin stutters weakly, face flushing under the intensity of Yeonjun’s gaze, “R-red hair would look really hot.”
Yeonjun smirks, stepping away to grab the box of red hair dye and tossing it in their basket happily. “Perfect! See how easy that was?”
Soobin shakes his head, hiding his face in Yeonjun’s shoulder. “You just like flustering me because you know you can, hyung.”
“Absolutely!” Yeonjun grins, wrapping Soobin’s arms around himself once more. They’re standing in the middle of a convenience store beauty aisle and the elder doesn’t think he’s ever been so in love. “That’s what makes me the best soulmate ever.”
“Yeah,” Soobin sighs dreamily, staring down at Yeonjun like he’s the most precious person in the world, “definitely the best soulmate ever.”
Yeonjun’s heart leaps pathetically in his chest. He can’t stop himself from leaning up to kiss Soobin softly, hoping to convey all of his overflowing feelings of love and gratitude for his amazing soulmate. Soobin smiles happily against his lips, pulling the elder even closer until they’re standing chest to chest. His lips taste like vanilla chapstick.
Yeonjun’s hands quickly travel to his boyfriend’s muscular chest, sliding to feel the other boy’s racing heartbeat beneath his fingertips. The elder can’t believe that the universe blessed him with such a kind and lovable soulmate. Soobin’s hands eventually move to cup the sides of Yeonjun’s face gently, kissing the elder like his life depends on it.
When they finally pull away from each other, Soobin begins toying with the growing hair at the back of Yeonjun’s neck. “You should grow your hair out, hyung. I think you’d look really hot.”
“Is that so?” Yeonjun teases, lacing their fingers together and grabbing their discarded basket of items.
“Definitely!” Soobin answers, nodding his head excitedly. As they walk to the checkout, he starts swinging their arms between them, “And then you can dye your long hair pink.”
Yeonjun smirks. “I’ll think about it.”
Only a month ago, Yeonjun was standing in this store feeling frustrated, lonely, and incredibly colorblind. Whenever Soobin kisses him, everything finally starts to make sense to Yeonjun. You never truly understand the concept of soulmates until you’ve found one of your own.
Soobin shines like the sun and fills the void in Yeonjun’s heart that he didn’t even know was there. The elder knows he wants to spend the rest of his life by this boy’s side—even after only one month. There’s a comfortable certainty with soulmates, knowing that the cosmos destined you for each other since the beginning of time.
Admiring the colorful world around him—and the two boxes of colorful hair dye in his hands—Yeonjun finally starts to believe it.