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Hoseok had been told he was born with it. It was there in all of his baby pictures. He soon learned its meaning after being educated on it during his fourth year of school. Everyone was educated on the significance of it when they started to learn about puberty. He had always wondered what it meant but his mother had one and his father did, too, so he knew it was normal.
He looks down at his wrist, light from the moon practically making the black blocky characters glow. Though he knows it only glows when you make contact with that specific person. The person who has the name imprinted on his wrist.
After learning the true meaning of the name staining his skin, he had spent the afternoon at the public library, reading up on all of the information he could understand.
When he was fourteen, he asked his parents what it was like when they first met. His mom let out a dreamy sigh as his father explained. He had said that it had burned when they touched for the first time, but it was the kind of heat that you craved for. It was like he had wrapped himself up in a heated blanket after walking in a blizzard for three hours. A heat that was simply the best.
Hoseok spent most of his childhood dreaming, drawing, thinking about the owner of the name, his soul mate. About soft lips, beautiful eyes, silky hair. He figured the name belonged to a male, so he drew up the idea of tanned skin, rough hands, and sturdy muscles.
But Hoseok doesn't care about the appearance. It's his soul mate, he's bound to love them no matter the appearance. Instead, he thinks about how they would laugh at his dumb jokes and strange habit of dancing like a maniac. About how caring they would be to others before themselves. About how passionate they would be about life and everything they set their mind to.
Hoseok is in college now. He still hasn't met his soul mate, but he hasn't lost faith. Instead he focuses on his studies and makes sure he's someone his soul mate can be proud of.
During his free time, he indulges himself in first-meeting stories online with people and their soul mates. He’s also a pretty avid romantic movie watcher, but he can't watch too many of those because he gets rather emotional.
At night he dreams of different versions of the same story, of meeting his soul mate for the first time. He’s imagined brushing fingers with the barista as he takes his coffee from their hand or helping one of his classmates with a hard problem and the bump of their shoulders giving Hoseok goosebumps.
But when he wakes up, he’s still alone.
Some people would say having a boyfriend or a girlfriend isn’t everything. But Hoseok and everyone else would argue vehemently against that. A soul mate isn’t just a boyfriend or a girlfriend. It’s so much more. It isn’t an exaggeration when they say they’re your other half. You feel incomplete and off center until you find your soul mate. And when you do find your soul mate, you feel incredibly full of emotions unlike anything else you’ve ever experienced before.
His mom described it to him one night when he was feeling particularly empty inside, a side effect of when your soul mate is going through a rough time. She said she was filed with hope and still is. That no matter what happens, she knows she’ll be okay with her soulmate next to her. She’s happy to be alive, to wake up every morning to a new day and look next to her and see her wonderful husband. She said when they first met it was like she knew him her whole life.
Hoseok craves it, not because he wants to (though he does), but because that’s the biology of the thing.
Hoseok has had one of those days today. He looks out at the eerily glowing clouds moving past the moon. His soul mate must have been in emotional pain today or perhaps he’s caught a case of the flu. Whatever it is, Hoseok can feel it and it makes him agitated. He can’t hug them and wipe away their tears or nurse them to better health.
He inhales the crisp night air coming in through his open window before he tries to fill the pulsating emptiness with sleep.
Half an hour later and he finally succumbs to the sweet images of meeting the love of his life.
Hoseok smiles as the high schooler he tutors joins him at the table in the public library. He pushes his own materials for today over so the kid, Jungkook, can put his things down as well. The teenager plops down heavily onto the chair with an exasperated sigh.
“Rough day?” Hoseok asks conversationally as Jungkook busies himself with unloading his bulging bookbag. The younger lets out a scoff louder than necessary when in a library.
“Yeah. You’re going to really have to go over today’s math lesson with me. Not to mention my precious weekend was spent taking care of my brother. He was throwing up a lot. He was finally able to take his medicine and eat some crackers without spewing it back up this morning.” Jungkook sighs with a slight smile, letting his relief for his brother’s improved health show.
“Thanks for that image. You never told me you had a brother.” Hoseok says, taking Jungkook’s math notebook to peruse over the notes from today. Seems harder than the previous lessons, but with a little looking into, Hoseok should be able to help Jungkook out.
“You never asked.” Jungkook said with the slightest hint of sass. “But yes, I do. Only one. Anyway, think you can help me with that?”
“Yup, no problem. Let’s get started.” And with that, Jungkook’s brother was put out of Hoseok’s mind.
That was until two hours later when Jungkook’s phone vibrated from it’s spot on the table in front of the open math book and notebooks. He nods when Jungkook shoots him an apologetic look before answering his phone. Hoseok can hear coughing over the line as he highlights an important equation.
“Yeah, I can get that on the way home. Have you eaten anything else?” Jungkook is speaking softly and it makes Hoseok smile because it shows how mature he really is. “Yoongi, you have to try and eat something okay? I left you those crackers on the nightstand for a reason.”
Hoseok drops his highlighter and doesn’t flinch when it clatters to the floor. Jungkook glances at him before bending over to pick it up.
Yoongi.
The name echos over and over in his head. Even when he’s telling his parents his day was alright. Even while he's rinsing the sudsy shampoo from his hair. Even when he’s laying in his bed and staring at the black imageless ceiling. But there is an image this time.
Yoongi.
It’s practically painted on his ceiling. He lifts his left arm up to stare at his wrist, his right hand coming up to rest on the expanse of skin above his heart. It couldn’t possibly be Yoongi, his Yoongi, could it?
He thinks about how Jungkook said his brother is sick and that would explain why Hoseok feels so cold and empty these past couple of days. He rolls onto his side, curling up into a ball. He’s confused at how he should feel. Part of him is scared and the other, much stronger, half is screaming at him to get Jungkook to bring him to his brother or to at least show him the name on his wrist.
He ends up deciding on sleep as the best option.
“You’re saying that kid’s brother is your soul mate?” Hoseok’s friend, Seokjin, stops the handful of french fries from coming closer to his mouth. Hoseok nods quietly, swirling his own fry in the cup of ketchup. Seokjin sets the fries down and wipes his hands on his already crumpled napkin.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Seokjin says, folding his fingers together in front of him as he smiles at Hoseok.
“Yeah. I meet up with him tomorrow afternoon. But what do I do? Do I text him and see if he wants to study at his house for a change? Is that creepy? He’s a high schooler. Or should I show him his brother’s name burned into my skin? Either way, something is going to happen to our relationship from this.” Hoseok sighs, throwing down the ketchup infused french fry.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. He’ll understand, after all he has his own, right?” Seokjin offers, reaching over to squeeze Hoseok’s shoulder.
“You’re right. I think I’ll try texting him first, see what he wants to do. And if he says yes, well then it’s going to be one hell of a day.”
Jungkook ends up saying yes to his proposal and that it would actually work out better for him. Plus apparently his mother has been dying to meet the tutor that’s gotten Jungkook’s grades to rise. So Hoseok spends the hour he has before he leaves picking out a nice outfit that says he’s a good student but also a fun and stylish guy (which means a pair of light wash jeans and a white button up).
He’s sweating when he arrives at Jungkook’s house. The doorbell has been rung and he’s wishing and praying that Jungkook is the one to answer the door. And it seems like his wishes are coming true because the high schooler is greeting him with a wide toothy smile.
“Hoseok, glad you could come here. The ride to the library on my bike typically isn’t the nicest.” Jungkook ushers Hoseok in towards the homely living room.
“Which translates to he’s just extremely lazy.”
Hoseok feels goosebumps over his skin, heart rate picking up simply at the sound of the scratchy voice coming from behind him.
“Yoongi, please, you have zero room to talk. Hoseok, this is my brother, but be careful, we’re not sure but he might still be contagious. Yoongi, this is Hoseok, my tutor from your college.” Jungkook introduces and he’s all smiles. Hoseok takes a deep breath and turns around to face his soul mate.
He looks frail, swaddled in a cocoon of blankets. His eyes are sharp and curvy, absolutely breathtaking. Lips, pink and curled slightly, part as he speaks something Hoseok can’t be bothered with hearing right now because the man in front of him is flawless.
“He ignores you, too. Fancy that. Want to go up to my room?” Jungkook asks, tugging on the sleeve of Hoseok’s shirt.
Hoseok finally tears his eyes from slender fingers wrapped around a mug of steaming tea to look at Jungkook.
“What?” He doesn’t mean to sound as breathless as he does, but his mind is muddled with the alarming beauty of his soul mate. And he has to be Hoseok’s soul mate, because he has never felt this way when he’s looked at someone.
“Jungkook, offer a guy some snacks before you take him to your room.” Yoongi drawls from the corner of the room. He’s at a decent distance from Hoseok, but it sounds like he's whispering against his ear and Hoseok’s cheeks flare up.
“Oh right. Want something to drink? I think we’ve got some soda.” Hoseok manages to nod and Jungkook leaves the room.
He can feel Yoongi’s eyes on him, setting every inch of Hoseok’s body on fire. He hears the quiet clink of the mug being set on the coffee table. He doesn’t look, but he can hear the cracking of a bone that indicates Yoongi has gotten up.
“Jung Hoseok.” Yoongi whispers and this time he’s standing next to Hoseok. The latter turns slightly to face him and he nods, trying to swallow a hard lump lodged in his throat.
“Min Yoongi.” Hoseok says and his voice is so shaky, because is this really happening right now? He’s been tutoring his soul mate’s brother for three months and they could have met sooner.
“What do we do now?” Yoongi asks with a soft chuckle and Hoseok melts at the sound. He melts at the sight of his smile, at the glow of red on his cheeks, the excited yet unsure look in his eyes.
“I don’t know.” Hoseok lets out his own laugh, because this is a little ridiculous. Of all of the scenes he dreamed about, it was not this one. In a house of a kid he tutors.
“Honestly, I really want to kiss you, but I’m contagious. And I don’t know you, even though I feel like I do.” Yoongi mumbles out, stepping closer to Hoseok. He doesn’t shy away from this, because it feels so so right.
“I know. It knew it was you as soon as I looked at you.” Hoseok breaths out and he takes a breath through his nose. Yoongi must have put on cologne before he arrived at the house.
“I did, too. You’re not what I imagined. You’re so much more and I can’t even believe this.” Yoongi blinks and Hoseok finds himself wanting to count his eyelashes.
“My soul mate is cheesy.” Hoseok grins, grins until his cheeks hurt from the pull and he can hear Yoongi’s breath catch.
“You are so beautiful.” And Hoseok has an armful of Yoongi and the touch is nothing like he has ever felt before. His body suddenly feels full, every nook and cranny of his body is filled with delicious warmth. His wrist stings and they pull back from each other to look at them.
There’s a soft white glow coming from the names imprinted on their wrists. When it settles, there’s a series of numbers printed there in place of the names.
“Today’s date and the time. The moment we met.” Hoseok says in awe, staring at the intricately designed numbers. When he looks up, Yoongi is looking at him with a smile that could rival his own.
“Are you two done having your moment? I really need math help.” Jungkook says, sounding bored as can be from his place on the couch.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Hoseok says, cuddled with Yoongi on his bed. It’s been two weeks since they met and it’s been bliss, even with Yoongi being ill.
“Me, too. I can finally speak without sounding like I smoke four packs a day.” Yoongi laughs but Hoseok arches an eyebrow.
“Your voice is soothing no matter how hoarse it is, though. So you’re all good.” Hoseok pats Yoongi’s stomach. “But you know what this means?”
Yoongi looks up at him, a sly smile spreading over his lips. He lifts himself up so he’s sitting up next to Hoseok against his pillows. “I think I do.” Hoseok smiles and Yoongi hasn’t gotten used to the way Hoseok can resemble a star (he doesn’t think he ever will).
Yoongi brings a hand up to Hoseok’s cheek, stroking his thumb over the cheekbone as they relish in the sheer electricity of the touch between the two. Hoseok stares into Yoongi’s eyes, sees himself shine in their reflection and he finally notices how happy he looks when Yoongi is near his side.
He’s still smiling when Yoongi presses his lips against his own for the first time. Yoongi’s lips are unbelievably soft and warm, smooth when Hoseok touches his tongue to them. Hoseok’s hand curls around Yoongi’s waist, squeezing softly.
The sensation washing over his body is incredible. He’s tingling from his head to his toes and he might be lightheaded. When Yoongi pulls away from him, he realises he’s shaking from overstimulation. He feels completely wrecked from one kiss and he can only begin to imagine how he’s going to feel when their relationship progresses.
Yoongi’s eyes are still closed and his forehead is resting on Hoseok’s. “Wow.” Is all he can muster up, but he’s doing better than Hoseok who can only nod. “Am I the only one feeling like they just lost a shit ton of blood and can’t feel anything?”
Hoseok stares at Yoongi before bursting out into laughter. “You really are something.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m your soul mate.”