Chapter Text
“Ddeonu hyung?”
Sunoo was in the middle of writing an essay for his Literature class when a knock came on his bedroom door. Getting up from his chair, he opened it and was greeted by the sight of his friend and underclassman, Taki, standing outside.
"Hey, Taki." He greeted as soon as the boy’s face appeared. "Is something wrong?"
“Hyung, I got something to tell you!” The younger began, voice brimming with excitement as his body could barely stay still. “May I come in?”
"Of course." The older widened the opening of the portal and stepped aside to allow the other to enter.
Taki glanced around quickly inside the room before settling himself on the floor. Sunoo took his place in front of the male, wondering about the sudden visit. Taki rarely came knocking on his bedroom, let alone ask to come in.
Whenever the younger needed something, he would wait until mealtimes or when both of them were in the common area. They had only gotten to know each other a few weeks ago when the freshman from Japan enrolled at his school so Sunoo could still feel some gap of awkwardness between them.
Taki was also similar to him; friendly yet in need of a private space where they could breathe and be alone. It was their silent rule not to intrude on each other's privacy unless they needed to.
They were living in a shared dorm together with other housemates who also came from other countries. Sunoo was a volunteer in his university’s org that helped foreign students to settle in, hence staying there. It was his duty to get them adjusted to the culture and language of the country, plus the offer of free lodging was something he could not turn down.
"What is it about?" He asked. Sunoo could not think of any reason that Taki would go so far as meet him in private. This must be something serious.
"Hyung, I need your help!" Taki eyed him with a pleading look. "It's a bit weird and you're the only one willing to listen to me so I'm hoping you could lend me a hand."
"Sure." The senior of the two agreed without hesitance. Sunoo was Taki’s guide as well as his friend; he was willing to support the other in whatever way he could.
The alacritous reply made the boy visibly relieved. "Thank you! I'm really glad I have you, hyung."
“You know this won’t be free, right?” Sunoo playfully added. "So, what can I help you with?"
“Okay so, I got this homework in Psychology about the role of paranormal occurrences in the human mind and I had to research some occult and stuff.” This was met with a nod from the listening male. "And then, I came across something that allows a person to find their soulmate!"
"I'm sorry?" Sunoo was not sure he heard that right. Did Taki just say he discovered something that could find a person's soulmate?
"You see, the spell gives a person a hint to find their other half, leading the two of them to meet and get together."
Sunoo did not know whether to laugh or get worried. Taki was the playful type; prone to doing pranks and fooling around and right now, he was not sure if this was only one of those times. He was pretty open to the topic of the supernatural, but even the older could not help but be skeptical at the younger’s claim.
"Are you sure this, uhm, works?" He stared at him doubtfully. "Not that I don't believe you, but I've never seen a magic spell work in reality."
"That's why I want to test it out on you, hyung!" The foreigner answered back, unfazed by his display of dubiety. "You're the only one who won't judge me no matter how ridiculous it is."
"Of course, you're my favorite junior, after all. But won't it have some, uh, bad consequences?" Sunoo asked warily.
He was still not convinced of the legitimacy of this so called 'spell' but on the off chance that it was real, Sunoo would not want to end up getting cursed or worse, dead. He had seen enough horror movies with Riki, their other housemate, to not go the same path as those fictional characters, thank you very much.
"No, it won't." The slight hesitance on the male’s face did not go unnoticed by him. "Probably."
"Taki, I don't think it's a good idea to test out something you are not fully aware of-"
"Please, hyung!" The younger pleaded. "This is really important to me. The account seems valid enough because it started showing signs on me, too-"
"Wait, you actually tried it on yourself?!" Sunoo exclaimed, alarmed upon hearing that the boy had already done it on himself.
"Of course! I won't ask for your participation without knowing its effect firsthand. I care about you, Sunoo hyung, so I won't let you do that without taking my own share of the risk."
"If you already tested it and it works, then why do you still need me to do it?" He asked in confusion.
Taki had a mind of his own and Sunoo’s guidance could only keep him in check for as much as the boy allowed. At the end of the day, whatever he chose to do would still depend on him. What Sunoo could not understand was why Taki had to drag him into all this as well.
He did not expect the mysterious smile that formed on the younger’s lips. Taki appeared as if he had a delicious secret that no one else knew. "Do you know Kang Yeaseo from Business? I met her in a general class and she’s into tarot reading. I've asked her cards about you, hyung, and they told us something interesting."
"Really? Like what?" Things were getting weirder by the minute. What else could his friend have in store for him?
"She said that most people, no matter what choices they make in their lives, all end up in one fate. Same goes for you. However, the cards told her that in one part where it was only supposed to be a single road, you instead have multiple paths. That's why I want to try this out on you."
Sunoo blinked at him, not fully getting what he meant. So Taki’s friend’s fortunetelling cards told him that he was someone who had multiple roads leading to his fate? "And how is this related to your spell?"
He licked his lips nervously. "I was thinking; what if the result won't be the same as me? What if this is what the cards are saying? Could it be that you have...multiple soulmates?"
"Taki, I'm sorry but that is absurd. I know how much you like this stuff but meddling with my life just because your occult prediction told you so is not really a nice thing to do."
"Please, hyung!" He asked again. "It's not like you believe this to be true so maybe it won't really have any effect on you. You said you will help me."
"But-"
"Sunoo hyung~" Taki whined, this time with an emphasis on his name. "Aren't you curious about your soulmate at all? You don't have to like them if you don't want to, but don't deny that there is value in knowing who that person is. Or people."
Well, he had a point there. It was not like Sunoo was being forced to be in a relationship with that person or people, maybe, just because he found out who they were. "What if it doesn't work?"
"Then it doesn't work."
"What if it does and then something bad happens to me?" He challenged again.
"Then something should have happened to me long ago, too." He replied flatly.
"You already found your soulmate?" Sunoo pressed on. "Who is it?"
"Not yet. But it gave me a sign on how to find the person so I'm sure I will meet them soon." A soft smile graced his face, probably thinking about his own experience. "So, are you going to do it?"
Sunoo stared at the freshman for a long time. Would there be bad repercussions if he agreed? This was a whole new level of craziness compared to Taki's usual pranks. Would it really be possible for that to happen?
Watching him quietly agonize over the matter, Taki said with a sigh. "I really don't want to say this, hyung, but don't make me believe what others are secretly saying behind your back."
"Why? What did they say?"
“That you’re a tight-ass.” He answered casually in perfect Korean, ignoring Sunoo who almost choked in his own saliva. "And despite knowing you, I'm almost convinced that maybe you really are."
A tight-ass, huh? Now, that settled it. People should stop mistaking him for a goody two-shoes just because he had a kind and friendly personality.
This may not be an ideal way to prove himself, but Sunoo would not take that comment sitting down. Even from someone like Taki.
"Alright, sign me up. What's the first step?"