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Soulmates.
Soulmates, soulmates, soulmates.
Who’s your soulmate? What is your soulmate like? Have you met your soulmate? Has your soulmate sang anything? Have you heard your soulmate? What does their voice sound like?
Hyeongjun was sick of that word. Did everybody’s vocabulary consist of that word and that word alone? Seemed like it.
Hyeongjun wished he had never heard his soulmate, and was done with this whole endeavor, but there was a tiny problem.
His soulmate was an amazing singer. Like, incredible. Hyeongjun was so attached to this guy’s voice playing over and over in his head, and every time he said he wished it would stop, he knew he didn’t want it to. His soulmate had an uncanny knack for singing at just the right times, letting Hyeongjun listen to his soothing voice when he needed to calm down.
Hyeongjun has heard many songs in his head before. Popular songs, random humming, some other songs that weren’t as well-known, and even some original songs.
Hyeongjun knew when his soulmate was writing a new song, because it wouldn't get out of his head for months, and he only heard it segments at a time.
Hyeongjun has practically memorized these songs.
And Hyeongjun will deny every accusation you make, but he may or may not have created a playlist just for songs he’s heard from his soulmate.
If he knows the song, of course.
Ah, Hyeongjun was so attracted to his soulmate’s singing. It was beautiful, and his voice just flowed in a special way that Hyeongjun had never heard anywhere else.
Hyeongjun had actually been working on his singing skills as well. He took voice lessons, but his voice was definitely not what he wanted it to be. He didn't sing in front of people much, purely because of his insecurity about his voice.
However, he does love the electric guitar. He’s been playing it ever since his father gifted him one after a few years of acoustic. He loved it. Secretly, in his head, he’s thought of scenarios where he plays the guitar while his soulmate sings.
But Hyeongjun has thought about this whole soulmate ideal, and decided settling down wasn’t for him. He was an introvert to the core, and knew that if he was around the same person every day for too long, it would rattle him to the bones. He would get extremely pissed with the person all the time. And he didn’t want to wish that upon his soulmate. And what if his soulmate had the completely wrong personality to go with Hyeongjun? Hyeongjun would probably need an extrovert to get him to actually do things, but not too much, because that would ruin him completely. And he needed someone that was willing to go see the world with him, and not have to stay and settle down. He also definitely didn't want kids. They’re annoying, and gross, and altogether just no .
This is what he told everybody that was willing to listen.
And everybody he was willing to talk to, of course. Which was, like, his parents, brother, and three friends of his.
His brother, Jisung, was only two years older than Hyeongjun, so they hung out together quite often, along with Hyunjin, his twin sister Yeji, and Chaeryeong.
Jisung had already met his soulmate, Minho, and they had been dating for a year.
And they were absolutely disgusting.
Literally every other minute that Minho was at the Han household, he'd be flirting with Jisung or kissing him or something. On the other minutes, they were play fighting.
Hyeongjun didn't think he could do that someday. Looked like a lot of work, if you asked him.
Nevertheless, the point remains. Hyeongjun didn’t necessarily want a soulmate. But he loved hearing the voice in his head. And he didn’t want it to go away. But a small part of him wanted a good life with whoever was on the receiving end of his own singing.
~~~
On one particularly dreary afternoon, as the rain was raining and the clouds were clouding and the sun was definitely not sunning, Hyeongjun learned that a new band was going to be released under JYP Entertainment. A real band! Other than Day6, who had, like, no comebacks these days. There were six members in this new band, all male.
You see, Hyeongjun loved listening to actual bands. Yes, kpop groups like BTS or Blackpink were nice, but as a guitarist, he highly appreciated the instrumental part of it.
His playlist currently consisted mainly of Day6, Lucy, The Rose, Rolling Quartz, and Onewe. Only the best for Hyeongjun.
But due to Chaeryeong’s amazing news, he could now add another group. And it was JYP, which means they’ve got to be good. After all, he didn't think Twice or GOT7 had released a single song that was skippable.
So of course, he was so excited for this band to release their first song. He watched the teaser videos, introducing each member:
Goo Gunil: drums, leader
Kim Jungsu: keyboard
Oh Seungmin: keyboard
Kwak Jiseok: guitar
Kim Joonho: eclectic guitar
Lee Jooyeon: bass guitar
It was an amazing lineup. But something about that Jooyeon kid seemed familiar. Hyeongjun couldn’t quite put his finger to it, though, so he moved on.
~~~
Finally. The day the new band would release their song.
Hyeongjun had since learned that their name was Xdinary Heroes, and their song would be called “Happy Death Day.”
And Hyeongjun just couldn’t wait.
He would be lying if he didn’t find them attractive.
As did Chaeryeong, and Hyunjin. Even Yeji, who liked only women, said they were good looking. He just hoped their song was as good as their faces.
An hour until it released, and the six of them were in the room together, waiting. (They had invited Jisung and Minho, under strict rules that they couldn't flirt).
Half an hour, Hyeongjun was getting even more excited.
Ten minutes, Hyeongjun was practically screaming. Hyunjin was actually screaming.
One minute. 30 Seconds. 10 Seconds. Five, four, three, two, one.
Black screen. It faded into a video of the six of them on a stage lined up. They introduced each of themselves quickly, and then said they were going to start the song.
Again, Jooyeon looked weirdly familiar, but Hyeongjun had quite literally no idea where he could have known him from.
As the MV premier started, Hyeongjun’s eyes were glued to the screen.
Jooyeon shot some finger guns as the intro, and Hyeogjun couldn’t help but twitch his lips up a little. The music started. “Na na na na na na na na.” Hyeongjun liked the beat, the rhythm, the sound. It seemed like a rock-techno kind-of feel so far, and that was definitely his favorite genre.
Once they took off the clown noses, and Seungmin said “I feel like,” Hyeongjun knew what was going to come: the beat drop.
But what he didn't expect when Jooyeon opened his mouth was the song he had been hearing for six months straight. In his head. In Jooyeon’s voice.
~~~
Hyeongjun froze. He didn’t know what to do. Lee Jooyeon, bassist of Xdinary Heroes, celebrity , was his soulmate. His one and only. His lover for life. The voice inside his head.
He didn't know what this meant.
The rest of the song, Hyeongjun didn’t move. His eyes were glued to the screen, watching Jooyeon's every move. Listening to his every word. Noticing his every note played on the bass guitar.
Of course, that’s why Jooyeon seemed familiar. He had been in Hyeongjun’s head for years. And that’s why Hyeongjun felt like he recognized the song, Jooyeon had been singing it for months, in preparation for his debut.
So what was Hyeongjun going to do? He can’t just go up to him, he was famous. He couldn't talk through the singing, either.
Or could he?
~~~
Throughout the next few weeks, Hyeongjun became so tired of Happy Death Day that it wasn't even funny anymore. He caught Jisung humming it during dinner one day, and muttered
“Will you shut up? That song is the only thing I’ve been hearing in my head these days.”
Jisung raised his eyebrow.
“Your soulmate must be a big fan then, huh?” Jisung asked his little brother. Hyeongjun had to try to hide the fact that it was Jooyeon himself, but he had no idea how long he could keep up the act.
“Uh, yeah. Something like that.”
Dinner continued, and nothing went wrong. Nobody found out.
~~~
“JOOYEON IS YOUR SOULMATE?!”
“Chaer, calm down, it's not that big of a deal. And could you say it a bit louder? I don't think the people in America could hear what you said,” Hyeongjun said, trying to calm down his best friend.
“Yeah, but, like, Jun! Your soulmate is LEE FREAKING JOOYEON. The one everybody is obsessed over, remember? I don't think there was a single comment in that music video that wasn't about his hair or something. And all of those fangirls won't shut about his glasses! Those stupid glasses! Not saying your soulmate is stupid or anything, of course,” Chaeryeong told him. ”I just think Jiseok is so much better. I mean, he plays the guitar, and he’s so hot, and his personality- sorry.”
“Well, I’m sorry I had to be destined to be with the world’s most popular man, it’s not like I tried or anything,” Hyeongjun commented, rolling his eyes.
“Stop acting like it’s a bad thing. The only problem with it might be the fact that his hundreds of fangirls will probably try to beat you up.”
“You think I’m going to tell everybody? I literally didn't even want you to know! It was supposed to be a secret!”
“Well, a little too late for that not. Don’t worry, I can keep your secret. Not a soul will be told.”
“I’m counting on it, Lee Chaeryeong.”
~~~
It was only about a week later that Hyeongjun heard Jooyeon’s voice in his head singing something other than Happy Death Day.
“I hear you singing my song, why don’t you tell me who you are so we can get in touch?”
Not a real song, but it sounded like something that Jooyeon made up all by himself just to talk to Hyeongjun.
So Hyeongjun thought the only right thing was to respond.
But not with just a part of a song, no. With an entire track.
Hyeongjun wrote a song, just for Jooyeon, to be sung by the whole band. He wrote it with the pure intent to see if Jooyeon would have the band sing it for them. But he wrote the lyrics for Jooyeon.
“Strawberry cake
Sweet together is fake
Your words make me slowly
It rots me badly
Sweet candy liar
Run to the fire pit
I'm a hater now
Do it whatever happens.”
Hyeongjun didn't want his soulmate, he knew it was a trap. But he kept falling into the trap, and continued to let himself do so. So he let Jooyeon know.
Once he finally completed the song, he sang it out loud.
He knew Jooyeon was listening, because his humming of “Tralalala” stopped as Hyeongjun started singing.
At the end, he sang once more the couple of words that Jooyeon sent him just a few weeks prior.
Hyeongjun heard Jooyeon sing Strawberry Cake many more times after that. Hyeongjun sang it more times, too, to make sure Jooyeon knew every lyric, every note.
And one day, Jooyeon sang the same little two-line melody that he wrote to Hyeongjun once again, asking who he was.
So of course, Hyeongjun, wanting to keep private, made an account on instagram called “Strawberry Cake.” He sent a single DM to Xdinary Heroes saying “call me June.”
~~
Seven months later, Xdinary Heroes published a mini album. Five songs.
Including Strawberry Cake.
Actually, Hyeogjun had heard every song beforehand, from Jooyeon’s recording sessions, practice sessions, and altogether just getting them stuck in his head.
He watched them perform Strawberry Cake, a smile growing on both his and Jooyeon’s faces at the same time.
The credits wrote:
Lyrics by: June.
“Hyeongjun! Isn't that the song you wrote? Strawberry Cake? Why is it in Xdinary Heroes album? Can’t you sue them for plagiarism?” Hyunjin came running into Hyeongjun’s room.
“It’s okay, they credited me. I gave the song to them, anyway.”
“Wait, you’re telling me.. You have conTACT TO XDINARY HEROES?”
“Well, I guess you could call it that.”
Hyunjin moved to place his hands on Hyuengjun’s shoulders, making him wince a little.
“Hyeongjun, what’s going on? You’ve been acting kind of… weird, about them, recently.”
“Okay, so Chaer knows about this, but she’s the only one. So you have to promise to keep it secret. Okay?”
Hyunjin nodded, promising.
“Jooyeon… is my soulmate.”
Silence. Hyunjin didn’t even respond, he just thought about it. He nodded. “Makes sense.”
This is definitely not what Hyeongjun would think to happen.
“What?”
“I mean, you’ve been acting a little strange, and you sing that random little one-line thingie in your room sometimes, yes i can hear you. And you’re always, like, staring at him. No offense, but it gets kinda weird sometimes when you watch videos of them and literally just stare at Jooyeon. Oh, and you wrote a whole song. ”
“Right, forgot about that part,” he added sarcastically.
“Wait, does that mean you told him your name? If he credited you like you said,” Hyunjin asked.
“No, I just said my name is June,” Hyeongjun told him.
Hyunjin hummed.
“So… are you going to tell him who you are?”
~~~
“Hey guys, what’s up?” Jooyeon said, entering the vlive screen that was currently being streamed by his best friend.
“Hey, Jooyeon,” Jiseok said, inviting him to sit down.
Sitting on the black chair, he leaned in to see what comments were popping up. Jiseok leaned down too, placing his head right next to Jooyeon.
Which Jooyeon was used to, of course. But the fans somehow had it in their heads that they were dating, and no matter what they did, nobody would stop.
They tried explaining that they were not soulmates, and they had people out there for them, who weren’t each other.
“Who’s your soulmate?” Was , in fact, a question in the vlive comments.
“Who’s my soulmate? His name is June, I know that much,” Jooyeon thought out loud.
Jiseok nodded, smiling at him.
“And he wrote the song Strawberry Cake, actually. He kind-of told me to sing it, in a way, and I understood what he was trying to say. He seems nice, I hope I get to meet him soon.”
“Has he reached out to you? Obviously he knows you’re in Xdinary Heroes, has he texted us?” Jiseok asked.
“Yeah, he said his name. But then he deleted his account so we couldn’t text him anymore,” Jooyeon told everybody watching.
“And if you’re out there, June, I really want to meet you,” he added.
~~~
Hyeongjun blinked, his mind racing.
Jooyeon just told everybody about him. He said he wrote strawberry cake, and he was a guy, and his name was June, and he texted them once.
But Hyeongjun couldn’t just go and meet Jooyeon. No, definitely not. He was:
a.) much too scared
b.) very socially anxious
c.) just some random kid, while Jooyeon was a whole celebrity.
Which means he can’t just go meet him right now. He’ll wait, and go meet him when he’s ready. Yes, that’s it. He’ll wait for when he’s ready.
~~~
Two years later, and Hyeongjun and Jooyeon’s relationship stayed the same. They had no contact, outside of the singing, and Hyeongjun kept producing more songs for Xdinary Heroes. Jooyeon thought his name was June, and they continued occasionally singing that one-line mantra as a small reminder that they still existed, and acknowledged the others' existence.
Fans were constantly asking if Jooyeon found June yet, but he still told them he was searching, and wouldn’t give up.
Oh, and completely different topic, but Hyeonjun’s guitar broke. It fell, and part of the neck cracked.
Which is how Hyeongjun found himself at a guitar shop one afternoon. But halfway through his endeavor, testing guitars, he noticed a pack of people walking in. They were all wearing black, and masks.
Ah, must be some idols coming to buy a guitar. Seems like maybe I should finish up, before they kick me out.
He picked up the white one he fell in love with, and came to the counter. He checked out, and started walking out, until he saw a very familiar head of hair.
Well, two very familiar heads of hair.
Of course Jiseok and Jooyeon came to the same guitar shop as him, at the same time, too.
Upon further evaluation, Hyeongjun decided he would stay and watch. They were vlogging, and if Hyeongjun was completely honest, he found that he had a twinge of jealousy as he watched them.
“Yeah, Jiseok wants to find the perfect guitar. It’s gotta be just right, and has to have, like, every feature perfect that Jiseok wants. It’s kinda annoying how much he talks about it, actually,” Jooyeon said to the camera.
“Hey, shut up,” Jiseok said, nudging Jooyeon with his elbow, making Jooyeon step back and laugh.
And my gosh, was it the most gorgeous sound Hyeongjun had ever heard. If you thought his voice was pretty, his laugh was even prettier.
And so was Jooyeon. He was a bit shorter than Hyeongjun, but he didn’t mind it. He also acted in just the way that made Hyeongjun get butterflies as he watched the pair, and oh, his glasses. No matter what he told people in real life, the glasses were just so attractive.
Pretending to look at the guitars, Hyeongjun watched them for a few minutes, and then decided.
He was ready. Today was the day.
But how do you tell someone that you’re soulmates?
That was Hyeongjun’s problem.
~~~
Until a finger tapped his shoulder as he was looking at a specific guitar.
“Sir, would you mind if I see that one next to you? Sorry about that,” Jiseok asked.
“Uh… oh, yeah, sure.” As Hyeongjun moved out of the way, he glanced at Jooyeon, who was looking at him too, and quickly looked away. After Jiseok got the guitar down off the rack, Jooyeon turned to face his friend, but his eyes definitely lingered on Hyeongjun a bit longer than he expected.
Panicking, Hyeongjun did the only thing he could think of: text Chaeryeong.
HJ: dude
HJ: I’m at the guitar shop, and GUESS WHOS HERE
CR: Uhm…
CR: the President
HJ: no you idiot
HJ: LEE JOOYEON
HJ: T H E LEE JOOYEON IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME
HJ: oh and Jiseok is here too
CR: WHAT
CR: NO WAY
CR: TELL JISEOK IM HIS BIGGEST FAN
CR: oh and tell Jooyeon he’s your soulmate
HJ: NO WAY
HJ: you think I’m stupid? I cant do this oh my gosh
CR: yes you can, just get his attention or smtn
HJ: oh my gosh
HJ: help help he’s coming over
HJ: what do I do
CR: just be calm, and talk to him
“Hey, do I know you? You look familiar, but I have no idea where from,” Jooyeon said.
Oh my GOSH he looks good.
Hyeongjun couldn’t believe that Lee Jooyeon was standing right in front of him, talking to him.
And Hyeongjun forgot what Jooyeon said.
“Uhm…” he started, but was at a loss for words.
“I’m sorry, it’s probably nothing. Bye!” As Jooyeon turned to leave, Hyeongjun cried out.
“No, wait!” Realizing that sounded weird, he tried to recover. “I… uhm, well… you don’t know me, but like, we’re soulmates so…”
Hyeongjun slapped a hand over his mouth. His face grew unbearably hot, and Hyeongjun tried to cover himself with his hands.
“I’ll, uhm, I’ll just go now,” he said, walking away.
But a hand grabbed his arm, and pulled him back towards the man Hyeongjun had been thinking about for two years straight.
“You’re June?”
Hyeongjun looked into Jooyeons eyes, and nodded once.
“Sing something.”
Hyeongjun didn’t know what to sing. He racked his brain for songs, but for some reason it was blank. So he just opened his mouth and sang the first sentence that came to mind.
“I hear you singing my song, why don’t you tell me who you are so we can get in touch?”
Jooyeon just stared at Hyeongjun. And Hyeongjun stared back.
“Holy crap, you are June.” Jooyeon started smiling, the corners of his lips going farther up with every second.
Jooyeon flung himself on Hyeongjun, hugging him tighter than anyone ever had before.
Hyeongjun wasn’t really one for being touched, but Jooyeon felt like comfort. It felt right, and Hyeongjun let himself be hugged as he wrapped his arms around the singer.
Once Jooyeon pulled back, he excitedly asked for Hyeongjun’s number. They exchanged them, and Hyeongjun headed out. The whole way there, he was humming Strawberry Cake, and he knew Jooyeon could hear every bit of it.
~~~
As Hyeongjun entered the door of his apartment, he saw every single one of his friends on the couches.
Hyunjin, Jisung, Minho, Chaeryeong, Yeji, Yongbok, and Jisu.
Yeji met her soulmate, Jisu, when she went to a fair. And Yongbok joined their group once Hyunjin figured out they had a lot in common, and neither of their soulmates ever really sang in their heads.
And now here they all were, as Hyeongjun stepped inside.
Everyone stared, not a word to be spoken.
“So how was it?” Jisu asked.
“How was what?”
Hyeongjun knew exactly what she was talking about, he just felt like he had zero brain cells right now. All he could think about was Jooyeon, Jooyeon, Jooyeon.
“So?”
“Well I got his number,” Hyeongjun started, and the room erupted into chaos.
“What?!”
“Ooooooooooooohhhhh”
“Dang, making moves like a pro”
*wolf whistling*
“So how'd it happen”
*random screaming*
“HYEONGJUN IM SO PROUD OF YOU”
“Guys, guys, chill. I kind of talked to him and I let it slip that we’re soulmates and he hugged me and got my number. Nothing much, you know?”
“Jun, that’s literally the opposite of “nothing much,”” Yeji commented. Hyeongjun shrugged.
“I’m just gonna go get a shower now, I feel gross and sweaty. Guys, it’s so hot out today.”
He placed his new guitar in his room, and gathered his shower things. Glancing at his phone, he saw a message pop up.
Jooyeon: hey, you never told me your real name. It’s not June, is it?
Heart thudding, he picked up the device, and typed his real name into the messages.
He didn’t even notice that he was smiling as he got in the shower.
~~~
A year later, and Hyeongjun and Jooyeon were that one couple that everybody was jealous of. Quite literally, thinking about how famous Jooyeon was.
They sat across from each other at the cafe, writing a song together.
The song was called Made For You, and it was their story.