Chapter Text
“Soulmates are a curious phenomenon. It is said that they are souls that were born of the same star that broke in half, fragmented and separated from each other. In less common cases, some stars can fragment into 3 or 4 or even 5 pieces, meaning 3 or more individuals could all be soulmates with each other. Every person on earth is said to be made of up to 5 different fragments from different stars, the combinations in each person being as different from one another as snowflakes - no two are alike.
“Though there are many theories in which some people may have fewer fragments than normal if they have a star fragment that’s been broken into pieces more than twice; this meaning the universe somehow compensates for the number of soulmates an individual can have. There have been studies and experiments done with individuals who are in a soulmate trio or quad and there has never been a recorded number of soulmates exceeding 5 thus far.
“Regardless, this generally means that a person can have up to 5 different soulmates, a piece of the same star resonating within each other upon eye contact and the utterance of a single word from both parties. Even something as simple as bumping into each other and saying ‘hey!’ or ‘oops’ while looking at each other briefly can trigger a reaction. When star pieces resonate as soulmates find each other, a diamond tattoo called a soulmark appears on their bodies to indicate that a link or bond has been established. As you meet more of your soulmates, another diamond will continue to appear until it completes a 5 point star. As of this date, it has only ever been recorded that a person can complete a 5 point star and not more than that.
“Despite everybody having 5 soulmates in the world, it’s very rare that one would meet all 5:
- ~65% of the global population meet 1 soulmate (about 6 in 10 people)
- ~32% never meet any (about 3 in 10 people)
- ~0.5-2% meet 2-3 soulmates (averaging about 12 in 1000 people)
- ~0.01% meet 4 (1 in 10 000 people)
- less than 0.0001% meet all 5 (1 in 1 000 000 people)
“These numbers are just rough estimates however as people do lie or choose to not believe in the universe deciding who’s most compatible for you.
“Some soulmate pairs mesh better together than others even though there’s a pre-existing connection. It’s also important to note that not all soulmate relationships are romantic, they can range from familial to platonic as well. Oftentimes, siblings, family members, and best friends are found to be soulmates, though a larger number of people do delve into romantic relationships. However, being soulmates doesn’t guarantee 100% that relationships will last, there’s an initial compatibility but it’s not to be relied on solely, and like any relationship, an effort must also be made to maintain it no matter the type.”
Mark has memorized all these facts about soulmates and has probably read every possible beginner’s guide, book, article, and story about them in existence, maybe 100 times over. He’s always longed to meet his fated person since he was young, infatuated with the idea that the universe made someone special just for him.
He knows that out there, he technically has 5 soulmates, but it’s said that 1 has a significantly higher link and compatibility rate than the others. His mother used to read him stories, some true, some fiction, about couples destined to be together, defying all odds with their overwhelming love for one another. And call him a romantic, but it made him dream of one day finding his other half, falling in love, then mating his destined partner and spending the rest of their lives together. Whether the other person turns out to be male or female, or an omega, beta, or even an alpha like himself, none of that matters at all to him. If it’s what the universe decides then it’s decided and he wouldn’t question it.
There are those that do though, question it that is, but Mark’s mindset is if something’s been given to you, then why look a gift horse in the mouth? It’s basically scientific at this point, with many studies conducted with surveys and research and whatnot. It may not be 100% foolproof when soulmates get together but the pre-existing bond has to be there for a reason.
Unfortunately, after his 20 years of living, he still has yet to come across any of his 5 soulmates. Though it may seem like the odds of running into 5 specific people out of the current like 8 billion global population is literally less than a 1 in a billion chance, with the divine intervention of the universe, he apparently has a 6 in 10 chance of finding someone. But there’s also that margin of error where he could end up being one of the unlucky 3 in 10 people who never have an encounter and this scares him dearly, especially with the luck that he’s exhibited in his life up until this point.
Now he doesn’t mean to brag or boast, but Mark comes from a well off family that’s also part of a well off pack, both his father and mother coming from old money and were arranged to be married by their parents.
Such was the custom back in their day, marrying to build or strengthen pack alliances between families and businesses, soulmates be damned. It also didn’t help that back then, they were all under the old fashioned mindset that alphas and betas should solely mate with omegas, and that the only same subgender relationship that was acceptable were between two betas. Sometimes there were exceptions if an alpha or beta were to have reproductive abilities since the main aim of these relationships were to produce offspring but it was seldom.
By adding romantic soulmates into this mix, it was just a huge scandal waiting to happen for upperclass wolves. But even if one was blessed by the universe and soulmates were matched according to traditional pairings, if your family background wasn’t beneficial or of good standings in society, then the relationship was destined to fail due to high society norms. (But if the two soulmates were of middle to lower class, then family backgrounds and assets don’t matter as much and could live happily ever after.)
His alpha father had actually met one of his soulmates who happened to be another alpha male and were dating happily together until his family buckled down on him, separated the pair and forced him to marry his still wife. However, since Mark’s grandparents time, more diverse relationships were being more widely accepted nowadays such as Male Alpha-Female Alpha relationships, two Female Alpha relationships, or Female Alpha-Female Beta relationships to name a couple; but there were still some that are still not as easily acceptable today, such as two Female Beta relationships, two Male Alpha relationships, Female Alpha-Male Beta relationships, and any Omega-Omega relationships are still not viewed positively once again due to the desire of offspring.
So despite the progression in societal views, their relationship was still looked down upon despite being soulmates. Now don’t get his father wrong though, he loves his wife, they were friends first before being arranged and they’ve made it work. Now they have Mark and his older brother Jimin and life’s good, but there’ll always be that niggling thought of regret of wondering what could’ve been, of what might’ve happened if he fought harder and chose his soulmate over family traditions and societal norms.
Mark doesn’t want to feel that regret, of not trying to be with his soulmate. He’s lucky in regards to his parents being open minded about him wanting to find and be with his soulmate because of what they were denied when they were young, though his mother never did find any one of her soulmates. But he, too, was unfortunately very misfortunate in regards to actually finding any of them as well. As he’d said, he’s from a well off family who owns an airline and an aerospace company based in South Korea, so he’s had many opportunities to travel to and live in different cities and countries around the world, such as the US and Canada. He’s visited some parts of Europe, travelled to Australia, and other bits of Asia but he still has yet to meet a single soulmate of his.
One would think that Mark would be part of that less than 1% that would meet his 5 soulmates with such a big privilege, but the odds were sadly against him. But that doesn’t mean he’ll give up, many people don’t usually meet a soulmate until later in life anyways, most finding them in their 20s and he just hit his 20s so he has plenty of time… except he actually doesn’t.
Yes, he’s said that his parents are open minded and less strict on family traditions like their own parents were back then, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen or isn’t expected anymore. Since he started nearing adulthood, his parents talked to him and made a deal at the end of his junior year of high school. Starting from his senior year, Mark has until his first graduation in university to find his soulmate(s) or to choose a mate which gives him roughly 4 or 5 years depending on his graduation. If he fails to do so, then he’ll have no choice but to agree to an arranged marriage set by his mother’s family who are still deeply rooted in those old traditions and views.
It’s been 2 years since the deal was made and still, no one has caught his eye. He’s a second year uni student now and has another 2ish years left until the deadline but that’s only if he doesn’t finish one of his degrees early. It’s not a reason to panic yet, but it’s no less stress inducing. He has tried a few blind dates, accepted a couple confessions, went on some double dates, even a tinder date or two set up by friends, but nobody has really kept him interested enough to pursue anything further past a single date.
It also really doesn’t help that he has limited time after classes because his schedule is jam packed due to basketball and vice president duties in the SMCU Student Council.
Currently, it’s the end of February and the start of Welcome Week, an event held at the beginning of every semester to welcome new and returning students on campus. The events this time are generally the same as last semester’s but this time around, as VP, he’s been placed in charge of leading a group of new students, made up of transfers and first years, through their orientation on the first day, which means a campus tour.
And as luck would have it, Mark was running late.
He was running across campus from his pack’s sharehouse and was cursing his unlucky streak. Currently, he was the youngest of ten in their sharehouse, but after today, their 3 new freshmen pack members would move in to join them, making thirteen. He wondered why he was left to be woken up by the squawk of a magpie (or probably a crow since he has terrible luck) instead of someone in his pack waking him up but figured that they may have tried but he’s been known to sleep like a log. Then they, not wanting to be late to their own duties, left him behind. You would think that at least one member would still be there when he finally got up but nope, he awoke to a deserted house and had negative 20 minutes to get to his assigned group. In other words, he’s 20 minutes late and probably already missed the opening assembly at 9am. He’d forgone a shower and breakfast, just throwing on something presentable and bolted out the door.
He was glad that the snow was mostly gone, still chilly but not slippery at least. So he ran as fast as he could without much worry and basically tackled the stadium doors upon arrival, glad that no one was idly standing on the other side. He then jogged over to where his group was supposed to meet and found them nearing the end of their ice breaker introduction game. Many of them notice him watching but continue the game regardless.
Mark puts a hand on his chest in an attempt to regulate his breathing when he catches a pair of eyes smiling at him. If there was anything he was glad for today, it was that Lee Jeno, a younger beta packmate, was part of his group, making him feel more at ease. At least he knows one person who’ll also help him since Jeno knows the school as well as he does himself. “Hey hyung!” Jeno calls out to him, now getting everyone to acknowledge his arrival.
“Hey, sorry I’m late.” He puts a hand up in apology towards the group, but is mostly speaking to Jeno.
“That’s alright, I figured you’d probably be late so we started without you, but we can all just say our names again quickly so that we can catch up on the schedule.” Jeno informed, being the natural leader that he was, though he’ll deny it every time someone praises him for it.
Quickly, everyone introduces themselves a second time, skipping the awkward fun fact about themselves that’s usually attached to these introductions, and Mark just nods his head in acknowledgment each time despite knowing there’s no way he’ll remember the 24 new names in this group. He was tempted to throw out a little compliment or observation he noticed about them after each time someone said their name, not only in an attempt to get the group warmed up to him, but to also hopefully link said words to each person’s name as a reminder. It was a tip that he’d heard of a while back, not exactly sure from where, but he heard that it does help; he really admires and respects people who can do so with no trouble.
He decided against it at the last second, and just settled for a smile and a nod to keep the introduction going faster.
Jeno is the third last to introduce himself, doing so not for Mark but for everyone else in the group. The smiley male then turns his head to the next person beside him, expression getting even brighter if it was even possible. Apparently it was as Mark had just witnessed it, wondering how or why Jeno could beam at another person that wasn’t Jaemin.
“I’m Huang Renjun.” The shorter male said, visibly shrinking under Jeno’s gaze, apparently shy. Yup, Mark’s gonna have to ask Jeno what that was about later, filing the thought away for now. He then turned his attention toward the last boy who was also looking at Renjun, but instead of beaming like Jeno, his eyes seemed to be more teasing yet warm with fondness at the same time. He watches as the guy subtly yet playfully nudges the boy with his shoulder who nudges him back a bit harder with his elbow. At the display, Mark assumes that they’re friends, watching as the brunet clutches at his arm in fake pain, whining about being replaced before he sends a wink towards Jeno.
It’s then that Mark notices the boy wearing some sort of support glove on his right hand, fingerless he notes. Mark wants to ask about it, whether it was for a medical condition or if he injured it or whatever else, but decides against it, thinking that it isn’t his place; especially when he doesn’t know the guy and doesn’t want his first impression to come across as nosy.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he hears the brunet giggle as he fails to avoid a slap from the shorter male before turning to Mark to introduce himself as well. “I’m Lee Donghyuck, nice to meet you mr. Late Orientation Leader.” He announces with a smile still planted on his face, playfully saluting. Mark chuckles a bit at the new title he’s just been given before readying himself for his turn.
“Hey guys, I’m Mark Lee, you’re tour guide for the day, and I’m really sorry again for my tardiness,” he starts, suddenly feeling discomfort in his left shoulder, kinda like that kink you get in your neck. Hiding his surprise so as to not alert the group of strangers, he scratches at it before rolling his shoulder out a bit, chalking the sudden feeling up to being stiff from nerves and continues to speak. “*ahem* I’m a second year and also the vice president of the school’s student council. So feel free to approach me with any concerns or questions that you may have, I promise I don’t bite.” He joked, unconsciously shaking his arm out to relax it more.
He looks out to the group, doing a quick once over before he moves on. He notices the last boy that introduced himself rubbing at his gloved wrist… “ Do…hyun, was it?” he tried to remember, wondering if he was alright. He didn’t want to single the boy out however, in case it was a personal or embarrassing matter. “So is everyone ready to go?” He asks in general, but his eyes lingered on the brunet. His friend, the guy Jeno was making googly eyes at, ( Injun? Rowoon? Joon something! ) also noticed a slight change in the other but also tried not to make a big deal about it. He watches as the guy shakes his head with a straight face, his mood obviously shifted.
The group makes a vague noise of affirmation and Mark takes that as his cue to start leading them. Seoul Metro Culture University or SMCU was a fairly large campus. It was a university that would sometimes require one to take the campus shuttle transit system to get from one class to another across campus if you weren’t careful in planning your courses out. Sometimes people joked that the Metro in SMCU was placed in the name because of the need to transport instead of the university being its own sort of mini academic metropolis within Seoul. And aside from the shuttle, there was also a bike system in place where you can borrow a community bike from one location and then park it in the community bike racks at your destination.
Firstly, there were many on-campus dormitories and sharehouse neighbourhoods which are pretty vast. Some areas and buildings were separated for different subgenders and some were where subgenders are allowed to mix and co-live together, usually packs occupy those latter areas, but there are also instances where mixed friend groups house there as well.
Academic-wise, there are many different buildings and areas separated by faculty or similar subject matter such as a plaza for health science buildings, an area for chemistry and physics courses, an agricultural/animal studies facility, and an arts area to name a few. There are also quite a bit of facilities to use and visit like a student-run exhibition art gallery, a music hall, an active living/recreational building with an indoor track oval, an outdoor track oval alongside a baseball diamond and soccer field, football stadium, an aquatic centre, gymnasiums, some botanical gardens, and a commons area with a fountain surrounded by a fair amount of water and grassy areas with stone benches and picnic tables scattered around.
And of course some of the most important buildings for any student were the large library, the administrative buildings where financial aid, career advisors, and campus counselors were also located, and the student union building where the university bookstore is located, as well as a food court, study areas, peer support groups, peer tutoring, rentable rooms and meeting spaces, club signups, a food bank, housing information, a volunteer and job board, overall general student life info, and at the top floor is where the student council offices are located.
Mark led his group through most of these spaces, asking about the groups’ faculties or courses and pointing out where they’re located. But he first stopped by a student info booth and gave everyone a campus map booklet so that they can better find specific buildings, find shuttle stops and bike racks, and navigate the school’s underground tunnel system which links certain faculty buildings together to help students avoid going outside during the winter season.
It takes them all morning to find and tour a majority of the important and most relevant areas before they break for lunch. He leads them to the student union building (which people like to call the SUB) and shows them the food court. They regroup an hour later and he tours them around the student union building then the administrative building which takes the rest of the afternoon.
Once the tour is finally completed, he leads them to the commons area where they find other orientation groups gathering around table stations, looking to collect a welcome gift/new student care package. Mark announces that they can line up to get one and then are free to go and the group almost immediately disperses, though some were kind enough to thank him first before leaving.
The vice president heaved out a sigh, the weight of leading the group was now lifted from his shoulders. He thinks it went alright for the most part and was able to answer most questions fairly well he’d like to think. Although, there was something nudging at him from the back of his mind, bothering him the entire time, and it had something to do with the brunet with the support glove on his right hand. Since he’d first seen the boy, he pinned him as bright and bubbly; a teasing, charismatic, and outgoing individual, all based solely upon his short interaction with his shy, yet sarcastic friend and Jeno.
However, immediately after Mark did his introduction, the other’s entire demeanor had changed and he seemingly tried to keep a distance away from Mark, moving to the back, keeping at least one body between them at all costs, shuffling away when he unintentionally comes closer, the list goes on. He wasn’t as dense as people made him out to be and realized that the younger was suddenly avoiding him for some unknown reason. But what confused him was that he seemed fine at the beginning, and even smiled at him. Was it something Mark had said? Was he maybe intimidated by him being the Vice President of the university? Did his maybe injured wrist bother him? Did he suddenly remember hearing a strange rumour about Mark that put him off? Did he not live up to his expectations? Was he a disappointment as the tour guide? Is Mark just overthinking everything as he often tends to do? Though they were strangers to each other, Mark didn’t want to leave a bad impression.
This didn’t just go for… Dong…hae ((?) gosh why was he terrible with names… maybe he should’ve tried the name trick after all…), it applied to everyone he meets or comes across or anyone that’s only ever heard of but hasn’t met him face to face. And he knows that as a public figure, as council VP, he’d be judged positively or negatively for every action he does or word he says despite whatever intentions he has, or there doesn’t even have to be a reason at all - it unfortunately comes with the territory. He also knows that no matter how much he tries, some people will just always dislike him for whatever personal reason they come up with and he can’t stop it. It doesn’t mean he has to like it, is fine with it, or can ignore it for the most part, but it doesn’t stop him from still trying to be likeable and doing his best to get along with everyone.
So now he’s stuck in a vortex of his own thoughts, spiraling and trying to figure out why… the younger boy… may not like him. While pondering deeply in his thoughts, he didn’t notice Jeno walking up to him, coming back from grabbing a free package and giving him a small pat on the shoulder which snapped him out of his thoughts. “Something on your mind?” Jeno chuckled at the look of surprise on the older’s face.
“Just… reflecting on how the tour went.” Mark sighed. The two boys then started to walk away from the crowds and headed towards a bench.
“Well, as a member of said tour, I’d say you did a great job and showed all the important locations that every student needs to know about.” He reassured.
“Hmm… so you think everyone liked me?”
“Hyung, you’re literally impossible to hate, and anyone that does is probably just jealous and bitter about life.” Jeno shakes his head. “Why? Did someone say something?!” He started feeling protective, knowing how sensitive his hyung was and how he could get when he hears something negative about himself.
“N-no! No, it was just a feeling I guess.” He chuckled nervously. “Maybe some of them were intimidated by me being the VP or something.”
“Well, it can be since the student council is a pretty big deal on campus.” Jeno agreed. Mark also nods, then suddenly remembered the thought he had filed away earlier and smirks at his younger pack member. “Sooo… what was up with you and that guy, Minjun was it?”
Now Jeno was the one caught off guard, his face lighting up a bright red. “Wha- nothing was going on…” He trails off, avoiding eye contact.
“Come on Jen, your eyes were basically about to pop out of your head looking at the guy. The only one I’ve seen you look at like that was Jaemin and he’s your soulmate. You’re not gonna leave him are you?!?! You know how he gets, even if he doesn’t show it much, he still gets scary jealous and territorial.” Mark suddenly looks at the other, scandalized and horrified at the thought of his new packmates breaking such an old, strong bond just because of some newcomer.
“Hyung! Never!” Jeno gently punches the other’s shoulder, feeling a bit offended by the prospect. “I’d never leave Jaemin, he’s been by my side since we were kids and soulmates since forever!”
“So what’s the deal with this freshman then?” Mark eyed him curiously.
“The thing is… he… err, his name’s Renjun, and it turns out that… uh… h-he and…” Jeno was stuttering, making Mark feel a little impatient, though he doesn’t really have much of a right to say anything about it because he’s probably worse if anything. So he keeps his mouth shut but raises his eyebrows at the other to signal for him to get on with it. “He’s… an omega, and Donghyuck’s soulmate and like they’re best friends which is cool and all and they’re both cool… they’re nice to be around… I was thinking of asking them to join the council you know… haha…”
“Jeno, you’re stalling…” Mark finally says. “And is Donghyuck the other guy with the glove?” “So that was his name…” Mark thinks to himself, a bit embarrassed. He seriously needs to try that trick on how to remember names next time, or suggest to the President that they need to make everyone wear name tags at all times.
“Yeah, he said he needed it for arthritis or something. He was also cool and also an omega, but he suddenly became a bit quiet for some reason but Renjun wouldn’t tell me what happened. I guess it was a personal matter so I didn’t wanna pry since we just met, but they’ve been best friends since high school I think, so Renjun should know him best. He seems like the protective kind, and he’s thoughtful and cares but doesn’t show that he cares, and gets shy easily which makes him so cute and easy to tease, then he gets defensive which makes you wanna tease him more…”
As Jeno rambled on, Mark felt a bit glad that he wasn’t the only one who noticed the change in the brunet freshman, now correctly identified as Donghyuck. Now, his only concern was that it wasn’t because of something he did and because of something else, but going back to the topic of Jeno, he interrupted the younger beta.
“Jeno, you still didn’t answer my question. What’s going on between you and this Renjun guy? You obviously like him, you know so much about him already and it’s barely been a day. Should we have a talk with Jaemin about this?”
“No! I’ll tell him, he should hear it from me…” Jeno mutters.
“So you are leaving him?!”
“No!” Jeno sighs in defeat. “Okay, before you came this morning, we were all introducing ourselves to each other before starting that ice breaker game and so I happened to talk with Renjun and Donghyuck and it turns out that… Renjun and I are soulmates.” He then rolls up his left long sleeve to reveal the mark on his inner forearm, showing 2 diamond points of a star.
“WHOA!! WHAT?! And you just told me now?! Why didn’t you tell me like way earlier?!” Mark was stunned, and a bit jealous, but most of all happy for his best friend.
“You were kinda stressed with the whole tour thing and plus it didn’t seem right to mention it yet since he was keeping an eye on Donghyuck and I didn’t want you to not-so-sneakily sneak glances at him, making him even more uncomfortable.” Jeno explained.
“That makes sense, but I’m happy for you finding another soulmate dude!” Mark throws an arm around the beta’s shoulders, pulling him in a side hug.
“Thanks dude, but I dunno exactly how I’m gonna tell Jaemin.” The younger fidgets.
“Well, if you want back up, I could come along or wait out the door or something, but I doubt Nana’s gonna go all scary alpha on you. He loves you and will understand.”
“Right, cuz you can go all scary alpha too, huh?” Jeno joked.
“You know it, plus this is something natural, and if Renjun is soulmate best friends with Donghyuck, then he could also be soulmate best friends with you. You don’t have to pursue any romantic relationship with each other just because you’re soulmates… unless, that’s kinda what you want?” Mark looks back at Jeno, a bit unsurely.
“I’m not really sure what I want honestly. When I met Renjun and got my soulmark with him, it felt… kind of like how it did with Jaemin.” The dark haired beta leaned back more on the bench they were sitting on, staring at the sky.
“Then I guess that’s something you should tell Jaemin. You never know, maybe he’ll be okay with it or maybe it’ll be something you guys have to work out, but if anything, you can always come to me if something happens.” The older alpha reassures.
“Thanks hyung.”
“Anytime!” The two then stand up and stretch out their legs.
“Now we should go find Jaemin and Shotaro so we can walk home together and then we can get ready for basketball practice.” Jeno sighs.
“We have a practice today?!” Mark exclaimed.
“Yeah, Jaehyun-hyung literally messaged us last night cuz we have a game this weekend.” Jeno pats his hyung’s back in pity. They then set off to find their two other freshmen packmates.
~*~*~*~
Upon arriving home from basketball practice, Mark felt the dire need to wash the day away. He sighed as he hadn’t had the most successful day unfortunately, what with waking up late, having one, or possibly even a few now thinking about it more, of the new students in his tour group disliking him for whatever reason, finding out his packmate had found a second soulmate, then screwing up in practice. He figured that the only way to feel slightly better is if he cleanses all the bad feelings away with a hot shower and will hopefully give him a clean slate for tomorrow.
So he immediately rushes upstairs and claims the bathroom. After about 30 minutes of reflecting under the rushing water, he decides that that’s enough moping and gets out before he becomes a prune in the hot steam. He quickly dries himself off and then wipes down the mirror to see if he’s aged less than when he’d first entered. He shakes his head to get rid of excess water and looks at his reflection. He decides that he looks kind of better and definitely feels more refreshed too.
He then turns to the side, raises a hand to shake out his bangs and gives a soft sigh. “Haa, what a day…” He mutters to himself and then looks back into the mirror, noticing a dark mark near the back of his left shoulder. “Is that dirt?” He grabs at the edge of his towel around his shoulders and attempts to wipe it clean. He rubs against it but it doesn’t come off.
“What the… did I get bruised during practice?” He thinks for a bit. “Sure it wasn’t a great practice, but I don’t think I did anything or get hit by anyone to get a bruise there…” Plus it didn’t hurt, so he turned a bit more and strained his neck to look over his shoulder into the mirror. He tries to rub at it again to see if it’ll come off, he squints at the blob but nothing seemed to change. He decides to grab his glasses to get a better look at it and rummages through his bag for them.
Finally he takes another look and stares at the black mark, which is in the shape of - a DIAMOND.
Mark freezes as he stares at the black marking. Is it? It couldn’t be, could it? Is it really? It has to be… it’s a soulmark… his soulmark, meaning that he’d come across his soulmate . He’d found his soulmate! The young alpha can’t feel his breath come into his lungs as he just stands there, staring in disbelief.
“I… no way.” He breathes to himself, prodding at the tattoo. He feels the corners of his mouth raise into a smile, tears forming as he chuckles with mirth. There really is someone out there just for him, his one and only, his other half, the light of his life, his reason for being… but, when did he make contact with them?
Mark then realizes that his soulmate has to be somewhere on campus but who exactly did he speak to and make eye contact with today? Unfortunately, quite a bit of people, and it doesn’t help that he’s been kind of everywhere today talking with many new students or just randomly greeting passersby. Did he feel the symptoms of a soulmark appearing? He’s not very sure since he’s only ever read about and heard anecdotes from friends on what it felt like but wasn’t prepared to experience it. As uncharacteristic as it sounds, the possibility of meeting his soulmate didn’t come across his mind for whatever reason when usually it’s all he thinks about. He’d normally be excited to see a whole new group of people, always hopeful of encountering a soulmate of his in the crowd of new faces, but today, it just slipped; probably because he was embarrassed of his tardiness. He curses his constant misfortune.
Now his mind is racing at every encounter he’d made today… thinking back to what he’d done, who he spoke to, who spoke to him, the places he’d gone… did it happen in the morning with his group, or at lunch while mingling with people in the food court, or maybe at the end when everyone coagulated together, asking council members and committee leaders questions they had before taking off… What were the symptoms of an appearing soulmark again? His mind’s blanking at the hope of encountering his soulmate and at the panic of possibly not knowing if he’d be able to run into them again.
This was another one of the faults in the statistics for soulmate encounters because researchers can forget that people can have encounters but still not know who their soulmate is in the end. So there could be an overlap between those who claim to have encountered 1 soulmate and those who have not, unsure if they belong to one category or the other because of the fact that they don’t know the identity of their soulmate.
In his mild panic, his mind reminds him of a packmate that experienced the same phenomenon he did, earlier that same day.
“I have to find Jeno.”