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There was absolute certainty that Minghao knew he was a different one ever since the beginning.
Growing up in the city of Anshan, he acted and behaved like any, young, obedient child would: studied diligently for school, finished all his chores once he got home and on the weekends, ate evening meals with his family, and regularly played with his friends. For the most part, he matured and developed into who he is with a normal life.
Around the start of fourth grade, his teacher educated his class about the soulmate indication on their wrist. Like his friends, they all gasped in amazement when they were all told the stories behind the fascinating phenomena. At once, all the ten year olds pulled down the cuffed sleeve of their uniform and inspected to see if a name was displayed. As their teacher expected with a soft chuckle, none of them had a name. While they were disappointed, their hope was only lifted after hearing the mark comes later on during puberty. Fifteen was the magic number where, on the special day, they blow out their fifteen candles and would finally manage to see a name.
It was excited, especially to Minghao who had always wondered what it would be like to have a soulmate. He always monitored his parents at home as he was reading, seeing them laugh lively and hug sweetly, with the occasional kiss. At times he was disgusted by their acts of skinship, his cousins constantly teasing him about it. But usually, he was fascinated. Not because he wanted it per say, but rather that it was peculiarly interesting to him.
“You’ll find them one day, Xiaohao,” his mother hummed as she was preparing dinner one night. “When you do find them, your whole world will turn upside-down.” She looked over, seeing the horrified look on her son’s face and she laughed. “It’s just an expression.”
“But I’ll meet them, right, mama?”
“Of course! We all have a soulmate in this world. They’re like the missing part of you that you’ve always been looking for.”
-
On the day before his fifteenth birthday, Minghao was in his bed, constantly turning and rolling in his bed. He was a patient boy, but he couldn’t help but feel anxious about his wrist engraving. For the past few years, ever since he could remember, he had been waiting for the moment he would see the name on his wrist.
He checked the clock.
11:59PM.
This was it. At long last, he’ll be able to see his soulmate’s name.
12:00AM.
Minghao gasped excitedly and pulled down the sleeves of his pajamas and checked both wrists. He saw that his left one was blank, assuming that the one on the right would be where the name was. And sure enough, there were characters that formed a name. However he wasn’t really sure what the name read as it seemed to be in another language.
He turned on the bedside lamp and held his wrist close to it to examine it closer.
“Korean?” he questioned.
He quickly grabbed his phone, downloading an application that could scan the language and translate it to him into his native tongue. He held the camera above his brightly lit wrist and snapped the photo. Minghao carefully watched as he saw the letters appear on screen.
“Mingyu?”
Though he was excited to finally see a name on his wrist, he was still confused. First off, as far as he was concerned, he was sure that the name would contain at least two names, a last and a first name. However, there was only one name, presumably, a given name rather than the family name. Second, it was written in a language he was unfamiliar with, but that probably meant his soulmate was in another country.
But what did he know about the system, anyway? He was just a fifteen year old boy who finally had an implication as to who his soulmate is. Maybe the last name would come later on today since it was only a few minutes past midnight. The country in which is soulmate resided may come by and hit him as well. He was a curious child though, he couldn’t help but think.
“South Korea, maybe?” he talked to himself. He should probably start teaching himself Korean then, he thought. He let the thoughts wash over as he steadily fell asleep, smiling as he finally realized he had his other half’s name on his wrist.
-
In the morning, he came down to the kitchen, school uniform already worn as his mother kisses his forehead and greeted him a happy birthday. “Did you see a name?”
Sleepily, Minghao nodded offering his mother his wrist so she can read the name. “It’s in Korean.”
“Xiaohao, I studied in South Korea before I met your father, remember? I think I can still read it.” She stepped away from the stove and wiped her hands on the towel before delicately grasping her son’s left wrist. “Hm… I believe it says Soonyoung.”
Minghao nodded before he realized what his mother had said. “S-soonyoung?” She nodded and smiled at him, congratulating him for finally having his soulmate’s name. He sat at the table as he was organizing his books and papers to put into his bag. Turning to see his mother wasn’t looking, he pulled out the scanning translator and pulled down his left wrist only to discover that the name was, in fact, ‘Soonyoung.’
That’s when it hit him that he faile show his right wrist. It had probably disappeared this morning, he thought. Maybe ‘Mingyu,’ whoever they were, was not Minghao’s soulmate afterall. Just to be safe, he undid the sleeve cuff and pulled it down to view his left wrist and gasped quietly to himself.
Mingyu was still written there.
Putting both wrists together, Minghao saw two names. “This can’t be right,” he whispered to himself. Hastily, he pulled both of his sleeves back up and sat down at the table as his mother brought over the special rice porridge that she made on his birthdays.
“I’m so happy for you, Xiaohao,” his mother grinned as she handed over the soy sauce for him to drizzle into his bowl after he spooned in the porridge. He nodded hesitantly, taking the sauce and carefully watching it drip down into his bowl. Minghao ate, but was silent throughout his special day.
His friends ran up to him and asked him about the counterpart engraving, excited since he was one of the first in his friend group to receive it. Just as he showed his mother, he settled to just show them his left wrist with Soonyoung written, explaining that he had to use a translator to figure it out.
Even his teacher went over to his desk to read his wrist, applauding him on reaching the milestone as most of his friends had. A few of them offered him sweets and candies as a birthday present and he accepted them gratefully, but his stomach couldn’t hold anything down right now. He felt uneasy, and not the type where he had butterflies in his stomach from excitement. It was more of a queasy, stomach churning feeling. This attention he got wasn’t very helpful at all. He didn’t want to go home either because that meant he had to show his father Soonyoung’s name while keeping Mingyu’s hidden. He just sat there, going along and wishing his birthday would already end.
-
Once he reached high school, he made sure to always cover his right sleeve, never revealing to anyone, not even to the friends he grew close to, that he had a name on each of his wrists.
He met a student in his grade, Yao Mingming, who was just a few months older than him. Though they were a bit quiet at first when they sat next to each other, they slowly started to get to know one another, talking frequently as the school year continued.
Mingming went over to Minghao’s after their extracurricular on the daily, eating supper with the Xu family once Minghao’s father returned from work. They continued this pattern throughout high school, Mrs. Xu always smiling when he saw how happy her son was for finally gaining a best friend.
Minghao, throughout his childhood, was quiet and hesitant when it came to friends. He wasn’t anti-social as he did have a few regular friends throughout his school career, though his father claims he might have been. He never invited any of them to stay at his house or sleepover or come on family trips around the town like he did with Mingming. His parents kept saying it was because they were like Ming brothers as their given name shared a similar Chinese character.
-
During their final year of high school, Mingming and Minghao woke up one morning and went through their usual routine and drowsily stomped towards the bathroom where they both cleaned themselves up. Unknowingly, both of Minghao’s sleeves were rolled up as he was brushing his teeth. Mingming glanced over and his eyes widen, nudging Minghao.
“Hao,” Mingming coughed as he spit out the toothpaste in his mouth. “Y-your wrist--”
Minghao wipes his mouth after he was done brushing and he looked over at his friend, blushing as he was worried that he had been discovered. He looked over at his left wrist, only to be surprised himself.
“Another name?”
Mingming and him started freaking out, though Minghao was more terrified compared to Mingming’s excitement. He grabbed his friend’s wrist and saw the two names. “Wow, I think this one is in Korean too.”
“Let me see,” Minghao said, adjusting himself so that he could read his wrist as well. He had no need for the translator on his phone as he self-taught himself Korean, courtesy of his mother and online resources.
“Well! What does is say, Hao?”
“J-Jisoo?”
Mingming gasped and clapped excitedly, smiling widely as his eyes were shaped like two crescent moons “How exciting!”
“E-exciting?”
His friend nodded and giggled. “I mean, don’t you think so? Think about it, Hao!” Mingming slung his arm around his friend’s shoulder. “That means you get to spend the rest of your life with two people!”
Minghao shook his head. “Three people.” His excited friend gasped again as Minghao decided it was about time that he pulled down and showed Mingming his other wrist. “This one says Mingyu.”
Silently, his older friend grabbed both of his wrists and examined the three names. Though he couldn’t decipher what they meant, he knew that it meant that Minghao had three soulmates. Mingming looked up with an expression Minghao couldn’t really comprehend, making him a bit anxious.
“This is really something special,” Mingming grinned. He pulled his friend into a surprised hug. “Aw, I’m so happy for you!”
After swearing to keep it between just the two of them, Mingming felt honored with such a secrecy and held it with him, even after they graduated high school together and parted their separate ways.
Mingming traveled back to his hometown of Yangquan where he worked for his father’s company while attending classes at the local college. They kept in contact, but it was infrequent. Minghao always kept him updated on the names as Mingming continuously asked if there were any additional names that had been enscripted.
Though he was planning to take a gap year before he headed into university, his mother convinced him otherwise and persuaded him to apply to an abroad university in South Korea.
“Your soulmate’s name is in Korean, right? That must mean they’re in another country,” she smiled as she constantly helped him fill out applications. “I want you to meet them, Xiaohao. Even if that means you won’t be close to us.”
After strenuous months of applications, acceptance letters, banking statements, and visa documents, Minghao was on his way to studying at Yonsei University.
At the airport, it was a tough departure for his parents, letting their little Hao out into the world and into a new country with a distinct culture and an unsimilar language. His father patted his shoulder, telling him to be safe and to be aware of his surroundings. Minghao nodded, hugging his dad before he looked over at his mom who was bawling her eyes out as she carried a box of tissues with her, which was a bit embarrassing but understandable. She held onto her son tightly in the long and sincere hug.
She pulled back and cupped her son’s face and gave him a soft smile as a few tears ran down her eyes. Minghao wiped them with a couple of tissues his dad handed over, making the three of them laugh. “You’ll keep in touch, right?”
“Of course, mama,” he promised. He kissed her nose and pulled her in for another hug before he headed over for the gate to go through security.
Once his parents were out of sight, Minghao began to lose his composure once again. Not because of the journey ahead, which seemed terrifying already, but another name appeared on his right wrist under Mingyu’s name.
“Jeonghan?” he read to himself quietly. As he was waiting to board the flight, both of his sleeves were down, covering two names on each sleeve: Mingyu and Jeonghan on his right and Soonyoung and Jisoo on his left. Why in the world did he not have any other information except their first names? Was he supposed to figure out their last names? Whatever the matter, it would probably reveal itself when he settles down in his new location.
-
University wasn’t as difficult to adapt to as he would have expected. Though it was difficult at first, he soon picked up the language and began to talk to other students and engage into activities on campus as his communication abilities increased. He found some students who came from the same province as him back at home and felt at ease when he could speak his own native tongue once again.
Usually at night, Minghao was reminded of his soulmates on his arms. He gained one on each arm two months into his semester. The name Seokmin was on his right arm and the name Seungkwan on his left. It was all so confusing still. Six names? Was he actually to have six soulmates?
His friend circle expanded, though he never quite got close to anyone. He kept in touch with Mingming through electronic mail and camera chatting online, but it wasn’t the same as being face to face with him. Minghao’s social life wasn’t all that great due to the fear on his arms. He was sure that many of them wouldn’t think differently of him, but what if they did? What if he wasn’t allowed to hang around them any longer? He wasn’t risking that.
Focusing more on his school work than socializing, he did find himself roaming the streets in Seodaemun. It was a new environment, and he’s always been a curious child so he loved walking whether it be at two in the afternoon or two in the morning. Secretly, he would hope that he would run into someone, hopefully someone whose name was on his arms, but that was never the case.
This was one of the only times that he could quietly think to himself as he passed by people who were in a rush and were worried more about getting to their location on time rather than how many names were on Minghao’s wrists. Surprisingly, when he went to night markets, the elder street vendours brushed off the fact that he had multiple names. In fact, they were pretty interested.
“Six names?” Old man Song asked in curiosity as business was slow around one in the morning.
“Seven now, actually,” Minghao admitted as he rolled up his left sleeve to reveal another name to the elder man. “Hansol.”
“That’s a nice name,” he smiled, slowly pivoting himself to get a closer look at the wrist. “You don’t know anything else about them?”
“No sir. Can’t say I do.”
Mr. Song grinned, pulling up his own sleeves. Surprised, Minghao blinked when he saw a name on each wrist. “This one,” he pointed to the writing on his left wrist, “was my first wife. We married really early before I went into the army.”
“When was that?”
“Right after my first year at university. It was rough, but we managed to keep in contact for two years.” He smiled at the wrist and cover it with his jacket, sighing in the process. “She died about twenty years ago though.”
Minghao frowned and patted his back. “Condolences.”
“She’s in a better place now, it’s alright. Plus, I don’t think I would have met my other wife without her.” He pointed to his right sleeve and beamed before looking up at the younger boy. “We’ve been married for about thirty years now.” He wrapped his arm around Minghao, a familiar feeling like his father had done when he was younger back home.
“S-so.. the names on my wrists.. does that mean they died?”
“We’re all bound for death,” Mr. Song sighed. He laughed heartily when Minghao looked at him worried. “As depressing as that sounds, it’s true. Maybe your case is the same as my case. Or maybe you actually do have multiple soulmates.” Slowly he stood up, Minghao helping him as his legs carefully held him up. “The system’s flawed, but you aren’t, son.”
-
The only people that were close to Minghao were his parents, Mingming, and Mr. Song. Though they were quite distant, he considered them the only people he could actually rely on. He found all the courage in his heart, and all of the willpower in his soul, to tell his parents about the names on his wrist during one of their weekly calls.
His parents were silent at first, making him considerably uptight. However, much to his surprise, his father spoke out first. He loved his dad, but he was quiet and never really one to talk about soulmates. That was usually his mother.
“Xiaohao,” Mr. Xu coughed. “When you first turned fifteen, did you see one or two names?”
“W-well… I saw one at midnight… but then I showed another name to Mama without realizing it.”
There was another moment of silence, Minghao practically felt his heartbeat out of his chest, but he was surprised as to how well his parents took it.
“We’re not sure what it means,” his mother said as it was her turn to speak, “but you’re still our Xiaohao and we love you regardless if you have one soulmate or twelve.” He couldn’t visually them, but he could tell that they were smiling on the other end. Wiping his eyes from being so overwhelmed with such support, Minghao chuckled, thanking them for being understanding.
-
Eventually, every bird has to leave its nest, and Minghao decided to finish off his remaining three years at Yonsei. His parents supported his decision, constantly sending him packages on his birthday, the holidays, even valentine’s day. And, every year, he would always send them a little something back on parent’s day.
By the time he was finished with college, with a bachelor’s degree in pre medicine, there were five names on each of his arms, listed down and spaced evenly down to the indent of his elbow. On his left: Soonyoung, Jisoo, Seungkwan, Hansol, and Wonwoo. On his right: Mingyu, Jeonghan, Seokmin, Seungcheol, Jihoon.
Truthfully, after almost ten years, he still wasn’t exactly sure what they meant, but that was all the more reason to hide it from everyone except those he trusted. His parents were updated by it, still encouraging him to not lose hope and that he’ll meet everyone listed on his skin eventually. Sadly, he drifted from Mingming. It was inevitable. They barely shot e-mails at each other, always busy with their own studies to talk through their laptop cameras. It might have been a mutual drift, but Minghao was content with it, hoping that Mingming was doing well regardless.
The one thing that disappointed him was that Mr. Song stopped being a street vendour due to his health and old age. Considerably one of the best friends Minghao has ever had abroad in South Korea, he had nobody he was close with in the foreign country that he was now calling home.
He bought an apartment near his work, as he was an intern at a nearby pharmacy. The place was rather large for a single residence, but he had no desire to put signs up of wanting a roommate. The thought of going through that whole process of figuring out who he could trust by showing his arms made him shudder. After all that anxiety he went through because of it, he decided to just keep it between him and his parents, a secret that the rest of the world would never know.
However, the lonely nights were getting strenuous and his co-workers could see just how depressed Minghao was becoming. Though they weren’t that close, one of them, Jang Doyoon, suggested that he adopt a pet at the animal shelter nearby. He new the owner there who could help Minghao out.
What the hell, Minghao thought. He might as well.
Surprised to find someone who spoke Mandarin, his homeland’s main language, he was ecstatic and put to ease for being able to speak after so many years. The owner was Wen Junhui, someone whose life path was almost as similar as Minghao’s. Keyword: Almost.
Junhui, at the age of fifteen, had no indication of a name on his wrist or his entire arm. His parents were surprised, but they were sure that it would appear eventually. In hopes that his soulmate might be in another country, they sent him abroad as he studied at Korea University. He graduated with an animal studies degree and eventually went to veterinary school and opened up his own animal shelter for animals who had lost their owners or homes.
“So- did you ever figure out your soulmate?” Minghao asked.
Junhui shook his head as he put his mug of dark coffee down. “I don’t have one.”
Minghao was beyond shocked. “But I thought-”
“I thought so too,” Junhui nodded.
It was a spur of the moment sort of feeling when Minghao daringly pulled down both of his sleeves and rested his arms on the counter to show Junhui who stared at them blankly. “I… I have ten on my arms.”
Junhui continued to stare quietly until he shook his head. “Eleven.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s six on your left, five on your right.”
Minghao stared at his arms and recounted, only to see that there was a new name on his left, yet again in Korean. It read ‘Chan.’ He groaned and slammed his head on the counter. “I honestly have no idea what they mean, or who they are, and I’ve been freaking out over this for ten years,” he blurted out. He just met Junhui and he’s already talking out his whole life story and probably proving how crazy he is to someone who could potentially be someone else he would never talk to ever again.
Junhui carefully examined the names again and quietly pulled Minghao’s sleeves down and patted them. Minghao lifted his head and saw Junhui smiling at him. “Come here, I want to show you something-” He pushed the door for Minghao to enter the back to see the animals in the shelter. Minghao was utterly confused but followed through with the plan.
He was led to a couple of cats and dogs. Minghao smiled. He always loved animals. There was cat that initially grabbed his attention. His coat was a warm orange and he purred softly as Minghao pet his head. “Adorable,” he smiled.
“He’s a Bengal Cat,” Junhui smiled as he opened the cage and the cat immediately ran to Minghao and settled down in his lap when he sat down with his legs crossed. “He seems to really like you.”
“Does he have a name?”
“He certainly does.”
“What’s is it?”
“Mingyu,” Junhui hummed knowingly.
It was shocking at first, but slowly but surely, Minghao’s mystery of almost ten years was finally unfolding in front of him.
Soonyoung was a Beagle, a small hound with a brown, black, and white coat who was playful and especially liked being rubbed on his stomach. He was energetic and always full of life, Minghao was certain that he had his own little happy dance.
Seokmin, a ragdoll cat, was a large and semi-longhaired cat. He and Soonyoung constantly messed around with each other, barking and meowing, but always playing with each other. Minghao could have sworn they laughed with each other before they slept next to one another in Soonyoung’s bed.
Jisoo was a Norwich Terrier. His fur was coated black and brown with a slight fox expression. He was a quiet, small dog, but he always seemed to wag his tail happily, especially on walks through the park. Minghao noticed that he was completely infatuated by the sound of the guitar and singing that he passed by when they took their path back to Minghao’s apartment.
Jeonghan was a Burmese, a copper coloured and elegant cat that walked with his head up high. Minghao had to admit, he was beautiful, and the way he carried himself was graceful. Sometimes he joked that Jeonghan was an angelic cat by the way he would treat the other pets in the apartment.
Seungcheol, a Bombay cat, wore a sleek, black coat. Among the other cats, he seemed like a leader as they all seemed to follow him when they were walking around and playing around the apartment. Even the dogs followed him around every now and then. Notably, he was the eldest out of all the pets too, and well respected as the animal quarrels would stop when he meowed at them.
Wonwoo the Jindo dog would constantly be around Mingyu. Though he was larger and looked more intimidating, the two were practically inseparable, as if they were best friends in another life. Minghao noticed how much Wonwoo liked his hat collection, so he put a hat on his dog whenever they went out for walks. He was especially fond of his bucket hats.
Chan, a Bolognese; Seungkwan a Bichon Frise, and Hansol, a Dachshund, were the three musketeers. These three dogs were practically glued to one another, as if they were brothers. Chan was the youngest of the three and Minghao saw how Seungkwan and Hansol would always wait for him since he was the slowest yet most eager. They always seemed to bark together happily, making Minghao laugh.
Jihoon was an independent British Shorthair cat. Though he mostly spent his time alone, he wasn’t bothered mind when the other ten pets were surrounding him. He purred next to Minghao’s side when he pulls out his guitar and plays it.
Minghao’s apartment was filled with pets. Though it was arguable how much the animals would fight with one another, they rarely did. His neighbors weren’t bothered by the noise the pets made. In fact, they were more than happy to see Minghao finally smiling once again. The landlord agreed to let all of them stay since they had a ‘pets allowed’ policy and Minghao always picked up after the dogs when he took them out for walks.
But waking up to all of his furry friends was like a dream come true. Every morning, it was either Seungkwan or Chan who licked Minghao’s face good morning before he made breakfast and prepared it for the eleven other residents. The cats would ‘man the fort,’ though it was mostly Seungcheol who controlled the other cats, as he took the dogs out for their morning walk. They happily strided with their new owner down the sidewalks and greeted bypassers who warmly greeted them back. After he returned from their walk, Minghao got ready for work and promised to be back later in the evening for dinner as his neighbors said they’d help feed the pets during lunchtime.
For the first time in years, Minghao was finally smiling and happy with his life. He came to terms with himself, realizing just how special the names on his arms completely were. His parents were updated, thrilled to have found out that their little Hao is neither alone nor unhappy while abroad in his new home country. And he has his eleven furry soulmates to thank for that.