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Kyungsoo totally believed in soulmates—and he totally believed that Tao was his. He had yet to tell Tao this, for obvious reasons, but still, Kyungsoo was lowkey convinced. Or he had been until Tao called him up way too early for a Saturday morning.
"Kyungsoo!" Tao's voice had been far too chipper and Kyungsoo couldn't repress his groan at being so unapologetically pulled from sleep. "Come shopping with me!"
Kyungsoo hated shopping almost as much as he hated not being able to sleep until noon on a weekend. But Kyungsoo also really liked Tao, like a whole lot; so maybe it was the tug of an invisible red string dragging their two souls together, or maybe it was just that Kyungsoo couldn't say no to his crush, but either way it was now early afternoon and Kyungsoo had been following Tao around the market stalls for hours.
His feet hurt and his eyes hurt—he'd wanted to look good for the basketball player and so had worn his contacts, and was now strongly regretting that decision. He was pouting, too; though he tried to hide his bored petulance whenever Tao turned around to grin at him in excitement and question "Isn't this fun?!" (Um, not really, no.)
To make matters worse, Tao was shopping for jewelry and jewelry was something that Kyungsoo didn't wear. (Though he was admittedly more than appreciative of the other boy's multiple piercings and the variety of rings he wore to make his long fingers look even prettier.) In other words, Kyungsoo understood the general appeal of buying earrings just about as much as he understood the appeal of shopping. (Or basketball...even though basketball players themselves definitely had a certain charm.)
"What do you think of this one, Soo?" Tao asked cheerfully, completely oblivious to the way his use of the nickname made Kyungsoo's face heat and stomach flip-flop.
Kyungsoo spared a half-interested glance at the ring in Tao's Palm and ventured slowly, "It's pretty, I guess."
Tao grinned. "Like you!" He didn't even pause after his compliment and dropped the ring to hold up another. Kyungsoo kind of wished Tao would have, though, because he was far too flustered to respond immediately when Tao said, "What about this one?"
Kyungsoo took a deep breath and cursed the blush he could feel lighting his face on fire. "More manly. I like this one better," he decided after another moment. And he meant it, too. Something caught his eye though and he pointed it out to Tao, words tentative because Tao looked so pleased with his current selection and Kyungsoo didn't want to see his lowkey soulmate frown even a little bit. "But I think it's part of a couple set?"
Surprisingly, Tao grinned at him, his thin lips disappearing completely in the wide happiness of his smile. "Obviously," he deadpanned. "One's for you!"
Kyungsoo gaped open mouthed at that and Tao's gaze, always fiercely intense, softened noticeably. "But only if you want," Tao offered, suddenly nervous.
Kyungsoo slammed his mouth shut instantly, plucked the ring from Tao's grasp, then put it on his finger and held his hand up to admire it.
"I want," he confessed breathlessly.
Tao's face brightened and he wasted no time in grabbing the matching piece of jewelry and putting it on his own hand. "Me too," he whispered before bending down to kiss the top of Kyungsoo's head with lightning speed.
"Ahjumma," he shouted loudly to the store clerk after Kyungsoo squeaked in pleased surprise. "We'll take these please! My boyfriend and I will."
Boyfriend, huh? Kyungsoo liked the sound of that.