Chapter Text
The overwhelmingly large hall felt a little too suffocating for Jungkook. He could literally inhale the expensive fragrances that lingered into the air, making him extremely nauseous.
“There you are-” Jungkook is startled by his mother’s shrill voice.
“Jungkook-ah, please behave. This is not your stupid writers’ club gathering, okay? You can’t be so casual here. Try to at least act like a businessman even if you’re not one. Don’t forget that you’re still a Jeon.” And she goes on. Jungkook spaces out at one point as he casually sips on the champagne.
The words that his mother is throwing at him are nothing new. He's been hearing these exact words since the moment he chose to be a professional writer and ditched the position of the CEO in his father’s company.
Looking around the hall, Jungkook bites back a smile when he notices the snobby rich people sharing fake laughter and smiles. It’s truly a sight to watch.
“When is this party getting over? I have things to do.” Jungkook turned towards his mother and finally looked into her eyes. He indeed had a few things on his plate, and the most important being a video conference with the editor of his upcoming book.
“It’s not even been an hour since the party started, Jungkook. The main host is not even here yet, and you’re already talking about leaving? We’re not leaving anytime soon.” His mother snapped, her voice is soft, but the tone is everything but soft.
“You better not embarrass your father tonight.” She proceeded to warn Jungkook.
“Junhee, look who’s here!” Jeon Hyun-wok’s loud and cheerful voice interrupted the duo’s conversation, positively gaining Jungkook and his mother’s attention.
Jungkook notices the way his mother’s demeanor changes when she turns towards her husband and then looks at the couple by his side.
“Mr. Kim! Mrs. Kim!” She addresses the couple and bows at them, a wide grin making its way to her lips.
“Oh c’mon! No need to be this formal!” Mrs. Kim dismisses Junhee with an elegant laugh. And for the first time tonight, Jungkook witnesses a real smile.
Mr. Kim’s lips twitch into a subtle smile when he eyes his wife’s smile. He looks like a man of few words but his eyes do the talking. Despite the professionalism that is oozing out of the man, Jungkook can also feel the warmth radiating through the former as he stares down at his partner.
Unintentionally, Jungkook’s eyes trails down to their ring fingers of their intertwined hands, and he notices the red ink of fate peeking out from where they’re hidden under their rings. Soulmates. No wonder their connection is visibly strong.
“Jeon Jungkook, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Jungkook breaks out of his train of thoughts by Mr. Kim’s deep, airy voice.
When he looks up, he’s met with a pair of dark brown orbs, shining with amusement.
“Pleasure is all mine, Mr. Kim! Mom and Dad talk a lot about you and Mrs. Kim. It’s truly phenomenal how you handle so many business chains alone. You’re truly admirable.” Jungkook compliments the man standing in front of him. And he truly means what he said.
While they were on their way to the Kim’s mansion, Jungkook’s parents filled him in about the Kims and their business, and they’re also pretty famous and get featured in the business section of the newspapers and articles pretty often.
“I am glad you think so, young man. But, I am quite disappointed that Junhee and Hyun-wok didn’t introduce us sooner. If I knew that my business partner’s son is one of my favourite authors, I would’ve arranged a personal meeting with you.” Mr. Kim jokes, but Jungkook can tell that the man truly admires him.
“He was truly gushing over your recent book like a lovesick puppy. He even shed tears while reading the epilogue.” Mrs. Kim joins in and teases her husband, making Jungkook giggle in return.
“I am truly honored. Kindred Soul is probably my favorite work of mine as well, and it truly melts my heart when I see others loving it.” Jungkook smiles at the couple. From the corner of his eyes, he could feel his parents glaring at him for talking about his profession at a business event, but he wasn’t the one to bring it up, was he? So he isn’t at fault.
“Your book deserves so much love! I have two copies of all your work. I am really into romance novels, and your works never fail to fascinate me. Good work, Jungkook-ah! I am looking forward to your next book. Is it coming out anytime soon?” Mr. Kim asks, looking truly invested into the topic.
“It is! I have a meeting with the editor soon an-”
“He is always busy with his writings and barely gives us any time. I keep trying to pester him to switch professions. Writing is not even a permanent career. God knows why can’t he understand that!” Junhee intervenes, making the atmosphere weirdly uncomfortable.
“Who says that writing isn’t a permanent career? Jungkook is brave for chasing his dreams and not residing for a profession he has no interest in. He’s clearly thriving in his own career, and I think he would appreciate it if his own parents didn't demean his work.” Mrs. Kim’s sharp voice cuts through the air, leaving not only Junhee and Hyun-wok speechless, but Jungkook also stills. He didn’t expect anyone to take a stand for him. Even he doesn’t have the courage or energy to deal with his parents.
“Anyway, my son is running a little late, which I am extremely ashamed of, but he had some unavoidable things to take care of, so please enjoy the party till the real host arrives. And Jungkook-ah, let’s meet each over a coffee soon, okay? I need to get my signed copy to Kindred Soul.” With that the Kim couple walks away.
“Did you have fun embarrassing us?” Hyun-wok hisses, his words sharp and taunting.
Jungkook doesn’t bother holding back the scoff as he walks past his parents.
In order to get some fresh air, he makes his way towards the pool area. There aren’t many people there - given it was still chilly outside, but Jungkook genuinely appreciated the peace it offered him.
He takes his seat on the sun lounger placed at the deck of the swimming pool as he stares at the beautiful backyard right across the pool. The whole backyard was decorated with warm, yellow toned fairy lights, making it look mesmerizing.
Jungkook mindlessly stares into the void, eyes drifting here and there from time to time until it lands on the small entrance attached to the backyard.
He almost thinks about escaping from the huge mansion and run back to his own apartment and get away from his nagging parents, but then his mind drifted towards the couple he met earlier - they welcomed him so warmly, and even defended him in front of his parents, and he really doesn’t want to disrespect someone who welcomed him with such a genuine smile. Maybe he can stay a little longer.
The writer snaps out of his daze when he hears a couple of footsteps approaching the pool area. When he snaps his gaze towards the direction of the source of the sound, he sees a man in a three-piece black suit along with two others entering the pool area through the backyard. They must’ve entered while Jungkook was deep in his thoughts.
But why would a guest enter from the backdoor of the house? And judging by the way the man is walking, Jungkook can already tell how authoritative the man is.
He rises up from the sun lounger and diverts his gaze from the man when his phone buzzes in his pocket. Letting out a sigh, Jungkook picks up the call and mindlessly starts walking towards the hall once again.
He was so engaged in his conversation with the editor and his dear friend, Namjoon, that he didn’t notice the hurried footsteps right behind him. And the moment he hung up and turned around to take a look at the pool for one last time, his forehead collided with a firm shoulder, making him hiss in pain. The sudden jerk falters his balance a little and he ends up tripping a little - the remaining champagne on his glass pouring right over his gray suit. Talk about bad luck.
“Oh fuck!” A deep, velvety and weirdly soothing voice reaches Jungkook’s ears, making him forget about the mess he created, for a while.
“I am terribly sorry, sir! I wasn’t looking straight and my mind was being a mess so I wasn’t very conscious about my surroundings either. I am terribly apologeti-” The man stops rambling the moment Jungkook’s and his eyes meet.
Jungkook stares into the man’s brown orbs, instantly feeling the tug - the desire, the need - to stay close to him, to lose himself in those same warm brown orbs.
He has written about this exact moment so many times, yet nothing beats the feeling of experiencing it. The giddiness and the nervousness that seeps through his veins is surely pretty prominent and he doubts if he can ever explain it in words.
None of them dares to break eye contact until they feel the burn - an actual burn - on their ring finger.
Both snap their gazes towards the ring finger of their left hand. The burn intensifies at one point, and Jungkook had to bite down on his lower lip to not let out a painful whine. His skin is already sensitive, and the burn was making him feel very uncomfortable. But he tries his best to put aside the thought of the burn and solely focuses on the man standing in front of him.
The guy is staring intensely at his finger, not even a flicker of pain reflecting on his handsomely nonchalant face.
Just as Jungkook was about to say something, the burn stopped, a tattoo of a thin ribbon, inked in red, appeared around their ring fingers.
It’s clear now. There’s no misunderstanding or any scope for doubt here.
The man standing in front of him is his soulmate. His chosen one.
They are now tied by their fates. They’re soulmates.
“We are soulmates…” Jungkook breathes out, his wide eyes glimmering as he looks at the suited man standing in front of him.
It is very rare to come across your soulmate. It is believed that only the ‘meant-to-be pairs’ find each other's way to their destined partner. Jungkook has surely dreamt about finding his soulmate and getting to live happily ever after, but now when he is actually living the moment, he feels too spellbound to even talk to his fated partner.
“Bullshit!” As soon as Jungkook hears this, his breath hitches. His giddy smile turns into an anxious one, the shine in his eyes dimmed a little as his gazes at the other anxiously.
“This soulmate crap is pure bullshit and I am not falling for this stupid game of fate.”
The guy scoffs and walks past him, deliberately nudging Jungkook’s shoulder on his way.
── .✦
Taehyung never wanted to get involved in any kind of romantic relationship, and finding his soulmate was not even in his list of priorities. But fate indeed had to be cruel to him and bring him exactly what he never anticipated for himself.
Taehyung’s whole life revolves around his career and work and he would prefer to keep it just like that. He doesn’t have time to waste on some random person he had a red string with. The stupid string of fate means nothing to him and he will never trust his cruel fate to choose the “right person” for him.
However, Taehyung’s parents don’t agree with him.
It’s been a while since they have been pestering him to get married and settle down in life. His father probably talks about his marriage at least three times a day. Sometimes, the older make it sounds like marriage should be the end goal in life and it heavily annoys Taehyung.
“Taehyung, I am asking for the last time now- who is the person? Your mark on your finger is a vibrant red color which is telling me that you probably met your soulmate not long ago, so tell us if that person is present in the party. We can talk to them and-”
“Dad! I didn’t see them, okay? I was in a hurry to get here on time and I didn’t notice anything or anyone on my way here.” Taehyung groaned out.
The moment his parents saw the red mark on his ring finger, they dragged him into his bedroom and started their inquiry session.
“Bullshit! There is no way that you bumped into your soulmate and didn’t stop on your tracks to notice that person. Unwillingly or not, you ought to feel a strong pull towards that person. Also, young man, the red string does not appear unless your eyes connect with your other half. So next time when you try to fool your dad, make sure to not fool him about something he has immense knowledge about.” Mr. Kim scoffs at his son.
Mrs. Jeon doesn’t utter a single word. She just intently listens to the conversation.
“Namjoon, Yoongi- you two were there with him, right? Did you see his soulmate? Or do you happen to come across that person who is destined for Taehyung?” Mrs. Jeon finally speaks. She directs her question to her son’s best friends and business partners, Kim Namjoon and Min Yoongi. Since they left the office together and arrived at the mansion together, there is a high chance that they might have witnessed the magical scene unfolding in front of their eyes.
“Yes, we saw him.” Yoongi replied confidently.
“He was at the pool area, sipping on a glass of champagne I guess. Um he was wearing a gray suit, had lots of piercings and was probably an inch or two shorter than Tae. Oh also, he has big round eyes and bunny teeths, That’s all we noticed.” Yoongi spilled out everything as he acted nonchalant to the dark and threatening glare Taehyung was throwing at him.
Sue him for wanting to see Taehyung happy in his life.
── .✦