Chapter Text
Kim Namjoon had been told when he was around 13 that he should try to remember faces that appear in his dreams; one of them at the least was his soulmate. He never asked how he would recognise the one he was fated to be with and his parents only thought he wasn’t interested. In his dreams there were no people and no noise, just him. He wouldn’t have a problem finding the one.
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When he turned 17, he began having nightmares- something he usually doesn’t have. They were reoccurring and happening at least two nights a week. He wakes up almost every night in cold sweat at the sensation of drowning.
Soon after he turned 19 he began seeing a boy in own dreams, first when the stranger was crouching in the short tufts of grass of a meadow, smiling at the wild flower blooms. Second when he was sitting on an old park bench, head leaning back and resting on the support as he watched the sky change colour from blue to peach orange. The third happened when the boy was stroking and following a cat into corners of the dark street where the lights flickered.
Namjoon, being the awkward, shy person he is decided that he shouldn’t talk to him yet. So he watched the boy from afar- he refused to call it stalking.
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After the few times he saw the boy enter his dreams, he wasn’t expecting him but was startled by a voice.
“Hello, is this your dream?”
Namjoon turned around to see who was behind him whilst noticing the sounds of the river’s violent gushing nearby. ‘I never heard in my dreams before, everything seems clearer as if it’s real…’
“Um, hello, yes this is my dream.”
“Oh, wow, I’ve never had a dream before.” He says, caramel eyes sparkling. “Oh, I’m Kim Seokjin, nice to meet you… soulmate.”
“How do you know I’m your soulmate?”
“My parents always told me that when you meet your soulmate in your dreams, your conscience is clear, like you’re awake,” He states proudly. “What’s your name?”
“Kim Namjoon.” He replies, scanning the other. Seokjin was taller just by a few inches, had neat black hair and his eyes shone as the sunlight seeped through the forest canopy, filtering him.
“Is this really your first dream?” he asks confused.
“Yes, didn’t I say that?”
“But I saw you a few times in my dreams before we met…” he trailed
“I’m not lying. I’ve always had a blank sleep every night.” Seokjin huffs back.
Namjoon decided not to push it and they asked about each other. He learnt that Seokjin was two years older than he was and at he had a passion for singing. But before they could discover more about each other, Namjoon felt as if he was being pulled and next thing he knew, he was awake in bed wide eye in shock.
He forced himself out of bed. The thought of Seokjin telling him he had never had a dream bugged him that morning, unable to shake it off he readies himself for school.
___________
“Hyung!” Namjoon calls out to the man watching the empty streets on the roof of a tall building.
Seokjin turns around confused. “Do I know you?”
After Seokjin ponders for a while he exclaims excitedly. “Oh! You’re my soulmate!”
“I’m Seokjin. I never thought I’d meet my soulmate in my first dream.”
“What?”
“I’m Seokjin.” The elder repeats, eyes blinking owlishly.
“Yes, I know. But we already met, why are you telling me your name again?”
“No, I believe this is our first meeting.” He replies frowning.
Namjoon was confused to the point he thinks his brain must have stopped working. He had given up in convincing the elder that they had already met once and was almost in shocked silence as they sat on a roof under thick clouds and spoke about themselves, realising that every word Seokjin had said was repeated from their previous conversation.
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In every night Namjoon had shared with Seokjin, the latter would always repeat his words unknowingly and the younger would always reply in the same answers as if they we rehearsed. He realised that the more he lied about their meetings, the more he felt empty inside. It broke his heart that Seokjin would forget him the next time they met. It hurt more when he knew he couldn’t do anything about it.
Namjoon would cry to himself almost every morning. He would cry to Yoongi his best friend when he asked about his health- unusually spacing off during classes and eyes looking puffy and red. What he couldn’t tell his parents was soon forced out by Yoongi, leaving the elder’s mouth agape whose only words broke the silence. “I’m sorry…” He says just under as whisper. What else could he have said to make him feel better?
But he stopped crying. He stopped feeling. He started avoiding instead, avoiding the one whose life was bound to his. Every time Seokjin appeared in his dreams he would run away or try to force himself awake from what was meant to be a good moment in life to a dreaded nightmare.
“You’re broken.” Yoongi clearly states that afternoon after they decided to study at his place.
“I don’t know what you mean.” The younger says, face void of emotion.
“Are you seriously going keep this up? You’ve been running away from your soulmate and you still have no idea why he doesn’t have any memory of you or his previous dreams.”
“There isn’t even anything I can do about-“
“There is.” Yoongi snaps back at the blonde. “I went through all the trouble to find the reason why he doesn’t know about you, and all you do is sit at home and school every single day wearing your ass like a hat.”
Namjoon’s eyes widen in shock and he starts mouthing words that his voice couldn’t project.
Yoongi sighed and removed his feet from the coffee table in front of them. “I did a lot of research- a TON LOT, and your soulmate has something similar to amnesia?” he starts, slightly unsure. “It’s really a disease of some sort and he still can regain his memories of his previous dreams.”
Namjoon watches his hand gestures as the other continued. “You can only do that by making contact with your soulmate- it doesn’t have to be physical, I heard just eye contact cured someone.” He finishes awkwardly.