Chapter Text
Jinchul used to think he didn't have a soulmate. Not a super rare thing, but still resulted in some pitying looks, which got rarer with the gates appearing. His 'condition' became a boon, actually, since he didn't have to worry about causing pain to someone he didn't even know. Not that it was correct to assume his soul was complete. His other half, as things turn out, was out there. Just younger.
One day as he was filling paperwork, fueled mostly by coffee at this point. The sun has long set. Suddenly, a shaky heart appeared on the top of his hand. He froze. He saw some of his friends do this when turning eighteen. Eagerly awaiting a response.
And now some poor eighteen-year-old was stuck with him as their soulmate. At least he didn't go to dungeons half as often as he used to. Actually, he barely went in anymore. Too busy managing bruised egos.
He scrambled for a marker to respond with an even more shaky heart. As scary as it was, he was excited.
They exchanged small doodles through the evening as Jinchul filled in his paperwork without writing any words until his soulmate got the courage to send his number 'more practical' they wrote. Jinchul carefully put the number into his contacts as 'Soulmate'. He wasn't going to push for anything, considering the other likely just turned eighteen.
'It certainly is more practical,' he texted as a way to send his own number to his soulmate.
'Sorry if I'm keeping you up with this'
'this beats paperwork' Jinchul glanced around. He was one of the very few people still in the office. Maybe he should just go home? Probably. Not that he had to worry about affecting his soulmate too much until they met in person. Which likely wouldn't happen in a while.
He did go home shortly after. Mostly thanks to his soulmate encouraging him to stick a bit better to his work hours. And maybe because he couldn't really focus on the conflicts between hunters.
About three years later
They met sooner than Jinchul was ready for it. In his defence, it was an incident. When he thought about it later, it was probably just thanks to his unusual schedule that it didn't happen sooner.
They bumped into each other in the grocery store. He just knew this young man was his soulmate. He couldn't explain how he knew it. But he just did, and the other did too.
"Instant ramen and coffee isn't a good grocery list," the younger smiled.
"Maybe..." Jinchul couldn't help smiling back. His instinct was correct. He couldn't lie to him. "Woo Jinchul." He introduced himself instead of coming up with excuses. They wouldn't work. "In my defence, I recently got a promotion and have been trying to cope with that," an explanation wasn't an excuse.
"Sung Jinwoo," his soulmate chuckled and congratulated him. Jinchul was never the type of man to pay much attention to his or others looks. But his soulmate, Jinwoo, was arguably adorable. He looked young for his age, with big eyes, dark hair that tended to fall in his eyes.
He made sure to invite Jinwoo out for coffee to thank him for his time. He still had his mother and sister to worry about.
To say their first date was a disaster would be an understatement. Jinchul knew beforehand that his soulmate's mother had recently fallen ill with the Eternal Slumber. But that wasn't what caused the disaster. Something else did.
"If you ever need a hand with anything, I'm here," he offered, fully meaning it. He was ready to step up and help. And it wasn't like he could lie anyway.
But that was a mistake. Not at first. Jinwoo was always a little bit distant. He wasn't cold. Just preferred to keep things to himself. But Jinchul wasn't aware to what level.
Back to the date. Jinchul made his offer. Jinwoo seemingly wrapped himself tighter in his jacket. They chatted about unrelated topics, mostly Jinwoo making sure Jinchul was eating properly. And separated. Nothing different from when they bumped into each other in the grocery store. But after that, there was nothing.
Nothing on Jinchul's skin. No texts. No calls. Complete silence whenever Jinchul tried asking how Jinwoo was doing. All the injuries he could feel Jinwoo suffering.
And then Jinwoo ended up in the hospital. And Jinchul was not allowed to visit him. He wasn't a family member or an official partner. Just being a soulmate wasn't enough. So he waited in the lobby until he saw a dejected Jinwoo leaving.
He looked mildly panicked when he saw Jinchul approach. "Can we talk?" he just asked his soulmate. For the first time since meeting, he felt an urge to hug Jinwoo. And Jinchul was never the touchy type, which annoyed some previous partners.
"Somewhere private?" Jinwoo countered while glancing about. Jinchul might not have been the most famous or recognisable hunter out there, but he did appear in a lot, even if in the background, of Association media announcements.
"Coffee shop or somewhere more private?" he left an option open.
"More private, my sister is staying at a friend's since I didn't know how long I'd have to stay here," Jinwoo decided as they hurried out of the hospital.
"Would my apartment suffice?" Jinchul offered as he led Jinwoo to his car. Jinwoo just nodded, biting his lower lip as Jinchul opened the passenger side door for him. "I'm just being polite," he clarified. Over a week of overthinking, he decided that Jinwoo likely didn't like to depend on anyone. Especially after his mother fell sick.
The drive and then elevator ride were silent, but Jinchul was glad to see his soulmate. Even if he was bandaged, at least it wasn't anything too serious.
Jinchul's apartment was clean and minimal. Quite honestly, he didn't spend that much time there.
"Would you like anything to drink?" he asked after pointing Jinwoo to the couch.
"Not really," Jinwoo muttered as he sat down at the very edge. "So?"
"Did I do or say anything to offend you?" Jinchul asked as he sat on the other end of the couch.
Jinwoo was silent. "I...I wouldn't call it that..." he finally said.
Jinchul let out a slow, steady breath. So he would not admit it. "All I meant then was that I'm here if you need anything. Even just someone to talk to or to come to if you don't want your sister to see something. Anything, no matter how small, I'm here for you. No obligation to take me up on it, but I would love to be an option for you," he said in a single breath. He was ready to face the recoil.
"Do you mean it?"
"I literally can't lie to you, but yes, I fully and completely mean it."
"But... you're you. An A-rank with a good position in the Association and...."
"One, you're my soulmate, and two, I would say the same even if you weren't. I'm afraid you're stuck with me caring about you," Jinchul said without thinking too much. It was all true, so why overthink it?
"You're impossible, others wouldn't bother...."
"Well, I'm very much the type to bother."
Jinwoo sighed and finally relaxed, leaning back with a hiss as his injuries bothered him. Jinchul felt the sting with him and, for the first time in his life, regretted not awakening as a healer. As he was all he could offer was comfort, not true relief. So he offered the comfort. "Would you like a hug?"
"But your suit..."
"I have more and a company discount at the dry cleaners," Jinchul half-joked. And that worked. He barely finished when he had arms full of his sobbing soulmate.
They stayed like that until Jinwoo let it all out. And Jinchul was fully content to let him. At which point Jinwoo insisted he'll make dinner while Jinchul changes.
"And how would me coming over even work?" Jinwoo complained as Jinchul first cleaned up the paperwork off his dining table. Luckily, there wasn't too much this week.
"Draw a thunderbolt on your right wrist or just text me. Chairman Go will be overjoyed that I leave work on time more often. You should have seen him today," Jinchul offered and moved on to complain about people's issues with his schedule. All Jinwoo had a problem with was his eating habits.
"I can try that, and you can hug me, no need to hover," Jinwoo huffed. Jinchul was glad to see his snarky soulmate was back. So before going for his shower, Jinchul hugged the digging through his kitchen Jinwoo and purely on instinct kissed the top of his head.
They both froze for a moment.
Did he overstep? Did the domestic feelings get to him? Maybe. But if Jinwoo asked, he wouldn't be able to deny he enjoyed it.
"That was nice," Jinwoo finally said, kissed his jaw and shooed him away. "Go shower or whatever," he huffed, face bright red. Not that Jinchul was any better.
"Yeah, should I get you a change of clothes for later?" he really hoped Jinwoo would stay the night. He could spend an occasional night on the couch if needed.
"That would be great, and don't even think about sleeping on the couch. I trust your bed is big enough for us both," Jinwoo huffed, not looking up from his cooking.
Jinwoo's home cooking was even better than tasting it through their bond.
Bonus, Chairman Go catching them
Go Gunhe had a lovely lunch with his wife. Sadly, Woo Jinchul refused to join them. Maybe he was putting too much work on the young man? Not that he could give him less, he'd find it and then some. There's always next time, he thought as he entered the Association headquarters lobby. As he looked about, more on habit than looking for anyone specific, he spotted no one other but Chief Woo himself.
And he wasn't alone. He was talking to a shorter dark dark-haired man. Not much older than twenty. Dressed in a blue hoodie and jeans. There was a smudge on his arm as he pulled his sleeve down after passing a neatly wrapped lunch to their chief Woo.
Soulmate.
So Jinchul had one after all. And their relationship was good enough for the other to bring him for lunch to work.
He could focus his hearing and hear what they were talking about. But the slight, rare smile on Jinchul's face stopped him. There was no need to investigate further. His protegee was clearly happy with his other half. Plus, he looked like a decent young man and got Jinchul to relax and leave work on time at least occasionally. No need to worry. But maybe he would look out for the boyish face in the reports that reached his desk. Just in case.