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Donghyuck is an outspoken guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s boastful. Sure, he jokes around a lot and has the personality of a beagle puppy, but he is rather modest. Jaemin claims it’s to a fault.
“You are 16, and you are on Emirate Board of Fate Scholars,” Jaemin yells, throwing his hands up dramatically. Donghyuck shrugs and slurps up his ramyun. “You have legitimately made history by what you’ve discovered while being so young. Why wouldn’t you let yourself be proud of that?”
“I am proud of doing so, but that’s no reason to be proud,” Donghyuck explains, yet again. “Hubris is rather fucking annoying. I should know, I’m on the Emirate Board of Fate Scholars.” He wraps a few noodles around his chopsticks and lifts them up to his lips. “Besides, you always blush and hide when we mention that you won-”
“Okay, okay!” Jaemin cries. Donghyuck snickers and takes a bite of the noodles. “Enough. I get it. We do not need to mention this.”
“You’re ludacris,” Donghyuck replies. “How’s your current research going?”
“Well. We’ve began another series of medicine trials. The results are particularly good with colon cancer and breast cancer. Lung cancer patients aren’t having as much luck, but they could just need some time or a higher dose. But, a higher dose increases the chance of anemia…” And that’s it. Donghyuck has lost Na Jaemin by getting him into his bubble, whose address is at the junction between chemistry and oncology. Why does he do this if he knows he’ll just lose Jaemin? He returns his attention to his ramyun and also checks his email.
“So, NCT is doing THE interview tomorrow,” Jaemin says. Donghyuck is surprised that Jaemin stopped talking about his work so quickly. His record is talking about his research for an hour and a half without stopping. Then again, Donghyuck’s record is 2 hours and 20 minutes, so he can’t complain.
“What do you mean?” Donghyuck asks, furrowing his brows. He knows Jaemin loves NCT best of all the bands he obsesses over when he’s not playing with dangerous chemicals and tumors, but he doesn’t get the lingo. He’s not into that stuff; he’s a ballad sort of guy.
“The interview where they talk about their soulmates!” Donghyuck nods in legitimate interest, because soulmates are his thing.
It’s kind of silly- being an esteemed scholar on fate and true love. But the whole concept grabbed Donghyuck’s interest from an early age and never let go. Now, he’s made it very far in the world of eventology. He graduated early and went to a prestigious college with a great eventology program. He was told that Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Medicine winner Na Jaemin would be having a lab here, he tracked him down so Donghyuck wouldn’t be so alone. He may be bright, but he’s still young; a lot of people, including his parents at times, forget that. Jaemin understood as well. No matter your title and success, you’re always moody as a teenager.
“All the wisher fans get super crazy around this time,” Jaemin adds, grabbing his bowl and tilting it back to drink some broth.
“Does that include you?” Donghyuck cocks an eyebrow. They’re both wishers themselves, but they’re in no hurry to find their soulmates. A lot of their classmates haven’t found their soulmates, and they’re younger than them.
Plus, being a wisher means that you just sit and wait for fate to come. Donghyuck loves that.
“No, not really. That would be so hard, having a soulmate who gets declarations of love from fans 24/7,” Jaemin replies. “As adorable and talented as they are, I wouldn’t want that to put a strain on our relationship.”
“Hey, if they were your soul-”
“No, you’re not going into your fate crap right now. I’m done with my ramyun, are you?” Donghyuck replies by throwing his cup in the trash. Jaemin follows suit and they head back towards their campus.
~~
Donghyuck is flipping through an eventology journal at around 10 PM the next day. He had just gotten home from a particularly draining meeting of the EBFS, in which he had to debate against some bullshit with one of the older members of the board. Some people were so caught up in the old way of doing things. Donghyuck sighed and tossed aside the journal. He opened up his laptop to see if Jaemin wanted to play some Mario Kart with him to find that Jaemin had already… emailed him? Weird, Jaemin could just as easily text Donghyuck.
The subject is just a bunch of exclamation points. Donghyuck opens the email. Jaemin had wrote “IMPORTANT” about 50 times, and not all were spelled correctly. There was a link at the bottom of the email. Donghyuck clicked it, and it opened a video.
It was one of Jaemin’s kpop videos.
Donghyuck sighs and calls Jaemin.
“Donghyuck! Open my email! Watch the video!” Jaemin screeches into his ear the second he picks up.
“Why would I watch your stupid kpop stuff? You’re so weird,” Donghyuck says. Jaemin is ridiculous sometimes.
“No! This is really important, trust me,” Jaemin sounds like he’s freaking out, so Donghyuck gingerly presses play.
“Are you watching it?”
“Yeah. Do I have to watch the whole thing?”
“Um, no, but from the beginning. The important part is the second one who speaks.”
“Ok. I’m gonna put you on speaker then.”
“Ok, Donghyuck. Oh my god, oh my god…”
Donghyuck presses the speaker button and places his phone on the armrest of his chair. He turns up the volume and focuses on the video.
Welcome, NCT, to the Celebrity Fate Studio! This is where we interview all celebrities on all things fate. If you’re lucky, your favorite celeb could even be your soulmate! Shall we find out?
The band introduces themselves as a group first, and then individually.
Hey, I’m Yuta from Japan.
Hey guys, I’m Mark from Canada!
Hello, I’m Doyoung.
Hey, I’m Taeyong, the leader of NCT.
Hello, I’m Jaehyun.
Hey, I’m Hansol from Busan.
Hey, I’m Johnny from Chicago.
Donghyuck knows that Jaemin is a huge fan of Hansol in particular. He has a sticker of Hansol’s face on his locker in the laboratory. All the other researchers find it endearing.
Donghyuck thinks Mark and Taeyong are pretty attractive, but he doesn’t like to think too much about it, since he doesn’t know his soulmate.
Yuta goes first in talking about his soulmate.
So, I’m a carrier, and it’s what brought me to Korea. The writing on my wrist was Korean, so I went to Korea to find them since I knew I would have to. I came and found my soulmate, which is actually Hansol hyung!
The interviewer cooes. The other members coo, even though they definitely knew this earlier. Donghyuck cooes. Jaemin most likely cooed. The whole world cooes because that’s adorable.
Since Hansol was a trainee, I auditioned as well. I was happy to be even training with my soulmate, so I was ecstatic to debut with him! Fate itself led me to being in NCT and I’m so grateful for that.
Everyone claps and makes affirmative noises. Hansol and Yuta share a smile, reaffirming once again how much Donghyuck loves fate.
“They’re so cute, aren’t they?” Jaemin croons.
“It’s so cute. They look so happy.”
“Mark is the important one. Listen closely to his.” Donghyuck does listen, because Jaemin knows that he loves soulmate stuff. It’s probably just something super interesting that he thinks Donghyuck would enjoy. He trusts Jaemin, so he directs his attention back to the video.
Onto Mark, the youngest member!
I’m a carrier too. I haven’t met him, but I’ve… seen him? I know of him. He’s very successful, but he’s younger than me! I figured doing this might be the best way to get his attention. He might not be watching, though. He’s done some prestigious stuff… Well, our fans can let him know, right?
The crowd cheers in affirmation. Donghyuck feels this weird feeling in his chest- the one he’s heard people describe when they meet their soulmate. He should know, he was the one who researched that shit.
I saw him in the newspaper first. My mom had given it to me and pointed out the article. I was so happy to see him. I searched him up and watched him on TV. I’ll be honest, I carry around a picture of him for motivation. On the trainee contract, you can’t reach your soulmate until after debut if you’re a carrier and haven’t previously found them, so I couldn’t contact him. I’ve kind of adored him from afar. He’s really bright and passionate about what he does, and he’s really funny too!
So, you guys knows how it goes! Say it with me, we’re reaching out to…
Everyone chimes in loudly and gestures to Mark. There’s a small beat before he replies.
Lee Donghyuck! Youngest member of the Emirate Board of Fate Scholars.
Everyone claps and they move on to Doyoung. Donghyuck does not move onto Doyoung. He doesn’t move.
“I told you it would be important!”
~~
A ridiculous amount of people approach him to congratulate him and ask about when he’s going to go meet Mark.
Donghyuck’s not sure. He’s still in shock. Jaemin gave him an in-depth profile of Mark and he stayed up until 2 AM looking up gifs and watching videos, his eyes trained on the way Mark moves, speaks, shows emotion, performs, all of it. He watches Mark. He thinks about Mark. When he went to bed, he dreamed about Mark. When he woke up, he thought about Mark.
Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark Mark.
MARK.
Donghyuck keeps squealing to himself.
Jaemin is really happy for Donghyuck. He doesn’t pry about the “meeting him” question, but he offers his support for when Donghyuck is ready. He’s also willing to talk to Donghyuck about all things Mark Lee, due to his extensive knowledge as a fanboy.
The next day, Donghyuck has his Hide and Seek: The Ins and Outs of Searching for your Soulmate class at ass-o-clock in the morning. The teacher always starts by asking if any of the 200 students in the class have found their soulmate recently. Now, Donghyuck gets to raise his hand.
“Donghyuck? Wow, congratulations! Come on up here,” Professor Moon says, beckoning Donghyuck over. Professor Moon is one of his colleagues on the EBFS, and thankfully is not as bigoted as some of the others.
“Um, so I found my soulmate, but I haven’t met him quite yet. He’s in the band NCT and they recently did an interview about their soulmates. My friend Jaemin is a fan, so he sent me the video. Mark Lee, the youngest member of the band, is my soulmate. He found me in the newspaper and has been following my work, but couldn’t reach me because of his contract as a trainee.”
“Does anyone have any questions for Donghyuck?” A few hands shoot into the air.
“When are you planning on meeting him?”
“I’m not sure,” Donghyuck answers truthfully. “I’ll have to find a time to go and meet him, but I also need time to prepare myself. Soulmates are a big deal, so you really have to be ready to go for it. I’m glad to have time to prepare myself. If he had just walked up to me, I would’ve been more drawn back at first. I want to be able to give him my all.”
“How is it finding the concept you’ve been studying so in depth?”
“It honestly makes it harder to stomach,” Donghyuck replies. “Like, when you research something, it’s from a third person standpoint. Now, I have my own experiences. It’s a weird transition to make.”
“Were you a fan of NCT beforehand?”
“No, but Jaemin was. I was tired after a board meeting, and Jaemin sends me this link, so I was all, ‘what the hell, man?’ But he goes ‘it’s super important!’, so I watched it. It was… it was like you were doing a puzzle, and you look back and realize that now, you’re almost finished. It’s a sense of pride, sort of. There’s always more to go afterwards, but it’s a big start.”
~~
Donghyuck was sweating more than when he did his TV broadcast presentation to the EBFS when he was 15. He traveled 30 minutes by train and 15 minutes through traffic to get to this fansign to surprise his soulmate. Jaemin suffered through Donghyuck bouncing and squealing throughout the whole ride. True friendship.
Jaemin honestly is excited to see and meet NCT, however. They are one of his favorite bands, after all. He can get a signed poster and CD too.
Donghyuck and Jaemin get a spot in line reserved as VIPs (which is the great perk of being famous for random shit at a young age). This way, Donghyuck can see his soulmate well and they can get by without mobbing. After all, they know who Donghyuck is and who he is to Mark.
Jaemin goes up first to see Taeyong. Mark is the last one, which just makes this fun, because he can’t see the line at all. Jaemin walks up to Taeyong with a big smile.
“Whoa, you’re Na Jaemin,” Taeyong says, and Jaemin actually blushes. Donghyuck is definitely using this to tease him later.
“Wait, Na Jaemin?” Yuta calls from next to him. “As in, Nobel Laureate Na Jaemin.”
“Um, yeah,” Jaemin replies meekly. “That’s me.”
“Hey, aren’t you best friends with-” Taeyong starts before both Jaemin in front of him and a Mysterious Bloke in Sunglasses and a Hat in the line shush him. Taeyong nods slowly and smiles.
“But seriously, can you sign the damn poster?” Jaemin says after a beat and Taeyong flushes in embarrassment before signing the damn poster.
Jaemin continues down the line, and Donghyuck walks his way along the line. He doesn’t ask them to sign anything, or look at them at all except to place a finger to his lips. It’s a surprise. He’s going to surprise his soulmate. His soulmate. His beautiful, wonderful, talented, adorable soulmate.
Mark signs Jaemin’s poster with a smile and turns to Donghyuck a la Sunglasses and Hat.
“Hello there,” he states, looking a little confused.
“Hi, Mark,” Donghyuck says, removing his sunglasses and hat with one motion. “I’m Donghyuck, but I think you know that.” Mark stands up so fast that Donghyuck is a little worried for the safety of both the chair and table.
Donghyuck gets significantly more worried about the state of the table when Mark legitimately leaps over it to jump onto Donghyuck. Mark buries his head into the crook of Donghyuck’s neck with an exhale as if he’s been holding his breath until he met Donghyuck.
For all Donghyuck knew, he could’ve been.
And an embrace has never felt so goddamn good.
~~
“We noticed it was Donghyuck because we recognized Jaemin- also why the hell didn’t you? Fucking genius 16-year-old Nobel Laureate, Jesus Mark… But Jaemin and Donghyuck are best friends so we were like ‘WHOAAAA HE’S GONNA DO IT’. I was so excited. We were all so excited. It was mega,” Mark recites from his phone. They were cuddling on Mark’s bed later that day. The rest of the band went on to do their own things and left the newfound soulmates have some privacy, but no without sending a slew of texts to Mark. Donghyuck had a bunch from Jaemin and one from his Mother asking if he would be home for dinner. Also reminding him of his bedtime.
Yeesh.
“Who said that one again?” Donghyuck manages to get in as he laughs. “And who the fuck says mega? Is that like extra, but lamer?”
“It was Yuta hyung, but I think it’s a joint effort from him and Hansol hyung.” Donghyuck snickers and shoots a message back to his Mom before she freaks out.
“So, Mr. Hotshot Soulmate,” Donghyuck says, throwing his phone to the side and rolling over to face Mark.
“Aren’t you the hotshot? I mean, you’re the expert in it.”
Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “I would hardly call yourself an expert-”
“Are all the super smart and successful young kids this modest? Geez, it’s kinda annoying.” Donghyuck sends to soft push to his stomach to be delightfully surprised by abs. ABS. Donghyuck’s soulmate has abs. That’s so mega.
“So, Mark. We know we’ve got forever now.”
“Forever?” Mark smiles ever so slightly more, which Donghyuck didn’t think was possible. He hopes Mark’s face is okay.
“Yes, forever. I should know, I’m the expert, right?” Donghyuck cocks an eyebrow and Mark giggles.
“Now you’re talking!”
“Yes, yes. Well… We should start somewhere in getting to know each other? I mean, we know our celebrity personalities, but there’s a huge difference between that and what we’re like face to face.” Mark nods and bites his lip while he thinks. “Shit, you’re cute.” Mark blushes and pushes at Donghyuck’s shoulder lightly, but his hand stays there.
“I’m clumsy.”
“What? But you’re a dancer!”
“Yeah, so? I’m still clumsy. I fumble with my words. I broke my brother’s guitar when I was 7. I’ve broken 4 bones by tripping or slipping.”
“Alright, I’ll just have to catch you next time.” Donghyuck doesn’t break eye contact, and neither does Mark.
“I’m also a huge cuddler.”
“I’m glad you said that, because that was on my list of ideal qualities.” Mark smiles and pulls Donghyuck closer to him on the bed. “I’m terrible at science.”
“What?”
“I almost didn’t graduate because I couldn’t pass Physics.”
“You study what’s basically a science.”
“Eventology isn’t really a physical science. I got a B in Chemistry.”
“Oh, the horror.” Donghyuck feels Mark’s lashes as he rolls his eyes.
“It’s true! And I’m very extra.”
“Are you mega, though?”
“I’m extra, you’re mega.”
Mark looks to down to catch his eyes.
“Okay, then that’s how we fit.”
Donghyuck reaches his neck up to place a light kiss on the side of Mark’s mouth.
“We’ll fit in many ways, Mark. That’s the point of a soulmate- it’s the other half of the puzzle.” Mark is looking at him like he hit the lottery.
“Yeah, except we’re a mega extra puzzle.” Donghyuck snorts. Mark grins wide and brings him into a proper kiss.