Chanyeol lives in a world and a century where everyone knows their destined soulmate, having it written on the inner side of the left upper arm.

It’s a place which nobody really pays attention to, it’s hidden mostly beneath the sleeves of t-shirts or warm sweaters. However, if you constantly pay attention to others arms, you’d eventually see the curves of black ink.

That’s what Chanyeol was doing constantly.

He always paid attention to others arms.

People didn’t really talk about their inks because a lot of them didn’t even know how their partner looked like, destined to meet him somewhere in the future.

Chanyeol was different.

He always carried a notebook with him. Nobody was ever allowed to take a glance inside. When friends asked him what he wrote inside, he’d quickly change the topic and if people were persistent, he didn’t have the indecency to not make them realize they were bothering about other peoples issues which should be none of their interest.

And eventually, they stopped asking him about his private notebook.

The content was a list of people. Chanyeol wrote down the name of everyone that he knew and had a face to.

His reason was simple.

It was said that if people didn’t have an inking in their arm, they’d die painfully lonely. He was curious who held the same fate than him, so he checked the arms of everyone, secretly of course just through watching and observing, to see if they had an inking.

Chanyeol was one of the very few people that didn’t have a name engraved in their arm.

People said that there was the possibility that it would grow with the years. That there are people whose hearts and souls haven’t been in unison about the destined soulmate while they grew in their mothers stomachs. But of course no one really knew it because it was rare to find someone who didn’t have a soulmate.

Chanyeol desperately hoped that he was not one of those people who die alone.

His mother has been concerned when he came to the world without an inking on his arm and she felt with her son because sometimes his worries were too much and he cried his heart out in desperation. She didn’t want her son to live the fate of a left over person, which was just there and didn’t belong anywhere. She knew her sons misery and his sadness because she heard him crying at night but there was really nothing she could do.

Chanyeol slowly realized that everyone he knew had a soulmate, except him.

Depression took over sometimes and he just stayed away from school. He knew that it was no decent excuse to stay home but what should he do?

It hurt him, seeing some of his friends kissing each other or learning in school that it was normal and nobody should be scared at the overflow of emotions during the times they had ual encounters with their mates. That was one of the topics he hated most but he couldn’t do anything against it.

Chanyeol decided to do some researches about these things, through books of course because who knows if the internet is correct. He found himself in the cities large library, buried in a comfortable couch between piles of books about soulmates.

“I brought all the books that have just the slightest information about soulmates, Mister. I hope you’ll be able to find out about what you’re searching.” The cute librarian said and set the fifth pile of books on the table in front of Chanyeol before he turned to leave.

“Hey.” Chanyeol said and the boy stopped, turning to him again.

“Do you know people that don’t have a name engraved in their arm? Do you think it’ll hurt when they die?” he asked the boy silently.

“No, I don’t know people who don’t have a soulmate yet. But Mister, I believe in fate and I believe that fate decided everyone to have a partner. Maybe some people get to know their partner later than others. I heard that people who get to know their soulmate by a kiss love even more intense than those who know their mate since birth.” He replied with a shy smile but an honest gaze and Chanyeol slowly nodded,

“But, there are people who never find their partner.”

“Those people just didn’t open their eyes wide enough to the world around them. Fate is not at fault.”

Chanyeol was confused. What did the boy mean with that?

“I’m sorry but I have to leave. Maybe we’ll see each other again.” The librarian smiled softly and Chanyeol felt an eerie warmth in his chest, eerie because he didn’t know why it was there or what it meant. The small figure left and Chanyeols mind wandered off to how it must feel to touch this pale soft looking skin. He shook his head. Why was he thinking that?

The boy settled in the couch again and continued reading what he had started, trying to focus his librarian-occupied mind on the book.

 

Small hands and soft fingers curled around his wrists and he was pulled over a field full of flowers. Someone pulled him, someone without a face. He saw a smile and heard a laugh and following giggles but there was nothing else. He was pushed down in the bed of flowers and something crashed down on him, slender arms encircled his neck and he felt warm inside with the boy around him. He hugged him back and he knew the stranger was his soulmate even though he couldn’t see his face.

A gentle voice rang through his ears, “I love you” it whispered and Chanyeol froze, believing to know this soft voice from somewhere.

Maybe his soulmate wasn’t that far from him? He should open his eyes wider to the world, to maybe see more and find his soulmate. He understood what the librarian meant and he wanted nothing more than to find his mate.

 

“Mister?”

Someone shook him and he awoke, his body shot up and he nearly knocked the sweet librarian over who was holding him by the shoulder softly.

“Sorry!” he almost yelled and grabbed the boys face in his hands, examining his features for any bruises.

“I-I’m alright.” The boy whispered and pulled away getting up and taking a pile of books from the table.

“W-Would you like to borrow these books or come back again? We’re gonna close in a few minutes.”

Chanyeol nodded slowly, stunned by the librarians fast steps.

“I want to borrow them.”

“Okay.”

Chanyeol took two of the piles and followed the boy, the other two that were left already studied by him and out of information he could use.

After all he spent his whole afternoon here.

“Please come back in a week. If you like, you can call and expand the time for another week.”

“Okay, thank you.” Chanyeol smiled and the boy smiled back, handing him the books.

“Do you need help with carrying them? They look heavy.”

Chanyeol shook his head and made his way to the exit.

“Thank you. See you in a week!” he exclaimed between the highly piled books in front of his chest.

While he left, he could hear a soft giggle and somehow it was familiar.

 

“‘Your true mate can be found through a kiss.’ What does that mean? I don’t understand this…” Chanyeol mumbled while reading the fourth book that evening.

“Honey, do you want some coffee?” his mother asked and he nodded slowly, thanking her when she set a cup down in front of him.

“What are you reading?”

“I went to the library and got every book they have about finding your mate.”

“Oh honey, are you still bothered so much by that?”

“Mom, I feel tired. I don’t want to die alone and there was a cute boy that told me people can still find their mate if they open their eyes wide enough. I want to do my best to maybe find the one who is my destined partner.”

His mother smiled warmly when she saw the twinkle in his eyes when he mentioned the librarian and she ruffled his hair lovingly.

“Mom, I don’t understand this, it says that your true mate can be found through a kiss. What does that mean?”

“Think about it.”

“I should kiss someone to know if he’s my mate.”

“You could say so. But don’t kiss anybody of course. Kiss the one you think is worth it and who warms your heart. I can’t say anything else.” With that she stood up and left.

“But there is nobody that warms my heart…” he mumbled silently.

“Are you sure?”

His mothers question left him thinking and he groaned, everything confusing him.

 

The last days had been exhausting. Schoolwork to do with presentations and struggles to not fail the math exam what he did nevertheless.

The heavy books slammed on the counter along with a long sigh from his mouth when the weight on his arms was gone.

He didn’t expect the smile that was greeting him behind the huge pile of books.

The sweet librarian smiled softly and started taking the books from the pile one by one.

“Have you read them all?”

“Yes. It was exhausting but I did my best and I made it.”

“Will you come back here again then?”

Chanyeol thought he heard hope in the others voice but he denied it.

“I don’t know. I found a little bit of what I was searching for and well…”

Why was he feeling so sad about not coming here again? Then, Jongin had told him before in school that he was looking happy and smiling like crazy. What was wrong with him today?

The librarians gaze fell to the books again and his smile faltered.

Instantly, Chanyeol felt a sharp pain in his heart.

He didn’t know why he was feeling pain but he did and it hurt.

“So, what did you find out about?”

Chanyeol was relieved and thankful for that change of topic and he sighed inwardly.

“Practically the same what you told me yesterday. I’ll find my mate if I kiss him.”

He was not really convinced by those things but it was the only thing he found everywhere he searched so it must be effective to do just that.

“So you don’t have inking in your arm?”

Chanyeol stopped in his tracks. . He said it out loud. People usually stay in the top ten of interesting topics to talk and gossip about if others find out that someone doesn’t have an inking on his arm.

“It’s okay.” The librarian smiled and grabbed Chanyeols hand.

“I’m the same.” He whispered shyly.

“What.. You also don’t have…?”

“No”

A sudden warmth spread through his chest though he didn’t know what it meant. His heart sped up beating and his breaths became shorter, the urge to hug the small boy in front of him overcame him but he couldn’t. He wasn’t allowed to.

What if his mate would get upset- right. He doesn’t have a mate. He’s the same as Chanyeol.

But that wouldn’t give him the right to hug him, or did it?

He sighed and he was confused but it didn’t stay long as his mind was blown to emptiness.

Soft fingers were on his cheeks and he was pulled down before soft lips sealed with his and warmth was sending a strong shiver through his body. He felt like he was electrified and his fingertips were tingling.

The slim lips were softer than he imagined and he closed his eyes, kissing back softly while grabbing the librarians waist over the counter.

A silent cough broke their intimate moment and they withdrew slowly, gazing in each others eyes for a few moments.

“Not here please.”

The librarian rolled his eyes and stared at the boy at the other counter.

“Shut up, Kyungsoo.”

Chanyeol stared dumbfounded until the librarian poked a finger in his ribcage.

“I’m finished. I hope you’ll come back here.” He smiled and Chanyeol nodded, still completely electrified by their kiss, fingertips still tingling.

He turned around and left the library.

 

Everything hurt. He was suffering.

His heart hurt and his insides were all tingling but a certain pain or better, discomfort, was most prominent, the burning on the inside of his upper arm, it burned like someone was branding him with hot metal at that certain space. It hurt and he almost felt the same pain spreading through his heart.

Someone was holding his hand and he grabbed it tightly, nearly crashing it in his own. He heard someone groan in pain next to him but he didn’t recognize who it was.

The pain suddenly stopped, his arm still burning and his whole body weak from the exhaustion. His eyes opened weakly and he stared in dull pain at his mother who was holding his hand.

“Honey, what happened?” she asked in concern.

“My arm.. it hurts…” he rasped and tried to move it but to no avail.

His mothers face showed confusion but lit up shortly after, a smile spreading over her face.

“Go back to sleep Chanyeol. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day.” She patted his head and left his room.

When he tried to shift to take a look at his arm he just caught a small black line in circles and curves, indicating a name imprinted on his arm. However, he was so tired that he fell into sleep and didn’t wake up for the next twelve hours.

 

He groaned and tried to sit up but his arms failed in supporting his weight and he fell down in the pillows again. He remembered his arm and what he saw before he had fallen asleep.

His arm hurt terribly but he tried to move it nevertheless, to find what he was searching for. A thin black line peeked out beneath the sleeve of his t-shirt and before he rushed to see it, he stopped, anxious at what would be revealed to him. He was scared to see the name.

Slowly, he removed the fabric and stared at the name written on his arm.

He didn’t know this name.

 

Byun Baekhyun

 

He sighed softly but his gaze turned up to the door when he heard a soft coo from there. His mother was smiling with tears in her eyes and she hurried to him, enveloping him in her tight embrace.

“Oh my baby found a mate” she wailed and Chanyeol chuckled softly.

“Did you kiss him or did he kiss you?”

The question stunned Chanyeol. Right. The sweet librarian.

Yesterday he gave his first kiss to an almost complete stranger.

He must be this Byun Baekhyun.

A small smile stretched across his lips with the tingling feeling of butterflies in his stomach.

“He did.”

“Awww. Oh no! Why am I even keeping you here?! Go get up and take a shower and go meet him!” she rambled and ran out of the room.

Chanyeol chuckled and got up on wobbly legs to take a shower.

 

His feet stopped in front of the library and he wasn’t sure if he should enter or not. Then again, Baekhyun was his mate, so what could happen? He took a step inside the building. And immediately, his feet carried him along the hallway to the counter as quickly as possible.

 

Chanyeol gathered the small frame in his arms and pressed him close, nearly starting to cry out of happiness. Baekhyun hugged him back equally tight and buried his face in a comfortable spot in the tallers chest.

“I thought I’d never find a mate” Chanyeol whispered under tears and Baekhyun pushed him away a bit to look in his eyes.

“Silly. I knew we were mates when I first saw you.” He smiled and pulled Chanyeol down to kiss him softly.

 

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This is it.

I kinda wanted to extend this a lot but it didn't work out because of my love to rush everything XD

I hope you enjoyed.