Sungjong was a bright kid. A bright kid who loved to listen to his mother and father talk about how they met each other. He would make his parents sit beside him and make them retell the story every night. His mother would laugh and ruffle his hair, remarking about how they needed to record the story so that Sungjong could listen to it on replay whenever he wanted. But Sungjong always refused. The thing was that as much as he loved the story itself, what he loved most was the looks on his parents faces when they retold the story. It was always filled with the same wonder and love, and Sungjong would always smile when he saw his parents linking hands. He always dreamed of one day meeting his soulmate the way his parents had met. 

  His mother had been reading a romance story in the library, and his father had been sent there as detention. His mother was leaning against a bookshelf, and his father pushing a book trolley. His father had been in a rush to get done with his detention, that when he bent around the corner into the lane, he had bangs into his mother’s side. They had argued so loudly they were both sent out of the library, until they realised that they were soulmates, after which they had been so embarrassed about themselves that they did not talk until the ran into each other a few days later. His father had wooed his mother the old fashioned way, earning his mother’s love.

  Sungjong wanted that. He wanted to meet his soulmate and just feel that so called ‘overwhelming sense of love’, as his mother had described their first kiss. He would often spend countless nights imagining how it would feel like to have someone hold him in their arms. Someone who could drive monsters under the bed away and made sure it stayed away. Someone who would love him wholeheartedly, and someone he too would love back. 

  Everything changed when he was five years old, though. He had bounded out of his room, ready to request his parents retell their story again when he heard it. Shouting. He walked slowly towards the kitchen, where his parents stood apart, yelling at each other. If Sungjong had his memories deleted, the one thing that would get missed out was this moment. The words hurt Sungjong like knives to his heart, and cut away the perfect image of his family he had. He remembered his mother screaming the words “How could you go around ing some mindless e when I’m your Soulmate.” But at that age, he did not understand what those words meant. 

  He also remembers his father scoffing, saying something along the lines of “I never loved you.” to his mother. Sungjong had understood that, and felt his life crash to the floor. He instantly thought back to his parents’ story, the love in their eyes. He did not want to believe they were fake. 

  Oh, but they were.

  The next day he had cried as his father dragged his suitcase out of the house. His father had wanted to bring Sungjong along with him, but his mother had insisted that he left her with at least something, after taking away her whole life. Singsong’s father had clenched his jaw at this, turning around and never looking back. Little did he know, he sealed Sungjong’s fate with that one motion.

  Their house was the last place Sungjong wanted to be in anymore. His father wasn’t in it, there were no moe stories, his mother was out late working to support them, and the house just no longer felt like home. 6 year old Sungjong watched as his mother came into the house, ignoring him as she sat at the table, head in her hands. Sungjong had felt worried, and decided to get her a cup of milk. Sungjong had poured the water, and held the cup in his hands, only for it to slip to the floor with a great clang.

  The sound of chair against floor was heard as Singsong’s mother stood up, glowering at Sungjong. Sungjong backed away as his mother advanced towards him, confused.

  “Mama? I-I’m sorry! I just wanted to get you-“ He was cut off with a slap that echoed throughout the silent house. Sungjong gasped, a hand going up to his cheek gently as he turned to stare at his mother.

  “Clear this mess up. I have enough to worry about.” His mother had spat at him, walking to her room and slamming it close. Sungjong stood there for awhile, tears falling from his face before he proceeded to pick the glass shards up, biting his lips so as not to cry out when they cut his skin. He knew he shouldn’t, because his new Mama was scary, and he decided he didn’t like scary Mama.

  Things only got worse from there. His mother, when Sungjong was seven years old, became a drunked, often bringing home men and sleeping around with them. When she wasn't doing that, she was beating Sungjong up. Most of the time it would be for smiling, because ‘why are you smiling when your father ing left us?!’ So Sungjong stopped smiling, even though his’ was beautiful. Sungjong had grown used to the abuse, and endured it for years until finally, at the age of 12, there was fire.

  He had come home, getting slapped to the face the minute he stepped into the house. Sungjong groaned and looked up, eyes widening when he realised it wasn’t his mother, but her new boyfriend. He was wearing an evil grin, rope in his hands. Sungjong was too slow, and ended up with both hands and legs tied together. He could do nothing but watch in horror as he stole everything. Their money, his mother’s jewellery, and Singsong’s most prized possession, a pocket watch he had gotten from his father. He had stopped it when he was 5, at the time he stopped believing in Soulmates. 

  Sungjong had screamed as the guy poured gasoline all over the place. Sending Sungjong a wicked grin, he had dropped a lighter after sprinting out, and Sungjong was surrounded by flames. Sungjong had struggled up, coughing as he inhaled smoke and screamed when he felt the flames at his skin. He looked frantically around, dizzy. He was lost, and he was scared, and he just couldn’t breathe. It seemed like an eternity after he came out, back burnt after falling onto the floor. He hopped out, with firefighters helping him. He had turned back to watch his house burn down in flames, for some reason glad to see it go. He had seen moe bad memories than good anyway.

  The next day Sungjong received one of the worst beatings in his life.

  Sungjong endured until he was sixteen and filed for a police report. As he watched his mother getting dragged into jail, screaming profanities at him, he decided that even at the young age of six, he was right. Soulmates destroyed you, and he would forever live by that motto.

  By the time Sungjong had finished, Myungsoo was crying, hugging Sungjong. 

  “I-I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you!” Myungsoo cried. Sungjong opened his mouth awkwardly, patting Myungsoo’s head.

  “It’s okay. Soulmates just destroy you, is all.” Sungjong commented off handedly. At this, Myungsoo stiffened, before detaching himself.

  “Lee Sungjong, do I have your permission to woo you not as Soulmates, but as a stranger who is in love with you?” Myungsoo asked. Sungjong blinked. 

  Myungsoo was his Soulmate, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t like Myungsoo. Biting his cheek, Sungjong looked away as he nodded.

  He would allow Myungsoo to woo him. Not as Soulmates like his parents, but as strangers.

  But he knew one thing. When Myungso knew the whole story, he would not think the same way. Sungjong tugged at his sleeves, pulling them down. 

A/N: HI GUYS SO HERE IS WHAT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please let me know what you think of it and poor Sungjong, I always make him suffer ><