Minghao first notices the names when he’s four years old. He’s sitting on his mother’s lap in the bus, playing with his action figures in his lap. His mom has her eyes closed, resting her head against the window as she tries to catch up on some sleep. The lady sitting across from them has a little girl who looks slightly older than Minghao sitting next to her. Minghao doesn’t mean to stare at the little girl, but she doesn’t look like anyone Minghao has ever seen. She has pale hair that glows like a halo over her head, colorful flowers stuck all in her hair, but her eyes are shaped like Minghao’s and she has a splattering of freckles all across her arms and face.

            The little girl smiles when she notices him staring and she opens and says something in a language he doesn’t understand. Minghao feels his face burn red and he continues playing with his action figures.

            When the bus stops, and his mom still hasn’t woken up, Minghao watches the mother and daughter stand up. The girl tugs on her mother’s hand and says something in that foreign language again. She looks over at him and smiles and Minghao is only four years old, but he’s really surprised when the little girl comes over and hands him a flower from her hair.

            “You can have this,” she says in a way that Minghao understands. “I’m Annie.”

            Minghao frowns at the name. “Annie?”

            “It’s my American name,” she presses the flower against his palm. “Bye.”

            Minghao only notices the name when the girl’s mother reaches out to grab her hand. He sees it curling around the mother’s wrist, in a script that he doesn’t recognize (he learns later that it’s English), and he frowns when he sees it because no one in his family has anything like that.

            He doesn’t know that this isn’t normal – he simply assumes that everyone else is the weird ones.

⚘❁⚘

            When Minghao is seven, he sees his grandmother with a name curling around her thumb. He only notices it because he’s holding her hand as she sleeps – attached to various machines to keep her healthy for just a little while longer – and Minghao notices it in bold print when he runs his thumb over her knuckles.

            “Mom,” he asks when he sees it, “what’s that?”

            His mother’s eyes are tired and sad, and she’s holding onto his grandmother’s other hand, but she looks at where he’s pointing with cloudy eyes. She’s on the verge of sleep because all she does is smother a yawn with her hand and mumble, “It’s her mark.” And Minghao has never heard of marks before.

            “What’s that?” Minghao asks, but his mom has already rested her forehead beside his grandmother’s arm, her eyes shut and her breathing coming out in slow puffs.

            Minghao hides it away in the corner of his mind, but he never does get to ask his grandmother what it means and it hurts his mom to talk about her now so Minghao just tucks the question away for a later time – maybe in a couple of years when his mother doesn’t cry just by passing his grandmother’s old room.

⚘❁⚘

            When Minghao is ten, his best friend tells him that she hopes they’re mates – whatever that means – and Minghao just frowns in confusion at her. She’s looking at him with wide eyes, like she’s expecting him to say something, so Minghao just smiles and says, “Me too.”

            Needless to say, he doesn’t see why this warrants her response. She smiles like he’s just said something amazing and she presses a small hand to his chest and pushes him against the wall. Minghao is a little surprised, and he’s even more so surprised when she ducks her head and then looks back at him before she presses her lips against his.

            He likes her – he really does – but he’s not sure that he likes her enough to kiss her, but oh well; if he had to have his first kiss, he’s glad it’s with his best friend.

            He’s surprised when, afterwards, she tries to hold his hand and kiss him all the time. He’s not stupid; he knows what a crush is. It’s the feeling he gets when he sees his best friend’s older brother riding his bike or playing soccer and it makes the back of his neck heat up when the older boy looks at him and smiles. So, yeah, Minghao knows what a crush is, but he never thought he’d be on the receiving end.

            Luckily, his best friend starts liking another boy, so she tells him, “Maybe we’re not mates.”

            And Minghao says, “Maybe we’re not,” even thought he still has no idea what that means.

⚘❁⚘

            Minghao is thirteen when they start teaching them about mates in school. It’s not a very detailed class – they try to cram it in with health and ed – but he finally learns what the marks on people’s skin are. Minghao sits at home one day while his mother washes the dishes and he casually asks, “Mom, do you have a mark?”

            He doesn’t know what he expects but his mom sort of jumps in surprise and turns to look at him. “Do I have a what?”

            “A mark,” Minghao repeats and he holds up his wrist, tapping the back of it. “You know, like a soulmate one? Do you and Dad have one?”

            His mother blinks at him, furrowing her brows. “I thought you knew…. Oh, I guess we never told you, did we? Well, no honey, we’re not marked.”

            Minghao taps his feet against the floor. He’s recently joined a dancing group and he spends most of his afternoons with them, practicing. It makes him feel nice, like he’s a part of something bigger. He’s impatient to finish his assigned reading so he can go out and join them.

            “Oh,” he says in a breath and then turns back to his book. After a while, he hears the sink water cut off and then his mom is touching the back of his palm with moist, soft hands. Minghao looks up at her curiously.

            “Sweetie, marks – they aren’t important. I mean, they are important, but if you don’t have one, that doesn’t mean you’ll never meet someone who’s perfect for you. Okay? A lack of a mark means nothing in the face of love.”

            Minghao furrows his brow. “Okay. I never said it was a big deal, Mom.”

            His mother hesitates. “I just want you to know – just in case you don’t get one.”

            “Mom,” Minghao sighs, “I don’t care about the mark, okay?”

⚘❁⚘

            Minghao is fourteen and he comes to the conclusion that he likes boys because after all this time – he hasn’t been able to forget the older boy he had a crush on when he was ten. He sees him sometimes – when he goes to his old best friends house (she’s prettier now and taller, an absolute stunner, but Minghao is gay so he’s one of the only boys who doesn’t hit on her).

            It’s a hot spring day when she invites Minghao over to study and they go up to her room, but she gets called out by her boyfriend, so she makes Minghao promise not to tell and she sneaks out and leaves him alone in her room.

            He’s been there for over three hours and she’s still not back, so Minghao is deciding that he might just go home when the door opens and in walks an older boy. Minghao freezes on the bed, not moving a muscle.

            He smiles. “Minghao,” he says, “how have you been?”

            Minghao swallows thickly. “I’ve been fine, and you?”

            His smile curls higher, revealing sharp teeth. “I’ve been good.” He gestures with his head to his room across the hall. “I got some new videogames. Thought maybe you’d want to check them out?”

            And Minghao doesn’t really care for video games, but he goes anyway, even if he knows deep in his mind that he’s going for a different reason.

            (Minghao is fourteen and he loses his ity to a boy who has a Star Wars poster up in his room. He also has a name curling around his upper thigh, but Minghao tries his best to ignore that because marks don’t mean anything.)

⚘❁⚘

            His sort-of-boyfriend’s dad catches them one day when they’re having behind the bleachers of the soccer field. Minghao watches his boyfriend get beat up and as soon as his boyfriend’s dad tries to swing at him, Minghao automatically moves back and kicks out. Guess taking wushu finally paid off.

            He doesn’t know how long they struggle, but he manages to walk away with only a grazed cheek and a threat hanging over his head. If I see you around, I’ll ing kill you. You hear me? He goes home, tells his mom what happened, and she tells him they’re moving.

            “That man is crazy, do you hear me, Minghao?” She rubs an alcohol pad over the cut on his cheek. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. No man is ever going to hurt my baby ever again.”

            Minghao thinks it’s a little dramatic, but he’s always heard nice things about South Korea anyway.

⚘❁⚘

            He starts taking dancing classes and one of the instructors (who can’t be much older than he is) waits for him every day after class. He’s Chinese, which Minghao is thankful for because his Korean isn’t so great, so Minghao is appreciative. He’s less appreciative about the fact that Wen Junhui is so handsome and he seems to have made it a goal to flirt with Minghao as often as he can.

            Minghao is wiping his sweat with the towel he has draped over his shoulders when he sees Jun hanging around the entrance. “You didn’t have to wait for me,” Minghao calls out as he starts to get his things ready.

            Jun smiles – and it makes Minghao stop for just a second. It’s like how he felt about his ex, only this time it’s stronger. “Yes, I did,” Jun counters. “You’ve been here for two months and you still haven’t met any of my friends. They keep asking about you.”

            Minghao raises his brow, zipping his bag up and slinging it over his shoulder. “You talk about me?”

            Jun smiles wider, letting his eye flutter shut in a wink. “Of course, I had to tell them I met a real life angel.”

            Minghao reaches him and stretches out to flick Jun’s forehead, causing the older boy to laugh. “Shut up. I’m not an angel.”

            “You’re right – you’re more like a demon. But I like feisty.”

            Minghao rolls his eyes and he tries not to concentrate on the sweat dripping down Jun’s neck. His hair is matted to his forehead, the ends of it stuck to his neck and curling around his jaw. He really should cut his hair, Minghao decides. 

            “But I’m all sweaty,” he says instead of responding to Jun’s feisty comment.

            “And? So am I.” Just as Jun says this, he raises the end of his shirt to wipe at his forehead. Minghao’s stomach tightens as he sees Jun’s lower stomach constrict – the muscles in his lower abdomen taut due to dancing and wushu. Sweat drips down his chest, collecting on the band of his sweats and Minghao his lips, wanting to follow the trail with his tongue.

            “Minghao?”

            Minghao blinks, trying to focus on something other than what it would feel like to have Jun run his strong hands though his hair. Minghao always liked having his hair pulled – he wonders if Jun likes it too.

            “I said, if you’re nervous about your Korean, don’t be. You’ve been doing great during our tutoring sessions.”

            Minghao bites his lip. “Thanks.”

            Jun smiles – all shining eyes and bright cheeks. “You’re welcome. Now come on, we have to leave soon. I can’t be in the studio too late or else Mom gets mad because the electricity bill is really high.”

            Minghao doesn’t know what comes over him – really, he doesn’t – but he thinks it might have to do with the fact that Jun literally looks like on a stick and Minghao has all this pent up tension he has to relieve, but Minghao drops his bag to the floor and says in a husky voice, “Turn off the lights.”

            Jun looks at him with surprised eyes. “Why?”

            Minghao throws the towel he has over his shoulders on the ground beside his bag. He’s only going with his gut right now, and he’s basing his decision on his two months of having known Jun, but he really hopes he’s right because if he is, then that means that Jun is attracted to him. He’s caught the other boy staring at him one too many times for it to be a coincidence.

            “We might be here late and I don’t want her to be mad at the bill.”

            Something crosses over Jun’s face and then he’s smiling in a way that makes him seem all the more handsome. He takes a step closer to Minghao, quirking a brow. He reaches out and wraps a wet strand of Minghao’s hair around his pointer finger. “Oh? And why would we be here late?”

            Minghao takes a deep breath in, inhaling a scent that’s pure Jun. It’s intoxicating and Minghao leans forward, narrowing his eyes. “You know why.”

            Jun smiles and drops his hand to the base of Minghao’s neck, curling his hand around Minghao’s throat and tugging him closer. It’s a little harsh and Minghao jerks forward, stumbling into Jun’s chest. “I don’t know,” he teases. “Enlighten me.”

            Minghao lets out a breath. “You’re an .” Jun smiles and tightens his hand around the base of Minghao’s throat, pressing his thumb against the empty space underneath his neck. Minghao shudders. “Kiss me.”

            “Thought I was an ?”

            “You are, but you can kiss me anyway.”

            And this is so unlike Minghao (and so unlike Jun too, but Minghao doesn’t know yet), but when Jun lowers his head and presses a hot kiss to the corner of Minghao’s mouth, it feels like Minghao is exactly where he belongs.

            They move in a way that makes it seem like they’re familiar with each other – like a dance they’ve known their entire lives – and Minghao tugs at Jun’s shirt and Jun pulls at Minghao’s hair harshly and they bite at each others jaw and neck and they’re both probably going to be covered in bruises and hickeys, but they don’t care right now.

            Minghao drops to his knees, placing a kiss on Jun’s lower stomach and dragging his lips across Jun’s hips as he tugs at the waistband of his sweats. “Turn the light off,” Minghao pants.

            “No,” Jun pants back, his hand delving into Minghao’s dark locks.

            Minghao curls his tongue around Jun’s hip. “I thought your mom was worried about the bill?”

            Jun tugs at Minghao harshly – and honestly, Minghao’s scalp tingles afterwards, but in a good way. “I’ll deal with the bill. I want to see you.”

            Minghao smiles at the thought, but he quickly gets distracted when Jun growls low in his throat and jerks Minghao’s head back so he can look him in the eyes. Jun’s eyes are dark, and Minghao guesses his are the same. Jun his lip.

            “Is this…?”

            Minghao shakes his head in no. “Long story. You?”

            Jun smiles and he runs his thumb over Minghao’s jaw before he presses it against his lips. Minghao opens his mouth and nibbles on the tip. “With a face like this? Please.”

            Minghao actually lets out a laugh. “You’re full of yourself.”

            Jun presses his thumb tighter against his mouth, curling his fingers around Minghao’s jaw. “Yeah, well, you will be too in a little bit.”

            Minghao can’t help it – it makes him excited.

            It’s a little strange – how well they fit together, but they push into each other like it’s a natural fit. Jun leaves bruises on Minghao’s back and Minghao leaves hickeys on the underside of Jun’s jaw and they both leave long scratches on each other’s thighs.

            And maybe it’s dumb to have with someone you’ve only known for two months, but Minghao doesn’t care. He figures that’s just another thing about him that’s weird.

⚘❁⚘

            When Minghao meets Jun’s roommate, he’s a little nervous. His Korean still isn’t the best, and besides, this is Jun’s best friend. Minghao hadn’t even had a chance to go get a haircut before they had to meet up for dinner. Minghao stands outside the restaurant, using his reflection on the window to try to flatten down his hair. Jun is leaning against the building, his hands coolly tucked into his pockets with his ankles hooked together as he looks at Minghao in amusement.

            “My hair is a mess,” Minghao whines, trying to press it flat.

            Jun rolls his eyes, but says nothing, which is a good thing because Minghao opens his mouth to complain some more.

            “I mean, look at this! It’s too puffy. God, you didn’t even let me go get a haircut before this. He’s going to think I’m… I’m some type of animal or something. And you never told me what to call him! Am I supposed to call him hyung?”

            Jun quirks his lip in amusement. “If you want. He told me you could, if you wanted to.”

            Minghao throws Jun an icy stare when he sees the amusement sparkling in the other boy’s eyes. “Why’d we have to come to such a fancy place anyway? Why couldn’t we just go to your apartment?”

            “Fancy? Minghao, we’re standing in front of a Chinese restaurant. It’s not exactly five stars.” Jun gestures to his jeans and shirt. “Do I look like I’m dressed to go to a fancy place?”

            “You know what’s really not fancy? Your apartment. Where we could have just ordered food in and I wouldn’t have to worry about embarrassing myself in front of a bunch of people over my broken Korean.”

            Jun’s eyes soften and he pushes himself off the wall. “Is that what you’re worried about? Your Korean?”

            Minghao doesn’t look up, instead continuing to try to flatten his hair, but his red cheeks betray his answer.

            Jun sighs, reaching out to pull Minghao’s hands away from his face. Minghao still doesn’t look up, instead letting himself be pulled forward into Jun’s chest. Jun sighs and lifts a hand so he can tilt Minghao’s chin in his direction. Jun is looking down at him with soft eyes.

            “Listen to me, Minghao – you are perfect exactly the way you are, okay?” Minghao opens his mouth, but Jun leans down to press a quick kiss to his lips, rendering him speechless. “You are perfect. No one is going to laugh at you because you’re trying.”

            Minghao feels the tips of his ears grow hot. “You’re such a ing sap.”

            Jun smiles and presses a loud, sloppy kiss to Minghao’s forehead. “Yeah, but you’re ing this sap, so I mean.” Minghao rolls his eyes and Jun laughs, reaching down to interlock their hands and tugging him forward. “Now come on, Jeonghan has been waiting for us for, like, fifteen minutes.”

            Minghao looks at him wide-eyed. “You told me he wasn’t here yet.”

            Jun shrugs. “I lied. Come on.”

            If Jeonghan is mad at being left waiting, he doesn’t show it. He greets Minghao with a warm smile and his eyes shine in an angelic way and Minghao thinks that there’s no possible way that he can be real. But every time he laughs and touches Minghao’s shoulder or nuzzles his hair lets him know that he is.

            Jun’s presence weighs heavy on his chest, his ankle hooked around Minghao’s. He reaches across every so often, touching the back of Minghao’s hand or interlocking their pinkies and Minghao finds that he really, really doesn’t want him to let go.

⚘❁⚘

            Minghao has just turned sixteen and he kind of feels like he wants to rewind time. It’s the same feeling he had when Jun turned seventeen and his mother had joked that he only had one year left before he found his mate. Jun had laughed, but Minghao had been hit with the realization that marks were still very much a thing.

            He meets more of Jun’s friends (two boys that Jun himself had barely become acquainted with named Jihoon and Seungcheol) and he spends a lot of time at Jun and Jeonghan’s apartment. He doesn’t ask why they have their own place; they just do. Minghao has found that he’s made sort of a home for himself there too.

            Minghao is sixteen and Jun is seventeen and Jeonghan is eighteen and the new boy, Seungcheol, looks like he might be Jeonghan’s mate, and Minghao wants to rewind time so bad because he doesn’t want to lose this.

            His mom had said soulmates and marks don’t matter, but they do.

            So he calls his ex.

⚘❁⚘

            Jun gets angry – of course he gets angry.

            His jaw is shut tight and he looks at Minghao with hard, cold eyes. He has his arms crossed across his chest and if looks could kill, Minghao would be six feet under right now.

            “I just don’t understand,” Jun says through clenched teeth, “why you called him. If you were feeling scared, you should have called me.”

            Minghao sighs, having already explained this before. “I’m telling you, you just wouldn’t understand.”

            “I don’t understand because you don’t talk to me!” Jun hisses in a loud whisper.

            A pair of girls sitting a few tables over turn to glance at them curiously and Minghao throws them wide smiles before he leans forward in his chair, his eyes forming slits. “Will you be a little more quiet? This is between us, not the entire café.”

            “Why’d you have to tell me right now? We were having such a nice date before you ruined it.”

            “I didn’t think you would react like this! Honestly, I don’t know why you’re even angry. You don’t own me. I can talk to whoever I want.”

            “Because you used to love him, Minghao!”

            “What? That doesn’t matter anymore.”

            “Of course it does! He’s always going to be your first – first time, first love – he’s always going to mean something to you.”

            “Oh my god. Why are you getting angry at that? Like I was the first person you ever had with.”

            “You were the first one that meant something!”

            Minghao’s words die on his lips. “What?”

            Jun doesn’t look at him, instead he glares down at the table. His jaw ticks and he forces out. “You’re the first person I’ve ever loved, Minghao. You’re… you’re it for me. I just feel like I’m always going to be second best in your mind because whatever I do, he did it first.”

            Minghao looks at him and then sighs, reaching out to place his hand on Jun’s knuckles. He runs his thumb across over them and instead of being happy that Jun basically just told him he loved him, he thinks back to when he was seven years old and he saw the mark on his grandmother’s hand. He hadn’t known then – what the marks meant. He almost wishes he didn’t know what they meant now.

            “You’re an idiot,” Minghao says and his heart constricts in his chest because he loves Jun. He loves Jun (so ing much) and it doesn’t matter that they’ve been dating for so long because it’s going to mean nothing when Jun turns eighteen and he gets a name on his body. "He has a mate now – my ex. We just talked."

            Minghao doesn’t care about the marks – but Jun does.

            Jun and all his friends care about the marks, Minghao can see it in the way their eyes linger on other people’s visible marks. Sometimes, Jun and Minghao will be out and they’ll see someone with a name on their wrist or on their elbow or finger and Jun’s hand will skim over Minghao’s skin as he whispers something to himself. Minghao doesn’t know what he’s saying and he almost doesn’t want to.

            Jun smiles at him tightly. “I’m sorry. I’m just… scared.”

            Me too, but he doesn’t say it. Instead Minghao takes Jun’s hand and presses a kiss to the pads of Jun’s fingers. “Don’t be, you idiot. I love you too.” Jun is staring at him with wide eyes and Minghao smiles. “You’re a first for me too.”

            “But I thought –”

            He shakes his head, turning Jun’s hands over in his own. He traces a line on Jun’s palm – from the tip of his fingers to his wrist. “This is different. You’re different.”

            Jun swallows harshly. “Let’s go home.”

            Minghao raises a brow. “Yah? Whatever for?”

            His eyes narrow. “You’re a tease. Let’s get out of here.”

            Minghao laughs, but he gets up anyway.

⚘❁⚘

            Seungcheol gives him all his books on mates one day. It’s getting closer and closer and closer to Jun’s birthday and he’s surprised to find how much time has passed. He’s been with Jun for almost two years and the scary thing is that it feels like almost no time has passed at all. Everything is still new and exciting and Jun still manages to make him feel breathless. He wonders if that’ll ever change.

            Minghao gets curious about mates. He never really cared about them before, but with Jun being so close to getting his, he worries. He knows all of their friends are expecting them to be mates but Minghao doesn’t trust fate that much so he reads all he can about mates. Seungcheol is only so happy to get rid of his books, so Minghao takes them all to his house and shuffles past his mom until he gets to his room.

            He’s reading one of the books when there’s a tap on his window and he looks up to see Jun standing on the ledge. Minghao places the open book beside him and walks over to his window, opening it and sticking his head out of the frame. “What are you doing here?”

            “Can you invite me inside? It’s cold out here.”

            Minghao moves over and offers his hand, allowing Jun to grab it and helping him inside. When Jun gets in and stands in the middle of the room, Minghao shuffles and glances towards the books he has on his bed. Jun twists his neck and turns to look as well.

            “Oh – sorry. Were you doing homework? I can leave if you want.”

            “No, you can stay.” He walks over to his bed – but not before grabbing Jun’s hand and dragging him with him. “It’s not homework. I was just reading.”

            Jun settles on the bed first and Minghao takes a seat between his legs. Jun easily wraps his arms around Minghao’s middle and places his chin on the other boy’s shoulder just as Minghao grabs his discarded book. Jun perks up behind him. “Why are you reading about mates?”

            Minghao turns the page over quietly. “Because – ” he hesitates “ – my parents aren’t mated. They don’t have marks, so I never really cared about it.”

            Jun plays with the strings of Minghao’s sweatpants. His breath blows on Minghao’s ear and across his neck when he whispers. “You never told me that before.”

            He starts nibbling on Minghao’s ear and Minghao shifts his head subtly to allow him better access. “I never thought it was a big deal. To me, not having a mark was normal. My mom always told me it didn’t matter, so it never did until now.”

            Jun is running his teeth down Minghao’s neck now and Minghao really should tell him to stop because it’s getting hard to hide all his hickeys but all he does it let out a soft sigh when Jun on his skin. “Why does it matter now?”

            “Because there’s this annoying boy who’s always on my back – I hope we might be mates and I hope he wants that too.”

            He feels Jun smile against his skin. “He wants that too.”

            “Really?” Minghao asks breathlessly as Jun’s hands start inching into his sweatpants. “Jihoon said he wanted to be my mate?”

            Jun freezes – and then lets out the biggest laugh Minghao has ever heard. He moves quickly so that Minghao is flat on the bed and he’s hovering over him instead. His eyes twinkle with amusement as he reaches out to run his finger over Minghao’s jaw. “You’re the worst.” He reaches out to kiss his nose. “But I love you.”

            Minghao smiles until his cheeks hurt. “I guess I love you too.”

⚘❁⚘

            Minghao spends the night at Jun’s place the day before his birthday. Jeonghan, Seungcheol, and Jihoon are there as well. Minghao has also been introduced to Chan, who is literally like Jeonghan’s little brother, and Chan’s best friend Vernon. Vernon reminds him of the little girl Minghao saw when he was four, so maybe that’s he feels so familiar with him and smiles widely when they meet. The only reason Chan and Vernon aren’t there is because it’s too late for them to be out.

            Jihoon is sitting tensely at the kitchen table while Jeonghan and Seungcheol sit together on the couch. It’s weird – Jeonghan has just moved out to live with Seungcheol and now the place feels empty without all the usual clutter there.

            Minghao is leaning against Jun’s shoulder, playing with the other boy’s fingers lazily as he tries to fight off sleep. Already, his eyes feel heavy and he’s struggling to keep them open. He’s barely started to doze off into a light sleep when Jun lets out a loud hiss, sitting up and making Minghao drop his head before he jerks up in alert.

            Jun is holding onto his ear as his face withers in pain and Minghao sits up with wide eyes, looking toward the clock on the wall to assess what time it is. There’s still three minutes before Jun’s official birthdate, why is this happening now?

            It lasts all of two seconds and then Jun is slumping back in his seat, rubbing his ear slowly. “That ing hurt,” he says, but he’s still covering his mark, that idiot.

            “Let me see,” Minghao says as he leans forward. He gently pries Jun’s fingers away and then his lips form a huge smile as he sees the name curling around Jun’s ear. Minghao lets out a breath, making Jun shiver, and then he announces to the waiting room, “Well, looks like that happened.”

            “It’s you, right?” Jeonghan asks as he sits forward. “Everyone knows it was going to be you.”

            Minghao doesn’t tell him – or anyone – that he wasn’t even sure if it was going to be him, but he’s glad that it is.

⚘❁⚘

            His mom cries when Minghao moves into Jun’s apartment, but she tries to hide it as best as she can. It’s only when Minghao is carrying in his last box that he catches his mom sitting on the living room floor, a photo album in her hands as tears leak from her eyes.

            Minghao sets his last box down before he walks over to where she is and drops on the floor. “Mom? Are you okay?”

            She sniffles. “It’s stupid. I put this photo album in here so you can have it, but then I started flipping through it and – look,” she moves the album so he can see the picture she’s stuck on, “it’s you when you were a baby.”

            Minghao looks down at the picture. It’s one of him with his parents. He’s placed on his mom’s hip, his father standing beside them as he wraps an arm around his mom. They both have huge smiles on their faces and Minghao looks like he’s clapping his hands excitedly in the picture, offering a gummy smile to the camera.

            “Yeah,” Minghao says and then glances at his mom’s wistful face. “Mom, you know I’m still always going to be your son. I’ll always be your baby.”

            His mom looks up at him and Minghao reaches out to wipe underneath her eyes and catch her tears. “I know you are. I’m just going to miss you.” Minghao sighs and kisses her cheek before wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his chest. “You’re just so grown up now,” she says as she pats his knee.

            “You’ll always be my mom.”

            She sighs and places her head on his shoulder. “I love you. I just hope you’re happy.”

            Just then, Jun walks in carrying the last box. He’s wearing one of Minghao’s old shirts, his pants low on his hips and exposing the band of his boxers. His hair is disheveled and he closes the door behind him with his foot as he whistles to himself. He catches sight of Minghao and his mom and smiles at them, raising a brow.

            “Yeah,” Minghao tells his mom, “I’m happy here.”

⚘❁⚘

            The day after Minghao gets his mark, his mom tells him that she’s moving back to China.

            “I just miss it and you don’t need me around as much anymore,” she said as she squeezed Minghao’s hand.

            “I’ll always need you – you’re my mom.”

            She smiles and twists to face Jun, who’s sitting beside Minghao. “Jun, did you complain this much when your family moved back to China?”

            “Well, they left me a dance studio, so I was a little distracted trying to run that.”

            She raises a brow at Minghao when he pouts. “See, son? You’re just being a baby.”

            Jun laughs and Minghao grumbles under his breath.

            (She still cries when they hug goodbye in the airport later, but that’s okay because Minghao cries too.)

⚘❁⚘

            A lot of things happen – Jeonghan falls out of love with Seungcheol and in love with Joshua (which is a long story), Chan and Vernon turn out not to be mates, Vernon is mated to Seungkwan, and Chan isn’t mated to anyone. He makes new friends – Soonyoung and Seokmin and Wonwoo and Mingyu – and everything, surprisingly, is great.

            Minghao turns nineteen and then he turns twenty and then he turns twenty-one and he never wishes to rewind time because every year, he has Jun there with him.

            (Marriage isn’t a big deal when you have soulmates – but Minghao has a ring burning in his pocket anyway.)

            (When he asks Jun to marry him, Jun laughs and takes a velvet box out of his pocket too. “Looks like great minds think alike,” he says as he leans over to kiss Minghao. Minghao guesses that means yes.)

a/n: sorry i've been gone so long but Depression™ . also, if i made like a groupchat on line (the messaging app), would you guys be interested in that? and i saw people talking about this story on tumblr and twitter (my twitter is @ChweVernonAFF)! so thanks you guys :)

oh oh! and the lovely bunsvt made these (x) (x) (x) lovely drawings on instagram! i love them, they make me cry. don't forget to check out her story (Pinky Promise) too!

thanks for reading!