Jackson Wang was positive he’d died. The boy standing in front of him couldn’t be real. There was no way. The smooth, flawless skin and perfectly swept hair were things from an old painting or a photoshopped picture, not reality. His eyes skimmed the face in front of him again and again, desperately looking for some sort of imperfection to prove this wasn’t a dream. As he looked back up at the boy’s hair, he noticed something.

The beanie on the boy’s head looked strange, to say the least. Jackson couldn’t explain what he was seeing, but he knew that he’d never seen anything like it before. Was this what color looked like? His heart began to race even faster as he glanced around him, noticing the strange sight on other things around them. This must be color. That was the only thing that made any sense. Suddenly, his mind was filled with questions. What color was this? Was this as intense as it got? How many more were there?

He’d never cared much about colors before. He couldn’t see them, so there was no point in wasting time trying to understand them. But now that he could, everything changed. He was transfixed. They made everything around him completely different. It was like finding out about spices when you’d only eaten boiled chicken for the first 22 years of your life.

It took Jackson a moment to process everything. Between the questions in his head and the sensory overload, he almost forgot about the angelic boy that had bumped into him. My soulmate, Jackson thought. Heat rose through his body at the realization. How could such a perfect looking person be his other half? He looked back just in time to see two of the airport security guards grab both of the boy’s arms.

“Wait, don’t,” he blurted out. “He just fell. No harm done.” Jackson brushed away the guards’ hands with his own, being sure to leave his hand on the boy’s arm a second longer than he needed to. For such a slender-looking person, his arms were rock solid.

The other was staring at him now, eyes wide. Maybe he’d finally recognized who he’d run into. Not that Jackson wanted that. Deep down, he hoped that the boy didn’t know who he was at all. Something about his perfect match knowing him as a celebrity didn’t sit quite right. He missed the days when people met him as Jackson Wang the person instead of Jackson Wang the international idol.

“I, uhm,” the boy muttered, voice trailing off almost instantly. Jackson smiled, tilting his head as he watched the other squirm a little. He couldn’t tell if the boy was uncomfortable or just socially awkward. Either way, Jackson wanted to end his silent suffering as soon as he could.

“Sorry about them,” he said, nodding toward the security guards. “They’re supposed to make sure I get through the airport safely. I’m Jackson.” He held out his hand to the other, who stared at it for a second before moving his own hand up to shake it. “Mark,” he muttered quietly.  Even his voice made Jackson’s heart race. It was deep and a little rough, like he’d just woken up. Nothing like he’d expected. No, Mark’s voice was better than anything Jackson could have ever imagined.

Once their hands dropped back down to their sides, Mark looked around at the crowd that had surrounded them. Only the sound of camera shutters interrupted the otherwise unusual silence. Everyone held their breath, desperate to hear what the two were saying. Jackson had no doubt pictures and rumors would start spreading as soon as he left the airport. Who knew. Maybe they’d already started.

Taking advantage of Mark’s temporary distraction, Jackson glanced over the rest of Mark’s body. He looked like a stick. Though, after feeling the firmness of his arm, Jackson knew that the boy had some serious muscle hidden under the fitted white long-sleeve shirt he was wearing. The shirt’s collar was just wide enough for the very top of Mark’s collarbone to peek out. Jackson felt his face flare up as soon as he saw it. Mark was publicly exploiting Jackson’s weakness without even knowing it.

“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way,” Mark muttered, “but are you famous or something?” Jackson’s eyes shot back up to Mark’s face, suddenly extremely embarrassed that he’d been caught staring. Heat continued to rise to his cheeks as he studied Mark’s expression. He genuinely didn’t know who Jackson was.

Relief flowed over him. His soulmate had absolutely no idea who he was and it was the greatest feeling in the world. Lips curving into a wide grin, Jackson just shrugged. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, knowing that probably sounded more like a cover up than the truth. But he really meant it. All of his fame and attention didn’t matter at the moment. All that mattered was the two of them, here and now. God, he sounded like a cheesy romance movie.

“Jackson, we have to go,” his manager said from a few steps behind him. Jackson glanced over his shoulder and nodded.

“I have somewhere I have to be,” Jackson said. Mark’s eyes flicked down to the floor, letting his insecurity show. It was endearing, if not a tad frustrating in Jackson’s eyes. Didn’t Mark see how perfect he was? He should know that Jackson wasn’t leaving because he wanted to. “Do you have Kakao or something? I’d like to keep in touch, if you want to.”

Nerves welled up inside him. Doing anything for the first time was always stress-inducing, but asking for someone else’s number for the first time was almost nausea-level stressful. As seconds ticked by, Jackson started to wonder if he’d done something wrong. Had he seemed too creepy when he asked? Was Mark just not into him, despite them being fated to be together? He’d seen stories about that happening.

But, after what felt like forever but was really only a few seconds, Mark finally spoke up. “I don’t know what Kakao is, but I can write down your info and add you once I set one up.” Jackson would’ve laughed if it weren’t for the sheer terror that swallowed him at the thought. Having his information written down on paper for anyone to snatch away would only lead to some of the more crazy fans attacking Mark. That was the last thing Jackson needed to have connected with him in any way.

“No. No. Here, just give me your phone for a sec,” Jackson said, holding out his hand. Mark stared at him, shocked. But he handed over the phone, unlocked and ready for Jackson to explore. With a few quick taps, Jackson added his information under the name “Gaga” then handed the phone back. “That’s a nickname only my parents know,” he whispered. “It’s too dangerous for you to have my real name in there.”

That was half true. The obsessive fans really might try to steal Mark’s phone if they knew it would be easy to get Jackson’s contact information. But Jackson also didn’t want Mark looking up who he was. Sure, he could probably figure it out just by searching “Jackson celebrity”, but not just giving him the name in the first place made it at least a tiny bit more difficult.

“Text me whenever you want,” Jackson added, noticing his manager motioning to him impatiently. “I have to go, but it was really nice to meet you, Mark. I hope I hear from you soon.”

His manager pulled him away before Mark even had a chance to respond. From a few steps away, though, Jackson could’ve sworn he heard the other boy say, “Nice to meet you too.”

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out, everyone! Between craziness at work and me going crazy about the new comeback trailer, I didn't work on this nearly as often as I should have. If you haven't already watched the trailer, what are you doing with your life? Go watch it now!

Anyway, what did you think of Jackson's POV? Did he react the way you thought he would? Let me know in the comments.

And thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments on the first chapter. They're much appreciated. I'll try and get the next chapter out a little quicker this time, but no guarantees. Especially with teaser hell next week, I might be a sobbing mess curled up in a corner most of the time. Ahahahaha.