he forgets that wonwoo hasn’t found his soulmate yet. he forgets that blue, pink, and orange mean nothing to him and part of him feels an ache in his heart because his friend deserves to see what life's really like. he deserves to know that life is not black, gray, or white-- he deserves to know that those flowers are red and that the sun is actually brighter than he imagines.

when he sees his friend struggling to describe the color, his lips curve into a smile. it’s one that holds a lingering sadness-- a longing.

“you’ll find out soon.” and there’s that cheeky grin, followed by a playful punch in the arm. “you’ll meet them.”

part of the sadness fades and hope replaces it.

. . .

some things are meant to be, they say. everyone finds their soulmate and lives happily ever after.

you wonder if that’s true.

in youth, sometimes it’s about finding love. sometimes it’s about finding what you want to do in life.

sometimes it’s about finding the colors.

when you see others admire the sunset or the garden, you can’t help but feel puzzled. because you wonder why they would take the time to stand there and look at it for so long with such excited expressions-- and then you remember.

they can see the beauty in things when you cannot.

and it isn’t that the world is terrible and boring-- no, it’s far from that. but how can you live knowing that there’s so much more? that everything you see isn’t really what it looks like. that there’s someone out there who could change all of that in seconds. but finding your soulmate isn’t that easy-- even if you recognize them the moment you see them, how could you find them? for all you know, they could be across the world and never meet you.

so when you’re told that you’re moving away and transferring to another school, you don’t know how you feel. what if you’re moving further from them? what if you’re getting closer?

you try not to think much of it; there’s enough on your mind as you try to adapt to this new environment. your school is much larger than the last and you’ve met a few people, but other than that, not much else happens. you don’t expect to find them here, but hope does not abandon you, even when you think it should.

“jeon wonwoo?”

no answer. curiosity rises in the class and eyes search about for the student, but it seems that no one can find him. and you notice an empty seat next to a stranger that holds utmost content in his eyes.

“he’s not here today.”

you’re about to look away, but then he makes eye contact and your body freezes-- but he just gives a big smile.

. . .

“are you feeling better?”

mingyu tosses the assignments on the kitchen counter and notices that wonwoo is staring hard at the glass of water before him.

“what color is this?”

“it doesn’t have one.”

cue confusion and yet another time mingyu struggles to explain. wonwoo can see it from a mile away-- the other’s brows knit and his lips part, but nothing comes. instead, he shakes his head and returns to the subject.

“it was just a cold,” he answers with a shrug, “i’ll be back tomorrow.”

when his friend beams so brightly at him, suspicion arises and part of him thinks that maybe he shouldn’t go back tomorrow.

“there’s a new classmate. they’re pretty cute.”

and there it is.

a deadpan stare meets one that holds childlike excitement.

“you can’t play matchmaker when we have soulmates.”

feign innocence.

“who said i was?”

wonwoo sighs.

. . .

if someone asked who the most terrible liar was, what would wonwoo say?

kim mingyu.

“i’m gonna go ahead. i need to ask the teacher something.”

he sees through the lie instantly, but mingyu speeds down the hallway before anything can be said.

so when you hear a loud noise in the classroom and see someone darting towards you, the frightened expression tells him that his plan isn’t going so well already. he’s out of breath and he checks the clock. good-- enough time before a certain someone comes to class.

he doesn’t know why, doesn’t know if this will really work out, but his instincts tell him that it’s you. it has to be.

“what color is my hair?”

a terrible way to indirectly ask if you have a soulmate.

“black?”

he stops-- his hair is brown, but it isn’t dark enough to be considered black. he hesitates for a moment and wonders where the hell he was going with this question.

“what color is the board?”

“gray.”

he wears a triumphant smile. another glance at the clock and he realizes there are a few minutes until class begins, so he hurriedly thanks you and rushes back to his seat, not even bothering to provide an explanation.

and just as he expects, wonwoo walks in. of course, he doesn’t really bother to look around until he sees mingyu aggressively pointing at someone. but you’re not even looking in their direction, gaze cast out the window.

“hey,” your classmate pipes up, tapping your shoulder, “they’re trying to get your attention.”

when you turn and see the stranger, it hits all at once. his features hold curiosity in the beginning, but the moment you look at each other, bewilderment adorns his face and all the colors come bleeding through. the hues that you’ve yet to see-- the light blue, the hazy pink. even the most simple things-- the green chalkboard, the purple bow in that girl’s hair.

your breath catches in your throat and your vision begins to blur. because it’s overwhelming and it’s exhilarating-- and it’s all because of him. and your classmates have realized what’s going on-- you hear them chattering excitedly and you see mingyu grinning, but all you can focus on is him.

and the state of shock he’s in prevents him from really understanding what’s happening. because it’s all too fast and all too foreign-- but he realizes that this is what it is. this is what the world looks like. 

that’s what the sky looks like. that’s the blue that he always tries to get mingyu to describe.

when you look at each other, the smiles that break out on your faces are breathtaking. and you don’t even know what to say to each other-- it’s immense gratefulness that is felt and there are no words that could possibly express it.

and despite the tears that threaten to fall, you let out a laugh of disbelief and he finds himself doing the same.

he found you.

he found his soulmate.