* * * * *

The night after Jimin first saw Jungkook, he had been lying in bed until dawn, a thousand thoughts filling his head. Some were pure anxiety: Does Jungkook have Jimin’s name on him? If so, will he like him? Will they get together, or end up like Jin and Namjoon?

But then, Jimin would start fantasizing: everything was movie-perfect, him and Jungkook got together and lived happily ever after. One thing Jimin was sure about: for better or worse, his life was about to change forever.

Yet, as weeks passed and September slowly faded into a chilly October and Jimin’s long clothes were no longer a burden, Jimin was forced to admit he may have been wrong about his life changing forever. Nothing substantially changed. Namjoon was soon healthy again and back in his usual seat in the canteen, munching on his usual crappy sandwiches. Jimin went to university as always, studied, hung out with his friends.

He would see Jungkook in the class they shared together. Without fail, he would freeze, and panic, and sometimes he would feel hints of that amazing otherworldly feeling he had felt when he first saw the new student. However, he no longer tried to approach him, no matter how much Hoseok nagged him to give it another shot. “There’s simply no point”, Jimin would try to explain to Hoseok. “It’s better if he doesn’t know me at all instead of thinking that I’m crazy or creepy.”

However, on the rare occasions when they would run into each other, in the hallway or in the library or in the park in front of the university, Jungkook seemed to have no difficulty taking to Jimin. Like any other acquaintance (were they even acquaintances?), he’d ask how Jimin’s day was, how his grades were, what he thought of some subject or some teacher. It would all echo in Jimin’s ears as if Jungkook’s voice was the voice of god himself. Jimin would answer shortly and with his head down. Then he’d make an excuse: he forgot his laptop in his room, he was late for his statistics lecture, his friend was waiting for him in the library, his cat was home alone and it was probably hungry. (When he used this last one he was suddenly puzzled as to why Jungkook was rolling his eyes, before remembering they weren’t even allowed to have pets on campus.)

“Hey, why aren’t you in the dance class anymore?” asked Jungkook one day upon stumbling across Jimin at the exit of the canteen. He held his hand in his pocket.

Honestly, Jimin had no idea why Jungkook even bothered. “How did you know I used to be in it?”

“Hoseok told me. He said you’re really good, that it’s such a shame that you quit.”

I quit because of you, Jimin sighed internally, because I couldn’t stand your presence. How ironic, considering Hoseok asked you to join the dance class just so I could get to know you. “Hoseok is exaggerating, as always. I’m not that good.” A stampede of loud seniors was just coming out of the canteen, so Jimin snatched the opportunity to quickly say goodbye and run away, heart beating so frantically Jimin thought it might smash his ribcage open.

“It’s weird,” he told Hoseok one day while walking back to their campus rooms. “At first he didn’t seem to recognize me as his soulmate at all. And then, he seemed kinda creeped out. But lately he’s trying so hard to talk to me.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Hoseok smiled enigmatically, but Jimin didn’t quite catch the expression, too consumed by his own thoughts to notice the strange twinkle in Hoseok’s eyes.

“I don’t know.” said Jimin. “It’s not like I can even actually reply to whatever he’s saying.” He sighed. “Maybe Namjoon is right and this whole soulmate thing doesn’t really matter so much.”

Hoseok didn’t seem pleased by that reply. “You sure? Don’t you think Namjoon is actually just saying that to try to get over not getting together with his soulmate?”

“Maybe.” said Jimin. He wasn’t convinced. The whole thing was weird. He stared ponderously at his shoes while walking, as if they held the answer.

Jimin did, however, understand why Hoseok was such a  believer in soulmates and destiny and love and all that crap. One warm Friday evening he saw Hoseok practically running towards someone waiting for him at the university gates. That someone was a guy about their age, with a box-shaped smile and a very, very obvious Jung Ho Seok stretching across his right cheek. The boy instantly slung an arm around Hoseok’s shoulders. Jimin could probably still hear them laughing even from a mile away.

Guess some people really are happy with their soulmates, Jimin thought. He was happy for Hoseok, but he couldn’t help but be a bit jealous.

If I had just one name like any normal person, maybe it’d be that easy for me too. And if Jungkook had mine, of course.

If evolution makes mistakes, as Jimin had learned in one of his lectures, then so, probably, does fate. Maybe Jimin was fate’s mistake. He definitely seemed like an anomaly, all covered in Jungkook’s name, who, on the other hand, probably didn’t have a single mark of Jimin’s. Perhaps there was no happy ending for him at all.

“You and Taehyung seem happy.” he told Hoseok the next day in the library, hoping he didn’t sound bitter.

Hoseok literally spit out his coffee, earning himself a frown from the hawk-eyed librarian sitting across the room. He send an apologetic smile to her before turning to Jimin, his voice low and almost panicked.

“When did you-?”

Jimin shrugged. “I saw you two yesterday at the gates. You look good together.” He didn’t really understand Hoseok’s panicked reaction. Neither did he understand when Hoseok’s expression morphed into an almost painful one. “I- yeah. I guess we get along well.”

But if Hoseok had secrets, that was nothing compared to Yoongi.

“Are you ever gonna show us your mark?” asked Jimin for the millionth time in the canteen that day.

“ off.” said Yoongi, clutching his bandaged hand with his normal one, probably in case Jimin tried to jerk his bandage off.

“Not even if I write your sociology essay?”

Yoongi’s eyes looked murderous.

“I told you to off.” He raised his eyebrow. “Besides, you didn’t show me yours either.”

At that, Jimin flinched a little. He didn’t really feel ready to show anyone except Namjoon how many marks he has. Not even Hoseok knew.

“You know whose name I have. We all know what are each other’s marks. Except yours.” Jimin pointed out.

“What, if we’re hanging out we gotta tell each other what name we got?”

“No, but-”

“Just off, okay?” said Yoongi, slinging his bag over his shoulder and strolling out.

The only one without secrets seemed to be Namjoon. One night they were drinking beer at a house party, hanging out in the kitchen to avoid the crowd.

“You better go tell him, Jimin. Or, dunno, do something about him. You’ve been sulking for a whole goddamn month.”

“Do something… like what? I can’t talk to him. I can’t even look at him. And he probably doesn’t have my name on him or he would’ve told me about it already.”

“Maybe he thinks the same about you.”

“He didn’t even react when he first heard my name. He didn’t even look at me twice.”

“Yet you say he keeps randomly trying to talk to you these days.”

“Ah, dunno.” The beer was making both of their minds fuzzy. “Kinda wish you were my soulmate, you know.” said Jimin. “Everything would be much less complicated.”

Namjoon made a face. “Ugh, please no.” They both laughed, and for just a moment, Jimin thought things weren’t so bad. He might be fate’s mistake, but at least his friends had his back.

* * * * *