You smell like apples. 

It was silly, how much the four words that marked Minghao's wrist affected him to such an extent. Well, maybe not that silly. After all, soulmates were a big thing, and if he was lucky enough to have gotten something so specific then he should be grateful. He's had friends with just one word for their mark, a simple greeting that's gotten them tearing their hair out in frustration because anybody can say that. Of course, the words have to darken for it to mean anything, but who wants to jump and panic at every 'hello' they get? 

But his was special, in a sense. 

It was a concrete sentence, and also the reason why Minghao, ever since his words appeared when he was 13, had taken to buying apple scented products on a monthly basis. He had apple scented shampoo, body wash, lotion, even his toothpaste was occasionally in apple flavour until it got too weird. It felt like he had apple juice in his mouth, which got him switching back to something regular and minty fresh. Still, the rest of him radiated with a crisp apple scent.

Minghao didn't even like apples. 

He had often wondered about what the words on his soulmate's wrist would be, too. He was a fairly quiet boy, a bit on the shy side but usually not for too long. If his soulmate's first words to him were something about how he smelled like, then perhaps they weren't as introverted as he was. Minghao once thought about how maybe, his soulmate would be the one with a generic mark. He felt bad about this for some time until he remembered he was doused in apple products every day for a reason. 

If his soulmate only had one word on their wrist, then good. They deserved it. 

It's been six years since Minghao began smelling like a grocery store fruit aisle, but nobody has ever pointed it out yet. Okay, there was one time his friend Mingyu pointed it out with a sniff, saying the exact four words and Minghao felt time stop for a second before he remembered two things: one, those weren't Mingyu's first words to him and two, Mingyu had already found his soulmate before they even met. He had breathed a sigh of relief after realizing he did not have to spend the rest of his life with Mingyu. 

The latter was only mildly offended. 

Minghao should have guessed that he would meet his soulmate at some social event. Admittedly, he didn't want to meet his soulmate in anything close to a party; he had hoped it would be somewhere quiet, like a coffee shop or a bookstore, but no. The night that the words on his wrist darkened was the night of Hansol's birthday party, held at his apartment where a bunch of people came and filled the place up. There were people Minghao didn't even know and it was uncomfortable to an extent, until he was pulled to the side by a few of his friends and things felt better once he was away from the crowd. 

"Minghao, there you are!" Jisoo had exclaimed happily once he met up with the small crowd by the side of the