300 words became 1500+ words then 4000+ words.

__________

I can feel the magic floating in the air

Being with you gets me that way

I watch the sunlight dance across your face

And I’ve never been this swept away

“Breathe” by Faith Hill

__________

One day slips into three, then a week, and before Daehyun knows it, two weeks have come and gone.

It’s actually quite simple to not pass the pâtisserie. Instead of exiting two stops early, all he needs to do is remain seated. And yet, day in and day out, before he registers his actions he departs the bus alongside fellow passengers a short distance from the bakery.

It’s two weeks of being drawn to the man he knows is inside, and it’s two weeks of his heart hurting every time he walks past, not stopping in, not caving in to the emotional pull that he feels.

The world is full of alpha and omega pairings as well as soulmates that connect and bond the moment they meet, their first words to each other etched forever onto the soft skin of their inner wrist. But to actually be part of both worlds, that’s something that has never happened before.

But it’s happened now, and to him, and Daehyun has no idea what he is supposed to do.

As each day ends, as it gets harder to not meet his soulmate, as his heart aches a little bit more at his steady denial of something he desires, Daehyun begins to understand while he may win a few inner battles with himself, this is a war he is bound to lose. And he realizes too that his heart doesn’t want to fight the connection.

This morning waking up he decides today will be the day and spends an embarrassing amount of time going through his wardrobe, debating what to wear. He’s never much cared for fashion or the latest trend, but after how badly he ed up their first meeting, he wants to take extra care in looking presentable. He’s not vain either, but he’d been told often enough by friends and strangers alike that he’s handsome. It’s nothing he is particularly proud of, or feels the need to boast about, because he figures it’s largely thanks to good genetics.

He ends his one-man fashion show in front of the mirror by choosing denim colored slacks, a cream cable-knit turtleneck sweater, and boots. Instead of the puffer jacket he wore before, he decides to wear his nicer longer length khaki-colored wool coat, adding a scarf and gloves as finishing touches due to the still too cold Seoul weather. His hair’s currently the color of warm honey, and his bangs are a little too long, reminding him that it’d been a while since his last hair cut. The school he teaches at isn’t overly conservative in their dress code policy — they even have casual Fridays once a month, allowing teachers to wear jeans and dress down if they want to — and he considers the idea of dyeing his hair this spring. Something fun and fresh, perhaps cotton-candied pastel. He knows his students will like it; he wonders if his soulmate would.

*

Because he’d taken too long getting dressed and out the door he opted to drive to work, which makes it easier for him to head to Young at Heart once the school day ends.

Anxious but determined, he enters the Parisian-inspired pâtisserie for the first time in two weeks and walks toward the display cases where he sees his soulmate busy filling in empty spots with extra desserts. There are two other employees, one standing behind the register giving a customer her bankcard back while the other man is making what Daehyun assumes is some kind of expresso drink.

His lips are dry, chapped from cold winds despite religiously applying lip balm throughout the day. He them, an unconscious habit of his that he’s never been able to break, and swallows hard, trying to tamp down the nervous energy that rushes through his body. This is his soulmate, he can do this.

Deep breath in, deep breath out, and then, “Hi.”

At the greeting, the other man’s hands still and his head snaps up. Eyes widen in disbelief as he murmurs, “You’re here.”

Daehyun nods, trying to figure out what to say next. It’s odd that despite being nervous, a calming peace begins to fill him. “Can we talk? I can wait for you to take a break, or come back—”

“Now’s perfect,” he interrupts, replying as he bends slightly to place the empty tray out of sight. “Just-just hold on, give me a moment.” He backs up not breaking eye contact until the last possible moment, as if he’s afraid Daehyun will disappear the second he looks away. He talks briefly to the man at the register, then to the one who’s returning from delivering coffee to a seated customer.

Meeting him as he rounds the counter’s edge, Daehyun questions him. “Are you sure? I would feel badly if you got in trouble with your boss because of me. I don’t mind coming back after your shift, or waiting a while.”

He laughs, eyes sparkling with mirth. “You’re really cute, you know that?”

Daehyun can feel his cheeks flush a rosy pink at the unexpected compliment, while butterflies take up residence in his stomach at the sweet sound of laughter. Cute, he thinks, better describes the other man. With bow-shaped lips and rounded cheeks, Daehyun is charmed.

“I’m Youngjae, and this is Young at Heart. I’m the owner, but thank you for worrying about my job security.”

“Oh.” It hasn’t been five minutes even, and he’s already embarrassed himself. He lowers his head, shifting slightly and staring at his shoes, until he realizes he messed up again. He hadn’t introduced himself either. “I’m Daehyun. Jung Daehyun.” And because he feels it needs to be said, “I’m sorry about… before. Leaving like that.”

“Don’t be. I’m glad you came back.” The smile on his face so genuine and beautiful that it makes it hard for Daehyun to remember how to breathe. “Would you be more comfortable talking out here?”

“Ah.” He takes a quick look around and sees more people have entered and he hadn’t noticed because his eyes had been on Youngjae. (He feels a sudden burst of pleasure at the realization that he now knows his soulmate’s name, and his soulmate knows his.) “Not really, maybe somewhere private. If that’s okay?” He hadn’t exactly planned out what he would say, and honestly he still feels more than a little tongue-tied, but after meeting Youngjae he is more certain than ever that the bond between them is something he cannot ignore or wish away. He also is very much aware that he’s going to have to tell Youngjae about him being an omega, about Yongguk, and he prefers not to do that with a roomful of people within eavesdropping distance.

“I know this is our first time meeting, well take two… but uh my place is actually above the shop. Would you like to come up? It’d be more comfortable than my office space.” Because he’s afraid of sounding too forward, Youngjae rushes to add, “Unless you rather not. I don’t mind going elsewhere.” He doesn’t want to scare his soulmate away for a second time. For the past two weeks, he’d gone through daily life and all his routines, almost methodically as if functioning on autopilot, and it wasn’t until Daehyun walked back into the bakery that he felt time start again, like his heart had been waiting patiently for that moment.

Though he feels everything’s moving too fast, his head spinning to keep up, Daehyun still nods, agreeing to the idea. He follows after Youngjae silently, first through a door stating, ‘Employees Only,’ then down a corridor — Youngjae points out the kitchen and office as they pass them — and finally to a staircase that leads to the second floor.

“Sorry for any mess. I wasn’t expecting company,” Youngjae says, fishing out his keys and unlocking his front door. “I don’t have an extra pair of slippers but if you want to take off your shoes and wear socks that’s fine.”

Once inside, he slips out of his shoes and coat, placing his gloves in his coat pockets before unwinding the scarf from his neck. No coat rack in sight, he holds out both in question. “Is there somewhere I can put these?”

“Oh, yes, of course.” Youngjae hurries to open the door next to the entryway, revealing a closet filled with a few jackets already. Hanger in hand he takes Daehyun’s winter gear from him and puts it away, shutting the door with a soft click. “Sorry, I’m just… a little nervous now that you’re here.”

Hearing Youngjae feels similarly helps channel some of Daehyun’s nervous energy into something more like nervous excitement. “That makes two of us.”

The entire second floor is open-concept style. The entrance flows into the living room and kitchen area, to the right and left respectively. A large island surrounded by four padded barstools marks the kitchen’s ending boundary. There is no separate dining area. Further down is a hallway leading to two doors; Daehyun assumes one is the bedroom, the other a bathroom. The decor is shades of graphite gray, white, and Turkish blue. Both sofa and the sofa chair are overstuffed. Most of the furniture is on a larger scale for the size of the space but Daehyun feels like it gives the room a homey, comforting vibe.

He doesn’t see any mess besides a chenille blanket that had been tossed haphazardly over the couch and a couple of pillows that had fallen over. The kitchen area seems spotless from where he’s standing. He never considered himself a particularly messy person, but compared to Yongguk and Youngjae, he’s starting to feel that way.

“I like your place. This is nice,” Daehyun says, following Youngjae to the living room to take a seat on the sofa. He’s happy to find it’s as comfortable as it looks.

“Thank you.” Reaching for the blanket, he’s careful not to hit Daehyun with it as he grabs it from the back of the couch, folding it properly before placing it back neatly. He sits opposite of Daehyun, enough space between them to keep it comfortable, and picks a fallen pillow, bringing it into his arms to clutch. “I looked at several properties before I decided on this one, and to be honest it was the worst but I figured I could easily take that and make it into an advantage. I got my landlord to agree to a lower rent for the first few months. Money’s money so he wasn’t keen on the idea but once I convinced him to not think so short term, talking about how me making improvements would be increasing the value of the property in the long run he started to see my point of view,” Youngjae shares. “And better yet, he split costs with me on a few basic things like upgrading the wiring and fixing some old plumbing issues.”

Daehyun lets out a low whistle, impressed and attracted to the other man’s obvious intelligence. “You are a chef right? And not a lawyer or former real estate agent?”

“Just a chef. It’s my father who is a lawyer, but I did graduate with a degree in business before studying pastry.” His dad had been worried about his career choice, had wanted him to follow in his footsteps, and so he allowed himself to give in and go to school for business first with a plan to attend law school after. But he hadn’t been happy and his mother saw that, and she was a big reason why his father came around to support him. “It wasn’t a total waste though,” Youngjae says, choosing to see his father’s disapproval in a positive light, “since I knew I wanted to open my own place in the future.”

“Everything worked out then.”

“It did,” he agrees with an easy smile, standing again. He disappears after saying something about wanting to be a good host. A few minutes pass before he returns. “I don’t know what you like, but this is a new recipe I tried last night. Would you like to be my first taste tester?”

Daehyun raises his head from where he’d been glancing at his phone and sees the most beautiful thing in the world. Youngjae holding a plate with a large slice of cheesecake on it, and it doesn’t look like the basic boring kind. It looks wickedly decadent.

“It’s a hazelnut chocolate cheesecake with chocolate coffee crust, topped with a caramel expresso sauce and finished with a few toasted hazelnuts. If you’re allergic to nuts or don’t like the flavors, I can go downstairs and get you anything else you’d like.”

“That sounds amazing. Give me,” he says then grins sheepishly as he continues, “Please and thank you.”

“I take it you like cheesecake?” Youngjae hands over the plate and fork.

“Love is not a strong enough description to convey my affection.” Letting his fork sink into the dessert, he breaks off a big piece and pops it into his mouth. He’s pretty sure he moans. It’s the most amazing bite he has ever tasted, and considering how much he loves food, that’s a statement itself. “Ohmygod, Youngjae.” He takes another bite, the crunch of the nuts a perfect counterpoint to the smooth silkiness of the cheesecake. “This is… this is…” He pauses stumped, trying to come up with something semi-intelligent to say. “There are no words,” he finally decides. “You were wrong earlier too.”

“I was? Wait, let me get you a drink first since the dessert’s rich.” When he comes back, he’s amused and slightly shocked Daehyun only has a couple of bites left. “Iced coffee,” he says, setting the glass down in front of Daehyun. “What was I wrong about?”

Daehyun takes a sip, happy to learn that it’s slightly sweetened. He’s never been one to drink coffee black. “You said you were just a chef, but I don’t think that’s right. You’re more like a god of baking. I never want to eat cheesecake made by anyone else.”

His cheeks heat and color, tinged by pleasure at Daehyun’s positive reaction. Sitting with his body turned toward Daehyun, he tucks one leg underneath him, the other on the floor, and waits for Daehyun to finish. “Would you like a second piece?” he offers.

Daehyun barely succeeds in resisting the urge to swipe any extra crumbs and sauce with his fingers. “Maybe you could give me a slice to go? It was really delicious.” He places the empty plate on the glass top of the coffee table, careful not to let the dirty fork fall onto the rug below. “If you were planning to put that on your menu, I’m sure it’d be a best seller.”

“Thanks, and you better believe I’m sending you home with extra slices. There’s no way I can eat an entire cheesecake by myself.” He has a sneaky suspicion however that Daehyun could.

The answering smile on Daehyun’s face is one Youngjae thinks he could get use to seeing.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” There’s a warm glow of happiness that started to shine within him the second Daehyun walked back into his shop and into his life. His soulmate is actually here, sitting next to him, conversing with him. When he’d gone to the kitchen earlier, he had to pinch himself just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. And after he realized he wasn’t, he had to muffle his subsequent squeal with both hands, hoping Daehyun wouldn’t overhear him. “I almost thought I imagined it, imagined you… probably would have thought I was crazy, except I had the proof of you existing right here.” He holds out his right arm, his sweater sleeve rolled up enough for Daehyun to decipher the word.

Seeing the curse makes him grimace. Another thing to apologize for. “I’m sorry about that.”

Youngjae looks down at it and half shrugs. “I’ve seen worse.”

Daehyun is doubtful but appreciates Youngjae’s attempt to make him feel less guilty. “And I really do feel badly about leaving like that before, and for not returning sooner.”

He needs to tell Youngjae that he’s mated to someone else, but how’s he supposed to do that? It’s not like it’s something you can Google to find the answer. He should know, he already tried it. There is no best way to break that kind of news, and seeing Youngjae look at him like he’s the most important person in the world to him, is it so wrong to want to keep and treasure that for a little longer?

“I guess this is where we should talk about ourselves?” Daehyun asks, changing the subject because he’s not ready yet.

“I’d like that. What do you do? I remember you had a backpack on the first morning I saw you. You’re not still in school, are you?” He doesn’t want to learn he’s some cradle-robber; a few years difference would be fine though.

The corners of his mouth turn up as he shakes his head no. “I’m a teacher, and the backpack’s mainly because a briefcase felt too stuffy to me.” In afterthought, he adds, “I’m twenty-eight, will be twenty-nine in June.”

Youngjae’s smile widens hearing that they’re the same age. “I turned twenty-eight almost a month ago.”

“Happy birthday, belatedly.”

“Thank you… now you said you teach. What grade?”

“Second grade. I work at the elementary school nearby. It’s how I found out about your bakery, a few coworkers were talking about it.”

“Next time you come in, I’ll have to send you a gift basket of treats to take them as a thank you.”

The simple way that Youngjae says it makes Daehyun bow his head in a moment of shyness. He can’t help but be enamoured by the other man. He feels his insides bubbling with happiness every time Youngjae smiles at him. And when he laughs, he thinks it’s beautiful.

But Youngjae doesn’t know about Yongguk, and with that knowledge, he worries it will change everything. And like a coward, he pushes that thought far away and instead asks Youngjae about being a chef.

“I’m primarily responsible for all the baked goods, and while I can do savory, it’s not something I’m passionate about,” Youngjae shares. “I have someone that comes by every morning who makes quiches, tarts, soups, things like that, then I recently hired someone to become my apprentice of sorts. Thankfully he has a solid skill set already, because while I enjoy making everything myself it’s not feasible. I wasn’t sure the reception this place would get when I opened, but it’s been a good response and I need the extra help. Plus I like interacting with customers when I can, so it’s nice to have someone to help with baking duties.” If he hadn’t hired him at the start of the year, Youngjae realizes that when Daehyun first came into the shop, he probably would have been in the kitchen making choux pastry and missed the chance to meet him.

“Where’d you study?”

“Paris, Le Cordon Bleu. Obviously I was inspired.”

“Ah, really?” Daehyun leans forward in excitement. “My sister’s studying there now, but for art.”

“Parlez-vous français?”

Thanks to his sister having fun during their Skype conversations by randomly speaking to him in French, Daehyun easily translates Youngjae’s question. He had thought the language pretty before, but hearing Youngjae speak it, even just a short sentence, it makes him better understand why it’s called the language of love.

Replying back in French that he does not, he hopes he isn’t butchering the pronunciation too badly. “I know a few basic words and phrases but nothing to brag about,” he says. “How long did you live there?”

“Two years spent studying, then I stayed another two to train with a pastry chef I admired, perfecting techniques that I had learned. I enjoyed the experience greatly, but I was happy to return to Korea.” It had felt like the right time. He moved back home with his parents for a year before he made the permanent move to Seoul. Earlier when he told Daehyun about how he chose this place, besides thinking he could get a great deal on the rent, the moment he had walked in, he felt the energy of the place like this is where he needed to be. It turns out his intuition was right since this is where he met his soulmate. “I missed home and my family.” And although it may seem strange to say, he missed Daehyun too, even though he hadn’t met him yet.

“Do you have siblings? Do your parents live in Seoul too?” The questions come out easily, and it’s not out of politeness that he asks. He’s genuinely interested, wanting to know Youngjae better.

“Only child, and no they don’t live in Seoul. I don’t see them as often as I’d like to but we talk weekly and they already know how to video chat because I made sure to teach them before I left for Paris.” Youngjae remembers that particular weekend with a fond smile. At the time his mother wasn’t the most technologically sound person, and now, she’s into texting him random gifs and memes. “What about you? You have one sister, any others?”

“One baby sister is enough to give me gray hairs,” Daehyun sighs in exaggeration. “My parents do live close by though. With my sister gone, I try and make it a priority to visit at least once a month. Sometimes it’s a super short visit, and sometimes my mother will be like don’t you have an apartment to go back to? Papers to grade?”

Youngjae’s mouth twitches in amusement at Daehyun’s imitation of his mother. The grading comment reminds him he wants to hear more about Daehyun’s work, since their conversation got a little sidetracked when he asked earlier. “How many students do you have? And do you like teaching second-grade?”

“Thirty students, and it’s absolutely chaotic,” Daehyun admits with a laugh. “But it’s wonderful too. I love it. Seeing how their minds work, and being part of teaching them about the world and giving them a strong foundation to build their future with… I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else.” He tells Youngjae about the upcoming field trip to the science museum this Friday and the kids’ excitement over all things space-related.

Youngjae finds it endearing how animated Daehyun gets when he talks about his students and teaching. It’s obvious he loves what he does. They chat a while longer before Youngjae brings up the one thing that’s plagued his mind for countless moments.

“I don’t mean to pry,” he starts, which is not entirely true considering how badly he wishes to know the answer, “but may I ask why you left?” Daehyun had apologized multiple times already, and while he’d been thankful for the words, he wants to understand why. It had been disconcerting to realize seconds after meeting him, his soulmate had chosen to run away.

Daehyun knew this moment was coming all along, and yet his stomach still clenches tightly into knots at the thought of telling Youngjae the truth.

“I was shocked.” A very simple understatement.

“It can be a big surprise meeting your soulmate for the first time,” Youngjae murmurs, his eyes softening with understanding. It’s a big surprise, he knows, but it’s also something that you celebrate.

“It is,” Daehyun agrees with a small nod. “It’s just…” He pauses to steady his nerves, then he’s tugging down the top of his turtleneck sweater so that Youngjae can see the mark that while healed still remains visible. “It’s a lot more shocking when you’re an omega who already has an alpha as a mate.”

__________

*Though set in Korea, for this AU, while there is still prejudice and intolerance, same- couples are common and becoming more accepted by society.

*Daehyun and Youngjae’s soulmate inscription are on opposite arms, so mirror images of each other.

I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I hope despite that, it doesn’t sound as badly as I think it does. Today marks my second anniversary since I first posted here, and while I haven’t written much this year (and this is only my second BAP fandom fic), getting lost in words and creating worlds is something that is both challenging and kind of amazing. So thank you for reading <3

Feedback, constructive criticism, general thoughts are much appreciated.