I am in the library, doing up my notes for a subject when my earphones start blasting an EDM song. Shocked, I rip out the earbuds and glare at them like they have done something wrong. I let out a long sigh.

I have had several EDM songs in my Shared Playlist, not because of my preference but because of my soulmate’s. Though they don't last very long. My soulmate seems to prefer ballads and soft melodies, which I really appreciate. So usually, within the next eight hours, such songs are removed. And only ever so often, they would revisit the playlist again, scaring me out of my wits.

I glance around the library, hoping no one could hear the loud music that is hardly restrained despite playing only through my earphones. When I am sure that no one can hear it, I look down and stare at the two buds like they are from outer space. Deciding that it will only make me distracted and annoyed, I sigh and turn off the music. I try to go back to doing my notes but it is tough because I hardly ever study without music on. After all, in this world, no one ever really does anything without music.

So I heave another sigh and shut my notebook and laptop. I lean back in my chair, taking in the image of the quiet library in front of me. There are not a lot of people here. Well, it is after school, students would prefer going home than to just stay back in the library. I am just one of those students who spend my time studying even if there are no assignments due. I don't have many friends and I prefer doing things more productive than to do things that are not. I am one of those people who no one ever takes notice of.

I give my playlist one last check. There are now five new songs that are EDM and Hardstyle. And I can tell they'll only increase in number. I sigh mentally. I can always skip the songs, but I don't want to keep doing that. Wouldn't that be too troublesome? So I pack up and stuff my phone into my pocket, ready to just go home instead.

I push the library doors and I am immediately hit with the summer breeze that is now much cooler than before. I look around the campus, trying to navigate my way out of here. I see the field and start walking in that direction. I have to pass it to get to the gate that is closest to the bus stop where I take my bus home.

Our university campus is a small one, since it is a smaller faculty that consists of Physiology students. And since it is partly related to sports, the university’s star rugby team has their training here. Besides, any sports injury could be easily taken care of with so many physiologists and to-be-physiotherapists here.

I am nearing the field, noticing the rugby team taking a break. I hate it when I walk past the field and the team is having a break. Because they're guys, they don't know how to not stare when a girl walks by. It's like some sort of animal instinct, or something. I am once again in that situation when I walk into the light of the field. I swallow and I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. I wish I had my music plugged in. EDM and Hardstyle would definitely be better than hearing boys whispering about your , or whichever part of your body they like to talk about.

A few steps after I pass the seating stands, I hear some conversation stopping. And that is when I can clearly hear the music playing in the background, amplified by a Bluetooth speaker. It is EDM. I almost want to groan. What is it about this genre of music that everyone seems to enjoy?

Just out of curiosity, I turn my head for a moment, quickly locating the small speaker that is illuminated with a blue light. I glance at the person sitting next to it. He is watching me, a smirk on his face, a phone in his large hands. His hair is bleached and coloured, and extremely damaged. Even from afar, I can see his huge eyes sparkling with mirth and playfulness. He waves at me. Despite the blushing on my cheeks, I look to the man next to him who is leaning towards the coloured-hair guy, hovering over the phone in his hands. He is also looking at me, his droopy eyes rounded as he stares at me. His lips are turned down at the corners.

Suddenly realising that not just one, but two rugby players are staring at me, I quickly look away and hasten my pace. I can hear catcalling and sniggers behind me, making my heart race. I train my eyes to the front and keep up with the fast pace of walking until I am sure I am out of the sight of those guys. Then I slow down and let out a deep breath. I wish I didn't have to always walk past the field. I mean, I don't have to but it is always the quickest way out of campus. I sigh and take out my phone, hoping for my soulmate to stop adding new EDM songs. Just as a new song is added to the Shared Playlist, I hear a whistle blowing, signalling the end of break time for the rugby team.

Not expecting my soulmate to be done with adding new songs so soon, I keep my phone again and focus on getting home as quickly as possible.

After taking a shower, I check my playlist and see that the last new song was the one that was added at the time of the whistle blowing. Knowing that I can now simply play my songs without shuffle starting from the first song after the EDM’s and Hardstyle’s, I decide that I should do a bit of studying before I make dinner. I shut my room door, not wanting to be disturbed by my other housemates, and start studying.

An hour and a half of studying later, I stop my music and leave the room to cook dinner. My housemates and I never have dinner together. After all, we’re simply four people living together in the same house. We don't even know each other that well. All that we have in common is that we are university students. While two girl best friends share a room, I and another girl have our own rooms. And among the four of us, I wouldn't say I am the most homebody, but I am definitely the one with the least exciting life. The girl BFFs, Jennie and Rose, are the party kind of people. The other single roomer, Joohyun, prefers staying home but she still goes out partying on some nights. I, on the hand, only sleep, eat, and study.

The day ends after dinner and a time of relaxation. Ever since ending my studying session before dinner, I have not checked my playlist. But the next morning, after I get ready to go to uni, I check my playlist and see that the EDM songs are gone and instead, a ballad song titled Sorry is added. I smile.

I don't know what kind of person my soulmate is. I don't even know if we’re in the same country. (I can only assume so, because he listens to Korean songs as well. Unless he figured my nationality from my song choices and decided to learn the language. But I doubt so.) Even though I have no idea what my soulmate is like, I know for a fact, at least, that he is sweet, but in a gruff and manly way. Because by the time midday rolls around, the apology song is already removed from the playlist.

I am walking to my next class when I hear a lot of chattering behind me. Regretting the choice of keeping my ears unplugged since the walk to my next class is a short one, I sigh through my nose and try to ignore the noise. But when I hear girls giggling and flirting with their cute voice, I immediately have an inkling exactly which group of people is walking behind me. Like I said, my campus isn't very big. Everyone basically knew everyone as long as you're not a quiet person like me.

I try to subtly quicken my pace but my hair tie decides to snap at that very moment, letting my hair fall down my shoulders in a cascade. I pause in my steps for a moment, touching my loose locks. I shut my eyes briefly and let out a frustrated nasal sigh. When I hear wolf whistles from behind me, I roll my eyes and start walking quickly.

“Littering is an offence, you know!” one of the guys shouts from behind.

I turn my head slightly to look to the ground where my glittered black hair tie is lying, no longer in a circle but a line. Then I glance up at the group of guys who are watching me. My assumption was right. They are almost half the rugby team. It is a huge group of them, consisting of nine people and a bunch of other pretty girls. Some of the guys have their arms slung around the girls’ shoulders. I recognise the guy with the bleached hair who is doing just that, his lips pulled in the same smirk he gave me yesterday. I doubt he remembers me. As if there is attraction between gazes, my eyes slide past the other guys to rest on the one at the edge of the group.

I recognise him to be the guy sitting next to the bleached-hair male yesterday. His hair is styled down today, his fringe slightly parted like two crescents facing each other. His eyes are dark and unreadable as he stares back at me, his pink lips pressed together. My heart rate rises slightly. I turn away then, frowning. That is weird.

I keep my eyes to the front, my heart jumping at the sight of the end of this corridor. Just a little bit more and I will be out of their sight. That way, I wouldn't feel as self-conscious, too. But then I hear a bit of murmuring before a male’s voice calls out to me.

“Hey!”

Ignore, ignore, ignore.

I hear footsteps jogging towards me. I pray and hope that this person is running and calling out to someone else.

“Hey,” the guy mutters, tapping on my shoulder.

I deflate slightly and turn to the side. This guy has skin of a healthy tan and his lips are thick and plump. His jawline is ready to cut and he looks a little fierce. He clears his throat.

“I’m sorry for, um, approaching you like this but…”

He trails off there, glancing back at his group of friends. I look back as well, noticing how some of them have playful grins on their faces as they urge the guy to keep talking. The guy with the droopy eyes is only staring, his unreadable expression unmoving. The male next to me turns back to face me, so I do the same.

“Do you want to go out with me?”

I know there are a lot of people who, despite knowing that they have a soulmate out there just for them, still go around dating other people. Some give the excuse of passing time and meeting different kind of people before finding their soulmates. And though I know most people enjoy that kind of life, I am a different story. I am always a different story. I don't like that way of passing time like this. I don't like the idea of dating someone, knowing that we will not eventually be together. Because it is not only a waste of time but it will also cause heart breaks.

So I give the guy next to me a slight grimace and a bow of my head. “Sorry,” I mutter.

He blinks at me, probably not expecting me to reject him. After all, no girl would reject someone from the star rugby team. He opens his mouth to say something else, probably to persuade me into being with him. But then someone else from his group of friends strides over and grabs a hold of his elbow. I glance at the newcomer and see that it is that guy with the droopy eyes that seem so scary and fierce despite the potential cuteness in them. He is staring at me.

“Sorry,” he mutters, his voice a nice thrum that has my heart swelling. “It was a dare.”

“Ah, Baekhyun hyung!” Jawline Guy whines. “You know what happens if we announce the dare to the people we're doing it on.”

This Baekhyun guy pins the younger male with a stern gaze. “Stop disturbing her. I’ll take the punishment for you.”

Jawline Guy grins and stops following me, just as Baekhyun does. “Baekhyun hyung said he’d take the punishment for me!” Jawline Guy exclaims happily.

I glance back, only to see Baekhyun still watching me, eyes as hard to read as before. Jawline Guy is already walking back to the group. Baekhyun dips his head slightly and I notice the hint of apology in his eyes. I can't help it when the corner of my lip pulls up in a slight smile. I give him a small shake of my head and turn away, fastening my pace now that I have been stalled from getting to my next class.

Sometimes, your soulmate is closer than you think they are.

“Rose!!! I found my soulmate!!!” Jennie exclaims the moment she enters the house.

Even with music playing in my closed room, I can hear her shouting and a door tearing open, her roommate racing down the stairs to greet her.

“Seriously?!” Rose squeals loudly.

As much as I want to focus on studying, I know that I will not be able to. Being able to find your soulmate before you're even 21 is quite a rare thing. And since Jennie is a year younger than I am, I have to admit that I am quite envious that she has already found her soulmate. So I turn down the volume of my music and put down my pen.

“Yes!!!” Jennie responds.

“Who is he?! Where’d you meet him?!”

“Oh my gosh, he's so cute! I was in a café with Jisoo—”

“Wait, you guys met without me?!”

I roll my eyes and sigh through my nose. This is going to take a while.

“Yes, but only because she wants to have a one-to-one time with each of us,” Jennie explains quickly. “Anyway! I was in the café and the songs that were playing were familiar to me. So I kept listening and listening, and I found that I knew every single song that was playing! Jisoo made me go up to the counter to ask whose playlist it was and, oh my gosh, the moment I saw him… Oh my gosh, I almost died.”

Okay, I shake my head. That's enough for me. That's one too many OMG’s. But just before I turn my music back up again, I hear Jennie clarifying something.

“It was like I knew. It felt as though — this is going to sound really mushy and cliché but — my heart was whole. And, look!” Rose’s gasp is loud and dramatic. “The moment we synced our playlist and the same song played on both our phones, this tattoo just showed up. On our wrists.”

I turn up the volume of my own playlist then, deciding that I have had enough of their squeals and exclamations. I try to go back to studying, but I can't help myself from thinking about my soulmate.

How long more do I have to wait? How will I find out? How close will he be?

I look down at my wrist, tracing the tip of my finger around it, wondering where the tattoo would appear. I know that it is a small music note because I have seen it on my parents, and on many other couples. But each couple has a set of notes that is different from every other couple and they are located on the same place on each other's wrist but a different spot from another couple.

There are also couples who don't have the music note tattoo. Many young couples, like I said before, like to date for the fun of it. But there are actually married couples out there that couldn’t find their soulmates and would simply settle for the next best. Though it has been statistically proven that 83% of marriages like these end up in divorce. I can only hope and pray that I will be able to find my soulmate, no matter how long it would take or how far I would have to travel.

I am just finished with my classes and I am walking slowly towards the field to get to my bus stop when someone knocks into me. This time, I have my earphones plugged in, which surprises me when this person collides into me, so much so that I drop my phone, my earphones being yanked out of my ears in the process. I frown when a duffle bag drops to the ground, on top of my phone. My heart pounds, probably from the collision. The blood in my veins is thrumming with some sort of energy.

“I’m so sorry,” the culprit apologises breathlessly, his voice low and rough like he has been saving his voice from being let out for a long time.

I look up at the same time as the guy squatting down to get his duffle bag. I watch him, bent over, his duffle bag lifted in his hand, giving him a look at my phone. He is staring at the song playing. Slowly, he reaches out for my phone with slender fingers, grasping onto it. He stands and when he faces me, I recognise him to be Baekhyun, the rugby player who promised to take the punishment for Jawline Guy for the dare played on me. I can tell that he recognises me as well, his brown eyes lighting up slightly at the sight of my familiar face.

“I’m sorry for knocking into you,” he apologises again, still holding onto my phone.

I keep glancing at the device, being too protective over it. After all, it is the only thing that connects me with my soulmate.

“Your coach would be proud of your offensive strategy,” I mutter, the words tumbling out of my mouth without a filter.

I am not usually someone who talks without thinking, especially around strangers. I, myself, am surprised by my teasing. Baekhyun, however, looks amused. His usual unreadable gaze holds slight fascination and the corners of his lips tug into a small smile.

“I would have tackled you to the ground if I actually played offense,” he returns. I don’t say anything, still frowning at my phone in his hand, wondering what is wrong with me and when he is going to give the device back to me. Sensing my gaze on my phone in his hand, Baekhyun remembers. “Oh. Right. Sorry,” he murmurs, holding my phone out to me.

I take it slowly, my eyes now on the brown pigment on his thumb. Like a chocolate chip. “Thanks,” I say softly, glancing up at him.

Baekhyun looks at me for a long moment, his eyes locked on mine. I can’t seem to look away and that scares me. I am definitely not a confronting kind of person. Eye contact scares me. Yet I am giving it to Baekhyun so easily.

What breaks our eye contact is the loud blow of a whistle from the field. Baekhyun blinks, like he is breaking out of a spell. He hears the familiar sound of the whistle that indicates the start of training.

“,” he mutters under his breath. He darts his eyes back to me almost frantically. “I’m late for training,” he tells me in a statement. His eyebrows furrow then, like he doesn’t understand why he’s telling me that. He blinks several times. “I have to go. I’m sorry for bumping into you.”

“It’s fine,” I murmur.

He looks at me for a second longer before he nods curtly. He turns away and starts walking briskly in the direction of the field. Before he gets too far though, he turns back, surprising me as I walk in the same direction. He looks surprised as well. But the unreadable look takes over his facial features again.

“Nice choice of song, by the way!” he shouts to me, letting a slight teasing tone infiltrate his remark.

Running out of time, the rugby player turns back around and starts jogging towards his training location, his steps light and agile. I look down at my phone, wondering what song had been playing. At once, my face heats up. This song wasn’t what I had chosen. My soulmate must really like this song, and maybe even the movie, because ever since it was added into the playlist, it was never removed again. And since I cannot remove a song that my soulmate picked, I had to put up with it. (Though I have to admit that after listening to it for almost a year, I am starting to adore this song.)

Silently cursing my soulmate for embarrassing me in front of not just a cute guy but a player of the star rugby team, I stuff my earphones into my ears again. I keep walking and look ahead, just in time to watch the rugby player turning into the field. The second chorus of the song starts and I shut my eyes at the embarrassing replay of Baekhyun finding out what kind of songs are on my playlist.

Let It Go (From “Frozen” soundtrack) - Idina Menzel

Author's note:

Starting this was tough but once I got into the feel of it, everything came easy and naturally! I really like this au, and how things are turning out. This chapter was short but I didn't want to rush into things at the first chapter. So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next update!

xoxo