Jay had somewhat expected when the last marks of his soulmate would appear on his wrist, but he didn't expect it to show up when he had been determined to get to Korea to check on Sunghoon.

Dongju had been given a briefing on what Jay had gone through by Dongmyeong but he didn't expect for Jay to experience that. Whatever that was.

Taehyun, Heeseung and Kai were stuck in the middle of everything, though they tried to keep things normal for their guests. Soobin wasn't home, but it didn't mean that they couldn't be courteous to their guests.
 

~

Jay let out a shaky breath as he sat down in front of Dongju at the cafe near the university that Jay used to attend.

It was the morning time, and most of the morning crew was around. That had included Seongmin, Kai's soulmate, and Heeseung who moved to the morning shifts once he joined the upperclassmen ranks and got all afternoon classes.

"So you're stuck on morning shifts now huh?" Asked Jay as Heeseung walked over with their coffees and sat down.

"It is something I didn't want to do but," sighed Heeseung as he shook his head. "At least I'm no longer living in the dorms," he added. "I saved up enough money to start living with Taehyun at Soobin's house," he explained.

"I guess I'll be looking forward to the afternoon classes then," mused Dongju as he studied the way Jay and Heeseung interacted with each other.

"How's Jake been?" Asked Jay as he wondered about how Jake was coping with everything happening.

"I don't know," sighed Heeseung. "He moved out of the dorms at the beginning of the year," he explained. "No one has really seen him except for whoever's working the afternoon shifts," he added.

"I see," hummed Jay. "I'm assuming it's chaos in the dorms now with everything that's happened?" He asked.

"Niki is really the only one who updates us on everything," explained Heeseung. "They've had new people move into the dorms recently from what I've heard but they've all been transfers," he added.

"So many transfers lately," remarked Dongju as he tilted his head to the side in thought.

"I don't know why," hummed Heeseung as he shrugged. "I just know that ever since Jake and I moved out things started changing," he explained.
 

~

Jay was still unable to see Sunghoon as he stood outside Sunghoon's hospital room. He felt frustrated that he couldn't just be there for his friend, but he understood why they wouldn't let him. Sunghoon probably didn't want to see him again after ignoring his pleas for help.

"They wouldn't let me see him either you know," came a familiar voice as Jungwon walked over and stood beside Jay who turned to look at him.

"You I can understand," grumbled Jay, shaking his head as he Jungwon blinked in surprise. "I understand why they wouldn't let me in either, don't worry," he added, letting out a sigh. He turned and put a hand on the door for a second before turning and walking away before he got kicked out of the hospital for doing something stupid.

Jungwon was left to stand there in shock before he turned back to Sunghoon's door with a sigh.
 

~

Jay found himself in front of Seoho who held out a wooden sword for him to take. "You think this will help me vent my anger?" He asked, looking at the sword before taking it and testing the weight before nodding to Seoho who picked up his own sword.

"It's a good way to vent your frustrations," explained Seoho as he nodded. "I'll go easy don't worry," he added, initiating the spar as he immediately brought his sword down.

"This is easy?" Jay asked in exasperation as he countered the attack, quickly moving back and quickly following up with a lunge as he swung his sword down.

"This is practically amateur level," retorted Seoho as he blocked the blow, following up with a counter as he made sure to hold back as he knew that Jay wasn't immortal like he was.

Jay grunted as the sword hit his ribs, managing to deflect some of it as he blocked part of the hit with his sword before sticking it into the ground to keep his balance. "I think you may need to reevaluate your definition of amateur," he grunted as he moved away from Seoho, keeping a hand on his ribs as he wheezed, trying to catch his breath as Seoho moved back in concern. "J-Just give me a second," he managed to say, taking a deep breath to try and even out his breathing.

"I think even with me holding back it didn't help," remarked Seoho as he went to help Jay sit down.

"You don't say?" Jay asked with sarcasm, grateful for the break as he sat down with a sigh. "You forget that I'm not like you," he added, shaking his head.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Asked Seoho.

"No, I'm fine," responded Jay as he stretched, wincing slightly at the pain. "It doesn't feel broken, but I can't do this again," he sighed. "Dongmyeong and Yunho are gonna kill you," he added, shaking his head.

Seoho scoffs. "Okay, if only," he responded with a shake of his head.

"Okay, true," hummed Jay as he got up. "Let's get back to Dongju yeah? Before he dies from the stress," he added, jokingly.

"Yeah yeah," sighed Seoho as he helped Jay walk back to where Dongju was waiting.
 

~

Jake stood face to face with Jay as he slouched slightly, his hands in his pockets as he studied Jay.

"You seem more stressed lately," remarked Jay as he studied Jake with a raised eyebrow.

"School, you know?" Asked Jake. "Ever since I came back from Australia things haven't worked out well for me back home," he explained. "My dad is on the verge of getting fired from his job as a mechanic and it's stressing everyone out," he added, sighing as he shook his head. "I just want to finish school so I could provide for him, and make him proud of me," he explained.

"I get that," hummed Jay as he nodded. "Is that why you moved out of the dorms?" He asked. "Or was there another reason?" He asked.

"It was cheaper to live elsewhere," mumbled Jake as he shrugged. "I'll live with it though, I've been through worse," he added with a small sigh, turning away from Jay.

"Let me see if I can pull some strings yeah?" Asked Jay as he put a comforting hand on Jake's shoulder. "I know it's a long shot, but maybe I can get you some help," he explained.

"You think a king would be able to help me?" Asked Jake as he turned to look at Jay.

"I got two helping me, you know?" Asked Jay. "I'm sure I can manage to convince someone to help you and your family," he explained. "Just, hang in there yeah?" He asked, letting his arm drop to his side.

Jake nodded, turning and walking away.

"Well, I know that struggle all too well," came a new voice as Seoho walked over, Dongju right behind him with a curious look on his face. "I'll talk to Jahan, see if he can do something about it, okay?" Asked Seoho as Jay turned to him.

"Thanks, Seoho," mumbled Jay as he smiled in relief.

Seoho nodded, smiling in return.