When I get back to the apartment it’s dark, save for the flickering light from the television and the red rays from the sinking sun. Casting aside the conversation from earlier, I find Jongin asleep on the couch, already in his pajamas, and I laugh quietly under my breath. Entering the bedroom, I quickly change into sleeping clothes and prepare for bed before I grab a blanket and step back out into the living room. I place it over him and reach for the remote, turning to switch the TV off until I feel arms encircle my waist. 

“I was bored.” Jongin whines. “Where’d you go?”

“I had some errands to run. And if you’re going to whine about being bored, why didn’t you just call over Luhan or Sehun or Kris?” 

“Well, they aren’t you.” He says. I swallow.

-assigned a different soul mate…

“Oh you’re hopeless.” I scoff and nudge his forehead with my pointer finger. He makes a playful attempt to bite me and I slip away. I’m not even past the coffee table before he picks me up into the air and I try to contain the giggles that bubble up. After a few moments of me pounding a fist on his back to put me down, he settles me onto my feet and it’s only then 

I’m fully aware of how close we are. I can feel the lean arm muscles underneath the thin fabric of his navy blue shirt, smell the scent of his cologne, I swear I can even hear his heart beating. His eyes widen and I realize I’m not the only one who notices the non-existent space between us.

“Jongin-” I start, ready to switch into a comfortable subject about how was your day or what’s for dinner but before the words have a chance to form on my tongue, Jongin takes a daring step closer. I take a hesitant step away. And this continues until I feel the cool white wall of the kitchen on my back, barring my escape any further.

Slowly, almost as if holding something fragile, he places a hand on the slope of my hip while the other lies against the wall next to my head. My eyes flit around the room, never staying on one place for too long.

“What are you doing.” I try to ask, but it comes out more like statement in my nervousness.

“I don’t even know.” He responds. I can hear the smirk in his words, loud and clear, but behind it I find a trace of restlessness? Anxiety? I’m not even

sure anymore. Not with him this close.

“Daeun.” He leans even closer. Different soul mates… “Does it bother you?”

It’s a hit or miss on who he chooses in the end, you or her…“No.” Yes, it bothers me. 

“Good. Because I had no intention of stopping.”

Before I can begin to wonder what that means, much less comprehend the situation, he closes the final spaces of distance and presses his lips against mine. It’s sweet, like summer breezes on a sweltering hot day, and before I know it, I’m craving more. My arms hook around his neck, on the tips of my feet, and I fall faster and deeper into the feel of him, the way his hair tangles in my fingers. 

I feel his hand come to rest at my cheek; the other slides across to the small of my back. My mind goes blank, completely void of the thoughts of soul mates and cherry blossoms. It’s only him, the way he smiles into the kiss and the way warmth fills me and makes me feel full. 

It’s not until I open my eyes for a brief second that the world comes crashing down around me again. 

The sun’s almost gone, a sliver of a halo cresting the mountain, but it’s enough for the faint outline of a cherry blossom to be seen. It won’t bloom. I tell myself. It’s dead. So I shut my eyes again to close off reality, but the thought lingers in the back of my mind. A gray smudge on my momentary bliss.

“We’ve gone through everything there. No hidden doors or secret compartments. Just these.” A short stack of photos are placed on my desk. I shuffle through them, recognize the familiar layout of Reeve’s apartment in Yongsan-gu. It had been nearly empty, we discovered, when we got there after visiting Yixing. The apartment had a twin-sized bed as soon as we walked in, an old radio up against a wall beneath the east window, and an empty refrigerator. 

Once we had secured that everything was clear, that there wasn’t any hidden threats, we called forensics to scour the room and leave nothing unturned.

The only noticeable lead had been the strange black symbols all across the walls of the apartment.

“So all the markings on the walls...that was it? Did they decipher any of this?” I ask, organizing the photos back neatly, and Kris shrugs.

“Not sure. You should head down to forensics and ask. And no, that wasn’t it. They found this under the bed.” He places a small, thick cloth bag next to the photos and motions me to open it. I unwrap the thin cord that ties it shut, and feel ice slip into my veins. “It had your name on it, so I told them you’d want to see it.”

Snow. If lost, call…. My owner is Oh Daeun.

“W-where did he get this?” I say to no one in particular. The bell on the green pet collar jingles. 

“Is it yours?” Kris asks.

“Yeah.” White fur. Golden eyes. Days without Sehun. “It was for my dog.”

“Baekhyun!” I call. Several heads turn up as I pass, none of them matching the face of the person I need to see. “Where is he?” 

“In the storage room, I think.” Tao says while spinning around in a chair. I pause, wonder what he’s doing in the forensics department and not with Kris, and then I quickly thank him and continue. I practically run to the storage and push the door open. Baekhyun lies on the ground, sleeping in his lab coat and mumbling incoherent things.

“Wake up, slacker.” I mutter while nudging him with the tip of my shoe. He rolls away and protests with muted leave me alone’s and go away’s. I cross my arms. “Don’t talk back to your boss. I can fire you for sleeping on the job.”

He’s up in an instant at my threat, rubbing the fatigue out of his eyes. “Sorry, Daeun. It’s midday, I’m just tired.” When I don’t crack a smile, he laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head. “So, you’re here to ask about the transcriptions I guess?”

Leading me to his desk, he pulls out book after book until he finds the right one. “Ah, here.” He hands me the heavy volume. “The type of script matched up with Latin. This book has all kinds of characters that can help you decode the markings.”

I nod, and heave the giant encyclopedia into my arms. “Thanks, Baek. But seriously, no more naps.” He nods rigorously, and salutes me with a cheeky grin.

“Tao, I told you that if you wanted to stay here, you can’t let anyone bother me.” I hear Baekhyun chide as I start walking back to my office.

“But Daeun isn’t just anyone. Daeun is Daeun. Daeun is our boss.” Tao reasons and I smile.

“Good boy!” I call, and Tao grins shyly before giving the other a pointed look. Turning back to Baekhyun I frown. “Learn something from him, you lazy vagrant.” I’m rewarded with a scowl and Baekhyun sticking out his tongue at me.

As I get further away, I’m no longer in a laughing mood. The markings and Snow’s collar seem to weigh heavier on my mind than the book in my arms.

“Where are we going?” Jongin asks, a puzzled look on his face as I drag him through a busy sidewalk in Seoul. It’s January, and freezing, the streets slick with frozen ice. To be more exact, it’s January, and it’s Jongin’s birthday.

“Can you be patient?” I answer with a question, laughing to myself when he pouts. 

After a while, he decides to stop holding my hand and instead wraps his arm around my waist. “Theeeeere we go.” I give him a look, but I don’t protest. He smiles in return.

“You’re wearing it.” I hear him say, and follow his gaze down my arm to the sterling silver bracelet he gave me for my birthday. I nod.

“Of course I am.” I confirm, and he chuckles under his breath.

“Is today a special day or something?” He gives me a knowing look and I shrug.

“Something like that.”

Five minutes later, we step into a cafe, our cheeks starting to defrost from the warm air, and we head towards the booth in the back, the one where I told her meet us. Just as she promised, she sits there, gazing out the window with her hands clasped together on the table. She turns when she senses us and smiles while gesturing for us to hurry over. 

“Daeun.” She starts. Then she faces Jongin and he falters, foot in the midst of taking a step but frozen with shock. “Jongin, dear boy. Happy birthday.”

“Danmi?” He asks, before rushing over to hug her. “I thought they took you.”

“They did.” She says as she pulls back to pat his head. “But I got away.”

They fall into comfortable, easy conversation as if they hadn’t spent years apart. I hardly take part because I’m too fascinated by the exchange. They look like mother and son, joking around and telling each other stories, and somewhere I feel my heart pang. A parent. That’s what I missed out on. For a second, I have the urge to start a search for them, maybe have Sehun help me, but then I cast the thought aside. I’ve been gone for over ten years without so much as a phone call every now and then. What makes me think that they’ll immediately accept me back with open arms?

  “You okay? Daeun?” I feel someone shake my shoulder gently and I snap my head up to face Jongin.

“Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something. Here, why don’t I go and get us something to drink?” I start to slide out of the booth but Jongin holds me back.

“No I’ll get it.” He slips out to order, but not before he gives me a worried look. Tell me about it later.

“He adores you.” Danmi says with a sly and knowing smile.

“H-huh?” I splutter, caught off-guard at how direct the statement was. My hands nervously start to fold and unfold, and fold again.

“And you like him a lot, too.” She observes. I try to respond, something like of course, we grew up together but it’s a whole lot more than just growing up. So I nod, and unconsciously I feel a smile start to dance across my lips.

“I’m rooting for you.” She whispers, fist raised next to her face to show a sign of support, just as Jongin shifts back into his seat after setting down three steaming drinks. A caramel macchiato (my favorite), rests in between my hands, and I continue to observe their conversation with fascination, adding snippets of words where I see fit. 

Still immersed in the dialogue, Jongin slides his hand over discreetly, takes mine into his. Nothing on his face shows any sign of what he did, but I see a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. 

“Thank you.” He whispers somewhere along the line. “I couldn’t have asked for more for my birthday.”

I smile, squeeze his hand in a silent you’re welcome. Right now, it isn’t hard to imagine the “happy ending” of our life.

But that’s just naive thinking. Right?

70+ subscribers since my last update?! This is way more than I thought I would get. You all are wonderful, thank you so much for reading this.

And i missed his birthday so, Happy (late) Birthday, Suho!

he's so adorable