sehun’s eyes are glassy but bright as he listens to the sounds of the children playing in the background and feels the wind flowing through his fingertips. slowly, he uncurls his hand from a fist and pushes the unwanted tears from his eyes seeing as he had his eyes open for a moment too long. he stood by a broken swing with peeling yellow paint and rusted chains. for a moment, he wonders why this park was still open. the playground equipment wasn’t the best and children could hurt themselves by playing there.

the day is a clear one with picture perfect clear blue skies and baby skin soft breezes ruffling the twenty two year old’s blonde and coffee hair. he likes the way the sun is falling against his milky skin and the way the shadows from trees seem to fall against the ugly grey of the concrete.

there’s nothing that would make this moment better than what it was. he just hoped that no one would ruin his said perfect moment but of course silent wishes never come true.

“sehun.” of course his best friend of ten years would appear out of nowhere with a bright smile to ruin sehun’s quiet time.

he watches as the sun kissed male makes his way to where he was standing. one of jongin’s hands is in his pocket and the other is smoothing out the creases of his baseball tee. unlike sehun’s messy hair, jongin’s is styled perfectly and parted to the side with a little curl at the bottom.

“jongin.” sehun replies with a roll of his eyes.

“so cranky.” jongin says with a laugh as he pokes the side of sehun’s head.” but whatever. did you hear?”

“hear what?”

the crinkle of his best friend’s eyes makes the younger want to hide behind a rock and stay there. “there’s a new student coming to class. he’s supposed to be an amazing artist and it’s said that his work is published in one of those manga magazines.”

sehun is unamused. “well good for him. why do i care?”

jongin rolls his eyes. “he’s single?”

the younger wants to throw something at his friend’s head. “you’re trying to make me find my soul mate again.”

“not guilty.”

“not guilty my .”

silence takes the two friends as they glare at each other before sehun turns to walk away. he hears a noise coming from jongin’s mouth before footsteps are behind him. they say nothing as they walk away from the park that the younger was at to make their way to campus for their drawing class.

“i’m not sorry.” jongin says after a few minutes. “it’s just how long have you been waiting for you mate?”

“long enough. i’m not going to be like you and kyungsoo hyung. i don’t want to be like the two of you.”

“oh stop it sehun.”

the said male hisses a bit. “i’m not going to be some cheesy person that doesn’t know the difference between too much pda and not enough.”

jongin laughs and sehun thinks that it sounds like nails on a chalkboard. he winces and takes a step away from the laughing male to glare at him.

they make it to their drawing class just moments before the professor walked in. professor jung juri was one of the finest drawing professors that seoul international could have as well as a popular one. students loved to draw professor juri’s faces because “it makes me feel like i’m one in a million. maybe if someone draws me professor jinki of the physics department will finally pay attention to me”. it’s the same reason that sehun has heard since he first stepped foot into her class.

professor juri smiles and claps her hands happily. “we have a new student today.” she says not paying attention to half the class that’s still standing up, sehun and jongin included. everyone quickly makes it to their seats and stare up at their professor. “his name is kim minseok but i’m sure that most of you know his name as xiumin.” she looks into the sea of arts students. “please stand up kim sshi.”

the man that stands up is short with light auburn hair styled upwards and slightly plump cheeks. his eyes aren’t small nor or large but somewhere in between as they gaze around the room. he wears a patterned blue and white button down and shorts that sehun cannot see. the overall shape of the man’s face is baby shaped making sehun wonder how old the man actually is.

minseok smiles sheepishly to the class before sitting down and everyone turns back to professor jung. it takes no more than a single second before the once silent room is filled with giddy student whispers.

“that’s the world famous manga artist? he looks small.” jongin comments and sehun shrugs.

“don’t judge a book by its cover.” the taller points out. “you look like you could be a playboy with your face but you’re not. instead you’re this sappy and overly cheesy best friend.”

the older makes a face before smiling. “but you love it sehunshine.”

“please don’t.” the younger pleads.  

-

the first time that sehun meets the famous kim minseok is when they became partners for the drawing class they were in. minseok looks a little lost when sehun blinks at him before showing a soft smile and motioning to the work in front of him. the scene is nothing big at the moment with black and white trees, hills and a colorless sky.

“shall we get started?” sehun asks, looking to the picture before looking up.

minseok nods, smiling a bit before clearing his throat. “do you have an idea on what to put?”

the younger stares at the current picture and thinks. there are many things that could be drawn in the picture but what could fit? what’s the mood of the picture? should animals or humans be drawn?

“preferably humans.” minseok says startling sehun. the younger blinks in confusion before he finds himself blushing just a bit.

“was i talking out loud?”

“you were.”

“sorry. i tend to do that when i’m thinking.”

minseok hums. “it’s okay.” with a scrunch of his nose, the older speaks. “i think it’s a romantic setting or a cute one.”

sehun nods. “i think so too actually.”

they stop talking for a moment before the older clears his throat. “i’ll draw first.”

“okay.”

sehun watches in awe as the older man draws. he watches as minseok draws a figure lying by one of the trees and another in the figure’s arms. the details aren’t added just yet because the details are sehun’s job.

without knowing it, the time of the class seems to end when sehun and minseok hear the rustling of the other students as they put their supplies away. the older man smiles and he too starts to pack up his things.

“i’ll take the drawing,” sehun offers and minseok nods.

they part with awkward smiles before sehun is pulled into a headlock by jongin.

-

sehun likes to think that his marking is beautiful. the black ink that swirls against his left pec in a single spot. every day, he thinks about what the shape is seeing as it was just a mess of lines and curves and today it looked like a mess of a heart.

his finger traces the marking and he smiles brightly at the feeling. the university student suddenly starts to wonder what his soul mate is like. are they a boy or a girl (he hopes that it’s a boy)? are they nice and sweet or loud and obnoxious? but most of all are they going to like sehun for sehun? he’s heard those stories where the soul mates don’t like their other half and they’re no longer together. of course he’s scared and nervous but who wouldn’t be when you have no idea who your other half is?

the ringing of sehun’s phone causes him to snap out of his thoughts and reach for the singing device. when the name jongin appears on his screen, the artist has half a brain to ignore it but he knows how his friend is.

sehun curses.

“what is it, jongin?”

“what no hi?” jongin’s voice came out causing the blonde to roll his eyes.

“what do you want?”

“fine. get your lazy up and come meet in the lobby. we’re going to act like little high school girls and go shopping.”

“any why do i have to go?”

jongin makes a noise. “because kyunggie and i are going to a party and we have to look nice and plus i want to spend time with my best friend.”

“fine.”

“i mean i miss yo- wait what?”

“i said fine. there’s nothing better to do although, i don’t know how much i want to listen to you whine but i guess it’ll do.”

“you .”

“i know.” sehun hangs up the phone and throws on whatever clothes his hand touches. within five minutes, he’s out the door and sitting in his apartment lobby waiting for his idiotic friend to appear. the stoic faced male counts his fingers and browses through his phone before he hears the pounding footsteps of kim jongin. he doesn’t even have to look up before he’s standing up and motioning for the older to follow him.  

the two end up at someplace in the mall with all these clothes that were ripped. jongin is thumbing his way through pairs of skin tight washed jeans.

“you could totally get baekhyun to rip some of your old jeans for you.” sehun says. “it’ll be faster.”

before jongin could answer back, a voice cuts them off. “jongin? sehunnie?”

the said boys turn around to see a smiling junmyeon and some guy with high cheeks and a cat like grin behind him. the small redhead bounces to the two younger males and wraps his arms around their shoulders. “i haven’t seen the two of you in forever! how are you guys?” he says happily.

“we’re good.” sehun replies looking to the man who wraps his arm around junmyeon’s shoulders. “who are you?”

“the name is kim jongdae.” the man replies without missing a beat. “it’s nice to meet you.”

both jongin and sehun nod. “okay but who are you to junmyeon hyung? you do have your arm wrapped around his shoulders and we don’t know you.”

“i’m his soul mate.”

-

the two young artists sat with junmyeon and jongdae in an italian restaurant, the latter currently stuffing his face with bread. junmyeon rolls his eyes but smiles softly at the other before replying to what jongin was talking about.

when the news of junmyeon finding his soul mate caught the two, jongin squealed (yes squealed) like a five year old and clapping his hyung on the back. “about damn time!”

the two had met a while back with their mutual friend being baekhyun’s mate of seven years, chanyeol. jongdae had originally spilled coffee all over the red head and apologized many, many times before junmyeon told him it was okay. after that, the two started to talk constantly which led them to today.

it was their first date when junmyeon touched jongdae’s cheek by accident: they had been goofing off when junmyeon’s hand brushed against the younger’s cheek.

“it’s just like everyone says.” he says. “it really does feel like we’re the only two people in the world.”

jongin smiles happily. “see? i told you but no you didn’t believe me.”

sehun sighs and stares at jongdae’s cheek where his marking is. the design is a simple but elegant star on his upper cheek. it’s beautiful but the youngest likes to think that his is more beautiful than jongdae’s.

his eyes moves to look at junmyeon’s hand where he knows the older has his star marking. he sees the beautiful curves and straight edges in beautiful dark ink and can’t help but to smile softly at them.

“i’m happy for you two.” he says looking towards the two. “congratulations, junmyeon hyung for finding your soul mate.”

junmyeon smiles brightly.

“hey junmyeon,” jongdae calls out suddenly. “my friend is coming because he’s around here. is that alright?”

“sure.”

“alright, let me go and get him.”

jongdae stands to leave, leaving the three at the table. jongin slams his hands against the table and smiles. “so tell us everything before your mate comes back.”

junmyeon rolls his eyes. “there’s nothing to tell.”

“did you feel an attraction to him when you first met him?” jongin questions and the music student furrows his brows in thoughts.

“i did. he’s good looking.”

sehun nods at this.

“and he was nice the first time we met and such.”

jongin points a finger. “you liked him before!” he shouts and junmyeon’s face turns red. sehun can’t help but to laugh.

“be quiet jongin.”

before the childish artist could say anything, jongdae appeared with a male next to him. the two artists look up to see the new man from their class.

“minseok sshi!” jongin says standing up.

the said man tilts his head to the side. “i’m sorry but who are you?” he asks jongin.

“please ignore him, minseok sshi.” sehun comments waving his hand. “jongin is a first class idiot.”

minseok’s eyes move to sehun and he’s surprised to see his partner here. “sehun sshi it’s nice to see you again.”

“it’s nice to see you again, minseok sshi but please just call me sehun. we’re classmates.”

the older nods and grins. “and you please speak informally. it makes me feel old when people talk polite to me.”

“of course minseok hyung.”

the manga artist takes a set next to sehun and starts a conversation with junmyeon about something that sehun can’t put his finger on. noticing the time, jongin and sehun leave the three to continue talking. the sun kissed boy still hasn’t found the perfect outfit for the night and the party isn’t that far away.

-

“how do you like this?” jongin asks, holding up a pair of skin tight jeans. “or better yet, do you think that kyunggie will like it?”

“i’m sure that whatever you wear, kyungsoo hyung is going to like.”

“well you’re no fun.”

“when am i ever?”

jongin snorts. “when you’re drunk.” sehun rolls his eyes.

-

the annoying and frustrating best friend of oh sehun stands with him as they get dressed the for the party (jongin forced sehun onto joining kyungsoo and him. something about best friend bonding with his best friend’s soul mate. yeah it didn’t make sense to sehun either).

but he gets dressed anyways because he doesn’t want a whiney best friend about how he should have gone to the party instead of drawing like he wants.

kyungsoo waits for the two best friends in the lobby of the youngest’s apartment and jongin yelps loudly when he sees what his soul mate is wearing: tight black jeans hugging the older’s thighs deliciously and white screen printed tank that makes kyungsoo look like one of those american rocker guys instead of someone who has their face with in a book all day. kyungsoo’s hair is styled like someone just ran their fingers through and had enough.

“damn kyungsoo hyung.” sehun says. “you look hot.”

“hey. he’s mine.”

kyungsoo laughs and jongin feels himself turn to goo at the sound. “thank you. ready?”

the three find themselves not a few minutes later with the party going full blast even if it did start no more than thirty minutes ago. they make their way through the crowds of students grinding and drinking before they find anyone they knew.

out of the corner of his eyes, sehun spots minseok who has a giant smile on his face as he talks to whoever was in front of him. he wishes that he knew why he couldn’t take his eyes off the older male. maybe it was because he had on skinny jeans with the thighs ripped and a whatever tee shirt. to say that minseok looked hot was an understatement. he looks mighty fine.

well to sehun he does.

sehun stands there his head swimming in confusion as he stares at the older manga artist. he doesn't know when he started to really look at the minseok nor does he know when he started to crush on the said man. it just appeared one day and well here he was walking up to the older with a small smile on his face.

minseok looks at sehun with a smile. “i didn’t expect to see you here.” he says spinning the cup in his hand.  

“jongin made me come. he’s cunning that little bastard.”

the older man laughs and the younger can’t help but to flush. he still can’t figure why he feels the way he does when he’s near the older. dear lords, he just wanted to know.

“his face makes it seem like he’s a cunning bastard so to speak.”

sehun laughs and flails his arms. “you have no idea.”

minseok’s face turns red from laughter before he spots someone who’s making their way to where he is. putting the plastic cup on the counter, minseok grabs sehun’s hand and pulls him out of the room.

sehun is just confused as he follows the older man. he has no idea why minseok suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him away like he did but he has to say that he likes the smaller’s hand in his. it feels nice.

sehun groans at the thought. i’m going crazy.

“sorry.” he says when they’re outside a he drops the other’s hand. “it was just too stuffy in there.”

“it’s not a problem. were you running from someone?”

minseok lets out a laugh. “yeah. jongdae. he’s a little , that cousin of mine.”

the young artist blinks. “jongdae’s your cousin?”

“unfortunately.”

“i would have never guessed.”

“that makes me happy.” was all minseok said with a smile.

-

with sehun standing outside and minseok next to him, the younger isn’t sure how he’s supposed to talk to the older. he’s not sure he wants to talk to him but all he knows is that he does.

clearing his throat, sehun tried to make a conversation. “so are you having fun?” he lamely asks.

“it’s alright. i still don’t know why jongdae dragged me here. these types of parties aren’t my thing. i’d rather stick to being stuck in a room and drawing. it’s better.”

the younger boy has to laugh at that. “it is better.”

the smile minseok gives him makes sehun’s heart do these weird flips the more the smile becomes a grin.

the older of the two plays with his fingers and the younger notices a marking. from a glimpse, sehun can see the intricate design of the curves and lines as well as how it seems to fit with the older man. it looks beautiful sehun thinks.

“have you found your mate yet?” minseok asks still playing with his fingers.

“no. have you?”

the manga artist lifts his hands and stares at the mark. “i haven’t but when i do, i’m going to give them a giant kiss. i’ve been waiting a long time for them.”

“can i look at it?” he asks pointing the other’s fingers. minseok give him his hand and the younger stares. “it really is beautiful.” he whispers. “very beautiful.”

the older flushes bright red. “where’s yours?”

“on my chest.” comes the answer and minseok nods, trying not to look at the younger’s chest. only it didn’t work and he’s staring at it. he silently wonders where the marking is but chooses not to dwell on it.

the two of them sit and talk outside for a little while longer. laughs and giggles are passed through the two males as they tell stories of their days of university and of their best friends. minseok tells sehun about his family living in china due to a big company move and sehun talks about the loss of his mother a few years back. the atmosphere for the two is comfortable and endearing.

it’s not until minseok looks at the time does he realize that they’ve been talking outside for hours. someone was bound to notice them missing.

“they’re drunk. i don’t think they’ll care.” says sehun when minseok tells him his worries. “but let’s go soothe your worries, hyung.”

the older nods when they stand up. “you know, you seem pretty cold at first.” minseok says. “i thought that you wouldn’t talk to me.”

the younger looks thoughtful. “i normally don’t open up with new people but for some reason i feel comfortable talking to you. you’re a comfortable person to talk to, minseok hyung.”

with a laugh, the manga artist nods. “thank you.” he says as soft blush reaches his ears. the younger had kept giving different complements to him and he’s really starting to get flustered.

ever so gently, minseok pushes the man in front of him and stops his eyes wide.

it’s when the small man in front of him pushes him to the side, does sehun feel like there’s only the two of them. from the look on the man’s face, he can tell that he feels the same. there’s a tingling in his stomach and his heart it races happily like it found what it was looking for.

a soft white glow comes from minseok’s hand and sehun’s chest. it’s that white glow that tells them everything they need to know.

they’re soul mates.

-

it’s days later and they go to a drive in movie theater to watch the showing of some old movie they can’t remember. instead of watching the movie like they should, the two keep talking and talking about everything inside of the elder’s car. it was much like that night when they found out they were soul mates.

they smile happily as the conversation dims down and their eyes focus on what’s happening in front of them. minseok reaches over and intertwines their fingers causing sehun to smile brightly at the gesture.

when minseok takes sehun to his apartment, the older grins and kisses the younger like he said he would when they were talking. sehun decides that he likes the taste of minseok’s lips on his because the older tastes like coffee and sehun likes coffee.

minseok just likes kissing sehun.

-

sehun doesn’t like to point out that jongin is right but he still does when he tells his best friend the news of minseok being his soul mate.

“i told you, right? it feels like there’s only the two of you!” he says happily and sehun agrees half-heartedly.

the two friends sit side by side inside of their drawing class with minseok peering over the side of the taller boy. he smiles when he meets jongin’s eyes before blushing and hiding into sehun’s arms.

“control your best friend.” he mumbles and sehun snorts.

“i don’t think i can control him. that’s something that you have to ask kyungsoo hyung to do. he has him on a leash.” the younger snickers. “it’s quite funny actually.”

“soosoo does not have me on a leash.” jongin half yells, half whispers. “what lies are you telling?”

“the real ones.”

minseok snorts at this, hitting his soul mate’s arm. “stop it, oh sehun.”

-

the drawing that minseok and sehun were working on weeks ago has been filled thanks to both of them. they didn’t know what to draw at first with only two figures under a tree. now the picture has more details than they thought it would.

the drawing is still of a sunny day with hills, a tree and some flowers. the flowers are painted a lovely shade of purple with a dash of pink, the tree is fully coloured with bright green leave and a coffee brown trunk and the sky looks so blue that everyone thinks it’s real as well as the green grassy hills. the figures underneath the tree are two males holding onto each other and looking at the other lovingly. their legs are intertwined and there are smiles on their faces.

“why did you pick two males?” professor juri asks.

“because they’re soul mates.” minseok states happily.

“you found your soul mates?”

“yes, in this class.” sehun replies.

“oh!” the professor shouts happily. “who are they?”

sehun and minseok turn to look at each other before smiling and pointing to the other. “he is.” they both say.

professor juri squeals loudly.

---

miki says: i'm sorry this bad, i don't know what this is. i grew frustrated with it but whatever. OTL  for those of you who really REALLY want to know, professor jung juri is this lady (below) and of course, jinki is the lovely onew. jung juri is the mother to all fan girls. just saying.