For Baekhyun and Chanyeol it was easy. Boring, even, in Jongdae's eyes. The two had known each other since they were tiny, and were best friends well before he joined their little group. You never saw one without the other, it was always Baek and Yeol, they were inseparable. The transition from best friends to soulmates was almost nothing, only they tended to kiss a whole lot more and Jongdae and Jongin had moved into the furthest room away from the thin walls of Baekhyun's room he shared with Chanyeol in their dorm.They almost felt sorry for Kim Joonmyun, the student council leader who had a room to himself. They had been at their dorm's New Year's party when it happened, and most of the people were trembling in anticipation. With a few exceptions, everybody at the party was sixteen years of age, and would therefore be getting the name of their soulmate in a few hours' time. They counted down, and with a "three, two, one!" hisses of pain from the burn could be heard throughout the room as people looked down to check their wrists. Jongdae could barely hear the noise of chatter that had broken out as everyone looked up and started talking excitedly about their soulmate; his eyes had widened and locked onto Baekhyun and Chanyeol, who were making out furiously against a wall. He should've expected it, really, though it did nothing to change the fact that that was a sight he never wanted to see again, and he inwardly grimaced at the thought of his two best friends being like that forever. It was good they were happy together, really, but he was going to have to have a serious talk with them about PDA. Putting that image to the back of his mind, hopefully forever, Jongdae looked down at the cursive writing now imprinted onto his own wrist and traced a finger over the lettering, a smile unconsciously twitching at the corners of his mouth. Kim Minseok.

Exactly three years, one month and fourteen days later, Jongdae found himself sitting in the corner of a booth in a way too loud dance club in the heart of Ibiza tracing the lettering of his soulmate's name on his wrist, the soulmate he still had yet to meet. It's not like he hadn't tried, because he had. Desperately. At first, he just thought they'd meet. It was fate, just like soulmates, right? So they'd end up meeting soon enough, they had to, right? Like some cliche love story, where they'd bump into each other on the street, or one of them would accidentally spill coffee over the other. And they'd fall in love. Simple as that, right? Wrong.

After six months of practically examining every wrist he came within sight of, just on the off chance it was Kim Minseok, and being the third wheel to Baekhyun and Chanyeol's cuddle sessions on the sofa in the common room, or at lunch, or practically everywhere... Jongdae had given up on the idea of fate bringing them together and started searching. He asked every one of his close friends, friends, almost-friends, classmates and mere acquaintances if they knew a Kim Minseok, or if anyone they knew did. He scanned the employee name tags of every shop, cafe and restaurant he visited to see if it matched the lettering on his wrist. He even went through the telephone directory, slaving through the hundreds of pages of Kims to find his soulmate. Baekhyun and Chanyeol, as well as his other friends, helped him as much as they could, but still, after a year they had found nothing. Jongin was a year younger and Luhan two years older, but were temporarily soulmate-less too, so they searched together for a while. Jongin found Kyungsoo about four months after his name had been imprinted onto the dance major's wrist. He and Jongdae had been out when Jongin bumped into his soulmate on the street and then proceeded to accidentally spill coffee over him. Jongdae had almost been too painstakingly jealous to be happy for the younger. Almost. He zoned out as apologies for spilt coffee and not looking where they were going were exchanged, and then as they clocked their burning wrists and their names on each other's and proceeded to do a lot of shouting and hugging. "Hyung? Are you okay?" Jongin had asked, and Jongdae realised he'd been glaring at his tattooed wrist for quite some time now.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Congratulations Jongin-ah! I'm happy for you. It's nice to meet you, I'm Kim Jongdae." He plastered on a smile and offered his hand out to Jongin's soulmate, who he noticed had really big eyes and learned was his own age.

"Do Kyungsoo." Kyungsoo nodded, shaking Jongdae's outstretched hand before turning to beam at Jongin, who was wearing a matching stupidly-in-love grin that was, quite frankly, making Jongdae feel quite ill. He didn't think he could stand third-wheeling any longer, but now that most of his friends had found their soulmates, what was he to do?

"Right, well, I'll leave you two to it. I've probably got some homework to do anyway." He hugged Jongin and nodded at Kyungsoo before taking off as quickly as he could without it looking weird. Once he was safely back in his dorm, he took one look at Baekhyun and Chanyeol napping on the common room couch, limbs entangled with Baekhyun's face buried into Chanyeol's neck and Chanyeol's arms wrapped protectively around his soulmate, and ran into his room, shutting the door behind him hastily. He sunk down onto his bed and glared at the letters that made up Kim Minseok with as much force as he could muster up in his overly emotional state, groaning as he tried not to lose all hope of ever finding his soulmate. He decided he'd completely given up after the two year mark had come around, after being dragged to the New Year's party and having to spend the whole night constantly reassuring everyone he was okay and mentally calculating the amount of time he had to stay there before it was socially acceptable to excuse himself and go back to his room.

Despite this, Luhan, who had been soulmate-less for four years now, didn't give up hope. He'd transferred to their school from China at sixteen when he saw his soulmate, Oh Sehun, was Korean, and his parents were all for it, having found each other very early on themselves. He'd befriended Jongdae and Baekhyun quickly through their passion of singing and still kept in very close contact with them despite having gotten a job as a model at EXO in the Foreign Model department when he turned eighteen and graduated. He was always visiting them at the dorms and outside of class and they visited his modeling agency a lot too. In fact, Chanyeol managed to get himself a photography apprenticeship and Jongdae was accepted as a model there when they also turned eighteen. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo got jobs at the same cafe, Baekhyun as a waiter and Kyungsoo as a chef. Jongdae tended to stick to Luhan a lot more now that all of their other close friends had found their soulmates. Luhan remained completely optimistic though, and knew he and his soulmate would find each other eventually. Though, of course, as it was just Jongdae's luck, Luhan didn't remain soulmate-less for long. A couple of weeks after the party, Luhan got a call from Jongin, the current maknae and the only one still at the school, which they all hated as he was basically alone now and tried to visit as much as possible, Kyungsoo in particular. He'd made a new friend in the year below, another dance major, which was great for him, but even greater for Luhan. "Hyung, I've got a surprise for you~!" He sing-songed into the phone during his lunch break.

"Jonginnie, that's great and all, but I'm in the middle of work. Can you call me back in like ten minutes?" Luhan replied, resuming looking through his latest headshots.

"But it's really important! I made a new friend, and he's awesome at dancing, like, better than most of my year, awesome! He just transferred from Soo's old school in the New Year."

"Uh-huh. Well, I'm really happy you made a friend, that's really good! And you share interests, so I guess I'll let you get back to him now?" Luhan prepared to hang up, but, oh no, Jongin wasn't finished yet.

"I haven't even got to your surprise yet! I said he's in the year below me, right? Okay, so he obviously only just got his soulmate's name on his wrist and I saw it while we were practicing, but I couldn't read it 'cause it wasn't in Korean. I thought it looked familiar, but I couldn't tell what it was, so I asked and he said it was Mandarin." At the mention of his native language, Luhan perked up and his heart started racing. No... Surely, it couldn't be? But why else would Jongin be this excited?

"Jongin... Are you trying to say?"

"Yep! It was your name! My new best friend is your soulmate! I found Sehun!" Luhan dropped the phone he was holding and gripped the table he was standing by to steady himself. "Luhan hyung?!" he heard Jongin's voice and quickly grabbed the phone again.

"What time do you finish school today?!" He demanded, and with a promise to be there at quarter to four, he hung up and ran out of the room and, not even bothering with the elevator, down three flights of stairs to get to the break room where he knew Jongdae and Chanyeol were probably taking an early break. "I FOUND MY SOULMATE!" He screamed as he walked in, alarming everybody in the room. But they all seemed pretty happy for him, and Chanyeol and Jongdae, who did his very best to be happy for his friend, hugged him tightly and showered him in congratulations. They, as well and Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, accompanied him to meet Jongin and Sehun from school that day and, if anybody ever asks, Luhan was very manly and didn't cry as he locked eyes with Sehun for the first time.

So, by the time it was Valentine's Day a whole year later, Jongdae was tired of just staring at the name on his wrist and hoping his soulmate would whisk him off into the sunset, tired of watching Baekhyun and Chanyeol practically dry-hump each other like most of the people on the dance floor in the jam-packed club, tired of all this soulmate bull. The only reason he'd let his best friends drag him to the party island was to forget, and that was exactly what he was going to do. After downing the rest of his drink and checking the watch on his opposite wrist to see it was two minutes passed midnight, he walked over to the bar and ordered yet another vodka and coke, making sure his jutted out just enough to attract attention and biting his lip in what he hoped was a y manner as he eyed the people around him. He was looking for someone, someone to help him forget. It mildly surprised him when he went to hand over some cash to pay for the alcohol, only to have another hand get there before him. Raising an eyebrow, he turned his gaze to the stranger paying for his drink, and he liked what he saw. Tall, dark and handsome, the man oozed sophistication and seduction. His black hair was styled to perfection and the tight jeans he wore paired with the shirt and blazer covering his upper body highlighted his figure well. A perfect distraction. The stranger then turned to meet Jongdae's gaze, smirking as he looked him up and down. Jongdae did the same, lowering his eyebrow as he let a playful smile grace his lips. "Thanks for the drink."

"No problem. You're here alone, I take it?" His eyes automatically flickered to Jongdae's tattooed wrist. Jongdae noted a slight mispronunciation in his speech, but only because he was analyzing his words so carefully.

"Well, I was dragged here, but I'll be surprised if my friends aren't already ruining the sheets of the hotel we're staying at by now." He shrugged, letting his own gaze travel to the letters imprinted on the stranger's wrist. Huang Zitao. It wasn't Korean, but Mandarin, he noted (he did a taster course at college three years ago while deciding what to study), and made the connection between this and his almost perfect Korean pronunciation.

"Ah, another case of third wheel?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Experience... I'm Yifan."

"Jongdae."  His voice darkened, turned sultry at the possibility of this man being soulmate-less too, and therefore available.

"Want to go and ruin the sheets of the hotel I'm staying at?" Yifan smirked and Jongdae smirked right back at him.

"Gladly."

Jongdae didn't think his hook-up with Yifan would amount to anything. He was right, in the sense that they never had again, but when he saw the taller four months later, his fingers laced with those of a slightly shorter blonde man whose free hand was clutching a designer bag Jongdae recognised as Gucci, he was surprised to say the least. He racked his brain for the name his slightly intoxicated brain took in that night, but he couldn't for the life of him remember the name he'd seen imprinted onto Yifan's wrist under the bright lights of the club. "Hey, this is-"

"Yifan." Jongdae interrupted Luhan's introduction of his new colleague. They were at an EXO party, and really, Jongdae wasn't all that surprised to find out Yifan was joining Luhan in the Foreign Model department. Luhan frowned, as did Sehun, who was attached to his side like always.

"You know each other?"

"We've met before..." Yifan trailed off mysteriously, and Jongdae had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the 'cool, cold guy' front.

"Yeah, you know when Baek and Yeol dragged me to Ibiza in February? We got to talking in one of the clubs." He clarified, conveniently leaving out the part where he went back to the taller's hotel, saving both himself from awkward questioning and Yifan's soulmate (it definitely began with C, right? Or was it Z? Maybe T?) from the uncomfortable thoughts of them together.

"Oh. Well, he just transferred to my office from Beijing. It's so nice to have another Chinese guy, we're usually overrun with Japanese and American models. His father is also the CEO of the agency." Well, that would explain the designer bag in the hands of his soulmate.

"I actually grew up in Canada." Yifan added, chuckling a little. "Anyway, this is my soulmate Zitao." Zitao! That was it! Huang Zitao. Said soulmate offered a smile and wave, and Jongdae wondered how and at what point in the last four months they'd found each other. That was pretty much everybody he knew now, he thought with a mental sigh.

"Hi~! It's great to meet you all!" Zitao said enthusiastically, which contrasted from his 'badass' exterior, but it made everyone smile and greet him back just as nicely.

"You too, I'm Luhan."

"Sehun."

"And I'm Jongdae." Zitao's expression immediately changed at Jongdae's introduction, eyes going wide and smile widening as he let out a small squeal that made everyone look at him in bewilderment.

"Tao, are you o-"

"Jongdae?!" He interrupted Yifan, eyes locked onto Jongdae almost scarily. "Kim Jongdae?!" Jongdae frowned, but nodded.

"That's me."

"Oh my gawd! I can't believe it! FINALLY!" And with that he ran off across the room, almost pulling Yifan with him in his haste to unlace their fingers and leaving the four men looking after him in shock and confusion. Nobody really knew how to react to the sudden outburst, and they were still staring in the direction he'd run off in when he came dashing back a few minutes later, dragging another guy by the arm. This guy was shorter than Zitao, with caramel hair that lay flat but slightly styled on his head. He had very attractive features, a strong jawline and large, rosy cheeks. And his eyes. The look of pure shock on his face as Zitao dragged him through the crowd made him look so innocent and equally as cute, and it made Jongdae's heart flutter.

At the sight of the man, a look of recognition and understanding crossed Yifan's face and he stood back, smiling as he let out a small "ahh~". The other three, though, were still staring at the two incredulously as they reached them, looking at Zitao for some sort of explanation.

"This-" Zitao panted as he tried to get his breath back from running. "-is your soulmate." He grinned at Jongdae like he'd just made him the happiest man on earth, re-lacing his fingers with Yifan's. Jongdae raised his eyebrows and looked over to his apparent soulmate in disbelief with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Kim Minseok?" He held up his wrist for the other to see, the letters burning more than they ever had in the three and a half years they had been imprinted onto his skin.

"Kim Jongdae?" Jongdae switched his gaze from the equally shocked face to the wrist that was also being held up, a warm feeling of completion and pure bliss settling through his whole body as the letters that made up his own name stared back at him. He caught sight of Baekhyun and Chanyeol, Luhan and Sehun, Jongin and Kyungsoo and Yifan and Zitao, as well as a new face (who was later introduced as Yixing) and, was that Kim Joonmyun(?!), grinning wildly at them out of the corner of his eye, but in that moment he could really care less. And as Kim Jongdae looked up into the eyes of Kim Minseok, his soulmate, for the very first time, the only thought running through his brain was: finally.

***

As it turned out, Minseok hadn't been all that fussed on finding his soulmate. He kept the same mindset Jongdae had had three and a half years ago, that fate would bring them together. Though he was more patient with it, he would meet whoever he was meant to spend the rest of his life with when the time was right. He certainly wasn't about to put his whole life on hold to track them down. Of course, his best friend Zitao found this preposterous and, despite being three years younger, claimed he understood everything he was going through and that Minseok had to go and find his soulmate right away. Their other best friend, Yixing, had been more understanding and totally got where Minseok was coming from. He was studying photography in China, and would be for the next four years at least. His soulmate was Korean. He couldn't just throw his education, the one he'd been working so hard towards the past ten months, out of the window! Surely his soulmate, Kim Jongdae, would understand. So, he ignored Zitao's protests and did nothing to search for the name inked onto his wrist. It just wasn't the right time for him, and when it was then he'd welcome it, and his soulmate, with open arms.Things got more interesting, however, when, a year later, Yixing's soulmate, Kim Joonmyun, turned out to be Korean as well. "It's a sign!" Zitao had exclaimed. "We have to go to Korea!"

"We? When were you included in this?" Minseok raised an eyebrow amusedly.

"Hyung~." He didn't like using the Korean honorific, but he knew Minseok liked him to, so he often used it when he wanted something from the older. "I have to wait another two years yet, so I'm living this experience vicariously through you and Yixing-ge. I've done more research on this than for my actual schoolwork!"

"It's not a sign, Taozi, just a mere coincidence." Yixing put in, looking up from the book he was reading. "Minseok's right. We'll find our soulmates when the time is right. He still has three years here, I have four. It would be irrational and irresponsible to go search whole other country just for two people at the moment."

"But, if your soulmate happens to be Korean too, we'll go to Korea, seeing as it means so much to you." Minseok rolled his eyes affectionately at the younger, knowing the chances of this happening were very slim. It seemed to satisfy Zitao anyway, and the panda-like boy was almost disappointed when the Chinese characters for Wu Yifan were inked onto his wrist two years later. Minseok and Yixing shared a triumphant look, but helped him try to find his soulmate anyway.

Helping Zitao find his soulmate actually lead Yixing to his.They both got jobs in Beijing Airport, the younger claiming that seeing as searching for his soulmate in China hadn't worked for the past year, they had to 'broaden their horizons' and go international. Wu Yifan could be in another country like Minseok, and just as stubborn. Or he was younger than Zitao, but either way he said it would be better than giving up. Yixing was working at the boarding gate for a flight to South Korea when Kim Joonmyun strode up and handed over his passport, looking pretty upset. He almost didn't believe it when he read the name, and he looked up at his soulmate with wide eyes as his wrist started burning more than ever. "K-Kim Joonmyun?"

"Yes?" The other had looked up pretty uninterestedly, though his expression changed into one of confusion at the tone of Yixing's voice and the look on his face.

"I think I'm your soulmate." It was barely a whisper, but Joonmyun heard it, and perked up immediately, face splitting into a huge grin that could rival that kid in his old economics class, Park Chanyeol. His own wrist was burning, but the pain coming from both of their tattoos faded quickly as they looked into each other's eyes.

"Zhang Yixing?!" At Yixing's nod, Joonmyun leaped forward and hugged the taller tightly, only to pull back moments later when he realised what he was doing.

"I'm so sorry! It's just, uh, I saved for nearly three years and booked this whole vacation to find you." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Three years?!" Yixing exclaimed, momentarily forgetting he was in the middle of work.

"Well, I'm not exactly rolling in it as a then-student and now business apprentice, and flights aren't cheap, not to mention money for traveling the whole country for a month. I was devastated when I couldn't find you, I thought this whole trip was a waste of time and money, but now... I... Wow."

"It's okay... Oh damn, I'm in the middle of work!" He looked back at his desk, and then realised something else. "And you're going back to Korea."

"I can get some money transferred into my account, I haven't got any reason to go home just yet. But by all means, carry on working. I've waited three years, what's a few more hours or so?" Yixing made a mental note to thank and apologise to Zitao profoundly.

If there was one negative thing that came from Yixing finding his soulmate, it was that he was now on Zitao's side when it came to the whole soulmate business. Which was bad for Minseok, seeing as he now had three people pressuring him to return to Korea (Joonmyun had opted to stay in China for a while), especially since he'd graduated from his college in China and no longer had to stay for educational reasons. But he just didn't feel like it was the right thing to do. He was offered a very good job opportunity in the Beijing branch of the modeling agency EXO as a junior photographer, something he'd always been passionate about and wanted to do. So, despite his friends' less than enthusiastic response, he took the job. "It's just something I have to do. I'll know when the time's right." He'd claimed. They didn't agree, but they accepted his decision. He even managed to get Joonmyun a job as an agent there. It's not like they could force him to fly back to Korea. Well, they could, and Zitao had suggested it many times, but they'd never actually go through with it. If he was happy soulmate-less in China, he was happy. The letters that spelled out Kim Jongdae on his wrist itched more than ever, but Minseok elected to ignore it like he had the past four and a half years. Zitao, on the other hand, was growing frustrated. It had been a year and a half now and he was as close to finding Wu Yifan as he had been the day his name was imprinted onto his skin. It wasn't fair. Yixing hadn't even tried, and he had his soulmate. Then again, Joonmyun had been the one to find Yixing, so maybe it wasn't that Zitao wasn't trying hard enough. Maybe, as much as he hated to even think about it, maybe his soulmate didn't want to find him.

He only realised how true this was six months later. Reaching the two-year mark without his soulmate, Zitao found himself in a nightclub alone on New Year's Eve. He was only just of age, and his friends had been reluctant to let him go. But after he had snapped at them about not being a child anymore and being responsible for his own decisions, they had let him be, though Minseok promised Yixing he'd take care of the sure to be hungover eighteen-year-old the next morning. Not quite as drunk as he hoped to be, Zitao was slightly surprised when a hand reached over to pay for the drink he had just ordered before he had even gotten his wallet out. Unimpressed, he turned to politely shut down whatever attempt to hit on him the stranger was about to try, but his voice died in his throat as he caught sight of the man next to him. Tall, dark and handsome, the man oozed sophistication and seduction. His black hair was styled to perfection and the tight jeans he wore paired with the shirt and blazer covering his upper body highlighted his figure well. He was perfect. The stranger then turned to meet Zitao's gaze, smirking as he looked him up and down. The younger didn't even notice his wrist burning as he tried to scramble a coherent sentence together, some way to tell this man he didn't want to go home with anyone, that he just wanted to get drunk enough to forget his problems, but what he came out with was "Thanks for the drink."

"No problem. You're here alone, I take it?" The stranger asked and he just nodded in response, not trusting his voice any more. He averted his eyes as the man continued talking. "I'm-"

"Yifan. Wu Yifan." Tao interrupted his soulmate, eyes finally locked on the wrist that bore his name. "I'm Huang Zitao... I'm your soulmate." This time is was Yifan's turn to gape as he stared at his name on this guy's wrist. No... What were the chances? There was no way he'd met his so-called 'soulmate' on his first night back in China. He knew he should've stayed in Singapore.

"No I'm not." He eventually said coldly, despite the near unbearable burning in his wrist. "I don't believe in any of that bull. There's no way two people are just 'meant to be', and I'm not buying into all this crap. Goodnight, Zitao, have a nice life." And with that he walked out of the club, leaving Zitao sitting there staring after him in shock, utterly heartbroken.

After he'd sobbed his heart out to Minseok, Yixing and Joonmyun (all of which had sworn to give this Yifan a piece of their mind if they ever met), Zitao had thanked his friends for their support and for helping him try to pursue his soulmate for two years. He still held out hope that this was all a nightmare, that he hadn't met the kind, caring soulmate he needed just yet. But after two months of moping, during which, unbeknownst to him, Yifan went out and slept with as many people as he could all over the world to forget about Zitao and the ever-present burning in his wrist, he decided to just call it quits on it. Yifan was right. They weren't meant to be, it was just bull. Bull he certainly didn't need in his life. He even bleached his jet black hair (Yixing screamed so loud when he emerged from the bathroom that Zitao thought he'd gone deaf). Of course, Yifan chose this time to finally admit to himself that he needed this 'bull' in his life, that he needed Zitao in his life. Sure, the was fun, but it never meant anything, and it wasn't going to last forever. It took a lot of convincing and apologising, mainly to Tao's friends rather than his soulmate himself, who was perfectly willing to pretend the past two months never happened in favor of finally having his soulmate after just over two years. One who wasn't afraid to lend his apparently unlimited credit card to Zitao either. Well, he was a very successful model, and son of the even more successful CEO of said modeling agency, EXO. Zitao had to bring out his very best pout and play the two-month 'abandonment' card (and put his lack of gag-reflex to practice) to stop Yifan murdering him when he just had to have both pairs of sunglasses and the most expensive bag (in three colours) from the new Gucci range.

That was it. All of Minseok's friends had found their soulmates. The next two months for him were literal hell, with all four of them badgering him to go, to find his own. He didn't want to be the awkward third, or even worse, fifth, wheel, did he? He didn't want to spend the rest of his life miserable and alone, did he? It had been over five years, he didn't want to keep his soulmate waiting any longer, did he? And every possible thing that could prolong his trip was sorted out within seconds. Leaving his friends behind? Joonmyun had to go home sometime, and he wasn't leaving without Yixing. Zitao had wanted to go to Korea from day one, and where he went, Yifan would gladly follow. Work? Yifan could easily have him and Joonmyun transferred to EXO's Seoul branch. His soulmate rejecting him? Duh, they were soulmates. The love was already a given. Minseok really had no reason not to go anymore. And it was time, he decided. It finally felt right to return to Seoul. So, with an announcement that had the four men cheering so loud they literally shook his apartment, Minseok booked five tickets to Korea for a week's time. Now all he had to do was wait.

What he didn't expect, was to meet Kim Jongdae the day after they landed in South Korea, at the party to celebrate his, Joonmyun's and Yifan's transference to and some new people joining EXO's Seoul branch. One minute he was with Yixing and Joonmyun, talking to Chanyeol, a fellow photographer, and Jongin, a well-known model, and their soulmates (awkward seventh-wheel or what,) most of whom actually used to go to school with Joonmyun, just about to introduce himself, and the next Zitao was running up to them, shouting nonsense. "I've found him! I've found him!"

"Whoa, Tao, slow down! What the hell are you talking about?! Found who?!" He shot an apologetic glance to the four men looking at his best friend with unreadable expressions as Yixing and Joonmyun rolled their eyes at his behavior.

"Your soulmate, I've found him! He's here! Kim Jongdae!"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!" Baekhyun, Chanyeol's soulmate, exclaimed. "You're Kim Minseok?!"

"You know Minseok's soulmate?" Yixing asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Jongdae's been our best friend since we were like eight!" Chanyeol nodded, grinning almost scarily.

"He's been looking for you for three and a half years." Jongin's soulmate, Kyungsoo, added quietly.

"Then what are you waiting for?! Come on!" And so he was dragged by Zitao across the large function hall, dodging and apologising to people as they went. He registered Yixing, Joonmyun, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Jongin and Kyungsoo following behind, but his thoughts were a little preoccupied with the fact that he was about to meet his soulmate, like, right now. Zitao finally came to a stop beside Yifan, grinning much like Chanyeol had been, and turned Minseok to face three guys, all of which could be his soulmate. The first had an air of sophistication about him, a lot like Yifan, and he was pretty tall with blonde middle-parted hair and a dark undercut. The second looked a lot younger (but was actually four years older, Minseok later learned) with cute features and wavy chocolate brown hair. And the third was a little shorter than the first two, but Minseok knew he'd still be taller than him, with dark hair and a sharp jawline, not to mention his pretty lips that curled upwards a little either side. After scanning the three, he noticed the first two had their fingers interlocked tightly, which only left one option. He turned to his soulmate just as Zitao spoke. "This-" Zitao panted as he tried to get his breath back from running. "-is your soulmate." He grinned at Minseok's soulmate like he'd just made him the happiest man on earth, lacing his fingers with Yifan's. Said soulmate raised his eyebrows and looked over to Minseok in disbelief with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Kim Minseok?" He held up his wrist for the other to see, the letters burning more than they ever had in the three and a half years they had been imprinted onto his skin.

"Kim Jongdae?" Minseok raised his own wrist, the letters that made up the name burning for the very last time in five and a half years as he stared at his own name on Jongdae's wrist like he was doing to Minseok's. He felt the ten strong gazes on them as they watched their previously soulmate-less friends find the person they were meant to be with forever, and if this were some cheesy movie there would be cheers throughout the whole room and sparks and some sappy love song playing. As it turned out, the only cheering was coming from Zitao and Chanyeol, no sparks were to be seen and the song currently playing throughout the room was Uptown Funk, but he wouldn't have had it any other way. And as Kim Minseok looked up into the eyes of Kim Jongdae, his soulmate, for the very first time, the only thought running through his brain was: finally.