“It doesn’t connect.”  Taeyeon wouldn’t even meet his eyes.  They were glued to her pinky, where apparently there must be the string.  The red string that would decide everything.  The red string that didn’t attach to Baekhyun’s little finger at the other end.  “It never did… I’m sorry I waited this long to tell you.” She bites her lip.  “I guess I just didn’t want to be alone.  I thought maybe I might never actually find my soul mate.” Baekhyun doesn’t know what to say, and there was nothing to say, at this point they both knew continuing on would be useless.  He would be able to see his string in a week anyway, then he could find out who he was really destined for.

“I understand,” He could feel his voice shaking as he spoke.  “Let’s just go to that Chen concert next week like we planned, it’s be a shame to waste the tickets.”  Baekhyun swallowed.  “Just one more week, okay? Then we can say goodbye.”

Taeyeon finally met his eyes as she nodded.  “I’m really sorry.” She whispered.  “You’ll be able to see yours after you birthday next week, and I just didn’t want you to find out like that.”

“It’s okay, I get it.”  He breathed out and laughed humorlessly.  “I guess I can forget about asking you to move in.  Thanks for keeping me company for so long.”  He reaches over and pats her shoulder.  “I’m sure you’ll find your other half soon, especially now that I’m not holding you back.”

“Thanks Baekhyun.  I guess I’ll see you next Saturday.”  As he watches her turn and walk to the bus station Baekhyun feels a tear roll down his cheek.

Baekhyun is determined to look his best on Saturday.  Not only was he finally going to see his idol live, he would also have the chance to actually be able to spot his soulmate if they crossed paths.  He spends too long trying to fix his hair and as a result is five minutes late for his shift at the café.

“If you’re late because you can’t manage your time around preening yourself in the mirror one more time I’m docking your paycheck, Byun.”  Kyungsoo, the head cook, greets him with is usual grumpy tones.

“You’re just jealous because you know you’ll never look this fine.”  Baekhyun snaps back.  “It’s not like you have any control of my paycheck anyway.”

“I can dream.”  Kyugsoo replies wistfully.  “I guess I’m required to wish you happy birthday.  Now get changed and get to work.”

Baekhyun is not at all surprised when he hears Chanyeol, the resident dishwasher/errand boy come in as he is buttoning up the shirt of his uniform.  As usual, Kyungsoo refrains from scolding him even though he is even later than Baekhyun.  Someday, one of those two is going to find the guts to confess.  Baekhyun sighs, but then again, they probably don’t want to end up like me.  They’ll probably wait until they know for sure.

The day passes uneventfully.  Baekhyun doesn’t dramatically realize he can see a string around a customer’s finger as he takes their order or suddenly realize his soulmate was really Kyungsoo all along.  To be honest he’s beyond grateful that the latter doesn’t occur.  Who would want to spend life with a personified raincloud?  The only real difference being able to see his string makes in his life is that sometimes he finds himself absently it, wondering how long it’ll be until he meets his other half.  Before he knows it it’s closing time and he’s wiping down the counters with Kyungsoo as Chanyeol finishes the last of the dishes in the back room. 

“To be honest I was wondering when she was going to tell you.”  Kyungsoo muses.  “It was pretty obvious when she didn’t tell say that you were the one when she turned twenty-one.”  Baekhyun glares at him.  Sometimes he wishes he could punch Kyungsoo in the jaw, but he knows that if he did Chanyeol would probably cry and dote over the little devil and Kyungsoo would finally succeed in his long time secret goal to get Baekhyun fired. 

“Well, I couldn’t know for sure, could I?” Baekhyun huffs.  “At least I take risks instead of cowardly waiting for my birthday to do anything like you and Chanyeol.”  Baekhyun knows he raised his voice a bit too much when he hears Chanyeol break a dish in the backroom and feels Kyungsoo hit him in the shoulder.  He wants to elaborate on the topic, but at the moment he isn’t craving more physical abuse.  “Anyways, I have a concert to get to.  Hopefully I’ll find my real true love among the crowd and we can discuss the charms of Chen’s perfect cheekbones together.”  Baekhyun says quickly. “You’ll be able to do the rest by yourself, right?” he waltzes out the door before Kyungsoo can answer.

Taeyeon looks gorgeous as even as they sit on the bus on their way to the concert.  Sometimes Baekhyun can’t help himself from glancing at her little finger, hoping that this is all a cruel joke and there really is a red string there, dipping to the ground before connecting to his own.   Every time he looks her finger is as bare as ever.  After tonight they’ve promised to go their separate ways, staying in contact would be too painful once one of them finds the one they’re really destined for.

The bus lurches to a stop.  “We’re here.”  Baekhyun says unnecessarily, Taeyeon just smiles and nods.  “I can’t wait to Chen’s heavenly voice live.” Baekhyun is genuinely excited, but mostly he just wants to keep the conversation away from other topics.  Taeyeon just laughs and agrees.  As soon as they enter the venue, Baekhyun gets lost in the crowd.  It doesn’t really matter, they couldn’t afford to get seats together anyway and maybe that’s for the best.  Baekhyun chats with fellow fan seated next to him, arguing about whether Chen’s best feature is the corners of his lips or his cheekbones.  They fall silent as a clear voice resounds throughout the building.

“Are you ready?”

Baekhyun is anything but ready.  Chen’s voice is everything he imagined and more.  He’s so mesmerized by the curl of Chen’s lips as he belts out high notes and the sway of his hips as he dances that he almost doesn’t notice Chen’s finger when he walks past Baekhyun, through the rest of the audience, brushing their clamoring hands with his.    In that moment, Baekhyun thinks he’s going to vomit.  He blinks in disbelief, thinking that maybe he only imagined it- he has to know for sure.

Baekhyun isn’t entirely sure how he manages to sneak into Chen’s dressing room, but he does.  Maybe it was fate helping him, because when the singer walks through the door there indeed is a red string tied around his pinky which dips to the floor before connecting attaching to Baekhyun’s finger.  They lock eyes in silence for a few seconds before Chen opens his beautiful mouth.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my dressing room?”  Baekhyun quivers under the strength of his gaze.  What is he supposed to say now?  Can’t Chen see what he can see?

“I’m your soulmate?” Baekhyun tells him hesitantly and raises his pinky.  Anger flashes in Chen’s eyes.

“Haha. Very funny.  Once I turn twenty-one and find my real soulmate I’m sure he’ll be just as impolite and invasive as you are.  Now get out or I’m calling security.”

.  How could he have forgotten that his idol was actually several months younger than him?  Baekhyun panics.  He has no idea if he’ll ever be able to see Chen in person again; concerts and fan signs are pricey.  “Please don’t call security.  I- I forgot that you’re younger than me, I’m really sorry.”  He chocks out.  Chen is still looking at him with indignation.  “I’ll- I’ll go now.  Please forget this ever happened.”  Baekhyun runs out of the dressing room as fast as he can.  He thinks he might just be the world’s biggest idiot.  He’s going to live the rest of his life alone because there’s no way someone like Chen would accept someone like him, soulmate or not. 

Baekhyun somehow manages to catch the last bus, all thoughts of Taeyeon completely forgotten.  When he reaches his apartment all he can think about is how pathetic his life is compared to someone like Chen.  He’s working a job at a café while he figures out what to do with his degree in business from the local community college.  He’s living in a tiny apartment and has no plans to move to somewhere nicer anytime soon.  He’s basically a huge loser.  He turns on the TV in hopes to distract himself but the first channel he switched to has Chen’s voice belting out the ending credits song of some movie.  Baekhyun quickly switches off the TV and goes to bed.

“What happened to the obnoxiously done up cheerful Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo greets him as he enters through the back of the café in the morning.  “It’s an hour before you usually grace me with your presence and you look like .”

If he didn’t know better he’d think Kyungsoo was actually concerned.  “I hope when Chanyeol finds his soulmate it isn’t you and then you have to watch them be all lovey-dovey and suffer.”  He snaps. Kyungsoo looks mildly taken aback.

“Still torn up about Taeyeon?” 

“I wish” He replies bitterly.  Kyungsoo has the wisdom not to prod him further.

Baekhyun gets some weird looks and some of their regular customers even ask him if he’s okay.  He brushes them all off and continues to take orders in a significantly less animated manner than normal. When noon rolls around Kyungsoo finally grabs him and pushes into the back because he “is depressing to watch” and insists on manning the register while Baekhyun pulls himself together.

“What’s up with you today?” Chanyeol asks as he stumbles into the back room where Chanyeol is diligently rubbing a glass dry.  Baekhyun just grunts and falls into a chair.

“What would you do if you gave your soulmate a terrible first impression and had no way of contacting them to make it right?” He asks after several long moments of silence.

“Wait I guess.”  Chanyeol frowns.  “It’s your soulmate.  Sooner or later you’ll meet them again and make it right.  It’s fate.  Sooner or later it’ll all work out.”  Chanyeol is staring at him. “So why can’t you contact your soulmate?”

“Whoever said that this was about me?”  Baekhyun storms to the bath room and washes his face before taking the register back from Kyungsoo.

For the next month Baekhyun tries not to think about what happened.  He settles back into his usual routine, going to work, squabbling with Kyungsoo, and occasionally watching movies or playing videogames with Chanyeol on the weekends.  Sometimes he feels down and stays up late watching dramas and eating ice cream.  He locks all of his Chen albums away where he won’t see them.  Whenever one of Chen’s songs comes on the radio he abruptly changes the station.  As far as he’s concerned if he pretends he never went to that concert and never found out about his soulmate it’ll fix itself.  Kyungsoo looks at him questioningly when he purges Chen’s CDs from the collection that they keep to play in the café, but he doesn’t say anything.  Sometimes Chanyeol tries to prod him into talking about his soulmate, but he always keeps quiet. After a few weeks Chanyeol stops bringing it up.

What Baekhyun doesn’t expect is for a figure wearing dark glasses and a scarf over his face to suddenly appear on the other side of the counter ordering a latte and a blueberry scone.  He tries his best not to let his voice shake as he asks for a name.

“Kim Jongdae.” The almost-stranger says crisply.  Baekhyun can still see the red sting tied around his finger as he hands him the receipt.  “We’ll have that right up for you sir.” He says, scribbling the name onto the cup, not daring to look at the customer any longer.  So that’s Chen’s real name.  The part of him that was still a Chen fanboy almost wanted to text Taeyeon that piece of information so he could gloat.  He wonders if she’d found her soulmate yet.

“Um, excuse me,” His eyes shoot back towards Che-Jongdae. He didn’t recognize Baekhyun, did he? “Do you have any tables in the back?”

Baekhyun glanced around the seating area.  “There’s a table over there near the restroom that’s empty.”  He tells his soulmate.

Once Minseok, the resident barista, finishes making the latte Baekhyun finds the short man at his side.  “Who do you think that guy in the sunglasses is? Is he an undercover celebrity?”  Minseok whispers excitedly in his ear.  “Do you think we could get him to give us his signature to frame on the way so we could prove he was here?”

Baekhyun sighs.  “Let’s just leave him be.  For all we know he could be a criminal or something.”

That isn’t the only time Kim Jongdae comes to the café.  He appears two weeks later in early July and orders an iced mocha and a grilled cheese.  Baekhyun thinks fate must hate him.  This time it’s Chanyeol who whispers into his ear “Doesn’t that guy look familiar? Like one of those stupid idols you like?” It’s all Baekhyun can do not to hit him. 

The third time Kim Jongdae appears it’s late on a Thursday night in August and they’re about to close.  Baekhyun looks up glaring when he hears the door open, then looks down abruptly when he sees who it is. 

“Do I know you from somewhere?” is the first thing that comes out of Jongdae’s lips when he walks up to the counter.

“Don’t think so, can I take your order?” Baekhyun answers a bit too cheerily.  You definitely don’t know me.  I’m definitely that one stupid fan that invaded your dressing room, definitely not your soulmate.

“Are you sure?” Jongdae takes his sunglasses off.  Baekhyun can hear Chanyeol gasp from where he must be peeking out from the back.  “I don’t know why I keep coming back to this café, I don’t even like coffee.”  Baekhyun can feel Minseok bristling in indignation without looking back at him.  “But I keep coming here and ordering it because I still can’t place where I know you from.” He takes a breath.  “I mean it must have been important, but I still can’t seem to remember!”

Baekhyun can’t take it anymore. “Just give me your order dammit! You’ve already offended our barista and everyone else is resenting you right now for delaying our closing time!  You don’t know me! I don’t know you!  Just stop it!”  He practically shouts in the singer’s face.  He can feel his own face reddening rapidly. What he doesn’t expect is for Jongdae to start laughing.  Baekhyun stands still and watches as he cackles.  He really doesn’t know what to do in this kind of situation.  It must be a full minute before Jongdae stops giggling long enough to get a word out.

“I’m sorry.  I really am.  I’ll have a hot chocolate and a snickerdoodle, to go.”  Baekhyun sighs and tries his best not to make eye contact with Jongdae as he waits for Minseok to make the drink.  As soon as Jongdae is out the door Baekhyun flips the sign to closed and promptly finds himself cornered by Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.

“Who was that man?” Kyungsoo looks at him inquisitively.  “It seems like you knew him.”

“He looked kind of like that idol you used to obsess over,” Chanyeol muses. “What was his name again? Chan? The one you suddenly stopped listening to and taking every possible measure to avoid?”

“I think it’s time for you to tell us what’s going on, Baekhyun” 

Baekhyun doesn’t know what makes him snap, but snap he does.  He hightails it out the door and doesn’t look back.  He doesn’t have the energy to deal with his friends’ inquiries.  He just wants to forget about the stupid red string around his little finger.  He’s so busy thinking about all the things he wants to forget that he doesn’t look where he’s going and bumps straight into someone.

“Look, I said I was sorry, there’s no need to try and kill me!” Jongdae’s voice emerges from the figure whom Baekhyun has sprawled on top of.  Could his luck get any worse than face planting into the bony shoulders of the last person he wanted to run into?  It’s all he can do not to scream in frustration.

“That was an accident! I swear! I was just running away from my horribly invasive friends! All I wanted was a nice bit of quiet so I can feel sorry for myself in peace but I had to run into you of all people!”  Baekhyun loses track of who he was speaking to and blabbered on.  “I wish I had never turned twenty-one!  Why does fate have to up my life like this!”

“Is it really that bad?” Jongdae gets up and brushes himself off, nursing a scape of his arm.  They lock eyes for a long moment.  “Most people seem happier when they can see their string.”  Baekhyun watches as Jongdae absently twiddles his little finger, not seeing the little red string that Baekhyun can see so clearly.

“Just wait until you turn twenty-one, then you’ll understand…”

“How do you know I’m not twenty-one yet?”

Baekhyun freezes.  He has no way to explain this.  Jongdae is looking at him in anticipation and a big part of him wants to run from this too, and keep running until he’s left the last few months behind forever. But Jongdae might be able to read his mind because the next thing that comes out of his mouth is: “You can’t keep running forever, Baekhyun.”

“How do you know my name?”

“You’re still wearing your café uniform and nametag, silly.”

Baekhyun looks down. Sure enough, he is still wearing the white collared shirt, black apron and immaculate nametag he always wears at the café. And that means… “My phone, my wallet, all my belongings! They’re still at the café with my friends!”  He gasps and clutches his face in his hands.  A gentle hand pats his shoulder.

“I know I don’t know you, but if you want I could sit with you for a while, at least until you’re ready to go back and face them.” Jongdae murmurs hesitantly, and suddenly Baekhyun is throwing himself into the arms of the latter.

They sit on a public bench talking about everything and nothing.  Jongdae doesn’t mention that he is, in fact, the famous idol Chen, but he hints at being fairly well known.  Baekhyun doesn’t mention that the reason he hates being twenty-one is because he made a fool of himself in front of his long time idol and soulmate Chen, but he makes it clear that something went wrong where fate is concerned.  Every now and again Baekhyun glances down at the red string connecting them, but for the most part he does his best to ignore it.

“I should probably go back to the café now, hopefully my friends are still there and I won’t have to sleep outside like a hobo.”  Baekhyun doesn’t know how long they’ve been talking, a few minutes? A few hours?

“I’ll walk you back.” Jongdae offers eagerly. 

“Th-that won’t be necessary,” Baekhyun says a bit too quickly, his face flushed.

“I’m not letting you sleep outside like a hobo.”  Jongdae wrinkles his nose. “What if you get mugged and try to sue me for causing you little tantrum?  I’d rather not risk it.”  Baekhyun grumbles and lets Jongdae follow him down back down the street.

“You’re not allowed to walk me to the door because if my friends see you they’ll ask more obnoxious questions.” Jongdae looks like he’s going to protest until Baekhyun adds “I’ll come back and find you if they’re gone.  Don’t worry mom.”

“Fine.” Jongdae sighs, “And I’m not your mother just because I don’t want you to die in a ditch!”  Baekhyun feels his ears turn red.

About a block away from the café Baekhyun makes Jongdae stop following him.  “Once I have my stuff I’ll come back and find you.  I’m sorry for causing so much trouble.”  Jongdae opens his mouth like he wants to say something more, but it’s too late.  Baekhyun is already sprinting away towards the café.

Lucky for Baekhyun, his friends apparently like him enough to wait.  Or at least Chanyeol does.  As soon as he sees Baekhyun’s face through the window he comes running to the door.  “Dammit Baek!  I know you were upset, but you didn’t have to run off like a five year old!”  Chanyeol berates him.  “We were worried sick! Soo wanted to stay, but he had to go finish a paper for that online class he’s taking!”  He squeezes Baekhyun’s shoulders. “We’ve just been concerned, ever since you came back from that stupid concert you’ve been weird! We want the loud, obnoxious, perpetually joyful Baekhyun back! We want to know what’s going on!”

Baekhyun is speechless.  He hadn’t realized that his recent predicament had been impacting his friends.  Maybe he has been a little selfish, but at the same time he still doesn’t feel ready to open up.

“If you don’t want us to ask anymore, we’ll stop asking.  But we want you to know that we’re worried about you!”  Chanyeol finishes

Baekhyun breaths in.  “I’m sorry for making your life difficult.  But just now I don’t want any more invasive questions.”  He sighs shakily “If you have nothing more to add, I’ll be grabbing my stuff and going home now.”

He almost forgets to go back and find Jongdae.  He doesn’t even remember that Jongdae is still waiting until he sees his silhouette in the distance.  Has he been waiting long?  Maybe fate has decided that today is ‘wait for Baekhyun’ day.

“So um… Bye I guess?”  He awkwardly blurts out after he closes the distance between them.  He’s about to rush home when Jongdae’s voice once again graces his ears.

“Baekhyun wait!”  He looks back.  Jongdae is nervously scratching his neck, Baekhyun thinks it’s kind of adorable.  “Would it be okay if I, er, kept visiting the café from time to time?”

Baekhyun can’t help but giggle a little.  “Do what you want.  Do you think I’ll strangle you if you come back or something?”

Jongdae pouts at him indignantly.  “Well, you practically crushed me to death this time, so I’m not crazy for being wary of additional assault and battery.”

“Fair enough” Baekhyun laughs and waves goodbye with a smile before going on his way.  Maybe he’s not as screwed over by fate as he thought.

During his period of purging his life of all Chen-related items, Baekhyun forgot to cancel his official Chen fan club membership.  One Sunday morning Baekhyun checks his email to find that he’s won a lucky chance to attend Chen’s Exclusive Birthday Concert.  Fate really seems to be catching up with him, and for once he thinks that might not be so bad.  On the other hand, he’s still mortified by his poor life choices at the previous Chen concert he attended.  Maybe he should just wait until Jongdae inevitably comes by the café and never tell him that he once snuck into Jongdae’s dressing room like a creepy stalker.  Maybe he should wait until their relationship is better established before he tells his soulmate that story.  Baekhyun glances at his calendar.  Today is August 31^st, and he has 20 days to decide on what to do. 

Since it’s his day off, he takes the opportunity to unearth the key to the cupboard he locked all his Chen CDs and merchandise in nearly four months ago.  Somehow they don’t seem like unwelcome reminders of a fate that is too much for him anymore.  He isn’t as painfully aware of his tiny apartment and haphazard lifestyle as he was last time he stared at Chen’s beautifully sculpted face on the front of a CD case.  He still finds his other half obscenely gorgeous, but he’s no longer hung up on the thought that his soulmate is out of his league.  Maybe going to another concert won’t be so bad.  Chen probably won’t even get close enough to him to see his pinky anyway.  How much harm could it do?

In hindsight, it does his nerves considerable harm.  It’s hard to prevent himself from trembling as he enters the concert venue on September 21^st.  He tries burying his hands in his pockets, but whatever he does it’s impossible to conceal the string trailing away from his pinky and into the distance, even if Chen doesn’t see the string there’s still the chance that he might recognize Baekhyun from the café.  At least there’s little to no chance that he’ll recognize Baekhyun as ‘that one crazy stalker fan who broke into his dressing room’ anymore. Before he knows his Baekhyun is sitting in his seat gazing towards the stage, and once again a clear voice cuts through the chatter of the crowd into silence.

“Are you ready?!”

Maybe it’s because he hasn’t listened to Chen’s songs in a while, but Baekhyun thinks he sounds better than ever.  It’s hard for him to connect the person on stage to the person who came to the café in his mind.  He’s so deep in thought that he doesn’t realize that Chen is making his way through the crowd, coming closer and closer to the section where Baekhyun is seated.  He realizes this when he spots Chen two sections away wading through the crowd as he belts out a high note.  He can see the string around his soulmate’s finger, trailing through the crowd until it reaches Baekhyun.  And then it hits him.  Chen can see the string too and that’s why he’s coming towards Baekhyun’s section.  Baekhyun should have foreseen this, and he should’ve had the foresight not to come to this goddamn concert.  Luckily for him, the song ends before Chen can reach his section and the singer rushes back to center stage to say a few words.

“Thank you all for coming today, this was a lot of fun!”  Chen’s lips curl around the words merrily, and Baekhyun find himself thinking about what those lips might feel like pressed up against his own.  “I’m really happy to be able to celebrate my birthday with fans like this!”  Chen’s eyes are practically sparkling.  “Twenty-one is an important age for me, I hope I’ll get to meet my other half soon.  I’m sure that after I find the one I’m destined for I’ll be able to express deeper emotions in my music.  Please   anticipate it.”  Baekhyun thinks he can feel Chen’s eyes boring into him.

Baekhyun deflates.  Jongdae had already met him, and as far as he knows he hasn’t inspired him to create deeper, more emotional music.  Now he won’t just be a disappointment to his soulmate, but a disappointment to Chen’s entire fanbase.  He watches Chen smile and wave as he leaves the stage, and he wants to run as far from the venue as he possibly can.  Even if he moved overseas it wouldn’t be good enough, Baekhyun thinks, he wishes he could escape to another galaxy where the hand of fate can’t reach him.  He’s so caught up in his thoughts of escaping that he doesn’t actually leave quick enough to escape the crowd.  There’s a line stretching across the block by the time Baekhyun reaches the bus stop.  He internally curses; he could get a taxi, but on the other hand he really needs to save money.  Why did Chen have to hold his stupid birthday concert so late? At this rate, Baekhyun won’t make it on the last bus. Baekhyun opts to call Chanyeol, who has a car, and beg for help.

“What’s up, Baek?”

“Your favorite person needs a ride… can you come pick me up?”  Baekhyun begs shamelessly.

“Where are you? Can’t you just take the bus?”  Baekhyun sighs and resigns himself to telling Chanyeol his location and situation.  “I thought you didn’t like Chen anymore, why’d you go to his concert again?”  Chanyeol sounds genuinely concerned.

“Because I’m an idiot,” Baekhyun snaps back at him. “Now come pick me up, you beanpole!”

It doesn’t take Chanyeol long to come to him.  It turns out he had been having dinner with his sister at a restaurant nearby.  He doesn’t say anything as Baekhyun climbs into the car and maintains his silence until they’ve almost reached Baekhyun’s apartment. 

“Just what is it about Chen concerts that upsets you so much?  Did you run into Taeyeon there or something?”  Chanyeol finally can’t help himself from asking.  Baekhyun doesn’t look at him.

“Do you ever think that life would be simpler without soulmates?” He says after a moment of silence.  “No more waiting around for one specific person, but trying things out with a few people until you find someone that fits?” Chanyeol stares at him incredulously.

“That alternative sounds a lot more complicated.”  He murmurs

“But just think about it,” Baekhyun continues.  “Take you and Kyungsoo for example, if you both weren’t so concerned with waiting to see if you’re really meant for each other you could actually try and find out.  So what if it might not be perfect.”  Chanyeol is pulling up in front of his building.

“This has nothing to do with me or Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol states.  “I think you need to stop running away from your problems, Baek.”  Baekhyun grimaces

“Maybe you’re right.”

On Monday morning Baekhyun is back to his usual shift at the café.  It almost feels normal, cheerfully taking orders, bickering with Kyungsoo, and cracking jokes with Chanyeol.  A new customer shows up and promptly starts trying to chat up Minseok.  At first the barista seems annoyed, but he can’t help but grin when it becomes evident that this customer might be as much of a coffee snob as he his.  Baekhyun privately wonders if they’re little fingers are joined, but he doesn’t pry.

Baekhyun is feeling like he might be able to put the whole nasty business of soulmates behind him for the present moment when he spots a familiar figure sporting a telltale red string which no one else can see around his finger.  Baekhyun thinks he might be sick.  He runs into the back and pushes Kyungsoo out telling him to “man the register”.   For a moment Baekhyun thinks Kyungsoo is going to protest, but when he sees the panic in Baekhyun’s eyes he abruptly closes his mouth. When Baekhyun turns around he finds Chanyeol staring at him.

“What’s going on? Soo and I were having a really interesting conversation!”  Chanyeol mutters at him resentfully.

“I promise I’ll let you two continue your awkward flirting as soon as that guy leaves.”  Baekhyun tells him breathily.  Chanyeol glances into the café.

“The one in the sunglasses?”

“Obviously!”

“He was looking at me when I peeked out.” 

Baekhyun swears under his breath.  Jongdae can obviously see where his string is leading, which means it’s going to be impossible to run.  His best hope is just to wait him out.  Chanyeol is still staring at him questioningly, but Baekhyun isn’t going to give him any answers willingly.  After a few minutes, Kyungsoo appear.

“I need to bake more scones, we’re nearly out!  Go back to the register, Baek, it’s been like twenty minutes!”  Kyungsoo is glowering at him.  Baekhyun curls into a ball in his chair.

“Is he gone?” 

“No, but what’s your problem? He’s just a customer and you’ve talked to him before!”  Kyungsoo looks like he might pick Baekhyun up and throw him at the register if he doesn’t move.

“I’m not coming out until he’s gone, make Minseok do it!”  He says stubbornly.

“This is childish, Baek, just do it.” Chanyeol butts in exasperatedly.  Baekhyun changes tactic.

“I don’t feel well.  What if I vomit on a customer in this condition?”  Baekhyun considers faking a cough, but instead decides to clutch his stomach in imagined agony.  “Imagine what a bad reputation that’ll give us?”

Kyungsoo sighs.  “I can’t fathom what’s wrong with you, although it’s obviously not a stomach ache.”  He pauses and looks at Chanyeol.  “Just go home for today, Baekhyun.  Maybe tomorrow you can tell us what the hell is going on.”

Baekhyun panics.  “I can’t go home!  I have to stay here where he can’t reach me!”  His heart his pounding franticly. 

“Go out the back, idiot,” Chanyeol looks at him disgruntledly.  “He won’t even see you”

But he’ll see the string move, Baekhyun thinks.  He’s too tired to keep arguing.  Maybe if he’s fast enough he’ll be able to catch a bus before Jongdae realizes that the strings position has changed.  He takes a deep breath and sprints out of the café.

He doesn’t get far before he hears rapid footsteps beating at the ground behind him.  He runs faster, but he can feel the string on his pinky tugging him back gentle.  Baekhyun can feel his heart pounding in his throat.

“You can’t keep hiding from me forever!”  A very familiar clear voice calls to him breathlessly.  As much as, he wants to deny it, Jongdae is right.  He might not be able to keep running forever, but that doesn’t mean he can’t try.  It must be a full hour before he finally gives up and collapses on a park bench quite similar to the bench where they sat last time they had a heart-to-heart.  Jongdae flops down beside him, and for several moments they’re both breathing too heavily to say anything.

“Just what,” Jongdae finally pants out, “is your problem with me?”  Baekhyun doesn’t know what to say.  “Why are you avoiding me like this?”  He whines.  “I thought we were supposed to get together or something.”  When Baekhyun finally looks up at him he’s surprised by how upset Jongdae looks.

“I can’t ever hope to be everything you’re wishing for,” Baekhyun finally gets out after a very awkward pause.  “I’m not someone incredible enough to be your lover, let alone your muse, like you want me to be, and I never will be!”  His voice is shaking.  “I work a ty job, I live in a tiny apartment and I have no idea what I’m doing with my life.”  Baekhyun pauses and looks down at his shoes.  “I could never hope to come close to being the kind of person someone like you deserves.”

“Isn’t it for me to decide whether or not someone is deserving of my love?”  Jongdae’s voice sounds a bit gentler, and Baekhyun almost has the courage to look up at him.  “Can’t we at least try?”

“You didn’t seem so keen on me when I showed up in dressing room.”  Baekhyun doesn’t know what possesses him to say this.  As soon as the words are out of his mouth he regrets them.

“That was you?”  Jongdae stammers.  Baekhyun nods awkwardly.  “How was I supposed to know you were my soulmate?”  He demands.  “I thought you were just some crazy fan.”

“Why does it matter that you know I’m your soulmate?”  Baekhyun finally finds the guts to look up at him.  “It’s just a stupid piece of string.  It doesn’t have to mean anything.”

“Well, you obviously thought it meant something when you snuck into my dressing room!”  Jongdae shoots back.  Baekhyun can already see that this argument is getting him nowhere.

“Look, why don’t we just forget this?” He sighs. “You can go back to your career, there’s probably tons of people who’d love a chance with you, soulmate or no.  And I can go back to trying to figure out what I’m doing with my life.”

“We are not forgetting this, Baekhyun!” Jongdae practically shouts at him.  “I don’t care how many people want me, you’re my soulmate and I want you!”  Baekhyun is mildly taken aback.  “And now you’re going to give me your number and then we’re going to start going on dates and fall in love!”  Baekhyun can’t help but think that Jongdae looks a little cute when he shouts until he’s red in the face.  “Now you’re going to hand over your phone and I’m going to put in my number and you’re going to text me. “ Jongdae commands.  Maybe it’s only because he think Jongdae isn’t above taking his phone by force, but Baekhyun still obediently hands his phone to Jongdae. 

“I still don’t think I’ll be able to live up whatever expectations you have for your soulmate…”  Baekhyun admits shakily as Jongdae aggressively punches his number into Baekhyun’s contact list.  Jongdae throws his phone at him.

“And what makes you think you haven’t already met my expectations? Now text me, you idiot.”  Jongdae’s tone is a little gentler than it was before.  As Baekhyun fumbles with his phone he feels a hand reach up and ruffle through his hair.  He finds himself leaning into the touch despite himself.  He blushes a little when he sees that Jongdae has taken the liberty of adding a heart after his name in Baekhyun’s contact list.  Baekhyun quickly types out a message.

To: Jongdae <3

Happy now?

Jongdae tenses as he feels his phone vibrate in his back pocket.  He takes his hand out of Baekhyun’s hair and smiles as he types out a reply.

From: Jongdae <3

Yes ;)

Jongdae doesn’t push Baekhyun to start a relationship right away, which he’s grateful for.  He’s definitely not comfortable with the thought of suddenly being known to the world as superstar Chen’s soulmate.  Jongdae tells him he’s willing to wait as long as he needs before going public.  They’ve fallen into a pattern of texting regularly, but Baekhyun still won’t agree to go out on a proper date because he’s afraid Chen’s fans will spot them.

From: Jongdae <3

We could just watch a movie at my place instead of going out.

To: Jongdae <3

Wouldn’t your fans see me entering the building?

From: Jongdae <3

How would they know you’re visiting me?  But I guess if you don’t want to I could come to your place maybe?

“Who do you keep texting?”  Chanyeol leans over Baekhyun’s shoulder, thing to catch a glimpse of the screen of his phone.  These days Baekhyun is back to his old cheery self, but that doesn’t mean that Chanyeol isn’t curious about his new habit of frequent texting.

“None of your beeswax, Park.”  Baekhyun hastily stuffs his phone into his pocket.

“I’m like, the best friend you have, why won’t you tell me about this mysterious stanger?”

“Maybe I have a new best friend but I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”  Baekhyun jokes.  Chanyeol clutches his chest like he’s been mortally wounded.

“Can you get back two get back to work?”  Kyungsoo’s irritated voice calls from the register.  Baekhyun gets up and takes it over, blowing a kiss as Kyungsoo glares at him.

Baekhyun is nervous.  In all honesty, he does want to hang out with Jongdae, but the thought of letting Jongdae see his messy cramped apartment makes him cringe.  He can’t remember the last time he made his bed or tidied up.  When there’s a lull in business Baekhyun discretely pulls out his phone.

To: Jongdae <3

You don’t want to see my smelly apartment

Baekhyun quickly shoves his phone into his pocket before Kyungsoo can catch him, but he thinks Kyungsoo might have a sixth sense, because he looks over at Baekhyun suspiciously a second later.   Baekhyun doesn’t understand why Kyungsoo hasn’t scolded Minseok for frequently chatting with their new regular customer on the job, surely that’s far more disruptive than casually texting.  The rest of his shift is busy, and Baekhyun doesn’t get another chance to check his phone again until he’s on the bus home.

From: Jongdae <3

But… what other options are there?  I want to see you…

Baekhyun sighs and puts his face in his hands.  He knows he’s being selfish.  He knows he’s always been the selfish one.  If they want this to work, Baekhyun will have to get over himself sooner or later.  After pondering the options for several long minutes, he texts Jongdae back.

To: Jongdae <3

Fine.  I’ll come to your place.

They decide to meet to meet in a week.  Baekhyun thinks he’s going to explode.  Chanyeol and Kyungsoo start prodding him when he asks their boss for a day off in the middle of the week.  It takes half a day of nagging until Baekhyun snaps and shouts at Chanyeol.  After that they’re both careful not to ask Baekhyun anything that’s too invasive, but Baekhyun thinks he sees Chanyeol trying to peek over his shoulder when he texts Jongdae sometimes.

On their promised day Baekhyun has half a mind to text Jongdae saying he’s sick, but he restrains himself.  He knows Jongdae probably went out of his way to fit this into his busy schedule.  Baekhyun tries to calm himself by humming to himself in the shower, but it does little good.  Jongdae has told him he’s sending a car to pick Baekhyun up at six.  At 5:30 Baekhyun finds himself repeatedly glancing at the clock while checking himself in the mirror for the thousandth time.  When his phone vibrates at 6:01 signaling the car’s arrival, he jumps in surprise and runs out the door.

The building Jongdae lives in has high security.  Once they drive into the garage Baekhyun’s fears of being seen dissipate, and he wonders vaguely if any other celebrities live here.  He takes a deep breath before lightly knocking on Jongdae’s door.  There’s a small shuffle of movement from beyond the door, and then it cracks open and Jongdae is pulling him inside.  As soon as Baekhyun is inside and the door clicks shut Jongdae lets go of him.  Baekhyun almost too distracted by Jongdae’s cute embarrassed expression to take in the apartment.

It’s not as grandiosely big or fancy as Baekhyun imagined, it’s just a nice apartment.  Jongdae nudges him toward a big, comfy-looking sofa in front of the television.  After he flops down clumsily Jongdae takes a seat several inches away from him.

“So” Jongdae starts, looking at him.  “We never decided what movie we were going to watch.”  Baekhyun blinks at him.  He hadn’t imagined their first meeting as a couple would be this awkward.  Maybe it’s because they haven’t spoken face to face since Jongdae chased him from the café and made him give him his number.  Baekhyun shifts himself around, waiting for Jongdae to continue.

“My DVDs are in the drawer under the TV, you can look through them and decide while I make us some popcorn.” 

“Okay”

Baekhyun flips through the stack of DVDs as Jongdae bustled about making popcorn in the next room.  In the end, he chooses one at random right before Jongdae reenters the room, popcorn in hand.  Jongdae wordlessly takes the disk from his hand and shoves into the machine.

Baekhyun is faced with a dilemma.  The popcorn smells really good and he really wants to eat some but Jongdae is seated just slightly too far for him to reach it.  To be honest he’s surprised that Jongdae isn’t taking more initiative with skinship after his forceful extraction of Baekhyun’s phone number and insistence that they meet up.  But then again, maybe it is Baekhyun’s turn to initiate something between them.  He throws caution to the wind and scoots over to lean against Jongdae and grab handfuls of popcorn out of the bowl in his lap.  Jongdae smiles and wraps and arm around Baekhyun.  Between the popcorn and Jongdae’s warmth at his side, Baekhyun is too distracted to pay much attentions to the movie.

“I’m sorry if I’m forcing you into this.”  Jongdae says softly as the credits roll across the screen.  Baekhyun stiffens.  Jongdae had seemed so confident about all this that he hadn’t imagined that someone like him would ever worry that their lover wasn’t completely into them.

“Don’t be,” Baekhyun replies, snuggling into Jongdae’s side.  “It’s not like I didn’t break into your dressing room first.”  He can feel Jongdae’s body shake as he laughs.

“I guess that’s true.”  Jongdae says, one hand Baekhyun’s hair.

“I’m sorry for running away.” Baekhyun murmurs.  Jongdae is quiets for a few moments.

“Well, we found each other in the end,” Jongdae finally says.  “I guess that’s all that matters.”

Baekhyun still feels a little guilty, so he pushes his away into Jongdae’s lap and buries his face in the hollow between Jongdae’s neck and shoulder.  Jongdae hums softly and turns to kiss his cheek.  Baekhyun feels his face heat up and Jongdae must see it, because he starts giggling.

“Didn’t you say you had a girlfriend before?” he laughs. “Why are you so embarrassed? Did you only hold hands or something?”  A fire alights in Baekhyun’s chest.

“Oh, we did more than hold hands.” He says and turns to face Jongdae.  He reaches a hand around Jongdae’s neck and pulls his mouth to his.

Jongdae lets him take charge.  Baekhyun doesn’t really mind; he assumes that it’s because he’s surprised or because he might not have much experience kissing.  At first he just takes Jongdae’s bottom lip between his, but after a few moments he gets bored and nibbles on it a bit.  Jongdae responds by parting his lips for him.  Baekhyun feels Jongdae’s hands clutch his waist a little tighter as his tongue brushes the back of Jongdae’s teeth.  Although he’s a bit reserved, Jongdae still receptively kisses back.  Baekhyun wonders if this is Jongdae’s first kiss.

“You can stay here for the night if you want.”  Jongdae tells him breathlessly when their mouths part.

“Getting a little excited are we?”  Baekhyun teases.  Jongdae reddens.

“I just want to take advantage of this opportunity,” Jongdae whines.  “I don’t know when we’ll be able to do this again and we still haven’t really properly got to know each other!”  He pauses awkwardly.  “I didn’t mean… that.”  Baekhyun laughs into his shoulder.  Jongdae looks cute when he’s flustered.  “I just like cuddling.”  Jongdae finishes

“It’s okay, I’ll stay.”  Baekhyun assures him.  “I like cuddling too.” 

In the end, they end up falling asleep on the couch, still in each other’s arms.