final; you're my #F70707 (soulmate)

   i.

They say that when you meet your soulmate, you'll see the world turn from black, white and grey to the colours that you only knew from colour codes and names. They also say that when you meet them for the first time, your heart stops for two seconds and you'll be starstruck — unable to speak or look away. It feels magical and heavenly, they say. 

Teenage girls swoon when they hear this, unable to wait for the time when their soulmates turn up before their eyes and charm them in ways no one ever could. They'd proudly show off their soulmate's name and colour code to their friends when they get it and get giddy at the thought of meeting their 'true love' soon.

In some rare cases people get two soulmates; one as their romantic partner and one as their bestfriend except they're more like someone who knows you better than anyone else in the world. Of course fate can be cruel too and not everyone can have soulmates and dream of meeting their 'true love' or their bestfriend. They'll wait for years for their soulmate's name and colour code to be on their body but they know it's all over when they've waited until they're twenty-one. When you reach twenty-one and someone else's name and colour code isn't on your body, it's guaranteed that you're the unlucky person that does not have a soulmate. But it's the 21st century and people are trying to make ways for everyone to have their own soulmates although the names of their soulmates and their colour code does not come naturally but instead, agencies pair them up together. Tattoo studios are always there if they want the names and colour code of their paired soulmate to be tattoed on their body. 

It'll always work out one way or another, they say.

ii.

It comes to Hansol when he's asleep. First the vivid dreams, the dreams full of colour bursts he has never seen before. He recognises the white and black but not the other colours, the colours that look bright and happy and the colours that are of a darker gloomy shade. Vast colours of different shades splashes his black and white canvas, turning the once plain canvas into something beautiful and incredible. He sees the colour of the skies, the sea, the grass and trees — it comes to him all at once. Everything seems more lively and it doesn't even seem like a dream. It feels real, vivid and it disappoints him when he wakes up from his dream and opens his eyes to a world full of black and white once again.

What comes after he wakes up is the itch behind his ear. He constantly scratches itchy spot behind his ear, groaning when he realises that it gets itchier the more he scratches the spot. He tries to leave it alone, letting the itch bug him only to scratch it again after what it feels like an eternity when it was only about a minute or even less. It's frustrating when the itch doesn't go away even after he's scratched it plenty of times to the point where he is sure he might bruise himself from scratching too much (is that even possible?). He tosses and turns in bed trying to go back to sleep because it's a Saturday and it's too early too be up although he doesn't even know what time it is (but any time is early to wake up on a Saturday, he'd argue). His fingers are unable to leave the itchy spot behind his ear, still busy scratching because it has yet to go away. In the end he gives up trying to sleep and tosses his blanket away in frustration. He immediately misses the comfort and warmth of the bed when he gets up.

Hansol grabs his towel and heads to the bathroom, thinking that if he showered maybe, just maybe, the itch will go away.

It doesn't. It sticks to him like leech and it simply refuses to go away even after half an hour of showering (he showered long enough for the warm water to turn cold and he even stayed a little while when it turned cold for the sake of the itch). He quickly dries himself with the towel and puts his clothes back on before he makes his way to the mirror. His reflection greets him making him wince at the birdnest on his head. He leans forward and shifts his head to the side, his reflection following suit. He gets on his tip-toes and leans closer towards the mirror to see if it's a mosquito bite behind his ear or whatever that's making the spot behind his ear itch.

He almost chokes on his own spit when he doesn't see a huge mosquito bite like he expected but instead a name and a colour code. He almost couldn't believe his eyes when he sees it and immediately forgets about the itch as if it never happened because the shock from seeing another person's name and colour code on his body is too overwhelming until he forgets the annoying itch (it's still a little itchy but that doesn't really matter now that he officially belongs to someone).

이찬 #F70707 is imprinted right behind his ear and now he knows why he's dreamt of colours and getting the most ridiculously annoying itch. He stumbles out of the bathroom and rushes to his parents' room knowing that his mom will most likely be there, almost tripping over while he's at it. He turns the door knob and bursts inside the room.

"Oh, you're finally awake! And showered too. Are you going somewhere? You don't usually shower right after you wake up and it's —"

"Mom," Hansol interrupts.

"Hansol, how many times I told you that interrupting someone when they're talking is rude?"

"Mom."

"I've told you so many times that you should never interrupt someone when they're talking. Do you ever listen to whatever I say?"

Hansol resists the urge to groan out loud because he knows his mother is just going to continue rambling about how rude it is to interrupt someone when they're not done talking and that is not important right now. The important thing is, he finally knows who his soulmate is and he officially belongs to another person that he is going to spend his entire life with. His mother is still rambling on about the matter like he had expected.

"Mom," he tries again.

"Are you ever going to stop interrupting me?"

"Soulmate. I have a soulmate," he says, hoping that his mother would finally listen.

The expression on his mother's face immediately changes to a happier one and she enthusiastically gets out of bed to embrace the boy. He squirms in the hug and muffles out, "Mom I cant breathe" which sounded more like a "Mom I ant freath."

His mother pulls away and he immediately takes a deep breath after being deprived of air.

"Where is it? Show me."

He turns his head to the left and points at the spot behind his ear where the name and colour code is imprinted on. His palms feel sweaty and there's an anxious feeling in his chest as his mother leans forward to stare at it.

"Lee Chan, F70707, eh? Your soulmate will get along with you pretty well I'm sure," she says before squeezing the life out of him again. "My baby's growing up so quickly it makes me emotional."

"Mom, I'm seventeen now."

"Yeah, a baby."

A groan escapes his lips as his mother laughs at him while holding him in her arms. He knows he's going to be embraced for a little while now and there's no way he can convince his mother to let him go. That's how it always is and always will be.

iii.

"Hansol! I've been looking all over for you. Where were you? Anyway, are you coming over today? My mom cooked something good for you."

An arm slings over the boy's shoulder soon after he hears the familiar voice that he hasn't heard since last Friday.

"I can't make it today. Sorry man, gotta babysit my sister. It's my parents' anniversary and they'regoing out to celebrate it. How about tomorrow? Tell your mom I said sorry," the boy says in an apologetic tone. It's not like he's making excuses or anything. He does want to come over and Seungkwan's mother makes the best dishes too. Babysitting can be really troublesome sometimes.

Seungkwan shrugs. "Doesn't matter. More for me then. Also," Seungkwan squints his eyes at what Hansol assumes is that certain spot behind his ear, "Is that your soulmate's name? And colour code? You've already gotten it?"

Hansol knew he should have tried to hide it with his hair earlier this morning. He doesn't even know what changed his mind because he definitely knew that Seungkwan would see it sooner or later and it is only a matter of time that he saw it. For sure he'll be bomboarded wih questions from Seungkwan about this whole issue. His dear friend has always been interested in anything related to soulmates. He finds it intriguing and there will always be questions in his mind regarding soulmates. When he does ask the questions out loud however, nobody can answer him. It always goes with something like, "What if fate did something wrong and those soulmates were not meant to be for each other? What if one person dislikes their destined soulmate? Does that mean that they stop being soulmates? Why do some people not have a soulmate? Why do some have two?" Sometimes it gets more ridiculous than this and Hansol is the only person that can entertain Seungkwan.

The boy nods, "Yeah I got it on Saturday actually." He answers nonchalantly, focusing on finding a table for lunch with his tray in hand. The friend next to him doesn't seem to be interesting in finding table at all, only caring about Hansol's 'tattoo' behind his ear. If by any chance he trips on something, it's because he's paying no attention to the things around him at the moment.

"How was it like? And oh your soulmate is F70707. Huh, you guys will surely get along well. You two would have a really great chemistry since the colour matches yours perfectly." Seungkwan finally manages to pull his gaze away from it and decides to pay attention to his surroundings.

Hansol finally finds an vacant table and makes his way towards it. Seungkwan tags along, following behind him. There's only ten minutes left til' lunch break ends and he has to hurry because Mr. Kim cannot tolerate people who are late for his lessons (which is why Hansol always gets picked on by him since he's always the last one to come to his class) and he doesn't want to get on his bad side today. He's not in the mood to deal with Mr. Kim either so might as well just make Mr. Kim a little happy today so they both benefit from it. He feels a nudge from Seungkwan when he takes too long to answer the boy.

"Annoying. Frustrating. Very annoying and frustrating. The spot keeps getting itchy and it's not like a normal kind of itch or anything. How do I say this? Um, it just gets itchier the more you scratch it and it doesn't go away even after you shower. I forgot how it stopped itching though. How do you know that my soulmate will get along with me anyway? My mom said that too. But now that I think about it, shouldn't all soulmates get along with each other well? And what do you mean his colour matches mine? Do you even know what my colour is? I don't even know what's my own colour."

His friend rolls his eyes. "Have you never researched on the personality colour trait before? Because you should. And take a colour personality test too if you want to know what your code is. You seem like a shade of green though according to what I've read before and F70707 is red. If you research, you'll know why your mom and I said that."

Sometimes it scares Hansol how his friend knows so much about soulmates. He probably researches a lot about it during his free time to know so much. Hansol swallows the last bit of his food as Seungkwan looks at him weirdly because he just finished eating in five minutes which isn't at all that suprising but Seungkwan still has not gotten used to how quickly Hansol eats when he's rushing.

"Whatever, I'll see my colour code on my soulmate anyway. No need to take a colour personality test. It's just a waste of time."

iv.

Truthfully, Hansol never cared that much about this whole soulmate thing. He'd usually just go with the flow. He has yet to know how he ended up with his laptop on his lap and googling about personality colour traits that Seungkwan had mentioned earlier on during lunch. He has nothing else to do anyway since he's done with all his homework which wasn't that much — to his suprise — and it wouldn't hurt to research more about the colour personality traits.

“Having the personality colour green means you are kind, generous and compassionate. You are caring towards others and feel the need to love and be loved.”

He scrolls further down the paragraph, ignoring the irrelevant things that are included in it.

“Your best match are the reds who are optimistic and outgoing. Reds radiate a great deal of energy and are loved by many.” 

The boy remembers how his friend mentioned that he's most likely to be a green (according to what he has read anyway) and how greens would get along with reds. Seungkwan had probably done some research in this site too.

He shuts the laptop and puts it aside when he's done researching about personality colour traits. It's good to know that he'll have a great chemistry with his soulmate but the question still stands: shouldn't all soulmates get along with each other and have good chemistry since fate is the one that has brought them together?

v.

The colour bursts come again, painting his dreams in colours that he has yet to know. He knows colours by codes and names but he doesn't know what it looks like. What he sees in his dream though, are a beautiful set of colours that make his dull dreams more pleasant to see. There's something about colours that make the world look more alive rather than the dull monochrome that he sees everyday for seventeen years of his life. It's truly a pity that people who do not have soulmates cannot see these colours. Although they have agencies to pair soulmates together and tattoo studios, one thing that cannot be changed is their vision. The world will forever be in monochrome to their eyes. Hansol is considered lucky to be guaranteed to have a soulmate.

The colours don't last long in his dreams however. It flickers like an almost-dying light bulb for two seconds before his dreams turn into a set of black and white again. It's a little disappointing not to be able to see the colours last for a long time in his dreams and wake up to the monochromatic world. If it did, he probably would be sleeping for a whole twenty-four hours (which can be good for him because he's a little sleep deprived due to school and he'll be able to catch up with his sleep if it happens).

Hansol really wants to meet his soulmate soon and see the world in the colours that he sees in his dreams occassionally. Plus, he really wants to know how his soulmate is like. Sometimes he goes to sleep wondering and worrying about how his soulmate will be.

"Hey mom, how can you tell when you've seen your soulmate? I mean, there's going to be a lot of people there too when you get your colours right?" Hansol asks when he's alone with his mother.

His mother chuckles at the question, finding it silly for her son to be asking such questions. The last time she checked Hansol did not care all that much about soulmates. But then again, the last time she checked was a while ago and Hansol probably changed his thoughts about it during the period.

"When you're able to see colours, you'll know who your soulmate is when your soulmate glows. It's just a subtle glow but the glow is of their colour code. For example if their colour is purple, then there'll be a glow of purple coming from them. You won't know what purple is since you've never seen it before but I think you'll know who it is even if there's no glow. You'll just know it if it's your soulmate. That's how it always is."

"Right. Okay. But I've been having these weird dreams? I can see colours. Don't know which is which though."

"You'll find your soulmate soon then."

By soon, apparently, was really soon.

vi.

Hansol has no idea how he ended up getting lost in Hongdae. There were too many people around for him to know where he is. It's unusually crowded especially since the sun is still up high in the sky. He was just trying to make his way through the crowd and follow his parents but he ended up losing his way instead.

His parents probably has yet to notice his absence since they're in a crowd and think that their son is following them from behind, which he unfortunately isn't. They'll probably take a while to notice and when they do, they'll most likely call Hansol and Hansol can just tell them where he's at anyway. It happened before. At the moment he's just wandering around the streets away from the crowd that he has successfully manage to escape from. There's still a fair amount of people around him but it's much better compared to the crowd that he was stuck in earlier.

Hansol is just about to enter a random record store when the door opens and almost hits his face. Thankfully, he's a few centimeters away from getting hit. Very few centimeters.

Suddenly everything seems to be still — like time had froze. There's a splash of colours in his vision, slowly painting his world then it comes all at once. There are colours that he hasn't seen in his dreams and the colours look oddly different and livelier as compared to what he has seen in his dreams. If his dreams looked alive and vivid, this was an entirely different experience. It's beautiful, the way his world turns from monochrome to a variety of colours. Then he sees a boy.

A boy that doesn't look too far from his age. He is wearing a snapback on his head and his fringe is covering his forehead. He has monolid eyes which Hansol finds kind of cute. His mouth is shaped into an 'o', looking fairly suprised as Hansol probably is at the moment. There's a glow too — it's a really nice colour that reminds him of passion. He's seen it a lot in his dreams, more than the other colours. Now he knows what #F70707 is and he finds it a really pretty colour. Hansol is indeed starstruck and he cannot take his eyes away from the boy and it's magical just like they all say. His palms are getting sweaty and his heart is beating at a faster rate than it usually does (Hansol wonders if it's healthy). He doesn't notice anyone else around him and the loud noises are entirely tuned out. The only person he can see is the boy before him, standing at the entrance as the door closes slowly behind him. Hansol suddenly finds it difficult to talk and look away.

The boy takes a few steps closer towards and Hansol realises that the boy is a little shorter than he is.

"Hansol?" The boy is the first to talk, sensing that Hansol isn't going to be the one starting the conversation because his lips are still shut tight and he hasn't recovered from this yet.

"Y-yeah. Choi Hansol," He manages to sputter.

The boy laughs, "Yeah I know I see your name on my arm everyday for a year now."

Hansol tries to ignore the fact that his cheeks are burning and tries to act like he did not embarrassed himself infront of his soulmate. For a moment he forgets that his soulmate's name is Chan.

"A year? I've only gotten mine two weeks ago," Hansol mumbles.

Chan shrugs, "Doesn't really matter now, does it? We've finally met." Hansol nods in reply.

"Can I have your number? I mean if that's okay with you, that is," Hansol asks shyly and rubs his neck like he does when he's usually nervous.

"Asking for my number already? That's quick."

There's something about Chan that never fails to make him embarrassed. There's a teasing smile on Chan's lips and he thinks that Chan is probably enjoying it.

"Want to hang out sometime next week?" Chan asks after they've exchanged numbers.

"Yeah sure. Just text me when you're free, I guess."

"See you when I do then. I have to go now. It was nice finally meeting you," the shorter boy says.

Before Hansol could say 'nice meeting you too', the boy is already walking off. He probably has to rush off somewhere, Hansol thinks.

He feels a vibration coming from his pocket and he takes his phone out. There's a message from 'Mom' asking where he is (it really took them a while and Hansol thinks they've actually noticed his absence a long time ago but they just weren't that worried since it's happened before) and right after he reads it, there's another buzz.

Chan

if you're wondering, you're #098C25.

Author's Note:

I hope this turned out well and that you enjoyed reading it. Please excuse my mistakes! It's not beta-ed yet. Comments are always appreciated and welcomed.