Jackson Wang didn’t believe this whole ‘soul mate’ business.

The vast majority of the population didn’t put too much faith in it either.  Probably only one in ten people ever found their soul mate, or at least they had thought they did.  There was no way to be sure, the chances of meeting your soul mate were so slim most of the population had decided to move on and forget about ever seeking for them actively.

There were those who had a chance.  Everyone was born with a tattoo on their body that indicated the first word their soul mate would ever say to them.  Some people had unique ones like ‘carrots’ or ‘coniferous’ or even random yelling like ‘AUGHERSAHH!!’.  Those had hope in finding their soul mates and being sure they were the one.

Then there were people who had things like ‘would’ or ‘can’ or other generic words.  They were at a greater disadvantage but sometimes things worked out if they were able to match the words they said to each other quickly and pick up on the similarities in their tattoos. 

Then, there was Jackson who was born with the exciting word ‘Hey’ on his arm.  Hey? Really? Jackson was a social person; there were probably at least three people who said ‘hey’ to him on a daily basis.  Not only that, but there were millions of people who had different variations of ‘hi’ or ‘hello’ on their bodies.  This was why Jackson had completely given up on finding his soul mate.  There wasn’t a chance that it would ever work out, he was sure of it.

Then he met Mark Tuan.

It was late at night, one of the university parties he frequented.  He was buzzed when he noticed the man with stunning platinum blonde hair from across the room.  His face was flushed red as he was talking to someone while laughing,  He was just way too attractive for his own good.

Jackson decided that he was perfect.

He walked over to him, the alcohol fueling his already confident attitude, and tapped him on the shoulder.

Mark turned around and his eyes immediately scanned his body.  He bit his lip and Jackson had to hold back the urge to kiss him right there and then.

“Hey.”

Jackson wasn’t even shocked when someone said it to him anymore, but coming out of Mark’s mouth he was a little curious.  It wasn’t really standard to ask someone about their tattoo the first time you met, especially for people who had more generic words on their body, so Jackson decided to ignore the way his heart was thumping and try to reply calmly.

“Hey.”

Jackson learned later that night that Mark had a matching ‘Hey.’ tattoo on his body as well.

He shouldn’t be over thinking this.  He was sure a lot of people had a ‘Hey’ tattoo on their body.  It had to have been a coincidence; the gorgeous man lying next to him wasn’t necessarily his soul mate.

However, he decided that he should probably ask him out on an actual date whether he was his soul mate or not.  He wasn’t about to let someone like Mark fall through his fingertips without giving him a chance.

Jackson was waiting for it, the spark, that light bulb that went off in his head, that deep connection that made him sure that Mark was the one.

That never really happened.

Mark was cute.  Jackson enjoyed his company for what it was worth.  He was soft-spoken when he was sober and had a hard time keeping up with Jackson in a conversation.  He laughed at everything Jackson said and always told him how funny he thought he was.

Jackson liked Mark a lot.  He still wasn’t sure if it was because they were still getting to know each other or that Mark hadn’t opened up completely to him yet, but he wasn’t about to end a relationship because he didn’t have instant chemistry.  Soul mate or not, Mark was a catch.

It was their fifth date when Mark finally let Jackson over to his apartment.  It wasn’t much, Jackson was only there because he needed to drop off some clothes Mark had left at his house and they were planning on catching a movie later.

Jackson was standing awkwardly in the living room waiting for Mark to finish showering so they could leave when he was startled by loud barking.

“Hey!  Watch out!”  If Jackson had blinked he would’ve missed the white ball of fluff that sped past him and started running laps around the room.

“Coco!  Stop that!  You’re wet!”  A man came running in the room after his with a towel.  “No!  Get off the sofa!  Coco, please… I’m begging you…” 

It seemed like the dog had finally gotten tired of torturing the man and walked towards him obediently so he could pick him up in the towel.

“Oh thank god, Coco!  Why do you always tease me like this?”

“Coco?”  Jackson asked and the young man jumped.

“What?  Who are you?!”  He leaped into a defensive position, dog in one arm the other raised to attack.

“Relax; I’m waiting for Mark to get out of the shower.  Who are you?”

“Oh!  Right!  I’m Youngjae, Mark’s roommate,” He held up the dog.  “And this is our dog, Coco.”  He cradled a tired Coco back into his arms and walked over to Jackson.  “You must be Mark’s new boyfriend.”

Jackson decided to ignore the way Youngjae said new as if he switched boyfriends a lot.  “Actually, we’re not official yet, but we’ve been dating for a bit.”

“Really, not official yet?  He sure spends a lot of time at your place for someone who’s not officially in a relationship.”  Jackson was embarrassed and Youngjae just laughed.  “I’m kidding!  Don’t give me that look.  I understand.”

Jackson couldn’t be upset with him when he laughed like that, his mouth wide open, completely uncaring to how unattractive it was.  “If you keep your mouth open like that bugs are going to start flying in.”

This just caused Youngjae to laugh louder, and it was so contagious Jackson soon felt himself joining in.

“You two having fun?”  Mark finally came out of his room fully dressed and ready to leave.

“Oh, Mark!  I met your boyfriend~!”    Youngjae yelled in a sing-song voice.

Mark came over and pet Coco only to realize she was wet and regret his decision as he retracted his went hand and rubbed it on his jeans.  “Yeah yeah okay, I just hope you didn’t scare him.”

“Scary?  I’m not scary, you’re scarier than me!”  It seemed this guy didn’t have a lower volume setting on his voice.

“Have you seen yourself laugh? “  Youngjae’s jaw dropped and Mark just giggled.

“Whatever!  Go on your date already!”  Youngjae stuck his tongue out childishly and left the room with Coco.  Mark rolled his eyes and Jackson laughed again.

“He’s cute.”  Jackson admitted.

The second time Jackson met Youngjae was when Mark decided he should come over to his apartment for ‘Netflix and Chill’.  He informed him it was fine because Youngjae was either in his room playing Kart rider with the volume on full blast so he couldn’t hear them or he was sleeping like a log.

That plan seemed to fall to waste after Mark fell asleep half way through a one-star rated animated movie he thought would be funny. 

After Jackson was sure Mark wasn’t going to be up for the rest of the night he decided he should probably leave.  He tip-toed down the hall and knocked on the door that was clearly labelled ‘Choi Youngjae’ and was met with an extra loud “Come in!”

Youngjae’s room was pretty bare, some books lying on the floor next to his bed, a dog bed and dog toys in the corner, and Youngjae himself sitting on a laptop furiously pressing keys in a racing game.

“Ahhh!!  No!!  Why are you so good?  These new maps are rigged!!”  He yelled straight into his computer screen.

Jackson decided to sit on the bed until it looked like he was free.

After a couple more moments of loud keyboard smashing there was a victorious yell and finally Youngjae turned around to face him.  “Sorry!  I just needed to finish that race, did you need something?”

“Mark fell asleep on me and I decided that I should probably go home and I needed someone to lock the door behind me, so if it isn’t any trouble…”  Jackson’s stomach felt weird.  He never had a hard time talking to anyone; he could befriend someone in ten seconds flat.   He didn’t know where the sudden butterflies came from.

“Sounds like Mark, did you know one time he slept for 24 hours straight?  I thought he fell into a coma or something!  I was about to call the ambulance!”  Youngjae laughed and Jackson laughed with him.  “Oh sorry, you needed to leave?”

“Right!  Sorry I interrupted your gaming session kid.”  Youngjae eyed him as he got up from his computer.

“Kid?”

“What?  Aren’t you like, ten?”  This earned a clean slap across the chest from Youngjae.  “Ow!”

“I’m not that baby-faced,” Youngjae pouted a bit and Jackson had to restrain his hands from coming up to pinch his cheeks. “You’re the same age as Mark right?”

“No, I’m a year younger.”

“See!  Then we’re only two years apart.  You have no right to be calling me kid.  I go to the same university as you.”

“Really?”  Jackson said in an exaggerated tone that made him sound like he was shocked and Youngjae scrunched his eyebrows at him. 

“Yes, really, I’m a music major, with a specialization in vocals.”  Youngjae declared proudly.

Jackson tried to hold back his giggles but he let a few slip out.  “Sorry, I somehow can’t imagine your face and singing…”  This earned him another hard slap across the chest.  “Ow!  Why do you keep hitting me?”

“You deserve it.”  Youngjae got up and indicated Jackson follow him out to the door so he could leave.  “Anyways, if you don’t believe me, you can drop by the music department anytime you want and I can show you.”

“Alright!”  Jackson said with a smile on his face.

“Wait, I didn’t think you’d actually, I’m not there all the time…”  Youngjae was suddenly flustered, not expecting Jackson would actually want to see him sing.

Jackson held out his phone to him and Youngjae just stared at it if it were a foreign object.  “Here, give me your phone number and text me when you’re free?  I really need to verify this with my own two eyes.”

Youngjae hesitated a bit but then he decided to put his number in his phone and give it back to Jackson.  “I’m just doing this to prove a point.”

Jackson decided to write his name in as ‘master vocalist Youngjae’ and showed it to him.  Youngjae gave him a look but as soon as Jackson laughed he joined in with his mouth falling open in loud cackling.  “Alright!  Guess I’ll see you soon.”

Jackson wasn’t sure why he was pursuing this matter so fervently. 

He texted Youngjae only two days later asking him if he was free and now, here he was on the other side of campus looking for room 103 in the music building.

It was late afternoon and most official classes were over.  He walked through the lonely halls, completely lost since he hadn’t been to this side of campus before, but then he heard it.  Soft piano playing accompanying rich vocals that made him feel like he had just been blessed by an otherworldly power.

He followed that voice, getting louder and louder until he finally stood outside room 103 and peaked in.  Youngjae had his back facing him as he sat at the piano, skillfully pressing the keys along to the song he belted passionately.  Jackson’s heart raced every time he sang a particularly profound note.  He didn’t want to interrupt him so he just stood in the doorway, his eyes closed, completely losing himself in the melody.  Once Youngjae finished Jackson broke into applause, causing Youngjae to turn around much too quickly and almost slide right of his bench.

“Ah!  Jackson!  How long were you standing there?!”  Youngjae immediately got up and straightened his clothes and hat.

“Long enough!  You won this bet, your voice is amazing.”  Youngjae laughed nervously but Jackson was still looking at him with genuine amazement.  “Your voice is like velvet, so smooth and rich and…”  Jackson stopped himself when he realized he was being way too over the top.

“T-thank you.”  Youngjae’s cheeks were dusted in pink and Jackson decided embarrassed Youngjae was just as cute as laughing Youngjae.

“I don’t even think you need this school, you should just sign to a company and they’ll let you produce albums immediately.”  Jackson walked over and sat on the piano bench then motioned for Youngjae to sit beside him.

“No way!  I may have some raw talent but I’ve barely trained my voice professionally.  There are still so many things I need to learn.”  Youngjae sat beside him but made sure to leave a gap between them.  Jackson was both disappointed and thankful.

“I think your voice is perfect as is.”  Jackson said sincerely causing Youngjae to avoid eye contact by looking down at his hands folded together on his lap.

“I actually have a concert coming up in three weeks, and the song I’m singing… I’ve just about mastered it but it’s in English and there are some words I’m worried I’m not saying right.  I want it to be perfect…” 

“Oh!  Can’t Mark help you with that?”

Youngjae sighed.  “Just because he can speak English doesn’t mean he can teach English.  Whenever I ask him anything he’s practically useless.”

“Well,” Jackson ran a hand through his hair dramatically.  “I also speak fluent English.  If you’re desperate, I might be able to lend a hand.” 

Youngjae’s face lit up.  “Really, now?”

Jackson was about to say ‘of course’ but then he remembered.  “Um, I actually have some plans to go out with Mark later tonight so I can’t stay right now…”  Youngjae’s face fell and Jackson felt like he had just committed treason.  “But!  You still have three weeks right?  Maybe we can meet up again sometime next week and we can go over everything in detail?  If you want to, that is.”

Youngjae looked a bit hesitant at first but then he smiled and his turned into little crescents and Jackson’s heart skipped a beat.

“Sure!  That sounds great.”

Jackson was sure he wasn’t doing anything wrong.  Meeting up with Youngjae wasn't anything other than a friendly meet up, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was going behind someone’s back doing this.

He decided to ignore that feeling for the time being.

“Wait, so this word… ‘more-peen’?”

Youngjae and Jackson sat together at a quiet café going over the lyrics of the song Youngjae was going to sing.

Jackson was trying very hard not to giggle every time Youngjae cutely messed up words. “No, it’s ‘more-feen’”

“More-feen? How does that make any sense?”  Youngjae’s scrunched his nose in frustration and Jackson couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.

“Morphine, it’s kind of like a strong painkiller.  And don’t worry; you’re saying it fine now.”  Jackson assured him.

“Why did I even choose to sing an English song?  I know it’s not my strong suit…”  Youngjae ran a hand through his hair and left it completely messed up.  Jackson thought he looked adorable disheveled but he reached out to smooth his hair anyways.

“Just relax, you’ll do fine.  The song really suits your voice.”  Youngjae was trying to smile back but Jackson could tell something was off.  “Hey, you okay?”

Youngjae didn’t answer for a bit but then he relented.  “This is my first major performance but my parents said they’re not going to be coming out to see me.”

“What?  Why not?”  Jackson realized a second too late that he shouldn’t be prying information so forcefully but Youngjae didn’t seem to mind.

“They’re not too supportive of my singing career; they only allowed me to come to this school because I won a vocal competition and got a full scholarship.  I’m happy I’m getting to pursue something that I love, but part of me feels I should’ve done something that would make them happy.”

“Who says you won’t be able to make them happy becoming a singer?”  Jackson asked seriously.  “They might not want to come to your first concert but I believe in you.  You’re going to succeed and make it big and your parents are going to wish they supported you much sooner.”

“Do you really think I can make it big?  I realized there are so many amazing singers apart from me when I came here, I don’t know if I can stand out among them.”

“I don’t think so, I know so.  What you have is special Youngjae, despite your inexperience you shine brightly among the rest…”  Jackson knew this was starting to get cheesy but he couldn’t back out now after he saw Youngjae doubting his abilities that were only amazing in his eyes.  “When’s the date of your concert?”

“May 22^nd…”  Youngjae wasn’t sure how to react to Jackson, who despite only knowing him for less than a month was so worried for his wellbeing.

Jackson pulled out his phone and jotted down the date in his calendar.  “It doesn’t matter if your parents don’t want to go, I’ll be there to support you.”

It was the day of the concert when he got a text from his kind-of boyfriend that he wanted to go out that night, and that it was important.

Jackson wavered for a long time, wondering if it was okay to turn your boyfriend down to go to his roommate’s concert, especially when he said it was important.

Eventually, he told Mark he’s free and texted Youngjae saying that he wouldn’t be able to make it.

He tried to ignore the sound of his heart breaking when he didn’t get a reply back.

Mark had invited him to a fancy restaurant; not completely formal but posh enough that you couldn’t walk in with sweat pants and a tank top.  Mark never took this kind of initiative and it made Jackson worried.  What exactly was so important?  Was he going to introduce him to his parents, ask him to move in, propose?  Jackson was sure he wasn’t near ready for any of that.

He wore dark slacks and a white dress shirt and he showed up to find Mark sitting their reserved table dressed similarly.  “Well, one of us is going to have to change.”

Mark laughed a bit, but he cut it short as Jackson sat across from him.  “We need to talk.”

Jackson fidgeted in his seat nervously.  The fact that Mark wanted to talk was a bizarre enough idea to make Jackson worried. “Yes?”

“I don’t know how to say this but, I think we should break up.  I mean, I like you, we can still be friends, but I just don’t see us working out romantically. Sorry.”  Mark bunched all his words together and spoke at lightning speed.

“Wait, what?”  Jackson was left a bit shocked.

“I’m breaking up with you, I’m really sorry.  We’re at a nice restaurant, though, so you can get whatever you want!  I’ll pay for anything you want, as an apology. I just hope you’re not too upset…”  Jackson was still trying to process the situation.

“Is that all?”

“Uh… yes.”  Now Mark was confused, staring at him like he should’ve been breaking down crying at this point.

“What time is it?”

Mark glanced over at his phone.  “It’s half past seven, why-“

“Thanks for the offer!  I really appreciate it Mark, but I’m going to have to pass.”  Jackson got up and tucked his chair in forcibly.  “It was nice dating you!  I have to go!”

Mark tried to call out to him but Jackson was already sprinting out the door, hailing a taxi and telling the driver to go as fast as he can.

Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.

After arguing with the guard outside over the fact that he was late but he really needed to go inside he got in and realized every seat was filled, so he just stood in the back aimlessly until he saw the big screen light up at the front.  Youngjae walked onto the stage, camera fixed on him, his face somber and lifeless.

He sat down at the piano and Jackson knew he had to do something to get his attention; he had to let him know he was here before he started singing. 

It was probably inappropriate but Jackson decided to do what he did best and yelled at the top of his lungs.  “YOUNGJAE!”

The audience all turned around to try and find the source of the noise but he so shrouded in the darkness he doubted anyone would catch a glimpse of him.  Then he looked up at the screen projected a camera shot fixated on his face, he probably couldn’t see him but when he saw Youngjae smile it was obvious he knew he was there.

Satisfied with himself, Youngjae started to perform and Jackson was lost in his vocals again.  When Youngjae sang it seemed like he was at peace, flowers were blooming around him, the sun was out, and nothing could ever go wrong.

Jackson had discovered the true meaning of perfection.

After the show, Jackson was able to worm his way backstage after telling the staff his name was Jackson and he was looking for Youngjae.  The two staff exchanged knowing glances before they let him in easily.

“Youngjae!”  Jackson spotted him sitting alone and ran over to him, full on tackling him and whisking him up into a hug.

“Ahhh!  Jackson?  Jackson!!  I can’t breathe!!”  Jackson let go of him and Youngjae wobbled backward trying to catch his breath.

“Sorry!”  Jackson bowed and apologized.  “I was too excited.”

“What are you doing here?  I thought you said you couldn’t come…”

“I know!  Sorry, I shouldn’t have ever said that.  I promised I was going to be here and there was no way I was going back on that.  You were amazing, I’m so proud of you, and I bet your parents would be proud of you and… did I mention I’m proud of you?”  Youngjae laughed and Jackson couldn’t find it in himself to calm down.  He was just bursting with so much love and happiness and he wanted to make sure Youngjae was never sad ever again.

Jackson couldn’t hold himself back for long as he took Youngjae back into his arms and held him close, their faces inches apart.  “Wait, what are you—“

“Mark broke up with me.”

Their lips were pressed together far too quickly after he said that, but Jackson didn’t mind at all.

“Wait, so are you ticklish everywhere?”  Jackson said teasingly as they lay on Youngjae’s bed. 

“No!  I’m not just, please sto- haha!”  Youngjae laughed again as Jackson started tickling him again.  “Enough!”

They were both a mess of giggles when Jackson’s hand crawled up his shirt trying to get at his sides.  “Wait, so even… here?”

“Stop! No!!”   They were both tangled together when Jackson noticed something on the bottom of Youngjae’s stomach as his shirt rode up.

“What’s this?”  Jackson stopped the tickling and crawled over to get a closer look.  Sure enough, tattooed on Youngjae’s body was ‘Coco’ in black lettering.  “Do you seriously have your dog’s name tattooed on you?  I didn’t think you were the type!”

“Oh that, no.  I was born with that one.”  Youngjae said, looking up at him innocently.

“Wait, that’s your soul mate tattoo?  Your dog’s name?” 

“No!  Well yes… I mean.  I was confused about it for a while, then I told Mark about it and he thought it would be funny if we named our dog after my tattoo.  It’s all kind of ridiculous really.”

“Isn’t that a bit like twisting fate?  Or maybe this was all planned out to happen… argh, my head hurts just thinking about it.”  Jackson pulled Youngjae close and buried his face in his chest.

 “Do you even remember what the first thing I said to you was?”

Jackson thought about it for a while, but he couldn’t quite remember how everything played out.  “I don’t remember,” Jackson looked up and Youngjae and smiled before pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “It doesn’t matter.” 

Jackson never believed in soul mates anyways.