There was always something special about Taehyung and Jimin’s friendship, and they should have known that from day one. The two met in elementary school under those typical, cliché circumstances that you might find in any cheesy love story you decide to pick up from your local book store. Taehyung was the regular knight-in-shining armor character while Jimin played the role of the damsel in distress. The weather was the only thing that wasn’t so cliché about their first meeting—having happened on a sunny day rather than a rainy one.

Seven years old, Taehyung runs around on the playground at the school. He always considered himself to be one of the popular kids, but it was more that he didn’t worry about who did or didn’t like him. At the time, he had all the friends anyone could possibly want or need, but he was never one to turn away someone who looked like they could use a friend as well.

He was playing tag with some of the boys from his class when he suddenly froze. Dongshin, the one who was tagged ‘it’ for now, caught up to him and slapped him hard in the back, transferring his title. “You’re it!” Dongshin cheered.

“I’m not playing anymore.” Taehyung said, walking away.

He didn’t even turn to look back at his friend, but he knew that he was upset by the annoyed huff that left his mouth. “You don’t have to be such a baby just because you got tagged once!” He called after Taehyung.

It was true that Taehyung was the best at tag. Even if he wasn’t the fastest, he was just the best at choosing paths that made him a less likely target, and he was good at hiding. Out of all the times he’s ever played with his friends, he’s never been ‘it’ if he wasn’t ‘it’ from the start. No one had ever managed to tag him before.

This was the only time, and it’s because Taehyung suddenly had a strange feeling wash over him. There was a small fountain on the school playground, and Taehyung suddenly got this feeling that he should go over there. It was kind of secluded, and it was an easy place for students to sneak away and do anything that wasn’t allowed on school grounds.

Taehyung was glad that he got the feeling because, when he arrived, he saw a group of upperclass boys shoving a smaller boy into the fountain and holding his head under the water. They were all laughing while this boy fought and tried to get away from them, and it only pissed Taehyung off. Why did the older boys always think that it was their right to make the younger boys’ lives a living hell?

Taehyung looked around for something, anything he could use to get these boys’ attention. “Hey!” He shouted, throwing a rock at them. He missed, and it just landed in the water, almost hitting the boy he was trying to help. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

The boys turned their attention toward Taehyung, obviously annoyed that this child would come in like this and ruin their fun. “Our own size?” One of the boys, the one who seemed like the leader asked. He was the largest and most muscular one. “That’s pretty big talk coming from an elementary school kid like you. Who the hell do you think you are?”

Taehyung didn’t shake. He didn’t hesitate, and he didn’t even stutter when he told them: “My name is Nam Sanghoon.” A lie, obviously. “Son of Nam Joonho, director of our schools. You lay a hand on me, and I won’t hesitate to tell my father about this.”

Nam Sanghoon really was the son of the director. He was one grade above Taehyung, and Taehyung had encountered him on several different occasions. Any of these boys could be his older brother or know his older brother, and, therefore, probably know that Taehyung was lying about who he was, but Taehyung decided to take that chance. They would beat him up if they knew he was actually a nobody to the school, and getting beaten up isn’t exactly the most graceful way to save a person.

“Oh,” The assumed leader said. “Sorry. I didn’t recognize you. We were done here anyway. We’ve got to get back to our gym class.”

The four boys left, and Taehyung rushed to the side of the boy they had been picking on. He was wearing the same exact uniform as Taehyung, so Taehyung knew that they had to be the same age—he was in the same grade. “Are you okay?” Taehyung asked, offering a hand to help the soaked boy out of the water.

Tears were falling from the boys eyes, and he was sobbing like a baby. Taehyung could couldn’t blame him though. He’d probably be crying like that, too, if he were the one they were trying to drown. Or whatever they were doing. When Taehyung got the boy to his feet, he was able to get a good look at him and easily decided that he was too cute to be crying.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” The boy said when his sobs settled enough for him to speak. “Thank you.”

“I’m Kim Taehyung,” Taehyung introduced himself, and he offered a hand to the boy. Handshakes weren’t exactly the most common way to greet people in Korean customs, but Taehyung’s mother was always a fan of American dramas, and he really liked how friendly the handshake seemed.

The boy looked at him curiously, but he shook Taehyung’s hand anyway. “Kim Taehyung?” The boy asked him. “I thought you told those boys you were Nam Sanghoon.”

Taehyung smiled. “If I hadn’t, they would have beaten us both up.” He assured his new friend. “What’s your name?”

“Oh, sorry.” The boy apologized. He gave Taehyung a ninety degree bow in apology, and he smiled when he stood upright again. “I’m Park Jimin. I’m new to the area, and I was just exploring when those boys started messing with me.”

“Jimin. That’s cute.” Taehyung said, giggling. “Well, if you want, you can just hang out with me during recess, and I’ll teach you how to stay out of trouble with the older kids. You could say I know my way around.”

Taehyung easily easily decided that Jimin was much cuter when he was smiling, and, at that moment, Taehyung promised himself that he would always give Jimin a reason to smile. There was just something about him. Taehyung didn’t know what it was, but he knew that he always wanted Jimin to be happy.

*

Only a few weeks after his first time meeting Taehyung, Jimin found himself walking around downtown with the weekly allowance his mom had given him. Every time Jimin got his allowance, the first place he would go to was the candy store. Jimin loved candy and snacks, and he could always feel satisfied if the money he spent was put toward putting delicious things in his belly.

Unfortunately for him, he also had his way of finding trouble for himself everywhere he went. It was those bullies again. The ones from the other day. Jimin froze in his steps upon seeing their smirking faces as they approached him. He wanted to turn around and run home, but he was frozen. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move.

“Where’s your little friend?” The biggest one asked as he cornered Jimin against the wall. “Not here to help you out this time, is he?”

Jimin didn’t say anything. He couldn’t say anything. As far as he knew, he didn’t even have a voice anymore. He couldn’t even cry out for help if he wanted to.

“Well?” Another one of the boys spoke, shoving Jimin’s head so hard that it knocked the small child to the ground.

The concrete dug into his skin, scraping him up where he attempted to catch himself. The only thing that kept it from hurting was the fear that was running through his veins at that moment. He was only seven years old, dealing with these high schoolers, and there was no way he would be able to defend himself. If only Taehyung could appear as magically as he had before.

“What’s the matter?” The larger boy asked. He bent down and gripped Jimin by the hair to pull him up off the ground, and Jimin winced and whimpered at the pain, tears filling his eyes. Why were these boys so mean? What the hell did he ever do to deserve this treatment from them? “Too stupid to speak?”

“Takes one to know one.”

The voice that had spoken those words was the familiar voice of Taehyung, and Jimin was certain that everything was going to be okay. Taehyung had saved them from these bullies before, and Jimin was sure he had what it took to save him again.

“Well, well, well,” The leader of the pack said as he let go of Jimin’s hair. It was almost like an instant relief. “If it isn’t Nam Sanghoon. You know, you’re dad can’t do anything to us if we’re not on the school grounds.”

“Nam Sanghoon?” Taehyung questioned, tilting his head. Please don’t do anything stupid, was the only thing Jimin could think. If Taehyung blew his cover, these boys would have both of them beaten to a bloody pulp. “Oh, you mean the name I gave you the other day. Yeah, I lied about that. I didn’t really want to get beaten up on the playground.”

Idiot.

The leader smirked, and he cracked his knuckles. “But you’d be okay with it today?” He asked.

“I’d rather not.” Taehyung said. “But I’d think twice before doing it. My dad’s a martial arts expert, and I he taught me how knock someone out with a single touch.”

Liar. Jimin knew Taehyung was lying, but the way he told all of his lies with such confidence even when they didn’t add up was just so cool to Jimin. Why would a martial arts expert who know how to knock someone out with a single touch have to have avoided a fight on the playground when he could have just taken the bullies out then?

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” The largest boy said, approaching Taehyung.

Jimin wanted to do something to protect him, but still couldn’t move. He was still frozen and too much in awe by how Taehyung managed to face up to the bullies without seeming scared at all. He stood his ground, making eye contact with him. It was a sight to see because he was also much smaller, being the child he was at the time.

Taehyung took a glance behind the high school student who was making his way over to him, and he smirked. “Officer!” He yelled quite loudly.

All four of the boys turned around to check behind him, and even Jimin had to look to see if there really was a police officer somewhere down the street. Before he could even register what was going on, fingers wrapped around his wrist and quickly pulled him away. Jimin found himself running down an alley, his wrist in Taehyung’s hand as the taller boy pulled him along. Jimin had to glance behind himself to see if the teenagers were following them, but he didn’t see anyone.

Taehyung didn’t stop running until they came out from the other side, and he let go of Jimin’s wrist so that he could put his hands on his knees and pant to catch his breath. Jimin had to, too.

“Are you okay?” Taehyung asked as he straightened his posture. He took a hold of Jimin’s elbow to examine where the he had been scraped. “Looks like they might have actually hurt you this time.”

Jimin had actually forgotten about his scrapes because they didn’t sting or anything until Taehyung reminded him of their existence. It’s funny how that works out. He was too fascinated by Taehyung’s ability to get them out of trouble to have been worrying about the small cuts on his skin. “I’m fine,” JImin pulled his arm from Taehyung’s grasp. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?” Taehyung asked, cocking his head to the side. The fact that he couldn’t even come up with a weird response told Jimin that he genuinely had no idea what Jimin was so fascinated by.

“Everything.” Jimin said. “How do you show up every time I need your help? How do you get the bullies off your back so easily? How do you face them without being afraid?”

“Whoever said I wasn’t afraid?” Taehyung questioned, and he nudged Jimin’s shoulder. “As for how I happened to show up this time, I was in the area, and I saw them picking on you again. Judging by how well you defended yourself the last time, I knew you’d need my help again. And it’s all about outsmarting them. They’re pretty stupid, so that’s not hard to do.”

Jimin never wanted to move to this side of the country, but now that he had met Taehyung, he was glad that he did it. He could never find a friend like this anywhere else. That he was sure of.

“Do you want to come over to my place?” Taehyung suddenly offered. “We have bandages, and my mom can make us some chocolate chip cookies.”

Jimin had never been to Taehyung’s place. They have only been friends for a short while, and Taehyung hadn’t invited him over yet. The offer, to Jimin at least, kind of solidifies their friendship and makes it an official thing. Like, this is the first step from going to one of Taehyung’s friends at school to becoming Taehyung’s best friend.

Jimin’s never had a best friend before, and he really wouldn’t mind Taehyung filling that position.

“Sure, but I was actually on my way to the candy store.” Jimin told him.

Taehyung instantly linked arms with Jimin and began leading him. “We have candy at my house, too.” Taehyung informed him. “And my parents won’t make you pay for it.”

*

Taehyung always had his way of showing up when Jimin needed him the most. It was something that Jimin sort of took for granted—that Taehyung would always be there when he needed him. All Jimin had to do was think about how he wished Taehyung was there, and the boy would show up. Every single time. Without fail.

It didn’t matter if Jimin was having trouble with bullies in school, needed a few extra cents to pay for something, or if he was just bored out of his mind and needed his best friend to be there with him. No matter the reasons, Taehyung would be there.

Jimin couldn’t really consider himself a genius, but he performed well enough in school to keep his grades above average. He was good enough at math, science, and history to keep his grades up. The only subject he performed poorly in was the creative writing class that he and Taehyung decided to take together in their second year of junior high school. It wasn’t that Jimin wasn’t creative enough to come up with good ideas. It was just that he couldn’t find a style of writing that the instructor for that class could be pleased with.

It was a Thursday, and tomorrow was the deadline of the fourth assignment for the semester. Jimin sat up in his room, deleting his introductory paragraph for the tenth time that night. Coming up with a good start was always the hardest part. Once that was done, Jimin could fly through the next few paragraphs before getting stuck somewhere in the middle.

Creative writing was the only subject that Taehyung could surpass Jimin in, and it was the only class Jimin ever needed any help with. Sitting there, with his hands on the keyboard and no words in his mind, Jimin decided to take advantage of Taehyung’s loyalty once again, and just think about how he wished Taehyung were there to help him get this assignment done.

Only a few minutes had passed before a knock came to Jimin’s balcony door. Since Taehyung lived in the same building, it never took him long to show up. Jimin turned around to find his best friend standing at the glass door, holding a bag of potato chips and some Sprites. Smiling, Jimin got up from his computer desk to unlock the door, and Taehyung allowed himself in.

“Since the deadline is tomorrow, I figured you’d need my help to get the assignment done.” Taehyung said. Maybe it was just a coincidence that he always showed up when Jimin needed him, but Jimin just thought it was amazing how he managed to be there every time he wished for him to be. “How much do you have done?”

“Well, my name is in the corner,” Jimin told him, walking back to the computer desk.

Taehyung sat on the bed behind Jimin, and threw something onto Jimin’s desk. Jimin looked down to see what it was, and he saw Taehyung’s USB drive lying next to his keyboard. “Why?” Jimin asked, looking back at his friend.

Taehyung opened up the bag of potato chips he had brought over, and the smell of Korean barbecue instantly filled the room. “My printer is out of ink, so I couldn’t print my assignment off.” Taehyung told him. “And I figured you wouldn’t have anything but your name on the paper, so I did the assignment for you.”

“Taetae,” Jimin said, sticking the drive into the port on his keyboard. “I told you not to do that.”

“I know, but I didn’t really want to stay up all night to help you write it.” Taehyung told him. “I’d much rather lie in bed with you, and pretend to pay attention to the movies we’re watching while we make out instead.”

“Shut up,” Jimin demanded as he printed off Taehyung’s assignment first. As much as Jimin would like for Taehyung to be his soulmate and kiss him senseless, they weren’t old enough to know yet. Of course, they were both so certain that they were soulmates, but they haven’t done anything yet. They couldn’t do anything before they knew for sure. They didn’t want it to affect their friendship if it happened to not be true. With how they already felt toward each other, Jimin was afraid that them not being soulmates would impact their friendship regardless.

“Come on,” Taehyung said, crawling to the end of Jimin’s bed and turning the TV on. “Come cuddle with me at least. There’s nothing wrong with holding your best friend.”

Jimin sighed as he printed off the story Taehyung had written for him, and he straightened the pages out and stabled them together. “I guess there’s not.” Jimin said as he crawled over to Taehyung. He snuggled up to his best friend, resting his head on Taehyung’s chest.

It was going to be hard to give this up in the future if he had to. He was sure that he could never be so comfortable with anyone else. Ever.

As the two lay in bed together, Jimin’s bedroom door came open, and his mom poked her head into the room. “I made milkshakes, if you want any,” She said, not surprised at all to see Taehyung in bed with her son. This wasn’t the first time Taehyung had snuck in through the balcony. “Taehyung, learn to use the front door, but I made enough for you, too.”

“Your mom knows us too well.” Taehyung said, pushing Jimin up so that he could get out of the bed.

“Or you’re just not as unpredictable as you think you are.” Jimin said back, smiling fondly at his best friend.

*

Jimin grew more and more nervous as his sixteenth birthday came around. If got his mark on that day, it was certain that Taehyung wasn’t his soulmate. The marks only appear when both partners are at least sixteen years old, so him getting his before Taehyung was sixteen would automatically nullify that.

He rushed to the full-length mirror in his room the instant he woke up. He looked himself over. His face, neck, hands, chest. Everywhere. He didn’t see anything. If he got his mark today, it wasn’t in a place that he could see it, but he was going to go with the safe bet that it didn’t appear that day.

Then December rolled around, and the days got even colder. Jimin had to check himself every day leading up to Taehyung’s birthday, knowing that he could get his mark at any time. It wasn’t until he woke up on December 30th that he found something new on his right wrist. It was a heart shaped mark with a dot underneath it to the right side. Being Taehyung’s birthday and all, Jimin got excited. This had to be it.

He ran out to his balcony and jumped down the fire escape, going to Taehyung’s window. “Taetae!” He called, opening Taehyung’s balcony door. “I got it! I got my mark!”

Taehyung was standing at his own full-length mirror, looking himself over, and he turned to Jimin with a saddened expression. He almost looked like he wanted to cry. Jimin had never seen him so upset. “I don’t have anything yet.” He said.

Jimin’s heart and spirits fell all at once, but he managed to smile for his friend. “Hey, that’s okay. Maybe we won’t get our marks at the same time.” He suggested. “I got mine on your birthday, so that’s a good sign.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung said, and he sat down on his bed. “I just…I want to be alone right now. If you don’t mind.”

Jimin did mind. He’d never seen Taehyung so upset over something, so he wasn’t exactly happy about leaving him alone. Still, he gave his friend the space he desired, and he returned to his room.

Later that morning, Jimin was downstairs with his parents for breakfast.

“Are you okay, Sweetie?” His mother had asked, rubbing Jimin’s shoulder as her son just poked at the fried eggs on his plate until they popped open and the yolk poured out.

Jimin looked up at his parents. He couldn’t stop thinking about Taehyung and how upset he was that he didn’t get his mark today. Jimin was still certain that they were soulmates. After all, how strange would it be for Jimin’s soulmate to turn sixteen on the same day Taehyung turned sixteen, but for Taehyung to not be his soulmate?

“How did you two find out that you were soulmates?” He asked. “Like, did you get your marks on the same day?”

Jimin’s father looked at his mother before looking back at Jimin. “Is this about Taehyung?” He asked.

“I got my mark today.” Jimin told them. He pulled his sleeve up to show them the mark on his wrist. “But Taehyung didn’t get anything.”

Jimin’s mother sighed, and she took Jimin’s hand into her own. “Even if you two aren’t soulmates, Jimin, you still have a very special connection that no one will be able to compare to.” She assured him.

That wasn’t enough. Jimin didn’t want another soulmate. He wanted Taehyung. Taehyung was his best friend, and there was no one who could make Jimin smile like he could. He didn’t want someone else to come into his life. He didn’t want anyone to be special to him. Not other than Taehyung.

Feeling like he could cry, Jimin got up from the table. “I’m not hungry,” He said. “I’m going to go lie down.”

*

Taehyung knew he was being selfish, but he didn’t think that anyone deserved Jimin quite as much as he did. He had always been there for him, and he did everything in his power to keep Jimin safe and happy. He was the one who spent his whole life protecting him. He was the one who stayed up late at night to encourage Jimin through his study binges and all nighter’s for his art projects. It didn’t seem fair for someone to come and take that away from him.

Taehyung knew that Jimin didn’t have any friends besides for him. So, on the days that Taehyung spent ignoring Jimin over this whole deal, he knew that Jimin was alone, and he felt guilty for it. He tried to ignore the sense that he should go and talk to Jimin. He knew Jimin was trying to call for him, but he didn’t go. He could only imagine Jimin lying in his room, alone, probably crying to himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to face his best friend. Not when he knew that Jimin didn’t belong to him.

“So Jimin got his marks?” Jungkook asked, lying on Taehyung’s bed with him.

Jungkook was two grades below Taehyung and Jimin, and he was one of Taehyung’s many friends apart from Jimin. The two had met by their participation in the drama club, and they really hit it off. Still, Jungkook was nothing to Taehyung like Jimin was.

“Yep,” Taehyung said, flipping through the gaming magazine he had in front of him. “And I don’t have my mark yet, so I think that tells us we weren’t meant to be.”

“Does it matter?” Jungkook asked, and Taehyung glared at him. “So you two aren’t soulmates, but that shouldn’t change anything. Do you think either of you will find happiness in someone else?”

“I hope so.” Taehyung admitted. As painful as it was to admit, he didn’t want to be the reason Jimin couldn’t be happy with whoever was meant to be with him. “Jimin deserves to be with his soulmate, and I don’t want to be the reason he’s not.”

Jungkook sighed, and he pushed himself to sit cross-legged on the bed. “Taehyung, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.” He said. “Jimin isn’t  going to be happy with anyone who isn’t you. So abandon this whole soulmate crap, and make Jimin happy. You want him to be happy, don’t you?”

“No one will accept us being together if we don’t share a mark.” Taehyung protested.

“ what other people think.” Jungkook persisted. “How do you think Jimin feel with you ignoring him right now?”

Taehyung didn’t have to think about it. He knew how Jimin felt. He could feel how miserable he was because Taehyung felt the same way. And Taehyung felt guilty. He knew that Jimin didn’t have any control over this, and, by ignoring him, he knew that Jimin was blaming himself.

*

Despite knowing that he should talk to Jimin and still be his friend, Taehyung didn’t see Jimin again until the break ended and school started back. He saw his friend sitting alone at lunch, and Taehyung took his tray over to the table and sat down with him. “Hey,” Taehyung said, offering a smile.

Jimin looked up, and Taehyung could tell that he had been crying moments before. Taehyung wondered if that was his fault or if Jimin had bullies picking on him again. Of course he knew it was the former. It was because Taehyung had been ignoring him. Taehyung knew because he always knew why Jimin was upset. They’ve had that connection since meeting, which is why they were so sure about them.

“Hey,” Jimin said back, his voice quiet. “You know…”

He stopped himself and took a breath, and Taehyung was sure that he was going to cry again. He didn’t want Jimin to cry. Not because of him. Not ever. Not because of anyone.

“I think this whole soulmate thing is kind of dumb anyway.” He said. “I mean, why can’t I fall in love with and be with who I want to be with?”

Taehyung decided to ignore the fact that Jimin just kind of sort of low-key confessed that he was in love with him.

“I don’t care about the whole soulmate thing, either.” Taehyung told him. “You’re my best friend, Jimin, and I’m going to keep being your friend regardless of who our soulmates are. Because friends shouldn’t just abandon each other over something so stupid.”

“Taehyung, that’s not…” Jimin’s voice cracked, and Taehyung took note of the tears in his eyes. “I don’t want someone else. I don’t care who my soulmate is. I don’t want to…” He took another breath. “Taetae, I just…I want to be with you.”

Taehyung wanted that, too, but they couldn’t. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t. They would both find their soulmates eventually, and they wouldn’t be able to deny it. He and Jimin couldn’t get married if their marks don’t match, and they would be forced to marry whoever’s marks did match theirs. That was just the way their world worked.

“We can’t.” Taehyung said. “Jimin, you know we can’t.”

*

Fast forward two years, and Taehyung and Jimin were getting ready for their high school graduation. Over the course of the past year, Jimin’s father had been diagnosed with cancer and taken out of work. Because of that, his mother had to go to work, so there was hardly ever anyone at home with Jimin, and all of Jimin’s funding for his college had been put toward keeping their home and his father’s medical bills. Jimin had to go out and find people willing to give him loans to help him through.

It was painful for Taehyung to watch. Jimin was working himself to death at his part time job in an ice cream parlor, and he knew that Jimin hated the job, even if he would never tell Taehyung. Taehyung just always knew.

He had a meeting with another loan officer today to try and get enough funding to go to school. He asked Taehyung to come with him, but Taehyung had to stay after school for the drama club. Taehyung wanted to be there with him, but he decided not to, knowing that Jimin would be fine on his own.

The drama meeting only lasted an hour, and Taehyung went straight home afterward. He had only been home for ten minutes before the door to his balcony came open, and Jimin entered his room, jumping on the bed.

“I’m assuming you got it?” Taehyung asked. He had gotten a bad feeling earlier, so he was sure that Jimin would get rejected, once again, but he seemed too happy to have been rejected.

“Better,” Jimin chimed. “He said he would pay for my school completely, and I wouldn’t owe him anything at all.”

Maybe that’s what the bad feeling was.

“Jimin…”

“Now I know what you are going to say,” Jimin cut him off. “But just hear me out. I told him my story with my parents and everything, and he sympathized with me. So…it’s more like a scholarship rather than a loan.”

Even with that in mind, Taehyung still couldn’t trust it.

“How do you know you can trust him?” He asked.

Jimin stayed where he sat on the bed, and he looked away from Taehyung’s eyes. He wouldn’t look back at him. “Because. He’s my soulmate, Taehyung.” Jimin said, almost breathless. “Taehyung, I met my soulmate.”

Taehyung felt his entire world crash down around him in that moment. Jimin was supposed to be his. It wasn’t fair for this stupid guy to just run some office and have a ton of money and get Jimin because of some ing mark. Taehyung hadn’t even got his yet. He thought that there might be some possibility of his just showing up late, but…

“Do you like him?” Taehyung asked.

“I have to.” Jimin said. “I’ll learn to like him, but—”

“Right. I guess you have to like him.” Taehyung agreed.

“But,” Jimin persisted. “Taehyung…I’ll forget about it. I’ll forget about him and going to school, and…I’ll give it all up if you—”

“If I what?” Taehyung questioned, raising an eyebrow at his friend. He was incredibly jealous right now, that he couldn’t deny. “Make you mine? Jimin, do you know how ridiculous that sounds? You found your soulmate, and he’s willing to help you get through school. Why throw that away?”

“Because…” Jimin always cried so easily, but it didn’t mean that it didn’t crush Taehyung’s heart into a million pieces to see him do so. “Taehyung…why are you so stubborn? I don’t care about any of that if we could just—”

“I’m sorry, Jimin.” Taehyung apologized. He wanted to cry, too, but he couldn’t let Jimin see him do it. “You should go.”

“You don’t even have your mark yet, Taehyung.” Jimin pointed out. It wasn’t really uncommon for people to still not have a mark even by their last year of high school. Taehyung’s soulmate might not have been sixteen yet. “So what’s wrong with just abandoning the whole thing and—”

“I said leave!” Taehyung suddenly shouted. He didn’t want Jimin to see him cry, and he was sure he couldn’t hold back any longer.

“I don’t know why you’re mad at me.” Jimin said, as he got up from the bed. “It’s not like I chose my ing soulmate.”

And Jimin left his room in tears. Taehyung hated himself. He knew this wasn’t Jimin’s fault, and he knew there was nothing Jimin could do about it. They just weren’t meant to be, and accepting that was going to be the hardest thing for Taehyung.

*

“Yoongi wants me to move in with him when the summer starts.” Jimin told Taehyung as the two sat in Jimin’s room together, working on their college applications.

Taehyung still hadn’t come around to accepted Yoongi as Jimin’s soulmate, and he didn’t like the guy. Not one bit. He always talked about how he didn’t trust him, but it wasn’t like Jimin had a choice. If Taehyung wouldn’t become his boyfriend, Jimin had to be with Yoongi. He just wished that Taehyung would accept that.

At least he’s keeping his promise of staying Jimin’s friend. Since Jimin can’t have Taehyung in the way he wants to have him, their friendship is everything to him.

“Have you two kissed yet?” Taehyung asked, pulling Jimin into his chest.

If Jimin moved in with Yoongi over the summer, everything would be kind of official. He and Taehyung wouldn’t be able to cuddle like this anymore. Taehyung wouldn’t be able to run his fingers through Jimin’s hair like he could do now.

Jimin shook his head. “He said he wouldn’t since I’m still in school.” Jimin told him.

By the way Taehyung took in a breath, Jimin thought that he was going to say something, but he didn’t. He sat the quietly, still running his fingers through Jimin’s hair. Jimin didn’t want this to come to an end.

“Let me kiss you.” Taehyung suddenly said.

“What?” Jimin asked, pushing himself up from his best friend’s chest.

“Please.” Taehyung begged. “If he gets to have you for the rest of your life, I at least want to be the first person you ever kiss. I think I at least deserve that much.”

Well, it’s not like Taehyung was asking Jimin to have with him. It was just a simple kiss, and Jimin kind of wanted it, too. Many people had their first kiss before ever meeting their soulmates, so why shouldn’t they?

“All right, fine.” Jimin gave in.

He crossed his legs and faced Taehyung more directly, and Taehyung sat up. It was weird because Jimin didn’t feel scared or nervous at all. He just felt excited. Like this was always supposed to happen. Without saying anything else, Taehyung leaned forward and pressed his lips to Jimin’s.

Okay.

Jimin wasn’t expecting that.

Of course he knew that Taehyung was going to kiss him, but he didn’t expect it to feel so right. It was like all of his problems had been solved, questions answered, and worries relieved. Taehyung’s lips felt like absolute bliss on his, and he could only wonder if this felt as amazing to Taehyung as it did to him.

Just as Jimin was about to allow himself to get more lost in it, Taehyung pulled back. He regretted his decision, Jimin knew. He winced and pulled his hand back, grabbing a hold of his wrist. “A-are you okay?” Jimin asked, worried that he had somehow hurt Taehyung.

Taehyung looked down at his wrist and back up at Jimin. There was a clear expression of confusion on his face, and Jimin wondered what was wrong. “Yoongi’s not your soulmate, Jimin.” Taehyung said, lowering his wrist so that Jimin could see it. There, on Taehyung’s left wrist, was the same mark that Jimin had. Instead of having a dot directly under the heart like Yoongi’s does, or off to the right like Jimin’s, Taehyung’s had the dot off to the left—mirroring Jimin’s exactly. The only thing that was different about his is that he had Jimin’s name written on the other side of the heart.

Jimin had to look back down at his wrist to see his own mark, and he noticed a change. On the left side of the heart, opposite from the dot, was Taehyung’s name. For the first time since Jimin had gotten his mark, he actually felt happy. He completely forgot to feel confused at all. He forgot to think of so many question, knowing that none of the answers mattered so long as he and Taehyung could be together forever. More than being confused, everything started to make sense.

He smiled and pressed his lips to Taehyung’s again, seeking that feeling he got when their lips had connected for the first time. Only, it felt even better this time, but the kiss didn’t last as long. “I’m happy,” Jimin says, laughing because he didn’t know what else to do.

Taehyung frowned, and Jimin could only wonder why. There was nothing to be sad about. “What about Yoongi?” Taehyung asked.

“What about him?” Jimin questioned, not even caring much. Other than having believed that Yoongi was his soulmate, he wasn’t really anything special to Jimin. He couldn’t be when Taehyung already filled most places in Jimin’s heart.

“I mean, how are you going to afford school now?” Taehyung asked. “Without Yoongi’s help, you can’t afford to go.”

It’s true that Yoongi probably wouldn’t give Jimin the money now that he knew that they weren’t soulmates, but Jimin didn’t care about that. There were other ways to afford going to school even if it meant taking a little longer to start. “I don’t know what to do about that,” Jimin said, cupping Taehyung’s face. “But it doesn’t matter. We’ll figure it out, Taehyung. We’ll figure it out together.”

Taehyung smiled, and he placed his hands on Jimin’s hips, pulling Jimin’s body against his. When he kissed Jimin this time, it wasn’t on his lips, but on the crook of his neck, and it made Jimin’s breath hitch. “Jimin,” Taehyung whispered slowly. “I kind of sort of want to do a lot more than kiss you right now.”

Jimin in a breath as Taehyung had nipped at the same place he just kissed. “Wait,” He breathed, pushing Taehyung off of him. “First,” He couldn’t just let Taehyung go and do what he wanted. There were some things they needed to do first. “I have something I want to say.”

“Me first.” Taehyung said. “I love you, Park Jimin. Since the day we first met, I’ve always loved you.”

Jimin almost wanted to cry, just because he was so happy to hear Taehyung finally say that. He didn’t think they would ever get this lucky, but he’s glad they found out before he ran off with someone else. He didn’t want to waste a second of his time with someone else.

“I love you, too,” Jimin said just before Taehyung shoved him onto the pillows. “I’m glad you’re my soulmate.”

“I wouldn’t accept anyone else,” Taehyung said, kissing Jimin deeply this time, and it was the best kiss they’ve had so far.

Jimin knew that, even if they weren’t soulmates, Taehyung would have decided to fight for him at the last minute. He would have begged Jimin to come back and stay with him when the summer came and he was supposed to move in with Yoongi, but he’s glad it didn’t get that far. He’s glad Taehyung didn’t have to fight for him because he’d been doing that his whole life. This was easy, just as being with Taehyung had always been.