Jungkook has heard of what happened when you meet your soulmate. Supposedly, you begin seeing the world in a whole new way. You see something no one else could see, something his best friend referred to as ‘colour’. It was an inexplicable thing, something so amazing, the only way to understand it is to experience it for yourself.
 

He never thought he'd meet his soulmate; not because he didn't believe in fate, but rather because of his age. Most people found their soulmate when they were in high school, and yet he was already in his first year of college. He lived his entire life in black in white, with all the different tones of grey in between, and Jungkook had honestly given up hope that it could be any different.

That is, until he met Park Jimin.
 

Their connection was complicated. Apparently, Jimin was the best friend of Hoseok, who was the soulmate of Taehyung, his best friend. Yeah, complicated was the right word to describe it. They had met by chance one day, when Taehyung had forcefully dragged him to one of Hoseok's dances practices with the college’s dance team. Looking back on it, Jungkook supposed it was fate - and Taehyung - that had brought them together, but back then, he didn’t think anything good would come out of going to watch the practice.
 

"Tae, I have homework. Midterms are in a week, and unlike somebody, I actually study," he grumbled as he was literally pulled across the campus.
 

"But today is the rehearsal for the dance competition, the full run-through. I promised Hoseokie that I'd be there," Taehyung said, too preoccupied with whining to even scold him for dropping the honorifics.
 

"And why do I have to go, again? Last time I checked, he was your soulmate, not mine."
 

"But you’re my best friend," he responded with a sly grin. "And I want you to be there."

Jungkook sighed and rolled his eyes as they arrived at the dance studio, wondering not for the first time why they were best friends. Entering the building to escape from the chilly weather, they walked down the halls to to very last room, where their dance team typically practiced.

As soon as they entered, Jungkook was abandoned for Hoseok. He would've stayed with the two longer, except they started making kissy faces and disgustingly suggestive expressions at each other.

Jungkook sighed and plopped himself down on a nearby bench, looking around the room at the various dancers and their friends, warming up or stretching or socializing. He suddenly felt a presence beside him, and he turned to see a black-haired boy wearing a tank top and a snapback. Noticing his attention on him, he gave him a wide smile.

"Hey, you must be Jeon Jungkook, right?" When he asked how he knew, the boy laughed. "Hoseok's my best friend, and Tae's always coming over. When he's not going on and on about how amazing Hoseok is, he's talking about you."

Jungkook tilted his head in amusement at the thought of Taehyung mentioning him at all. "Okay, well, you know my name, but I don't know yours. Doesn't seem very fair now, does it?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Park Jimin, nice to meet you~!" He added a lilt to the end of his introduction, a slight bit of his accent surfacing.

"You're from Busan?" Jungkook asked, catching on immediately. "That's so cool, me too!"

From then on, they'd clicked pretty easily, talking about anything and everything. Jimin told him about all the things he’d experienced in Seoul, the bustling metropolis a contrast to the quieter countryside. He talked about his little brother, his old family home, and his dog. In return, Jungkook talked about how he met Taehyung at a young age and became inseparable ever since, how he was interested in dancing, how he had an older brother who was currently serving in the army. When Jimin was called away, Jungkook had promised to stay to watch them practice, and at the end of the rehearsal, Taehyung had walked over to them and grinned.

"Looks like Kookie made a new friend," he teased. "Thanks Chim Chim, I was starting to think he was hopeless."

"But he is hopeless," Hoseok said, grinning when Jungkook tried to slap him.

"Hey, you wanna go out for a drink or something?" Taehyung asked suddenly, his eyes glinting in a way that Jungkook had learned to associate with bad ideas and trouble. "You know, like, the four of us. So you can get to know Jiminnie better."

"I dunno hyung, I still have an essay to write..." he trailed off as he saw Jimin's puppy eyes, weighing the importance of homework against his new friend's happiness. He decided that his essay could wait, and he agreed to go with a small smile, not missing the mischievous one Taehyung sent him in return.

~~

Jungkook should've known his best friend had something up his sleeves. After that one time after the dance rehearsal, he kept finding excuses to leave Jimin with Jungkook, reasons ranging from help with homework to sleeping over because Hoseok and Taehyung were being excessively lovey-dovey. He found that he didn't really mind, as he did like Jimin's company. Over the weeks, however, the amount of time he'd been spending with him was absolutely ridiculous, and one day he finally cornered Taehyung to ask him what the heck he was trying to do.

"What do you mean?" he asked, batting his eyes at him in mock-innocence as Jungkook leaned against a nearby bookshelf. He had managed to catch him leaving from the library, and they were now in a secluded area on the second floor.

"You know very well what I'm talking about," Jungkook growled, though he could feel his ears turning red as Taehyung raised an eyebrow at him. “Why do you keep finding reasons to throw Jimin hyung at me? And don’t play dumb, I know you."

 

“I dunno, so you can bond? He’s like, the first friend you’ve made at the college, besides Hoseok. Namjoon hyung, Seokjin hyung, and Yoongi hyung don’t count,” he added when Jungkook opened his mouth to protest. “You need to get out more, Kookie. Why, is he bothering you?” he asked, turning serious. As much as he liked to, he still cared about his wellbeing.

 

“No…” Jungkook mumbled, staring down at the ground.

 

“Then what - oh.” Taehyung grinned. “Someone’s in love~” he teased in a sing-song voice.

“Shut up, hyung,” the Busan boy said, clamping a hand on his mouth as he looked around in alarm. Thankfully, there were no one around them to overhear their conversation, most of the students preferring to study from the comforts of their dorm instead of the cold, heater-less library.

 

“But I’m right,” Taehyung stated, crossing his arms as he let a bit of his Daegu accent bleed into his words. He liked speaking to Jungkook in dialect when they were discussing personal matters, a habit they’d both picked up upon arriving in Seoul. When Jungkook didn’t respond, he let out a laugh. “So what’s bothering you? If you like him, just ask him out.”

 

“Easy for the one who has already found his soulmate to say,” he said in the same low tone.

 

“Oh. Ohhhhh. Hey, you know, not everyone goes out with their soulmate. Some never find them, and some are already too in love with someone else by the time they find their actual soulmate. Don’t let that bother you.”

 

“Easy for you to say,” he muttered again. “What if he doesn’t like me back? What if we’re not meant for each other?”

 

“What if you guys are actually soulmates?” Taehyung countered. “You never know until you try. Fate is weird that way. Say, why don’t you guys hang out tomorrow after class, I’ll go over to Hoseok’s and kick him out. You can talk to him then, okay? You’ve got this.”

 

“Hyung...I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he said skeptically.

 

“Of course it’s a good idea,” he replied dramatically. “All my ideas are good."

 

“You mean, all your ideas are terrible.”

 

Taehyung put a hand over his heart, feigning pain. “I am hurt.”

“Whatever, Tae,” Jungkook snorted in laughter, pushing past him out of the aisle. He quickly scrambled to catch up, draping an arm over his shoulder.

~~

The next day, true to his words, Taehyung was nowhere to be found. Instead, Jimin was the one who greeted him at the door when he returned to the dorm, unslinging his backpack and tossing it carelessly to the ground.

“What were they doing this time?” Jungkook asked by way of greeting, settling down next to Jimin on the couch.

“I don’t even know, nor do I want to,” came the reply. “I think Hoseok’s working on some sort of science project, and Tae was trying to help, but let’s just say chemicals and Taehyung don’t mix.”

Jungkook laughed in agreement, thinking to the countless times he heard crashes from the science lab because Taehyung had ‘accidentally’ knocked over a beaker. Again.

“Hey,” Jimin said, abruptly sitting up on the sofa where he’d been reclining. “I have a dance practice soon, at around four. Do you wanna come watch? It’s just me in the studio, I think. I gotta polish up some of the moves from the new choreography.”

“Sure,” Jungkook responded easily.

“Great! And you can show me some of your dance skills, while we’re at it. You did say you danced, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m not that good,” he replied, flustered at the sudden request.

“Nonsense, I’m sure you’re amazing.”

~~

Jungkook had thought himself to be a decent dancer, but as soon as Jimin the music and got into position, he rethought that.

Because Jimin was simply extraordinary.

He moved with a fluidity to his gestures, each small detail done carefully to create an overall professional performance. Jungkook was used to seeing his hyung constantly smiling, and this sudden shift in attitude caught him by surprise. Jimin’s gaze held raw fire, passion burning within the dark orbs. As he danced, Jungkook found himself mesmerized. Sure, he’s seen him practice before, but never alone. The way Jimin danced commanded his attention, pulling him in until he couldn’t get out, drowning in his mesmerizing gaze. His body moved in time to the beats, until he and the music became one.

Jungkook was so in awe, he didn’t notice it when the music got turned off. Startled, he realized that Jimin must’ve asked him a question. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I asked if you liked the choreo,” Jimin repeated himself, head tilting in amusement.

“Yeah, I mean, it was great. Amazing. You dance really well. Wow.” Jungkook mentally slapped himself for acting like an idiot in front of Jimin, and yet the other boy just laughed, his smile lighting up his whole face.

“Thanks. Now it’s your turn, hmm?” Jimin pulled him to his feet despite his protests, and went to choose a song. “Come on, Kookie! If you don’t know the dance, at least you can freestyle, right?”

Shaking his head and telling him that no, in fact, he wasn’t good at freestyling, he got into place regardless and shot him a nervous smile as he loosened his body. Jimin gave him a thumbs up.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back as the music started, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet as he got used to the song. When the beat dropped, he allowed his body to take the lead, dancing for the first time in what must have been months. He moved along to the beat, letting the music wash over him.

As the music slowed to a stop, he let himself fall to the ground in an ending position and slowly opened his eyes. He’d kept them closed throughout the song for fear of seeing Jimin’s expression, and yet the other boy’s face was nothing he had expected. It was a mixture of surprise and amazement, his mouth hanging open slightly as he stared at him with wide eyes.

“You liar!” he said, getting to his feet once he recovered from the initial shock. “You said you couldn’t dance.” He pointed an accusatory finger in his direction. “You’re amazing, why aren’t you on the team yet?” Jungkook explained that he couldn’t join because he was too young. “Well, join next year. Wow, that was really good.”

He blushed at the compliment, wiping his brow and pulling out his phone.

“Hey, uh, you’re done practicing, right? Because Tae just texted me, said there’s an emergency at the dorm…”

“Yes, go,” Jimin said with an understanding laugh. “I’ll walk you.”

~~

Jungkook would’ve complained if anyone else offered to walk him home, indignantly saying that he wasn’t some princess who needed a knight to protect her. But Jimin was a different story, and alright, maybe Taehyung was right and he was in love with him, but that was a detail he would not yet admit to anyone besides himself.

“Are you free tomorrow? Cuz it’s Saturday and I don’t have class. We can like, hang out, or something,” Jimin said once they reached his dorm building.

“Um, yeah, probably. Depends on Taehyung though, if he has anything planned for tomorrow,” Jungkook replied.

“Then text me your decision, okay?” With that, Jimin pulled him close to hug him goodbye -

- and Jungkook felt his breath hitch in his throat as the world around him suddenly exploded.

It was a almost a sensory overload, the brightness and vibrancy of everything hurting his eyes. The different hues that weren’t there before replaced the black and white and grey, each object becoming a hundred times more prominent than before.

“Kookie, you okay?” Jimin asked in a concerned voice, pulling back. As soon as he did that, the hues faded, plunging his surroundings back into shades.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. Just kinda tired, haven’t danced in a while,” he was able to answer, before telling him goodnight hurriedly and stumbling towards the entrance of his building with Jimin yelling after him, reminding him to text him.

Jungkook raced up the stairs, heart pounding. What the heck just happened? Jimin had hugged him - he realized that that was their first physical contact since they’d met - and the world had changed all of the sudden, despite somehow remaining the same.

He had reached his dorm room by the time the explanation hit him, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions before asking Taehyung.

Upon entering the dorm, however, all thoughts of what had just occurred temporarily dissolved as he surveyed what has gone down in the kitchen.

Taehyung was standing against the counter, covered from head to toe in flour, more of the white powder dusting every available surface in the small space. The cupboards were all open, with various utensils scattered around and the faint scent of burning in the air.

“Tae, what the heck did you just do?” he asked in horror, not really wanting to know the answer.

“The fortune cookie told me to bake a cake,” he merely grinned, waving a small slip of paper for him to see. “I’m just doing what the fortune cookie said. Who am I to stand in the way of fate?”

At the mention of fate, Jungkook remembered that he actually had something to tell him, his exasperation forgotten. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You know what, I shouldn’t have asked. Let’s just clean this up, because I have something to tell you.”

~~

“Are you sure?” Taehyung shrieked, pouncing on him. “You, Jimin, soulmates. Seriously?” Then he grinned so wide, he looked liked the Joker.

Jungkook pushed him off and scrambled to the other side of the bed. “I don’t know! That’s why I’m asking you! You’re the one with an actual soulmate.”

“Well, you see,” he began, holding a finger up as if he was an ancient philosopher, before bursting into giggles and falling over. “The first sign that you’ve found your soulmate is the ability to see the hues you described known as colours. You should be able see them as soon as you get in physical contact with them, and only then, like you told me.”

“Mhm,” Jungkook said, not knowing where this was going.

“Then, as you spend more and more time with that person, you would be able to see colours even just by being in their presence.”

“And then…?”

“And then that’s how you know you’ve found your soulmate, and you live happily ever after. The end.”

Jungkook groaned and buried his face into a pillow. “That was not helpful, we learned that in science. It’s still an inexplicable function of the human brain. But the thing is, even when I reacted to the...the colours, Jimin didn’t. In fact, he acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary.”

“Huh, that’s weird,” Taehyung said, sitting up. “Usually it’s mutual, like it was with Hoseok and me. Very weird indeed. Maybe you’ve mistakened it for something else. Do you need to get your eyes checked? That might be the problem.”

“No, Tae, my eyes are fine,” Jungkook groaned again, wondering why he was still talking to Taehyung. He should just go ask Seokjin or Namjoon, as they were the most knowledgeable of his friend group, being the elder ones.

“I’ll look into it, Kookie, don’t lose hope,” Taehyung said in a serious tone, patting his hand as if a pet had just been diagnosed to have a terminal disease.

Jungkook sighed and fell back into the bed.

~~

He had texted Jimin late at night, telling him that he had other plans so he couldn’t hang out. In reality, though, he was just confused about his connection with the other boy, and he wasn’t sure if he could deal with seeing him so soon. Of course, Jungkook was probably being a brat and being unfair to Jimin, but until his thoughts could get sorted, it would do him more harm than good to see him.

With the help of Taehyung, Jungkook had managed to avoid Jimin quite well. The days bled into weeks, and Jimin was probably hurt and confused as to why he suddenly didn’t want to hang out anymore.

“Okay, Kookie, this is getting ridiculous. You know I would do anything for you, but you can’t keep on avoiding him forever.” Taehyung confronted him one day, dragging him to a bench on their way back to the dorms. He sat the both of them down, looking at him in the eye, and that was probably the biggest hint that he wanted to have a serious conversation.

“I’m just so confused,” he told him in frustration. “And I’m scared...I kinda don’t want to find out the answer.”

“To whether you guys are actually soulmates or not? Then go back to hanging out with him! Only one way to find out.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “Look, this weekend, one of Hoseok’s friends are throwing a party. How about I get you there, and I get him to go, so you guys can talk. Or hang out. Or whatever the heck you want.” He added the last part with a wink.

“Tae, I don’t think - ”

“Oh come on, stop shooting down all my ideas. Hey, at the very least, you get free alcohol, right?”

~~

“I can’t believe I’m letting you do this to me,” Jungkook muttered, low in Taehyung’s ear to be heard over the screaming and the pounding music. They walked through the house, smoothly dodging people and stepping over scattered objects. “You know that I hate parties, and Jimin hyung might not even be here.”

“Stop whining,” Taehyung scolded. “Hoseok said he’d convince him to come.”

Just then, Taehyung’s eyes lit up, presumably because he had found his soulmate in the crowd. Jungkook tried to follow, but the task was proven difficult through the dancing bodies. Giving up eventually, he found his way to the kitchen. If Jimin doesn’t show tonight, he was determined to at least get drunk enough to not have to think about him.

However, his wish was unfruitful. After his second can of beer, Jimin had wandered into the kitchen, cheeks a little red from the alcohol. Jungkook gulped as he took in his appearance, having ever seen him only in his dance clothes or casual clothes.

Jimin was wearing all black, a dark t-shirt hidden by a leather jacket and ripped jeans. His trademark snapback was still on his head, interlocking chains hanging around his neck and a ring on each hand. His eyes were smeared with eyeliner, and in the dim lighting, it made him look that much more gorgeous.

“Hey,” he said, a little breathless from having to push his way through the crowd. “Thought I’d find you here. Don’t like parties either, huh?”

Jungkook shook his head. “No, but Tae dragged me here anyway. I was just about to leave, but…”

“Then let’s go somewhere else, somewhere quieter. I wanted to talk to you.”

~~

They found themselves on the second floor of the house, leaning outwards on the railing on the balcony. The cool night wind blew off the river, tousling their hair. Jimin turned to look at Jungkook.

“Why did you keep avoiding me?” he asked, straight to the point.

“Because I don’t know how to feel about you anymore,” Jungkook responded just as straightforwardly, his honesty quite possibly influenced by the alcohol. Under normal circumstances, he would not be this open with his thoughts.

“Oh, Kookie…” Jimin said, gently brushing over the back of his hand absentmindedly with his own. The contact plunged the world into colour again, brightly springing forth. This time Jungkook gasped out loud, once again overwhelmed by the change.

“Don’t you see it too?” he breathe out, caught in the moment with the world swirling like a kaleidoscope, almost dizzying.

“What do you mean?” This sentence snapped him back to reality, as he saw Jimin’s face scrunch up in confusion. “Are you okay?”

A crawling sense of dread trickled down his spine, as he withdrew his hand as if he had been burned. Muttering a hasty excuse, he quickly backed away before turning to run into the house again. On his way out, he managed to grab Taehyung by his shirt collar and drag him out with him, the other boy spluttering indignantly as he shouted something to his friends.

“Kookie, what the heck?” he demanded when they returned to the dormitory, speech slightly slurred from the alcohol.

“I - I just...Jimin - he -” Jungkook’s voice faltered as he tried to organize his thoughts.

“Oh my god, did he reject you?” Taehyung asked. Jungkook could only shake his head mutely. “Then what?”

They made their way to the living room, Jungkook plopping himself down on the couch before speaking, attempting to string together a coherent sentence. “Jimin, he…he touched my hand. But he couldn’t see them like me, the colours. He didn’t see them.”

Taehyung’s face transformed into one of shock, processing the information. It was quite unheard of, one person able to see colours while the other person could not. He didn’t know what to say in response, so he just settled for pulling the younger boy into a tight embrace, his hair comfortingly as he tried to make sense of it all.

~~

It’s been months since the party incident, Jungkook back to his usual routine of avoiding Jimin. At this point, he was even contemplating moving to another city and changing his name so he won’t have to be afraid of running into him.

 

Then, one day, Taehyung had positively bounced into his bedroom where he was studying, excitement written all over his face. Jungkook removed his headphones as he sat down next to him on the bed, grinning.

 

“Guess what?” he said, pouncing on him and knocking his textbook out of his hands. Jungkook scrambled to get out of his grasp, untangling their limbs.

“Do I really want to know,” he deadpanned, wanting to get back to studying.

“I think I found out why Jiminnie couldn’t see the colours when you could,” he responded regardless of the unenthusiastic answer, waving the book in his hand wildly.

This piqued Jungkook’s interest, and he finally sat up to look at him properly. He smirked at his immediate reaction. “So basically,” he began, flipping through the pages until he found the one he wanted. “Apparently the soulmate thing needs to be based off of mutual attraction.” He started reading off the book.

“‘Both soulmates involved must first had already have some sort of attraction to each other. However, if only one soulmate is initially attracted to the other, the other will not see the colours until they reciprocate the feelings of attraction. This fact is not well known to most people, as it is almost a given in any situation that the soulmates are already attracted to each other.’” He set down the book. “Isn’t that great?”

Jungkook stared at him as if he came from another planet. “How is that great? That just means that Jimin hyung never liked me back in the first place…”

Taehyung smacked him with the book. “It’s great because you guys are meant for each other! The rest is easy; you just gotta make him fall in love with you.”

“You must be kidding me.” He shot his best friend an ‘are you crazy’ look. Before he could smack him back for the impossible task he’d proposed, his phone buzzed from the desk. He swung his legs off the bed to pick it up.

 

From: Jiminnie hyung♥

are you free right now? i wanna talk to you

 

He looked up at Taehyung, who was trying his hardest to look clueless. “Tae,” he said, in the calmest voice possible. “What did you tell him?”

He threw his hands up defensively. “I didn’t tell him anything!” Seeing his expression, he quickly conceded. “Okay, maybe I told Hoseok about it when I found the book, who might’ve said something to Jimin…”

“Hyung, I will kill you,” Jungkook vowed, groaning and falling back onto his bed. Taehyung took this opportunity to steal his phone, typing in a response before he could react. Jungkook snatched his phone back, but not before Taehyung was able to hit send.

 

From: Kookie

yea

where r u?

 

From: Jiminnie hyung♥

at the beach, next to the arts building

    

    

“Taehyung, I will kill you,” he repeated, staring at the reply.

 

“I am still your hyung, you brat. Besides, I did you a favour.”

 

“What am I supposed to do now?” he groaned again, burying his face in his pillow.

 

“Hmm, I dunno, go and meet him?” Taehyung suggested like he was the biggest idiot in the world. Which he was, in a sense. “Go,” he swatted his body to get him moving, Jungkook unwillingly getting to his feet and grabbing a jacket.

 

“Have fun~” Taehyung called after him as Jungkook left the dorm, making sure to slam the door hard on his way out.

 

~~

 

Jungkook shivered at the night air that hit him as he exited the building, making his way towards the beach. As the river came into view, he saw a lone figure, facing the water.

“Hey,” Jimin greeted, eyeing him carefully as if he didn’t know how to approach him. Jungkook realized that he had distanced himself - twice - vanishing without an explanation. No wonder he was acting so cautious.

“Hey,” he said back, walking up to him through the sand.

“Taehyung told me. About why you were avoiding me,” Jimin began. “I’m sorry I didn’t feel anything.”

“It’s fine, you shouldn’t be obligated to feel anything about me,” Jungkook said quickly, avoiding his gaze. If this was the direction their conversation was going to go, it would be a long and awkward conversation indeed.

“I said I didn’t feel anything,” Jimin repeated, firmly attempting to meet his eye. “That doesn’t mean I still don’t.”

Jungkook’s head whipped up so quickly, it was a wonder it didn’t fall off. “You mean - ”

“I don’t know,” he replied honestly. “But I do know that I feel something towards you, something that I never paid attention to until you stopped talking to me.”

At his words, Jungkook felt another wave of guilt, reminded once more of how much of a jerk he’d been to Jimin, how unfair he had acted.

“Do you want to find out?” He truly didn’t know where this sudden burst of courage came from, as he was perfectly sober at the moment. “There’s only one way to know for sure…”

Jungkook stared into Jimin’s eyes, and he saw the uncertainty in them. The sun had begun setting over the river, the sky gradually shifting, changing shades Jungkook knew could be - is - much more beautiful than grey.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he told him when he got no verbal reply, not wanting to force the elder into something he was uncomfortable with. But his gaze just hardened in resolve, as if he won some internal battle with himself.

“I want to do this,” he assured him, voice steady. “I want to know how I really feel about you.”

Jungkook extended his hand in invitation, as Jimin reached forward tentatively. Their fingers brushed lightly as their hands intertwined.

And this time, it was Jimin who gasped.