Jongin woke up to a very persistent itch right below the bend of his elbow. It was way too early to be awake and he refused to open his eyes despite the darkness of the room. He groaned, still more asleep than awake, and reached over with a heavy arm to scratch the damn itch and hopefully get rid of it. His nails ran over the skin and he let out a satisfied groan when the itch finally died, before going right back to sleep.

*

Jongin was never a morning person. It took several hours before his brain felt awake enough to let him function properly, so when he shuffled into the kitchen and responded to Sehun’s greeting with a grunt, the younger wasn’t all that surprised. Jongin’s eyes were mere slits as he reached for the cereal with his right hand while his left scratched the spot under the bend of his elbow absentmindedly.

“You look like death,” Sehun commented, taking a sip of his coffee while pouring another one for Jongin, bringing it to the table with him. Jongin made a noncommittal sound, trying to grab the milk. His hand went right past it and he grumbled angrily, cracking his eyes open a little wider so he could see what he was doing. He then grabbed the bowl and sat down across from Sehun, grabbing the spoon and promptly missing his mouth so he ended up with milk and a sticky cheerio on his cheek. Sehun gave a laughing huff, Jongin’s morning escapades always a source of amusement to him. “Remember Yixing scheduled an extra dance class at four,” he reminded Jongin, knowing that the older had probably forgotten about it. He also made a mental note to send Jongin a text later, since he didn’t trust Jongin’s brain to actually register the information right now. Jongin grunted in reply, getting another spoonful of cereal properly in his mouth this time. “Hey, what’s on your arm?” Sehun asked with a frown, spotting a weird scribble there.

Jongin held out his left arm without looking. “’made a note about the dance practice,” he mumbled, using his right arm to continue eating.

“No, on your other arm,” Sehun prompted, knowing full well that Jongin had a habit of doodling on his left arm when he was bored or make notes of things he needed to remember. He also knew that his best friend and roommate was right-handed and thus wouldn’t have been able to doodle on his right arm.

Jongin held out his other arm and looked down at it with sleepy eyes. There was a weird kind of swirl, almost like a fountain starting with one line in one end and then swirling out into several swirls, and for a second he just looked at it, eyes not quite registering what he was looking at. When it finally clicked, his eyes widened and the spoon fell out of his now slack opened mouth. His left hand was shaking when he lifted it to trace the mark, trying to rub it a little to make sure it wasn’t just a marker and Sehun’s idea of a great joke. However, the mark didn’t budge. His jaw clenched hard enough to make his teeth crunch. “You’ve got to be kidding me...”

Sehun looked at his friend, halfway in amusement and halfway in worry. Jongin’s opinion on the soulmate tattoos were no secret to him. He had always figured the older would change his mind when he actually got his tattoo, maybe be a bit excited over the hunt of trying to find the person with a matching tattoo in the same spot or just curious about who he had been matched with. However, Jongin’s current reaction didn’t really seem like that was the case. “You okay, dude?”

“Why would I not be okay? I mean, it’s not like some weird tattoo just popped up on my arm to signify that I’ve been tied to a complete stranger because some higher power believe they are my soulmate!”

“They don’t have to be a complete stranger. Just look at Chanyeol and Baekhyun, they-“

“I know, I know, friends forever, in love forever, bam, tattoo, real love. That doesn’t make it ing better. They never took the step before the damn tattoo showed up. They still let themselves be dictated by it,” Jongin answered, angrily scratching at his arm. This damn mark was still itching, now more than ever.

Sehun looked at his friend, brows furrowed. He knew that there were many ways of going about the tattoo soulmate business. Many people didn’t just jump straight into relationships when they found their intended soulmate, but instead invested time and energy in getting to know them first. However, it was very rare that people who found their intended soulmate didn’t also end up with them, and he supposed that was what bothered Jongin; the lack of agency in choosing. He couldn’t really blame his friend for his way of thinking, though, not with his background. “You know... It is possible to get it removed. I mean, you’d get a scar, but... it’s possible,” he said, trying to be helpful.

Jongin was quiet for some time, still scratching his arm furiously. “Yeah. I might do that,” he ended up mumbling, seriously considering it. It would probably cost him a fortune, but he would be free of the bond, free to actually find a person and fall in love and be with them because he loved them, not because of a mark of ink on his body that happened to match someone else’s. A very little part of him felt bad about it; most people were so happy when they got their mark and couldn’t wait to meet their soulmate. Perhaps his match was like that, waking up this morning and looking down at his or her arm in stunned surprise and then filled with joy. Him removing his tattoo would have no effect on his soulmate’s mark, so he or she would be searching for their soulmate for the rest of their lives and never find him; at least until Jongin died, then the tattoo would fade away and only leave a light shadow behind. He quickly pushed that guilt away; many people never found their soulmates, even when they had a tattoo. There was no telling if your soulmate lived near you or on another continent. In recent years, several apps had popped up where you could register, describe your tattoo, where it was on your body and what day it appeared and then it would check if anyone matched, but since none of the apps had really won over the general market, you would have to download all 6 possibilities and register on them all separately. Even then there was no guarantee; if your soulmate hadn’t registered too there would be no match. So even though many people were ecstatic to know they had a soulmate somewhere out there, a good portion of them never actually found theirs. “Do you know anyone who can do it? I bet Yifan knows someone.”

“I’ll ask him. I have class with him after lunch,” Sehun said, standing up and carrying his dishes to the sink. “Don’t forget dance practice,” he reminded Jongin one last time before sauntering into his room to get his school bag.

Jongin stayed in his seat, glaring at the fountain like mark on his arm until his cereal turned too soggy to eat. He had to rush to get to class on time.

*

Jongin looked down at the slightly crumpled piece of paper in his hand. Yifan’s handwriting was horrible and hard to read, and the freakishly tall giant had decided to add a drawing of... something. Jongin really wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be, but he was pretty sure it had no relevance to the clinic that was supposed to be in the building he was currently standing in front of. He had called ahead and made an appointment, which was the only reason he had actually been able to find the place, since the address Yifan had given him had been nearly impossible to decipher, but once the girl on the phone had told him the address, Jongin could suddenly see what the Chinese guy had written. After taking a calming breath Jongin walked up to the door, checking the row of small signs to find out what button to press to be buzzed in. He finally found the right one and pressed it. After a few seconds the intercom came to life with a scratching sound before a female voice announced, “Black Pearl Dermatology.”

“Uhm, hello, I have an appointment at 12.30?” Jongin replied, not sure if he was supposed to state his name and what kind of appointment he had. It didn’t seem like it when there was a buzzing sound from the door a second later. He said a quick ‘thank you’ to the intercom and opened the door while the lock was still buzzing. When he stepped inside, he looked around the lobby, relieved to find an elevator to the right; walking up to the twelfth floor where the clinic was located would probably have killed him. The small speaker in the upper right corner of the elevator played some kind of bad imitation of a Spanish guitar song that honestly made Jongin rethink his choice of clinic until he realised that it probably wasn’t the clinic that chose the elevator music, considering how many other people had their businesses in the building too. He did his best to tune out the music, breathing a sigh of relief when the elevator finally stopped at the right floor. He got out, looked around and quickly spotted the sign with the clinic’s name by a pair of sanded glass doors. He figured that the woman who had buzzed him in was probably expecting him, so he walked straight in without knocking.

The clinic was a lot nicer than he expected. He had thought it would be all white and steel and impersonal, and while he was obviously only seeing the front desk and the waiting area right now, it was nothing like the image his mind had conjured. One wall was a warm red colour while the others were beige. The chairs placed along the walls for waiting clients were a fashionable lime green (he was pretty sure Sehun would disagree with lime green being fashionable, but from what little Jongin knew about interior design it was the colour right now so Jongin rested his case. At least that was what Chanyeol had told him when he dragged Jongin around a furniture shop so the taller man could drool at the pieces of furniture that all seemed to cost several months’ rent for both college students) and the customary magazines were lying spread out in a fan on a table in the corner. Behind them were a couple of thermos and some plastic cups.

A little cough was heard from the front desk and when Jongin looked over he was met with a friendly smile. “Hello. Name please?” the woman asked, voice a little deep, but friendly and welcoming anyway.

There was something familiar about her, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. “Kim Jongin. I have an appointment to get a tattoo removed,” he informed, stepping closer to the desk.

The woman looked down, running a finger over the right day in the planner. “Ah, there you are,” she said, making a little star in front of his name. “Doctor Do will be right with you. There’s coffee and tea over there if you want,” she said, indicating the table in the corner.

“Thank you,” he said, nodding his head and then taking a seat. He grabbed a magazine without looking at it and began flipping through it until he realised it was one of those ‘mother and child’ magazines. He quickly put it down again and looked up to see if the secretary had seen it, but she was engrossed in something he couldn’t see. He studied her for a second before realising she looked eerily like Professor Kim, one of the music professors who was very young and liked to eat lunch with the students. He looked down again, pulling his phone out of his pocket to pass time. He wasn’t ready to admit he was a little nervous.

The office phone rang and the secretary introduced herself as Amber. Jongin made a mental note to ask Professor Kim if he had a sister named Amber. Or maybe they were cousins? It wasn’t impossible, they both looked like a cross between a puppy and a dinosaur, so-

“Kim Jongin?” a deep voice asked, startling Jongin enough to make him flail and drop his phone, the back going off and the battery falling out when it hit the floor.

He tried to collect all three pieces quickly, but managed to knock the battery a little ways away. A hand reached down to pick it up and Jongin straightened up, his cheeks flaming in embarrassment. When he noticed the man in front of him, he felt an urgent need to drop dead or melt into a puddle and disappear; he had expected an old man with glasses and a greying beard, but instead the doctor looked only a couple of years older than him. His hair was a fiery shade of red and while he was wearing glasses, it was definitely not the kind Jongin had expected.

The man gave him an amused smile, holding out the battery for his phone. “I’m Doctor Do. If you would come with me,” he said, voice rich and friendly as he gestured down the hall with his other hand. The secretary was watching with ill-concealed amusement from behind the desk.

“I... yes, sorry,” Jongin mumbled, taking the battery and putting it in his pocket with the other pieces. He felt like his cheeks could burst into actual flames any second now. When the doctor turned around and began making his way down the hallway Jongin followed, head ducked in shame.

“In here, please,” the doctor said, opening the door to a room. This one was more like Jongin had imagined; white walls and a sterile feeling. He supposed that was a good thing, considering what the room was used for. Doctor Do gestured to a chair and then circled the desk to sit down on the other side. “You can call me Kyungsoo, by the way,” he said with a warm smile, seemingly okay being on a first name basis with his patients.

Jongin nodded as he sat down, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Kyungsoo, got it. Sorry, I... I think I’m a little more nervous than I expected to be,” he apologised sheepishly, cheeks still coloured with a light dusting of red.

“That’s okay, I can understand that,” Kyungsoo chuckled, pulling a couple of papers towards him to look over them. “So, Jongin... tattoo removal?” he asked, looking over his glasses at the younger. He hummed when Jongin nodded. “You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who would go out, get a tattoo and then regret it,” he said thoughtfully, giving Jongin a once over that made the college student squirm.

“I’m not. It’s, uh... I got my soulmate tattoo and I don’t want it,” he said, halfway expecting the doctor to throw him out. The soulmate tattoos were a hot topic in the media and had been for a couple of years now, and he had heard more than one story about doctors who refused to remove the magically appearing tattoos because it was against their personal beliefs.

Kyungsoo hummed again, eyes boring into Jongin’s. “I see. In that case, I am obliged to ask you some questions. New rules from the government,” he explained, turning around and looking over his bookshelves until he found a new looking ring binder and pulled it out.

“Okay,” Jongin replied, feeling a little nervous. He hadn’t really talked to anyone about the true reasons he didn’t believe in the tattoos; the only reason Sehun knew was because they had been friends forever and the younger had been Jongin’s only confidant growing up.

Kyungsoo flicked through the pages in the binder until he made a small ‘aha’ and opened it completely. “Okay, so the first question is whether you know your soulmate or not?”

Jongin blinked a couple of times before frowning at the question. “No, I don’t. Why is that...?”

“Some people find their soulmates and are unhappy with the person they’ve been matched with before they even give their match a chance,” Kyungsoo explained. “If you knew him or her, I am required to give you a nifty little folder about how people are more than they seem and you should give your match a chance before going through with something as final as removing the tattoo.”

“But I thought the tattoo would still be on my match regardless of what I do with mine? Tattoos only go away if your match dies, right?” Jongin asked in confusion, unconsciously scratching his arm lightly as had become a habit of his since it showed up.

“You getting your tattoo removed won’t affect your match’s tattoo, no. I have no idea why the government thinks these questions are necessary or will help anyone, but I could lose my job if I don’t ask them, so...” Kyungsoo shrugged, shaking his head a little. “I mean, some people haven’t really thought it through when they come here, so I suppose those are the people the government is trying to catch. Anyway... The next question is actually about whether you are aware that your match will still have their tattoo and they will have no way of knowing that you have had yours removed. They actually phrased it ‘you need to be aware that your soulmate might continue their search for you throughout their entire life’, which is just a brilliant way of giving people a bad conscience, is it not?”

“I... yeah. I kind of already thought about that,” Jongin muttered, looking down. It wasn’t that he was eager to doom someone to a life of fruitless searching, but tying himself to a person he didn’t know? He just couldn’t do it.

Kyungsoo studied him intensely again for a short while. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why are you making this decision? I mean, you are very young. Normally people who come in here to get the tattoo removed are a lot older and have given up their search for their soulmate and just want to start fresh. You can’t have given up already,” he stated, tilting his head in curiosity.

Jongin was quiet for a long time before he managed to formulate a proper sentence that would somewhat answer Kyungsoo’s question. “I don’t believe in this system. I don’t believe anyone can predict for certain who you are destined to be with. It’s decided when you are born, based on biology. I believe nurture matters more than nature. By the time the tattoo shows up, each person might have been through things that make them incompatible. I don’t want to take the chance and end up bound to someone I could never love. I know that it ends well in most cases, but I don’t want my life to end just well ever after,” he said, stopping himself when he realised he had started rambling a little.

The doctor nodded as he listened. “I suppose that’s fair enough,” he said, not giving his own opinion on the subject. “However, if you do find your soulmate, please let them know that you were theirs. Deciding for yourself is fine, but if you find them you should tell them, especially if they are one of the people who are looking desperately for their match. They deserve to know so they can move on too.”

“I know. I mean, I wasn’t going to look for them, for obvious reasons, but if I find them, I will not let them live in the dark of not knowing what happened. That’s cruel,” Jongin replied, biting his lower lip again. He was one hundred percent certain that he wanted the tattoo gone, but he still felt a sting of guilt towards whoever his match was. He sincerely hoped they wouldn’t be the desperate kind of person who couldn’t or wouldn’t function without their match.

Kyungsoo nodded and closed the ring binder with a snap, leaving it on the table. “It is,” he agreed, looking back up at Jongin. “If you are certain this is what you want – and it seems like you are – I should tell you how this is going to work. Depending on the design of the tattoo it usually takes five to seven times to get it removed completely. There might be a faint outline of it even after we are done, again depending on how it’s designed. The first time always hurts a bit more than the others; some people describe the following times as the feeling of a rubber band being snapped on their skin repeatedly, but the first time will be harsh. You are of course welcome to do whatever to distract yourself if you need to. I don’t care if you listen to music or sing opera or spew out all the profanities you know, as long as you stay still,” he said, sending Jongin a grin that told the younger that all those scenarios had happened in the past. “There’s no excessive aftercare on your part, just keep it clean and use a lotion without perfume and additives.”

Jongin nodded, hoping that the first time wouldn’t hurt too much. Kyungsoo was very handsome and Jongin would die from embarrassment if he started crying in front of the good looking doctor. “How long between the procedures?” he asked, wanting to know when he could expect to be completely free of the tattoo.

“Two to four weeks apart, to make sure your skin has healed completely,” Kyungsoo replied readily.

Jongin nodded and took a deep breath before standing up. “Let’s get started then,” he said, knowing that the sooner they got started, the sooner it would be over.

Kyungsoo stood up as well and went to the corner where all the equipment was. “Where is the tattoo?” he asked, needing to know whether Jongin would be sitting or lying down for the procedure so he could get everything ready.

“My arm, just below my elbow,” he said, too busy studying the laser to notice what Kyungsoo was doing.

The doctor hummed and pulled a chair over, motioning for Jongin to sit down on it. “You’ll have to take your shirt off. Next time it might be a good idea to wear a t-shirt if you don’t want to sit here half ,” Kyungsoo said, grabbing a white-blue gown and held it out for Jongin to take.

“Why can’t I just roll up my sleeve?” Jongin asked, frowning as he accepted the gown with a look of confusion.

“Because there’s a high risk of that cutting off the blood circulation in your arm and that wouldn’t be pretty when mixing in lasers,” Kyungsoo replied, sitting down on a swivel chair in front of Jongin. He didn’t look at the younger as he changed, but instead busied himself readying everything and getting a few antibacterial wipes out of a drawer.

When Jongin had changed into the gown as well as he could without wearing the right sleeve, Kyungsoo turned back to him again, looking down on his arm. For a second he seemed almost frozen as he looked at the tattoo, but then he lifted his hand and ran a finger over one of the loopy lines near where Jongin’s elbow bent. When he turned around a second later to turn a little knob on the laser, Jongin figured he had just been studying the tattoo to figure out what level of intensity was needed.

“I’m going to wipe your arm now. It might be a little cold,” Kyungsoo said, already sounding like he was concentrating hard on the task. He gently took a hold of Jongin’s hand with his left, carefully wiping over the tattoo with his right. Then he pressed a little harder, almost as if he wanted to check that it was indeed a tattoo and not just a doodle. Jongin didn’t really blame him, since he had probably seen the doodles on his other arm (‘Oh Sehun is not allowed to cook lasagne ever again’ and ‘dance practiced moved to studio 4’).

“Don’t worry, I didn’t doodle over it. I wouldn’t want to waste your time like that,” Jongin assured quickly, too nervous by now to even smile. His stomach seemed to be one big knot of nervousness.

“Good,” Kyungsoo replied, throwing the wipes out and pulling the laser machine over so it was hovering above Jongin’s arm. “Ready to get started?” he asked, finger on the switch that would turn the machine on. Jongin nodded in response. “Don’t look at the laser, don’t be alarmed when the laser beeps three times and don’t mind the clicking noise,” Kyungsoo said, pulling on a pair of protective glasses before turning on the laser. Kyungsoo placed the laser so it was hovering just above the bottom of his tattoo, there were three loud beeps and then it started. Jongin jumped and winced when the first blitz that hit his skin. It honestly felt like someone was stabbing him and for a second he considered asking Kyungsoo to stop and just live with the damn thing for the rest of his life. However, he had come this far and he didn’t want to be tied to someone for the rest of his life just because of some ink under his skin. Remembering what Kyungsoo had said before, Jongin began singing softly to himself in an attempt to think about something other than the burning pain on his arm. When it moved further up his arm where his skin was thinner he began singing louder, really hoping Kyungsoo genuinely didn’t mind.

Several minutes later Kyungsoo finally turned off the machine, the loud clicking noises dying with it. Jongin was mid-sentence in a song when he did, trailing off awkwardly when the room was suddenly all quiet save for his own singing. Kyungsoo pushed the laser away and looked up at Jongin with an amused grin. “You didn’t have to stop. You have a nice voice. A lot nicer than most of the people who choose to sing when they are here,” he chuckled, getting new antibacterial wipes to clean the skin he had just busted with a laser.

Jongin blushed furiously and looked down at the tattoo to hide the colour of his cheeks, only to look right back up with wide eyes. “Is it supposed to look like that?” he asked, his voice a little shrill. His skin looked white and swollen where the tattoo had been before; it looked like the skin might start bubbling and breaking into blisters any second.

“Yes, this is very normal,” Kyungsoo replied, gently cleaning the area again before wrapping a piece of gauze over it. “We’ve basically just fried the ink particles, and since your skin is on top of them, it’s hard to avoid frying the skin a little too. It should be settled down by tomorrow, don’t worry.”

Jongin nodded, though he was still a little worried. He supposed he would just have to trust Kyungsoo’s words, since he was the expert. “When should I come again?” he asked, standing up and pulling off the gown so he could pull his shirt back on, careful when getting his arm in the sleeve.

Once again Kyungsoo diverted his eyes so as not to stare at his patient. “Since this was the first time, five weeks. Just to give your skin time to heal and your body time to remove the ink that was broken down. After next time we can schedule an appointment a little sooner, since your body should know the drill by then.”

“Okay. Do I just call you or...?” Jongin asked. If he was being honest with himself (which he, of course, wasn’t), he was kind of hoping Kyungsoo would give him his number. The doctor was stupidly attractive, and Jongin kind of wanted to know more about him.

“We can schedule an appointment now if you want,” Kyungsoo said with a friendly smile, going back to his office chair to check his calendar. He clicked a few times, eyes on the computer screen. “Any days during the week that won’t work for you? Or any time during the day that’s better?”

“Uhm, mornings are not good for me,” Jongin replied, not so much because he had morning classes, but because he really didn’t want to be a growling zombie next time he met with the hot doctor. “My classes are spread all over, so it might be better if you suggest a day and time rather than me rambling off my time table.”

Kyungsoo chuckled, casting a glance at Jongin over his glasses before turning back to the screen, clicking once more while pursing his lips in thought. “How about Wednesday the third, at 1?” he asked, eyes still on the calendar on the screen.

Jongin nodded eagerly. “Yup, that’ll work,” he said, pretty sure he had a history class at 12 and dance practice at 1.30 that day. However, Jongin was a Responsible Adult with a Great Sense of Priorities, and his main priority right now was to make a good impression on Kyungsoo and see the doctor again soon.

Kyungsoo nodded and made a note on the computer to book Jongin into his calendar and then stood up again. “Okay, then. In a couple of hours, take off the bandage, wash the tattoo gently with lukewarm water, and then let it breathe. Use paper towels when you dry it, not regular towels. Don’t be worried when it looks darker again when you take the bandage off; it goes white immediately after the laser, but will regain colour again and then fade slowly after that. It’s a bit of a back and forth process,” Kyungsoo explained with a reassuring smile, holding out a hand for Jongin to shake. “I’ll see you on the third then.”

Jongin nodded, trying to turn on his charm as he smiled back and accepted Kyungsoo’s hand. “I’ll see you then.” He was already doing a mental countdown over how many days there were until the third.

*

The morning of his next appointment Jongin was awoken by a loud shriek, shocking him into wakefulness in a very unpleasant manner. He blinked his eyes open in confusion, trying to figure out why on earth there was a banshee in their apartment. He had just sat up when Sehun came stomping into his room, eyes horrified. His hair was wet and he was wearing nothing but a towel; clearly he had been in the middle of showering when whatever it was that had upset him happened. Jongin dearly hoped he hadn’t cut his balls shaving again... “What-“ he began asking but didn’t manage to get another word out.

“I got my tattoo!” Sehun all but screamed. His eyes were almost wild and he didn’t exactly look happy about it. Jongin blinked a couple of times, trying to understand what he meant. When it clicked he looked his best friend over, but there was no visible tattoo anywhere from what he could see.

“Where is it?” he asked, frowning a little. He immediately regretted his question when Sehun turned around and let his towel drop, revealing what looked like an abstract rainbow dragon on his left cheek.

“I am matched via my !” Sehun screamed, smacking a hand on top of the tattoo as if that would make it go away. Jongin sat in stunned silence for a full four seconds before he started laughing. Sehun glared at him over his shoulder, bending down to pick up the towel and subsequently giving Jongin a little more of a view than he wished to have of his best friend. However, when he had fastened the towel around his waist, he shook his head dramatically, staring at his still laughing best friend. “How am I ever supposed to find my match? I can’t just walk around and be like ‘excuse me, can I see your ?’” he said, eliciting another roar of laughter from Jongin. It didn’t take long for Sehun to stop sulking and start seeing the humour in the situation, and soon he was laughing just as hard as Jongin.

“You... have... a rainbow... dragon on... your !” Jongin laughed, tears in his eyes by now. He was holding on to Sehun who had sat down beside him, trying to keep from rolling onto the floor from laughing so much.

“I know!” Sehun agreed, his laughter a little more shrill, but no less loud. “Could it be any gayer?”

Jongin shook his head because, no, no it could not be any gayer unless Sehun decided to go to a tattoo artist and have a tiara tattooed onto the dragon’s head. Knowing his best friend, Jongin would not be surprised if he actually did that.

*

It had been 36 days since Jongin’s last appointment. 36 days of thinking about the excessively handsome doctor and 36 days of dreaming up all kinds of possible scenarios for his next appointment. He was in a wonderful mood, the rude awakening he had received from his best friend already forgiven and forgotten after their 30 minute laughing session. Excitement was bubbling in his chest when he arrived at the clinic, greeting Amber with a friendly smile. He had somehow, despite his infatuation with a certain doctor, not forgotten to ask Professor Kim about the familiar looking secretary, and had found out they were indeed siblings. He had felt very proud of his Skills of Perception and done a little fist pump in the air that made the Professor send him a look over his glasses. Jongin had given a quick bow of apology and then taken off as fast as he could without running. Sehun had been waiting for him, laughing his off as the Professor shot them a weird look before turning his attention back to his lunch.

He sat down in one of the chairs, once again pulling out his phone. He was a little early and he wasn’t expecting Kyungsoo to come get him in the next couple of minutes, so he pressed the little Farmtasia icon, thinking he might as well look after his farm while waiting. He was soon so absorbed in taking care of Mrs. Fluffybottom (the chicken had a pen all to herself so she didn’t feel crowded. Jongin was oddly attached to her and would feel bad if he forgot to log in daily to take care of her) that he didn’t notice when the door to Kyungsoo’s office opened and the man of his dreams appeared.

“Jongin, hello,” Kyungsoo greeted with an amused smile. He had no idea what Jongin was doing, but he was looking very concentrated while also wearing a silly little smile.

To Jongin’s credit, he didn’t drop his phone this time. He quickly exited the game, not wanting Kyungsoo to see what kind of game he was playing. He did feel bad about Mrs. Fluffybottom not having any water though, since he was interrupted before he could fill her water bowl. “Kyungsoo, hi!” he greeted, maybe a little too excited. Amber hid a giggle behind her hand. Jongin was completely oblivious to it though; he was too busy looking at the doctor who was even more handsome than he remembered.

“Let’s go, shall we?” Kyungsoo asked, lips almost forming a heart shape as he smiled. Jongin had a hard time to keep from cooing aloud but managed to contain himself and follow the doctor into the room without drooling too much over his delectable backside. Jongin was Very Proud of himself for that feat. Once they reached the room, Kyungsoo gestured towards the desk. “Please, sit down,” he instructed, going around the desk to sit down as well. Jongin quickly complied. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good. I mean, I’m kind of tired, Sehun – that’s my roommate and best friend – woke me up early this morning, screaming like a werewolf. Apparently he had been in the shower when he discovered that he had received his tattoo... On his left cheek,” Jongin laughed, still not over the hilarity of the situation.

Kyungsoo laughed too; he had heard of many odd placements for the soulmate tattoos, but this one was a first. “Well, congratulations to him, if he is happy about it, that is,” he said with a grin, shaking his head in amusement. He had meant how Jongin’s tattoo had been and how the healing had progressed, but Jongin looked so happy and excited to be asked that Kyungsoo didn’t want to ruin it for him. “How about your tattoo? Has it been healing nicely?”

Jongin nodded, grin wide. “Yeah, it has. It’s been itchy as hell sometimes, but Sehun has like, a special talent to sense when I scratch, and then he flies in from the right and slaps my hands away, so it’s all good,” Jongin explained, grateful that his friend had helped so he wouldn’t look like a complete idiot when coming here because he had scratched his arm too much for it to heal.

“That’s good. Scratching just means it’ll take longer to heal and therefore longer before the tattoo is gone since we might have to reschedule appointments then,” Kyungsoo said seriously. “I know it can itch horribly though. You can try to put some ice on it if it gets really bad. That usually numbs the itch,” he said, waiting until Jongin had nodded before continuing. “Do you have any questions or things about the tattoo that have made you wonder, or should we just get started with the fun part?”

“No, I don’t think there is anything else,” Jongin said, not being able to think of anything. The tattoo had acted like he had read it would, so he hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, so to speak.

Kyungsoo nodded and got up again, grabbing another gown and handing it to Jongin. The younger changed while Kyungsoo got the laser started and everything set up. Once Jongin was seated in the chair, Kyungsoo took a closer look at the tattoo, running a finger along all the swirls. Then he gave a small nod and picked up an antibacterial wipe to clean the area, being just a thorough as he had last time. “Okay, you know the drill,” he said, pulling the laser closer. “It shouldn’t hurt as bad this time, but you are still welcome to sing or do whatever, if you want to distract yourself. Ready?” When Jongin nodded, Kyungsoo pressed the button that started the laser, the machine beeping three times before making several clicks as it started.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” Jongin began, as soon as the machine started. He had closed his eyes and just blurted out the first thing on his mind, which happened to be a Shakespeare sonnet since that was what his class was currently covering in English literature. He only managed to get through the first line, before Kyungsoo started laughing. The doctor quickly turned off the machine again, laughing too hard for it to be safe to keep it on. Jongin opened his eyes and blinked dazedly at Kyungsoo.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, no one has ever quoted sonnets to me before,” Kyungsoo explained through laughter, so thoroughly amused that he simply couldn’t stop. His face was quickly turning red from laughing and Jongin thought he had never seen anyone more beautiful.

“Well, uhm... we are doing sonnets in class right now, so that was what was on my mind,” he said, unable to keep a smile off his lips. Kyungsoo simply looked too beautiful while laughing for Jongin to be grumpy over the fact that he was actually laughing at him. “I can do something else if it bothers you?”

Kyungsoo quickly shook both hands in front of him, mirroring the way his head was shaking too. “No, no, Shakespeare is... perfect,” he said with a wide grin, finally getting his laughter under control. He grabbed a bottle of water and took a swig, exhaling slowly to calm himself down. “I love Shakespeare, it was just so wholly unexpected,” he explained, shaking his head in amusement. “Okay, I’m ready again. Sorry about that,” he said to which Jongin just shrugged with a smile of his own. The older pulled the laser closer again and turned it on, restarting the clicks from before.

“Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds,” Jongin began, his eyes closed again as he focused on reciting the words he had analysed in depth in class.

Kyungsoo didn’t laugh this time, though a smile stretched his lips into a heart shape. He shook his head in amusement and then turned his attention to Jongin’s arm so he could do his work. Despite the concentration in his eyes, the doctor didn’t stop smiling at any point during the rest of the appointment.

*

 “-and his hair is just really soft looking, I mean, normally dyed hair looks kind of coarse because of the chemicals, but it looks so soft and I just wanted to reach out and run my fingers through it,” Jongin sighed, a dreamy expression on his face. He wasn’t even noticing how he was scratching at the tattoo absentmindedly.

It had been ten minutes now and Jongin still hadn’t shut up. Sehun had magnanimously let his friend go on about the Wonders of Do Kyungsoo, despite the fact that he really wanted to watch the movie they had put on. Jongin seemingly wasn’t even aware of the television being on anymore, too deep in his monologue to care about anything but the cute shape of Do Kyungsoo’s smile. “Yah!” Sehun called, slapping Jongin’s hand away from where he was still scratching his arm. “Cut it out, or your doctor will think you are a stupid little puppy who needs a cone!”

“He’s not... my doctor,” Jongin said, the corners of his lips pulling down just slightly at the thought. “I wish it didn’t itch that much. You are right, though. I need to stop. I want to make a good impression on him.”

“Dude, that ship sailed when you started reciting freaking Shakespeare!” Sehun said with a roll of his eyes. How did he end up with the world’s stupidest best friend? Seriously, Jongin was like a lovestruck puppy and it had passed the ‘this is cute’-phase several weeks ago and progressed right into ‘I wanna slap you with a giant branch if you keep talking about him’.

Jongin pursed his lips in thought, his eyes squinting just the slightest bit. “You are right, Sehun. Kyungsoo is more of a Petrarch kind of guy. I should have realised, dammit!”

Sehun sat in stunned silence for a second, looking at his friend like he had never seen him before. He didn’t have a chance to say anything before Jongin began attempting to create a Petrarchan sonnet on the spot about Kyungsoo’s heart-shaped smile, prompting the younger to grab one of the dirty sofa pillows and begin to smother his best friend with it.

*

The professor had been going on and on about the importance of the test next week, even talking several minutes over time. This meant Jongin had to run to his appointment to be on time since his bus didn’t really wait for the professor to be done talking. He used the time in the elevator to try to get his breathing under control since he didn’t want to arrive all winded. He still wanted to make a good impression, especially since this was the last of their appointments. Five glorious times they had met (well, glorious aside from the pain...) and this one was the last appointment. His tattoo was but a faint mark on his arm now and if he didn’t get his together and ask Kyungsoo out today he would probably never see the doctor again, which did not sit well with him at all. When the elevator stopped at the right floor, he was breathing a little more normal, which proved to be good since he had only just opened the door to the clinic before Kyungsoo came down the hallway.

“Ah, Jongin, right on time,” Kyungsoo greeted with a smile. Jongin liked to think that the smile carried more than just the normal polite customer greeting, but that Kyungsoo had also grown a little attached to him somewhere along their appointments. He hadn’t managed to make Kyungsoo laugh again like he had on their second appointment, but on the third he had recited his favourite recipe for fried chicken, which earned him a fond head shake, and on the fifth he had gotten a snort out of him when Jongin told him about some of the antics he and the dance team had been up to last summer when they spent the weekend in a rented cabin by the beach. All in all, he felt like he had done what he could to make a good impression (perhaps with the exception of their fourth appointment when Kyungsoo had gotten a glimpse of Mrs. Fluffybottom on Jongin’s phone and asked him about it, to which Jongin had admitted to harbouring a weird fondness for the virtual chicken), so he felt a little hopeful that the older would accept his confession and agree to go on a date with him.

“Hi Kyungsoo. Hi Amber,” he greeted, sending the secretary a friendly smiled too. “My professor wouldn’t stop talking, so I almost didn’t make it on time,” he apologised as Kyungsoo gestured to the hallway and began walking down towards the by now familiar office.

“Oh, that kind of professors are the worst,” Kyungsoo said with sympathy as he walked around the desk and sat down for the pre-laser talk that had become customary for their appointments. “So, how have you been?” he asked once they were both seated.

“I’ve been good. The tattoo is healing really nicely and it only itched for a day or so after the last time. That was really nice,” Jongin said, looking down at his arm where there was only a faint mark of the broadest of the swirls. It was kind of surreal that it would be gone soon, but he was also kind of happy about it, especially with the new development at home. “Oh, by the way, Sehun finally found his match.”

“Oh? How did that happen?” Kyungsoo asked curiously. He had never actually met the young man, but Jongin had talked so much about him, especially after he had gotten his tattoo, that Kyungsoo almost felt like he knew him. Jongin had told him that, surprisingly (apparently), Sehun had not taken to going around and asking people to see their butts, but instead signed up on several of the matching apps that circulated to try to find his match.

“Well... Sehun was visiting his friend, Tao, who lives with Yifan. Yifan was actually the guy who referred me here. Anyway, apparently Yifan decided to take a shower and not lock the door and Sehun walked in and saw him in all his glory with the tattoo on his . Then he fainted, ‘cause he’s a bit of a drama queen like that,” Jongin said, rolling his eyes. “Anyway... They are both really, really awkward with each other now. I mean, they weren’t close before, but they were bros. And now they can barely be in the same room with each other without turning into stuttering, blushing messes. I don’t know if they’ve even talked to each other after that, actually, they just stutter and blush at whoever they are talking to when they realise the other is in the room. It’s all very awkward and kind of painful to witness, to be honest. Just another thing convincing me I’m doing the right thing, getting this removed,” Jongin said, shaking his arm once to indicate that he was talking about the tattoo. When he looked up again, he thought he caught a hint of sadness in Kyungsoo’s smile, but it was gone so fast, melting into the normal, friendly smile, that Jongin thought he had been imagining it.

“Well, I am glad that he found him, at last. That means they can start working things out, even if it’s awkward at first,” Kyungsoo said with a slightly amused smile. The entire situation with Jongin’s roommate was comical and a little surreal, even to someone who had heard lots of crazy tattoo related stories in his line of work like Kyungsoo. “I hope they will find happiness, either as partners or just as friends.”

“I am not sure what they are going to do, to be honest,” Jongin said with a little frown. “I mean, they are so awkward now. I don’t know how that is going to work out, especially when none of them has the balls to take the first step. I mean, I just want Sehun to be happy, he’s my best friend, but right now he just seems miserable and it just makes me think that I really am making the right choice. Even though I know a lot of people will disagree with my decision,” h