It was already late December and the weather continued to get colder. Minho trudged across the school campus, the wind hitting him sharply in the face. He hugged his coat closer to himself and pushed onward. These winter rugby meets were practically a nuisance, since everyone agreed that there was no real point practicing when they couldn’t even breathe from the cold. So today they called it a day and Minho was off back home, ready to settle into a nice evening, enjoying the winter break from school.

Just as he was nearing the corner of the last campus building before he reached the bus stop, he noticed a figure squatting by the wall and shivering. The person’s hood was pulled up, but the yellow scarf obscuring their face seemed familiar to Minho, so he approached them. As he got closer, the figure looked up, familiar dark brown eyes meeting Minho’s, recognition etching across his exposed features. The person reached up and pulled the scarf down off his mouth.

“Hi, Minho.” It was Taemin. He wasn’t really dressed well enough to be hanging out outside in this type of weather, and Minho wondered what on earth he’d be doing out here during winter break.

“Hey, Taemin,” he offered the younger boy his hand, who accepted, and pulled the boy to standing. They stood there awkwardly for a minute, Minho not sure what to say, and Taemin obviously and almost aggressively avoiding eye contact. Minho broke the silence. “What are you doing here?”

Now that he was standing and his scarf wasn’t obscuring his face, Minho could see the boy more clearly. Not only was he shivering from the cold, but his eyes were puffy and red and he couldn’t seem to stop sniffing. The runny nose could easily be attributed to the weather, but not the eyes.

“You’ve been crying!” Taemin was startled, stepping back and looking up at the taller boy’s face.

“I…I.. No I haven’t…” Taemin trailed off, lamely. Minho wasn’t having it. He clenched his teeth, annoyed not that Taemin was lying, but rather that someone had made him cry. He grabbed the boy by the wrist and pulled him to the door of the building beside them. The door was locked, but the last person to leave hadn’t locked the floor lock, so by shaking it a little bit, Minho was able to get the doors open. He scanned the hallway before again seizing Taemin’s arm and pulling him inside. He led him to the nearby stairs and sat him down. Then he sat next to him.

“Spill it.”

“Um…” Taemin looked Minho up and down, complete confusion covering his face. It didn’t matter to Minho that he wasn’t really friends with Taemin, that it was Jinki and Kibum that Taemin was close with. He knew they loved the boy and that was enough for him. But Taemin didn’t know Minho either, and Minho realized that the way he was acting was coming off too weird and gruff.

His anger had dissipated, looking at Taemin. He no longer had the confidence that comes with wanting to fight injustice, and so he faltered. He turned his body away, leaving space between them.

“Sorry. Just… what are you doing here?”

Taemin dropped his eyes, his quiet voice echoing in the empty building. “I just… Do you know where Kibum is? I… I really wanted to talk to him…”

“Yeah, he had an extra practice for cross country today.”

“Oh” was the only response Taemin gave. His shoulders slumped and he dropped his head.

“Do you want to talk to me about it?”

“No, it’s fine.” Taemin stood up. “Thanks, Minho. I’ll see you around.” He started to head back towards the door. Minho couldn’t let him leave, not when he knew he needed someone to talk to him. But how the heck was he supposed to convince this kid to open up about something obviously private.

“Wait!” Taemin stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “Do… do you want me to see if Kibum is almost done?”

Taemin turned back towards him, but didn’t come closer. With his head still lowered, he nodded slowly, sniffing again.

Minho couldn’t get his phone out of his pocket fast enough. He almost dropped it trying to rip off his gloves, but was finally able to pull up Kibum’s contact. His finger hovered over the message button, internally debating on whether he should text him or if calling him was really necessary. He knew Kibum would probably be pretty peeved to get a call so late into his practice, when he was really in the groove of it. Another glance up at the forlorn Taemin and Minho immediately pressed call.

It ran exactly 2 times before there was a soft “boop” on the other end and Kibum’s voicemail message hit Minho’s ears. He pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the screen. When he glanced at Taemin again, the boy had moved a little closer and was looking at Minho, hope sketched across his face.

“Uh… heheh… let me try again…” Minho laughed nervously and hastily typed a short text to Kibum. “ANSWER NOW”. He sent it and immediately redialed Kibum, holding the phone back up to his ear and trying to smile confidently at the younger boy.

This time, Kibum answered.

“I’m… going… to… kill you.” He growled into the phone, panting heavily.

“Hey, bud!” Minho feigned enthusiasm. He stood up and stepped a little closer to Taemin, smiling and nodding. “Hey, I just found… ran into Taemin on campus and he says he was looking for you. Any idea when you’re going to be done?”

“I’m going to rip off your arms and…” heavy panting “I’m going to find feral dogs and…” wheezing followed by more panting “I’m going to make you watch me feed your stupid arms to those dogs!!!”

“Well, yeah, that does sound fun! Hey, do you wanna just talk to Taemin?” Taemin nodded eagerly, so without waiting for Kibum to answer, Minho handed the phone over. He stepped back and watched the younger boy hold the phone close to his face and speak quietly.

“Kibummie? Is it going to be much longer? *pause* Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you about…” his eyes flicked up to Minho’s and then away again, “something… *pause* No, it’s… it’s not important. Can you call me when you’re done? *pause* Yeah, I understand. Yeah, here he his.” Taemin carefully held the phone out to Minho, who smiled and took it.

“Hey.”

“And after they’ve eaten your arms…” Kibum continued, apparently having now caught his breath. “I’m going to shave your head and strip you and leave you in the weirdest part of the city I can find! And THEN…”

“Okay! I got it! Hold on.” Minho pulled the phone away from his mouth for a second to speak to Taemin. “Taemin, I’m gonna be right back. Stay right here, do not move.”

Taemin just nodded innocently again.

Turning, the older boy headed down the hallway a few feet, stopping and pushing open the bathroom door. He checked to make sure Taemin was still where he’d left him before closing the door and speaking into the phone again.

“He was crying.”

“What?” Kibum sounded confused. And annoyed.

“When I found him outside, he had been crying. And he won’t tell me why.”

“Not really surprised. He doesn’t know you.” Minho could easily imagine the scathing look his best friend was sporting as they spoke right now. “You can be kind of intimidating to people who don’t know you.”

“What do I do?”

“Look, I will be done with practice in 30 minutes. Can’t you just hang out with him until then?”

Minho rolled his eyes. “Yes, and we will stand awkwardly somewhat near each other and say nothing the whole time. Oh what fun.”

“Minho, you’re not trying. He’s not that hard. Think, what would you want to do to get to know someone better?”

“I don’t know…” Minho scuffed his shoe lightly on the tile floor, thinking about what he did with people he didn’t know well. “I don’t really go out much… Maybe… Eat?” He said it with major uncertainty.

“Ding ding ding! We have a winner!” the sarcasm was heavy, but Minho got the point. “Minho, take the kid to get some food. Text me your location and I’ll meet you there when I’m done. Don’t make him talk. Talk about stuff you think he’d be interested in.” There was a pause and muffled talking before Kibum spoke to him again. “Look, I have to go. I’ll be there in a little bit. Take care of him, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” Minho heard the 3 beeps indicating the call had ended and slowly lowered the phone. So, what should he do now?

10 minutes later found Minho and Taemin seated in a small chicken shop, a steaming basket of chicken on the table between them. A plate was placed before each boy and Minho thanked the server, who disappeared behind the counter. He reached out and placed a piece of chicken onto each plate, looking up to check on Taemin. The whole walk to the place, Taemin had been silent again, walking a step behind Minho, who in turn would have to keep checking that the boy was still with him. Minho didn’t really think Taemin would run off, but he felt kind of protective over the younger boy. So, now they sat across from each other, Minho watching Taemin pick lightly at his food, and he decided he needed to come up with something to talk about.

“So,” he started off, picking up his chicken leg, “you really like Kibum, huh?” He took a bite of his chicken and waited for Taemin’s reaction.

Taemin’s eyes shot up and he hesitated for a few seconds. Dropping his eyes again, he answered, “Well… yeah…” He picked lightly at his food, taking ridiculously tiny bites. Minho felt a little bad for him.

“He told me,” Minho began, “that you’re one of his soulmates.”

Jackpot! That was exactly what Taemin needed to hear, apparently. He looked up at Minho again, this time his face coloring with happiness. Funny how such a small comment had perked him up so easily.

“Yeah! He told me that, too! He said he thinks there are more than one kind of soulmate, and that friends can be soulmates, too, and he thinks I’m one of his!”

Minho smiled. “Yeah, I think there’s probably a lot of truth behind that. He really likes you, you know? He talks about you a lot…worries about you, too. He said yesterday he wishes you went to the same school as us because he wishes you were around more.”

Taemin’s smile faltered, again. “But I’m not very good at sports, so there’s no way my parents would let me go into a sports high school.” He sighed and began picking at his food again.

Backtrack, different topic, Minho thought to himself. He swallowed and tried again. “What do you and Kibum do together?” He grabbed some more chicken, trying to make the atmosphere casual.

“Nothing really special,” Taemin shrugged. “We eat, and watch movies. We’ve played video games at his house a couple times. I like his house. It’s really relaxed.” Taemin smiled to himself, pleasant memories lingering in his mind. “One time, he even cooked for me. He won’t let me help.” He faked a pout.

“Why not?” asked the older boy, reaching for more food.

“Probably because I kind of get sidetracked, sometimes. And I told him about the time I accidentally set a pan on fire when I was trying to make breakfast. But that was ONE TIME!” Taemin emphasized the last words, making Minho chuckle. Taemin was a cute kid.

“Was it okay?”

“Yeah, Jinki walked in just in time to catch it and put it out.” Again, Taemin smiled pleasantly. He looked at Minho curiously, but the latter decided to ignore the offer to talk about JInki. He’d prefer to learn about the eldest friend in his own ways, and less indirectly.

Taemin shrugged again and continued. “Kibum talks about you, too. He tells me stories about you guys growing up together. He says you’re the reason he learned to stand up for himself and for others. That you’re the reason he was able to really discover himself AND feel confident and accepted.”

Minho was incredulous. “He really says things like that about me? Not what an annoying idiot I am?”

Now it was Taemin’s turn to not believe the other. “Idiot? Kibummie has nothing but love for you. You’d get A+s, gold stars, all the thumbs up. He told me that he feels like you’re a piece of him that God forgot to include, so He made a whole person so that Kibum wouldn’t be lacking.”

Minho was touched. Kibum would never have said that to his face. But he was willing to tell Taemin. Kibum and Taemin really must be soulmates, for him to feel so comfortable so quickly. Kibum didn’t have many close friends, so he didn’t typically open up to people easily. At the same time, Minho’s heart hurt a little hearing this. He knew that Kibum hadn’t known Jonghyun for very long, but still, he should be feeling even some inkling of these feelings towards his actual proven soulmate, and not just his best friend. How long was Jonghyun going to take to finally come around to the fact that you can’t choose your soulmate…soulmates.

Taemin finally began to eat, for real eat. He picked up a picked up his chicken and bit right into it. Speaking while chewing, he said, “Kibummie, he’s an amazing guy! I’m lucky to be his friend!” He swallowed. “He told me he thinks you’re also one of his friend soulmates. I’m glad that he has such a great person like you. But, I don’t want to step on any toes. I don’t want to come between what you and Kibummie already have. You’re both so close, and you take such good care of him. I… I’m just some kid.” He sighed and picked up another piece of food. “It’s no big deal. I just don’t want you to feel like… like I’m imposing myself or anything.”

Minho sat back and looked at the younger boy, really looked at him. His black hair was a bit overgrown and shaggy, but when Minho had seen it styled, it was wowing. His face was small, with slight features, he was definitely handsome. His body was long and thin, almost gangly, except that the kid moved with the grace of a swan. When he was around Kibum, he used big movements and was bright and outgoing, but there were times, like now, when he could sink back into himself and make himself look very small and vulnerable. Minho was pretty sure that it wasn’t a trick, that Taemin wasn’t doing it intentionally. It was just a natural reaction to being self-conscious and nervous. But Minho didn’t want the boy to feel like that. This boy in front of him was his soulmates cousin, practically his little brother, and that meant that Taemin was a part of his life forever, as well.

Minho smiled comfortingly and leaned forward again to pat Taemin’s arm. “Well, you know, I think Kibum is right. I think we do have more than one soulmate. I think Kibum and I are soulmates and you and Kibum are soulmates as well.” Taemin smiled widely, obviously happy that Minho had acknowledged this beautiful idea as valid. “And honestly,” he continued, “if you are Kibum’s soulmate, and I am Kibum’s soulmate… doesn’t that also kinda make us soulmates, too, even if it is indirectly?”

Taemin almost gasped. He jumped up from his seat, his smile so wide at this point that Minho could practically count all of his teeth. He stood up as well, beaming at the boy, feeling the same excitement. He hadn’t realized before now how special this could actually be. He’d know for a very long time about Kibum’s friend-soulmates idea, but he hadn’t really connected the dots until another friend entered the picture. And suddenly Taemin was hugging him and he was surprised, but he quickly recovered. Chuckling, Minho patted Taemin slowly on the back. Just as quickly as it began, Taemin pulled away and stepped back, his face coloring red with embarrassment.

“Ah, sorry! I forget that some people… some people don’t like that I’m kind of touchy-feely.” Minho beamed down at the boy and tussled his hair. Gesturing for Taemin to take a seat, he responded.

“Don’t forget, my best friend is Kim Kibum, the king of skinship.” He crossed his legs and stretched his arms behind his head, in an exaggerated confidence pose. Taemin laughed and settled into his chair.

A few minutes passed of them sitting and eating in a comfortable silence. They ordered more food and indulged, Minho making sure there would be some for Kibum when he arrived.

“Um… Minho?” Minho looked up and met eyes with Taemin. “Can I ask you something… kinda personal?”

The older boy wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Sure, what’s up?”

Taemin fidgeted with his fingers under the table. His nervousness began to rub off on Minho and make him nervous as to what was about to be asked. “When you found out that… that Jinki was… is your soulmate… how did you feel?”

Minho cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brow, thinking back to that night. He hadn’t really thought about his feelings of that night in depth before. “Well… it was fine, I guess.”

Now, Taemin furrowed his own brow, “Fine? What does that mean?”

“I just mean… I guess I ultimately felt relieved.”

“Ultimately? What did you feel before that? Like, right after he told you…”

Why was Taemin asking this? Had he known beforehand that Jinki and Minho were soulmates? Minho tried to read Taemin, but the boy kept his eyes down, focused on his plate.

“Taemin. Did you know? Did you know before my countdown appeared that I was Jinki’s soulmate?” Taemin ducked his head lower. Minho continued. “Even when we met, did you know who I was, already?”

When the younger brunette spoke again, his voice squeaked with nerves. “I… I knew your name.”

“….. so when we first met…”

“I knew who you were, yes.”

“You… you knew that big of a secret and you didn’t say anything. You didn’t even act like it.”

Taemin looked up at Minho, and suddenly he didn’t seem nervous anymore.

“Minho, that wasn’t my secret to tell. Jinki is like an older brother to me. He’s been in my life since I was a year old. We talk to each other about practically everything. He knows me better than anyone, and I him. He knows he can trust me with anything. He’s… Minho, he’s my Kibum.”

And Minho understood. Of course he did. If there was any analogy in this world that could truly hit home for Minho, it was definitely this one.

“I was shocked…”

“…what?”

“Right after he told me, and I realized. I was shocked.”

“Oh.”

“Not in a bad way. I just hadn’t considered it. I’d known him for almost 2 years and I considered us, well… good friends at the very least. But I hadn’t considered anything more than that.”

Taemin was silent. Minho couldn’t help but continue. He’d so rarely gotten to voice his thoughts on this that it just began to spill out of him now.

“Not just with him. With anyone. I have this thing, you see… about soulmates and dating and stuff. When I was younger, I’d never let myself get interested in anyone because I didn’t want to hurt anyone. What if we fell in love and then we weren’t soulmates? I wasn’t going to do that to anyone. So I just kinda… distanced myself from anyone like that.”

“Well,” Taemin took a deep breath, searching for a response it seemed. “that’s good, I guess. What about Kibummie? Did you ever have feelings for him?”

“No, not for Kibum. Not like that. I’m the luckiest guy in the world when it comes to Kibum. He told me once a few years ago that a few years before that, he’d had a crush on me, but I never felt that way about him. He was always my best friend. He was always exactly who and where I needed him to be. I never had to fall in love with him because I had always loved him. It’s like he said to you, he’s a part of me. I wouldn’t be me without him.”

“So, what about JInki? He’s a guy… you know…”

“Yeah, that doesn’t bother me. Kibum labeled himself a long time ago because he said it helped him understand himself better. But, I never did that. I guess I was too scared that I might feel one way about my uality, and then get something else for a soulmate. I might be feeling a lot differently right now if I had decided I was straight and then gotten my countdown.”

“So… nah, that’s too personal…”

“What?”

“Well, I was going to ask about… relations with Jinki… but nevermind.”

Minho laughed. He threw his head back and laughed out loud. When he caught his breath, he spoke again. “You know, I haven’t thought in depth about that, but I’m sure I will. He’s my soulmate and I plan on being with him. I’ve just got to get to that point first. I’m not in a rush.”

Taemin smiled now, relief washing over his features. “Good. Jinki was worried, like, REALLY worried that you wouldn’t accept him. I know that homophobia isn’t really a thing so much anymore in the majority of society, because most people accept that you can’t pick your soulmate. But some people… well, some old habits can be hard to kill.”

Minho chuckled again. “Yeah, no worries about that with my family. My mom’s biggest concern when she found out about Jinki was whether we’d adopt or use an egg donor and surrogate. My mom really wants to see her eyes on a little girl, so she’s lobbying for egg donor.” The look on Taemin’s face made Minho quickly add, “Don’t worry! I haven’t told Jinki and I’m definitely in no rush.”

Now it was Taemin’s turn to chuckle. “Your mom sounds nice. I hope I can be like you and just not worry about dating until later. Not like I’m allowed to date until I’m 18 anyway, though.” He huffed and took a sip of water.

“How come?”

Taemin faltered, holding his glass to his lips and thinking through his next words carefully. “My parents just don’t want me to make any mistakes when it comes to love.”

Minho shrugged nonchalantly. “Everyone makes mistakes with love. It’s not like you can really avoid it, and maybe dating now would help you find out what kind of person you are when it comes to dating.”

“Not those kinds of mistakes.” Taemin mumbled under his breath. When Minho gave him a quizzical look, he just shook his head and smiled.

“Well, were you going to save me any or do I have to order it myself?” Kibum appeared between the two boys, smiling happily, a beanie pulled loosely over his still damp hair.

“Kibum, did you not dry your hair after showering?” Minho nagged at the older boy, pulling him down into a chair between them and taking his bag to set down. He signaled to the server for more chicken.

“No time, I’m starving! You’re buying.” Minho just nodded and watched Kibum scarf down the food set before him. In between mouthfuls, he directed his next question at Taemin. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Oh.” Taemin distractedly watched the eldest somehow managed to wolf down his meal while also keeping his face impeccably clean. He shook his head slightly, as if clearing his thoughts. “Yeah, it’s just… there’s this person I like… I think. I told them over Christmas that I think I like them and they… they just said they don’t like me like that. And now I’m kind of worried that they won’t want to be my friend anymore. I’m worried I made it weird.”

“Is that all?” Kibum wiped his face with a napkin as he watched Taemin respond. To Minho’s surprise, the boy continued.

“Not really, I guess. It just kind of hurts, you know? When the person you like doesn’t like you ba…” he stopped short and shut his mouth tight, staring at Kibum. Minho stared back and forth between the two. Was that okay for Taemin to say to Kibum?

Kibum reached over and squeezed Taemin’s shoulder comfortingly. “Yeah, I seem to know exactly what you mean.” He sighed and leaned onto the table, his fist propping up his head. “Well,” he continued, “have you known them for long?”

“Maybe 6 months. We are in the same class this year.”

“Is it okay if they don’t like you back? I mean, does it change a lot of stuff?” Kibum was doing the thing that Minho both liked and despised. He had this way of helping someone analyze a situation without actually giving his own thoughts or input. Minho knew that it helped Kibum not have to put too much of himself out there, but he didn’t like it when Kibum did it to him. The trouble was, Minho never realized Kibum was doing it in the moment, only afterwards or from an outsider’s perspective.

“It’ll probably be okay. We don’t really sit near each other. We started to eat together at lunch, so that’s how I really got to know them, but I could always sit somewhere else. I have other people I’m friends with. I’m just disappointed. But really, what did I expect? It’s not like I can date anyway…”

“What if they still want to be friends? Can you go back to that?”

“I don’t know. Should I try that? Do I just pretend nothing happened?”

Kibum shifted in his chair, crossing his legs and folding his arms. He contemplated the idea and outcomes of the situation. “I think,” he suggested, “that you should talk to them about it. Just find a time alone and talk to them. Ask them what they want.”

“Yeah,” Minho chimed in. “If you don’t talk to them, you could get some misunderstandings. It’s better to be clear with what you want.”

Taemin sighed and folded his arms across the table, resting his chin across them cutely. “Easier said than done, but I’ll try it. Thanks, guys.”

“Do you feel better?” Kibum Taemin’s cheek sweetly.

“Yeah. Minho really helped me out before you got here, too.”

Kibum smiled and jokingly replied “Hashtag, soulmates.”

The three of them soon left the small eatery and headed back towards their homes, Minho and Kibum dropping Taemin at his bus stop. They made plans to hang out soon during the break. That evening, as Minho thought back over the events of that afternoon, he texted Kibum.

                         you have some pretty

                           awesome soulmates.

2 out of 3 ain’t bad, huh?

                           ㅍ3ㅍ