After pacing around his room for an hour, trying to decide whether to go to class or not, Jongin gives up and flops back on his bed. Attending lecture today would be pointless. His eyes are transfixed on the tattoo, his mind consumed by questions about the black ink’s reappearance. He snaps a picture on his phone and sends it to Sehun: The signal - it’s back.

What does it mean? Had it been a simple proximity issue and his soulmate is back in Seoul? Had he finally been restored enough as a person that he was maybe worthy of him again? He thought he was over this, but the return of his precious markings has his heart fluttering and mind racing again.

His phone buzzes and shows Sehun’s derpy profile pic of him surrounded by orange toilet paper.

“Congrats on the security of knowing you won’t die alone. I better be best man at the wedding.”

“What do you think it means?” Jongin has found over the years that if you want to have a serious conversation with Sehun, it’s best just to ignore his bull and stay on track. Which isn’t always easy, but the alternative of stooping to his best friend’s level of nonsense ultimately derails into a rowdy match of ‘nuh uh, yuh huh’ style debate, like they’re back in elementary school.

“Um, I’d assume it means you’ve got a thing for tattoo fanatics, seeing as your first true love was all about the ink and now so is your second one.”

Second one… is this a new mate? Jongin frowns, uncomfortable with the thought.

“Why a new one? It could be the same person.” For the first time, he really thinks about the thunderbolt and the stark contrast from his beloved flowers.

“Yeah, I guess. I thought we’d figured they were some kind of florist. What’s a florist have to do with lightning?”

True. “But wouldn’t it be weird for me to get the signal in the exact same spot, in the same format, if it was a new person?” Jongin lets his pinky trail over the black lines, searching for any signs of familiarity with the thickness or curve of the , but he’s not sure. It’s been too long. He gnaws his lip, uncertain. Do I know you? Are my original special one?

There’s a ruffling of bedcovers and Sehun yawns into the phone. “Sorry, I guess it could be the same guy. Maybe I’m just biased because you were so certain something catastrophic had happened. See? Your teen angst has been a terrible influence. I may have to sue you for my mid-life emotional distress.”

“Yes, yes. Thanks as always for your great advice and never-ending support, jackass.” Jongin blows a raspberry into the phone.

“I’ll say one thing before I go back to sleep because it’s…” there’s a pause as he checks his clock, “9am? What the hell, waking before noon in college is a sin, Jingo. Look, focus on this: you have a soulmate. And the lucky bastard is somewhere nearby. So get out of your room and maybe you’ll find him.”

Jongin feels his lips curl into a small smile. This is why Sehun’s the best.

“Unless you think it might be your roommate, in which case, stay in and and text me later if it was any good.”

...and this is why Sehun’s also the worst.

He hangs up and heads down the hallway for the communal showers. Though he knows it shouldn’t be affected by the water spray, he holds his left wrist up and out of the way as much as possible, treating it like precious art on fragile canvas. As he suds up his hair with one hand, he thinks about his best friend’s words. Sehun is right: his mate is out there. Somewhere nearby, there’s a compatible soul, perfectly fit with Jongin’s own. Oh my god, he’s nearby . What if it is his roommate? What if it’s the guy in the shower stall next to him who’s currently hogging all the hot water? Suddenly, everyone new in his life becomes a suspect. And that’s a big ing problem considering that he just started attending a university with 28,000 students.

Stressed, Jongin rinses off quickly, scurrying back to his room in his towel. Okay, time to get dressed. Getting dressed: what if he sees him today? He probably ran across him pretty recently for the tattoos to start back up again, right? , he’s going to need to dress well from here on out just so that he doesn’t end up meeting him while in his raggedy old Big Bird t-shirt and make a terrible first impression. (Though anyone who has a beef with the Bird has a beef with Jongin.) Okay, a compromise: no slouchy college attire, but nothing too out of place for campus either. Frustrated but determined, he picks out a comfortable pair of acid wash jeans and a forest green sweater. He finger combs his dark hair and lets it dry fluffy, gathers his notebooks just in case he can actually get some work done, and heads out.

But where? He closes his eyes and debates returning to his peaceful nook in the library stacks or heading back to the coffee shop from yesterday. Both feel… right. Whatever that means.

He turns toward the cafe.

The place isn’t quite as busy as the previous day, probably because most of its patrons are still in class (where Jongin ought to be, he remembers with chagrin). He gravitates back to the same booth as yesterday, against the chalkboard wall. Today, he notices there is a small wooden box sitting atop his table, filled with colorful sticks of chalk. There’s an attached note.

Chalk is happiest when scrawled across a surface: Please draw with me!

Jongin smiles at the message. Cute. He paws through the box and finds a stick of soft pink. The wall is completely blank at the moment. He swivels in his seat, choosing a small section right next to his elbow, and starts to doodle a simple flower, his favorite from memory. Five petals, one leaf--

“Hello- Oh great, you’re using the chalkbox,” a deep voice greets him from behind.

Jongin turns around and almost loses his breath. Standing beside him, hand resting casually atop the back of his booth, is the auburn-haired boy that had caught his eye yesterday. He’d wanted to linger to catch a peek of his face, and Jongin’s instincts were absolutely on point. The barista’s handsome back view is absolutely eclipsed by his gorgeous front: the pale skinned beauty gazes down at him, looking pleased and biting in his lower lip. “Putting out chalk for the customers to use was my idea,” he confides quietly.

“It was a good one,” Jongin says honestly, unable to tear his eyes away from the barista’s, which are sparkling with a hint of pride at his compliment. Holy hell, this guy is hot.

“Do you draw?” asks Dreamy McLatte, bright curiosity now in his exceptionally large eyes. They’re so expressive and paired with strong brows that Jongin can’t stop running his own eyes over. He blushes and quits ogling the barista, turning back to his doodle and quickly wiping it away before the guy can inspect it and find it wanting.

“No, I just scribble sometimes when I’m bored.” Jongin quickly checks the guy’s charcoal gray apron for a name, but there’s nothing embroidered into it.

“Ah, me, too. But I pretend that it’s all part of my professional development.” Dreamy graces him with the most beautiful smile Jongin has ever seen, the guy’s full lips transforming into an open heart shape. “I’m an art major.”

“I’m Jongin,” he introduces himself totally inappropriately. What the hell. He’s a damn customer, what is he doing; workers here don’t want to know his name.

Dreamy doesn’t seem to mind, though. “Nice to meet you, Jongin.” His name falls off the barista’s tongue in such a lovely tone. “I’m Kyungsoo. Are you a regular here?”

“Um, not yet?” he volunteers hesitantly. “I mean, I just started classes at Hongik.”

“Oh? Me too. I’m a transfer student though, so I’m technically a sophomore,” the barista explains. “Well, I guess if you’re undecided on this cafe, I’ll have to do my best to serve you so you’ll keep coming back.” Dreamy Kyungsoo gives him a little wink, and Jongin drops the chalk in his hand.

He mumbles an apology, picking it up off the floor and placing back into the little chalk box.

“So what can I get for you, Jongin?”

“Whatever you want.” that sounds desperate. “I mean, is there something you’d recommend?” he bumbles his words trying to recover. He has no idea what to order since he’s never had coffee, but he’s not too keen on admitting it lest he offend the guy’s job.

“Hmm,” Kyungsoo hums, tapping his index finger against his plush lips while thinking. “How about a hazelnut Americano?”

He thinks he’s heard of that drink once before on a drama. “Yeah, sounds good.”

“Okay, then. I’ll have it right out for you, Jongin,” Kyungsoo says, patting the table and shooting him another smile before leaving.

As soon as Jongin is sure he’s behind the bar and working on whatever-the-hell an Americano is, he fumbles his phone out his pocket and struggles through a litany of typos to text Sehun. SHeun, theres a guy!! Help?

“Answer, answer,” he mutters under his breath, waiting for the Read notification to pop up. None does. Oh come on, is this the first day Sehun decides to actually turn off his phone in class?

“Here you are,” Kyungsoo returns with his drink. “Oh - where’d your drawing go?” He tilts his head to the side with just the faint hint of a pout, seeing the chalk smeared off the wall.

“It wasn’t any good. I’d be ruining your wall,” Jongin insists.

“Nonsense. It doesn’t have to be polished, it’s just meant to be an outlet. Art is just… drawing what you feel.”

Jongin suddenly feels bad for being the first to draw but erasing it and taking that little bit of joy away from Kyungsoo. “Well, I’m uh, going to work on chemistry right now. Is it okay if I doodle molecular models?”

“Yeah,” comes the encouraging reply, his pretty eyes flashing with excitement. “That’d be awesome. The vision is just for it to be a community board, and course material totally fits since half our customer base is from the university. I just need someone to break the ice, be the first brave soul to make their mark.”

Jongin nods. “I can do that. But if you’re an art major, why not work your magic on it yourself?” he asks, offering the chalkbox to him.

Kyungsoo politely declines. “Maybe some other time. I need to go help those other customers, but I’ll check back with you later on?”

Jongin gives him an awkward wave goodbye and watches Kyungsoo’s bright auburn hair as he strolls over to greet a group that’s just arrived at the cafe. He pulls out his notebook and stares at his notes from yesterday’s Chem class, trying to ignore the thudding of his heart inside his chest. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it. A deep exhale centers him, and he takes a tentative sip of the drink. Not bad; a little strong, but not as bitter as he’d expected. There’s a hint of sweetness mixed in.

The rhythm of the coffee grinder at work helps him sink into concentration, the chemical bonds making more sense now than they did in the lecture hall. For the next hour, he sketches molecular models in brightly colored chalk, labelling each compound and doing his best to make his lines even.

All the while, there’s one thought that continually races along the edges of his mind, like a headline on a news ticker: ‘Could it be Kyungsoo?’ Jongin considers his possible courses of action and can only imagine two: Say nothing... or Say everything.

He can feel Kyungsoo approach before he sees him, the methodical sound of his black combat boots on the floor giving the barista’s position away. (Not that Jongin’s been paying attention to his every step around the coffee shop for the last 60 minutes. That would be creepy, wouldn’t it?)

“I see you enjoyed the Americano.” Kyungsoo smiles as he collects the now empty cup. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Jongin almost yanks his sweater sleeve up to reveal the thunderbolt and ask Kyungsoo if he knows anything about… about what exactly? Meteorology? How to word this. He’s on the edge of saying something, but his mouth can’t figure out what. Kyungsoo watches him expectantly, sustaining eye contact, until Jongin’s phone buzzes on the table.

“Oh sorry!” Jongin flips the phone face down, noticing Sehun’s text simply said Slow down - don’t do anything stupid. He swallows and takes the advice to heart. “I’m alright. Ah, did I do okay with your chalkboard?”

Kyungsoo peruses the wall and nods appreciatively. “Yeah, it’s awesome! You have great control,” he compliments, tilting his head to the side and gesturing to the neat lines of his bonds. “You sure you don’t draw?”

“Positive. Just sketched a lot when I was young.”

Kyungsoo looks like he’s about to say more, but they’re interrupted by a voice from behind the bar. “Soo! Can you get more soy milk from the back?”

“Duty calls,” he says apologetically. “See you later, Jongin.”

“Bye… Kyungsoo,” he replies softly. Once the guy has disappeared into the storeroom, Jongin packs up his stuff and heads out, texting Sehun at the same time.

Okay, I left

Left? I didn’t mean run away, just don’t open with, “Hur dur, are you my soulmate?”

Before you texted, I almost asked him if he liked inclement weather

Gdi, Jingo. I’m done with class in 5 min, i’ll call

In the meantime, Jongin walks toward the campus library and finds a shady bench to drop down on. He leans back and admires the leaves ruffling in the wind until his phone rings.

“Hey.”

“So look, I know I was the one telling you to go out and find him and whatever, but you can’t let yourself believe the first hot piece of you see is your soulmate.”

Jongin groans. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Wasn’t it? You’re telling me the guy was ugly? Tough break, man.”

“No, he was… He was beautiful. His face, I mean. I didn’t even look at his .” Jongin frowns. He probably should’ve checked, for science.

“Exactly: I’ve known you for years, dude, and you’ve never thought anyone was ‘beautiful.’ Because you weren’t even looking. Now you’ve got a signal again, and I bet everyone is going to suddenly start looking hotter.”

Jongin scowls and retorts. “Oh really? Cause I’m looking at your contact pic and you still look like a sack of to me.”

“God and even the Devil himself know that we’re not soulmates, just bromates, assface. Now tuck that pouty lip away and listen to me.” Sehun pauses, shifting to a more serious tone. “You want this to happen. There’s nothing wrong with that. I want this to happen for you. But don’t rush it too much or you might freak a lot of people out, get a reputation for being soulmate-crazy, and run out of steam while trying to find him.” They’d seen it before, some people getting overly eager in high school and getting ostracized as ‘mateys.’ “I’d hate to see you lose this newfound optimism, that’s all.”

It’s good advice. Twice in one day, wtf, this is the dawning of a new age.

“So just… proceed but, like a normal human being? If you’re capable of being normal, you nerd.”

“I’ll try,