“Toriko….boarded the bus for Narita at 5:30am…” Taeyong let out a huff, looking at the mess of hiragana and kanji on his paper that he prayed was right. His test was in approximately three hours, and he debated tossing in the towel and drinking his sorrows away in a few double shot espressos before his early morning Japanese class. These sentences weren’t even that hard! Taeyong’s forehead fell against the desk and he ran his hands through his dark hair a few times. The perfectionist in him needed everything to be locked away in the recesses of his mind before this morning’s exam but the reality looming over him said that his brain was already oversaturated. It was fruitless now; he needed to give up.

With a huff he took his Sharpie in hand and rolled up his left sleeve. He’d hate himself for this in the afternoon but for now Taeyong needed at least a few notes at his disposal. So he jotted down a couple of sentences for his exposition and went to call it a night. Or a morning? He needed to get that coffee as soon as possible.

Yuta’s third alarm of the morning was blaring when he finally rolled over and ended his misery. The only aspect of his job he despised was the waking up early, and yet here he was at 6AM crawling his way out of bed and into the shower. Call time was at 7:30.

He let the hot shower steam up his small bathroom, eyes fixed on his phone. Twitter was more interesting than washing his hair, but eventually the guilt of wasting water struck in his gut and he stripped away his pajamas to get clean and, finally, wake the up. Pouring a generous amount of soap into his palm he started on washing his body first. Counter to most people he knew Yuta liked to work backwards, sudsing up his legs first, then covering his stomach, before finally finishing with his arms and shoulders. He hummed a tune under his breath, the theme of the latest anime romantic comedy that Hansol dragged him to the other day, when his focus shifted to his arms. “Ah!” His eyes caught something creeping across his skin-- black from left to write in a handwriting so neat it certainly couldn’t be Yuta’s own. “Toriko boarded the bus by Narita at 5:30am hoping to make it in time...She checked her watch….”

Yuta’s eyes widened; shocked, confused, horrified because flaws on his body were the last thing he needed for a magazine shoot. He gripped the loofa harder, the small holes carving into his skin over and over in vain. No matter his effort the words simply wouldn’t wash away. So he scrubbed and scrubbed (not an action unfamiliar to him from his darker moments) until a thought dawned in him-- shared ink.

His head fell against the cool shower wall and he lets out a sigh of relief. He knew the stories of “soulmates.” His parents used to gush about the birthmark they shared, a discovery made when they met abroad in college. Both had come from the same prefecture in Fukushima and the local mark bound them together. But soulmate signs show up sporadically and vary between partners; or so the rumors say. Yuta looked down at his ink and wondered just what bound him to it. He was never good at school, and especially not with writing. Still, wrapping a towel around his waist and grabbing another for his hair he decided to test it.

The pen was shaking in his trembling palm. “The particle you want. It’s not ‘by’ but ‘for’” Yuta wrote back with a chuckle. If this worked then his soulmate clearly wasn’t Japanese. Not that his mistakes were terrible or his sentences indecipherable but Yuta could, at the very least, recognize textbook Japanese.

There was a long pause, Yuta’s eyes fixed on his skin in anticipation, and then across Yuta’s inner forearm appeared ‘Arigato.’

‘iie,’ Yuta scrawled back with a chuckle, then quickly washed the ink away in his bathroom sink. He thought about asking whomever was on the other end of that pen if he needed these notes for the sake of Yuta’s job but then he reconsidered and wrote instead, ‘I’m Nakamoto Yuta, pleasure to meet you, Soulmate.’

Soulmate… The word rang weirdly in Taeyong’s ears (and read weirdly in katakana) though logically he knew there was no other explanation. At 21he was finally connected to the person he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. A complete stranger, at that; someone whose personality, appearance, living and eating habits were all a mystery to him. He was anxious just thinking about it. His soulmate being Japanese did make him feel a bit better, however. It gave him a sense that his life’s goal to move to Japan and pursue a career there wasn’t so out of reach. And, fortunately, the first thing he learned in Japanese 101 was self-introductions so he quickly wrote back, ‘My name is Lee Taeyong, Korean, it’s nice to meet you, Yuta-san.’

‘Well we haven’t met yet,’ Yuta was outright laughing as he replied. He couldn’t help the grin spreading across his lips or the excitement pooling in the pit of his stomach. This soulmate thing was amazing. Eighteen was typically the demarcating year for soulmates. His parents has met on their first year of university. His sister woke up with a name on her finger the day of her eighteenth birthday. But for Yuta, eighteen was the year of broken dreams and a shattered future and no soulmate in sight to top it all off. He never thought he’d find something, not at 21.

‘I...don’t understand…’

‘Ah,’ Yuta pauses to think of the best way he could simplify his sentence. He didn’t know how to write in Korean beyond typical greetings so he had to rely on the blessed fact that this person, Lee Taeyong, was taking Japanese. ‘You and I have not met yet so we cannot say ‘Nice to meet’.’

‘Oh.’ Taeyong’s lips drew into a tight line and he struggled to think of a reply. ‘This is too much for me right now ;;’ He scrawled out quickly in Korean and hoped that maybe this mysterious Japanese man might be able to understand him. Yuta couldn’t completely, but he definitely knew someone who could help. He flipped on his phone to send Hansol a quick snap of his arm. Then, when his friend didn’t reply immediately, Yuta spammed him with stickers.

Jisol_11: What do u want
NaYut: look at the picture
NaYut: what does it say????
NaYut: ???

Across Yuta’s arm came another message, fortunately in Japanese this time ‘Do you understand Korean?’

Yuta started typing faster.

NaYut: ?>??
Jisol_11: shut UP
Jisol_11: It says,
Jisol_11 is typing…

Yuta discovered he’s running about 10 minutes late and sprinted back into the bathroom to tone and moisturize his face. Fortunately hair, makeup, and clothing would be taken care of for him so he really only had to worry about showing up on time. Problem being that even that was in jeopardy. And Hansol still hadn’t replied to him.

NaYut: Will you help pls!!!
Jisol_11: Sorry, fell asleep
Jisol_11: it says ‘This is too much for me right now’ with some sweatdrops
Jisol_11: Why’re you writing on your arm in Korean

Ignoring Hansol’s message, Yuta snatched up the sharpie again to write out a quick ‘Sorry^^’ in sloppy Japanese. ‘I don’t know a lot but my friend does.’

Yuta looked at his phone again. Covering a few lingering messages demanding clarification from Hansol was the time. 7:10AM. ‘I need to leave for work. No new messages ok? Good luck on your exam!’ He headed to the bathroom to wash it off when one final thought struck. Rather than his now clean forearm, which still boasted Lee Taeyong’s initial study cheats, Yuta chose to write on the inside of his pinky. ‘Hwaiting^^’

Taeyong stared at his now mostly bare arm for a few silent moments, replaying the conversation in his head while his heart rate settled. A soulmate. Taeyong never thought much about soulmates. His parents hadn’t been around long enough for him to learn the various myths and legends of soulmates; the loss of his aunt had such a jarring impact on his uncle that they never really spoke about it. It tended to leave Taeyong with bitter thoughts. What’s the worth of a partner selected by the universe if time was still so fleeting? He wasn’t as against the whole thing as his best friend Doyoung, but he certainly didn’t put much weight on the idea. Which left a weird twist in his stomach as he looked over the tiny message on his pinky. Whoever this Nakamoto Yuta was seemed...nice. At the very least the practical side of Taeyong wanted to probe him for more help with his Japanese.

His phone started buzzing against his desk.

“Hello?”

“Aiiiiiish! I dragged my out to this cafe to keep you from being miserable before your exam and you’re not even here yet,” a voice whined from the other end.

“Yah! Are you talking down to me?” Taeyong tried to keep his voice as stern as possible but laughter crept its way around the edges of his older brother-like act. “I’ll be there soon.”

“You’re buying me bread when you come,” Doyoung insisted, “It’s the least you can do for making me wake up and then wait for you.”

“What a brat,” Taeyong chuckled under his breath, “See you soon.”

Except soon is as long as it takes him to change and do his hair before he finally made it to the Coffee Bean on their university grounds. Taeyong didn’t live on campus, but Doyoung’s dorm resided in the apartment just above their favorite cafe. It was truly unfair that Taeyong’s delay meant having to shell out for Doyoung’s breakfast but for the younger male Taeyong would do just about anything. He placed a chocolate croissant and small americano before his friend as a peace offering then slipped into the chair across from him.

“You’re forgiven,” Doyoung hummed as he ripped into his meal. “How do you feel about your exam?”

“Will you chew with your mouth closed?” Taeyong peered over the top of his latte with a quirk of his brow, “Did your parents teach you any manners.”

“How dare you talk about my mother like that. I’ll have you know that she did her absolutely best considering the circumstances of--”

Taeyong’s hand flew between them to stop his tirade. “Spare me, please.”

“Well, then answer my question. How do you feel about your exam?”

“Ah…” He instinctively rubbed at the sharpied sentences under the sleeve of his jean jacket. “I guess we’ll see.”

“You have bags under your eyes so I’m guessing you got zero hours of sleep. You’ll probably be fine.”

“I hope so but we’ll see.” If he failed it wouldn’t be the first time and if he didn’t then he could at least comfortably maintain his rank in the top 10. Taeyong was good at most subjects but languages always threw him for a loop. What was worse, his ability to graduate hardly hinged on his performance in upper level Japanese; he just wanted the skill down before he left everything to move to Japan.

Doyoung’s sweet smile pulled him from his thoughts and he smiled back. “You’ll do great, hyung.”

x

Yuta spent his time in the makeup chair scrolling through every Lee Taeyong he could find on Facebook, despite having no other information besides his name and the fact that he studied Japanese. He was at least able to knock off a few older looking salary men from his list (or he hoped his soulmate wasn’t that much older than him, destined love or not Yuta didn’t want to be stuck with a geezer).

“Yu-chan you’re ready,” Sayumi, his usual stylist for most local shoots, smiled and stepped back from her work. “Your outfits are over there.”

He smiled brightly back in thanks, bowing his head once between slipping from the chair and approaching the clothing rack. Every outfit was sleeveless. Yuta gulped. “Sayumi-san,” he turned back to her, grinning in that way that told her he was about to make a request. “Could you help me with one more thing?”

She looked skeptically at him, “Maybe,” her arms folded across her chest. “What is it?”

Shamelessly, Yuta stripped the thin white sweater from his body and draped it over the neatest chair. Had Sayumi not been with him since his first year in the industry she’d probably have blushed. Instead she yelled at him, “This isn’t a strip club!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Yuta chuckled, “Just...well, look.” He extended his arm out between them here the black ink had faded in a few spots but was still as prominent as when it appeared on Yuta that morning. “Can you cover this up?”

She didn’t seem pleased but to Yuta’s relief started mixing shades of foundation together to assist him. “It’s not like you to draw on yourself.”

“It’s not mine,” He replied almost proudly, eyebrows raised in excitement. “It’s my soulmate.”

“Oh, really?” Yuta wouldn’t tell just anyone something so personal. Sayumi recognized her privileged position after keeping the boy calm in his work over the last two years. And, like any “older sister” would be, she was incredibly excited for him. “You’ll have to tell me more about this person. But maybe ask them not to write on you before magazine shoots.”

“He has a Japanese exam, so I let it slide this time.”

“He? Ehhh?”

“Oh…” Yuta’s face fell, “Is that...I didn’t mean...just don’t worry about it..”

“No no, Yu-chan. He or she, I’m happy you have this person,” She covered the last character in makeup, eyes low on her work, “Just be careful who you tell okay? It’s not the right time for you to reveal this if you want your career to continue.” After carefully applying some setting powder she looked up to him and smiled warmly, “Just some sisterly advice, take it as you will. Now hurry out before the director gets mad!”

Caught up in his excitement Yuta hadn’t really thought about the consequences of having any counterpart in his industry. Models didn’t have it as badly as actors or idols, but it was better to be careful. Yuta hid his sudden disappointment behind the mask of a gentle smile and quickly dressed himself in the first outfit. He shouldn’t have raised his hopes so high, he thought while dark eyes smoldered towards the camera and his fingers trailed across his lips. Even if a soulmate who didn’t know this celebrity side to him was too good to be true, the reality of their love life (Yuta was getting ahead of himself) would be plagued with hardships from his modeling career.

Some of the most famous models swayed fans with their denouncing of the “soulmate” system. Some claimed every fan was the one for him. Any illusion to keep interest.

Besides... Yuta had already given up one dream. He wasn’t ready to tempt the fates with his second chance.

While Yuta changed between outfits, Taeyong settled at his desk for his exam. After a long hour of debating with himself he inevitably washed the sentences off of his skin. It wouldn’t be right to cheat. And he recognized the difficulties to be had with rolling up his sleeve and copying mid-exam. Taeyong wasn’t usually this naive but after two days of minimal sleep and replacing all the blood in his body with coffee made him much less sharp than usual. “Alright,” He thought quietly, clapping his pencil between his palms and squeezing his eyes shut. If he were religious he’d pray, but instead he begged the universe to give him strength. Then he remembered the tiny encouragement on his pinky, left untouched from from his washing, and decided he’d take it as a good omen.

Taeyong wasn’t too superstitious, but he definitely had a few good fortune charms stashed in his bag.

Doyoung caught him as he exited his classroom and immediately prompted him for updates. “It was okay,” Taeyong chuckled, rubbing at his eyes. “I think I messed up only one-fifth of it so maybe I’ll get an 80?” He could only hope.

With the test over, and about three more hours of class ahead of him, Taeyong could feel all of his pent up exhaustion finally weaving its way through his muscles. “Doyoung-ah,” he whined, his steps slowing. A hand extended to beckon the younger over.

Doyoung’s steps slowed, “What…”

“Come here,” Taeyong waved him over again.

“Why…” Doyoung steadily closed the space between them until Taeyong launched forward, chin falling on his shoulder and arms wrapping tight around his bicep.

“I’m tired...carry me to class.”

“Never,” Doyoung whined, trying to shake the other off. “Get off.”

“Carry me to class or buy me coffee.”

“That’s a terrible ultimatum.”

Doyoung ended up having to do both in the end.

x

Taeyong declined an invitation to join Doyoung and Jaehyun for dinner in lieu of passing out the second he reached his bed. His uncle had other plans for him.

“Jaemin is struggling on his math lecture, Taeyong-ah. Help him before dinner?”

Taeyong ran his fingers through his hair and suppressed a huff. He wanted to say no. As it was, he felt exhausted and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to teach properly. But his uncle’s request wasn’t debatable, and Taeyong shoved his bookbag into a corner of his room before attending to his cousin’s educational needs.

What was only supposed to be Math turned into English and traditional literature help as well. Taeyong knew his cousin was intelligent, he just needed step by step breakdowns of each lesson to comprehend was was going on. Once the foundational pieces were laid out for him Jaemin could run wild with his brain. But taking his lessons apart took Taeyong hours to get right, and by the time his uncle was separating them to put his own child to sleep Taeyong was shocked he could keep his own eyes open.

He fumbled through a shower before collapsing face first into his pillows, nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. “What a day…” He muttered to no one, rubbing his eyes as he recalled the events. His exam, Doyoung, helping his cousin, meeting his soulmate. Right...he had a soulmate now. The fact that another being existed in part to be matched to him still felt strange to Taeyong. And part of him felt it to be untrue. He’d been tired all week, maybe his mind was playing tricks on him.

By this point the encouragement on his pinky had been cleaned away and without it Taeyong almost felt like it never really happened in the first place. He breathed a sigh through his nose then grabbed a sharpie between his fingers. Only one way to find out. But before Taeyong could touch the inked tip to his skin a messy message was blooming before his eyes.

Yuta, out drinking with a few fellow models including Hansol, was too drunk to not make a show of himself and his newly found soulmate. “Look, look, watch,” he slurred, scrawling out a messy ‘How did your test go?’

Taeyong sighed again. It was real… He felt something he couldn’t quite contextualize. Something like...relief. He smiled some when he wrote back, ‘Alright. Thanks for all your help!’

Around him Ten and Hansol howled with laughter. Yuta with a soulmate seemed more foreign to them than London, New York, and Milan’s fashion shows combined.So of course he was determined to prove Taeyong existed. “See, it’s right there,” he cackled, waving his arm just enough that Ten had to latch around Yuta’s wrist and hold him still so he could read the reply. “Wow, well that definitely can’t be your handwriting. It’s too pretty.”

“ off,” Yuta yanked his arm back, tongue poking out between still-glossed lips.

“So that’s why you woke me up this morning?” Hansol was finally putting two and two together. “Jesus, Yuta, I’m not here to help your love life.”

“I’d never ask your advice. Not after you went abroad and came back with a hard on for an American boy.”

“Johnny was nice!” Hansol protested.

“So where’s Johnny now?”

The blush spreading across Hansol’s face just barely blended in with his alcohol flushed cheeks and he fell silent.

“‘S what I thought.” Yuta snatched the sharpie back in his hand and pressed the cap to his lips. ‘Of course! I can help anywhere.’

Taeyong blinked. Was this slang he was unaware of? Was he mistranslating? ‘Thanks^^’ He wrote in Korean this time, while Hansol and Ten teased Yuta endlessly for drunkenly writing the wrong thing.

‘Anytime! I meant anytime!’ Yuta traced over the characters a few times over until they melted into blobs. Taeyong couldn’t help but chuckle, underlining his last messages a few times over in response. ‘I need to sleep,’ Taeyong continued, ‘Good night.’

“Hansol! What’s he saying?”

“Your Korean isn’t this bad.”

“Just translate, please?”

Hansol grimaced towards the shot he was watching Ten pour then looked back to Yuta. “He’s going to bed and says goodnight.”

“Oh!” ‘Oyasumi~^^’

“Cheesy,” Hansol tch’d, clinking glasses with Ten and forcing his way through the shot. “I’ll drink to forget I saw any of that.”

They finished off their last bottle of shochu and called it a night, parting ways at the train station. It’s a happy coincidence that Yuta lives the closest to Hansol and Ten’s favorite bar, and one he doesn’t take for granted as he wound his home through various side streets. The quiet night and cool air helped clear his head just enough that he only fumbled with his keys for a minute instead of five and he was soon able to stumble through the threshold of his small apartment. Yuta didn’t tend to mix well with silence but tonight his attention was elsewhere-- fixed curiously on the writing winding its way up and down his left arm. The whole thing felt peculiar and yet Yuta couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. For once he didn’t break into the sake stored underneath his counter, far more satisfied to tipsily trace over Taeyong’s beautiful handwriting with his index finger until he fell asleep, curled over on his side and still covered in a face full of makeup.

Taeyong focus wasn’t on class the next morning. He was still groggy, getting more sleep that one night than he had all week; and he felt so stuffy in his red camo sweater, stuck in his hot classroom. Problem was Yuta hadn’t wiped away any of the previous night’s messages and Taeyong wasn’t ready to look like a mess at school.

He spent most of his time doodling through lecture, a line of heads across the top of his paper. Some sharp jaws, others round, with long hair and mohawks and buzzcuts. Taeyong wondered which of these, if any, represented Yuta. Eventually he settled on a figure with a nice long face, standard haircut with bangs, and narrow eyes. He had no clue, but from one day of chatting this felt the most right. Class was ending when the peak of Sharpie on his wrist went away. Taeyong checked his watch-- 1PM was quite a time for Yuta to be waking up and washing himself. Didn’t the other have work?

‘Good morning,’ he wrote cheekily on his palm.

‘Good morning!^^’

Ah...Taeyong couldn’t decide if he was disappointed that his sarcasm wasn’t replied to or if he was smitten with how cute Yuta seemed to be. The flush of his cheeks told him it was the second one.

He brought his pen back to his hand then stopped. He was in the middle of his school hallway and writing on himself was probably the weirdest thing he could do right now. His lips drew into a line. Would it be too forward to ask for a phone number? He made his way to his next class, tucked himself into the far back corner of the room and tried to recall as much Japanese as he could for this.

‘Could we text?’ He sighed, switching partially to Korean, ‘It looks weird to write on myself during class.’

It was far easier for Yuta to translate Taeyong’s Korean when sober than it had been the night before. He didn’t even need to bug Hansol.

‘Sure! My Line is….’

Instead of doodling Taeyong spent class texting Yuta under the table; asking about his previous night and his plans for his Friday. The first thing he learned was that Yuta drinks with his friends a lot.

NaYut: Do you drink?^^
TY_Track: Sometimes. Only at parties.
NaYut: I haven’t been to a party in a while~ Usually my friends and I go out.

Yuta also seemed to really like using kaomoji and embellishments on his messages. Taeyong was fairly straightforward in his communication and the more they exchanged the more he started to wonder if Yuta would think he’s bland. But when he tried to send a smiley Doyoung caught him in the act and relentlessly for it. So he stuck with his regular messaging style and hoped for the best.

The two had just about given up playing video games at Doyoung’s dorm when Taeyong’s phone started buzzing non-stop.

“Everything okay?” Doyoung asked with a of his head.

“Yeah...I mean should be. This isn’t my uncle’s ringtone…” Taeyong flipped open his phone and poked around a bit. “Oh...it’s Yuta.”

NaYut: Taeyongggg~~~
NaYut: Taeyong-ah~~
NaYut: Yah~!
NaYut: ARe you there??
TY_Track: Hi.
TY_Track: What is it??

“Everything okay?” Doyoung repeated, stooping over Taeyong’s shoulder to look at the messages. “He’s so weird...You guys just ‘met’ and you haven’t even met. He should lay off a bit.”

“I don’t know,” Taeyong shrugged, eyes and thumbs both focused on replying back and getting Yuta to say more than his name and ‘Hi!’ “I guess it makes sense he’s so comfortable if we’re, you know, destined for each other.”

“Don’t tell me you’re really buying into that,” Doyoung stepped around to sit in front of Taeyong, arms folded over his chest.

“You saw the ink didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you two will be a match made in heaven. Not all soulmates work like that.”

Taeyong didn’t know as well as Doyoung, whose parents (although connected by Fate) ended up trapped in a loveless and mutually destructive marriage. The topic was sensitive for his friend and Taeyong should’ve known better than to just show Yuta off. He shifted some, bringing a hand to Doyoung’s shoulder. He may not entirely agree but he also didn’t necessarily disagree either. “Sorry,” he offered with a small smile. “Yeah, I guess he’s being a little much huh? I think he’s drinking, he mentioned doing that tonight.”

“You’re just getting so caught up in this,” Doyoung’s voice was heavy with pouting, but Taeyong’s touch had coaxed his arms to unfold and drop back to his sides.

“I’m not going to say it’s not exciting.”

Doyoung didn’t seem to like that too much so Taeyong switched approaches. “I mean now I have a Japanese partner,” he said with a grin. That struck a better chord with his friend and he finally seemed to brush off whatever chip it was on his shoulder over Taeyong’s soulmate. “I’ll be more aware though. Don’t worry Doyoung-ah, I’m not going to just leave for Japan without warning or anything because of this guy.”

“You were going to up and leave for Japan anyway.”

“Yeah, but,” Taeyong reached over to ruffle Doyoung’s hair, “I’m not going any faster just because someone is there now. Trust me on that.” He smiled and eventually Doyoung smiled back.

Taeyong made sure to keep his attention on his friend for the remainder of his time at his dorm, though he snuck Yuta small messages here and there to let him know he was still around and to wait patiently. He took the time to properly respond (in as much Japanese as he could) to Yuta’s messages on his walk home; nearly getting distracted at a crosswalk.

Reaching home it seemed like Yuta’s drinking spree wasn’t anywhere near its end and Taeyong started to feel like an old man by comparison.

NaYut: You’re not an old man~ Or...are you? You’re not right?;;
TY_Track: No… I’m not…
NaYut: How old are you??
TY_Track: 21
NaYut: Oh! Me too!

Taeyong cocked a brow at that. 21 and working at 8am? Taeyong had assumed him older with his full time job and drinking habits.

TY_Track: Are you in school?
NaYut: No. Dropped out.

Taeyong had to enter the last message into his translator app, as well as his response.

TY_Track: Why did you drop out?
NaYut: Had a scholarship
NaYut: Was playing soccer
NaYut: Couldn’t play soccer anymore and lost it
NaYut: :(
TY_Track: Oh...I’m sorry…

He inhaled, holding his breath as he sent:

TY_Track: :(

Yuta was being quite open with him so Taeyong chose to probe him a little bit further.

TY_Track: What do you do for work?
NaYut: I’m a model^^

Taeyong nearly choked. A model? His soulmate? Was he a famous model? Was he in magazines? Had Taeyong passed photos of him in the bookstore and not realized? He wanted to check now; stunned that his soulmate could be so much of someone while Taeyong, himself, was anything but. He flipped open his Naver app when another message came.

NaYut: I’m...worried though…
TY_Track: Why’s that?

There was a long pause. Yuta was typing and then erasing and then typing again and Taeyong felt like he had crossed a line he shouldn’t have. He debated backtracking--all thoughts of looking Yuta up long gone--when he finally got a reply.

NaYut: I messed soccer up...I don’t know what I’ll do if I mess this up too.

Taeyong took a moment with that, a soft “Huh” escaping his lips.

TY_Track: Why do you think that?
NaYut: I’m not the best model or the most handsome and I’m so young and if my body could break after a lifetime of playing soccer why would it work long for something I tried on a whim?
NaYut: It’s useless really
NaYut: Everything about me is useless and flawed

Taeyong, in addition to having to translate Yuta’s messages for fear of missing something important, had to read the other’s words a few times over. “Useless?” He thought, surprised by Yuta’s sudden vulnerability, “Flawed?” He bit lightly into his bottom lip, pressing his back further against the side of his bed. He was hoping to take a quick shower and then resume the conversation but there was no way he could run away with how things had turned.

TY_Track: I’m sure that’s not the case.
NaYut: You don’t even know what I look like~
TY_Track: No…
TY_Track: But if I look you up I’m sure I could find something?
NaYut: Wait!!
NaYut: Wait, Taeyong wait.
NaYut: Don’t tonight.

“Why?” Taeyong wondered, but he didn’t opt to push further. Yuta seemed very firm and Taeyong had already learned so much that he didn’t want to test the limits of Yuta’s trust. They were still near perfect strangers and even if Taeyong wanted to know all the answers some things were best left to tackle another day.

TY_Track: Okay, I won’t
TY_Track: Don’t worry okay? I really won’t^^ You’re okay

Yuta fell quiet again so Taeyong took it as his opportunity to shower. When he returned he found a singular “Thanks” in his inbox.

Now that he was clean Taeyong felt much better and climbing into his bed. He settled against the pillows, lights off except for the glow of his phone, and he tried to change the subject to something that would hopefully make Yuta more comfortable.

TY_Track: Are you still out with your friends?
NaYut: Just one. Ten’s a loser and went home.
TY_Track: Tell me about Ten?

It worked. Soon enough Taeyong’s screen was filled with long paragraphs he could only half understand about Ten, Yuta’s model friend from Thailand. Nothing of any real substance was shared but Taeyong definitely enjoyed the stories of Ten challenging Yuta and their other friend, Hansol, to drinking competitions he could never win.

TY_Track: They sound nice^^ Are you with Hansol?
NaYut: We just split. I’m going home now.
TY_Track: Are you far from home? Please get home safe.
TY_Track: Let me know when you’re back

A smile spread across Yuta’s lips. It was such a simple gesture, yet one that made him feel safe. If this was the type of person the universe had picked for his soulmate--someone who would listen unbiased to the demons that Yuta hardly shared with his best friends and then tell him to be careful after a night of recklessness, without judgment--then he felt eternally grateful.

NaYut: I’m home^^ He shot back upon crossing the threshold of his apartment.
TY_Track: Good. Now go to sleep!
NaYut: You don’t want to talk longer:(
TY_Track: We can if you want to.

Yuta smiled at that too, once again walking past the extra sake in favor of climbing straight into bed.

NaYut: Nah I’m kidding. It’s way past your old man bedtime. Let’s talk tomorrow!

He wouldn’t admit it outwardly but Taeyong was rather grateful to be set free to sleep.

TY_Track: If you’re sure. Please sleep soon! I’m glad you made it home.
TY_Track: Oyasumi
TY_Track: Yukkuri~

Yuta blinked.

NaYut: Yukkuri??
TY_Track: Yeah. I’m going to call you that since we’re the same age.
NaYut: ???
TY_Track: It’s cute. And you type so slowly it fits.
TY_Track: (´꒳`)

Taeyong needed to download a kaomoji keyboard at this rate. It took him far too long to search for a proper one before Yuta replied.

NaYut: I’m offended
TY_Track: (´꒳`)
TY_Track: (´꒳`)
TY_Track: (´꒳`)
NaYut: Ok!! Go to bed!!
TY_Track: Goodnight Yukkuri~

Before he could be caught up in anything else Taeyong switched his phone to sleep mode and turned the other way.

When he woke the next morning there were three messages waiting for him.

NaYut: Sorry for last night…
NaYut: You can ignore most of what I said ;;;;
NaYut: I get a little sad when I’m tipsy ((´д｀))

“A little sad might be a bit of an understatement…” But Taeyong didn’t quite know that for sure.

TY_Track: It’s okay I don’t mind.
TY_Track: Do you feel better?
NaYut: I do^^
TY_Track: Then that’s all that matters to me^^