Taeyong sat bored in class. Doyoung was in his own lesson and Jaehyun was working at the cafe, so neither were available to entertain him during his longest and dullest lecture every week. Worse still, Taeyong had no inspiration to draw at the moment so nothing filled the margins of his notebooks. He’d tried for so long to capture what he thought Yuta looked like but he could never be sure. And he’d never dare share them with the individual himself, so it left Taeyong stuck in a rut of what to do. He thought about messaging him but...Yuta had a job; much more important things than entertaining his college student soulmate.

They’d texted a lot over the last few weeks, in the evenings mostly. Yuta tended to be drunk after work and, though they hadn’t had a night as intimate as the one right after they’d “met,” Taeyong couldn’t help but want a moment where they were both clearheaded. He didn’t dislike Yuta drunk, or his drinking habits, but sometimes it was hard for his sober mind to keep up with Yuta’s drunken antics. That and… Well, after what Yuta revealed to him Taeyong couldn’t help but worry that Yuta had a predisposition to drown his concerns in alcohol.

Sometimes he thought about asking--checking in here or there to see if Yuta was doing okay. But the other male typically resorted to an emoji and carried on conversing elsewhere. One night he stopped talking to Taeyong entirely and that had frightened him so much he decided to stop pushing all together. If Yuta wanted to say things he would. Taeyong couldn’t bear facing a night of silence otherwise.

He fiddled with his phone under his desk, playing a game until he ran out of free hearts and faced the dreaded decision of turning the game off for another hour or buying more lives. He went with the former, sighing to himself. Another hour and a half of class… Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to throw caution to the wind. He braced his nerves and sent Yuta a quick text.

TY_Track: Hello. Hope your day is going well!

He wasn’t expecting a reply less than five minutes later.

NaYut: Hi!! I just finished a shoot ᕙ( ~ . ~ )ᕗ
NaYut: How’re you?
TY_Track: Bored… In class (ﾉ_ _)ﾉ
NaYut: Want company? I have some free time

This was going far better than Taeyong expected. And yes, he did want company more than anything else right now. If only there was a way to convey his speedy nodding through text. Instead he sent the next best thing:

TY_Track: Yes please TT
NaYut: Aaaaah you’re so cute!
TY_Track: Am not
TY_Track: I’ll never use emojis around you again
NaYut: (!!´◯`)
NaYut: No don’t!
TY_Track: ㅋㅋㅋ
NaYut: Well what do you want to do?

Somehow that felt strangely….Awkwardly intimate coming from Yuta.

TY_Track: Why do I feel like you have said that to many people before me?
NaYut: I haven’t!!!
TY_Track: Mhm…
NaYut: Believe me ㅜㅜ

“Does he only have a Korean keyboard for emojis?” Taeyong wondered. He wouldn’t put it past Yuta honestly.

TY_Track: I guess

Taeyong was chuckling to himself under his breath, trying not to draw attention to the fact that he wasn’t paying attention to his lecture. Playing with Yuta was really fun.

TY_Track: How was work?
NaYut: Aren’t there better questions you could ask?

So they exchanged some rapid fire questions instead. They learn each other’s favorite foods (takoyaki and green tea ice cream).

NaYut: I really like green tea roll cakes (*^◇^)

Taeyong filed that away as something to consider making in the future. Maybe the day they meet. They learn each other’s hometowns. Yuta’s love of takoyaki made sense upon learning he’s from Osaka.

NaYut: But I moved to Tokyo for work so I haven’t been back in some time
TY_Track: Which city do you like better?
NaYut: Osaka!
TY_Track: Why?
NaYut: It’s perfect for a mountain man like me ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

Taeyong blinked at “mountain man,” standing out as the only Korean in their chat. Of all terms for Yuta to pick up... It made him chuckle.

Yuta was impressed with the amount of Japanese music Taeyong listens to. He didn’t expect to see acts like Unison Square Garden and Bump of Chicken on his list--acts that Yuta himself hardly listened to. Meanwhile Taeyong didn’t feel all too surprised to hear that Yuta enjoys One Ok Rock. He does too. But they bond more over their interest in TVXQ.

The tone shifted a little when it came to hobbies. Taeyong didn’t feel ready to confess that his love of anime set him on the path to become a manga-ka, so he casually mentions drawing among other activities like playing games with Doyoung and cooking. On the other hand it seems like Yuta had a lot of hobbies previously but seems to only work and drink and dance with his friends when time allows it. While he didn’t seem too off put by the regularity of his routine in that moment, Taeyong can’t help but be reminded of their text chat a few weeks back. Yuta used the word “useless” and that hadn’t sat well with Taeyong since. He contemplated suggesting something else for Yuta to do but... It was his life, not Taeyong’s own. Even if nagging was in his nature it still felt better suited towards Doyoung and Jaehyun rather than the soulmate he still hadn’t met. Yet. “Huh…” He wondered if Yuta would take kindly to his little habits--nagging, cleanliness… He tried to chase the worry away before it consumed him too much.

His class ended before Taeyong had the chance to ask Yuta anymore and he signed off with a quick thank you and a promise to catch up more if Yuta wasn’t too drunk that night.

He wanted to join Doyoung in the library that evening but his uncle had been forced into overtime and needed someone to care for the kids. Taeyong rushed back, lamenting leaving his bike back home when his lungs started to burn and his sneakers (more fashion than function) started to chafe the backs of his ankles as he walked rapidly. He made it home just before Jaemin and Areum, and at the very least had rice prepping for the two before they started whining.

He didn’t get to talk much to Yuta that night between cooking, tutoring, and his own tests to study for. The promise left upon the end of his last class quickly became an apology. Yuta seemed to have plans every night up until Friday anyway, but even though he didn’t really need Taeyong’s company (and Taeyong was also bogged down with exams for the next few days so needed to keep focused) he couldn’t help feeling a little bad for his unavailability.

No, it was more than that. He felt bad because all he really wanted to do was talk to Yuta. And it shouldn’t matter that they couldn’t for a few days; they were still new to one another and owed each other nothing. To talk too much would seem weird and overbearing. Taeyong just had to keep himself convinced of that fact. After all, the last thing he wanted to do was scare Yuta away.

x

Yuta had never liked quiet nights. Even if they don’t end up at a bar Yuta tried to spend as many as seven out of seven days around Hansol or Ten, or, preferably, surrounded by both at once. When he couldn’t swing that, he’d try to sweet talk whatever fashion designer or photographer was available to take him out to drinks. Anything and everything to keep him out of his own head.

Tonight was one of those rare times when neither friend nor co-worker was at his disposal. Yuta thought about going out on his own but didn’t want to explain his situation to the granny at the udon place down the block. Plus it had become harder for Yuta to inconspicuously pass his time alone in public and he had absolutely no desire to deal with any fans, curious foreigners, or onlookers. Instead he settled himself atop his small bed, legs folded beneath him, and pretended to read the self-help book that Hansol gave him. He was distracted, unable to make it past three paragraphs, and considered playing games on his phone until something caught his eye.

‘Yuuuuuuta’ appeared the message in dark ink, just at the crook of his elbow.

‘What is it? Why don’t you text me?’ They hadn’t been communicating normally for too long but with a little bit of effort even Yuta could remember to tap out a message rather than cover himself in ink.

‘Phone too bright,” Taeyong’s handwriting was far less perfect than Yuta remembered it being. He was also mixing bits of Japanese and Korean to make incoherent sentences that Yuta was struggling to understand. He changed from his game app to his dictionary, plugging in the bits of Taeyong’s message he didn’t understand. “Oh…”

‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m drunk www’ Taeyong’s written laughter extended far down his skin and Yuta laughed. In the short time they’ve known each other, has his soulmate ever gotten drunk? Yuta got wasted nightly; had he just not noticed?

‘This seems unlike you. Getting drunk I mean. Is everything okay?’

‘I don’t understand....’ Huddled in a corner, avoiding many of the other party goers after he lost sight of Doyoung, Taeyong was unable to easily access his dictionary. It made talking to Yuta harder; which made Taeyong’s life more difficult because all he felt like doing, in his flushed and hazy state, was talk to Yuta.

Yuta tried to break down his Japanese into more palatable segments of attempted Korean which Taeyong ignored in favor of doodling. ‘Too hard,’ he informed Yuta before starting on his palm, sketching out a pretty man with dark eyes, a sharp nose, and long hair. Beside it was an arrow connected to the word, ‘You.’ Then he started on a semi-self-portrait on the back of his hand that was ruined when Doyoung snatched him out of his corner. “Wait, wait let me finish.”

“You look ridiculous,” Doyoung rolled his eyes. “Drawing on yourself is a new one, hyung.”

Taeyong got as far as his face, hair, and one eye (as well as a quick note of ‘be right back’) before Doyoung replaced the Sharpie with another beer and dragged him to the dance floor. Taeyong liked dancing when given enough space to move his body. Grinding was not his thing, except maybe for when the heat was Doyoung’s and it contrasted the blasting AC of the apartment they were in.

Yuta’s dark eyes trailed over the drawing. “Me?” He whispered under his breath, snapping a photo of his portrait before it was too late. No part of it really looked like him, which Yuta would chalk up to Taeyong’s drunken state if it weren’t for the fact that the doodle was honestly breathtaking. Taeyong had a knack for drawing that Yuta hadn’t been expecting, despite him mentioning it was his hobby. Even with the fat tip of the Sharpie Taeyong managed sharp lines and light indications of shading. Yuta was impressed. He had another thought too...if Taeyong’s drawing was this good and yet so unlike how Yuta actually looked then maybe he still didn’t know who Yuta was. There was comfort in the idea. Even if they were destined for one another Yuta couldn’t help worrying about what his soulmate would think when he saw him; an irrational fear that Taeyong may feel something towards Yuta’s appearance as strongly as Yuta felt towards himself. Or may value his appearance over the rest of who he was. Two dark demons forever trapped in the back of his mind.

He heaved a sigh, shaking out his dark hair. Hansol’s book had said something about this… “The best way to overcome fear is to address the fear itself.” Obvious, really. And yet Yuta was still too nervous to ask Taeyong to facetime him. Maybe he could offer the next best solution. Extending another arrow from Taeyong’s drawing he wrote, ‘Wow! Not close, though. Try Naver searching me ;)’

He waited then, chest tight with air he kept forgetting to force through his lungs. Would Taeyong actually search him? And if he did was Yuta ready for the response? Did he just make a mistake?

His last beer wound up discarded in the bathroom. Taeyong’s face pressed against the cool porcelain of the sink while his stomach finally cracked under the pressure of so much alcohol.

It was Jaehyun who inevitably strong armed Taeyong back to his own house and Doyoung who helped him make his way inside through the window in order to avoid waking up his uncle and cousins. “Thank god you’re nothing but skin and bone,” Doyoung huffed, propping a dizzy Taeyong up onto his bed. While Jaehyun grabbed a glass of water and a waste bin Doyoung stripped Taeyong down to his boxers and managed to wiggle him into a large t-shirt. “There you go...Jeez, you look insane with all that writing on your arm.”

Taeyong perked up at that, “Sharpie, please?” He asked, palm outstretched.

Doyoung scrunched his nose in response. “No way, you have to sleep.” So Taeyong faked falling asleep until his two friends had let themselves out (miraculously graceful considering the amount of alcohol they had consumed as well). It took him a little too long to find a fine-tipped marker in his desk drawer and to make up for lost time Taeyong quickly scrawled out ‘You awake?’

‘Yeah,’ Yuta took his time in his reply, pretending he hadn’t been waiting for Taeyong’s return.

‘I wish you could write in Korean,’ Taeyong returned in sloppy Japanese.

‘Same,’ Yuta chuckled to himself as he wrote out the hangul.

‘I wish we could meet, I miss you. I feel so--’ Taeyong stopped mid-sentence, now realizing that he didn’t have much space left on his arm. His shaky legs couldn’t take him to the bathroom so he used the glass of water Jaehyun let and his just worn shirt to scrub the ink away.

Yuta watched it all smear across his own skin and tried with all his might to translate the message Taeyong had started in Japanese before it was too late. He didn’t make it far.

‘Everything okay?’

‘Naver search you? Ok I will.’

Yuta’s eyes widened and he waited stiffly as Taeyong unlocked his phone, opened up his browser, and typed in “Nakamoto Yuta” with as few typos as he could manage.

“Wow…” Taeyong rubbed at his eyes, hoping to work away how averse they were to the brightness in order to get a better look at the photos before him. Yuta was...Far beyond anything Taeyong had imagined. And the more he looked the more articles he uncovered about “Nakamoto Yuta, the new up and coming face of fashion.” He could feel his cheeks growing warm, face flushed and heart fluttering because wow, Yuta was stunning. His mind started racing a mile a minute with the sheer want to just draw Yuta; the actual Yuta.

‘You’re beautiful,’ He started on the top of his arm. Then on the inside he added, ‘I’ll draw you better next time, I promise.’

Taeyong’s response didn’t stem Yuta’s fears but, for what it was all worth, they didn’t enhance them either. Beautiful was a word he heard a lot, but somehow from Taeyong it felt less final-- less like beautiful was all Yuta was and nothing more. But he couldn’t make out the second half of his soulmate’s message and struggled between deciphering Taeyong’s messy handwriting and plugging the characters into his translator. By the time he got it, cheeks red from Taeyong’s uniquely sweet promise and a stuttered, ‘I’ll hold you to it,’ the other male had already passed out.

That next morning Taeyong woke up earlier than intended with a foggy head and an upset stomach. He rolled over to dry heave a few times into the wastebin then flopped back on his bed. He smelled awful. Taeyong typically showered at night to avoid bringing the day’s germs into bed with him. Alas, he could hardly remember how he got home so any hopes that he got clean went out the window. He smelled terrible… But he still didn’t feel ready to move yet. Running his palms over his eyes Taeyong caught sight of black patches over his skin (and now smudged down his face). Despite a poor attempt at being washed off Taeyong could make the drawing out vaguely. This was Yuta. “Oh,” he breathed, suddenly realizing just how much of a mess his arm was from the night before. Haphazardly washed off pen marks colored him from elbow to fingertip. His cheeks started to warm in embarrassment, especially when the only sentence he could really make out was his artistic promise to Yuta (after calling him beautiful, oh God, sober Taeyong didn’t even quite member what Yuta looked like) and a reply. He snatched up his phone and tapped out a message as quickly as he could in panicked Japanese.

TY_Track: I’m so so so sorry for last night. I don’t usually lose composure like that so please don’t think differently of me. It was just a night with some friends gone crazy.

To his surprise Yuta was already awake.

NaYut: It’s ok:)
NaYut: You’re very cute~~

Taeyong’s cheeks burned red.

TY_Track: I am not.
NaYut: Sure, whatever you say~ I still want to see that drawing. Don’t make me wait long okay~?
NaYut: :)

A drawing… Taeyong looked at the ruined doodle on his hand and then back to his phone. His search history still contained articles and images related to Nakamoto Yuta so Taeyong was quickly reminded that, yes, his soulmate was a famous model and yes, he was incredibly attractive. And Taeyong still really wanted to draw him.

He used that as motivation to shower and make it as far as his kitchen to grab some water and a snack. His uncle was out with the younger children doing their usual Saturday activities so Taeyong revelled in the silence as per usual. In a few hours he’d start dinner for them, but for now he had a promise to fulfil.

NaYut: You’ve been quiet all day. Are you working on my drawing??
NaYut: How is it coming?
NaYut: I wanna see!
NaYut: Pretty please?:)

Yuta’s messages arrived about two hours into Taeyong’s attempt. He had three discarded sketches, all seemingly inaccurate for how his mind wanted him to portray the other male. None of them were worth revealing.

TY_Track: I’m still trying…

That was a mistake. Taeyong had opened the floodgates; Yuta spamming him with “Let me see!” in different variations of texts. He didn’t know it was Yuta’s way of coping with his insecurity; that the other male was so concerned about what Taeyong thought of his appearance it was driving him insane. He was convinced that there was no other way for him to know how Taeyong saw him other than this drawing. All of those questions: Will he like me for more than my looks? Is he disappointed? Will he discount the rest of me? That plagued him incessantly crept around the corners of his mind. And sure they were soulmates, but that didn’t exactly mean Taeyong was beyond all the others; didn’t mean he’d act any differently. Yuta just wanted to know for sure…

TY_Track: I’ll work on it all night so just wait okay?
TY_Track: ^^

NaYut: Ah must be nice to have all that free time!

Taeyong’s pencil stilled and his lips drew into a line.

TY_Track: What do you mean?
NaYut: Well you don’t work, right? Must be nice to have a lot of time to relax and draw or see your friends

Taeyong felt a lot of things in that moment. There was a lingering note of logic telling him that Yuta was just making conversation, didn’t know what it was like to be a student or the time it left him available with; more importantly he didn’t know about Taeyong’s endless struggle to find work. He hated being so reliant on his uncle for everything. He wanted to earn his keep, start supporting himself, be less of a burden. He’d tried. And Yuta didn’t know that. But maybe Yuta didn’t need to know that.

TY_Track: Yeah.
TY_Track: I forgot I have to do something. Talk to you later.

He shoved the sketches to the side and switched his phone to silent, abandoning it in the middle of his desk as he went to prepare dinner. He had a lot he had to do even if he wasn’t working, he convinced himself. His thoughts were poison; comparing where he didn’t need to, justifying himself to no one. He grit his teeth, trying to pour his attention in the meal rather than on what he’d just run away from, even though his number one rule was never to cook your negativity into your food.

“It’s kind of salty,” his uncle hummed around a mouthful of soup about an hour later. Taeyong bowed his head in apology and tried not to think of it as another thing done wrong. At least his cousins didn’t seem to mind since the soup was accompanied by their favorite side dishes.

That night he ignored his desk and every unfinished sketch on it, in favor of reading one of his favorite chapters from his favorite manga. He purchased an entire completed set to practice his Japanese, but was so familiar already that he hardly had to read the words to recall exactly what was happening. Still, it was nice to sit down with the story that set him down this crazy artistic path and towards his dreams of creating comics. He proceeded to read through five chapters before the bright screen of his phone caught his attention. Doyoung was calling.

“Hello?”

“You’re alive!”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you ‘Yeah’ me, I’ve been trying to reach you for twenty minutes!”

“Oh. Sorry, I had my phone on silent. What’s up?”

“I don’t understand our business reading… I was hoping you’d explain it to me.”

“Doyoung, it’s already 9PM.”

“I’ll buy you dessert.”

Taeyong paused, so Doyoung took the opportunity to land his final blow. “You know I’ve already convinced you. Come meet me at the cafe!”

“Only because uncle doesn’t keep sweets around the house,” Taeyong muttered under his breath. But secretly he was thrilled at the prospect of free dessert. “Be there in fifteen.”

Hanging up his phone he noticed all of the missed messages Doyoung had left. Progressing from ‘Helppppppp me!’ to ‘Are you dead? Where are you!!’

But in the mix of it all was one message from Yuta:

NaYut: Is everything okay? Did I do something?

Taeyong contemplated replying but found himself at a loss. What could he even say to justify himself? What did he even want to say to Yuta right now? The answer was nothing. Besides, Doyoung didn’t like when Taeyong split his focus and he needed help with their homework. His friend had to come first.

“I’m heading out,” Taeyong called to his uncle, swinging his textbook filled backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll be back later.”

“Where are you going?” His uncle peered over the top of his cousin’s head to address him.

“Doyoung needs help with homework. It’s for our business class,” He tossed that second line in hoping to earn a little more of his uncle’s favor. It worked. His uncle beamed proudly back at him.

“Good for you. No better way to learn than to teach someone else. And it seems like the classes you’re taking will prime you pretty well to take over my place in the company.”

Taeyong’s lips forced their way into a smile and he nodded once.

“Don’t make too much noise when you come home.” With that blessing, Taeyong left to grab his bike from the back of his house and head out.

One day he’d tell his uncle that business in real estate wasn’t his calling.

He spent that night eating pastries and helping Doyoung work his way through some textbook problems. The next day he focused exclusively on classes, meeting with Jaehyun and Doyoung afterwards for dinner. And the following he found himself tutoring his cousin before sitting down to study for yet another Japanese exam. He stomach twisted at the thought, no longer limited to general anxiety over the subject but now with the gripping reminder that he hadn’t spoken to Yuta for half the week without explanation. He really owed him an apology. He also could really use his help studying.

“Aish...Stupid,” He said under his breath, spreading out his lessons’ worksheets across the desk, “You can’t just use him like that.”

Plugging in his headphone, Taeyong tried to push forward in his studying but couldn’t help pausing at each TVXQ song popping up on his Japanese music playlist. , they had only known each other for a month at best and he was feeling so affected. Soulmate or not, these heavy emotions were going to eat him alive if he continued acting so stubborn. With a huff he reached for his phone, flipping open to his Line app where he was met with a just received message from Yuta.

NaYut: Can we talk? I can video chat now if you’re free.

Taeyong’s mouth went dry. Unaware of the way he habitually bit into his bottom lip when nervous, he read the message over and over again trying to consider his options. He needed to talk to Yuta. It was talk to him or ignore him (and the Fate’s) forever, which was a really drastic overreaction to a miscommunication. But Taeyong was the type. He’d ignore a problem until it was too awkward to address and then run as far away as possible.

Though he shouldn’t run away from Yuta…

“Sorry yeah I’d” he started writing and then erased immediately. He wasn’t really ready to address his mistake yet.

TY_Track: I have to study for an exam.
NaYut: I’ll keep it quick
NaYut: Just 5 minutes please?
NaYut: I just want to make sure you’re okay

So Yuta wasn’t even mad? That seemed impossible after the way Taeyong slighted him.

NaYut is typing...

He swallowed hard, growing more and more nervous the longer it took Yuta to reply back. Before the message was completed Taeyong held his breath and shot back,

TY_Track: Okay. Five minutes is okay.

Taeyong pulled his laptop front and center of his desk, nervously chewing on his nails until the notification popped up on his screen.

The first thing he noticed was how utterly beautiful Yuta was. With a long face, pouty lips, and large eyes that were only enhanced by the makeup remaining from a shoot earlier that day Taeyong was entranced. The pictures on Naver didn’t do him justice. The second was how he wasn’t prepared at all to speak in unpracticed Japanese. Third was that he caused his finger to bleed and then after all of that he remembered that he had both been mad at Yuta and regretful of his own response, leaving him with all sorts of strange knots in his stomach.

Likewise, Yuta was first taken with Taeyong’s surprising looks. Maybe he had a particular bias having almost exclusively model friends, but when Taeyong said he was a student Yuta hadn’t thought much of how his appearance would be. His lips parted in awe. Even with the dark circles under his tired eyes and the lack of makeup Taeyong struck Yuta in a way that most in his industry never had.

“You’re beautiful,” they both whispered in the other’s language. Then Yuta’s lips cracked into the brightest smile Taeyong had ever seen and he felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

“N-no,” He stuttered in Japanese. “I’m not. I don’t want to be.”

“Why?” Yuta asked with a tilt of his head.

“I...It’s because…” He swiped his tongue over his lips and looked away. He’d never needed to talk about his complexes in Japanese class before. Hell, he wouldn’t even know the word for “complex” if it weren’t borrowed from English and shared between their languages.

Yuta chuckled. “You can speak in Korean,” he said gently, in clear Korean.

“W-what?” Taeyong’s eyes widened. They texted almost exclusively in Japanese. Saying he was confused would be an understatement.

“Ah, my friend Hansol taught me how to speak over the years so I’m pretty okay. I just don’t know how to write,” There was that pretty smile again. “If it’s easier you can speak in Korean. I make you write in Japanese all the time. It’s only fair.”

Taeyong nodded slowly, still wrapping his mind around this development. “Ah well…”

“So…” Now Yuta was starting to look more like how Taeyong felt; the low gaze and the lip bite giving away his own uncertainty. “What did I do exactly?”

“It wasn’t...you...totally,” Taeyong heaved a frustrated sigh. Raising a hand to ruffle his own hair he continued, “I’m sorry. I just… Working in a sensitive subject. But I should’ve told you rather than ignoring you for three days.”

“Two days,” Yuta corrected.

“Right. Two days.”

“I wish you said something. I felt bad but I didn’t know what I did.”

“It’s stupid,” Taeyong huffed, returning to his nail biting habit until he caught sight of himself in the corner of their video call and immediately stopped. He jabbed his cuticle against his pant leg to stem the bleeding. “I shouldn’t have been so stupid.”

“What is it about working?”

“It’s hard for me to keep a job.”

Yuta tilted his head and damn, Taeyong thought it was incredibly cute how puppy-like Yuta looked. Taeyong always had a soft spot for dogs…

“I’m either harassed or stalked by insane girls. No one ever wants to keep me around too long, or the people that do are just exploiting me for their business. For my looks to bring in money or attention or something. It’s too much of a headache.”

As the words floated between them Taeyong wondered why he didn’t think that Yuta would understand. The other was a model. But maybe that meant Yuta wouldn’t get it at all, being in an industry where good looks are everything but a hindrance.

“I understand,” Yuta replied after a second, a soft and empathetic expression on his face. “Sorry, that’s rough. I guess I just thought that as a student you had it made.”

Taeyong’s lips cracked into a sad smile and he shook his head, “Sorta.”

“Well, I’ll be more careful. And you tell me when I say stupid things. Hansol and Ten do it all the time and they’re not even my soulmate.”

There was something in the cheesy-ness of his words and the gentleness of his face that made Taeyong’s heart do backflips. Yuta was genuine and Taeyong couldn’t ask for more in a person he was destined to be with.

“Thanks.”

“Oh, I should let you study huh?”

“Oh...maybe…” Taeyong didn’t want to go. The timer in the corner of their chat said 15 minutes and that just didn’t feel like enough. His sense of morals and responsibility, however, spoke louder than his emotional wants.

“What’re you studying for?”

“Japanese.”

“What? Why didn’t you say so?” Yuta slipped back into his native tongue. “Let me help you.”

“Ah, no…. It’s okay, I can do it on my own,” Taeyong replied in shyly back, trying his hand at speaking Japanese again. It wasn’t that he was bad, just timid. The worst problem to have.

“But I want to help you! Let’s do it together.”

Yuta eventually begged enough and Taeyong caved, sending photos of his previous assignments over so Yuta could quiz him. The worked together until 2AM, when Taeyong was nearly falling asleep over his papers and Yuta had to call it quits for an early morning shoot.

“Ganbatte!” He beamed, despite being tired. “Let me know how it goes tomorrow.”

“I will,” Taeyong yawned but there was a smile lingering on his lips. He hadn’t had this much fun studying in a long while. “Hope you aren’t too tired for work tomorrow.”

“Please, Ten keeps me out drinking longer than this. This is nothing.”

“I’m amazed at your stamina…” Taeyong hid another yawn behind his hand and tried not to cringe at Yuta’s winking in response.

“Go to sleep,” Yuta chuckled. “It’s way past your bedtime.”

“Okay, okay. Good night,” He paused for moment, “Yukkuri.”

“Good night, Taeyonggie.”

Taeyong blushed and hastily shut the chat off, hands immediately falling over his chest. He tried to steady his breathing quickly so he could review one more thing and get to sleep but his mind was filled solely with thoughts of Yuta, captured on his screen in a way that he hoped would happen again. And soon. Because seeing Yuta here had Taeyong feeling inspired and all he wanted was to complete those half-finished sketches from the weekend. He needed to put Yuta down on paper somehow.

Although late, Taeyong ended up with a pencil in his hand and didn’t finish until he had at least one good set of portraits done. Finally something felt right with his work and he decided that after his exam he’d send it to Yuta as a thank you; feeling confident that the other would like them too.