Kim Mingyu.

It was like a house of cards that you’ve been building for your entire life and in one second a soft breeze came by and caused all of it to collapse onto the floor, and you were just standing there watching your creation crumble to the group. That’s what Soonyoung felt like, almost like his entire existence was washed away and he had to start back from scratch. All because Kim Mingyu; a friend he had known for years now as their parents used to be friends when they were growing up before they grew distant from one another for reasons that were never explained to the children; a member of his group of friends that literally met up every Saturday to hang out with one another; a person who was currently in a very committed relationship with another friend of theirs.

This was a mess beyond his belief, and also beyond the belief of his best friend. That proved itself when silence wrapped around the two of them. Even Minghao didn’t know how to respond to this sudden discovery. Should he be casual about it? Probably not, since the Chinese boy would only begin to imagine how hard it might be for Soonyoung, since either way his decisions from now on would hurt someone. Whether it was himself, Wonwoo or Mingyu – someone would bound to get hurt. Though anyone who knew the birthday boy would know that Soonyoung was one of those people who’d rather be selfless and hurt himself than to cause pain to anyone else. Especially his own soulmate.

“So, Mingyu, huh?” Minghao broke the silence with a nonchalant observation. It almost forced Soonyoung to snap at his friend. How could he dare to be so casual about it? Though before he could even open his mouth, Minghao continued. “I know it’s going to be hard. I mean, we all know Mingyu is dating Wonwoo right now. And Mingyu doesn’t get his own engravement for another year, so he will have no clue. What happens now is really up to you, though I will respect whichever decision you make. I’m not going to go and tell people about this, since it should be something between you and Mingyu and whether you tell him now or let him discover it later himself, that’s completely your choice.”

Soonyoung was certain he had never appreciated his friend more than right now. It was true that Minghao was often a man who’s existence consisted out of very few words, but when he spoke in long sentences it became like a motivational speech that could be given by the best psychologist in the world. Though that didn’t make the upcoming choices any less of a struggle. He was still stuck in this situation where it wasn’t just his own fate that he had in his hands (or on his wrist to be more specific) but also that of two of his closest friends. Since this wouldn’t just change the dynamics between him and Mingyu, but Wonwoo was also involved.

It had been Tuesday the day that Soonyoung discovered his rather disturbed fate. So he had about four days to figure out what he should do, to either learn how to pretend that nothing had happened and find an excuse not to show his mark to others or to accept what was eventually going to happen and just share this shocking truth with everyone. Being too scared of what the latter option would bring along with itself, Soonyoung decided that he could at least postpone this entire ordeal by being silent about it.

He forced Minghao to promise him that he wouldn’t tell anyone about this, and while the Chinese boy did try to convince him to just be honest out it all, Soonyoung’s decision was set in stone. He couldn’t hurt anyone like that, even it if eventually would happen then at least it wasn’t directly his fault. Then Mingyu could make the decision and not him, perhaps he’d prefer to stay with Wonwoo regardless of this information? Either way, Soonyoung wouldn’t make that decision for his friend and soulmate.

The following Saturday was literally the most awkward moment in his life.

The worst part was that it was only awkward for Soonyoung and anyone who would dare to indulge into a conversation with him, he was distracted – because why had no one ever warned him about just how adorable Mingyu was when wandering around the kitchen being frustrated that he couldn’t find the thirteen matching cups for the hot chocolate him and Jihoon had made for everyone (and lord behold that his friends would have to drink out of mismatched cups). Apart from that he was also just frustrated to the core, because everyone continued to ask about his engravement, which was neatly covered by a wristband that he had stolen from his best friend yesterday.

“Hey Soonyoung,” Great, just great. Out of everyone that could be interesting in having a conversation with him it had to be Wonwoo. Why was the universe this cruel to him? “I heard you have been missing classes, have you been sick?” The worst part was that Soonyoung couldn’t dislike Wonwoo, the seventeen-year-old was nothing but a caring bubble hidden in a shell of some rough teenage emo boy.

“I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather lately, Wonwoo. But it’s been getting better.”

Lies, all lies. Soonyoung just didn’t want to go outside because he wanted to avoid any living creature that could possibly ask him about his soulmate tattoo. He really didn’t need any of that right now. If it wasn’t for Minghao having forced him to show up there, then he wouldn’t have.

And when everyone gathered to enjoy the hot chocolate prepared by Mingyu and Jihoon he found himself growing more and more uncomfortable. Just because he was unable to look away from the couple that consisted of Wonwoo and his soulmate. Soonyoung hardly ever noticed how uncomfortable he was with their public displays of affection – or perhaps he had never taken notice of this before since he never saw Mingyu in this way.

The struggle was definitely real. So real that Soonyoung ended up leaving their gathering earlier than planned. Making up the excuse of still feeling sick and wanting to rest, though it seemed like some people knew better.