Hello this is my first oneshot here :)
Hope you like it.
Soulmates AU

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Seunghyun stared longingly at the sea, seated on a big rock by the shore, feeling how his heart was being squeezed inside his chest.

It has always been like this. The ocean was calling him, but he didn’t know why. He just felt like he needed to be close to its waters. And every time he stared at the waves, a feeling of calm mixed with anxiety filled his heart. It was really really weird, but somehow, he loved it. He loved to be close to the ocean, and he hated it so much.

It was like someone was calling for him… but nobody was there. It was only water and nothing more. And Seunghyun kept wondering why. Why was he feeling this need to be close to the ocean?

It all started a few months ago, right after he became 25 years old.

Seunghyun lived alone in a small house, a pretty and small house that was 10 minutes away from the beach. That day, he was ready to go to sleep, when it suddenly hit him. Suddenly all he wanted was to get into the water. But not the water of the shower… no, he needed to go to the beach.

So Seunghyun left his house and ran towards the sea, feeling like something was waiting for him right there. But when he arrived… nothing happened. Nothing was there, nobody was there. It was just the ocean and him. Disappointment filled his chest and he had no idea why but he only wanted to cry. He wanted to scream in pain even when he wasn’t physically hurt. The pain was inside his body. It was inside his heart. Seunghyun wanted someone to hug him and tell him everything was going to be fine.

And it lasted 3 months more. By this time, Seunghyun already accepted that maybe he was going crazy. He didn’t even tell his mom about this weird feeling he had every day, because she will probably think he was insane. That would have made her cry. And Seunghyun didn’t want to see his mom crying. So he just kept silent, wondering what was happening to his mind. Was he suddenly in a fairy tale? Was he going to become a fish? A… mermaid? A merman? How was a male mermaid called? He had no idea.

Seunghyun sighed and got up, ready to go back to his home. It was always like that. He stared at the waters for some hours, until the pain was a little more bearable, and then he came back home.

Feeling like he wasted a day again, he got home and got under his blankets. When was he going to stop feeling so miserable? What did the ocean want from him? What the hell was going on?

 

Weeks passed and Seunghyun kept feeling the same. Until he got tired. He needed to know what was happening to him. So that day, as usual, he went to the beach. But this time was different. This time he got inside the water.

The moment his bare feet got in touch with the cold ocean, he knew exactly where to look. His dark eyes found a mop of pink hair popping out the water and two beautiful light brown eyes looking directly at him, and Seunghyun was mesmerized. The pain in his heart suddenly disappeared and was replaced by complete joy and excitement. And he had no idea why.

But as soon as those feelings hit him, a third feeling was added. It was fear. Fear of what? He didn’t know. He just felt like he wanted to run away but his feet weren’t moving. And just like that, the pink haired creature disappeared inside the water.

Seunghyun blinked and released the breath he didn’t know he was holding. What was that? Who was that? And most important… why was he feeling so happy?

Since that day, he felt less miserably than before and that made him smile almost all day. But he also smiled every time those pretty brown eyes appeared in his memories. And he couldn’t help but laugh a little. He had no idea who was that, but he knew he could die happy just remembering the sweet gaze this creature was sending to him.

And Seunghyun tried to see those beautiful eyes again, he wanted to see who it was… but when he got into the water the next couple of days, nothing happened. It was nowhere to be seen. However, every time his skin touched the water, he felt a wave of happiness that he couldn’t describe. He wanted to jump and dance, but his body didn’t really react to that because he was shy.

So Seunghyun kept doing the same for the next couple of months. He just went to the beach, chose a nice rock and sat down there, letting his feet got inside the ocean. And he couldn’t feel happier just with that. It was like the ocean and the mere memory of a pair of brown eyes made him happy. But he still didn’t know why.

 

Then, one day, when he was sitting in a rock and happily moving his feet into the water, that pink mop of hair appeared again and this time it was really close to him. Seunghyun’s eyes widened and his heartbeat raced. He tried stupidly to get on his feet but he failed and fell down into the ocean. He was barely processing the fact that his whole self was inside the cold water, when a pair of slim arms hugged him from behind and in a blink took him out. Seunghyun sat in the sand and turned his head to his left side, and instantly his heart skipped a beat. Right next to him was the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. Soft pink hair, shining light brown eyes and pink plump lips. The boy’s cheeks were painted of a light red and his gaze was shy, but he still looked beautiful. Seunghyun kept staring at him like and idiot and suddenly he felt a rush of embarrassment in his body. But it was not him. He wasn’t embarrassed. He was curious about the boy in front of him. And now, he believed the embarrassed one was that beautiful creature. Was it possible that he was feeling this boy’s feelings?

Seunghyun then noticed his mouth was slightly opened. But how couldn’t it be, when the pink haired boy was just stunning. Neither of them was speaking. They were just looking at each other, Seunghyun with curiosity in his eyes and the boy with a mix of shyness and… something else. And just then, Seunghyun noticed the boy was half . And he had a tail. Seunghyun’s eyes widened even more but before he could say anything, the boy tried to go back to the water.

“No, wait!” Seunghyun almost screamed and the boy stopped his movements, but he turned his back to Seunghyun “Who… who are you?”

“Jiyong” The voice of the pink haired boy was the most beautiful sound Seunghyun ever heard. “I’m Jiyong.”

And then everything made sense for Seunghyun.

The longingness, the pain, the feelings… the beautiful name resounded in his ears as if he already knew it. This boy in front of him, Jiyong, he was his soulmate. His true soulmate.

“B-but… how…?” Seunghyun whispered talking to himself, but Jiyong heard him.

“I… I don’t know. I’m sorry… I’ll figure something out to stop this…”

“Wow wait, what did you just say?”

The boy slowly turned to face Seunghyun. His cheeks were bright red and he seemed to be really embarrassed.

“I’m sorry… I really have no idea how this happened but I know this is affecting you more than me so… I… I’m gonna figure something out to release you…”

“… What?” Seunghyun frowned. He didn’t understand.

Jiyong’s eyes met Seunghyun’s and he felt his heart explode with a new feeling, something really close to love.

“I am not supposed to be in love with a human.” Jiyong said and Seunghyun blinked. Was that a confession? “I shouldn’t be in love with a human… but… it just happened…” Now his whole face was red. “I saw you that day and then my heart just…”

Seunghyun felt like he was about to melt. How cute could this boy be? He smiled but Jiyong started speaking again.

“I’m so sorry, you have the right to be truly happy. I’m gonna release you.”

The boy then jumped and disappeared in the ocean.

And then Seunghyun panicked. What did he mean with ‘I’m gonna release you’? Was he going to break their bond? A soulmate’s bond couldn’t be broken, he knew that, his grandmother and even his mother already told him. So what was Jiyong going to do?

Seunghyun started feeling the pain of not having Jiyong right next to him. It was such a weird thing that they met just some minutes ago but he already wanted to have the beautiful boy in his arms. He sighed and got up, then went back to his home. He needed to talk to Jiyong again.

But the beautiful boy didn’t appear when Seunghyun waited for him in the beach the next day. And it lasted one week. Seunghyun was feeling anxious but if he still wanted to see him that bad, it meant he didn’t break their bond… yet. So Seunghyun kept going to the ocean day by day, hoping to see his beautiful mate and be able to talk to him. However, after one month, Jiyong didn’t appear. Seunghyun was wondering what happened to him when an idea popped in his mind. He knew how to swim, but maybe if he faked he was drowning…

Seunghyun jumped inside the water and felt his body sink. He didn’t even need to try and start swimming when that same pair of arms were around him again, taking him out and to the shore.

“What the hell were you doing?! Why did you jump?! Do you even know how to swim?!”

Seunghyun felt his heart race at the sound of his voice. Then he opened his eyes and saw him there, frowning at him but being as beautiful as before. He smiled like an idiot and looked directly into Jiyong’s eyes. They boy’s cheeks then turned bright red, but his frown didn’t disappear.

“I missed you.” Seunghyun said. Jiyong didn’t reply, his blush only increased. So Seunghyun started talking again. “I need to talk to you.”

“I… I need to talk to you too. You go first.”

“What did you mean when you said ‘I’m gonna release you’ the other day? Are you going to break our soulmate’s bond? Is that possible? Why do you want to do that?” Seunghyun got an idea and felt his whole body become heavier. “You… you don’t want to be in love with me?” Can someone choose not to be in love with their soulmate? Seunghyun didn’t know. But the thought of Jiyong not wanting to be with him was… painful.

Then the boy turned his head away and hide his face from Seunghyun’s gaze. And Seunghyun felt the urge to start crying right there… but he wasn’t sure if those were his feelings or Jiyong’s.

“That day,” Jiyong then started talking “a few months ago, I knew I was going to meet my mate. I could feel it in my bones, I was going to meet my real soulmate. So when something inside me told me to go up to the surface… I just followed it. Maybe my mate was going to appear there. Maybe they were from some other family so they were going to arrive soon, by the surface. And then I heard steps by the shore. It was a human. It was you. You have no idea how happy I felt to see you. My heart exploded in happiness and I just wanted to go out and be in your arms… but then I realized I couldn’t. We couldn’t be together. So I decided to left and go back home. I felt so sad that I wanted to cry for days, and I actually did. How was I going to be with you if you were outside there? And more important… how were you going to be happy with someone like me? You were a human, you were going to be scared or probably hate me if you saw me…”

Seunghyun wanted to say something, but Jiyong talked again.

“So I just kept hiding from you. Every day you came, I was there, looking at you from the distance… and when you put your feet inside the water, I couldn’t feel happier. Through the water I was able to feel a little closer to you, so I was just fine with it. And then you saw me… I got scared and went back inside the ocean. I couldn’t risk to be seen by you again. You were going to hate me and I couldn’t live with that. But after some time I couldn’t resist and I got closer to you… then you saw me again, you fell into the water and I took you out… and… when I touched you… I never wanted to let you go…”

“Jiyong…”

“But I knew I had to leave. You ask if I don’t want to be in love with you… but I already love you and I don’t want to be away from you.”

Jiyong turned his head back to look at Seunghyun, but his eyes were full of tears. Seunghyun didn’t think twice and got closer to hug him.

It was like a rainbow exploded inside of him. It felt just right, to be together, Jiyong in his arms…

“Please stop.” Jiyong’s voice was muffled by Seunghyun’s chest, but he could hear he was already crying. “Please… you’re making things harder.”

“You say that but you’re hugging me back.” Seunghyun laughed a little. “I don’t want you to leave. I love you too.”

“Don’t…”

“Are you going to break our bond?”

“I have to. You need to be in love with another human.”

“But I don’t want to be in love with another human. I want to love you.”

“… Don’t say that…”

Seunghyun gently pushed Jiyong away from him and cupped his cute face. His eyes were red but he looked beautiful.

“Can I kiss you?”

“What? No!” Jiyong’s eyes widened.

“Why not?” Seunghyun pouted.

“… It’s gonna be harder to leave.”

“But I don’t want you to leave. You don’t even know my name and you want to leave me already.”

“It’s gonna be easier that way…”

Seunghyun frowned and folded his arms. Jiyong wasn’t understanding anything.

“Listen, I don’t want you to leave. I don’t care if you are not a human, I just know that you are mine and I’m yours and that’s how I want it to be. You are the cutest boy I’ve ever seen. And you are my soulmate, it’s you Jiyong, nobody else. I don’t care if I need to become like you and get a tail, I’ll be happy with that if I can be with you. Do you understand?” Jiyong’s eyes were full of tears again but he nodded slowly. “Good. Now, how were you going to break our bond?”

“I… I was going to go to the oldest of our clan. He knows everything and he’s… like, a sorcerer. I thought he could do something.”

“Perfect, a sorcerer, that’s what we need. Okay now, you’re going to go to him and ask him what should I do to go inside the water so we can be together.”

Seunghyun smiled but Jiyong just blinked and looked at him as if he didn’t understand a word.

“What are you saying? Are you sure? If you go there… you’ll have to leave your family…”

“Yeah but I will have a new family with you.”

Jiyong’s eyes were the size of an orange, if that was possible. Why was he so surprised? They were mates after all. Seunghyun wanted to be with him forever.

“But… but…”

“Nothing, you just go to that sorcerer and ask him. I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Jiyong nodded slowly. “Good. By the way, my name is Seunghyun.” Jiyong blushed by the sound of his name and Seunghyun smiled. He was so cute. Then he got closer and whispered right to his ear. “Bye bye beauty.”

Seunghyun left a little kiss on Jiyong’s cheek and then got on his feet and walked away not turning his head back even once, because if he did he will surely want to kiss him on his lips, and he couldn’t do that… yet.

 

The next day, Seunghyun was eager to see Jiyong. He wanted to know what the sorcerer said. He was expecting good news.

What he wasn’t expecting, was to see a body with pink hair laying down on the sand very close to the shore. A body with two legs and two feet.

Seunghyun felt paralyzed and he stopped walking. Was he dreaming? Didn’t Jiyong have a tail just yesterday? What was happening?... And why wasn’t that body moving? Seunghyun then started running towards him and kneeled down next to him. It was Jiyong indeed. And he was alive, because his eyes meet Seunghyun instantly.

“Walking in two legs is really hard.” Jiyong said and Seunghyun gaped. Wasn’t he dreaming?

“What...? How?”

“Oh,” Jiyong smiled happily at him. “Guess what I did.”

Seunghyun raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t understanding anything.

“I don’t know? Where’s your tail?”

“I changed it for legs.”

“What?!”

“The sorcerer told me you couldn’t go inside. Because you weren’t born like me, you couldn’t live under the water. But I could go outside. So I accepted and he took my tail.”

“Wha… but… how? Just like that?”

“Yep.” Jiyong smiled. “Oh, and of course… you have to give me a true love kiss. If your love is not real then I’ll turn into a fish and go back there.”

“What?!”

Seunghyun didn’t know what face he was doing but Jiyong started laughing at him. And it was the most beautiful sound in Earth.

“I’m kidding. He’s a good sorcerer Seunghyun, he just changed me into this. Because he knew you are my soulmate.”

Jiyong smiled and Seunghyun sighed in relief. So everything was real. Jiyong was going to be with him, forever.

“Well, I still have to give you my kiss of true love right?” Seunghyun said and saw how Jiyong blushed. Was he ever going to stop being that cute? “Close your eyes, prince.”

Jiyong’s eyes widened, contrary to what Seunghyun said, and his whole face got red. Seunghyun then smiled and started to get closer and closer, watching how Jiyong’s eyes closed slowly.

“I love you Jiyong.” He said and kissed him.

Seunghyun was positively sure that it was the beginning of the happiest life anyone could ask for, just because now he had his mate by his side.

He pulled back gently and opened his eyes, just to see a smiling Jiyong with pink cheeks looking back at him.

“I love you too, Seunghyun.”

A pair of hands gripped his shirt and put him down with an incredibly strong force to kiss Jiyong again. Both smiled between the kiss and Seunghyun cupped Jiyong’s face. They were going to have so much fun together.

But first, he needed to teach his baby how to walk in two legs.