Park Jihyo is truly a simple girl. She works hard, and it pays off. She's made her way up, recently becoming the CEO of one of the world's largest, and progressing companies. It's an amazing accomplishment considering she's only but twenty-two years into her life. But she's felt empty. It's natural to feel empty when you're supposed to know your soulmate by the time you're eighteen. Or that's what she read in school anyway, and if Tzuyu met Nayeon when she turned eighteen, and if Chaeyoung met Sana a couple of weeks after her birthday, then she should have met hers by now.

She traces over the simple outline of what she believes is a swan, her heart fluttering with excitement. She wonders if her soulmate is kind, and gentle, and that's what the tattoo represents. But that weekend that she and Jeongyeon accompanied Dahyun to the park, a swan bit Dahyun. Or she swore that it did anyway. Jihyo's sure that she's just overreacting.

What if her soulmate is more aggressive, and the swan has absolutely no correlation with them? Tzuyu's tattoo that was supposed to represent Nayeon was a dog. And now that they've known each other for a couple of months, the dog is a pretty light colour, and it kind of resembles a Pomeranian. They're all still confused as to what the 'k' means near the tattoo. And sometimes Jihyo doubts that they're soulmates, but Nayeon's tattoo is undeniably Tzuyu. 

Chaeyoung's tattoo for Sana was self-explanatory, being a simple paintbrush. The Shiba Inu on Chaeyoung's back (she can't stand it, but she promises to not cover it up for Sana) is strange, too, but after adopting one, they've all discovered how much alike the dog and Sana are.

Really, Mina believes the tattoo and soulmate thing is ridiculous. She's believed that since she was eight years old. How could she not when the tattoo hadn't appeared until her twenty-second birthday? She stares, completely awestruck at the outline of a ing pokemon on her wrist.

She believes that the pokemon must be a mistake as she's hurrying over to Momo's dance studio nearing ten in the morning. It's a busy day unfortunately, and Mina really shouldn't have skipped breakfast because her stomach is growling, and her head kind of hurts, and so does her heart because a ing pokemon? Of all things. She really hopes her soulmate isn't some fourteen year old kid.

"God, is that a ing Jigglypuff?" 

"I don't know, Momo, is it?" Mina truly cannot believe her best friend right now. The girl is just standing there, laughing at her. "Hirai Momo! If you don't help me-"

"I can't help you, you gigantic goofball. Call Jeongyeon or something. Your tattoo might be worse than hers." And Mina is livid because she wasted perfectly good gas money, and a trip up to Seoul. She really should have used her head.

She's quick to be inside of Jeongyeon's workplace, hastily following her around as she hands out stacks of papers, and tells people what to do. Mina couldn't deal with this life, honestly. It's too wild and too much of a hassle, "Yoo Jeongyeon, please tell me why in the hell my tattoo is a pokemon. Momo was no help, Sana is busy driving Chaeyoung to class-"

"Chaeyoung is late again?" Jeongyeon interrupts her, a fake smile on her face as she hands a coworker a yellow sheet of paper.

"That isn't the point!"

"Calm down, I've got you," Jeongyeon laughs, striding into the door on her right. "Don't stress too much. I'm sure the universe wouldn't make your soulmate too much younger than you, so you're alright with that."

"And what if it's a thirty year old man? And he's still obsessed with pokemon?"

"Then you're in great shape because you've probably got a sugar daddy." Mina sighs heavily, rubbing at her temples. She should have known that her apparent friends would be no help. She follows Jeongyeon into another set of doors, totally passing over the fact that she's in a highly important person's office, and that important person is smiling and talking to Jeongyeon.

"Ah, have you brought a friend?" A woman questions, and Mina immediately recognizes her as Park Jihyo. And of course, she knew that Jeongyeon worked for her, but she didn't think that she got to actually talk to the woman. Mina swallows thickly, nervous laughter bubbling from .

"A highly stressed friend, yes."

Jihyo steps forward, and Mina swears her face is burning because she's standing in front of one of the world's most powerful women, and she really isn't dressed for such an occasion, and now her hand is out, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss," Mina has to force her brain to start working again.

"Mina! Myoui Mina." Jeongyeon slaps her own forehead, and Mina prays that even her ears aren't burning now.

"Jeongyeon, where did you find her at? She's so much more well-behaved than you will ever be." The playful banter that settles between Jihyo and Jeongyeon nearly makes her forget exactly why she came in the first place.

"You needed help didn't you?" Jeongyeon speaks up when Mina goes to open . She nods, too afraid that she'll mess up her words in front of Jihyo. "Well, here you go. Jihyo could provide some type of explanation. She could explain mine, and well, you know mine." The way Jeongyeon's cheeks turn pink makes Mina smile. She bites her lip as she lifts her wrist to show Jihyo. Her heart surely stops, and time surely freezes.

The apparent Jigglypuff is now pink, its eyes in the midst of changing into a greenish colour. Mina tries to laugh it off, but Jeongyeon grabs her wrist, waving it around like an excited puppy, "Mina! Look! Your soulmate is totally in this building! We've gotta find him! Wait, her. Wait, , it could be anyone here. Jihyo, how many people work here?"

"More than I can count. But I'm happy for you, Mina. If you want, we could try and find your soulmate. It'd be a complex process, but any friend of Jeongyeon's is a friend of mine." Jihyo's soft smile kind of makes Mina's knees weak.

"That's alright! I don't really believe in the soulmate thing." Jihyo nods, and Mina is glad that she doesn't judge her. Jihyo is nice.

At the end of Jeongyeon's shift (which doesn't last long; Jihyo allows her to clock out early), Mina learns that Jeongyeon is truly a puppy in an adult woman's body. The girl is acting like Sana, with all of the lilts in her voice, and her jumpy movements. Mina silently hopes that Jeongyeon isn't her soulmate, and it isn't just because of the embarrassing tattoo on Jeongyeon's collarbone. 

She continuously eggs Mina on, not even stopping when Mina is pushing her key into the keyhole to Sana's apartment. As she steps in, Jeongyeon freezes, her words finally stopping for the first time since an hour ago. Sana grins, and Mina can't do anything but hope nothing ends up broken as Jeongyeon tries to run back outside. Sana wraps her arms around the girl, pulling her back into the room before slamming the door shut with her foot. Chaeyoung chuckles, light and pretty.

"It's her own fault for coming here," she shrugs, and Mina agrees silently. It isn't even late, and she's already had a long day. "She should know already."

"Jeongyeonnie loves it!"

"Please never call me that again," Jeongyeon deadpans, still struggling to escape Sana's grip. "Sana! Let go, you complete !" Sana pouts as Jeongyeon finally twists out of her arms. She's quick to jump into Chaeyoung's lap, sending a cold glare Sana's way. 

Mina loves all three of them, she really does, but today has been confusing, and she wants a bit of time alone, and Jeongyeon is now speaking to Nayeon, and- She sighs again. Leave it to her and her idiotic friends to set up a way for Mina to meet her apparent soulmate.

She can hardly rest, the tattoo pulsing like her heartbeat. There's the faint outline of an ice cream cone, and Mina hates how incredibly creative the universe can be. She should be able to love who she wants, and not let some dumb tattoo decide. She shuts her eyes tight, slowing her breathing. She hears a crash followed by Chaeyoung swearing from the room next to her. She must be working on a project that she forgot to do. The thought makes Mina glad that isn't in college anymore (she should be, but that isn't the point). It lulls her to sleep, the fact that she doesn't have to worry so much now.

It takes until the weekend for Jeongyeon to give up on finding her soulmate (she swore that she tried hard. Mina kind of thinks she's lying, but she isn't mad). She's dragged Mina through hell and back (translation: office to office, cubicle to cubicle) since Tuesday. Mina never had to give up because she simply didn't believe that her soulmate, whatever that's supposed to mean, is here in the same building as Park Jihyo.

It's complexity at its finest.

Another few weeks go by, and they feel both like torture and nothing to Mina. Torture because she just wants to know who exactly is making her Jigglypuff so vibrant, and absolutely nothing because she doesn't think she'll care too much. And Jihyo is just as confused as to who has made such a beautiful scenery on her, painting the swan black and filling the water with a soft blue colour. 

Jihyo can distract herself from the fact that she's met her soulmate with the new fact that she's very excited whenever Nayeon brings Kookeu to her office. The dog is an adorable Pomeranian taking more of a liking to Tzuyu than Nayeon. Suddenly Tzuyu's tattoo makes sense. Jihyo silently hopes that her tattoo will make more sense later on.

And Jeongyeon is absolutely no fool. She can put two and two together, and two plus two equals Jihyo and Mina. It must be because no sooner than Mina complained about her Jigglypuff tattoo(Jeongyeon really can't get over that), Jihyo freaked out over the swan that had began developing into a much prettier tattoo. And she knows both of her friends well, and how their respective tattoos resemble each other. Therefore, it only makes sense that she sets them up to get to know each other even better. It's a simple process, too. She convinces Jihyo to go out and get some air, and then proceeds to tell Mina that today is a wonderful day to go out. Mina is harder to convince than Jihyo, but it works out in the end.

Jihyo is settled next to the pond near her work building, admiring the couple of swans that add to the soft water. There's a turtle, and she swears she sees some frogs, too, and it's a peaceful day despite the cars that are still roaring past. What else should she expect on a saturday? She should really be working now, but Jeongyeon did insist that she should take a break, and- Her heart soars when she catches sight of Mina, all stumbles and waving hands. Jihyo is sure that she's swatting some bugs away, and she can't blame her; the bugs near the pond are clingier than Sana will ever be.

"Mina!" Jihyo calls out, waving her hands. It'd be nice to have some company rather than the animals currently accompanying her. Mina pauses, looking around, before smiling as she catches sight of Jihyo. The two have become closer since they met considering Jeongyeon hadn't missed a single day when it came to finding her soulmate. Mina saw Jihyo everyday and had even helped her arrange meetings when she was too busy to do it herself. Mina learned many things about Jihyo, such as her favourite food, and her favourite colour. The basics, really.

It isn't long until they're both settled by the pond in the bench that is most definitely worn out from the weather. It's a calm silence, but Jihyo feels the need to break it. How else would she learn more about Mina? She clears , "This pond is gorgeous, don't you think?" Mina nods, swinging her legs back and forth. Jihyo finds it endearing.

"I like how it isn't empty," Mina notes, "the swans are very pleasant to look at when you combine it with the scenery." Chaeyoung would love to paint it.

Jihyo pauses, glancing down at her tattoo. It's nearly covered most of her forearm now, small details currently being filled in. It's satisfying, the way her brain clicks like a finished puzzle. Her heart leaps, and she can only smile, "I like how my tattoo resembles it." Mina turns her head so that she's looking at Jihyo's tattoo. It's pretty on her skin, Mina has to admit. But anything Jihyo wears or does is pretty.

"Your soulmate is a unique person, I suppose," she smiles, and Jihyo laughs so softly that Mina wants to make sure she remembers each and every detail. "Have you found them?"

"Have you found yours?" Jihyo redirects the topic in fear that she'll somehow scare Mina away. Which that would only happen if Mina liked Jihyo in that way, and she probably doesn't, so- Jihyo takes a deep breath. She is a grown woman, so she should get a hold of herself. Mina shakes her head, her cheeks becoming redder by the second.

"My tattoo is embarrassing actually," Jihyo crosses her fingers because if Mina is truly her soulmate then the tattoo shouldn't be too embarrassing. But knowing her luck, she'd have given Mina a solid dollar bill on her left cheek.

"It can't be too bad. Show me?" Please don't be on her cheek. She lets out a sigh of relief, and then she can't help but laugh when she catches sight of the Jigglypuff seated on an ice cream cone right on Mina's wrist.

"It's creative," Jihyo says through laughter. Mina huffs, and she's suddenly glad that Mina is most definitely the one she's been excited to meet ever since she caught notice of the outline of the swan. "You know, my friends say I look like Jigglypuff." 

Mina's eyes flicker across her face, taking in every single small detail, "Kind of. You're, um, cute like one." And it's Mina's turn to feel the click in both her heart and brain. "You know, my nickname was the Black Swan in high school."

"Was it?" Jihyo smiles once more, and Mina can't help the fuzzy feeling in her stomach. "You know," she pauses, and it becomes a game, "the universe is currently filling in a bench by the pond."

"And you know that we could get ice cream if you wanted. Might as well make the most of a warm day."

"You know, you're right."

Mina might get used to the soulmate thing.