The sun was shinning brightly outside Spring Day Sound as Moonbyul stepped into the familiar music store. Fake Love by BTS could be heard through the small store as Moonbyul spotted her friend sitting on a stool behind the messily arranged counter.

“Byulyi!” Jin greeted with a bright smile.

“Hey, Seokjin,” Moonbyul greeted back, while offering a halfhearted smile.

“FOUND IT!” A sudden husky, yet childish voice chirped as Moonbyul saw a twelve-year-old boy run to the counter with a CD on his hands.

“This one, please!” The boy chirped as Moonbyul noticed it was BIG BANG’S Alive. A small smile appeared on her lips as she couldn’t help but find the boy’s eagerness adorable. How many kids nowadays got that excited over a CD? It was a rare sight.

“That’ll be fifteen dollars,” Jin said as the boy eagerly took out from his pocket the money and handed it to Jin who quickly counted it, but frowned upon realizing the boy had only given him ten dollars, “Uh…this is not enough”.

“Really? O-oh…” The boy’s once bright expression was soon replaced with a doleful one as he took back his money, “I won’t take it then…” He mumbled, before walking away. The way his feet reluctantly moved towards the door made Moonbyul glance at Jin, who looked rather guilty for breaking the boy’s happiness.

“Hold up,” The black haired woman suddenly said, causing the boy to halt on his steps and turn to look at her, “Is this for you?” She asked while holding the CD on her hands.

“No. It was for a friend of mine. Her birthday is coming up soon,” The boy explained, a small smile adorning his still childish features.

“…She likes CD’s?” Moonbyul asked as the boy walked towards her.

“I don’t know. She told me she did like BIG BANG so I thought I could get her their music but…well, I guess I’ll just get her something else,” The boy explained, scratching his nape as a small pout appeared on his lips.

“Do you like her then?” At Moonbyul’s question, the boy eagerly nodded while showing a rosy boxy smile.

“Yeah! She’s someone very, very dear to me,” The boy replied with much sincerity, an innocent glow clear on his vibrant brown eyes.

“Alright. Then, let’s make a deal,” Moonbyul began saying before she took out twenty dollars and placing it on the counter. This made Jin and the boy stare at her in confusion.

“What deal?” the brown haired boy asked, genuinely curious about the woman’s offer.

“If you give me a good advice, I’ll pay for your CD,” Moonbyul suggested as the boy eagerly nodded, bouncing up and down with much excitement while Jin simply shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.

“Good then,” Moonbyul began saying as she debated on what to ask the boy.

Maybe asking him something simple would be the best…but I wonder…the black haired woman thought as she noticed the boy’s eyes fixed on her.

“So, what would you do if you have a Soulmate who you love a lot but you can’t be with her since you are marrying someone else soon and you don’t want to hurt this other person you care about a lot?” Jin raised an eyebrow at his friend, clearly judging her words. How could a kid even answer such a thing?

“I don’t think that was the best question to ask a kid,” The owner of the store protested in a low voice as the black haired woman turned to look from the boy before her - who happened to be deep in thoughts – to her friend behind the counter.

“I’ll still give him the money anyways. I’m just curious of what’s he going to say,” Moonbyul replied as she glanced back at the boy. It wasn’t that Moonbyul was the type of person who would just come and ask random people for advices, but she felt no harm in asking this boy who was just a sweetheart. If anything, he was most likely not going to give her any helpful advice, so she wasn’t expecting much.

“So…I think,” The boy suddenly said as he looked at Moonbyul with another boxy smile, “I would be with the one I love, my Soulmate”.

“What about the girl you’re marrying?” Moonbyul asked absentmindedly.

“Does she love me back?” The boy replied with a question, much to Moonbyul’s surprise, as she had never asked that question to herself. The two of them had known each other since forever…but not once had she ever wondered about or concerned herself with Krystal’s feelings. Does Krystal even love me? I mean…I…I never thought about that. Moonbyul thought before she replied, “Yeah…maybe, I guess”.

“Well…If I don’t, then why would I be with her and make both of us unhappy?” The brown haired boy reasoned, “I’m sure she would be sad, but I would much rather love her as a friend than grow distant as her husband,” He added as a Moonbyul found herself smiling, feeling slightly bad for having underestimated the young boy.

“…Hmm. Wrap the CD nicely, Seokjin. I liked that answer,” Moonbyul said as Jin laughed wholeheartedly before doing as told.

“Whoa! Thank you so much, Miss!” The boy chirped, bouncing up and down with excitement. Once Jin handed him the CD, the boy hugged it tightly.

“No, thank you for the advice,” Moonbyul said as the boy gave her one last smile before rushing out the store with a jolly laughter.

“Aren’t you nice?” Jin teased as Moonbyul simply rolled her eyes at him before walking upstairs. The door leading to the dance studio was wide open, much to Moonbyul’s slight surprise as she usually found it close. Inside, J-hope and Jimin – who were covered in sweat - were talking to a girl, whose face Moonbyul didn’t even need to see to know who she was. Her voice was more than enough.

“Krystal,” Moonbyul called as the said brunette turned around and gave her a tepid smile before walking up to her.

“Hi, Unnie,” Krystal greeted as Moonbyul nodded at her before offering a small smile to the two dancers in the room who eagerly greeted her back before going back to their own conversation about their music.

“Come,” Moonbyul ordered as she guided Krystal to the room before the dance studio. Thankfully, Yoongi was not around so they got the music studio all to themselves.

“You could get a bigger studio if you wanted,” Krystal stated as she sat on the couch while Moonbyul went over to Yoongi’s keyboard and sat on the stool before it.

“Well…it’s not like I need it so why get it?” Moonbyul replied staring at the woman before her who kept looking around the room.

“Hmm…wouldn’t you like it, though? You have always enjoyed doing music,” Krystal rebuked with ease, unaware of Moonbyul’s frown.

“…Why is everyone talking about what I want now?” The older woman began saying, causing Krystal’s gaze to fall on her, “Before, nobody asked for that. Minseok, you…a kid I didn’t even know. You all keep telling me to just go for what I feel…but after hearing every single person in my life tell me not to…Aren’t I doing what’s right, what everyone wanted from me?” She asked as Krystal plainly stared at her with an unreadable expression.

“Since when have you done what everyone wanted from you?” Krystal’s words came out cold, but sincere as Moonbyul knew what she meant. All her life, she had been the most problematic of the Moon children. From studying music to opening her own café, Moonbyul had never followed her parents’ teachings or wishes. She had always done whatever she wanted, whatever made her happy.

“The Byulyi Unnie I know never gave two s**ts about what anyone thought of her choices, since she knew she was doing what she wanted and what was best for her,” Krystal kept going as Moonbyul remained quiet, “I…I still think it would be best for you to follow what your parents want…but…but,” She trailed off, causing Moonbyul – whose gaze was firmly on the ground – to look up at her.

“But?” Moonbyul asked, holding her hands so tightly her knuckles began to turn white.

“But…I don’t want to be the one taking away your happiness,” Krystal concluded, her expression no longer blank. There was a glint of sadness in her eyes, but a small reassuring smile across her rose lips.

“…Is that so?” Moonbyul asked, feeling an even greater burden fall on her, “What about you then?” At this sudden question, Krystal frowned.

“What about me?” The brunette questioned back.

“What about your happiness? You keep talking about me, but what about you?” Moonbyul noticed a fleeting bitter smile appear on Krystal’s lips before she shrugged and looked away.

“I…I think I’ve been a trophy daughter for far too long,” Krystal confessed, fixing her gaze on Moonbyul’s brown orbs, “I want to be selfish just this once and…and go back to studying Soulmate Studies”.

“Soulmate Studies? Really?” Moonbyul asked, slightly surprised by the news. She had no idea Krystal was even studying…at all. She had heard once or twice about Krystal’s older sister – Jessica Jung – having become a professional in that field, but Krystal’s family always made their youngest daughter stand out in the fashion industry…whether she wanted it or not. The brunette’s life revolved around fame and luxuries, so Moonbyul would have never thought that Krystal had always wanted an ordinary career.

“Yeah. I studied for 2 years before my parents said I didn’t need to study anymore because of the modeling thing and well, the arranged marriage,” Krystal replied, causing Moonbyul to feel slightly bad for her. She was just as conflicted as I was over this marriage…and not once did I ever bother on asking her about it…Moonbyul thought bitterly, as she could feel a lump appear on at the thought. Krystal, however, looked unfazed once again as she simply said, “You know there’s only 4 days before our wedding, right?”

“But weren’t we-…” Moonbyul’s words were cut short as Krystal interrupted her, “I’ll be really angry if I’m left at the aisle like in one of those movies. So make up your mind before then, okay?” A small yet glowing smile soon appeared on Moonbyul’s face as she nodded.

“I would never,” Moonbyul promised as Krystal returned her smile, knowing that she had done everything in her power by now. Whatever Moonbyul and Solar decided to do from this point on…she could no longer do anything about it. Even if she disagreed…it was only them who had the last words since…it was them who were Soulmates.

Hopefully, they’ll go for what makes them happy...Only then, will I be able to chase after my happiness too.

************

The unceasing ringing of Solar’s phone almost made Hwasa slam it against the nearest window, claiming it was the same annoying music Wheein would play for her whenever she didn’t want to wake up. The pink haired waitress, however, had taken the call as quickly as she could – avoiding her phone’s execution in the hands of Hwasa – after having finished serving all the customers in the café.

“Hi, Noona,” A smile soon bloomed across Solar’s lips at the mellow voice that greeted her.

“Woozi! Hi!” Solar chirped as she walked out the café to talk to the boy she had not seen for a while now, “How have you been? Are you eating well? Is your friend nice? Are you feeling okay? Is that why you called me?! Do I need to beat up someone for you?!” Woozi couldn’t help but slightly chuckle at Solar’s wild imagination.

“I’m okay. I just wanted to say hi,” The boy replied with ease as Solar sighed in relief, “I…I heard that you’re not too good, though…so…are you okay, Noona?” At the sudden question, Solar felt a lump appear on .

“Yah, I’m your Noona, Woozi! My name is not Yongsun for nothing,” Solar rebuked as brightly as she could. Woozi, however, didn’t trust her words as he plainly called her name before asking, “Are you afraid to be happy?”

“What?” The older woman breathed out, taken aback by the question.

“I might be the worst person to say this…but Noona, I think you are afraid be happy. You left your music and Moonbyul Noona behind, all because you say it’ll be better that way, but honestly…is it? Is it really better?” Woozi reasoned, “Be selfish for once. You deserve it,” He added as Solar glanced at her wrist, or rather at the mark hidden by her long sleeve.