After leaving that weird place, Minkyung headed out to her last destination of the day. Luckily it wasn’t very far and she could go by foot. Maybe because the air in the creepy bookstore was filled with dust, going out and breathing fresh air was a relief. She could feel herself relaxing as she distanced herself from the place.

The book still lingered on her mind. Not only the fact that it was almost entirely blank, but what she had read on that single page.

Why would anyone write a book about the marks even before they started appearing? It wasn’t until a couple of decades ago that the soulmate’s marks had started appearing, before the marks the idea of soulmates was considered just a romantic illusion that people would use in fantasy novels and movies, a thing that didn’t make any sense in real life. Even after the marks become more and frequent and people started to understand what it meant and accept it, there weren’t many books about it.

No one knew for sure why after so much time, suddenly humans started developing marks and most people just accepted it as gift from the heavens. At first some studies were done, but it lead nowhere. The marks were the closest thing the humankind had of magic, it was completely harmless yet powerful, and everyone would eventually get one -- Or at least most people.

As far as Minkyung (and everyone else who was a normal human being) knew, the marks would naturally appear on the palm of your left hand. No one younger than sixteen years old developed it. Most people would get their marks in their birthday, but some had to wait a bit longer, usually because they hadn’t met or their match hadn’t turn sixteen yet. Although the wait wouldn’t be long, most of the time the couple would be around the same age. She never heard of a couple that had an bigger than two years.

The soulmate couples would always find their way to each other, it usually didn’t take long. It was just like it had been carefully planned even before their births.

The marks were usually a simple drawing of something that was meaningful for your soulmate or that could represent them. Yewon and her match had musical instruments as part of their marks, for example. Right below the drawing you would be able to see the name of the person you’re supposedly destined to be with.

It was as straightforward as possible, and perhaps that’s was the reason why so many people were so happy when they finally got it.

No more love problems, no more bad relationships or breakups, no more heart breaks...The marks made things a lot easier and happier for everyone.

Besides, there were other aspects to the whole soulmate thing, but this wasn’t something that she would be able to explain. Not when her hand had never developed a mark.

Kim brought her hand closer to her face, inspecting her palm. She was almost twenty and five years old, way too old to develop a mark now. It was something that would never stop bothering her, the uncertain was the worst. As the time passed she felt less and less the need to have a mark and started to wish she just would never have one, this way she could continue with her life as it was now.

Just like there wasn’t a reason for the marks to appear, there wasn’t one reason why some people didn’t have it. It was extremely rare, so it wasn’t like people were really worried about it. Some would just say it was a signal of bad luck, others would say it was some kind of karma for their wrongdoings in a past life, and there were people who even believed it just meant that your soulmate had died before reaching the right age and therefore they could never meet. None of those explanations made Minkyung feel less uneasy.

She would rather believe that it was just a little problem in her body chemistry that couldn’t produce the right pigment for the mark, it was more practical and realistic.

Kyungwon didn’t have a mark either, but she had a theory. She used to say they just had invisible marks, what just made them more special instead of unlucky. Minkyung liked that possibility better, no matter how dumb it sounded, it made her feel more confident about their future.

Minkyung was so distracted with her own thoughts that she almost passed by the bookstore she was supposed to visit. Luckily the colorful display with the latest released books and the big yellow sign were able to get her attention. “Athena.” She read, confirming she was in the right place.

Different of the last place, this one was full of light and had customers walking in and out. Kim didn’t hesitate, entering the place and looking around. The shop wasn’t so big, but everything was very well organized and clean, she could see the furniture wasn’t new, but it was well conserved. It had a modern style with vivid colors, yet it was not overly flashy and still had a cozying feeling to it.

Minky thought it was a perfect place for reading

Just like in the other places she visited, the first thing she did was to walk around for a bit, watching how the customers behaved, how the employers worked and trying to find some books from her company. Everything seemed to run smoothly there, the books were well placed and she could already spot the ones that she looked for. Whoever planned their sales was smart and it seemed like she wouldn’t need to give them any tips this time.

With a small smile, she decided to look for the owner of the place. She found a young girl with a yellow shirt with the bookstore name on it. Kyla, the girl that stated she only worked there as a part timer, showed her the way to a small office in the back of the store.

Kim knocked on the door lightly, going into the office once a voice told her to do so. She put on her usual polite smile. The other woman still hadn’t look at her, busy finishing something off on her computer before she could give her attention.

“Hello. I’m Kim Minkyung from P&L Books. Is it okay for us to talk now? It won’t take too much of your time.” She said, giving the woman behind the desk an expectant look.

The woman finally finished typing and lift up her gaze to meet hers. Minkyung was surprised by how young the girl was, probably even younger than her. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but definitely not that. It wasn’t only the age, there was something else that Minky couldn’t point out that made the girl catch her attention.

“Only if it won’t bother you too much, of course.” Kim bowed politely before she could give the other a better look.

She wasn’t the type that stared at people, but just like earlier with that book, she couldn’t help but feel curious about that person.

The woman stood up to greet her properly and Minkyung could notice how much shorter the girl was. She surely was petite, but it would be hard to not notice her in the crowd, she had a very distinct, memorable face.

Her face was small with sharp, yet gentle features. She had intelligent brown eyes, a perfectly long straight nose and thin lips where a small smile was visible. Her brown hair was up in a ponytail that made her look even younger.

Somehow look at her gave Minkyung an unknown pleasant feeling. It was like meeting a friend after a long time, as if she had missed being around her and it was a relief to finally see her again.

Only that Minky had never met that girl before, and she had no reason to feel that way at all.

Yaebin was having a tough day at work. There were more clients than usual and even with Kyla helping out while Yooa was working as a cashier, things were erratic. Usually she would be in the store working alongside the others, but her mom had made another bad deal and she was having a hard time dealing with it. She had been sending emails and making calls nonstop since early morning, trying to make sure the situation wouldn’t be as harmful as it could be – Her mom was really thoughtless when it came down to buying things and it wasn’t like they had that much extra money to invest on useless stuff.

By the end of the morning she had solved most of her problems and was able to join the girl’s in the store for a bit, helping them reorganize everything and deal with the most picky customers. It was tiring, but she was glad at least they were making some money.

Thankfully the afternoon was a bit more calm, without any calls from her mom and only their usual clients coming in to have a look at the newest releases. Yaebin went back to her office, going back to her normal occupations.

She was updating their stock info when she heard someone come in. She took her time finishing things up and making sure she had saved everything, before she acknowledge the stranger’s presence.

Kang was ready to face another scammer trying to sell her some ‘very important and essential’ encyclopedias for double the price, but she heard the other woman low, soothing voice informing where she was from. Yaebin had been so busy that she probably had forgotten to check the email and that’s why she was taken aback when she heard the name of the huge company that was one of their suppliers.

“Oh, sure. It is my pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Kim. I’m Kang Yaebin.” She said in here usual business tone, getting up to greet the other woman.

However she was a bit flustered when she faced her, forgetting for a moment how she was supposed to behave in this kind of situation.

The stranger, Minkyung, was probably one of the most impressive people she had ever met. Not only because the girl was very attractive with her model like height and perfect classic features, but she also had a very unique and charming aura to her.

Minkyung was giving her a friendly smile that reached her eyes, making them curve slightly in a half moon shape.

She had the prettiest eyes Yaebin had ever seen. It had an alluring quality to them. Just like her smile, was friendly, filled with a warm glow that seem to be able to reach Yaebin easily and make her a feel a bit dizzy.

“I-It’s okay. I have time.” She wanted to kick herself for stuttering in front of the other girl, but if Minkyung had noticed it, she didn’t show.

The shorter girl tried to not blush, taking her eyes off the woman to check her computer once more. “I didn’t saw the email early, I’ll check it now.” She could simply have asked Minkyung what she was there for, but she found it easier to focus on the screen than the girl’s face.

Yaebin was usually good at dealing with people, she had never been shy and talk with strangers was part of her work. It was ironic that now she was trying to find excuses to not talk to the girl directly.

Perhaps, she just needed a moment to get into her normal self.

There was just something about Minkyung, but she wasn’t sure exactly what it was, nor why it made her feel so flustered all of sudden.

“There is no need, really. I just wanted to talk about how things are going with out new books.” Minkyung said, her voice sounding a lot more confident and clear than Yaebin’s. The older woman proceed to explain that this meeting was only a way to make sure her company was doing all that they could to help out and benefit both sides.

She looked like an easy person to talk to and it made Yaebin relax a bit more, nodding slightly in response.

“Do you want me to show you the titles that are selling better? We have quiet a few young customers coming since we changed the display.” Luckily her voice sounded more casual, as it was normally. She tried to channel her inner salesman, this way she could treat that girl just like any other customer she had to talk to.

“I would love that. Actually I looked around a bit and you have a very nice place here.” Minkyung was probably just trying to be polite, but her tone was so sincere that Yaebin couldn’t help but return her smile with one of her own. Work in the family business wasn’t her first pick as a career, but she still loved that store and put all her effort into making it the best place she could.

She asked Kim to follow her as she showed her around, explaining about the public they usually deal with and what books were selling better as of now. After a couple of minutes where they discussed the work related matters and the taller girl took some notes, they stopped in front of one of the shelves in the fantasy section.

“So, what are your favorites? I don’t find think I’d be able to pick one easily with so many to chosen from.” Minkyung asked in a light tone that surprised Yaebin. She decided she liked that side of Minkyung more.

“Is not hard at all. I love the classics.” She replied in the same tone, pointing out the Harry Potter collection that had a special place dedicated to them.

From there, their conversation flowed smoothly, with Minkyung telling her about her love for manga and in no time they were discussing their favorite characters in each series. And somehow it evolved to their favorite foods and movies and even more personal topics like their careers and friends.

Kim was a good listener and she always seem to be interested about what Yaebin had to say and happy when they found something in common.

Yaebin wasn’t sure if it was just the way the woman acted with everyone or if they simply had clicked, however she was gladly surprised about how easy it was to talk to her. It was almost like they had always been close, even though they barely knew anything about each other.

They must have talked for more time than she thought because they were interrupted by Kyla that had come inform she was already going home since her shift was over.

Minkyung had excused herself to pick up a call and Yaebin couldn’t help but stare at her, wondering how someone could make her so distracted in a day like that.

The girl had her back turned to her, but she could see clearly her elegant hand that was holding onto the cellphone. A golden ring was placed on her finger, not fancy enough to be a wedding ring, but it clearly had a special meaning.

Yaebin felt a sense of guilty wash over her for feeling disappointed at that sight. Of course, Minkyung already had someone, in their society people used to find their soulmates even before they finished school.

Minkyung was only being friendly and it wasn’t big deal. She knew better than keep her hopes up and set herself for a heartbreak. Long ago she had accepted that things like this weren’t for her, and perhaps it was for the best.

Eunwoo kept saying she needed to go out more and have some fun, maybe her friend was right and she was just under so much stress than even the smallest things could affect her.

Still, it was hard to not wish she also had someone like that. Back in her teenager years she would think about it every day and hope she would soon find the right one, like having her soulmate in her life would make everything better.

Not having her mark on her sixteen birthday was just one more unfortunate thing that happened that year. However, as the time passed and it never appeared, the deception had sink in her heart like a rock in a lake. Seeing everyone around her finding their special ones and living happily made it almost impossible to not become bitter. Still, she had tried her best to not let it affect her too much, trying to keep in mind that with the greatest love also comes the greatest pain – her family was a very good example of that.

Yaebin averted her gaze of Minkyung, focusing on the bookshelves instead. She looked for anything out of place. It wasn’t unusual for customers to just randomly place the books instead of putting it back in the spot they had found it initially. She found ‘The Silver Chair’ in the middle of the supernatural section and took it out to place it in it’s rightful spot.

But when she was trying to put it back, tiptoeing to reach the tallest shelf, she saw small, red lines on the palm of her hand that was holding the book. The color was so vivid that it scared her and she let the book fall, almost hitting her on it’s way down – Even though she wouldn’t have noticed, she was too busy trying to not scream while staring at her own hand.

In the palm of her left hand there was a newly acquired mark, the red lines forming a delicate drawing of a quill pen right above a name written in simple characters.

Kim Min Kyung.

Minkyung always tried to create a friendly relationship with the storeowners, not only it made her job easier, but it was also more pleasant. With Yaebin it wasn’t supposed to be different, she would just talk for a little while, collect all the data she needed and go home early.

But it wasn’t like the other times because Yaebin wasn’t like any other person she had met before.

Minky just felt so curious about her, what she liked and what she didn’t, how her life was like.

Minkyung liked the way Yaebin’s voice sounded so full of life whenever she was talking about her favorite books and the sparkle in her eyes when Minkyung admitted that she also loved them. Their tastes seem to complement each other and before she noticed, they had already talked about so many different topics. It was like their friendship was meant to be.

The realization struck her in the moment she looked outside the window and noticed the sky was already dark. She had frowned, confused. How long they had been talking for? She wasn’t the kind that loses her time perception when she was supposed to be working.

She reached for her bag, looking for her phone to check what time it was. However when she grabbed it, the screen reflected something on her palm. Something that wasn’t supposed to be there.

Kim gulped. A different feel started taking over her mind, uneasiness.

She didn’t even noticed when the young employee came to talk to Yaebin, too petrified to move an inch.

The phone ringed. ‘Devil’s mother in law’, her boss nickname appearing on the screen. She could feel her hands shaking, but she tried her best to ignore what she just saw and pick up the call.

Even though her boss was being her normal unpleasant self over the phone, Minky wasn’t able to focus enough in the conversation to be bothered by it. She just answered it automatically giving the older woman directions about where to find an old project and ended the call.

She could feel Yaebin’s gaze on her back, but even after the call was over she didn’t turn. Her left hand had the phone in a tight grip, the device being the only thing that blocked her vision of the mark.

Why it had to appear right now?

Minkyung was only able to see one word earlier: Kang. It was Kyungwon’s last name and a wave of relief and happiness had washed over her for a tiny second before the realization hit her.

The chances of Kyungwon’s name being the one in her palm were very, very low. They had met over ten years ago, they were friends for a long time and dated for years, still neither of them had developed a mark. If they were each other’s match, it would have happened already.

She didn’t want to check it and see somebody else’s name.

But she didn’t have a choice.

She heard the sound of something hitting the ground with a thud, and looked over her shoulder spotting Yaebin with a shocked expression on her face.

Minkyung looked away, trying to keep herself calm, even though it was becoming hard to breath. She couldn’t even look at the small Kang right now, she was too scared of what she would see.

She excused herself, going outside the door with rushed steps. She run until she reached a small park that was nearby. She sat down in one of the benches, feeling like she could fall if she didn’t have any support. She took some long deep breaths, her hand still clenched around the cellphone.

“Please, please, please…” She prayed, putting her phone down in her lap. She took a deep breath before she could finally master the courage to took a good look at her left palm.

Minkyung let out a painful cry, covering to muffle the sound. Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes as she stared at her hand.

After so long she finally had her soulmate mark, a cute drawing of a snowman. The letters bellow were written in a small, elegant calligraphy.

She was right, the last name was Kang, but it wasn’t Kyungwon’s hand written, nor it was her name.

Her soulmate was another Kang, the one she had just met.

It was Yaebin.

A/N: And finally we started the actual plot of the story. I tried to explain things the best I could, since it might be important in future chapters. I'm not sure when the next update will be since I have a paper to finish and my other fic to update before this one. 

Thank you for all the comentaries and subscribers, and I'm very sorry for any mistakes. I hope you enjoyed it.