Cold.

That was what Ten felt when he woke up. It was cold and he was shivering but he felt beads of sweat lining on his forehead.

Ten wanted to stand up but felt dizzy as soon as he tried to prop himself up. He gave up on that thought and laid back on his bed instead. The clock on his bedside table blinked 4am. It was too early for Ten to be waking up on normal days. He couldn't just go back to sleep either so Ten just heaved a long sigh and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Today marks his 22nd birthday. He was considered 23 in Korea, though, as he is living in Seoul after all.

But age is just a number. What made this birthday so special is that, like any other human being, Ten finally gets to meet his soulmate. Not meet per se, but he gets a symbol mirroring his partner's tattooed on some part of his body. 

However, it's that same thing that Ten desperately wanted to avoid. He wished life wasn't so cruel for him to go through that; that people could choose whom they want to be with the rest of their lives. But no. Everyone who passes the age of 22 gets to have a tattoo appear on their skin and their other halves gets the same. Destiny? There was already one for Ten but he couldn't just sit well with the idea.

You see, Ten has been in love with someone since he was seventeen. He has harbored the feelings for five long years and the thought of meeting his "soulmate" would make him disregard those feelings makes his stomach turn.

~

Ten came to Korea in 2013 after being scouted from winning in a teen television show in Thailand. He was handed a business card by a random person as he was on his way out from the studio and Ten's eyes grew big as the card read SM Entertainment. Ten, of course, couldn't say no. It has been his dream to be a performer after all, to be able to dance and sing on stage and show the world what Chittaphon Leechaiyakul can do. That was his real name but he went by Ten as soon as he started his training.

Luckily, his family was very supportive of his dream. He was personally escorted by his mom as he moved to another country with customs unfamiliar to his own. But Ten was a fighter and he was determined to be able to adapt to his surroundings as quickly as he could.

He was housed in a dorm together with other trainees who didn't have a house nearby. It was cramped, there were too many boys in one room, and the aircondition wasn't really working too well in their favor. It was an environment far from what Ten was used to and grew up with. But he wasn't about to give up because of those conditions.

Language, on the other hand, presented itself as another challenge. Ten was familiar with Korean from those dramas he used to watch with his mom and sister and he was listening to Korean pop most of the time. But having to converse and use it in everyday life was a struggle from the start. Ten knew he just had to work harder than anyone else, slightly releived that the company had language lessons for foreign trainees.

His first night in the dorms was pretty uneventful aside from one of his roommates named Johnny helping him with his luggage. It was a sunday and some of the trainees went home for the weekend and probably would just go straight to the studio the next day.

Ten was thankful for Johnny, the latter telling him that he was already a trainee for several years now, that the other guys are nice and Ten didn't really had to worry about anything. It seemed to ease the claminess he felt and he slept through the night without having nightmares from missing his home already.

The first day of training, Ten was in awe. He was finally in SM Entertainment and he couldn't help but feel as if his heart would leap out of excitement. His ears were buzzing as he trailed behind Johnny, coursing through the confusing hallways of the building. Ten could hear the faint sound of music coming from the farthest room with door slightly open.

"Hey Johnny!" A boy who looked younger than Ten motion for them to hurry up. "Come on man. The guys are doing freestyle."

"Let's go Ten," Johnny grabbed his arm as the entered the room, leading him to the other side where a couple of younger boys stood while watching.

Ten turned his attention to three of the guys who were dancing in the middle of the room.  The tallest of them had this serious look on while dancing, eyes all big and round. The boy next to him was albeit shorter, them being unfamiliar to Ten's eyes, his face looked similar to the the taller one. His moves were as fierce as his gaze and Ten couldn't help but be wowed by them.

But the third one caught Ten's attention the most. His moves were sleek, almost as if he wasn't a trainee like the rest of them. Dancing came naturally to him, Ten could tell, and with the practice he's probably done everyday there's no doubt he's already skilled fit enough to be an idol. It's his eyes that Ten couldn't look away from though. There's something in the way the boy looks at himself dancing in the mirror, like his life depended on it, dreams at an arms reach. And for a split second their eyes met before the music fadeded down and the song came to an end.

"Aww that went too fast!" Johnny whined beside Ten. "I wanted to show Tennie here what you guys can do"

Johnny started pouting like a big baby and Ten could feel the heat rising on his cheeks, partly from the attention his friend brought and partly from the, eye contact he just had with the boy. And Ten being the shy newbie, looked away and suddenly the amplifier next to him seemed more interesting.

While examining the amplifier, Ten didn't notice the boy was walking towards him until he stopped and grabbed the water bottle on the table. Ten seemed startled as he stared at the boy with his big round eyes as the latter was drinking.

"Hey," the boy greeted as soon as he was done. "It's your first day here?"

"Y-yeah," Ten willed himself not to stutter more and he seemed to realize a second later that the boy might be older and he might be stepping on boundaries while speaking informally to a stranger. The boy must have guessed Ten's internal struggle as one of the corners of his mouth lifted, perhaps amused at Ten.

"It's okay. I'm Taeyong by the way," the boy finally introduced himself with his free hand outstretched. Ten didn't waste time and shook it lightly, feeling suddenly warm inside. "Ten, right? Come on, I'll show you around."

With Taeyong's arm slung around him, hand resting on his right shoulder, Ten was steered away from a still pouting Johnny and was being led to group of guys hunched at the sides, including those whom Taeyong was dancing with a while ago. 

~ 

That was their first interaction and it was a scene that Ten could still vividly remember after five long years, a memory his visits from time to time. Even then, he was captured by Taeyong's charms - from the first few seconds he'd seen him dance, from their first eye contact, their first greeting, their first touch. He though about how nice it was of Taeyong to initiate conversation with him while he himself was running low of confidence at the time. He usually wasn't but he guessed coming from a different country, not knowing much of the language and being put on the spot clammed him up.

Ten learned later on from Johnny that Taeyong wasn't usually the one to initiate a friendly introduction to anyone and was surprised he did it with Ten. Of course, not wanting to get his hopes up, Ten brushed it off as Taeyong assuming his leader qualities early on.

Ten promised himself that it would be nothing more that a fleeting crush, that he would be a good dongsaeng to his hyung instead, admiration that would be disguised as wanting to be close with the other for the sake of their friendship and the the idol grouo that they would be in.

But it wasn't just a fleeting crush and Ten's heart was broken when three years after Taeyong announced his relationship with Jaehyun.

Ten felt numb after hearing the couple's confession and he had nothing else to do but force a smile on his face as he congratulated the two. He was conflicted, of course, with Jaehyun also being a close dongsaeng to him. Then again, he couldn't blame anyone but himeself for not being brave enough, not being honest enough, and not being open enough with his feelings and his uality.

That was two years ago now and the couple was still together. Ten was always watching at the sides, only wishing it could be him that Taeyong's hand was holding, feeling his embrace, secretly kissing him when they thought no one was watching.

Ten shook his head, not wanting to start his day with sad thoughts. He wiped the sweat that has been forming on his forehead for a while now. It was only then that Ten felt the slight ache, prickling and light burning sensation on his right shoulder. He seemingly forgot about the diziness he felt earlier, not feeling cold anymore and hurriedly scrambled to body length mirror attached to his closet.

Taking his shirt off, Ten was careful not to move too much. There was nothing wrong with the area near his right clavicle and thought that maybe it was a different ache he was feeling. Then, Ten slightly turned his body so that his right nack side was visible to the mirror.

Ten paled. There he saw it, slightly shimmering from the reflection of his night light. A small pair of wings inked on his skin, glistening as if it was newly painted.

Ten drew in a sharp breath.

Today was his 22nd birthday. 

Today was also the release and start of Baby Don't Stop promotions. 

Today was also the day Ten learned he had the same wings tattoo inked on his back as was Taeyong's inked on his wrist.

~~~~~

Ahhh please let me know what you think in the comments ><