Science says there are three types of soulmates.

The first kind of soulmate is the kind you fall in love with but aren’t fated to be with. The one who will be the greatest teacher – they teach you heartache; what doesn’t work out and what isn’t meant to work out. These kinds of soulmates help to start your journey and make you learn the lessons you need to learn no matter how much the heartache.

The second type of soulmate is the one where you can be your true self and will stick with you no matter what. They don’t trigger your insecurities or point out your flaws but rather they make them go away. These kinds bring out the best in their soulmates as you are both true to yourselves and you are both happier together – finding ways to cheer each other up on the darkest days with minimal effort.

The third type of soulmate is the friend that you’re always connected to and you can read each other’s emotions and thoughts (not in a literal sense) – you’re okay with sharing your deeper secrets with this person but there is no romance involved. It doesn’t matter how long you haven’t seen each other, the moment you begin speaking there is no awkwardness or hesitation as the conversations flow naturally from both souls. Distance doesn’t matter as your sixth sense for that person never seems to fade.

Despite there being 3 types, the second is the most common as many find their way to their other half. Almost everyone around young Minju had a smile on their face when they saw their other half – their whole body seeming to react when they were close. An ambience of glee and tranquillity overcoming them. Yes, almost everyone around Minju was with their fated other half.

It was the age of 13 when Minju was dragged away from her home country. Her mother’s clasp on her wrist was tight that it felt like it was burning as she was pulled away from her crying father who did nothing but just stand there. She watched the scenery change – from the modest life in Korea to a fast-paced, hard-working life in America. Minju had to adapt quickly otherwise she’d be left behind in this society.

Resentment remained in her heart whenever she saw her mother. They barely spoke as Minju confined herself in her room after each school day. Her phone was her company along with her sober thoughts.

The dim screen light illuminated her face in the dark as her curtains were drew. She patiently waited for a reply from Yujin despite knowing it was past almost midnight on her side of the world.

‘Hey’

The notification dinged on Minju’s phone as a smile appeared on her face.

‘Hey’

‘How was your day?’

‘It was fine’

Minju lied through her phone as she remembered the hardships of not being able to fully understand everything – how she was behind in class despite being one of the best students in her class back in Korea.

‘Don’t lie to me, I felt that through my screen ;-;’

It was funny – they didn’t even have to be together to understand how the other was feeling. Minju was in love with the idea of soulmates – the thought that there would be someone waiting for you made her heart flutter with anticipation.

Knowing Yujin was her other half made it all the more perfect – the younger girl complemented her personality well, often speaking out when the girl was too shy to do so herself. Yujin made the older girl smile at her funny antics (along with Yena) as laughter would burst from her chest; the hearty melody was music to Yujin’s ears. Minjoo was Yujin’s rock if she ever fell too far. Minju was supportive as every soulmate should be.

The door creaked open as she put down her phone and stared at the door – the shadow her mother bare stretched out across the light that was pouring into the room from the hallway.

“Minjoo-ah, can we talk?”

Her mother’s voice was small, and hesitation was evident as tension was building up. To be honest, Minju wanted nothing to do with the woman as she turned away with a huff.

“Please…”

Desperation was clear in the woman’s voice, making Minju turn around with a sigh but she wasn’t prepared for the teary eyes that greeted her. She spoke naturally in Korean which meant that there was no room for joking around.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you… Your dad and I were Type-1 soulmates.”

Minju by any means wasn’t stupid. She knew what it meant but her heart broke none the less. She watched as her parents were in love and watched them as they part but never knew why – why her perfect family life was stripped from her. Hatred grew in her heart despite herself willing not to but it happened anyways.

Tears spilt from her eyes as they burnt against her cold cheeks and made visible marks on the fabric of her blanket as the accumulated. A warm pair of arms wrapped around her as she leaned into her mother’s chest and cried until she fell asleep.

This happened 1 year ago – at the time Minju was shocked but with Yujin’s support she grew past it.

But seeing the situation right now, sitting in Eunbi’s car made her reconsider. Her mind reeling at the thought of it happening to her or Wonyoung – her mind couldn’t bear to suffer through that pain again.

The gang rushed to Wonyoung’s hospital room and were greeted with Yena’s worried face sitting beside the door. Eunbi looked around before questioning the duck girl who only pointed to the end of the hall where the sound of a faint argument could be heard. As the Minju and Eunbi approached - the rest of the group staying with Yena – the sounds got louder until the at first inaudible murmurs were distinctive angry thoughts being flung towards… Yujin?

At first the other two girls were shocked to hear the girl so made – the innocent fluffball not seeming so innocent at the moment until the words fell out from .

“Don’t you know how much you’ve been hurting her, Yujin? She’d spend hours talking to me about how much she loves you as a soulmate and then spend the next day crying on my shoulder because you acted like you didn’t care.”
 

Yujin kept mum whilst Hitomi continued with her rant. The next few words caused Yujin to wince at the situation.

“The worst part is you knew that you were her soulmate.”

Hitomi huffed, her facial expression softening slightly but she still looked as menacing as before. She could see Yujin’s side of the story but the way the younger girl acted ignorant about it – Hitomi was having none of that.

“I love her, unnie. She makes me feel all the things Minju used to make me feel. She makes my heart flutter and fills my stomach with butterflies. If she asked me to, I would take a shower everyday – not even Eunbi-unnie- No. Not even Minju could do that.”

All the girls were shocked by the sincerity in her voice. Eunbi looked helplessly at Minju as she was the grief present in her expression. Her eyes pricked with tears and her whole body felt weak but the strength left in her legs provided enough to flee from the situation – ignoring the calls she got from Yuri and Nako as she exited the building.

Yujin and Hitomi became aware of their audience as they heard the footsteps begin loud and then fade as they rounded the corner they were hiding behind. They then saw Eunbi and the rest of the group looking between the two – mostly at Yujin – to push her to chase their local Pepe meme face.

Ahn Yujin didn’t disappoint – as soon as she got directions, she ran out to comfort her soulmate whilst the others returned to the room announcing that Wonyoung was ready to be seen. Little did they know that one member slipped away when they least expected.

“Minju.”

The younger girl called out as she saw the other girl sitting on a bench in the hospital’s outdoor area. The girl reacted to the call with tears streaming down her face. Yujin felt the guilt hit her – the promises that she made to never hurt the girl all coming back like a savage flurry of attacks, yet she still continued.

“I-“

“You don’t have to explain.”

Minju responded – a weak smile planted on her face.

“I love you, Ahn Yujin. Never forget that, these feelings may fade but you will always have a space in my heart.”

Minju stood up and walked to Yujin; by the time she finished her sentence, she pulled Yujin’s hand over her chest, making the younger feel her beating heart. She smiled a little wider this time and pulled Yujin into a hug. She left one peck on her cheek before pushing the girl away gently.

They looked each other in the eyes one last time as lovers.

Minju nodded at the younger girl – a signal they both knew as a sign that she would be alright (eventually).

Yujin nodded back before turning on her heel and running back into the hospital, leaving Minju to fully express her sorrow as she wailed and fell to her knees.

“Get up, your uniform will get dirty.”

A voice above stated bluntly as she opened her eyes to see a hand reaching out to her. She took it and stumbled slightly at the sheer power of the girl’s pull.

“Jeez, you’re heavy.”

The girl joked whilst Minju only slapped her on the arm as a playful gesture. She wanted to ignore how the short contact with the other’s soft hand sent sparks throughout her body – one that she didn’t feel with Yujin.

“Yah, Kim Chaewon, that’s enough.”

She laughed at the older girl. Her chest felt a bit lighter, but the heavy weight was still present. Yet the more she seemed to be around Chaewon the lighter it felt.

“Minju.”

The radish fairy said seriously which made Minju worried. She raised her wrist to show the flashing number ’00:00’ in mint green. Her own wrist felt warm as she saw the timer flash from ’00:01’ to ’00:00’ as she looked Chaewon in the face. Her heart sank and her expression showed it.

“I know the last think you want to hear about right now is about soulmates, Minju-ah, but I’ve been stuck as yours since the time you and Yujin became soulmates. It’s been tough, you know. But seeing you hurt like this makes me realise how much I love you and I’ve waited too long to not have you by my side.”

Hearing Chaewon be so straightforward without dissing her was like a culture shock for Minju as she suddenly realised why Hyewon branded her as a ‘tsundere’ (Nako and Chaeyeon cackled in the background whilst Chaewon mumbled something about killing Hyewon in a bit – a blush forming on her face).

Her mind then thought of the pain the older girl had felt – to have watched her being happy with someone else and the fact that she was someone else’s happiness. The thought alone made the younger girl sympathise with her unnie.

“I can’t promise you forever, but I can promise to by your side for as long as I can.”

Minju recalled all the times since their meeting in junior high how much Chaewon would support her despite her words sometimes saying otherwise – how protective she got almost rivalled Yujin’s as they got older and more mature. Until she left of course. Even then the girl texted her everyday just to see if she was fine. It was that Minju got her answer, nodding to herself as if to say “Yes, this is what I want.’.

“You have to give me time, Chaewon-unnie… But I’ll allow you to court me if you want to.”
 

Minju proposed in a serious manner as pink dusted her cheeks. Her eyes trying their best not to get lost under Chaewon’s look. The latter simply smiled and laced their hands together and pulled the girl to kiss her on the forehead.

“I’d be happy to.”

She responded as she planted a kiss on her cheek as they made their way back indoors were a majority of the group was. The only member missing was Yujin she was in Wonyoung’s room. Their interlaced hands didn’t go unnoticed by Yena as she pointed at it with an audible gasp. Yuri did a double take as she took a while for her brain to comprehend whilst Eunbi and Chaeyeon shot Chaewon a thumbs up which made the girl blush and mumble a quick “shut up” to her unnies.

Meanwhile, inside the room Yujin watched their youngest confined to the hospital bed. Her skin slightly paler than usual and her pink lips seeming duller than before.

The moment Yujin entered the room, she experienced her counter restarting and hitting ’00:00’ the moment her eyes landed on Wonyoung’s face.

“This isn’t how I wanted it to go.”

Yujin thought solemnly as she took a seat next to Wonyoung’s bed and took her cold hand into her own. The noise of the heart monitor in the background grounded her thoughts and kept her from doing anything to self-depreciate herself.

“You know Wonyoung, I really like you – love you even. Finally knowing you’re my soulmate would’ve saved me a lot of trouble. I broke Minju’s heart but the only thing I could think about was you. You’re the one in my heart, Jang Wonyoung. All the flirting with Minju and ignoring you was to test my feelings for you and to see if they’d fade. But they didn’t, and I hurt you in the process. I’m sorry. I love you.”

She gripped Wonyoung’s hand a little tighter as she felt warmth travel through her hand, passing though Wonyoung’s burning like fire. Her eyes were tightly screwed as her hands were almost praying. She only looked up when she heard a voice responds back albeit faintly.

“Do you mean it?”

Tears streamed down her face as she was in a state of shock. The girl looks as if she was frozen as Wonyoung iterated the question.

“Do you mean it?”

Yujin shook her head is disbelief as she laughed loudly; Wonyoung smiled at the sight. Her mind agreeing that Yujin looked best with a smile on her face.

“Yeah, I love you, Jang Wonyoung.”

Wonyoung giggled in response, her head turning to the window on the other side of the room and admiring the setting sun when pinks and slight blue hues would mix. Her hand felt numb, but she tried hard to wrap her fingers around Yujin’s

“I love you too, Yujin-ah.”