The purpose of a soulmate mark is simple; to lead soulmates to each other through it.

 

Hyejoo’s blank wrist only led to be a mocking symbol of her lack of love. Plagued with family troubles, she became yet another delinquent as a result. Chaewon couldn’t help but notice that this girl would act tough, and yet be a total softie on the inside.

 

Chaewon’s blank wrist only made her want to love more. She found love in the littlest things, like the sunlight shining on the morning dew of the flowers, or the fluttering blue butterflies that visited every spring. Her heart was filled with so much love to give despite being blank.

 

They were both lost in their own predicaments, coping with their own situations differently. Chaewon would wear an oversized sweatshirt or a jacket, twiddling with her sleeves to make sure that they never moved up, avoiding the conversation of soulmate marks but still having such a happy spirit that no one really got to wonder why. Hyejoo covers both of her wrists with wristbands of various bands and brands, colorfully decorating the emptiness of her skin with their designs and their odd edge. She wore so many that they were tight against her skin. No one asked her about her soulmate mark. They worried it would leave to a much sadder conversation as to why she hid her wrists.

 

Chaewon still wonders about love, hopes that her soulmate mark will maybe appear one day, or for her soulmate to still manage to find her without the need of it.

 

Hyejoo never hopes for anything. She knows it will only lead to her own disappointment.

 

~

 

They met when they were in middle school, and everything went downhill since then.

 

Park Chaewon wasn’t sure how she ended up being pushed into a broom closet by her crush, but she really was not about to complaining. If anything, she was glad to have an excuse to miss a bit of her next period.

 

Hyejoo has her ear against the door, hearing the quick steps of the teachers fade away as they try to find her. She smiles when she stops hearing them.

 

“H-hello,” Chaewon says in a quiet voice, pulling the sleeves of her shirt down in her nervous state. She’s never been this physically close to Hyejoo, and even though it’s a cramped broom closet it still manages to make her feel everything.

 

Hyejoo turns to her, seemingly just noticing that she’s still there. “Oh, sorry!” she apologizes, lowering her head in a bit of a bow. “You were in front of me so I just dragged you in with me,” she explains nonchalantly, sitting down in front of the door, facing Chaewon and giving her full attention to her. “Anyway, I’m Son Hyejoo,” she extends her hand towards Chaewon. “But you can call me Olivia.”

 

“Park Chaewon,” she replies, feeling awkward about the handshake and yet also getting way too happy over holding her crush’s hand for 0.2 seconds before letting go. She expected Hyejoo’s skin to be soft, but it’s rough.

 

But then she notices Hyejoo’s wrist is tightly wrapped in wristbands and rubber bracelets, hiding away her soulmate mark and—Chaewon hopes not—probably hiding away other things.

 

Hyejoo notices her gaze but decides to say nothing of it. “Is it cool with you if we stay here for some time? If we leave too soon, I’ll get caught.”

 

“What were you doing?” Chaewon blurts out all of a sudden, her curiosity shifting from Hyejoo’s wristbands to their present situation.

 

Hyejoo smiles proudly and then puts her hand in her bag, pulling out a very furry and very tiny puppy. “This is Fang,” she presents the creature to her, though it clings sleepily to Hyejoo’s fingers.

 

Chaewon’s eyes light up at the adorable puppy in Hyejoo’s hands, her heart melting at the sight. She grabs it out of Hyejoo’s hands, cooing at the sleepy little creature that just blinks up at her. The puppy the air in confusion over not being held by Hyejoo but not really being against Chaewon holding him. “He’s so cute!”

 

“He’s ferocious,” Hyejoo says matter-of-factly, the smile still not leaving her face. “He’s just cute so that no one will think twice about him. He’s a true wolf inside, though.”

 

“Like you!” Chaewon says jokingly, cuddling the little pupper in her hands.

 

“I’m not cute!” Hyejoo scoffs, a pout taking the place of her smile.

 

“Yes, you are, Olive!” she giggles, “You can’t change my mind!”

 

“Olive?” Hyejoo can’t help but laugh with her, taking the puppy away from Chaewon.

 

“It’s a cute name!” Chaewon tells her.

 

“But I’m not cute, though!” Hyejoo protests. The puppy gently bites on to her finger while she's distracted, pawing at her hand in play. “Fang, we talked about this...” she scolds the puppy under her breath, pulling her hand away. The little dog just stares up at her, still wanting to play. Hyejoo finally gives in, roughly patting it’s head.

 

“Cute,” Chaewon says with a little giggle.

 

“No.” Still, Hyejoo smiles. There’s something nice about the way Chaewon calls her cute.

 

~

 

As they grow up, Hyejoo seems to just add more and more wristbands to both of her wrist, wrapping them tightly against her skin and leaving a red mark around them because of it. It’s starting to worry Chaewon, but she doesn’t know how to bring it up in conversation since she hasn’t done it before.

 

“Dad’s thinking about taking me for the weekend,” Hyejoo complains, laying her back down on Chaewon’s bed. “Too little, too late.”

 

“It’d be good, though,” Chaewon tells her. “You’ll be able to see your little brother this way.”

 

“I don’t want to see him,” Hyejoo scowls. “He’s not my brother anymore.”

 

“Olive, don’t say that.” Chaewon crawls a little closer to Hyejoo, knowing that the younger girl is fond of skinship and that it calms her down.

 

“It’s true, though.” Hyejoo closes her eyes tightly. Chaewon notices her fingers play with the edge of her wristbands. “You’re supposed to love your family, not push them away.”

 

“Then why are you pushing them away?” Chaewon taps her knuckles lightly against Hyejoo’s forehead.

 

“I love you more than I love them, so I don’t need them,” Hyejoo says all edgily, though really her words just make her seem even more like a fluffy cuddling partner.

 

Chaewon lays her head on Hyejoo’s shoulder. “I love you too.”

 

Hyejoo flinches, shifting away a little in response. “It’s getting dark, maybe I should get going?” she says in a high-pitched voice, trying to ignore the quickening beat of her heart, sitting up a little too quickly.

 

Chaewon can’t meet her eye. “You were going to sleep over today…”

 

“Mom’s probably worried,” Hyejoo says offhandedly, getting up.

 

Chaewon grabs her by the hand, stopping her from running away from the room. “Don’t push me away, Olivia.” The shining glimmer of a tear dripping down her cheek. “Please.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Hyejoo says before she leaves.

 

~

 

They’ve never talked about soulmates. It was just a conversation that never came up. But now was as good of a time as ever.

 

Hyejoo had avoided going to school for the past couple days, wanting to avoid confronting Chaewon, but maybe distance does make the heart grow fonder because now all she wants to do is to explain why she’s been acting this way and make sure that she’s not the reason for Chaewon’s tears anymore.

 

She still doesn’t go to school because school is boring, but she does catch Chaewon outside after the day is over.

 

Chaewon stops in her tracks when she sees her, her bottom lip quivering. She wants to run, but her feet stay put.

 

“Chaewon,” Hyejoo says just to say anything.

 

And even though there’s a bunch of high schoolers walking around them, it feels like they’re the only ones in the worlds right now.

 

Hyejoo closes the distance between them and takes Chaewon’s hand, intertwining their fingers. “Come with me.”

 

~

 

Chaewon doesn’t usually go to Hyejoo’s place, but it’s empty when they arrive except for the fully grown dog in Hyejoo’s room. “Hello, Fang,” Chaewon greets the dog halfheartedly, but he still wags his tail and jumps up and down. His excitement manages to bring a smile to her face, so she pets the creature’s head.

 

“Fang, Mommy needs alone time,” Hyejoo says in a cute voice as she grabs him by the collar and pushes him outside.

 

The dog protests, but finally relents. When Hyejoo closes the door, they can hear him sitting down in front of her room and huffing to himself like an annoyed child.

 

“You’re still so cute,” Chaewon says in a low voice before she can stop herself, her heart all over the place.

 

“I can’t love you,” Hyejoo confesses. “I-I just can’t.”

 

“You don’t have to,” Chaewon answers, her voice a little too distant and a little too cold, but still honest as ever. Her eyes flick to Hyejoo’s, but she can’t hold her gaze. “I’m sorry I feel this way,” she admits. Chaewon pulls the sleeves of her jacket down subconsciously.

 

“Don’t apologize,” Hyejoo tells her after a moment. “It’s okay to feel this way, but I’m not-”

 

“I get it, Olive, you don’t have to explain it,” Chaewon interrupts her.

 

They stay quiet for a moment, the silence deafening.

 

“Why do you love me?” Hyejoo asks all of a sudden.

 

Chaewon lifts her gaze up to her, but it hurts. “I-I…”

 

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Hyejoo adds quickly. “I’m just curious, you know?”

 

“I wanted you to be my soulmate.” Chaewon’s voice breaks, and her eyes are red but her tears haven’t fallen yet. "You were so pretty and- and you were the first girl I fell in love with. Olive, I don't know how to deal with this or what I'm feeling and it's so, so confusing... But I wanted us to be forever and I don't regret feeling that way."

 

Hyejoo hesitates, but finally starts pulling off the wristbands one by one. The rubber marks her skin red, but it doesn’t matter. When she shows Chaewon her wrist, the space is empty and glaring.

 

“I’m blank,” Hyejoo says, her voice shaking. “I can’t love you… I can’t love anyone.”

 

“I’m blank too.” Chaewon plays nervously with the edges of her sleeves, a sheepish smile on her face. When she pulls the fabric back, all Hyejoo can do is stare at the empty skin that’s just like her own. “But I think I’m in- in love with you.”

 

All Hyejoo can do is stare at the empty skin that’s just like her own.

 

Chaewon’s heart beats faster, beating against her chest louder with each second that passes. “I know I can’t just pretend that I have a mark and that maybe one will appear that way, but I never cared about it. I loved being your friend because you never talked about that, and- and now I don’t think I can be your friend anymore,” her voice cracks and she’s never felt more pathetic.

 

Then Hyejoo is putting her hands on the side of her face, and this time closing the distance between their lips.

 

Their first kiss is soft, gentle against their emotions yet charged with every unsaid feeling. Hyejoo smiles against her lips when she feels Chaewon kiss her back.

 

When they pull back, both of them are a bunch of giggly messes, their cheeks flushed pink and this lovely sense of happiness in their hearts.

 

Their wrists are blank, and they found each other as soulmates because of it.

 

 

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