Baekhyun leaned back in his chair, thinking about how he nearly got caught by Haeun. He was watching her eyes as they landed on his arm during dinner, and she had nearly seen the scars that were leftover by Haeun’s cat scratching her. He wasn’t going to lie, it wasn’t the first time something like that had happened, but it hurt each time. What was she even doing to her cat that it couldn’t stop scratching her. Baekhyun sighed and rubbed the scar unconsciously. 

He noticed at some point that Haeun was quietly just watching Dongwoo and Eunji interacting with each other, and he could see in her eyes that she wanted a relationship like that.

A relationship with her soulmate.

A relationship that would be with him. 

Over the years that Baekhyun had known Haeun, even if they weren’t particularly close, it was obvious that she was okay with not having a relationship with her soulmate, but it was something she secretly wanted. Her eyes would gravitate to Dongwoo and Eunji often, and she would quietly sigh when she thought that no one was watching her. Maybe it was the fact that she was surrounded by normal relationships that having one that was quite literally fated seemed unreal. Based on what he heard from when they would talk, Haeun had an image in her mind of how the relationship with a soulmate would be. She imagined that her other half would be understanding, and there would be attraction that wasn’t just physical. 

But they were different. Ever since the day Baekhyun first spoke to Haeun, they couldn’t be more different and more indifferent towards the other’s opinion. Baekhyun wanted to spill it to Haeun, but how was he even going to bring it up? So, uh, you hate my guts but I’m your soulmate would sound awful, and he was pretty sure she would throw a fit. He hated that he had to consistently pretend as if he wasn’t insanely attracted to the woman that would sit near him on whim because she could care less about his presence, and he was forced to breathe in her lavender perfume when she didn’t even know that it drove him crazy. Yet, he couldn’t even complain about it to anyone. Chanyeol would just think he was insane.

The initial attraction was purely physical, and he knew that. They didn’t have much in common, and he didn’t even want to think about the fact that he blurted out that he didn’t understand her job the very first day that they spoke to one another. He couldn’t even take it back because he honestly believed that a criminal defense lawyer was useless when the whole point of the police department was to catch the criminal, only for a lawyer to get the person acquitted. 

The police department would spend hours and hours of time trying to find and catch the guilty party, and then people like Haeun step in only to get most of the evidence thrown out during trial, and then the person walks free. 

It wasn’t right, and yet Baekhyun was willing to admit that he was wrong in blaming it straight on Haeun when the system was at fault, and yes, the police made mistakes, but the overall system was just stupid. 

Baekhyun couldn’t wrap his head around the entire situation, and that made him afraid. He didn’t want to admit it, and he was running away from the problem for years now. This weird feeling in his gut made him want to hide away and just not bother with the world. He wanted to be able to have a normal relationship with Haeun that developed not because they were physically attracted, but because 

“I can see the look on your face, and it says why did I not tell Haeun - I guess it’s because I’m an idiot,” Chanyeol spoke up, breaking Baekhyun out of his thoughts who then rolled his eyes.

“I’m not going to just break Haeun’s idea of a soulmate until she finds out herself. It’s not fair for her,” he replied, looking away from the taller man. Baekhyun blinked to focus on the paperwork on his desk, but it wasn’t helping that he had this weird feeling in his gut for a while now.

“It’s also not fair to you, though. You’ve been harboring this secret for years now, and all you’ve done is just think about her.”

“Am I only thinking of her, though?” Baekhyun asked in a solemn voice.

“Then why is it not fair for her? You’ve never explained this to me, and it’s getting really annoying, Baek.”

“Look-” Baekhyun started, but Chanyeol cut him off.

“If you’re going to give me excuses, I’d rather we not talk about this at all, then. And you need to stop looking like a sad, kicked puppy after we meet up with Haeun too.” Baekhyun sighed, and he really hated that Chanyeol made sense more often than he should based on the way he acted. 

“If I were thinking about her, I would’ve told her a while ago. It’s not fair for her because I’m worried I’m going to end up holding onto her for no reason.” Chanyeol waited for Baekhyun to elaborate. 

“I’m afraid she’s going to reject me, and I’m not going to be able to handle it. So, instead I’ll just grab onto her and try to convince her to like me because we’re soulmates. Not because she genuinely likes me. It’s too late for me to tell her that she’s my soulmate because she’s going to ask questions. She’s not dumb - she’ll notice that I put it off for years for absolutely no reason even though she’s so excited to potentially meet the soulmate that’s been giving her pain since she turned 16.” Baekhyun blurted everything out at once, and he couldn’t bear to look up at Chanyeol because from the way he let out a slow breath, Baekhyun could tell that Chanyeol was looking at him with pity.

Baekhyun couldn’t imagine getting rejected by Haeun, and that was his greatest fear because it was basically like he was letting his parents down. They lived such a happy life together, and even though it wasn’t necessary, it was a fated relationship. 

He wasn’t sure if Chanyeol’s phone ringing was a blessing or a curse because he never got to hear Chanyeol’s response.

“We’re going to continue this conversation,” Chanyeol spoke as he took