[5]

You may think Sakura is a psychopath by how she deliberately bumps into objects and furniture inside their dorm just to confirm her suspicions, wearing new bruises almost everyday like a badge of honor just to observe this particular member. A happy psychopath she is because the scar wasn’t a fluke, neither were the bruises and little cuts that followed it.  See that fading bruise on her shin? Sakura will kindly ask you to look at Chaeyeon’s shin then, see the same bruise, and she will cackle because she found her soulmate!

But the thing is, Chaeyeon doesn’t know they’re each other’s destined one. When Sakura bumped onto the door of their room, the feather-like girl was busy watching Inkigayo that she only scratches the same spot where pain is burning for Sakura’s body. For the younger girl, it was something she was accustomed to and frankly, it was irritating. So Sakura tries hard to make her notice their bond, earning concerned looks from the other members whenever she ‘accidentally’ slips and hits every object along the way before stopping all of a sudden and gauging the reaction of Chaeyeon. Of course, it was for naught because it seemed like the girl in question was unaffected of what happened.

Sometimes Sakura thinks she’s mistaken, with how casual Chaeyeon is when Sakura just collided with Yena in their practice room after being distracted by the sharp moves their main dancer just did for their break dance. Sakura is a professional, yes, but she’s also human too. So you can’t really blame her that she forgot to move into her position when Chaeyeon rolled her body.

“Are you okay, unnie?” Minjoo asks when they stopped their practice to help their resident tom and jerry

Sakura was still in a haze after the particular hard collision that she just nodded her head mutely. “Sorry Yena. I forgot to move to my position.” Yena only shakes her head before smirking

“I think we all know why you forgot to move, unnie.” Yena teases, the girls chuckling in agreement as the cherry blossom girl flushes into interesting shades of red

“Why? Are you sick Saku-chan? You can rest if you like.” Chaeyeon oh-so sweetly says, oblivious to the pitiful looks the girls were throwing at Sakura

It was no secret to their group that Sakura likes Chaeyeon. No secret either that she has an inkling suspicion that they’re soulmates. It was no secret, but Chaeyeon sure acts like she was left out of the secret. The resident dorm mother is oblivious to the poor attempts of Sakura and treats everyone almost the same. Sometimes, Sakura wishes she was just bonded to a wall with how unmoved Chaeyeon is despite different bruises on her body. Still, Sakura will do everything to make Chaeyeon notice their bond, even if she breaks a bone just to prove her point.

Coming back to reality, Sakura only fakes a smile and hides her disappointment, “No, I’m okay Chaeyeon. Yena’s head is just really hard.” She jokes instead, rubbing her now sore shoulder and earning a whine from the said duck.

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As they continued their practice, Chaeyeon was still looking at Sakura because she felt like she also collided with Yena. When Sakura rubbed a particular spot on her shoulder, Chaeyeon almost instantly knew a bruise would form- like she always did whenever her soulmate did something stupid, again. The familiar feeling made Chaeyeon confused because she’s been feeling it a lot these days. Most of the times, it’s after Sakura knocks an object or slips while walking like a bad slapstick comedy.

Sakura can’t be her soulmate… right?

It’s too convenient that her best friend, her group mate, a popular Japanese idol who came to Korea to challenge herself and debuting together will be her soulmate. Coincidence? Chaeyeon shakes her head, whoever’s controlling their destiny must be laughing so hard right now.  It’s all too convenient for Sakura to be the person who’s giving her headaches from the bruises, the wounds, and the scars she accumulated throughout her life.

It’s also too risky. They only have two years together. Say they tell each other they’re soulmates- and then what? Sakura and Nako has to go back to Japan and Chaeyeon is stuck in Korea. Sakura will be busy rebuilding the name of HKT48 and Chaeyeon will be busy training to debut again. So then what? What would change if they were indeed soulmates? What is the big picture here that Chaeyeon can’t see?

“I think we should take a break.” Eunbi’s voice seems to cut through her haze as she blinks back to reality and realizes she was standing in front of her reflection. Practice long forgotten as their song blasts through the speakers in the background. Her gaze meets the eyes of her worried members, particularly the girl who’s been on her mind.

“Sorry unnie.” Chaeyeon says, walking to the other side of the room and sliding down against the wall feeling ashamed that she stopped their practice when it’s just days before their supposed comeback. Eunbi only shakes her head to their concerned members before calling it a break and sitting beside her like their produce days. The rest of the girls were resting on the other side, half-thankful for the sudden pause and half-worried for their dancer. Sakura didn’t move her eyes at the pair, still observing if the collision earlier somehow bothered Chaeyeon in a way.

“I assume it’s not because you’re sick?” Eunbi asks, lifting her eyebrows when Chaeyeon only chuckles

“Please, I don’t let a puny cold ruin our performance.”

“So why are you distracted then?”

Chaeyeon shifts uncomfortably at her position before sitting upright and looking at their leader. “I think…” She looks at the mirror to see if Sakura’s looking at them, which she’s thankfully not because Yena was blabbering beside her, “I think Sakura is my soulmate.” She whispers.

Eunbi’s eyes widens because this is the fastest record of Chaeyeon realizing her feelings. And it’s about damn time these two idiots finally reveal their feelings to each other. However, Chaeyeon takes her widened eyes the wrong way and seemed to fluster in coming up for an excuse.

“I-I mean, it’s just a hunch you know? It’s not like I really think of her like that—I mean what I’m trying to say is—“

“Chaeyeon, it’s alright.” Her quiet laughter cut off Chaeyeon’s almost meltdown. “I was just surprised y