It was ironic; everyone would always talk about when you met your soulmate. There was hardly any discussion of what would happen after, outside of the typical happily ever after scenario.

Because you were meant to be with your destined partner forever.

Perhaps the lack of information was why Jaebum struggled now. There was nothing to tell him what to do without you. Sure, he wasn’t completely naïve, there were people who met their soulmates and lost them through accidents or poor health. That was just life. At least then, the remaining partner is left with a final answer. Your soulmate wouldn’t come back to life and you would continue in this world in the best way you saw fit.

But you hadn’t died. You were still out there somewhere.

That was why he struggled. How was Jaebum meant to go on without you in his world, when you had so easily become everything he lived for?

“Y/N, don’t go over there!” a voice called out sternly and Jaebum stared at you on the other side of the fence to the kindergarten play yard, your own eyes desperate to see why everyone behind him sounded so happy. This wasn’t your first time standing there watching as all the children played together energetically. Sometimes you would cry, begging the adult who would come to collect you that you wanted to play too. You were always dragged away, screaming and kicking until you were no longer within his sight.

And each time Jaebum would come over to the fence, wishing he had some way to break you free from your confines and help sneak you into the playground.

He couldn’t play when he saw you looking so miserable.

Over the weeks, he had learned a little more about you. If he was quick enough to reach you before the adults did, he would talk to you or offer you gifts. He once gave you his favourite rock that he had been carrying around in his pocket ever since he found it. And in return, you gave him one of your cat-themed hair clips with a smile.

“Keep it safe for me,” you instructed as you slipped it through the fence and tossed it into his open palms, smiling brightly. “One day, I’ll come in there and then I’ll take it back, okay?”

You never did make it into the kindergarten grounds, but when Jaebum started his third year of school, he recognised you immediately as you walked into his classroom. And as your eyes nervously scanned the faces within the room, when you settled on his, you smiled.

Jaebum grinned back at you and that was the start of your budding friendship.

“So you can’t come to my birthday party?” he asked sadly and you didn’t respond, lowering your head instead. Jaebum didn’t like when your long hair fell like a veil over your face and he instinctively reached out to shift it aside, but you were faster, scooting away from his touch and blinking back your emotions rapidly.

He winced and tried to cheer you up. “It’s okay; I could bring you some birthday cake to school.”

“You would do that for me?” you asked, staring back at him wide-eyed.

“Of course!”

“Why?”

Jaebum frowned. “Because we’re friends.”

A small smile crossed your lips and you repeated the word several times over, liking the sound of it rolling off your tongue. “We’re really friends, right?”

“I just said we are.”

“One day, when I ask you to, would you help your friend escape?” you asked earnestly and despite his age, Jaebum knew you were serious about it. He watched as you pleaded with him silently, your eyes begging him to agree.

He nodded, smiling at you. “I’ll do anything to help you, Y/N.”

Over the years, Jaebum realised that your family weren’t mean people as he once believed of them to be; rather you were from the richest family in this town. It meant that you were treated like a prized possession and subsequently denied the same experiences Jaebum had in fear you would be tarnished in some way. He was actually surprised you weren’t home-schooled with how strict your family were about everything when it came to you. Every day you were chaperoned to and from school, with zero time after the end of the school day to hang out with friends. It made it hard for you to keep up with the happenings of the people around you and eventually, led to you shutting off from attempting to remain on friendly terms with most of your classmates.

Except with Jaebum, of course.

You rolled your eyes dramatically. “Don’t you have something better to do?”

“No, I think annoying you will suffice.”

You couldn’t hide the small smile that graced your lips, though you moved away from him when he tried to flick a crumb from your lunch off your uniform. Some things had never changed. From the first time Jaebum met you as a child, to now as middle-schoolers, not once had you actually touched him. Or anyone for that matter. You had an exemption from team projects and had successfully avoided physical connection with anyone. He had asked you about it once, and you had mentioned you would be in grave trouble if your parents ever found out you had allowed yourself to touch another human.

“But why? Are they scared you’ll meet your soulmate and run away?” he had joked but the sincerity in your expression made Jaebum realise that was exactly it.

Now and then, he wanted to test the barrier between you. Surely, you couldn’t spend the rest of your life not touching another person. And so, as usual, whenever Jaebum found you alone in the library, he leaned in closer to you, the lack of space not allowing you to move away.

“Jaebum,” you warned as he stared at you, his eyes falling captive with soaking you in.

Just as he had done as a child, his own habit of getting lost staring at you hadn’t changed once. He could do this all day long. In fact, his grades last year had suffered from his inability to stop staring at you.

You let out a huff of air. “Jaebum, you’re doing it again.”

“Does it bother you?” he murmured and you blinked a couple of times, chewing on your lip in thought. He leaned in even closer and for a moment, he actually thought your bodies might brush up against each other with the close proximity he now held. It made him anxious, as if every cell within his body was on high alert. Jaebum never knew why he was so fascinated with the idea of being the first person you reached out for, but it was a goal all the same. He yearned to hold your hand and let you know it was safe to do so.

Reality knocked on you both, or in this case rang, the end of lunch bell signalled the afternoon classes were about to begin. He leapt back in fright, whining when he smacked his leg into the side of the table you were both seated at. You seemed just as afflicted as he was with his pain before giggling lightly. “Serves you right.”

“Don’t laugh at my pain.”

“Why not? You were pushing the boundaries.”

Jaebum stared at you. “Do you plan on never touching anyone?”

You didn’t reply, avoiding his gaze. Jaebum stepped into your view, walking backwards towards your classroom. You held out a hand towards him and shook it. “Move before you fall.”

“Why, if I trip, will you just let me fall?”

“What is wrong with you today? Can’t you respect my wishes?”

A wry smile crossed his lips. “Are they really yours?”

“Jaebum, come on, stop it.”

“I’m doing nothing wrong!”

You attempted to step around him and he sidestepped to block your escape, his chuckle outdoing your grumble. You glared at him. “You’re not funny.”

“Not trying to be.”

“Why does it matter so much if you touch me or not?!” you asked exasperatedly and he stopped moving altogether, your stop unstable as not to bang into him. You teetered on your heels, eyes wide with your lack of balance.

Jaebum put his arms out to catch you before you fell, though you staggered back, avoiding his offer and instead heavily banged into the wall beside you. He groaned as if he felt the pain himself.

Neither of you spoke for a minute, both staring at each other as the emotions flooded you. He could see how bothered you were, but fear outweighed your annoyance. He was surprised and hurt by your avoidance, and his chest felt restricted from your open rejection.

It was more painful this time around. Especially since he knew what you were to him. Jaebum was certain of it.

Collecting himself, he shrugged and his heel, stalking away from you. “Jaebum!”

“Don’t bother, maybe I’m wrong.”

 

 

It was the longest period of time since you had re-entered his world that Jaebum had gone without talking to you. Part of him felt it was petty, and it probably was. He had respected your wishes for so many years now, so why could he no longer accept it? He didn’t want to admit it mattered to him whether you let him touch you or not. Because it did mean something. When you were in pain, and he experienced a similar sensation at the same time had been enough to start cementing the idea in his mind. Some nights, Jaebum would lay upon his bed and think back to the very start, of when he would rush over to the kindergarten fence to greet you. He had no real reason to. He hadn’t ever been a curious child; he just went with the flow and did what the majority of his peers would. And none of them came over to see who you were.

Just him.

He had been fascinated with you for years.

Fascination had its limitations without further knowledge though and Jaebum was frustrated. It irked him that you would openly avoid him, the one constant in your world. If he didn’t know how much you cherished his friendship just by gazing into your eyes to see the warmth they held for him, he would have given up by now. Just like everyone else had. You were too closed off from the world for most people to handle.

And even if, to him, you felt like an open book some days, Jaebum was starting to realise he had limited access to how you truly felt. It hurt more than it should and that was the real reason he hadn’t spoken to you in three weeks. He was embarrassed that he had given you every part of himself and received little in return.

That was why he ignored your calls out to him, bowing his head low to avoid you seeing his emotions rise on his face as he did so. It pained him to witness the sadness in your eyes, and if he didn’t see it, the ache in his chest wouldn’t get any larger than it already was. There was no real winner in this situation, your misery, whether he saw it or not, would cast over his world like a gloomy day took away the sunshine.

But Jaebum was learning about his pride. He needed to stand up for himself before he fell at your feet completely.

For another week, Jaebum managed to avoid you until you confronted him finally, not letting him pass you by. “Are you really sulking over this?”

He didn’t reply, merely jutting out his jaw in petulance, annoyance rising in his chest at your term. Jaebum didn’t see it as sulking, he had a right to be offended, hurt by your lack of trust in him.

As if you read his thoughts, you leaned down so you could catch his gaze, softening your expression a little. He couldn’t help but stare back at you greedily. Had he really not looked at you over the last month? You didn’t look as bright as you once did and his chest ached heavily.

“I trust you with my entire life, Im Jaebum.”

Glancing up properly, he swallowed roughly back the multitude of feelings that rushed to the surface from your sentence. Jaebum wasn’t ready to smile and give in to your whims, even if he wanted to. It was hard to force back the immediate elation, to challenge you instead. Yet he managed to shrug, seemingly nonchalant. “Sure you do.”

“You don’t believe me?” you asked, half-whispered, and he had to close his eyes before your first tear rolled down your cheeks. “You’re the only person in my life that I know I want to be around forever.”

He couldn’t answer this time, not because of annoyance, but the lump in his throat from hearing your shaky voice had rendered him unable to. You seemed to notice this and coughed back the rest of your emotions, clearing your throat before continuing.

“I think you’re my soulmate too.”

Your announcement rocked Jaebum’s world and for a moment he was stunned, before he propelled himself forward, eager to find out if you truly were. Touch was all that was left on his list to cement your connection and it still eluded him as you took a step back, heaving a little with his sudden approach. You shot him a smile. “I know we’re soulmates, Jaebum. Which is why I need you to trust in me. Give me some time to figure out how to deal with the impending consequences of when I let you touch me.”

“What consequences?”

For a moment you didn’t respond, though your cheeks had flared up with colour. Whatever you were imagining now had him uneasy, kicking the toe of his shoe slowly across the tile of the floor. He started to think of what would happen after connection and his boyish fantasies of kissing you flooded to the forefront of his mind. His face felt hot now. “Oh, uh… oh.”

You giggled and nodded slowly. “I don’t think holding your hand would be the best thing for me to do right now. Even though I want to. Because I think if I did, I wouldn’t be able to let go. And with how my family is…”

You stopped for a moment, the wash of concern erasing your happiness. After chewing your wobbly lip for a moment, you braved him a watery smile. “I just don’t want them to take me away from you.”

Jaebum knew he would wait for as long as he had to now. You were right, even if he craved it like no other, physical connection wasn’t needed to confirm what his heart and mind already had.

You were his already.

 

 

With the promise of adulthood almost around the corner, your relationship shifted dramatically. Surprisingly, neither of you had succumbed to teenage desires, though there definitely had been some close calls. Perhaps it was due to your extremely limited access to the outside world still, with school being your only escape from your home on the hill. Jaebum had exclaimed that it should be a crime to keep someone captive when there was so much to see and experience. And whilst you would always joke about being a princess locked in your tower, Jaebum was never able to become a knight in shining armour for you.

Until one afternoon.

“What did you just say?” he uttered, eyes blown wide at your suggestion.

Your recklessness was evident in your gaze, and you stifled a giggle. “Let’s go now.”

“Where, to Art class? That’s where-”

“No.” You shook your head, stepping closer to him and halting his ability to breathe. “I want to go somewhere other than classes. Let’s ditch the afternoon.”

“Are you the Y/N I’ve known for years now or did something possess you?” he wondered and you rolled your eyes, stalking down the hallway towards the exit. Jaebum jogged to catch up to you, his car keys within his pocket. Being at school without you there didn’t appeal to him anyway.

However, he stopped once you were both standing by his car, looking at you hesitantly. Why was he so nervous? It wasn’t as if you were two delinquents who did this often. Nor was he some honour roll student who followed the school rules like some mantra. No, he was just a regular student who could make exceptions for you.

“Open the car, Jae.”

He wanted to ask you if you knew the implications of what was about to occur. As he unlocked the doors and climbed inside, he knew this wasn’t some spur of the moment rebellion. You had clearly been planning this. Jaebum had just been blind to what occupied your thoughts for some time.

Any hesitation evaporated as soon as he ignited the engine and pulled out of the school lot.

Jaebum took you to the beach.

If there had been one place he wanted to take you to first, this was it. The weather wasn’t all that warm, which meant there was no one else around. You smiled before you stepped out onto the sand, soon dancing through the dunes and over to the water. You played together as children would, frolicking around and kicking water at each other. Your laughter was swept away with the wind and soon the air was sending a chill down each of your backs. Still, you remained at the beach, now walking side by side along the edge of the water in silence.

Words weren’t needed right now. It was the first time he had ever been alone with you. No fellow students, teachers, parents, it was as if this endless beach belonged to you both. The waves crashed and rolled in closer to you both, a threat lingering further out at sea. The impending consequence on the horizon. It was too far out for it to be a sole focus now, up here where the waves were gentler. And without any warning, he felt it.

Your hand slipped into his effortlessly, as if it was made to fit seamlessly against his. He held it instantly, feeling more purpose within that action than anything else in his life. The shy smile that crossed your lips spread his own out wide.

And by the time you were heading back to his car, lips on lips were all you and he could think of.

“We should go before we do something more.”

“We should do it all today,” you refuted, your gaze flitting from his eyes to his mouth for the umpteenth time. Jaebum’s followed suit, wondering if you would taste as good as your cherry lips looked.

“Is there something I should know about? Some magical clock ticking over our heads rushing us? Will you be locked away for good after this?”

He shouldn’t have joked about it and when you laughed and shook your head in response, it was careless of you not to consider that there was another hand in this relationship. Already suffocating out the air that had started to overflow on this day.

Still, the focus was there. Why were you so eager to kiss him? Just holding your hand had every sense alive within him. What would happen when his lips met yours? He craved the knowledge, yet didn’t actively reach for it either. He had gotten all too used to waiting on your permission to move across this board. He followed his queen around as the knight he had been destined to become.

“Don’t you think we’ve waited far too long?”

“Might I remind you, I was eager to do this a long time ago.”

You smirked. “I remember. I thought becoming a teenager would make you more reckless though.”

“Are you claiming I’m tamed?”

Shrugging, you giggled as you turned away from him, moving towards his car. Jaebum followed, as he always did. Yet this time, he stopped you from getting inside, entrapping you against the door with a hand on either side of your head. You chewed your luscious lips with anticipation and a groan rumbled from within his chest.

“I can be reckless too,” he informed, pressing his lips firmly on yours. Sparks flew much like your hair was within the wind. He let his hands fall from the doorframe to smooth down your tresses, slipping to the nape of your neck as the kiss deepened.

His soul was hungry for more and you weren’t holding back from offering it. Your hands gripped tightly to his shoulder blades, burning the skin that laid underneath them with your touch. It was overwhelming and when he finally pulled away, it wasn’t for anything more than a need for air.

Your eyes were shot and your lips were swollen. In his mind, you had never looked this beautiful before. Tenderly reaching up to cup his cheek, you smiled. “I love you, Jaebum.”

“I’ve always loved you,” he replied, kissing you again and again.

When the wind had settled, so had you both, climbing into his car and driving around aimlessly. The skies turned multihued, striking colours before your eyes and then the night enveloped the sun, littering the heavens with stars. You found a place to eat, and the skill to do so whilst never letting go of one another. And then you directed him to a place just on the outskirts of town, surprising him of your knowledge when he had been certain you never left your home except for school.

Smiling, you jumped out of the car and headed towards the abandoned home, entering it as if you owned it. And like usual, Jaebum followed you in.

“Should we be in here?”

“Should we go home?” you countered and Jaebum tilted his head to the side, giving in to your smile yet again. You grinned and placed down your bag. He hadn’t noticed you bring it inside, nor had he seen how full it was today. ping it, you pulled out a blanket and laid it down on the floor before sitting on it. “Whilst you played in playgrounds, I spent my time up here. This is my grandmother’s home.”

He looked around the vacant space for more answers, frowning as he sat down beside you. “Why has it been let go?”

“She wasn’t the reason for our wealth. My mother was born poor, and my grandmother was ill when I was a child.” Leaning back on your arms, you seemed lost in fond memories of what this place once was. “My happiest moments were in this house.”

“You mean, you haven’t been happy with me?”

Looking over at him, you shook your head. “Not until today.”

Jaebum could understand. The shackles around you meant experiencing true feelings would have been hard for you. He was certain you had never smiled as much as you had done so today. Staring around at the darkened living space, he pointed to a clear colour difference on the wall. “What was once there?”

“A family portrait.”

He asked more questions and you answered them, your bodies naturally getting tangled in the process. With your head resting on his shoulder and his arm holding you to his side, the questions slowly stopped mattering. Kisses began again, the addiction ever present with every caress of his mouth on yours. Desire at his abdomen, and tightened his pants. Jaebum groaned when your leg inadvertently passed over his affected area and you sat back, blinking slowly.

Embarrassment heated his skin. “It’s just that uh, well, you do things to me.”

“Should I do more?” you offered, and the intense gaze you held weakened his resolve. Were you really insinuating you went all the way tonight? Glancing away, at the house you had brought him to, he understood why you were both here now.

Jaebum brushed the hair away from your face. “Tonight is all we have?”

“I won’t let it stop here, but if there is a chance that this is our only open window for some time, I want to do everything.”

“I wasn’t as prepared as you have been, you should have given me some warning,” he admitted and you smiled encouragingly, reaching over for your bag again. You retrieved a foil package and he shot you an inquisitive look. Your cheeks flushed with colour. “I made sure I had everything for today, just in case.”

Jaebum took over from there, ensuring you felt everything you possibly could whilst the night grew darker outside. And just before dawn, you drove back in silence, Jaebum finally pulling up outside where you lived. He didn’t want to let you go, his gut instinct reluctant to even stop the car.

You smiled and leaned over to kiss him. “We don’t end here.”

“I’m just worried. Maybe we should run away. If we leave and never return, no one can tear us apart.”

“No one can now anyway,” you assured, kissing him again. “Not after how we spent tonight.”

He couldn’t hold back his smile, nodding once in agreement. You heaved a deep breath before you finally let him go, slipping out of the car and into the gated residence.

You weren’t at school the next day. Nor the following day either. In fact, for an entire week, you held no appearance in his world, as if the night shared together had somehow snuffed you out of his existence when daylight came. He drove to your neighbourhood often, watching for movement within the home.

Yet there was nothing.

Jaebum didn’t go to school on Monday. He couldn’t face it without you there. And when the doorbell rang, he didn’t shift from his bed to answer it either. It wasn’t until his Mum entered his room and handed him a package that he stirred away from his heavy thoughts. “Were you waiting on something?”

Glancing at the handwriting on the box, Jaebum sat up, taking it immediately from her and opening it hastily. He stopped moving altogether when he saw the contents. Inside laid a rock he had once carried with him every day as a child. And beside it laid a note.

Find me.

 

 

“Get in here!” a voice instructed and the sounds of a drunken protest filled the early morning within the station. Jaebum chuckled to himself yet didn’t look up to see what was going on, his gaze glued to the computer system in front of him.

Much like it always was.

“Why are you apprehending me? I am not someone who needs to be brought here!”

“That’s what they all say and yet it’s for your own good. A night in the cell will sober you right up and you won’t think of causing such a scene again,” the officer scolded tiredly, the sounds of the small cell in the corner opening and shutting following his words. And then the constable came over and slumped into the chair beside Jaebum. “Has it been busy?”

“Only a dispatch for a traffic offence but the neighbouring station picked it up instead.”

“I hate working the graveyard shift on a Saturday,” his colleague mentioned with a groan and Jaebum merely smiled. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard the proclamation and it wouldn’t be the last.

However, Jaebum had no issues with working through the night. Sometimes, it would be busier than tonight and whilst he preferred being parked up at the front desk taking down complaints and sorting out minor disputes, getting out into the neighbourhood was welcomed when he felt the dread of being unsuccessful settle into his chest.

“Listen here!” the drunkard demanded and Jaebum quirked an eyebrow before turning to face the apprehended man. He was surprised to see someone of similar age within the cell, his tousled designer dress pants and shirt looking out of place behind bars. The raven haired man pointed a finger directly at him. “I need to find her okay? I won’t stop until I find her!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ve been saying that over and over but you know what? You can’t find someone who you don’t have in your phone to ring, mate.”

Jaebum glanced at the fellow officer. “Who is he looking for?”

“Beats me, he’s been ranting on about lost love the whole way over here. I reckon he’s broken up with his girlfriend and gotten drunk over it or something.”

The man in the cell laughed a little too much in response. “How dare you address my soulmate as a mere girlfriend!”

Jaebum couldn’t help but look back at the man. He looked broken, despair filling his features as he crouched down in the corner by the bed. Cupping his face within his hand, he began to cry, rocking back and forth in his position.

“I miss her! I should have told her I wanted to be in her life. I would do anything to find her!”

Jaebum slowly turned to the screen in front of him. Records and previous searches stared back at him, your name in various forms attempted without any leads. He hadn’t found you in years. Not when he was without power had a trace been left to follow and after working hard to become a police officer, ten years after your disappearance from his world, Jaebum was still without you.

He wondered if he would ever find you.

After some time, the station grew silent, bar the heavy snoring of his partner. Jaebum needed a break from the chair he had been seated in for all too long and headed into the staff room, making himself a cup of coffee. Nights like these were hard to get by. When it was quiet, he would search for you. The data was endless, but whenever he felt he was close, the details wouldn’t match. He was certain by now that your family had changed your name, making it impossible for him to find you.

Why had they taken you away? What harm did he pose to your life? Still, after all these years, he couldn’t understand. He thought back to his childhood belief that your family were cruel people, not having anything else to go on. They had plucked you up, using their wealth and status to disappear without a trace.

Pouring a second cup of coffee, Jaebum dejectedly headed back out into the main floor of the station, his eyes going towards the man in the cell. He was no longer crying or protesting, instead, he remained silent on the floor, staring at nothing in particular.

His brooding felt similar and Jaebum cleared his throat to garner his attention. “Park Jinyoung?”

Holding out the coffee, the man got up and thanked him softly for the beverage through the bars. Jaebum didn’t shift away, watching as he drank some of the bitter drink and attempted to think of something to say.

Jinyoung beat him to it. “Have you ever felt as if, no matter what you do, you can’t get back what you let go of in the past?”

“Every day,” Jaebum responded, and Jinyoung glanced up at him in surprise.

He then sighed heavily. “I’m sure you’re not as foolish as I once was.”

“Well, getting drunk over your pain is something a lot of people experience in life. A police officer isn’t immune to it either.”

“I let her go before even giving it a shot. You’d think I would have been able to move on by now, yet every day my heart aches for her.”

“Some people just affect you for the rest of your life,” Jaebum mentioned softly and the man nodded in agreement. “It’s been some time since I saw my soulmate too.”

Jinyoung swallowed his mouthful and then frowned. “Did you lose her?”

“Not in the way most people do.”

“She’s still alive?”

Jaebum nodded.

At least, he was certain you were. Now and then, he would feel the emotions he would whenever you were in pain or upset, though they were dull in comparison to when he was able to see you every day. It led Jaebum to believe you were still out there, the only fuel he had left towards his endless search of you.

“How do you find someone you only know so little about?” Jinyoung wondered, his dark gaze turning earnest. “Can you find someone by a name?”

“In theory.”

“As an officer, shouldn’t you be able to access a database that lists the majority of society on it? Everyone has a record, right? Social numbers, health identifiers, shouldn’t they lead you to the person? An easy search, right?”

Jaebum chuckled, shrugging bitterly. “People can change information. If they don’t want to be found, they can remain that way.”

“Of course, this world is twisted after all.”

“Is your soulmate alive too?” Jaebum questioned and Jinyoung nodded. The man proceeded to tell Jaebum of his ill-fated meeting, the premature departure of his destined partner from his world and the consequences thereafter. He sympathised with the doctor, knowing some of the pain that he carried around daily.

It was the same Jaebum carried for you.

In return, Jaebum explained his own situation and by the end of it, Jinyoung felt more like a comrade than anything else. Jaebum’s shift ended when he opened up the cell, and instead of parting ways, he offered to buy breakfast.

Jinyoung looked up through his meal midway. “Even if it’s a small chance, you’ll actually search for her for me?”

“It’s my duty to serve the nation and help them with their needs,” Jaebum mentioned with a grin, Jinyoung’s lips curling up with renewed hope.

“Anything is worth a go. I need to right my wrongs,” he admitted and Jaebum nodded. After a few more mouthfuls, the man looked up again, his smile spreading over his lips. “I have a way to find someone as well, you know.”

“I’m listening.”

“Medical records have personal information on them. I’m not saying I’ll find anything, but I can certainly look it up. Here, I’ll give you my card. Message me all the formations of Y/N’s name and her date of birth. I’ll check it once I’m at work tomorrow.”

The elation of making his new connection with Jinyoung was short-lived. Jaebum had known better, but the hope he felt over another possible path forward had lent him too much with no return.

Not that he had been successful with finding Jinyoung’s soulmate either.

For the following months, the pair met regularly. It was comforting to finally have someone who understood the pain Jaebum held within his chest. Jinyoung became a good friend to him, ready to build him back up when despair hit and encourage him forward with new plans. Neither of them was any closer in their search but their friendship was positive for Jaebum. It meant he wasn’t alone.

And when he got close to finding you, it meant he had someone backing him up for once.

“I think I may have a lead on a name,” he told the doctor over the phone, pulling up the file he had stumbled across earlier in the day. “Her birth date matches and her national health identifier number is also documented which is odd since she gave the officer an international driver’s licence. It looks like she had an altercation a month ago with a traffic offence after arriving back in the country. Could you look it up in your system for me?”

“Of course, what’s the number? I’ll take a look as soon as I’m done doing my rounds.”

Jaebum had texted Jinyoung the information and waited almost two hours on edge for the response.

It was another dead end.

 

 

Seven months passed by without much process on either soulmate. Both men were tired and decided to take a small break from their searches. A week away at the beach in his hometown renewed their focus, though Jaebum couldn’t help but feel as if he was seeing you wherever he went. Quick glimpses of what he imagined you would look like now out of the corner of his eye would occur at least once a day, though every time he turned his head, he would never find you there.

Jinyoung had admitted to visions of his own lost love, and Jaebum wondered if now was his turn to experience the phenomena. He was certain you were nearby, though he didn’t know how to seek you out.

“Let’s go door knocking. We can come up with some plausible reason for a cop and a doctor to be asking around, right?”

Jaebum rolled his eyes. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m trying to lighten your mood, you know.”

It was Jinyoung who found a lead in finding you first. Not even a month after returning to work, he had rung in a rush, his breath heavy down the line. Jaebum’s shifts were different than his friend’s and he groggily pulled himself away from another dream about you. “What did you say?”

“I think I found Y/N.”

Sitting up with a start, he listened to the doctor prattle on about a building collapse that happened in Jaebum’s hometown. The injuries ranged from critical to minor, and when he was checking over the list of patients admitted, the file Jaebum had been looking up months ago with the medical number had matched up. The hospital there had been overwhelmed with the injuries so a lot had been transferred to his hospital in the city.

Jaebum barely heard anything else the doctor had to say as he yanked clothing onto his body and rushed out the door. He arrived at the hospital as fast as he could, running through to the emergency room and checking the faces within the beds. Not a single one matched yours, and he dropped into a chair outside the department, flinching when a hand rested on his shoulder.

Jaebum looked up, exasperated. “Where is she?”

“She has been discharged already, she had a gash to her arm and originally there was concern she had hit her head. However, results came back clear and she was good to go.”

“Already? My chance to find Y/N is over just like that?”

Jinyoung shook his head, holding up a piece of paper. Before he allowed Jaebum to take it, he gave his friend a stern look. “I’m not buying this defeatist attitude from you at all, Officer Im. If you give up, what hope do I have left? Here, my gift to you.”

“An address?” he hoped and the doctor nodded, handing it over. Jaebum held onto the paper as if it was somewhat precious. This was closer than he had ever been and he realised he was shaking with emotions.

“Don’t hate me if she’s not Y/N,” Jinyoung fare-welled and Jaebum numbly walked himself out to his car, getting in behind the steering wheel.

He sat there for some time, partially because he believed he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to drive, but also because he needed some kind of plan. All these years, he had been so adamant on finding you.

Now that he potentially had, what was the best step forward? Just show up on your doorstep and hope the part of your soul that craved his would recognise him immediately? What about your family? It had never dawned on him until now that you could have reached out to find him as well. You knew everything there was to him. Apart from moving to the city so he could become a police officer, nothing had changed.

Eventually, Jaebum arrived on the outskirts of his home town, driving passed the old lot where he had once spent the night with you. He was surprised to see the home had been knocked down since the last time he was here, the rubble being cleared away by contractors. He knew that the building collapse had been on the beachfront however, though it felt as if the removal of the derelict home that had once stood there held some significance right now. Driving to his destination, Jaebum pulled up outside the townhouses that lined the marine parade, looking towards the number he required.

He knocked on the door, waiting on the doorstep for some time without an answer. Were you not back from the hospital yet yourself? He didn’t know what form of transportation you had taken, and figuring he should come back within an hour, Jaebum headed across to the beach instead.

It was cool, the sunny weather that had enticed both him and Jinyoung here last month had washed out with the warm sea, replaced with chilly winds and crashing waves. It was comforting walking along the beach he had once spent an entire afternoon with you. As he trailed up towards the gulf, he thought back over every moment you shared together, from the first time you touched, to your hand slipping out of his that last time. That day had never left his memory, not once. He wouldn’t allow the details to fade over time, keeping it alive as if it had happened the day before. He could almost feel you as he turned back for the beach entrance now, your kisses lingering in the freezing air that hit his face.

As he neared the spot where he had parked up that day, his heart began to thud unevenly. Was it from the memory of pressing you against his car? Inadvertently, he had parked in the same spot as he had that day, though his car was different, it had attracted the attention of someone.

Stopping, he watched as the woman peered into the vehicle curiously, her lips pouting softly. When she turned away, he noticed the bandage on her arm.

Your arm.

“Y/N!” he called upon the wind, and it travelled to you, sending your hair flying about your face. You spun around, eyes widened by his voice. Jaebum started to move, the sand dunes slowing him somewhat, climbing back up to the parking lot where you remained frozen.

He panted when he finally stopped in front of you, now blinking rapidly to ensure he wasn’t hallucinating. Every time his eyes reopened, you were still staring back at him, stuck in the position you had been left rendered speechless within. Jaebum shifted first and you moved back, your eyes searching his.

“Y/N,” he repeated, this time with a smile. He stared down at you for what felt like an eternity. You had aged just how he had imagined you to, your teenage years far behind you, yet you still looked youthful. Your hairstyle was different, and you had lost some of the weight in your face.

You were still beautiful.

“Jaebum,” you breathed and he felt himself grinning, though he couldn’t tear his eyes away from you. It made you roll your own, the humour evident in your tone that followed. “You’re doing it again.”

He didn’t miss a beat, the words he once spoke to you as a child falling out effortlessly. “Does it bother you?”

Leaning in closer, you shifted back into his car, leaving little room for escape. He chuckled. “Will you avoid me touching you now as well?”

“It’s been so long, who knows where those hands have been,” you quipped, though he saw the way you steeled your breath in anticipation. Your hands were at the ready, and when he reached out for you, it was instantaneous. His lips found yours, his hands were in your hair and you were pressed against him as if no time had passed from that afternoon. The kisses were even better than how he remembered them. You tasted sweeter, if that was even possible, and his mind reeled from the explosion of your combined yearning.

His plan of taking it slow and talking it out with you was well and truly gone. He didn’t need to know where you had been or what had happened over all these years.

At least, the knowledge wasn’t as pressing as he thought it had been.

It could all wait until later. Right now, he could only think of how you felt being back in his arms.

He had finally found you. And this time, he wasn’t going to ever let go.

The End.