Jisung has been in the waiting room for all of two hours and for the life of him he could not sit still. He has gotten up about half a dozen times in the span of a half hour. Paced back and forth for a minute then sat down. He repeated this for the entirety of that half hour. The other patrons by now are probably very annoyed with his behavior but he couldn’t stop. 

He was never this fidgety, not even when his friend Changbin had fallen off his motorcycle and dinged his collarbone, leaving him in the hospital for 3 days and then bedrest for another week. I mean c’mon! This is a total stranger we are talking about. 

“Hey, dude. If I didn’t know any better I would say your soulmate was in that ER.” Some guy who had been in the waiting room even longer than he had, spoke up. The guy was sitting in a chair, leg bouncing but clearly was speaking to him. His head was facing Jisung waiting for a reply. 

“Um.. yeah right. I don’t even know the guy. I’ve never been this anxious before.”

The guy goes silent, which gives Jisung enough time to look him over. They guy had messy brown hair, deep purple bruises that indicated he hadn’t slept in a good while and eventually he sent Jisung an attempt at a smile that didn’t really reach his eyes.

“I’m sorry, where are my manners? My name is Seungmin.” The guy- I mean Seungmin says and stands up to shake my hand. I reciprocate.

“Jisung”

“Why are you still here then?” Seungmin starts speaking again.

“I don’t know. I can’t shake this feeling that I shouldn’t leave.”

“I felt the same way when I met Jeongin. I got up and went through my usual routine. Always stopping by this coffee shop at the same time everyday before heading to work. Then one day after I had just purchased my coffee, it felt like there was an invisible wall that was preventing me from leaving. I must have stood at the exit for hours. I even missed a big meeting that day, but I couldn't care less. When he finally walked in drenched in rain. I knew.”

“But- I met the guy on the bus, we were next to each other for a good few minutes before he got sick. And before that I don’t think he liked me very much. Honestly, I wasn’t his fan either.”

“It’s not always instant and you can’t always know right away. Remember I waited more than half a day to figure out while I felt the way I did. Just give it some time, hopefully you guys can figure it out once he’s well”

With that Seungmin went back to his seat and started to play on his phone. 

Jisung could not have been more confused. His soulmate? That guy? Impossible. There must be another reason. He’ll prove it. He’ll just leave right now. Moving to head towards the exit, Jisung only made it a couple feet before his stomach lurched and his vision started to falter. His earlier state was nothing compared to this. 

Ok maybe there was a rational explanation. Maybe he was sick. Right, this could be completely unrelated. Turning around to head towards the nurses station, he didn’t notice that Seungmin had been observing his behavior with a small smile. 

“Um.. hello?”

The nurse stopped typing and looked up to greet him.

“Hi, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yeah, I’m not feeling so well. I think I might be getting sick.”

“Oh no, what seems to be the problem?”

“Well, I have been super anxious, which I thought was because of how quick everything happened with Minho. But I just tried to leave and I almost fainted. I feel very out of breath and I cant stop long enough to sit down.”

“Well, that does not sound good, There are two possible explanations. One, you could be having a mini- or the less serious option is that you found your soulmate!” Her voice picked up at the end in excitement. Jisung could do nothing but stare.

“So… about this mini- you spoke about…”

“Sir, I am 99% sure you are not having a . You should be happy you’ve found your soulmate! You’ve mentioned that the patient Minho was the one who started all this? Well then seeing as you are now as close as family, I see no reason to stop you from seeing him. He’s in room 362. I’m sorry you had to find out while he’s so sick. I hope he gets better.”

    And with that she points in the general direction of Minho's room and resumes typing.

Seeing as though he’s not gonna get anything more out of her, he briefly glances back to Seungmin to find an amused smile gracing his face and two thumbs up in encouragement.With that he set off to find room 362.

Walking down the many hallways and corridors, JIsung thinks about what he would even do when he reached the room. Would Minho be awake? Asleep? Unconscious!? What about this whole soulmate thing? How will he break the news to him? What if he tells him he never wants to see him again? Jisung was not the most excited to meet his soulmate but he at least thought, when they did meet, that they would at least get along. It seems they can’t even do that. 

Finally making it, he glances through the glass window to find that his soulmate is asleep. Opening the door as gently as possible, Jisung slips in. Looking around the room he sees that there are a few chars to the left of Minho’s bedside. He moves to sit at the one the closest to him. 

After getting settled down Jisung takes a better look at Minho. Jisung sighs in relief. He looks so much better. Minho’s skin now has a bit more color to it, he no longer is ram rod stiff and his breathing had thankfully calmed. If seeing him on the brink of death made him look kind of cute before, well now he’s kind of a hunk. Must be a soulmate thing. Jisung could’ve sworn Minho was not this attractive when they met on the bus. 

During his whole internal debate, Jisung failed to notice that Minho had started to gain consciousness and was now staring at him. 

“Why are you here?” The raspy voice of Minho caused Jisung to jump in his chair.

“Ah.. well.. Um.. You see…”

“Spit it out”

“Well it seems that youaremysoulmateandIphysicallycan’tleavebecauseofit.” Jisung gasps for air and timidly looks at Minho. Minho only stares back confused.

“...what?”

Jisung sighs and tries again. “It seems that we are soulmates and because of it I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to. So you're stuck with me.”

Minho stares in disbelief.

“Go in your hand if you're going to serve me bull.”

Jisung could only stare agape at Minho. What he hadn’t noticed before is how sweaty he had been, already feeling the chill of it drying. 

…

…

…

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, I call bull.”

“Well too bad, it’s the truth. I even went to the goddamn nurse to complain about the symptoms I was having and to both our dismay, the conclusion was that we are soulmates.”

Minho went silent after that. 

Neither knew how much time had passed before a doctor had broken them out of their stupor. 

“Oh! I see you are awake. How are you feeling?” Jisung saw Minho glance at him briefly.

“I’m ok I guess”

“Nothing hurts? Any trouble breathing?”

“No, I think I’m good.”

“Well, that is a relief, you were about the seventh person to come in with those symptoms, but thankfully they all have been doing better as well.”

“What happened to me?”

“Well we’re calling it some sort of state of shock brought on by the soulmate link.”

Our eyes widen.

“You mean to tell me, HE did this to me?” Minho’s voice rose as he moved to point at Jisung. 

Jisung could only lean back and look offended.

“Well not exactly, is this your soulmate?” Minho mutley nods. The doctor notices the confirmation and turns to Jisung.

“Hello I am Doctor Bang, was today the first time you guys met?”

“Hello, I’m Jisung. And yes, we just met slightly before he got sick.” Jisung failed to notice Minho mouth his name as he spoke to the doctor.

“Well, since you're both here let me explain. It seems that many people are coming in with severe symptoms that from what we gathered is due to the delayed response to the soulmate link. Usually, when soulmates are destined to meet, one and both may be drawn to a specific place and eventually will meet and instantly recognize each other. It seems that you like many others did not have that experience. May I ask some questions just to be sure?” The Doctor prompts.

We both nod, too much in our heads to make an audible reply.

“Have either of you made any new, big changes to your life? A move or maybe ended a relationship suddenly, lost a loved one, etcetera?”

We both think about it a bit. Aside from today's events, nothing in Jisung’s life had changed drastically.

“I recently moved to a new neighborhood, just out on the east side near this cute park.” Minho spoke up after a minute. 

Wait, the east side? Cute park? That sounds like…

“Wait, is there a small shopping center just to the right a couple blocks down?” Jisung immediately asked.

“Yeah, how did you know? I live on Sunrise and Oakley.” Minho now looks apprehensive.

“Dude! I live like 3 blocks from you, on Maraud and Oakley!” Jisung couldn’t keep the excitement from his voice.

“Well it seems that was your soulmate link trying to bring you closer together. How long has it been since you moved?”

“Two months”

“That is quite the delay for being in such close proximity.” The doctor looked pensive. “Well, no matter, now that you have foud your soulmate you should not go through this again, you will be free to leave in the morning.” With that the doctor turns and leaves.

…

“So uh, since that’s been solved. Uh... I just wanna say I really want to get to know you, even though I understand we did not meet on the best of terms.” Jisung spoke honestly to Minho.

Minho breathes deeply and sighs. “I guess I’m curious about you too, it's only fair since It seems you’ve been here all day because of me. I’ll give this a shot.” Minho gestured to the both of them as he spoke.

“Well, let me tell you what a relief it is to find out your ok.” Jisung hadn't noticed before but as he slumped over to show his relief, he never realized how tense he had been prior. 

“Well, thanks I guess. Well, since this has been resolved ...don’t let me take anymore of your time. Go home and get some rest.” Minho said with an awkward smile.

“No, I don’t think I will. I’m going to stay here all night and go home with you when you get discharged.” Jisung smiled like a little devil. Minho got the idea that there would be no changing Jisungs mind. 

“Well, ok. Umm… so tell me about yourself.” Minho asks after a moment.

The rest of the night is spent exchanging stories and experiences. Both wearing content grins by the time they decide to call it a night.