The air around them was tense, both of them gripping their coffee cups tightly, Jennie occasionally sipping it as Rosie stared at her.

She wasn’t the only one staring.

They were both acutely aware of the three knuckleheads who kept peaking at them from the door. While Irene and Seulgi had to tend to customers every now and then, Jisoo had all the time in the world to watch the newly found soulmates who’d placed themselves on a picnic table in the back of the café where they could have some privacy.

“So, uhh, Jennie?” She said uncertainly, as if she hadn’t already memorized that name, “how did you find me, exactly?”

“Oh, heh, funny story.” She didn’t make it sound like a funny story as she nervously rubbed her hands before moving some hair behind her ear, Rosie still watching her every move. “I’m guessing you know you lost your passport?” Rosie nodded. “It showed up at my place. I didn’t look at it, just hid it in a drawer where Jisoo found it. She asked if she could look at it, I said yes, she did and then never mentioned anything about it again, except that you were attractive, and I thought that was that. We do a girl’s trip once a year, and she suggested we come here this year. I had no idea you lived here, of course, I thought you were from New Zealand. She must’ve stalked your social media cause she kept insisting we come here, and I just thought it was for the great coffee, but apparently not.”

“She thought I was attractive, huh?” Rosie grinned.

“Huh? Oh…yeah.”

“Do you think she was right?”

Looking up at the younger girl, Jennie blushed slightly. Of course Jisoo was right, the girl sitting opposite her was breathtaking. “Yeah…yes she was,” she said softly, heart fluttering as she saw the girl smile.

“Thanks. You’re not exactly bad looking yourself. I’ve always wondered what my soul mate would look like, and never in my wildest dream did I picture you.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Of course. Can I ask you something?”

Jennie nodded as she took another sip of her coffee. It really was one of the best she’d ever tasted. Maybe there was hope for her future after all.

“You said you didn’t look at my passport once you found it… why not?”

Deep down she knew it was coming. She’d be curious too, if it was the other way around. She’d always been so sure of herself and her decision not to find her soulmate but having met her it felt different. She was scared that her words would hurt the girl in front of her.

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Rosie. I don’t really believe in soulmates. I used to, I really did, but when I was 10 my parents sent me away and I sort of realized how massive the world is and how low my chances of finding my soulmate were. Not only that, but I didn’t even know if my soulmate was someone I’d even like! So I just decided that I wasn’t going to make a big deal about it, I was ok on my own. I wanted to surround myself with people that I chose, not that the universe chose for me. So when your passport showed up on my coffee table, it really freaked me out. I knew it would tell me pretty much everything I needed to know about you, but I wasn’t ready to take that step. I don’t know if I’d ever be ready to take that step.”

“Oh,” Jennie couldn’t help but notice how disappointed Rosie sounded.

“I’m really sorry, I hope you know I’m not saying this to hurt you.”

“No, it’s ok, I understand. It is a very big concept to wrap your mind around. But now that we’ve met, do you, uhh, do you think you’d be willing to try?”

“Try what?”

“Us? Give us a chance?”

Jennie’s tongue poked the inside of her cheek as she thought it over, her eyebrows turning into a soft frown.

“It doesn’t have to have an official title or anything, just please give me a chance to get to know you better? Please?”

“Okay. Fine, I’ll agree to that. Jisoo and I have about a week and a half left of our trip, if you have time we can meet up while I’m here. But I’m going back to Korea after that.”

“That’s ok. I just can’t let you go without knowing that I’ve done what I can to make this work. Not when I’ve finally found you.”

And ok, maybe Jennie actually was falling for her a little bit, but they live basically a world apart, and she’s not moving down here, she loves Korea too much for that. But the least she can do is give the younger girl a chance, that doesn’t mean they’ll end up together anyways. Besides, Jisoo would definitely not shut up about it if she brought her all this way only for Jennie to turn down her soulmate.

“I would like to get to know you better too. I didn’t really know what to believe about my soulmate, but you’ve definitely exceeded my expectations. Now that I’ve answered your questions, can I ask you something?”

Rosie nodded eagerly, excited that Jennie was willing to give them a try.

“How on earth have you managed to lose 2 watermelons? I mean, it’s strange enough that you lose as much as you do, but the watermelons somehow manage to top all of that.”

Rosie let out an adorable little squeak as she felt her cheeks heat up. “I was kinda hoping you hadn’t noticed that…”

“Yah, kinda hard to miss.”

“Soooo,” Jennie really couldn’t get over her blush, it should be illegal to look that cute, “the second one was during a party. I was kinda drunk, as a friend of mine had been pouring alcohol down my throat since 5 pm, and by 7 I was wasted. They asked me to get a watermelon so they could make drinks with it, and stupid me took the bus to a supermarket. My friend lives right next to a supermarket, but my brain still felt it was logical to take the bus to another one. On the way back I forgot the watermelon on the bus. Of course, I’d been gone for way too long, so someone else had gone to the local store and gotten one, so they were fine, but yeah… that was that. The first one was for an art project. We had to draw food, and our teacher had everyone draw a note with a food item on it. I just had to get the massive one, couldn’t have gotten dumplings or an apple, and I forgot the melon in the art room. Not my proudest moments either of them, but it is what it is. Did you at least enjoy them?”

“Jisoo took the first one, she was more than happy, she loves free food. The second one showed up on a Friday evening, and I guess it sort of served its purpose, cause I made margaritas with it. Wasn’t too bad, but please try to keep your watermelon losing to a minimum from now on.”

Rosie didn’t miss the teasing tone in Jennie’s voice and it made her let out a slight laugh as she finally looked away from Jennie, instead directing her gaze towards her coffee. “I promise to try.”

“That doesn’t sound very promising, but I’ll take it. So, uhm, are you an artist then?”

Jennie didn’t miss how Rosie perked up at the question. “I am, yeah. Or rather, I aspire to be. School’s finishing up any day now, then my last year starts in February. I’m majoring in art but minoring in economy to get some broader coverage in case art doesn’t work out.”

“But art is your real passion, isn’t it?” Jennie could tell by the way Rosie spoke about it. It made her wonder if she spoke that way about anything.

“It is, yeah,” Rosie blushed as she pushed some hair behind her ear. “Art can be so much. Realism or abstract, hidden meanings, bold colors, or subdued pastels. Anything under the sun can be art, and the thought makes me happy. I sort of live by Bob Ross’ words of wisdom; there are no mistakes, just happy accidents. Art doesn’t have to be perfect. You can make mistakes, and maybe those mistakes actually make your work better.”

“That sounds…really nice. I wish I was any good at art.”

“Who’s to tell you that you’re not? Even if you can’t do realism doesn’t mean you can’t be an artist. Heck, thousands of art galleries out there have paintings worth thousands of dollars that are monochrome, or even just one solid color on a canvas. If that can be art, whatever you make can be art too.”

“I’ve never really thought about that.” Jisoo didn’t miss the smile on Jennie’s lips, even if she couldn’t hear their conversation. “What type of art do you do?”

“I prefer to make pseudo-realistic or abstract art, things that people like looking at, but that also makes them think. But I’m also very good at realistic paintings and do portraits or commissions sometimes.”

“You’re gonna have to show me some of your art sometime.”

“Oh, sure, I’d love that. I’ll bring my portfolio next time I see you.”

“Does it include the watermelon painting?”

Jennie liked the sound of Rosie’s laugh. “You’re in luck, it does.”

“Excellent, I can’t wait then.”

They continued talking until Rosie had to go back to work, and Jennie really couldn’t deny the feeling she was left with, though she did her best to hide it from Jisoo’s prying eyes.

“So, how much do you hate me right now?”

Jennie glared at her best friend. Depending on how this went, she might actually love Jisoo more than ever. But she’d only met Rosie once, so it could still go really, really badly. “You owe me so much, Kim Jisoo.”

“You two are so cute together tho, so cute!! And isn’t she pretty? I told you she was pretty, didn’t I? Did I lie?”

“No, you didn’t. She’s very pretty. But that’s not everything, Chu, love is about more than good looks.”

“Though good looks definitely help.” Jisoo wiggled her eyebrows at her as they entered the lobby of their hotel.

Rolling her eyes, Jennie entered the elevator, tempted to close the doors on Jisoo. “Sure.”

“So, when are you meeting her again?”

“Friday. She has class until 1, then we’re meeting up, and before you ask, no you can’t come with us.”

“First of all, yay you’re meeting her again, secondly, boo, you . I set all this up for you and I can’t even third-wheel your date.”

“If you want this to have even a slimmer of a chance of working, you’ll stay clear, you hear me?”

As much as Jisoo desperately wanted to be a fly on the wall for their second meeting, she did have to admit that having the two of them potentially work out was an even bigger wish for her. She hated to say it, but she knew she had to stay away and not bother Jennie too much about it so she wouldn’t get sick of soulmates before it had even started.

“Fine, I’ll stay away.”

--

Rosie had asked her if she wanted to meet up for lunch, saying she knew of a really good Italian restaurant close to her campus they could go to. Jennie had, of course, said yes. She didn’t know the city well enough to suggest anything herself, and she did want to show both Rosie and Jisoo that she was, in fact, making an effort, and lunch probably said that better than two coffee to go.

She didn’t regret the decision when she saw Rosie’s reaction to the food. She seemed to be completely and utterly in love with every forkful of pasta she put in and Jennie could quite literally not tear her eyes away from the girl.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Rosie covered with a napkin once she finally noticed Jennie staring at her, “was I drooling or something again? I can’t help it, I just love food so much, it’s like an involuntary reaction.”

The smile Jennie gave her was more genuine than anything she’d given the younger girl so far. “No, you’re in the clear. I just enjoyed watching you enjoy food so much; I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do a little dance for pasta before.”

“It’s not just pasta though, it’s mind-blowing. Here, have a taste.” Cupping her hand under her fork, she directed it towards Jennie’s mouth, brown eyes watching attentively as Jennie tasted her food.

“Oh, wow.” Jennie couldn’t hold back the little moan that escaped. “That is mind blowing. Mine’s really good too, but not that good.” Without even thinking about it, she reciprocated the action, feeding Rosie a forkful of her own pasta dish, even going so far as to removing some sauce from the corner of Rosie’s mouth with her thumb.

“I’ve never tried that dish before, but I’m definitely having that next time, it’s so good.”

“I don’t go to Italian places much, since I don’t like pizza, but maybe I should try more pasta dishes instead.”

“Wait, you don’t like pizza?” Rosie asked incredulously.

Jennie shook her head as she sipped her water. People never seemed to get used to the idea of someone not liking pizza.

“But, why?”

“Uhh, I don’t know really. I just don’t really see the appeal I guess.”

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who didn’t like pizza before. But you like pasta, right?”

“Yeah, pasta’s fine, it’s just pizza I’m not a fan of. I’ll eat it if served it, but I would never order it myself.”

“Interesting. I’ll remember that.”

“So, uhm, do you wanna tell me more about yourself? How did you end up in Melbourne?”

“Oh, sure! My parents are Korean, they moved to New Zealand when they were in their twenties. My older sister, Alice, and I are both born in Auckland and we lived there until I was 7, then we moved to Melbourne because my dad got a job offer here. I’ve lived here ever since.”

“Do you speak any Korean?”

“I’m not fluent, but I can understand most things, and I can read pretty well. We speak Korean at home sometimes, so I can talk, my vocabulary just isn’t the best. Our family in Korea don’t speak any English, so whenever we go see them Alice and I have to stutter around with our Korean skills.”

“I’m sure you’re not that bad, with a little bit of practice you might become fluent.”

“That would be nice, I think being bilingual would be very useful. What about you?”

“I’m Korean born and raised, Seoul to be exact. My parents sent me to go live in Auckland when I was 10, lived there for five years, then came back to Korea. Have a degree in business from SNU, and I currently work as a financial advisor for a big company, with Jisoo.”

“That’s so cool that we’ve both lived in Auckland! Your job sounds really interesting, do you like it?”

“I do, yeah. I’ve been really lucky and got promoted after only a year, so I’m actually in a managerial position, which also means the money’s pretty good.”

“I bet. That’s really impressive, Jennie. Have you known Jisoo for a long time?”

“Since we were five. Lost contact when I moved away, but found each other again when I came back. She’s such a doofus, but I love her to death. I’m an only child while she has two older siblings, and they’ve always treated me as a part of their family which I really appreciate.”

“Seems like you’re both lucky to have each other. I’m very thankful that she brought you here.”

“It wasn’t what I wanted, but I am too.” Jennie looked away, starting to come to terms with her feelings and letting a small part of her open up to her childhood soulmate dreams.

“Come on, I know a place we can go to.” Rosie didn’t even notice that she’d grabbed Jennie’s hand, pulling her out of the restaurant after Jennie paid for their lunch, but Jennie certainly did. She couldn’t deny that Rosie’s hand felt good in her own.

Rosie didn’t let go until they got to a small park, only letting go so they could sit down on the grass. “Is this ok?”

“Mhm,” Jennie looked around. It was a nice day and a few people were scattered across the immaculate lawn enjoying the late spring sun.

“Here, I brought my portfolio, if you wanted to have a look at it.”

Taking the large folder, Jennie started flipping through Rosie’s art, her use of and colors impressing the older girl. Seemed she liked to work with a wide variety of techniques and mediums, each new art piece impressing her more than the last.

“I don’t know what to say, these are really good, Rosie. Even your watermelon painting. Your shading is amazing, and I’m really impressed by your attention to detail.”

Rosie was fairly used to people complementing her work, and she was fairly confident in herself, but hearing her soulmate say those words made her blush. “You really like them?”

“Absolutely. I would definitely pay for these.” And Rosie knew she was telling the truth, cause she hadn’t looked up from the portfolio once, carefully studying each piece. “What’s your dream then? To open a gallery?”

“Not sure really, haven’t really thought that far ahead. I’d like to sell my paintings, but I don’t really know if I want my own gallery. Probably not tbh, I want to spend my time painting, not doing logistics and all the work that comes with owning something like a gallery.”

“Where do you wanna live?”

“So many deep questions,” Rosie laughed, a subtle way of letting Jennie know she wasn’t annoyed with her questions. “I mean, Melbourne’s home, but I’m pretty open to change. Can’t be bad for inspiration, right? What about you?”

“I loved New Zealand, but I think I’d prefer to stay in Korea. At least for now.”

“I like Korea too.” They shared a soft smile that gave Rosie butterflies. “Do you have any hobbies?”

“Not really, I don’t have a lot of time. But I do enjoy horseback riding, and I try to read as much as possible. And Jisoo takes me to karaoke bars sometimes. And then of course, traveling.”

“You’re so lucky, that sounds really nice. We don’t travel much, except to Korea to see family.”

“If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”

“Super cliché, but Paris. Definitely. I wanna sit on the stairs of the Sacré-Coeur, painting the city. I wanna spend days upon days in the Louvre, marveling over art, I wanna cry as I see Mona Lisa for the first time. I wanna dance under the Eiffel Tower and drink champagne as I eat macarons.” She blushed as she realized she’d lost herself in her daydream and that Jennie was smiling at her. “Sorry. I just really wanna go to Paris.”

“Paris is gorgeous, I’m sure you’ll get to go sometime.”

“I hope so.” Letting out a sigh, she lay down on the grass, staring up at the sky. “Jennie?”

“Hmm?”

“Have you ever loved someone? Like, well and truly loved someone so much that you wished soulmates weren’t real?”

“Now who’s asking the deep questions?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. Sorry about that, sometimes I’m very direct.”

“No, it’s ok. I don’t mind. To be honest, no, I’ve never truly loved someone like that. I know I said I didn’t really believe in soulmates, but I also knew there was no point in fighting it. I didn’t want to take someone else’s soulmate, y’know? I’ve had flings, but never anything serious. Instead, I’ve tried to surround myself with friends that I love. I can’t imagine not having Jisoo in my life, no matter how annoyed I get with her constantly, she’s always by my