Soulmates.

Everyone had been dreaming about their soulmates, about how they would write for each other sweet things, meet and fall in love with each other at the first sight, or maybe how their soulmates will come and swoop them off from their feet and kissing them.

All those cliché kinds of stuff.

Eunha however is different, she hated it.

Even when her classmates dream nothing but soulmates (who can blame them, that are still ten years old kids, after all, so naïve and innocent. Unlike Eunha.).

For her soulmates feels like a shackle, an obligation where your feelings don’t matter, and instead, you are getting stuck with someone just because they can write a few words to you.

At least that is what happened towards her parents, they both can write to each other words, and yet there is never a day without fight or silence inside her house and often than not her dad brings back some women home when her mom is not at home and vice versa.

That’s why everyday she wished that her soulmates will never come to her nor write to her.

She wished that she is one of those few rare people who are soulmateless.

So when her soulmates for the first time left a doodle that looks like a flower on her hand, Eunha just glances at it and ignored it.

XXX

It’s been a week since her soulmate try to reach her for the first time.

They probably think that they are soulmateless because Eunha never replies to them which is good and Eunha was wishing that things stay that way.

Well at least until she accidentally spilled her purple ink pen on her left wrist.

Eunha already let out a small unhappy groaned as it was her favorite pen when a small tingling feeling appears on her hand.

“Oh no…”

Eunha watch in dread as a small question mark followed by ‘Are you okay?’ with red ink appear on her hand.

She just accidentally let her soulmates know that they are not soulmateless.

XXX

Eunha stared at the word ‘Hi’ that appear on her hand that night, she was tempted to take her pen and write ‘Stop writing at me’ but she ignored the urge as she refuses to give her soulmate satisfaction by replying to them and instead she rubbed her hand until the words smudged off.

It was about fifteen minutes later when she got another message.

‘I know you are there, you spilled the purple ink on your hand and mine this morning which I must say hard to erase and it almost ruined my math notebook’

Eunha frowned.

It’s not like she did it because she wanted to, it was an accident and besides, she also ruined her school uniform which made her nanny get angry at her.

‘I don’t mind though, I hate math :)’

Her soulmate added and that made Eunha smiled.

She quickly wiped her smile away though and hastily rubbed the words away.

No, she refuses to smile because of her soulmate.

Her soulmate however didn’t deter as another message appear.

‘Are you ignoring me?’ followed by ‘It’s okay, I will just keep writing to you until you reply to me.’

Eunha groaned, “Please don’t” she mumbled under her breath.

Unfortunately for her, her soulmate is stubborn because Eunha spends her night distracted from the tingling feelings she got on her hand as her soulmates doodling and writing things that don’t even make any sense for Eunha.

“You are so stubbornly stupid,” Eunha grumbled as she read at her soulmate’s good night message for her that accompanied with a promise that she will write to Eunha again tomorrow.

XXX

As it turns out, her soulmate really is stubbornly stupid as ever since that day, her soulmate never failed to write for her or just doodling for her every day.

At first, this bothered Eunha and she wants nothing but to slap her soulmate’s hand just to make them stop writing because really, having your hand constantly tingling and full of writing every day is not convenient as she needs to wear long sleeves clothes every day and while it is okay to wear it on Spring, Eunha draws a line to wear it on Summer. Over time, however, it getting bearable as Eunha finally getting used to the tingling feeling that her soulmate gave to her every time they write and her soulmate at least has the tact to only writing to her at night during Summer so she didn’t need to wear long sleeves outside.

‘Listening’ to her soulmate talk slowly becomes less annoying as well. Eunha learned a few things about her soulmate such as her name is Kim Sowon, she is two years older than her and her best friend's name (Sowon however likes to call her a headache) is Jung Yerin.

Oh, and of course about how stubborn she is.

Even though Eunha never replies to her, not even once, it never deterred Sowon as the older girl keeps rambling about how her day went without fail every single day. Sowon seems fine with Eunha silence and although she did occasionally teased Eunha about her ‘muteness’ (she once asked Eunha if she still in kindergarten seeing she never write to her and just spilled ink on her hand which tempted Eunha to spilled another ink on her hand), she never shows any sign that she will cut their communication off.

Eunha let out a small sighed as she stared at the last message that Sowon left to her before she went to the bed.

‘Talk to you tomorrow! Sweet dream!’

Gently Eunha the writing as the shouting coming from the downstairs getting louder and louder.

She briefly wonders if Sowon and her will have a different story from her parents.

XXX

Eunha was in her third year of middle school when she finally writes back at Sowon.

It was almost midnight and yet Sowon hasn’t write nor doodling to her which is weird as the older girl usually talks to her around 8 PM every single day.

Eunha stared at her clean left wrist, is Sowon finally getting bored with her ‘muteness’ and decide she wasn’t worth the effort or is she-

A tingling feeling that coming from her left wrist jolted Eunha out from her thought as she eagerly watched the words that formed on her wrist.

‘I’m sorry… today is just a really bad day and I don’t know what to say to you’

Eunha frowned. She never sees Sowon wrote like this before, the writing is shaky and the older girl sounds so sad and dejected.

‘My classmate told me that I am a bother, that I shouldn’t even-‘

A pause and Eunha wants to kick Sowon’s classmates because of what they told the older girl. How can someone say those words towards Sowon when she is nothing but a sweet and kind person who never complains about her ‘muteness’ and keep trying to reach out for her every single day?

‘Hey, am I a bothered to you?’

Eunha bites her lips and before she could regret her action, she grabs her purple ink pen, and finally after years of silence, write ‘Never’.

The response came late, probably because Sowon was too shocked that Eunha finally writes to her however when Sowon finally writes back to her, Eunha could feel nothing but the rawness of Sowon’s true feeling as she read those two words.

‘Thank you.’

XXX

Ever since that day, Eunha started to occasionally write back towards Sowon, a change that Sowon welcomed with so much of happiness and warmness.

Sowon never, not even once, asked her why she never writes to her before and stays in silence for years (which Eunha grateful for as she was not ready to tell her about her family situation or about how she hates the idea of soulmates although she finds Sowon is nice). Instead, she keeps telling Eunha about how her day went and sometimes asked Eunha about her day which usually she replies with just a few words or a doodle-like sun when she had a happy day or rain when she had a bad or gloomy day.

‘You know, it’s been a few weeks since you finally started to talk to me, but I never learned your name until now. Do you mind telling me?’

Eunha let out a small chuckled as she replied, ‘Eunha, my name is Jung Eunha.’

‘Your name means Galaxy?’

‘Yes.’

‘Wow, I can’t believe our name is so similar,’

Eunha tilting her head in confusion.

‘Similar to how?’

‘My name means wish and your galaxy, we are related to stars. Because you know, stars are in the galaxy and ever heard wishing upon the stars/shooting stars?’

Eunha chuckled, ‘Stop being silly’

The reply was an instant one.

‘You like it when I am being silly’

XXX

‘Are you a magician?’

‘No.’

‘Really? Because whenever I look at you, everyone else disappears!’

‘Sowon, you haven’t looked at my face.’

‘Then every time I write to you everyone else disappears?’

‘No.’

XXX

‘Are you a parking ticket? Because you’ve got fine written all over you.’

‘I refuse to become an object, and besides, I don’t have that writing on me.’

‘Well, I could try?’

‘Don’t you dare.’

XXX

‘Is your dad a terrorist?’

‘Sowon, no.’

‘Because you’re the bomb!’

‘….’

XXX

‘If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?’

Eunha laughed hard before she shakily replied with, ‘That is a terrible one.’

‘You laugh so I consider it as a successful one.’

Eunha shook her head as Sowon write another message.

‘Admit it, Eunha. You do like me being silly.’

Eunha smiled and replied, ‘Maybe.’

XXX

The shout that coming from the downstairs was the loudest that Eunha ever heard since she could remember, well that is given remembering how her mom walked in when her dad brought his mistress home.

Eunha buried her face on her pillow as she covered herself with her thick blanket, a poor attempt to conceal the shouting.

The tingling sensation that coming from her hand made Eunha looked up from her pillow towards it.

‘I almost get food poisoning from tasting Yerin’s cooking today, she is a decent cook but apparently when she is distracted by the thoughts from her soulmate, she is a terrible cook’

And despite everything, Eunha found herself let out a small weak chuckled.

‘You are a decent cook, right? Well if not it’s okay, because I am, so don’t worry about it’

Gently Eunha holds her left hand and brought it closer towards her chest, hugging it tightly.

For her soulmate is a shackle, an obligation.

However, she couldn’t deny that she – towards Sowon…

Tears fell from her eye towards her already wet pillow.

Is this how soulmate work?

Are her feelings towards Sowon is genuinely hers or is it just something that she feels because Sowon is her soulmate?

When they grow old, will she and Sowon become like her parents?

Will their days fill with nothing but shouting and fighting and regret from meeting each other?

Eunha closed her eyes.

She wished that someone could answer her question.

XXX

“You should tell her,” Yuju said as she put her chopstick on the table and looked at Eunha who barely eating her lunch ever since she talked about her worries about Sowon and soulmates.

Eunha met Yuju for the first time at the entrance ceremony in Source High School and it didn’t take long for them to become close.

Yuju, unlike Eunha, was full of nothing but hope and dreams about soulmates and that is why Eunha decided to ask her for advice because she needs to see it from other people's perspectives, from someone who believes with their whole heart about soulmates.

Eunha let out a sighed as she finally stopped playing with her food and looked up at Yuju, “I don’t know Yuju, I-”

“Eunha,” Yuju softly said as a small smiled latched on her face, “About what you just tell me, I don’t think I can give you an answer, not because I don’t want to but because all of that is something that you should discuss together with your soulmate and not me as by at the end of the day it will impact both of you.”

“But-“ Eunha looked away, she clenched her hands in tight fists, “What if she hates me for having those thoughts soulmates? What if she hates me because I-“

Yuju put her hand on Eunha’s, “She won’t,”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because she didn’t hate you even after you ignore her for years,” Yuju said with a smiled and Eunha blinked in surprise.

That’s right, Sowon never hates her. Even after years of talking in silence, she never not even once complained to her.

“You need to believe in your soulmate more Eunha,” Yuju said as she squeezes Eunha’s hand gently, “Don’t you think she at least deserves that?”

Eunha smiled.

Yuju is right, Sowon deserves her trust and explanation.

In fact, Sowon deserves so much than Eunha could ever give her.

XXX

That night Eunha laid everything to Sowon, about her insecurity, about her thoughts about soulmate and about how her parents’ situation is the one that made her think like that.

Eunha’s handwriting is shaky, barely readable, often didn’t make any sense and sometimes Eunha stops writing for a few minutes, gathering her thoughts in silence and yet Sowon being the gentle person she is didn’t say anything, instead she drew a small rabbit every time Eunha stop writing to show Eunha that she is there, listening to her.

‘I’m sorry…’ Eunha wrote when she finally was done telling Sowon everything.

‘For what?’

For ignoring you, for having these thoughts, for not being a good soulmate.

‘For everything,’ Eunha writes instead.

‘Eunha,’ Sowon writes, ‘Don’t be.’

Eunha stared at the word in disbelief.

‘Thank you for telling me this.’ Sowon added.

‘You should be angry at me…’ Eunha wrote back with a shaky hand, ‘Why…?’

‘Why should I be angry at you? Eunha, you deserve to have your own opinion, and besides even with everything, even when you hate the idea of soulmates, you still listen to me rambling every day for years.’ Sowon replied, ‘And that is enough for me.’

Eunha's tears fell.

She didn’t deserve Sowon to be her soulmates.

‘About us being like your parents, I don’t think you need to worry,’

‘Why?’

‘Because we are not them, which means when we are facing the same problem with them, we will act differently from they are.’

‘How can you be so sure? I am their daughter, what if I make the same decision with them? What if I hurt you? What if you regret having me as your soulmates?’

‘Eunha, I will never regret having you as my soulmate.’

‘Even after everything that I did to you?’

‘Even after everything, I never regret it.’ Sowon underlying the never regret part, ‘And don’t worry about you making the wrong decision or same action with your parent because unlike them you have me by your side.’

Eunha bites her lips, ‘Why are you so kind to me? Is it because I am your soulmate?’

Sowon replied was instant.

‘No.’

‘Then why?’

‘Because I love you. And while I can’t deny the fact that having you as my soulmate playing a big part in helping me to fall in love with you, I can say with confidence that my feelings for you are genuine and not affected by the soulmate thing.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘Because I didn’t fall in love with you when I know you are my soulmate, instead I fall in love with you because how we spend our time together, because how you act, because how you react at my stories. Because you are you, Eunha, and I love you for that.’

That night Eunha fell asleep with tears stained face however the smile on her face shows how happy she was as she sleeps while holding her left hand close to her chest.

XXX

“Judging from the smile on your face, the talk went great?” Yuju asked with a teasing smile as she looked at Eunha.

They were walking towards their school cafeteria and yet not even once Eunha looked away from her hand and a small fixed on her face.

“Shut up,” Eunha mumbled, her smile however didn’t falter as she keeps staring at her left hand and that alone made Yuju let out a small laughed.

“Okay, okay but eyes on the road Eunha or you will accidentally bump into someone,“

Eunha opened , ready to retort that she is fine and how she already master walking while reading move when she – just like Yuju said – bump into someone.

Hard.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” she could hear the person she hit apologize as she holds Eunha’s hand.

“No, I’m-“ whatever the apology that was about to left Eunha’s mouth stopped as Eunha stared at the hand that held hers.

There, right on the wrist were words in familiar handwriting with a purple ink pen that Eunha could never mistaken.

Slowly, Eunha looked up and her breath hitched.

The girl in front of her was the epitome of beauty, with a pair of beautiful dark brown eyes, perfectly shaped eyebrows and beautiful pink lips. Eunha never saw anyone as beautiful as the person in front of her.

“Are you okay?” the girl asked, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Eunha smiled, “I’m okay, thank you Sowon.”

Sowon blinked in surprise, “Wait how did you-“

Eunha showed her left hand towards Sowon were purple ink words that said ‘I love you too,’ just like the one on Sowon’s wrist was on.

Sowon eyes widened as she shakily, almost breathlessly asked, “Jung Eunha?”

Eunha smiled went wider, “Nice to meet you, Kim Sowon.”

A/N: Hello! I hope you guys like this fic and thank you so much for reading it! I can't lie that my mind was not on the right place for a past few weeks but now I feel a bit better and I want to get back on my writing so yeah, I hope you guys will enjoy this! Once again thank you for reading!

PS: I hope you like this Soulmate AU that I promise to you~