soulmate time

"are you close friends with that colleague of yours?" joohyun hears seulgi ask as they drive away from the building.

"we're close... yeah. why?"

"well... can i..." seulgi scrunches up her face. "can i say i don't like her?"

joohyun finds it amusing but tries not to laugh. "of course you can. may i know why?"

"i don't know. she seems protective of you. and she's looking at me like i'm a bad person who's taking you away from her."

at this, joohyun finally laughs.

"i'm trying to be honest here, and you're just laughing at me? i can't believe you." seulgi shakes her head.

"seungwan's just curious of whom i am meeting up with."

"why would she be curious about that?"

"because she knows i'm meeting up with my soulmate, and she wants to see you."

"what?" seulgi whips her head to joohyun. "how did she know?"

"well. the thing is... she's actually my ex."

"what!"

"she's the one i was with when we met in that resort."

"what!"

"she broke up with me because she thought i was cheating on her when she heard me say your name one time while i was sleeping."

"what! but how? we didn't exchange names."

"remember we had breakfast in serene coffee house before? i saw your name printed on the receipt as the card payer after you left."

"whaaat." seulgi bites her fingers. "what if i am saying your name too in my sleep and eunae hears it?"

"it may have only happened because we ignored each other before," joohyun says. "and you don't need to worry because you never got my name, remember? you only had an alias. if there's a name you'll be saying in your sleep, it's irene and not joohyun. you're lucky that's a character in your comics."

seulgi nods, looking relieved.

"also, i think that me mentioning your name in my sleep only occurred a year after we met. seungwan and i were steady for another year before it happened. it may be connected to me longing to see you again."

"awe. aren't you sweet?" seulgi smirks, to which joohyun responds with an eye-roll. "if you had my name from before, then why didn't you look for me?"

"how am i supposed to know you're using seulgom on your accounts and not your real name?"

"ah. right." seulgi scratches her head. "i'm sorry for ruining your relationship."

"it's okay. it's not your fault. if there's anyone to blame, it's the spirits."

"don't your ex despise me?"

"she did at first because she thought i was cheating on her with you," joohyun says. "it left me with no choice but to explain everything to her. it was an amicable break up after she understood."

"now i know why i felt something weird when i saw her." seulgi beats her fist lightly into the steering wheel. "i can't explain it, but it's like i can sense she's a threat for whatever reason."

joohyun laughs. "a threat? are you serious?"

"yeah. it feels like something within me has been activated--like a built-in soulmate radar, you know. i felt there is something with that seungwan. it didn't make sense until you mentioned she's your ex." seulgi glances at joohyun. "haven't you felt that way towards eunae before?"

"i did," joohyun admits. "but your wife is my client, and she's nice, so i can't do anything about it."

"so, that radar thing works for both of us, huh..." seulgi whispers it more to herself, before she shifts into her normal voice. "but if you and your ex still love each other, why did you continue with breaking up?"

joohyun looks away and smiles. "i don't think i should be answering that question."

"what? why?"

"because it may or may not be related to you."

seulgi turns to her, blinking.

"seulgi. road." joohyun playfully pushes her soulmate's cheek with her finger to make her look back to the road.

"ah. yeah." seulgi scratches her head again. "well. i would still love to hear it."

"you sure?"

"yeah. i may or may not be involved after all, right?"

joohyun chuckles. "guess you're right. but on one condition. no comments. just listen. once i stop talking, it's the end of discussion. and you shouldn't feel obligated or burdened by it, okay?"

"what do you mean?"

"let's call it 'soulmate time'." joohyun quotes with her fingers. "each one of us gets one chance daily to voice any soulmate-related thoughts. it's like our way of releasing it out instead of bottling it inside. the listener, however, isn't permitted to comment or ask any questions. and as i've said, no one should feel responsible or obligated after hearing it."

"soulmate time. once a day. not obligated." seulgi nods. "yeah. sure. i'm okay with that. bring it on."

"okay." joohyun leans back and relaxes, taking in breaths to ready herself. "that's the safest we can do, you know, if we really want to try and be friends."

"agreed." seulgi raises a thumb. "so, again, why did you break up?"

joohyun folds her arms across her chest. "i guess i felt unsure of not just seungwan, but of any romantic relationships in general after i met you." seulgi was about to raise an eyebrow, but joohyun continues her story. "don't get me wrong. i was a non-believer before, and i was sure i am in love with seungwan. that's the reason i didn't give you any clues about myself when we first met.

"but after we met and ignored each other, i can't stop thinking about you. i keep dreaming about you. i was never the same after," joohyun continues. "it felt empty inside, like something's missing. so, i tried looking for that missing piece in seungwan, hoping she could fill it in. but she cannot. it frustrated me. i became demanding, unreasonable. i don't know. i kind of messed us up even before we broke up.

"then came that night when she heard me say your name," joohyun adds. "after a long explanation from me, we realized that no matter how much we try, it's never going to work out for us. we're not soulmates. and as much as i want to believe her undying love for me, i know it won't be the same once she meets hers. i know, because i've met mine. i don't want to tie her up in a relationship with me only to find her soulmate later on. that's going to be unfair for the both of us."

seulgi remains silent, but joohyun notices how the other woman keeps swallowing a lump in .

"we still care about each other and still keep looking out for each other," joohyun admits, eyes far away. "things may have been sort of casual between us since the breakup, but we both think we're better off as friends."

seulgi looks at joohyun, eyes wide.

"no reaction," joohyun reminds, and seulgi turns back to the road. "so, yeah, that's the reason she's excited to meet you earlier."

seulgi nods. "end?"

"yup. no reaction, okay?"

"sure. can i have my soulmate time now?"

"yeah. of course." joohyun shifts her position, so she's facing seulgi. "but it shouldn't be related to what i said, okay?"

"yeah. there's no way it's related to that. i wanted to say it earlier, but the threat was there. i got distracted."

joohyun chuckles. "are you seriously threatened by seungwan?"

seulgi just shrugs. "and you said this soulmate time thing is our way of venting things out instead of bottling it in, right?"

"yup. you got that right. so, what do you want to say? make it count because you only have one chance per day."

"sure." seulgi smiles, a sly one. "i just want to say you look gorgeous today."

knowing she can't react, joohyun shifts away from seulgi's direction to look out the window, blushing and silently cursing herself for coming up with that soulmate time idea.