“Do you believe in soulmates?” The female lead on a TV drama asked the male lead.

“Such thing doesn’t exist.” He scoffed cockily, yet his eyes fluttered at her pout.

Of course he didn’t, not at first. That’s when the female lead came in, swept him off his feet and showed him what a true soulmate was like. It was so silly when he started doing crazy things just to catch her attention. They looked so beautiful and so well-fitted together that made teenage Dahyun dream of her future soulmate. This was the first time this concept of soulmate was introduced to her and she already let her imagination run wild. Was he going to be as handsome and wealthy as the male lead? Was he going to show up at her school with his luxurious car that made all the heads turn? Would he try everything to support her like helping her sell porridge at her part-time job? She giggled, pulling the plushie in her arms and dreaming of her soulmate.

 

Later on, she found out that her soulmate wouldn’t be a man but a woman instead. Yet her stance on soulmates didn’t change. She imagined a music number, a flashmob, or a grand romantic gesture to confess their love to her. Or maybe it didn’t have to be anything public. It could just be interlocking their pinkies at the back of the class, an arm over her shoulder in the dark of the cinema, and sweet lady kisses in the privacy of their room. What could she say? She’s a romantic at heart, and those movies were so good at painting the perfect picture of a soulmate.

 

She didn’t get to experience that, training had taken the majority of her free time and thoughts. All her free time left was spent worrying about the next assessment, how to sneak food in without being caught, and of course, her chance to debut. In the utterly rare breather between the chaos of reality survival show and debut preparation, all she could do was look up at the stars and pray for the best to come. She was too busy to think about soulmate.

 

***

 

“Do you believe in soulmates?”

The question circled back a year after their debut, when the members were huddling together in the small common space of their dorm. A rare free evening that they decided to spend together. It was Nayeon who raised it, eyes twinkled with curiosity as she glaze her eyes over other members. Some were tired, but almost everyone perked up at the question. After all, they were all in the ages that were prone to gush about crushes and love.

“Jeez, how old are you? Twelve? It’s so silly.” Jeongyeon laughed, earning a pout and a huff from the oldest.

“You are a killjoy.” Nayeon quipped, bringing her big hand up to cover Jeongyeon’s face, pushing her out of the circle.

“I didn’t kill Joy, Irene would murder me if I did.” Jeongyeon hollered, rolling out to avoid the oldest’s hand. “I only want to kill y…”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

Nayeon lurched forward, attacking Jeongyeon, and Jihyo groaned, before pushing both of them out.

 

“I do believe in soulmates. Isn’t it romantic? There is someone out there, sharing a part of your soul.”

Momo sighed dreamily, leaning her head on Sana’s shoulder. Her brown curls cascaded down, almost matching Sana’s slightly lighter tone. The other Japanese girl giggled adorably, nudging her shoulder.

“Do you have eyes on someone, Momoring?”

Momo hid her face in the chocolate brown curls from shyness, and the other girls jumped on this opportunity to like a shiver of sharks smelling blood from afar. Even Nayeon and Jeongyeon ceased their fight to bombard the poor girl with tons of questions. How Dahyun loved their bonding time!

Before she could tease Momo, honey brown eyes found her and words died on her lips. Something different flashed in those eyes – or was it a trick of light – that Dahyun’d never seen before, stronger than the usual look the other members gave her, yet more tender than the teasing gaze. It made her stomach jolted up and rendered her speechless even when the gaze was no longer on her. Dahyun went to bed that night, a tune played softly at the back of her mind. She dreamt of honey brown eyes.

 

***

 

“How do you know when you find your soulmate?”

Chaeyoung asked out of the blue, while they were chilling in their dorm room. Dahyun was reading a book about a German girl who loved books so much she stole some to read, Chaeyoung was doodling something on her sketchbook, which looks like lots of faces, and Tzuyu was writing a journal on her desk. The oldest of the trio put the bookmark between the pages before closing her book to give Chaeyoung her full attention.

“You didn’t even question the probability of soulmate theory.”

“Hmm. Should I?” Chaeyoung tilted her head to the side, chewing the end of her pencil. “Hey!”

Chaeyoung yelled indignantly when Tzuyu took the pencil from her grasp but immediately shut up seeing the scold on the youngest’s face. Jihyo had entrusted Tzuyu to keep Chaeyoung from this bad habit. Dahyun chuckled at the scene.

“I think one of the signs is that you start asking this exact question.”

“Not helping, unnie!” Chaeyoung whined.

Dahyun giggled, reaching out to ruffle the younger girl’s hair and squish her cheeks. She’s too cute. Of course Dahyun knew who was on Chaeyoung’s mind when she asked this question. Other members knew too, Dahyun thought, the lyrics of the song Chaeyoung wrote were so obvious.

“It just feels right, I guess. You are naturally drawn to that person, and there is a connection between you two that’s different than any other.”

Dahyun mused, leaning back into her chair. Her eyelids flutt