Seobin faced Chanyoung who stared him down, seeming to judge him before turning to let Seobin into the dorms. Seobin let his shoulders slump in relief before walking into the dorms, being greeted by the familiar sight of Allen who smiled at him in greeting and a sort of reassurance.

“Come on Seobin,” commanded Chanyoung before he walked passed Allen and down the hall into his room.

Seobin turned to look at Allen again after watching Chanyoung enter his room. “Is big- big brother okay?” He asked.

“He's fine,” reassured Allen as he nodded his head. “You'll be okay,” he added. “I'm here to stop anything, if anything happens,” he explained. 

Seobin nodded and walked passed Allen, going down the hall to the room he was sharing with Chanyoung.

~

Jeongwoo let out a soft sigh as he read the group chat. Seobin wasn't liking the fact that he was back in Allen's dorms as Chanyoung barely paid attention to him. Jeongwoo would offer to hang out with him but Jake had him run errands today with Seoho who needed to get some things for the house before he was called out by Jahan to go with him wherever he needed to go.

Jeongwoo: I can't hang out today

you know this Seobin

Seobin: I know

it

I wish you could come hang out

Niki: I'm in the middle of class right now

but I can hang out after that

Juho: I'm actually back at the dorms

I'll come get you

if you don't mind of course

Jeonggeun: I don't think Chanyoung would like that though

he's more protective of Seobin than usual

isn't he?

Juho: only when he's not in class

I saw him in the one class I have with him today

Jeongwoo: how'd that go?

“Come on, we're almost done,” reassured Seoho as he turned to Jeongwoo. “I know I'm boring but I can't be that bad right?” He asked.

Jeongwoo looked up from his phone, blinking in surprise at the question before shaking his head. He almost forgot that Seoho was even there, as he put his phone back in his pocket to pay more attention to his surroundings.

“I know I know, you're worrying about Seobin,” reassured Seoho. “Allen's keeping an eye on him okay?” He asked.

Jeongwoo nodded his head, knowing that it was easier to agree with Seoho than to try and argue with him. It wasn't Seobin he was worried about this time. Chanyoung was apparently giving off that vibe again, and it was only a matter of time before he snapped.

“Come on, we have a few more things to get,” reminded Seoho before they kept walking, heading to the next shop to get what they needed.

~

Niki, Seobin and Juho were hanging out after Niki got out of his class, the three of them hanging out at the cafe for the rest of the afternoon. Seobin had been getting restless in Allen's dorms and Woobin had dropped him off at the cafe after Seobin nearly threw a tantrum over being bored with nothing to do. It was then that Chanyoung finally let him go, seeing that Seobin would be around familiar people at least.

“Yeesh, you had to throw a tantrum huh?” Asked Juho as he sat in front of Seobin after getting their drinks.

“Big- big brother wouldn't let me go otherwise,” Seobin mumbled in explanation as he focused on coloring in his book. The facade was up, since they were in a more public space than the bridge and who knew who was listening in at this point.

“Well,” sighed Niki as he took a sip of his drink before setting it down. “I never got to ask, but what's your soulmate mark?” He asked, turning to Juho who blinked at the question.

“It's my soulmate's name,” responded Juho as he showed Niki, rolling up his shirt sleeve to show him the tattoo of his soulmate's name written on his bicep.

“Oh,” breathed out Niki as he looked surprised. “That's why you've been hanging out with us,” he remarked with a hum.

“Yep,” confirmed Juho as he nodded his head.

“What is it?” Asked Seobin as he looked up from his coloring to look at Juho.

“Is this your handwriting?” Asked Juho as he showed Seobin.

Seobin examined it, before grabbing a napkin and writing his name down to show Juho. “I think so,” he responded, letting Niki and Juho examine it and compare it to the one on Juho's arm.

“Can I see your name written down?” Asked Seobin as he looked curious.

“Where's yours at?” Asked Juho as he went to write down his name.

“It's- it's under my shirt,” mumbled Seobin, blushing in embarrassment. “But- but I know what it looks like, so um,” he stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse to not pull up his shirt.

“I'm not gonna make you take off your shirt, don't worry,” reassured Juho as he passed over the napkin with his name on it.

Seobin picked up the napkin, examining it closely as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “I think we're soulmates,” he remarked after remembering what his looked like. “Are you okay with being soulmates?” He asked, genuinely curious.

“Yep!” Responded Juho as he nodded his head. “You probably don't remember much of the time when we were kids but we used to be good friends then,” he explained. “Things have changed after your accident of course, but I would like to continue to be friends, if you're willing?” He asked.

“I don't remember much of my childhood to be fair,” grumbled Seobin as he looked down at his coloring book. “But if you're okay with it, then sure,” he added.

“Yeah, that's fine,” reassured Juho as he nodded. “We'll get through it, yeah?” He asked.

Seobin nodded.

~

Jeongwoo: I'm finally done

god damn that took too long

what'd I miss?

Seobin: Juho and I are soulmates!

Juho: we are

we also agreed to see where it went from here

so we'll start off as friends first

Niki: you okay over there?

Jeongwoo: everything's fine

I still hate the fact that I can't voice my thoughts out loud

luckily you guys can read me easily enough

plus we have this chat

Niki: don't go throwing a tantrum like Seobin did here

Seobin: it worked didn't it?

Juho: it may not work the next time

Jeongwoo: Jeonggeun read that message and started laughing

he says hi by the way

Niki: hey Jeonggeun!

Juho: hello Jeonggeun

Seobin: hi hi

also, do you think you'll find your soulmate while you're still here?

Jeongwoo: there's a possibility, but who knows

I do want to find them but there's a low chance

for them to be in Korea anyway

Niki: don't feel bad

I don't even know what my soulmate mark even IS

Juho: you'll figure it out, I'm sure

Seobin: yeah!

don't let your hopes get down

or however you say that saying

Jeongwoo: I could always ask one of the immortal folks to check on you

to make sure your soulmate isn't dead or anything

Jeonggeun: we could ask Jangjun, if he's still around

sorry I finally was able to check this chat on my phone

“Jeongwoo, it's time for dinner!” Jake called from the kitchen.

That caused Jeongwoo to put his phone in his pants pocket before getting up and walking into the kitchen from the livingroom.

Jeonggeun was still snickering from his spot at the kitchen island, reading the chat as it went on without Jeongwoo.

Jeongwoo sat down beside Jeonggeun as Jake placed down a pot of ramen for them to eat from, grabbing chopsticks and hanging them to Jeonggeun and Jeongwoo before digging in.

“How are you doing, Jeongwoo?” Asked Jake, ever so concerned for his brother. “I hope everything is good anyway,” he added.

Jeongwoo nodded his head, grinning at Jake who grinned back at him.

“Seungmin mentioned he was coming over soon,” commented Jake as he nodded his head. “Hyunjin is a bit busy otherwise he'd come over,” he added.

Jeongwoo blinked, looking surprised that Seungmin would visit.

“I know, we haven't seen him in a while,” sighed Jake as he shook his head. “But I couldn't exactly say no, you understand,” he added.

Jeongwoo nodded in understanding, not really bothered by Seungmin's visit. He hadn't seen their oldest brother in a few years by this point, so it was nice to finally see him again and catch up with each other.