Chapter 2.

Despite what his friends said, Donghae wouldn't call it harassment.

That was such a wrong word! He would rather say he was being friendly and trying to create some convivial relationship with the red haired teen. The fact that he called Eunhyuk on his phone about five or six times a day couldn't possibly be defined as harassment, right?

Strangely enough, during the first days, the red-head always seemed to get angry and annoyed. He kept snarling through the phone, his voice cold and stern, telling Donghae that he was crazy, ordering the brunet to leave him alone, explaining him with short cussing sentences how irritating he was.

Donghae learned a lot of new words.



After three days, seeing that the brunet kept calling him several times a day, Eunhyuk seemed to become even more upset. The threats began.

I'll kick your !

I'll beat you so hard even your mom won't recognize you!

I swear if you don't stop, I'm gonna hunt you down and kill you with my own hands!

Those kind of threats, Donghae simply shrugged them off.
Of course, he wouldn't have acted so carelessly if he had been face to face with the red-head. The guy was still scaring him and he couldn't forget how his black eyes were as sharp as knives. The teen was fierce and violent, he knew it, but he wasn't so scared when he was talking to him through the phone. Despite the harsh words, he couldn't feel he was in real danger.

When he told his friends about the situation, they said he was a fool. But Donghae just didn't care and kept calling the other, stubborn as ever. The conversations never lasted more than a minute and Eunhyuk would only scold him before hanging up, leaving him very unsatisfied.   



On the fifth day, Eunhyuk simply stopped answering, which only made Donghae even more frustrated. The brunet started to leave voicemails. A lot of them. To the point that, after less than a day, Eunhyuk's phone had been switched off.

Only then did Donghae realize that he wasn't using the right technique. He needed to find a better way, a smoother one. Eunhyuk obviously was hard to tame and he would have to take things slowly, even though he was impatient by nature.

Sprawled all over his bed, he kept thinking about it, torturing his brain but never finding a solution to his problem. In the end, we told his friends to meet with him at their usual basketball playground and once there he begged them to give him some advices.

"Give him some space", Hangeng calmly told him. "Just for a few days, don't try to call him."

Donghae nodded, pouting, and pulled the phone back into his pocket.

"Just be patient", his Chinese friend added and patted his shoulder.
 
Hangeng was the most supportive about the whole thing. He didn't approve openly, but he didn't disapprove either. He gave him advices when the brunet was seeking for some, and scolded him when he was obviously going too far. After all, everyone knew how Donghae could get a bit carried on when he was excited about something.

"Don't encourage him."

Siwon on the contrary always tried to convince Donghae to give up, telling him that Eunhyuk didn't look like a respectable kid, but more like a delinquent. Donghae couldn't deny his friend was right, Eunhyuk indeed looked like some kind of rebellious teen, but he refused to admit it out loud. Delinquent or not, a soul-mate was a soul-mate.

"Why shouldn't he support me in my quest to catch my soul-mate?" Donghae pouted at his tall friend. The latter sighed and ruffled Donghae's brown locks.

"We're just trying to protect you, Hae", Sungmin muttered, tightening his grip on Donghae's hand. The usually cheerful teen seemed to be the most worried about the situation. "Don't give it too much hope", he repeated once more. "Even if he has your name engraved on his skin, it doesn't mean it is your name. It could be another Lee Donghae."

But Donghae had decided that it was his name and that fate had brought him to meet Eunhyuk.

"And even if it is really your name", Sungmin added, his soft voice trying to soothe Donghae's overwhelmed spirit. "That doesn't mean his name will show up on your body. You know I'm right. Maybe he has your name engraved on his skin, but you could have someone else's name. He would love you but you'd be destined to someone else. A one sided love. It happens all the time, that's why people stopped looking for their mates. Love isn't that easy, Hae, most of the time it hurts."

"I know what I'm doing. You'll see", Donghae only replied, like he always did, and shrugged it off, not taking those words seriously.

He missed to see his friends worried expressions. None of them insisted though. The discussion was closed, they knew it. They couldn't reason the stubborn brunet. And so, Hangeng changed the subject, offering them to play some game. Siwon quickly accepted, Donghae and Sungmin as well, and the tension disappeared.

They played basketball for hours. Just being together was enough for them to have fun and forget about everything else. Donghae even managed to push Eunhyuk in a corner of his mind for a while, until their parents called them and told them to get back home for dinner.

They left the playground and walked together for a couple minutes, until Hangeng went his own way. Siwon did the same a few minutes later and Donghae found himself walking back home with Sungmin.

His friend stayed with him until they got in front of Donghae's house. They chatted a few more minutes but Sungmin quickly bid goodbye to his friend when his phone started ringing again, sign that his parents were getting impatient.

Donghae smiled and entered his own house, his fingers playing with his phone. His mind was slowly focusing back on Eunhyuk and he had to fight his urge to try and call the red-head again.

Patience, he repeated to himself as he walked into the kitchen and offered his mother some help to prepare dinner.

That evening, Donghae told his parents about Eunhyuk. He told them how they had met and how sure he was that the elder teen was his mate. They asked about the boy, he gladly depicted Eunhyuk's good looks to them, yet being careful not to give too much details about the red-head. He simply described Eunhyuk's physical features and didn't mention the piercings, the died hair and the torn clothes.

His father didn't say much, though Donghae knew he wasn't too happy about his son's obsession over the 'soul-mate hunt'. On the other side, his mother got really excited and immediately asked when she would be able to meet him.
Donghae managed to calm her down and told them to be patient. He lied, saying that they were still getting to know each other.

"I'll bring him home soon, don't worry", he beamed at them.

Eunhyuk was just not yet informed about it.

 

Donghae lasted less than a day before he tried to call Eunhyuk again.
Of course, the red-head didn't take the call and Donghae had to hang up, a deep out on his lips. He rolled over on his bed, ruffling his blue and orange pajama in the process, and whined loudly. He kept rolling on himself back and forth for a minute, until he stopped and laid on his back. He stared at the ceiling, puffing his cheeks and frowning furiously.

Things weren't going as planned and he disliked it.

Why was Eunhyuk not replying? Why was he ignoring him? They were meant to fall in love with each other, it was not like Eunhyuk had a choice! Why was he even putting a fight? He was supposed to get hypnotized by Donghae's beauty and cuteness and goddamn fall in love with him! Was it that hard?!

He sighed and narrowed his eyes. His determination was only ignited by the red-head's behavior. He wasn't going to give up that easily. He just needed help, and he knew who would provide him some.

He took back his phone and dialed Heechul's number, before he brought the item to his ear. The elder's voice soon echoed through the device, cheerful and loud.

"Hey Donghae! I thought you had forgotten about me!"

"Hello Hyung", the brunet grinned, happy to hear the other talking to him so casually. "Of course I didn't forget about you!"

"I heard you're giving a hard time to Hyuk", the elder laughed heartily. "The poor boy has been a bundle of nerves for days now. I think he's going to blow anytime soon, and that's not going to be a nice sight. I hope he won't end up in jail again."

Donghae's eyes widened.

"He's been in jail?" he exclaimed, his voice going high pitched.

"Yeah, he's beaten up some guys before, he was sent to a juvenile detention center for two months."

"Oh..."

That should have discouraged and dispirited the brunet, hearing such things. Eunhyuk seemed even more dangerous now, like a wild beast ready to attack, a stray dog showing off his teeth and growling menacingly. But of course, Donghae being Donghae, it only fired up his grim determination.
 
I need to be extra-careful, Donghae decided, nodding to himself.

"Are you scared?"

"A bit", the younger admitted. "Is he going to beat me up?"

"He could, I can't guarantee he won't hurt you. Nobody can control Eunhyuk, not even me. I really can't understand what's going on in that monkey's brain."

"But you will protect me, right?" the brunet cutely muttered, using a childish tone to lure the elder one.

Heechul laughed again, louder.

"Ah! You're funny kid!" he chuckled after a while, still laughing. "Okay, I'll protect you", he added, making Donghae grin in victory. "Kyu will help you too. That sneaky bastard has bet a lot of money on you."

"Hyung, what should I do?" Donghae asked, rolling his body on his side, bringing his legs to his chest. "Eunhyuk doesn't answer the phone anymore..."

"You should go more slowly", the other replied. "I know you want to get close to him fast, but that's not going to happen. He doesn't let anyone approach him that easily."

"Why?"

Heechul remained silent for a few seconds, until he spoke again, his voice more serious.

"There are many reasons, but I could just say that Hyuk isn't a happy person, and he tends to blame everybody on earth for it."

"Why isn't he happy?" Donghae frowned, his lower slightly jutting out.

"You will have to get those answers from him, Hae. Just don't be too fast. Give him time to get used to your presence. Don't give up, it may take a lot of time."

"Yes", the brunet nodded. "I will do my best."

"I know you will", the elder replied, and something in his voice seemed different than his usual cheerfulness. It sounded like a mixture of hope and softness.

"But what should I do? How can I get close to him if he doesn't pick up?"

"Send him texts."

"Texts?" Donghae repeated, tilting his head.

"Yeah, send him small texts. Not too much. Like, one in the morning to say hello, and one in the evening, before going to bed, to say goodnight. Start with that."

"Okay", the brunet nodded, not sure how that would work but Heechul had said so, and he knew Eunhyuk better than him, so he was going to listen to his advice.

"Remember Hae. Be patient. It will take time."

"Yes, thank you Hyung!" the younger grinned widely. "Tell him I called you and I won't phone him anymore."

"Okay, I will do that", the other chuckled, clearly amused.

"Also, tell him I'm still his soul-mate and he needs to fall in love with me quickly!"

"Hahaha! Hae, you're too cute to be real!" Heechul started laughing again. "Seriously, who could resist you?"

"No one!" Donghae giggled, a wide and childish smile spread over his face.



But obviously, Eunhyuk could.

Donghae did as he was told. He didn't call anymore. He only sent a message in the morning and one in the evening (and sometimes one in the middle of the day, but he tried really hard not to that too much). For a whole week, he did so and yet received no reply from the other.

Luckily, school had started again and he could distract himself from the red-head for a few hours, when he had to focus on his lessons and when his friends were around. Yet, most of the time, his head was filled with Eunhyuk. Days were running and Eunhyuk took more and more place into his mind, like a sweet poison of obsession.



Patience, he told himself as he was lying in his bed after another day of school.

    To: Potential mate.
    I had a B in Korean class today! :D Did you have a nice day? Good night :*

"Hehehe", he giggled, blushing as he re-read his message. He waited a few minutes, staring at the screen of his phone, but no answer came that time either.

Patience, he repeated to himself and closed his eyes, a small smile tugging his lips.


 

It had been two weeks. Donghae was getting desperate. He kept going to school but would spent the rest of his time in his room, eyes glued to his phone. He was hoping so hard that Eunhyuk would reply or call him, but the red-head never showed a sign of life.

Donghae had managed not to call him, but it was getting harder every day.
Why did it have to be so difficult? Fate had worked to make them meet, why couldn't Eunhyuk understand that? Didn't he care? How could he not even give them a chance?

Donghae started to wonder if he should find another strategy. Heechul's one wasn't working at all and it was driving him insane. He needed to think about something better, something really smart, to make the red haired teen fall into his nets.

Maybe Kyuhyun could help? He seemed ingenious and witty.

"Donghae, can you go out and buy some carrots for me?" his mother suddenly called him from the kitchen, her voice clear as no doors between them were locked.

He sat up on his bed, pouting. "Alone?!" he replied, raising his voice to be heard through the house.

He hated to go somewhere alone. Being alone scared him.

"Please, your dad will be home in an hour and I'm in the middle of cooking!"

The brunet sighed and got up. He walked out of his room and went straight to the kitchen, where he found his mother cutting vegetables.

"What if I get kidnapped on the way?" he whined, pouting deeply, giving her the puppy eyes.

"Oh, sweet-heart", sh