Choong Jae buried his face into the pillow. He did not know what to do other than to lie there and waste his life away. It seemed all his previous strategies and plans had come to nothing. Choong Jae let out a low growl. So he was serious in ending their soul mate cycle. Yes…HE. Not SHE. Choong Jae’s soul mate was the same gender as Choong Jae. This was a first in all their lifetimes together...

 “Nice to meet you! My name is Park Choong Jae, please take care of me.” Choong Jae straightened his back and there – standing right in front of him – was the person whose soul he had longed for. As if they were the only two that matters in the entire universe, Choong Jae could only stare into the pair of eyes that were staring back at him. Choong Jae’s mind was thrown into chaos as he heart started pounding so fast that Choong Jae thought it was a miracle his chest remained intact. He had finally met the one, but his soul mate turned out to be a male!

Choong Jae only regained his senses of the surroundings when something black came between him and that pair of eyes. It took his confused mind some time to make out the black thing was actually the back of a head.

“Andy, are you alright?” The boy who had come between him and Andy (he assumed that was his soul mate’s name) asked. Choong Jae developed an instant aversion for that person.

“You two know each other?” The boy at his far right asked, trying to break the awkward atmosphere. Choong Jae sighed mentally. Since his view of Andy was still blocked by that annoying head, he turned to the boy who had spoken to him.

“He looked like someone I know.” The boy smiled at Choong Jae’s answer. Choong Jae recognized he was the good-looking one who smiled at him the day before.

The boy placed his hand on Choong Jae’s back. “Let me show you to your room.” They went into one of the room. “You will be sharing this room with Minwoo.” Choong Jae prayed silently that Minwoo was not that annoying head as he managed a "thank you" to the boy.

The boy offered his hand for a handshake. Choong Jae, still in his confused state, took it. “Nice to meet you, I am Kim Dongwan.” Dongwan did live up to Choong Jae’s first impression of him. He was indeed friendly. Dongwan continued, “I noticed you might have missed our introduction earlier, given your reaction when you see our maknae…wait a moment, which year you were born in?”

“1980.”

“Okay. So Andy is still our maknae. He is a 1981 baby. The rest of us are born in 1979.” Dongwan good-naturedly informed Choong Jae. “Back to what I was saying. The tall one to your left…”Dongwan paused, narrowing his eyes. “Woah, you are tall. Okay, the one about your height on your far left is Eric Mun. He is our leader. Beside him was Shin Hyesung. His real name is Jung Pilkyo. Andy you already know. Then it is Minwoo, the one you will be sharing room with. And last but not least, it’s Shinhwa’s witty guy. That’s me.”

Choong Jae nodded and thanked Dongwan again. He really appreciated Dongwan’s presence in the dorm. The older boy patted Choong Jae’s back encouragingly. “I know it is hard leaving home and bunking in with a bunch of strangers. But they are fun people. You will get to like them.” The scene where the group tried to sneaked out of practice the day before replayed in Choong Jae’s mind. At least these people seemed more lively then the rest of SM Entertainment. Choong Jae nodded again. Dongwan left him shortly, giving him time to unpack while Dongwan went to speak to their manager.

There was not much furniture in the room. At one side of the room was a row of wardrobes. There was a desk near the wardrobes with a table lamp and a pile of books stacked untidily on it. In the middle of the room lay a mattress and blankets sprawl untidily over it. Another mattress leaned against the wall opposite to where the wardrobes were.

After unpacking, Choong Jae laid the second mattress onto the floor. He found an extra pillow in the wardrobe and he presumed it was for him. He lay onto the mattress and buried face in the pillow….

After what seemed like forever, Choong Jae finally sat up. He could not be like this. He could not let the rest of the members think he was unfriendly and uncooperative. He needed Shinhwa to work out. He needed a new plan. He was now Junjin after all. Nothing should be able to stop him. From the way Andy looked at him, he knew his soul mate had recognized him. It should not be that difficult. The boy was supposed to love him! Moreover, Choong Jae believed Andy do not remember their imperfect past lives.

Choong Jae dragged his body out of the room. There was no sign of Andy in the living room. Dongwan and two other boys were there playing cards. Even after Dongwan’s introduction, Choong Jae could not match the names to the person. His senses had only taken in Andy earlier.

“Choong Jae, wanna join us?” Dongwan asked, waving at him.

“Okay.” Choong Jae smiled. He noted the other two boys were not friendly like Dongwan. The one on his left (most probably a foreigner Choong Jae thought, a handsome foreigner) watched him intently, making him uneasy. The other one did not even bother looking at him.

When he sat down, the handsome foreigner spoke. “I don’t know what was it between you and Andy, but I hope you will put whatever it was behind you. Don’t bring Andy any more trouble. I thought it was pretty unfair the manager told him off earlier since I know Andy would never be the one to start any feud.”

“What?! The manager told him off?” Choong Jae asked, shock and guilty. His felt his heart clenched at the knowledge of Andy being scolded because of him. Sorry Andy, sorry. He had once again managed to hurt his soul mate without meaning to. Andy should never come to any harm, much less because of him.

The handsome foreigner softened a little, most probably after detecting Choong Jae’s earlier reaction towards Andy was not because of animosity.  “The manager warned him not to create any trouble or get into any fights with the members. Anyway, I’m Eric Mun. Welcome to the dorm Choong Jae.”

“Thanks Eric hyung.” Choong Jae smiled. Eric Mun…He must be that annoying head earlier. It was not Choong Jae’s nature to dislike a person. Now that his mind was clearer than before, he realized he did not dislike Eric Mun. But he had to admit jealousy was one of his feelings towards the leader at the moment. Choong Jae wished he could be in Eric Mun’s position taking care of Andy.

“Hi, I’m Hyesung.” The other boy said. Choong Jae noticed the blush on his cheeks. So he was just a shy guy, unlike what Choong Jae thought earlier. Hyesung had a small face and sharp chin.  Choong Jae thought he looked like a female. Out of nowhere, Dongwan started laughing.

“Choong Jae, don’t be deceived by this guy’s look.” Dongwan smacked Hyesung’s back. Choong Jae gaped. Did Dongwan just hit the seemingly harmless and gentle Hyesung? But before Choong Jae could blink, Dongwan was already being pinned to the floor. Dongwan was still laughing. “See what I meant? He is a black belt taekwondo master!” Choong Jae made a mental note never to offend Hyesung hyung.

After a game or two, Choong Jae had to excuse himself to the toilet. He saw the trio exchanging glances but did not take it to mind.

If Choong Jae thought that he already had his share of surprises for the day (ending up in the same band with his soul mate and finding out he was a male), he was so damn wrong. When he stepped into the bathroom, he saw two males in the shower. He immediately turned away and wanted to exit the bathroom. “I’m so sor…” But before he could step out or finished what he was saying, he realized one of the male in the shower was Andy…