Someone Like You

chapter nine.

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It was late at night when Jisung remembered that his literature professor asked him to buy a book. A book that they would be studying for the next month or so. Jisung looked at the time and groaned in annoyance. He needed this book by tomorrow morning and he didn't want to wake up earlier than he needed to so he decided to go buy the stupid book.

Jaemin was over at Jeno and Mark's dorm so he knew he'd have to come back before Jaemin got home. He put his jacket on and slipped his shoes on, he made sure his keys were in his pocket and exited his dorm. He locked the door and sprinted down the hallway. If he wasn't home before Jaemin, he was going to be scolded for the rest of his life.

The streets were empty, quiet and Jisung felt lonely for some reason. The only light came from the light posts by the street, guiding Jisung to the nearest bookstore. Neo City Bookstore. Jisung bought all his books from Neo City Bookstore and he knew that the owner of the store was Taeil, Doyoung's soulmate.

A branch snapped from behind him and Jisung turned around expecting to see someone but nobody was behind me. The wind started picking up and the crickets seemed to chirp louder. Jisung was frightened so he pulled out his headphones and began listening to music. He rather be unaware of his surroundings than be fully aware and frightened by the slightest noise.

He finally arrived in front of the well lit bookstore and smiled when he saw that the place was still open. He walked into the bookstore and the familiar bell rang as he opened the door. Taeil looked over at him and offered him a warm smile along with a short greeting. Jisung didn't have time to actually look for the book so he pulled out his phone to look for a picture.

"Excuse me?" Jisung mumbled. Taeil turned around and looked at him with a wide smile.

"Hi, how may I help you?" Taeil smiled.

"I'm looking for a book. It's called, uh, Human Acts by Han Kang." Jisung muttered shyly.

"Ah, someone came looking for the same book a little earlier. Literature, Professor Kim Junmyeon. Right?" Taeil asked. He led Jisung to where he could find the book.

"Yeah." Jisung answered and kept his eyes on the ground.

"You usually like to look for books on your own and you take your time finding it. Are you in a rush tonight?" Taeil tried to make small talk.

Jisung just looked at him suspiciously. Taeil noticed this and chuckled at his reaction.

"You come to the bookstore a lot and I tend to pay attention to people's actions, when it comes to books." Taeil explained.

"Oh, well I want to get home before my roommate does." Jisung replied to Taeil's previous question.

"Are you worried you'll get scolded for being out so late?" Taeil guessed.

"Yeah, he can be pretty scary when he's mad. He can also be very annoying." Jisung sighed. Taeil chuckled at his response and stopped in front of the shelf he was searching for.

"This is the book you were looking for." Taeil smiled. He pulled the book out of the shelf and Jisung nodded in agreement.

"I'll go scan it for you. Follow me or feel free to look for another book if you'd like." Taeil beamed.

Jisung decided to stay behind for a few seconds to scan through the shelves. He started walking with one of his headphones still in his ear. Music was still playing and from the opposite side of the shelf, it looked like Jisung was lost in his own world so the two didn't watch their tone.

"Go talk to him." A familiar voice exclaimed.

"What? No, I don't want to." Another very familiar voice spoke.

"You're going to have to talk to him eventually. He's friends with Jaemin and Jeno." The first voice added. The names of his friends made Jisung turn down his music so he could hear them better.

"PFT. I doubt Renjun will ever give those two a chance. Just because they're soulmates doesn't mean they'll end up together." The second voice hissed.

Jisung decided to walk up to these two so he started to walk to the end of the aisle. He turned into the next aisle and pretended to be looking at the books. He looked over at the two familiar faces and looked back at the shelf of books in front of him. He recognized the two, they were from the party.

If he wasn't mistaken, their names were Haechan and Chenle. The look on their faces was priceless and Jisung felt himself smirk in satisfaction.

"So Jeno and Jaemin don't stand a chance, huh?" Jisung mumbled. He smacked his lips and looked over at the two again.

"I doubt they'll stop trying until your friend is theirs. They don't give up very easily." Jisung sighed and ran his fingers down some of the books' spins.

"Yeah. We've noticed." Haechan responded. Chenle stared at the boy in front of him in awe.

"Mmm, yeah. I don't think those two have ever given up on anything. It's kinda scary when you think about it. It's like they're unstoppable." Jisung smiled and pulled a book out of the shelf.

"Some people are just born strong." Haechan commented.

"And some people become strong, through tough life experiences." Jisung continued and looked over at Haechan.

He didn't know how to describe it but Haechan seemed like someone who became strong in order to survive in the world he lives in. Haechan gave off a strong aura and it confused Jisung. Jisung looked at the boy next to Haechan and recognized him as the unreadable kid from his Literature class.

Jisung was very good at reading people but something about him made him hard to read and it bothered Jisung.

"Yeah. If your friends don't give up on Renjun, they'll surely have a happy ending." Haechan reassured.

"And if they do give up, they'll have a painful ending?" Jisung asked.

"It'll be painful no matter what. Whether it's a sad or happy ending, the journey will be painful." Haechan informed.

"That's love, it's always painful." Chenle managed to snap out of his daze and speak. These words were directed towards Jisung because Chenle had found himself drowning in his sorrows very often due to the overwhelming feelings he had for Jisung.

It took Jisung 0.01 seconds to figure it out. He smiled. A wide and genuine smile that confused both Chenle and Haechan. He uttered the words he had planned to tell his soulmates since he could speak.

"True love is worth a little pain." Jisung smiled. He walked away with a book in hand, leaving Chenle and Haechan astonished.

Jisung looked down at the words on his wrist and chuckled. The mysterious and unreadable dolphin from his Literature class was his soulmate.

He paid for both books and walked back to his dorm with a wide smile. Nothing could ruin his day. Not even a loud and long scolding from his hyung.