Color My World Joon

Chapter 23: Soulmate #2

Winter break had come around and Mary decided to spend the holidays with her family since she had spent the previous holiday season in Korea. However, Mary and Namjoon mailed each other care packages. He sent her a lot of Korean snacks she liked from when she visited and she sent him back some American snacks he liked along with a scarf her mom knit for him. Mary had to go shopping for gifts for her parents, Gianna, Kevin, and some of her other friends and family members.

She walked to a mall nearby her house and walked into a jewelry store to buy a watch for some of her male family members. There was a beautiful silver watch that she knew would be perfect for her dad and she had decided to ring the bell to call the attendant's attention. As she reached for the bell, someone else's hand also reached for it and their fingers touched. Mary quickly removed her hand from the bell.

"I'm sorry. Were you going to call for the attendant too?"

"Yes. But please, ladies first."

Mary turned to face the young man to protest and let him go first and as she did, their eyes locked and Mary got a weird flash of black and white for several seconds until her vision was back to normal.

"I'm sorry," the young man began, "Aren't you Kim Namjoon's soulmate?"

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Well this is very awkward because I know you have your soulmate but just now, looking into your eyes let me see color."

"What? How can I be your soulmate if I already have one?"

"I'm not sure. My name is Nate by the way," he said as he reached out his hand for a handshake. Mary shook it as she properly introduced herself, "I'm Mary. Nice to meet you."

"Well Mary, would you like to finish your purchase?"

"But what about you seeing color? I had a flash of black and white for a few seconds so I believe you saying you saw color when looking into my eyes."

"How about we exchange contact information and meet up for coffee to research what happened? I'm sure we're not the first ones to go through this."

"Sure. But um, I do wish to buy this watch I saw."

Mary purchased the watch and exchanged phone numbers with Nate. They scheduled a meet up in a few days when they were both free to do some research on their situation. Once she got home and finished her shopping, Mary called Namjoon and told him about Nate. He was just as confused as her but he trusted her to not cheat or change her mind about their relationship. They tapped their bracelets three times before hanging up and continuing on with their day.

When Nate and Mary met up, they ordered some drinks and then did a deep dive on the internet about their situation. They looked for a long time and they couldn't find anything other than articles and blogs that denied the theory of two soulmates. After searching a little deeper, they found an article that almost picture perfectly described their situation and it read:

Finding yourself having two soulmates? It's not as uncommon as you think. In history, it has been proven that everyone has two soulmates and they stay with whoever they find first. Since there are so many people in the world, it is highly unlikely to find your second soulmate but it's not impossible. What do you do in this case you may ask? There are two options. The first being you choose to stay in a relationship with both of your soulmates in something called a "polyamorous" relationship or you can pick one of them to stay with. The remaining person left out of the relationship can move on with their life, hope they find their second soulmate, or can try to build a strong and "soulmate-like" connection with someone else who has also been left behind by their second soulmate or someone who has had their first soulmate pass away (with the risk of them finding a new soulmate as well). It's a complicated situation for both people but it's something that happens once in a blue moon.

"This is kind of a sketchy website without sources but it literally describes what happened to us. Nate, I feel so bad for you. This basically says it's up to me and you have to take your chances with someone else," Mary told him.

"It's ok Mary. I understand that you would like to stay with Namjoon."

"I never said that."

"And you don't have to. It's obvious that you want to stay with him. I noticed your promise ring the day we met."

"I'm sorry Nate. I didn't know this was possible, I have no idea how you must feel."

"I have always dreamed of having a family with my soulmate but you know what? I'm just happy I get to see color, even if I don't get to stay with you."

"Are you really that cool with me just not choosing you?"

"I know you met Namjoon last year and you've been through so much together, I do not wish to get in the way of that. However, I would like us to build a friendship. I mean, you are still my soulmate so I'd assume that means we could be really good friends, right?"

"I guess so. I'm down to try that out. You seem like a nice guy and very understanding of my situation, that's a good start."

"Of course, if I was in your place I probably would pick Namjoon over myself too," he said with a chuckle.

They got to know each other a little better and finished their drinks before Nate excused himself to go to work. Mary also had to go back home to wrap her presents. Kevin stopped by at Mary's house to help her wrap presents and he had some presents he needed help wrapping too. While they were wrapping presents, she told him about Nate and what went down between them. Kevin warned her about being careful with Nate because the situation sounded fishy to him.

"I have never heard of someone having two soulmates," he told her.

"But I had a flash of black and white, kind of like a glitch or something. Why would I have had that if it wasn't true?"

"I can't contradict that, that is pretty solid evidence. All I'm saying is, be careful because he's someone new in your life."

"I will be careful. Thanks for hearing me out."

*Time skip ahead a few weeks*

Christmas had gone by and it was time to celebrate the New Year! Mary set up a hang out with Nate to celebrate the new year since Gianna and Kevin were celebrating together and her parents didn't feel like going anywhere. Mary and Nate met up at her place and he had taken a bottle of champagne since Mary was 21 and could drink. They had a few glasses together before drinking one more at the midnight countdown.

"5...4...3...2...1! Happy New Year!" they both said before drinking the champagne together.

"Wow, this is super fun but I think I've had enough to drink," Mary said.

"Yeah, I think we've had a little too many drinks," Nate replied.

Mary walked to the kitchen to put her champagne glass in the sink but as she walked she lost her balance and fell to the floor. Nate quickly went to her side to help her back up.

"Mary, I think you're drunk."

"No, I'm fine. Just a bit tipsy. This is the first time I've actually had a lot to drink."

"Come, sit on the couch."

Before Mary could even fully stand up again, she passed out. Nate then proceeded to pick her up princess style and carried Mary to his car, tossed her in the back seat, and drove away.