Oneshots; Jeongchan

Tattoos together

Everyone in the world has a soulmate. Every message they leave on their skin is visible on both mates. Jeongin can't write to his.

Because I read an ao3 story and was inspired by the idea of it.

Title is from Lauv's Tattoos Together.

Jeongin is 7 when the first marks show up. It's classic, a hello? written in English. His mother translates it for him, and Jeongin smiles and writes Hello, I am Innie! back in English, after his mother teaches him.

His soulmate doesn't reply.

Jeongin decides to learn English.

Over the course of the next year, he gets a few more hello?'s and two Is anyone there?'s. He's 8 when his mother takes him to the doctor, after she discovers him crying with the words Why won't you respond? on his arm.

He's 12 when the doctors finally finish a conclusive diagnosis. Jeongin has TOP disease. His messages don't reach his soulmates arm. It's a one-sided bond.

The likelyhood of this is lower than winning the lottery, Jeongin learns.

He doesn't think it's a very lucky thing.

That evening, he sits down on his bed, and cries.

He cries for himself, for what he's lost in not being able to talk to his soulmate.

He cries because his soulmate isn't even Korean, the likelihood of them meeting infinitesimal.

But most of all, he cries because his soulmate must think he doesn't have a soulmate.

In a world where soulmates mean everything, he must feel so lonely.

He's 14 when the messages stop.

He's written down every one of them in his journal, going so far as to imitate the rough, loopy script. He still writes back to every single message, in his journal and on his body, knowing that his soulmate can't get it but still holding on to that small hope of a misdiagnosis.

He's 14, and the last message he gets is please write to me, I'm giving up.

Jeongin does write.

He writes about his dog, the way his mom smiles when his dad brings home flowers, and the way the stars shine in Busan.

He writes about his illness and the pitying looks he gets. 

His soulmate doesn't respond.

He's 16 when his soulmate gets a tattoo.

He doesn't notice it at first, beautiful letters unfolding across his chest, above his heart. They're Roman numerals, he realizes after a while. A date for something important.

He looks the date up online, but can't find any information that would fit. He's pretty sure his soulmate wouldn't commemorate the International High Five Day, or the day the titanic sank.

He wonders from where his soulmate is.

He knows they're probably from an English speaking country. Maybe the US? (He hopes they're from the US, to be honest. He loves the accents.)

The sketch of the tattoo in the journal is rough, filling a page. Another page is filled with possible meanings.