Someone Like You

chapter thirteen.

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Chenle was currently alone and walking through an empty park after deciding to skip the rest of his classes. He needed to clear his mind and relieve his heart from all the ache so he thought that the best way to do that was to sit in a park and just admire nature.

He found an empty bench that was secluded from the rest of the park and took a seat.

"What do I do now?" Chenle whispered to himself.

He looked up at the sky and pushed all his thoughts out of his brain. He stopped thinking about Jisung, soulmates, sadness and all the other things that worried him. He just looked up at the clear blue sky and thought of nothing.

He stared at the sky for a long time until a single thought finally made its way through his head.

'I'm okay. I don't need a soulmate that doesn't want me. I am amazing and I would make the best boyfriend in the world. It's his loss, not mine.'

Many more words of encouragement flooded Chenle's mind and he found himself smiling at his own thoughts. The tear stains were long gone and his runny nose had stopped. His face was no longer as red as it was before and he no longer held such a sad look in his eyes.

'I really am okay.' He thought to himself.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time and was surprised that he had been sitting here, staring at the sky blankly, for an hour. He chuckled lowly and looked back up at his surroundings.

'You can't break me that easily Park Jisung.' Chenle smiled.

'Well, you can because you did but I'll always get right back up. And you know what, Park Jisung. I want answers, you atleast owe me an explanation.'

Chenle wasn't sure why Jisung ran away from him or why he didn't want him to be his soulmate. Chenle had no idea what was going on in Jisung's head but if he was going to be rejected by his soulmate, he wanted an explanation to go with it. He wanted to know why he wasn't good enough.

"Hmmph, I am good enough." Chenle whispered to himself.

"Well, since I have all this free time I'll go visit Taeil hyung." Chenle smiled.

Chenle walked back towards campus and walked straight past it in order to get to Taeil's bookstore. Somewhere along the way, Chenle had begun to skip towards the bookstore. He had regained his peppy attitude and was filled with confidence once again. All it took was some alone time and an encouraging self pep talk.

He skipped into Taeil's bookstore but halted when he saw a very familiar person talking to Taeil. They seemed happy to be in each other's presence and when the two turned to look at him, Chenle's smile grew ten times wider.

"Doyoung hyung!" Chenle smiled.

"Hey Chenle." Doyoung greeted him back.

"What a lovely surprise! I just, uh, left something I need for my class in the back so I won't be long." Chenle said suggestively.

"It's okay. I was about to leave, I have a class to get to." Doyoung laughed.

"You should really think about it. I'll text you later." Doyoung turned to Taeil.

Doyoung left and Chenle looked at Taeil with a teasing smirk. Taeil blushed and looked away from Chenle's burning gaze.

"So, what did I miss?" Chenle asked. He rushed over to the counter and leaned on it, patiently waiting for Taeil to begin telling him every detail.

"What did you miss? What did I miss? You're supposed to be in class right now." Taeil tried to change the subject.

"That's not important right now! Did he say it? Did he ask you out? How'd it go, tell me everything, please!!" Chenle jumped.

"Yes, he said it." Taeil whispered as he offered Chenle his wrist.

The words 'I came here for you' caught Chenle's attention. Chenle squealed and practically ran around the entire store before asking for every single detail.

"There isn't much to tell. He just asked me out to get to know each other more and I told him that I wasn't ready to date. He didn't care though and we just talk then he offered to give me his number. I gave him my phone number and then he asked me out again and before I got the chance to answer, luckily, you walked through the door." Taeil shrugged.

"What?! I shouldn't have skipped all the way here. I would've taken a good 10 more minutes if I had walked." Chenle pouted.

"Don't be ridiculous. I would've just said no, again." Taeil laughed. Chenle frowned at his response.

"Why?" Chenle questioned.

"Because I'm not ready. I just got out of a relationship. A relationship that did not end well. I can't jump into this, Doyoung isn't my rebound and I don't know him well enough." Taeil explained.

"But that's why you go on a date! To get to know each other." Chenle explained.

"I know but-" Taeil was cut off by his phone.

Chenle hoped that it was Doyoung calling but was disappointed when he read the caller ID. It was just Johnny.

"Hello?" Taeil spoke into the phone.

Johnny and Taeil's conversation continued and Chenle told Taeil that he would be in the back where he always hung out. There was a small secluded corner in the back of the library where Chenle and the others would always hang out. This corner was small but had everything they could possibly need. A round table, a small refrigerator, bean bags, blankets and it was close to the employees' restroom.

Chenle grabbed a water from the small fridge and laid down on one of the bean bags. He wanted to close his eyes and rest for a little. He sighed in content and pulled a cover over his body to drift off into sleep.

"Chenle!" Taeil approached a comfortable Chenle and laughed at the sight.

"Johnny's bringing his soulmate tonight. We all have to be at Taeyong's place before 7PM." Taeil informed Chenle.

"We're going to meet Ten?" Chenle asked in pure confusion and disbelief.