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after a long practice, yuta, along with jaemin, mark and yukhei, headed over to the ice-cream parlour. according to the younger two, the main workers were friends of theirs and were also students at the local school.
at some point of their walk, yuta had envisioned the chinese worker who had captured his attention over the weekend gone by, but was convinced that his teammates had known him.
"jungwoo?" jaemin cheered as he threw the door open, eliciting a cute chime from the overhead bell. the small, comfy parlour was lit by the setting sun. the orange glow slid down the walls slowly, shedding very little light.
the shop was empty and silent since their rush hour had long since passed and the two workers simply chatted the remaining hours away.
both boys looked up at the sudden intrusion to the calm ambience. in walked jaemin with his boyfriend and two teammates.
"hey jaem," the korean welcomed, ushering in the sweaty, tired boys. "it's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked as they took their seats at a small table by the window.
sicheng watched them with lidded eyes, his chin being solely supported by his palm as he rested against the white surface.
"too long," the youngest complained while snuggling into mark's chest to find comfort after their hellish basketball practice. "hey sicheng!" he called out to the dazed older who almost jumped on the spot at this.
a small but noticeable grin tugged at his lips as he was brought back to reality. he looked to the familiar couple who came almost everyday throughout the summer months, and then settled on the two others.
his eyes widened as they locked with the handsome bluette's irises, whose path seemed to cross with his own too many times in recent days to not be controlled by fate.
"yuta?" yukhei interrupted, grabbing his friend's shoulder tightly to snap him from the daze he had fallen into...just like this morning. "c'mon."
the older nodded absentmindedly while tearing his gaze from the confused brunette. what was that feeling? he wondered. goosebumps formed on his skin at the intensity that their encounters had resulted in.
"hey," sicheng mumbled, seemingly lacking energy to socialise, yet he still sat down with the group of friends just like jungwoo had.
his co-worker noticeably stole glances at yukhei who seemed rather oblivious to the intrigue he caused.
luckily, mark and jaemin hadn't noticed the tension between the four and continued chatting away as always, settling the atmosphere slightly.
"now, what can we get you guys?" jungwoo sighed while standing up.
mark immediately stood, kindly offering to assist with the orders. jaemin whined at the loss of contact with his boyfriend, but was quickly distracted when sicheng leaned in to examine his eye. "i genuinely wish i had such a nice soulmate link. mine's so inconvenient," he groaned, while thinking to his disruptive connection.
"what is your link?" he questioned with interest yet only received a shrug in response.
"let's just say it gets very irritating, very fast."
yuta chuckled while nodding his head in agreement. "so is mine, if i'm being honest."
the other three, who had all been around the vice-captain of the team when he was having a vision, all nodded in agreement, understanding why he resented it so much.
before any of them could continue, jungwoo and mark returned with ice-creams for them while the elder of the two quickly added a comment. "i bet it's not as bad as mine," he muttered bitterly while rolling his eyes at his luck.
"well, to be fair, jaem and i both hated ours before we found each other."
yuta scoffed at this, while flicking his eyes to the class representative with a smirk. "shouldn't you guys have felt each other's presence? they say you become entranced or you simply feel a magnetic pull when you see or feel your soulmate."
a bright blush spread across the younger's cheeks as he placed two of the desserts down on the table. "i thought i felt like that because of the crush i had on him," he muttered after taking his seat beside jaemin again.
the younger cooed while pinching mark's cheek teasingly.
"not like you were any better," sicheng giggled while he admired the love that the pair shared. oh how he was envious.
"besides the point," the young captain dismissed. his cheeks suddenly matched his boyfriend's as a fuchsia blush consumed them. "any sign of your significant other?" he continued while extending his hand to hold sicheng's.
mark was speaking with yukhei and jungwoo about school gossip and other nonsense while the others engaged in a more personal topic.
sicheng shook his head while sporting a small frown. "no sign yet," he whispered weakly. he pushed the mint ice-cream across his plate with the spoon quite dejectedly while jaemin comforted him with a brief squeeze.
"don't worry. i haven't been lucky either," yuta reassured while admiring the other unintentionally. "i guess we can be lonely together," he chuckled, raising his hand in a fist.
sicheng giggled at this before gently bumping his fist against yuta's. "i guess so."
