you and me, together?

prologue

"what do you think it was like?" jinsoul asked, vague and with no context to what she was talking about. maybe the movie they'd just finished watching? watching? more like sobbing their eyes out to.

jungeun sighed, knowing this situation way too well, "what was?" if jinsoul liked the answer to the question, jungeun got a kiss. and jungeun never turned down jinsoul's kisses.

"before soulmates." jinsoul got up from jungeun's shoulder, her eyes still teary, "before the world told you who was for you and you just... had to meet people? were people happier?"

jungeun's brows furrowed at the question, why was jinsoul thinking about that? was it because it was her birthday? that was a common thing to think about on your special day. that no matter how great your day was, your twentieth birthday would always be the best. because that's when you would find out who was your soulmate, the person the universe deemed perfect for you, with their name permanently inked onto your sin. still, jungeun hated that jinsoul was worrying about something that was three years away.

"i think people were freer. happier? that's debatable." jungeun's hand went up to jinsoul's cheek, the last tissue wiping away at her red skin. "you would date people and choose who you put your time into. who was worth it, who you thought was your person. not because a name told you so. and in a way, i think we're the freest we can be right now. we can fall in love and understand what it is, what we want with who. because we don't have our mark yet." she shrugged, looking up at jinsoul's smile.

"can i kiss you?"

jungeun's ears went red, "s-suddenly?" she chuckled.

"can i?" jinsoul repeated with a smile.

"that's a stupid question." jungeun muttered as she pulled jinsoul in for a hungry kiss.

now, the two best friends had always had something special between them, a thin line between friendship and love. but most people didn't know that, most people knew them as jinsoul and jungeun, the best of friends. and the few people who knew about how intimate they really were with each other, were never supposed to find out. jinsoul's parents weren't supposed to find out. that's why jungeun had crawled through the window to see jinsoul, because her parents let her invite anyone to her party. anyone but jungeun. that was also the reason jinsoul put her dresser over her door with no lock on it. more than anything else, jinsoul wanted jungeun for her birthday. to be wrapped in her arms.

as long as nobody found out.

-----------

six years later, nothing had changed.
except everything had.

"would you stop that?" jungeun's roommate scoffed, "it's not gonna go away, you know."

jinsoul and jungeun's... friendship wasn't about love, it was just about needing someone to physically comfort them.

"maybe it will." jungeun scrubbed hard on her wrist, just like she did every morning, jinsoul or no jinsoul. she'd pray that the universe would get the hint and that name would go away, but of course, it never did. "if a name randomly appeared on someone's skin fifty eight years ago, it can disappear too. i know it can." she bit her lip in focus.

"stop wasting your time, and come back to bed." jinsoul weakly reached her hand out, drowning in jungeun's bedsheets, "i'm freezing."

"put on some clothes, then." jungeun threw jinsoul a oversized shirt from her bag dirty clothes.

"i don't want your stinky clothes." jinsoul said as she put the shirt on, "i want you to come back here and spoon me."

"i'm busy." jungeun tilted her up, sighing at the kisses decorating her neck, "and you marked me, too."