SOUL BONDS ( Under revision )

Chapter 28

Naomi stared at her phone a second longer than necessary, a quiet tension settling into her chest. She already knew who it was before she even answered. The air in the room shifted—subtle, but noticeable. Her soulmates felt it too. Without saying anything, she tapped the screen and put the call on speaker.

"Hello?" she said, her voice steady, though there was a sharp edge beneath it.

There was a pause on the other end before Jackson finally spoke. "Hey... Nae."

His voice wasn't the same as before. It wasn't relaxed or easy. It was tight. Careful.

Her brows furrowed instantly. "Jackson... what's wrong?" she asked, sitting up straighter.

Across from her, Yoongi went completely still, his eyes locking onto the phone like it had personally offended him. The others shifted too—Namjoon leaning forward, Jin's expression tightening, Jungkook going quiet.

"I'm okay," Jackson said quickly, but it didn't sound convincing. "I just... I need to talk to you. In person."

Naomi's fingers tightened slightly around the phone. "About what?" she asked slowly.

Another pause.

Then his voice came back, lower this time. "About you. And them."

The room changed instantly.

Namjoon's posture straightened, his gaze sharpening. Jin's jaw flexed. Taehyung's playful energy disappeared. And Yoongi—his expression darkened, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes.

"What about us?" Naomi asked, her voice quieter now, but more serious.

"I don't want to say it over the phone," Jackson replied. "It's not something you should hear like this."

Naomi glanced at Namjoon, her instincts kicking in. Something wasn't right.

"Then say what you can say," Namjoon spoke, his tone calm but firm.

Jackson hesitated again. "I just need all of you there. Please."

Naomi exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through her hair. Her instincts were loud now—warning her—but she couldn't ignore him either.

"Alright," she said finally. "When?"

"Friday. Three."

"Okay. We'll be there."

"...Thank you."

The call ended, and silence filled the room—heavy and thick, pressing in on all sides.

Then Yoongi's voice cut through it, mocking and sharp. "YoU tOo, NaE."

A few laughs slipped out, breaking the tension just enough—but Naomi didn't laugh right away. She turned toward him instead, reaching up and smoothing the crease between his brows with her thumb.

"Hey," she said softly. "Don't do that."

He didn't look at her at first. "I don't like him," he muttered.

"I know," she replied gently. "But trust me."

That made his eyes flick up to hers. "I do," he said quietly.

And that—more than anything—made her chest ache.

Later, when the playful chaos turned into something else entirely, Naomi didn't expect it to hit her the way it did. The second her body plunged into the cold water, the shock ripped the breath straight from her lungs. For a moment, everything went quiet—just pressure and cold wrapping around her.

When she finally broke the surface, gasping for air, her hair clung to her face and shoulders, water dripping down her skin. She looked up at them.

Taehyung's smirk faltered first. "Princess..."