INEVITABLE

Chapter 26

Jisu's jaw slowly drops as she stares at Chaeryoung and Yeji standing before her very eyes. "You two are not kidding me, are you?"

Chaeryoung called her over for a surprise. Little did she know that the surprise waiting is in the form of her ex-lover whom Chaeryoung addresses now as her soulmate.

Her soulmate? How the hell did that happen?

"Chaeryoung, are you sure it's her, of all the people here in the city?" Jisu points at Yeji, internally wondering what the spirits have been up to lately.

"Yah! Why do you sound like you're against it!" Yeji protests.

Giggling, Chaeryoung loops an arm through Yeji's. "I'm sure, unnie. Yeji and I have tested tugging each other. It worked every single time."

Jisu steps back, bringing a hand to her mouth.

"Yah! Jisu, your reaction is offending me!" Yeji exclaims.

But Jisu doesn't seem to hear it. She looks at Chaeryoung. "Are you aware that Yeji and I work together?"

"Yes. She even told me you were ex-lovers."

"She did?" Jisu gives Yeji a knowing look.

"She even admitted that you two used to be sexually active post-breakup."

"Oh. She has to tell you that, doesn't she?" She glares at Yeji who sheepishly smiles at her.

"It's okay, unnie. It's all in the past now," Chaeryoung says. "And it won't matter anymore because once a person finds their soulmate and gets to know even just their names, any affection or recollection from their previous relationships will slowly fade. They won't forget those people, but their relationship and intimacy will eventually become a distant memory."

Jisu's eyebrows rose.

Oh, really?

Was that the reason she slowly drifted away from Yeji after she met Ryujin--only because she got her soulmate's name?

But now that they are finally together, does that mean Ryujin is starting to drift away from her wife?

That thought brings an unpleasant picture in Jisu's head--the image of Ryujin spending the night alone with Yuri. The more she thinks about it, the more she feels a strange feeling creeping up her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

Which reminds her...

"Chaeryoung-ah, are you okay with this, being friends with me, your soulmate's ex-lover?"

"Of course, unnie. Why won't I be?"

"Well, doesn't your 'soulmate radar' kind of feel threatened towards me?" Jisu quotes her fingers.

"Soulmate radar?" Chaeryoung chuckles. "Unnie, what are you saying?"

"I just thought that maybe you'd feel some sort of resentment towards me because Yeji and I used to be together."

"Ahh. I know what you're talking about!" Chaeryoung snaps her fingers. "Shamans call that occurrence as discernment. A person can identify which people can pose a threat to their relationship with their soulmate. That's normal, unnie."

"Oh. So it's normal, huh?" Jisu nods.

"Does your soulmate feel like that towards Yeji?" Chaeryoung asks, making Yeji look at her.

"Yes." Jisu folds her arms on her chest. "But how come you don't feel anything like that towards me?"

"I think it's because we met first and have already established a friendship before I even met Yeji," Chaeryoung explains. "Honestly, I felt something when I first saw you by the elevator that night I moved in here. It may be related to that discernment thing. Whatever it is, I decided to approach you and befriend you instead."