My Soulmates are IDOLS Books 2+3 | 18+ [SoulBond Series]

203:rabbit hybrid

Amber

The JieMi that lived in Amber's head was ugly, with the steeliest of eyes and the foulest of expressions. That JieMi shredded her soul with words spoken straight from the devil, words that were unwillingly carved into her mind and soul. That JieMi was a bully, a tormentor and an enemy. And as his victim, Amber would always, always hold him away at arm's length. No one would touch fire again after getting burned, even if the fire was pretty and warm.

She'd been burnt once and she was determined to not be burned again.

But in person, his eyes were captivating, wide and open, so honest that she could see his soul dripping, trickling, seeping from the corners of glistening lashes. Those eyes were beautiful and gentle. Eyes of a fawn in the woods, a bunny in the snow, an angel from heaven. JieMi was breath-taking, and she knew that when her mind dulled into a steady hum, when the world melted away and all she could see was him.

Him, the devil, with the eyes of an angel.

JieMi was always so damn fucking confusing, always running, never stopping. She didn't understand him, didn't understand the brutality in his words, the fire, the anger, the frustration. She didn't understand the childishness in his choice of words, the stubbornness in his actions and the kindness in others. But she tried to understand, and she wanted to understand and, in her books, that was enough.

Enough for him, enough for her, enough for his mother, his family, his brothers. She tried for the Amber who still believed that maybe someday there was hope. That maybe JieMi would open up and start connecting. She tried for their happiness, for his happiness. For the happiness of the planets that circled him endlessly, orbits in a continuous loop.

Connection.

They'd connected in the park. With her hand on his skin, and her eyes on his, their souls had been completed, a single circle of truth that JieMi refused to face. The gasp that escaped his lips had mirrored the one that resounded in her head. Then came the wash of horror that spread across his cheeks and shielded the clarity in his eyes, fear had tautened his muscles and sent him running again.

He was always running. Running, running, running. Her soulmates were tired of him, tired of how he refused to face his fears, tired of trying and trying and never accomplishing. JieMi was a wall of stone, unreasonable, irrational, stubborn.

He was not okay.

And she knew that.

There was no denying it when Ha-Eun had approached her, infuriated and livid, nostrils flaring and cheeks red with anger. She'd accused her with coy words that dripped with toxic poison, surrounded Amber with an army that would never stand by her side, ready to attack the moment she dropped her guard.

Where is JieMi?

She too wanted to know that answer, with her phone in her hand and his number on the screen. Her feet had been tapping anxiously again and again, an action that her mother would chide her for, an action that made her ancestors roll in their graves. Old wife's tales said that the tapping brought bad luck, but Amber didn't give a shit about what they thought. Her mind was everywhere and nowhere, her thoughts a scatter of flickering images. And she'd said that she didn't know. How could she know? How would she fucking know?

You don't have to pretend, everyone's heard of the rumours, everyone knows. The world is never kind to someone like you, a non-celebrity could never survive. I could help you, you know, show you the ropes. Just don't talk to my boyfriend, don't approach my boyfriend.

They were just friends, nothing more, she'd said. It was the second time she'd said it that day, and yet again she was faced with some form of disgruntlement. An irritated huff and a snotty roll of Ha-Eun's eyes. But she didn't care about her, with her mind filled with JieMi. What the fuck did JieMi want if he didn't even want to be friends? What else could Amber give him?