There is a name on his wrist, stark against his skin.
The black characters are clear and unmistakable: Choi Yeonjun.
Soobin swears.
All idols wear soulbands around their wrists to hide their soulmate's name: as idols there's an expectation to be sin...
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"Did you see?" Beomgyu asks.
He's talking to Taehyun but they're sitting close enough that Soobin can hear the conversation. Soobin's lying flat on his back on the dance studio floor, exhausted to the bone, muscles he didn't even know he had aching.
"What?" Taehyun asks. There's a moment of silence, followed by a sudden, "No way!" which comes from Kai.
Soobin lifts his arm from where it rests over his eyes so he can crane his neck to see what they're doing. Kai has scooted across the floor until he's practically in Beomgyu's lap. All three of his dongsaengs are whispering frantically to each other as they peer at something on Beomgyu's phone.
Soobin summons up enough energy to say, "What."
Beomgyu lifts his head to look over at him. "It's true."
Soobin doesn't have to ask more. There's only one scandal that's been all over the media for the last few days: a girl from a new rookie group having a relationship with a makeup artist. It's pretty tame as scandals go but — "They're soulmates," Kai declares, waving the phone in Soobin's direction.
"Oh my god," Soobin deadpans, "They're soulmates."
Satisfied that it's nothing important, he throws his arm over his eyes again, determined to make the most of these brief few seconds of rest before someone starts making him dance again.
There's more frantic whispers and exclamations, then: "Hyung!"
"Aish, stop wriggling, let me see," he hears Yeonjun, followed by the brief sound of a scuffle. With a sigh, Soobin lifts his arm again, turning his head to see Yeonjun draped fully over Beomgyu's back so he can look at the phone too. He's got one arm wrapped around Beongyu's chest to keep him in place and the pointer finger of his other hand touching the phone screen, scrolling back through the article.
The only way the media can know for sure that they're soulmates is if there's been an official announcement. All idols wear soulbands around their wrists to hide their soulmate's name — whether it's appeared or not. It's part of the lifestyle, a contract they enter into when they sign with a company: as idols there's an expectation to be single and appear forever-attainable so that their fans can wonder what name is written on their wrist and believe that there's a chance it could be their own.
Soobin knew that when he became an idol, when he auditioned for BigHit all those years ago. He gave up on a future with a soulmate.
The way the others are all clamouring around the phone, Soobin assumes there must be photos of the wrists of the rookie and the makeup artist, each other's names clearly written on them.
After a few minutes of scrolling, Yeonjun lets out a low whistle. "It really is true, huh?"
"I can't believe she actually announced it," Beomgyu says. "She could have just said it was a regular relationship, apologised and moved on."
