Fragments of a Soul

First Meeting

Before coming to Cheonliang, James didn't think that there will be anything different. If only he knew how wrong he was.

Seongji Yuk has turned out to be a tough opponent. James never expected to find such a strong fighter in a countryside. He actually thought for a moment that Seongji would defeat him. James could feel his speed, his strength, his skills.

Their fight got interrupted by pre generation gangsters. Since James was in a bad shape he decied to sit back and watch the fight.

It would be a waste if such a strong fighter like Seongji got his fingers cut off. But James was here on Charles Choi's orders. He cannot act on his own and save Seongji. He again offered Seongji to join him and again got rejected.

There was nothing he could do anymore. The moment he was going to leave a group of people came. "So, they are the kings." He thought. He decided against leaving and observe them.

Watching the fight between first generation and pre generation made him disappointed at first. But he soon realized that 1st generation kings were different. He was observing all of them but he had his attention mostly on the king of Ansan.

James was impressed by how he only used his fist and solely relied on his right hand. He kept his left hand in his pocket casually. James was really curious about him.

"There is only one reason I use my fist."

James was more surprised when he heard the reason.

"It's because I am a man."

In James's eyes he became a real man in that moment.

Since the kings will take care of the shaman, James finally decided to leave. But the guy with braids blocked his path. James ignored him and walked past him.

But behind him was the king of Ansan. If James didn't stop in time he would've bumped into the guy. He wasn't wearing any shirt. James could see that his chest and stomach was well defined.

"How attractive! Wait! What am I thinking? This is not the time for this."

It was hard for James to dart his eyes away and look towards the king's face. Seeing him this close James realized that the king was really handsome. But the expression on the king's face wasn't handsome at all.

Taesoo didn't stop the strawberry haired guy when he walked past him. When Taesoo first set his foot here, the first thing he noticed was a mop of red hair. That colour reminded him of fresh strawberries.

That guy wasn't on the shaman's side. But he injured Seongji badly. That's why Taesoo stopped him from leaving.

He heard that strawberry hair's name was James Lee when the shaman asked James for help. Taesoo liked the name. It sounded good.

"James Lee. James Lee. James Lee."

He repeated the name in his mind a few times. But soon shook it away. He doesn't think that this guy is a friend or ally.

When he blocked the James's path they were only a few centimeters away from each other. That red haired guy smelled strongly of strawberries. Taesoo was angry but also mesmerized by the smell. He wanted to inhale the smell. It was strangely addictive but in a good way. He could feel his mind being relaxed by the scent. This situation made him very confused.

James was sorrunded by the kings. The air was full of hostility. It was a good chance for him to test the kings but the damage he took from Seongji Yuk wasn't negligible.

He dodged when the king of Suwon attacked him. James realized that he is in a dangerous situation. He was thinking of what to do next but his thoughts were cut off hearing the king of Ansan.

"Running away?"

The words were too familiar. He had been reading them every day since he was six. James eyes widened at hearing those words.

Out of all the scenarios he imagined, this isn't how he wanted to meet his soulmate.

He finally found his soulmate.

The king of Ansan was his soulmate.

"But you seemed so confident earlier." Taesoo said.

James smiled. Even if this was his soulmate, he would not let anyone underestimate him.

"Don't take it the wrong way."

Taesoo's eyes narrowed in anger and surprise. He could not believe his ears. In front of him was the person who Taesoo always searched for. Today he finally found his other half. It was James Lee.

Seeing Taesoo's reaction James instantly realized that he messed up. He shouldn't have said anything at this moment. But he already said the words. So he continued,

"It's not that I'm afraid of you people. "

Hearing James's words Taesoo threw a punch at him. James tried to deflect his punch but it was unsuccessful. It occurred to James maybe he was the one who underestimated his soulmate. Taesoo's punch was very strong.

James decided to get out of this using his speed. He didn't counter or attacked back. He wasn't sure if he could harm his soulmate.

Taesoo didn't went after James. He remained frozen in his place. He searched his soulmate for many years. This isn't how he wanted to meet him. And yet, here he was, greeting his soulmate with a punch.

James ran and dodged. He managed to escape out of the kings reach.

Sitting on the roof, James said, "It was fun. All of you definitely have the skill to be called king. I would like to play around for a bit longer, but how unfortunate."

"I need to get out of here and clear my thoughts. Otherwise, this situation will be getting out of my hand."

James never expected that he would meet his soulmate today in such a crappy situation and that he had to fight against his own soulmate.

"When the time comes, I will personally find every single one of you."

He said this while looking at Taesoo.

Taesoo was looking at James and understood that it was meant for him. He looked at James disappearing figure and thought, "I will find you first, James Lee."

Taesoo needs to go on soulmate haunting trips again.

A/N: AAAAHHHH!! It was such a nightmare to write it. It took me 5-6 hours to write it but I feel like something is missing. What in the world I forgot I can't even tell. I wanted to keep their first meeting canon. Unless PTJ drops another flashback where they already met. For James's Soulmark I took it from the webtoon. In the webtoon, James says to Taesoo "Make no mistake." which doesn't sound good to me so I used this line "Don't take it the wrong way." from an unofficial translation. I might rewrite and edit a few things in this chapter. Hope you enjoyed!