promised - kim namjoon

three

The next morning, Tsai was seated at a two-seat table, patiently waiting for Namjoon to walk into the coffee shop. He was ten minutes late, and Tsai had ordered some coffee for him before the line got too long.

The weather wasn't as warm today, so Tsai decided to wear a white long sleeve and a green bomber jacket and black pants. Her curly hair was tied into a bun on the top of her head, and she decided to wear her rounded glasses instead of her contacts.

Last night, Tsai stayed up and read philosophy articles until her eyes drooped and she fell asleep. She read about theories pertaining to the soulmate tattoos, and how they could suddenly appear at the age of sixteen. There were many things that Tsai didn't know the answer to, so she read until she could form an idea of her o-

"Hello."

Tsai stopped daydreaming and looked into Namjoon's eyes, who was towering over her seat. He had on a black Nike sweatshirt and black joggers, and a pair of black sneakers today. Tsai made a mental note to ask about Namjoon's outfit and fashion later on.

"Hi, I got you coffee," Tsai pointed to the coffee mug across from her, "and some condiments. The line was getting long and I didn't know what you liked, so I got a little bit of everything for you to use."

"Thank you so much," Namjoon grinned, "I'll pay you back, I promise."

Tsai nodded. She could've told him that he didn't have to pay her back, but she's a college student and takes the opportunity to get money at any time.

"So," Namjoon spoke, adding hazelnut creamer to his coffee, "where's your tattoo? What does it look like?"

Tsai pointed to the spot under her left breast, so Namjoon would get the idea that she wasn't going to actually show it. "It's a world map thingy, but it's colored in with green and red and blue."

Namjoon nodded, smiling a little. "That's cool. Mine was written in traditional Chinese, and said 'promised,'' he told Tsai, before his smile faltered a little and looked at his coffee, staring it slowly.

Tsai's eyebrow rose. "What do you mean by your tattoo was? You got it removed?"

Namjoon shook his head, "It left me."

Tsai scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Namjoon, a soulmate tattoo doesn't just leave. It's a soulmate tattoo, it's been given to y-"

"Then explain this," Namjoon said, rolling up his sleeve and pointing to his right arm, where there was a scar on the underside of it.

Tsai could make out the Chinese characters that spelled out 'promised' on his arm. It looked almost like someone had ripped it out with their bare hands. Tsai almost gagged seeing it in front of her.

"I moved to Taiwan because I thought my tattoo was a hint to finding my soulmate," Namjoon sighed, pulling down his sleeve, "but instead, it removed itself from my arm. I don't know why, and I don't know how, but it only means now that there's no one out there for me."

Tsai put her head down, looking away from Namjoon. She complained that she couldn't find her soulmate, but Namjoon had his chance to find his taken away from him. Her heart felt heavy as she thought about how she'd feel if her soulmate was taken away from her, too.

"Did it hurt?" Tsai wondered.

"I remember waking up, and my arm was burning, as if I laid it in a pot of boiling water. However, there was no blood or anything, just this scar."

"I'm sorry," Tsai mumbled, "really, I am."

"It's fine, don't worry," Namjoon shook it off, "but this is why I started philosophy. I need a solution. I can't just lose my soulmate, they're still out there, right?"

"They should be," Tsai insisted, "maybe they just have the same scar as you?"

"Exactly!" Namjoon exclaimed, "until something proves otherwise, then my soulmate is still looking for me."

Tsai chuckled at Namjoon's excitement, sipping on her coffee. Her and Namjoon met only yesterday but she felt like she knew him for a while. Namjoon seemed to have that affect on people.

"Look at this," Namjoon pulled out a sketchbook from his backpack, slamming it onto the table. "Okay, sorry, didn't mean to slam it like that."

Namjoon turned each page slowly enough for Tsai to be able to look through each drawing. Some pictures were portraits of people she couldn't recognize, and some were simple sketches. One page was even a whole comic strip.

"These are just a few of the tattoos people have asked me to do for them," Namjoon smiled to himself, "look at this one."

Namjoon points to a small drawing of a dove, which held a pair of earphones in its mouth.

"These two people were so in love," Namjoon stated, "that they got their soulmate tattoos removed just so they could have the same one as each other. I don't know if they even met their soulmates, but when they came to me and ask me to do their tattoos, I was in shock."

"You're a tattoo artist?" Tsai asked, surprised.

"Part time," Namjoon nodded, "I liked drawing so much that they let me do some tattoos. They only let me do the small kind of tattoos, though, in case I fuck up real bad."

"How do you even have time to go and work when you're in college?" Tsai questioned. "I'm only taking a few classes, but sometimes I get so tired I don't think I could make it to work."

"I don't know, Tsai, I've just always been able to manage stuff, "Namjoon answered, sipping his coffee, "if you want, you can come see where I work."

"Maybe at a better time," Tsai spoke. "I really need to focus on my work and stuff, but when I have an open day, I'll let you know."

Namjoon nodded, reaching over the table and swiping his thumb against the side of Tsai's lip. He licked his thumb innocently, before putting his sketchbook away in his backpack. "You had cocoa on the side of your lip. I couldn't resist, sorry about that."

Tsai didn't say a word, she simply put her head down to avoid Namjoon from seeing the blush across her cheeks. "I could've gotten it, you know. You could've just told me."

"I like cocoa," Namjoon stood from the table with his bag on his back, "because it's also how I like my women. Goodbye, Tsai, I'll see you later." Namjoon turned to leave.

Tsai waved goodbye, suddenly stopping when she realized the truth behind Namjoon's words.

Namjoon likes black women.