promised - kim namjoon

twelve

Taehyung's chest is slowly burning with this tingling sensation he can't describe. It's like a mixture of adoration and relief, with a bit of disbelief and surprise.

Taehyung wouldn't have thought that his soulmate would have been a man, let alone an attractive one. How would he even explain this to his parents? Knowing their homophobic beliefs, there was no way they'd allow this relationship.

"Does that make me gay?" Taehyung gasped, before clasping a hand over his lips. All the times he was questioning his sexuality back in high school were probably a sign to this day. The times when he sat in his room in the middle of the night and cried because he didn't know if he liked boys or not came flooding back.

This truly wasn't the place to make such decisions, not with the fact that his soulmate and sweetheart were at the booth wondering if he was okay.

He took deep breaths, trying to think of a way out of this situation. How could he make this less awkward? How could he make it out of this place without Tsai questioning h-"

"Sir?" 

Taehyung turned his head to the bathroom entrance, seeing Jungkook sticking his head into the bathroom. He's nervous, Taehyung can tell by his twitching fingers on the doorknob and the way the man's eyes were looking around the room rapidly.

Jungkook stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

"I'm sorry if what I did back there really made you upset, I promise that it will come out of my paycheck. I-I just came back here to check if you were okay, and you're pacing around, so I'm pretty sure you're not so again I'm so so-"

"Stop rambling," Taehyung sighed, looking into Jungkook's eyes, "I didn't run off because of the water you spilled. I could care less about it."

"Oh," Jungkook's eyebrow raised, before he chuckled, "I honestly thought that I did something horribl-"

Taehyung pulled up his shirt, showing off his soulmate tattoo to Jungkook. "You and I are soulmates, Jungkook."

Taehyung shouldn't have told the guy so abruptly, because Jungkook's breathing stopped for so long that Taehyung had to shake him. The boy's eyes were glued to Taehyung's chest, the reality settling into his mind.

"I knew it," Jungkook whispered, "I knew you were familiar, I just didn't think it would be because you and I were soulmates." Jungkook bit his finger, looking Taehyung up and down before taking a step back.

"Does that mean we're in love now? Do we just become lovers instantly? Is today our anniversary?"

"Has no one explained to you what goes on with soulmates meeting?" Taehyung asked, his arms crossing, "We are soulmates who are romantically made for one another, we fit each other's dating criteria, God created us thinking about what we wanted from one another in a relationship. Today is our anniversary, and no, we do not suddenly become lovers. You don't even know my name and you think we're lovers?"

Jungkook rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid, I know how some things work."

Jungkook turned to the bathroom door again, locking it from the inside before looking at Taehyung again, this time with a loving gaze. Taehyung actually feels more safe now for some strange reason, since he's now with Jungkook.

"I never thought I'd find you," Jungkook mumbled, "I always thought you didn't exist, even though I had the tattoo. I didn't think I'd find you in such a place either." 

Taehyung grinned, before looking at the ground. "I'm blushing, stop..."

Jungkook laughed aloud before taking a step forward and hugging Taehyung. It was a bold move for two soulmates meeting for the first time, but Taehyung greeted him with open arms, holding the boy tightly to him. It was an overall emotional moment, one that both Taehyung and Jungkook wanted to cherish for as long as they could. However, Taehyung remembered Tsai, sitting there at the table alone, thinking he was sick.

"I need to go and find Tsai," Taehyung whispered, "I don't even know how I'm going to tell her all this." 

"Tell her later, after this date," Jungkook explained, "not here. We can exchange numbers, and you go back to her."

"Why do I feel like I'm cheating?" Taehyung mumbled, the heartache returning to him again. Jungkook doesn't say a word, only puts his head down, like he's ashamed. Taehyung puts his hand on the back of Jungkook's neck, rubbing it soothingly.

"Hey," Taehyung murmured, "this is not your fault or anything. This is just how it's meant to be, and Tsai and I talked about this moment happening anyways. She's prepared for it."

Jungkook nodded like an innocent child, and Taehyung started to think about all the things they'll do together so he can break him out of his awkward shell.

Taehyung and Jungkook exchanged numbers, and to make him even more flustered, Taehyung pressed his lips to Jungkook's cheek before leaving the bathroom and finding Tsai.

  ♂  

"Are you sure you're okay?" Tsai asked for the hundredth time, as her and Taehyung left the restaurant.

Taehyung smiled, loving how worried Tsai was for him. 

"I swear I'm okay, Tsai," Taehyung swore, "I'm absolutely fine. Please stop worrying about me."

"It's hard to do that when I watched you run out of the room after screaming," Tsai reminded him. "You still won't tell me the reason, and I'm actually slowly becoming more and more angry with you." 

Taehyung ran his fingers through Tsai's hair. "Don't be angry, Tsai, if you found out, you'd be more stressed than you already are."

Taehyung's heart ached thinking about how he couldn't tell Tsai about his soulmate. They were both prepared for this but he knew her eyes would be filled with tears the second she closed the door to her dorm room. He knew that even if she smiled and looked him in the face saying she was happy for him, that inside she would be fuming with jealousy and sadness.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" Taehyung asked, rubbing Tsai's head. 

"I think I'll get food poisoning from eating so much."

"I don't think that's how it works."

"Let me pretend I'm super smart for the time being, please."

Taehyung laughed aloud, pulling Tsai closer to his side. "I had fun tonight, I enjoyed hanging out with you." 

"I know, I'm such a fun person," Tsai joked, and Taehyung laughed even harder, a tear rolling out of his eye. "It wasn't even that funny!"

"I just love your kind of humor," Taehyung smiled. 

After they stopped in front of Tsai's dorm, Taehyung promised he would text her before she went to bed. 

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Tsai hugged him goodnight, before stepping on her toes, trying to reach his lips to kiss him. Taehyung put his fingers to lips and then pressed his fingers against her lips.

"You have fish breath," Taehyung lied, smirking as Tsai scoffed and turned around, going into her room and locking the door. He giggled when he heard Tsai purposely stomping to show that she wasn't as mad as she seemed. 

He leaned his head against the door for a moment before sighing, his heart aching a bit.

"I'm sorry, Tsai."