[ O1. meeting ]
— good night (piano trio) / lee jin ah
kim taehyung and jeon jeongguk first cross paths in a classy, chandelier-lit restaurant in seoul, south korea.
it's meeting day.
taehyung, donning a casual pair of black trousers and a navy checkered button-down shirt, takes a deep breath and enters the restaurant, where a woman at the counter leads him to an empty table. his date has yet to arrive.
"would you like any drinks to start your night, mr. kim?" a waitress asks him, holding out a menu.
"just water please. make it two, please. um, i'm meeting someone."
the older woman smiles down at him warmly, glancing at the steady, blinking white ring on his wrist against her own, which blinks red. she's already found her soulmate.
"assigned another relationship, huh? i remember when i first met my soulmate back in my twenties. such wonderful, exhilarating days those were." she says. "the System works wonders! my husband and i truly feel like we are meant to be together. so don't let bad relationships tarnish your hopes. everything happens for a reason."
with that, the waitress quickly leaves to retrieve his drinks. taehyung shuffles in his seat, running a hand through his hair. this isn't the first relationship that the System has assigned him, yet there's still a tiny part of him that always feels nervous, no matter how low he sets his expectations.
the words written inside the ring on his wrist spell out a simple name in korean: jeon jeongguk.
taehyung has imagined a hundred different forms for this jeongguk - a scrawny gamer with thick rectangular frames perhaps, or a businessman dressed in a form-fitting suit, maybe a passionate musician with spiky hair and leather apparel? - he's thought of all the possibilities as to not be surprised when faced with the real encounter.
he's learned to understand the ephemerality of relationships that aren't with his assigned soulmate and accept it, choosing to let the System do it's job of collecting data from every relationship in order to find his most compatible partner.
at best, this relationship would only last a couple years, even if jeongguk turned out to be some big-bellied lazy ass who spent all his days on the couch binge watching television. taehyung could deal.
a subtle cough sends taehyung out of his trance. looking up, taehyung meets the gaze of his next partner, a certain jeon jeongguk who, (un)surprisingly, is not half as bad as taehyung had prepared himself for. jeongguk, if taehyung were to assign him an adjective at first glance, would be captivating. jeongguk, slender yet surprisingly well-built, looks even taller looking down at taehyung in his black jeans and crisp white tee. taehyung lets out a sigh he must've been holding in, and breaks out into a welcoming smile.
"...am i at the right table?" jeongguk asks, scrambling to swipe at his wrist to get the name. "k-kim taehyung?"
taehyung can't help but stifle a chuckle at his evident uneasiness. "that would be me. you must be jeon jeongguk."
"oh. yes. it's nice to meet you, taehyung." jeongguk merely murmurs, holding out a shy hand to which taehyung gladly shakes.
the two sit, taehyung staring intently at jeongguk, whose eyes dart all over the restaurant as if trying to find the quickest method of escape. the waitress returns with their drinks and two heaping plates of food, already chosen by the System based on their personal preferences.
"so."
"hm?" jeongguk squeaks, glancing up like deer caught in headlights. "yes?"
"are you ... always this nervous? i must admit, it's cute, but if this is how it's always gonna be ..."
"oh, no. it's because this is my first relationship. i mean, you're my first partner. so."
at this, taehyung's eyes widen. maybe even touched at being someone's first if he weren't so surprised, but he hasn't heard much of relationships between first-timers and those nearing their final relationship.
"i'm your first partner." taehyung mutters mostly to himself, "this. this is my fourth relationship."
"your fourth?"
"yeah. last one ended a couple weeks ago. expiration was 9 months. too long to be with a woman who only spoke about three sentences to me a day."
"i'm sorry."
"it's okay." taehyung offers a smile. "do you want to check our expiration?"
at this, jeongguk nods, fingers shaking slightly as he holds out his wrist. "together on the count of three? one. two. three."
with a quick swipe, the two gander at the blinding, red number on their wrists: 12 hours. just enough for dinner and a night at their assigned lodging.
"12 hours." jeongguk says, disappointment etched on his face. "isn't it kind of short?"
taehyung reaches to give the younger an empathetic pat on the shoulder. "i know you probably had high hopes, but it's usually short on your first go. hey, we can still make this a good experience though, yeah? we can stay up and go stargazing or sneak into a concert or hit up the bars, whatever you want."
jeongguk looks only slightly comforted at taehyung's words, digging into his plate of pasta. "yeah. but i kind of just want to see what the lodging looks like. and sleep. i couldn't get a second of sleep last night because i was too nervous to meet you."
taehyung grins at jeongguk's innocence. endearing. "anything you want. i'll even let you take the bed and i'll sleep on the sofa for the night."
"it's okay. i'm sure it's big enough for two."
"are you sure?"
"i'm fine." jeongguk nods, though taehyung thinks otherwise. it's cute how he tries to sound convincing, though.
"are you sure sure?" taehyung jokes, peering into jeongguk's big eyes.
"i am! truly, i'm perfectly okay. i promise. really." jeongguk laughs, catching onto taehyung's playful banter. taehyung thinks it's the first genuine laugh jeongguk has let out tonight. it's a bright, warming sound that fills the room in such a compelling way that unexpectedly makes taehyung's heart swell unknowingly with a feeling unparalleled to anything he's ever felt in any of his past three relationships.
