Tastebuds (Specifically Yours)

- two

"Bastard." Mingyu spoke, sucking harder on the popsicle as revenge. "Excuse me?" Mingyu's mother called, stepping into the dining area, looking ready to take on the day. "I certainly hope that wasn't directed at me, young man. Why aren't you dressed for school yet? And why are you eating a popsicle at 7:00am?" Mingyu chuckles while placing the box of popsicles back into the freezer. "Of course it wasn't, Mom. My soulmate decided to drink dishwater or something this morning. I had to eat a whole popsicle to make him stop!" Mingyu's mother had always been very amused by her son's soulmate's antics. The system of communication the two had developed was dear to her, and she could see that her son was already quite smitten with his soulmate. She smiled fondly at Mingyu before kissing him on the cheek, saying her goodbye for the day. "And don't be late for school today!" she bellowed, gathering her purse and keys. Mingyu only rolled his eyes at her retreating figure because, "I'm perpetually late, Mom! It's no use to try and stop something the world intended to happen!" to which he recieved an even more dramatic eyeroll, and a quiet, "Love you," before his mother pulled the door shut behind her.

What Mingyu had said was a famous line from The Taste of Your Future, a horrid book on the study of soulmates that every person is required to read when they reach grade school. The book it's self was absolute bullshit, but Mingyu cared about his grades. Therefore; he read the entire book, and wrote an incredible, but hurried, essay over it and tried not to think about it ever again. Of course, like many of his other plans, that didn't work out. He was in the middle of his third year of high school, and the damn book still entered his thoughts whenever there was a free space. As a result of his constant thinking about soulmates, Mingyu began studying the logistics of it, and could tell you pretty much any origin story you wanted to hear. The one that involves coconuts falling from trees and rewiring the brains of humans? No problem. Or maybe the one about the woman who was forced to eat a cursed fruit that allowed her to taste only what her "soulmate" tasted? Easy-peasy. There were hundreds of origin stories, and it was a widely accepted standard to teach them to children as if they were religion. But the thing that always bothered Mingyu was this: none of the origin stories made sense. None of them! For years, Mingyu tried to figure it out, but most people thought it to be something that "just happened" or a "miracle". Mingyu believed neither of those theories, because,

1. it was ridiculously inconvenient, and inconveniences were no miracle in his book;

2. things like that don't just happen!

There was no evidence behind anything; no documents, no medical records, nothing. For the longest time, Mingyu would just get mad whenever his soulmate thought of him because, "They can taste my tongue, but they don't know my name? I really hate that, Mom." Obviously, he grew to accept it with time. Mingyu had come to the conclusion that his soulmate was a very hopeful and considerate person, and he admired that. One of the tips to meeting your soulmate given by The Taste Of Your Future is this:

"Be open-minded and accepting of everyone you meet. You never know who might have you on their mind." Mingyu had lived the past six years of his life with that statement ringing in his ears. He could only hope that his soulmate felt the same way.