The Universe Makes Mistakes Sometimes - Replay

Guestrooms and Gut Feelings

Kim Jungwoo woke up sore, sweaty and uncomfortable. Memories of last night floated through his head, but as if they were droplets of ink dripped into water, they began to thin and spread until there was nothing left at them.

The room he awoke in was different, but not unfamiliar to him. The floral wallpaper, soft queen-sized bed, and canvases of landscape country scenes all pointed to one person: Ten's mother. This must be his guest room.

Jungwoo slowly peeled himself off of the soiled bedsheets, wincing as his stomach churned.

Oh god...he was going to be sick...

He jumped up, limping lopsidedly to the en suite bathroom. As much as he didn't want to move, he'd already ruined Ten's mother's bedsheets with...whatever had happened last night, and he didn't want to make matters worse by vomiting his guts.

He rushed toward the toilet, throwing the lid up and promptly vomiting.

He flushed the bile down the toilet and turned on the tap to rinse out his mouth.

I know Ten's Mom has spare toothbrushes...but where are they...in the bathroom cabinet?

And that's when Jungwoo saw it.

As he reached towards the mirror-panelled doors of the bathroom cabinet, he caught in the reflection something that made his head spin...even more than it already did.

There was something black on his wrist.

He tried to rub it off with a flannel, then wash it off under the tap, but it didn't come off.

Fuck...I wasn't drunk enough to get a tattoo...was I?

Well he'd been drunk enough to cheat on Taeho, hadn't he? But that was something he would have to deal with later.

But even if it was a tattoo, how had he got it? He'd woke up still in Ten's house, albeit not where he planned to wake up on Saturday morning, but also not on the curb outside some tattoo parlour in town. Besides, it seemed that he'd had other...things...planned last night.

But what if a tattoo artist had come to the party?

No, no that didn't make sense. Wouldn't they have to lug all the equipment into Ten's living room? And Jungwoo was sure that even if he'd been shit-faced drunk last night, he would've notice a makeshift tattoo parlour in the middle of Ten's living room.

Something twisted in Jungwoo's stomach (not puke this time), as he realised what it was. And weirdly, it seemed to make so much sense, even as he wished it didn't. For some strange reason, it felt like this...this...mark was meant to be on Jungwoo's wrist. Like he'd seen it before.

It could only be one thing. A soulmark.

He rushed out of the guest room, tears prickling his eyes.

As soon as he exited the room, he ran straight into Ten...and Johnny.

"Oh! Hey Woo, I didn't know you stayed over," Ten said, helping the grey-haired boy up.

"Err...yeah."

Ten stood on the tips of toes to peer over Jungwoo's shoulder and into the guest room, "Who were you with?"

"I...I...err...I don't..." Jungwoo mumbled, trying to escape the situation. He just wanted to go home.

"You...don't know?" Ten asked, his wiggling eyebrows furrowing into a look of worry.

Jungwoo ignored him, once again trying to push past the couple. He felt heat rise up in his cheeks...if Ten was concerned that Jungwoo didn't know who he'd...err...been with last night - Ten, the hoe to rule all hoes - well...let's just say that wasn't good. Ten pulled him back, cupping his mouth to whisper to Jungwoo.

"But what about Taeho? Did you break up with him?"

The taller male didn't answer, instead chirping a rushed goodbye to Johnny and Ten before sprinting out the front door.

~~~

Yukhei had many regrets in his life, even if he did want to seem like the type of guy who acted before thinking, lives like to the fullest and took every chance and risk.

But this was probably what he regretted most.

When he woke up, when he saw that black mark on his wrist, he was scared. He knew what it was, of course he did. Yeah, he'd had many one night stands in his time, he'd had more girlfriends that he could count of his hands (and feet), and if he earned a dollar every time he flirted with a girl, he'd be the richest man in the world by now.

So yes, he regretted having a soulmate at all. But what he regretted the most was leaving before he could find out who his soulmate was..

All he could think was, I have to get the fuck out of here, and so he had.

If Yukhei was honest, something felt strange about his soulmark...something right, like it had been there all along. It was a kind of gut feeling that swirled in his stomach. Flashing images popped up in Yukhei's skull...lips on his...the smoothest skin in existence...a soulmark just like his, but in the shape of a sun instead. It was as if he'd seen it many times before...

But he could think about that later. For now, he had a soulmate to catch.

~~~

guys omg his chapter has been ready for a whole 2 weeks, I just forgot to publish it 😩😩