Tally Marks- soulmate au

Chapter One: Coffee Clash

Junhui had awoken to the muffled sounds of a bustling New York city. He glanced over at the clock on the wall.

7:45

Then the calendar.

September 24th, 1945

He slumped back into his bed with a light groan. It was Monday, he had to spend another day at the office. He was currently working as a secretary for for this big fashion designer, despite fashion not really being a prominent aspect in daily life around there. Especially since the war just ended a few weeks ago. Everyone was just trying to get back to their regular daily lives. There were people mourning everywhere. No one was actually interested in if their outfit for the day would impress those around them. Well, except for Junhui. World War II was the third war he had lived through, although, he only fought in one of them. The military didn't find him "mentally stable" enough to fight. So he stayed home, found a job, easily worked his way to the top since there wasn't much competition. Obviously, no one was really trying to be the top of some fashion industry when their family members were out fighting and protecting their country. So, within a few years, after America had joined the fight, he had made it as the personal secretary of Anne Klein. She was a kind enough woman, born in 1923 and had found her soulmate not many years later. In fact, they had been married for about two years, now. Two seemed to be her number right now, considering she also only had two tally marks. Lucky her. She was quite proud of her limited number of marks, it left her body clean and pure, and so she assumed her soul was too. However, she often used her number of marks to shame those around her. Especially her secretary who was currently holding 177 tally marks. She was also quite a beautiful woman and a beloved fashion icon, he considered himself very lucky to be working by her side. The females in the community especially looked up to her, she was a strong woman and despite the war, she still thrived. He loved working by her side, it was just, her attitude was a bit of a problem. She was very condescending, and quite rude about it too. She lived off of putting people down, and Junhui was a perfect victim. He's lived for 195 years, 195 lonely years. Years without success, or having done anything beneficial for him or the human race as a whole and yet, there she was, a 22 year old, married woman with a powerful company that helped change the lives of American women. He felt utterly useless when he talked to her, but at least the pay was good. And the experience could really help him if he ever decided to leave her company.

So, after spending some time convincing himself to start his day, he dragged his legs off of his bed and crawled to a standing position, like some slippery creature. His body felt heavy, like it always did. The weight of living felt like it was killing him. Slowly. But he survived life like he always did. Putting up his daily guise which consisted of him picking up his smile and applying it like makeup. He'd then proceed to make others laugh with his rehearsed antics. It had become a norm. His norm.

He put on his drab work attire, tan trousers paired with a white long sleeve button up. He then proceeded to look through his small collection of ties, ultimately deciding on a charcoal grey one before putting it on along with a black satin button up vest. Junhui spent a few minutes gelling back his hair back into a sleek, modern look. He then slipped on his only pair of black dress shoes before grabbing his long, dark grey, winter wool coat. He put his coat on and grabbed his dull fedora before heading out into the cool winter air. He didn't have money for a cab, well, he did, he was just hoping to save it, use it for something better, so he walked. He walked to his daily coffee shop, the same one he visited every morning. He had actually made friends with the workers there, and the other daily customers who generally came around the same time he did. Everyone seemed to have a routine and they all seemed to stick with it too.

He stepped into the small coffee shop and walked up to the cashier, who happened to be Seungkwan today. The regular smell of smoke and coffee filled his nose. He had always loved that smell. It felt so...natural to him. And that's something he needed, a bit of normality in his life. It's kind of what everyone needed right now.