cacophony | ksy

xvii

music was different than what she remembered. she couldn't actually remember the sound, but she knew it naturally wasn't as mechanical as what she was hearing.

nevertheless, she could tell that the song was gorgeous. soonyoung was talented, a fact she was well aware of, and this only convinced her further.

in the back of her mind, she could mentally "hear" a smoother version of the rhythm and melody. she didn't know where it was coming from, but she appreciated that she had a better idea of the song her closest friend was sharing with her.

soonyoung watched daeun's expressions anxiously. amazement, disappointment, and content all graced her face.

the disappointment worried him until his subconscious was taken over by a machine-like hum. the beats resembled the song he had worked on for so many months, confusing him further.

a brief thought danced across his mind. is it my soulmate? he shook his head, reminding himself of the absence he had experienced for years. seven years.

seven years. how long daeun hasn't been able to hear. how long it has been since soonyoung's soulmate had heard anything.

dots began to connect and soonyoung was overloaded with emotions.

he could barely find the mental capacity to speak coherently or sign to daeun, so he wrote it all out.

he wrote out his theory and when daeun looked back up in disbelief, he pulled up a wikipedia page.

daeun nearly laughed at the fact that his source was wikipedia but she too was overrun by emotion. when her and soonyoung talked about his soulmate and she learned of the timeframe, she would be lying if she hoped that it was her.

she pushed that wish out of her mind. it was coincidental, too surreal. there was no way they could be soulmates, right?

suddenly soonyoung changed the song in the background. at the same time, the sounds in the back of their minds changed to match. he could hear the mechanical sound again, and she could hear a clearer beat.

daeun nearly cried. soonyoung did cry.

this was what she was hearing. it wasn't what she had hoped and dreamed for for seven years.

however, she could still hear real music. daeun would never be able to describe it, but the soulmate sensation was so similar to real hearing that it was like soonyoung was her ears.

even with the cochlear implant, he was still her ears.

they both had that realization along with the many others and embraced. soonyoung kissed her head so many times she lost count.

they laid on soonyoung's couch, everything starting to piece together and just feel. . . right.

in that moment, they both knew that everything would be fine.

they would do it all together, like they always had.