-ᴍᴀғɪᴀ/sᴏᴜʟᴍᴀᴛᴇ ᴀᴜ-
sʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ɢɪʀʟ- ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ɢᴇᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀᴡ.
ʜᴇ... ᴡᴀsɴ'ᴛ.
-in which Rin is an unwanted soulmate at the mercy of a cold gang leader-
- Would you love me less? No, no, no, no, no, no, no -
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Rin's breath hitched vigorously with at the sight of his lachrymose eyes, and she felt her heart swell in dolence- itching to hug Chenle, yet refrained when she remembered he had flinched when she tried to touch him before.
Ripping his gaze from her's, the boy attempted to blink away his tears as his mind continued to drone in pessimism, yet the droplets refused to disperse.
"What's wrong?" She cooed softly, her reassuring tone sailing through Chenle's ears like a cloud drifting through the sky.
Chenle's lips pursed together, mind raging as he contemplated his next words. Chenle wasn't one to express his worries through words; he always felt with his problems by diving into work- anything to take his mind off of her.
Yet Rin's eyes seemed to draw words from his throat, extracting his entire life story with a single glance from those big, chocolatey eyes that he sought refuge in.
"I'd bore you," He wryly commented, trying anything that would avoid the conversation.
Turning herself to face Chenle, she stared gently into his gleaming orbs, prepared to experience Hell with Chenle if she had to.
"Try me," She quipped, sending him a small, assuring smile.
Holding her gaze for longer than necessary, the boy searched for any signs of delusion- any sign that her words were sweet traps, yet all he found was sincerity swarming her irises.
Expelling a subtle sigh from his lips, Chenle wondered where he was to start, and how much he should tell her. Everything? Nothing? An abridged version?
Deciding to simply see where his words took him, Chenle's lips hesitantly parted as his troubles fought to escape his heart, yet he didn't know how to permit it to do so.
He felt lost. Lost in his words, lost in his past, lost in his mind, and lost in Rin.
Warm eyes welcoming any speech, the girl's genuine concern only grew for her soulmate as her eyes raked over him, confusion making her heart beat with more worry.
She was a trap, but not in a way that Chenle expected; her soft, fudge eyes imprisoned him in a sense of tranquility, lulling his words to escape his chest, despite his desperate attempts to hold them back. Manipulative; she emitted a kind aura that unwillingly attracted Chenle's trust, but he couldn't trust her, nor could he trust anyone else.
"When I was younger, I met someone named Iseul..." Chenle nearly whispered, barely trusting his voice.
Those words slipped from his lips before he could hold them back, and regret constricted his heart, yet his words didn't cease.
"It was dumb- who dates someone who's not your soulmate?" He murmured silently, and his voice cracked mid-sentence.
Eyes unable to meet Rin's, Chenle stared solemnly at the ground in front of him, and she gazed at him endearingly as she attentively listened to him vent.
"You remind me of her- the way she was when we first met," He continued, forlornly gazing into his past with rue, "She was sweet, and was always smiling, no matter the situation. She- she used to make me these little cookies everyday because she worried I wasn't eating enough, which was ridiculous."
Miles away in his own oblivion, Chenle's past flickered within his brain like an old dream, yet every moment if it was vivid and detailed.
"Then... sh-she changed," Chenle murmured, raw emotion cracking his voice, "First, it was things that just seemed unusual. She would tell me I was her's, and only her's- like I was an object to be owned- until I believed it. I felt like I couldn't live without her, and pleasing her was the only point to my life, even if I was miserable."
His jaw clenching together in a refusal to deal with it all, the boy shook his head in a useless attempt to rid himself of emotion, yet he was deemed unsuccessful.
"I thought that was fine, of course, and I didn't question it when she stopped baking cookies- I just assumed that she would be happier relaxing than worrying about me, and I was okay with that."
His distant eyes stared at the face of the one he had loved, seeing her perfect, round face and alluring, fake smile as terror-inspiring- not endearing like he had once believed it was.
"Eventually, her manipulation became threats," Chenle articulated, choking on his words a little. "First, I couldn't have female friends without being scolded. Then I couldn't speak to the opposite gender, which eventually lead to me not being able to look at them without wondering if I was being followed home."
Sucking in a shaky breath, the boy scoffed out wryly, seeing how ridiculous it all sounded.
"Then I found out that her threats weren't empty," He muttered lowly, pulling his knees closer to his chest, "She broke my arm once for accidentally glancing at her friend."
A silent gasp sounded from Rin's lips, yet she didn't interject as she awaited his words, her heart lurching with both his pain and her own for him as she listened.
"Another time, I bought her a present she didn't like for Christmas," He continued, eyes narrowing as he spoke, "She pushed me down the stairs- sending me to the hospital- for such a petty reason like that."
Eyes pooling with sympathy, Rin's lips curled with sadness as he continued.
"But I didn't leave," He breathed, hands balling into fists. "I was so sure that we were happy together, and that it was my fault that I was hurt- my fault. I was her's, wasn't I? Didn't that mean that she was free to do what she liked with me? I was like her doll, and I would do anything to please her, anything to make her love me, even though I assured myself that she did."
Chenle's voice rose with the built up emotions that had he had pent up within his heart for too long, never to escape, but now that they were out in the open... they were unstoppable.
"It wasn't your fault, she was manipulative, that's how they work," Rin mumbled, fiddling with her fingers. "They gain your trust, then they try to break you."
A humored, yet pained, scoff straggled out of Chenle's throat, and his brimmed eyes met her's, still pondering if her empathy was genuine.
"I know, that's criminal 101," He quipped, shaking his head with disappointment in himself, "But I let her do it anyways."
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