First & Last [RenMin] ✔

01

A/N : Happy New Year to all :)

Huang Renjun always tried to imagine the sort of person that he would have as a soulmate. For as long as he could remember, even when he was little, he tried drawing out an image in his head: how they would look, what sort of personality they would have and all the things they would do together once they met. The older he got, the more it changed.

When he was six, he pictured someone his age, with blonde hair and blue eyes; he blamed all the barbie dolls his cousins would make him play with. When he was ten, he thought it would be someone like the boy in his class, Hyunsuk, who always smiled at him whenever he got a chance. At sixteen, he pictured a foreigner with broad shoulders who loved football and secretly read in their spare time and would give him attention as much as they breathed.

Now, at twenty, he didn't care about all of that. As long as his soulmate loved him, that was more than he could ever ask for.

The sound of his phone ringing pulls him back to reality. He pulls it out and swipes the answer button without looking, because he already suspected who it was.

"Renjun," the familiar voice of his friend, Chenle, grumbles into the speaker of the phone, confirming his suspicions. By the tone alone, he already knows where their conversation is heading. "You said no again?" he demands when Renjun doesn't respond right away. He can hear the disappointment, but that's all it is. Disappointment. This little stunt he pulled is so common that they both know the last thing Chenle is, is surprised. When it came to set ups, it was a common courtesy for Renjun to decline and, if Chenle actually got him to agree, he'd cancel at the last minute. It wasn't anything personal though. He just hated being set up with total strangers that way. And if they were really meant to be his soulmate, they would have tried a little more. The thing about these setups was that every time he went on them, the person wouldn't even be interested in him. They'd be so focused on trying to bring themselves across in a good lighting that they barely spoke to him.

He'd always been picky when it came to dating, something his friend Haechan told him was bad. If he had been picky, he never would have met Mark. The certainty that they were soulmates was there. Even Jeno had found someone, albeit they had yet to meet him. That just left him in the group. Though it never really bothered him; he had his whole life ahead of him thus he was perfectly alright with waiting, something his friends couldn't understand.

"He didn't like me," Renjun states firmly, holding back a sigh. As much as he tried to, Chenle never understood. Heading into the building, he makes his way over to the mailboxes and pulls out his key, phone pressed between his ear and his shoulder as he unlocks his own mailbox. He can hear Chenle's response before it comes—that's just how common this conversation had become.

"He didn't even know you." There's a pause. His breathing comes through the speaker in little huffs. "You didn't give him a chance, Ren."

"And not every guy you put in front of me deserves a chance, Chen." He pauses to gather the letters out of the box before slamming the little door closed and locking it again. "Besides, I don't think you knew him very well."

Chenle's voice falters in an instant. "I—"

"Seriously? I told you no strangers, Chen. I specifically recall mentioning that if you felt like setting me up that badly, at least make sure they're not total strangers. What were you thinking?" It was one thing turning down his friends' friends and having there be an awkward tension between them if they ever ran into each other again, but it was a totally different thing when it was a stranger. Strangers made it awkward, for the person setting up as much as for Renjun.

"I was thinking it would be nice to not have you be a fifth wheel when we go on dates."

"And I was thinking I didn't mind it, but clearly I was wrong." He's at his doorstep now, rummaging for the apartment key. He'd been lucky enough to get the second floor apartment; he didn't want any of the apartments from the third floor up because he didn't like heights all that much and every apartment had these balconies. He didn't want the first floor apartments because he didn't want to miss out on a balcony in the first place. So when this place came up for offer, he jumped at it.

"Look, Chen, I've got to go. We can talk later." He waits a moment before ending the call and now it's so much easier to unlock the door. He steps into the little apartment he's called home for the last three years and sucks in a breath of air, bag dropping to the spot beside the door. He starts calling out for his cat, Kyong, when he freezes.

The apartment was open spaced, so when you walked in, you were already in the living room, the balcony falling part of it to his right. To the left was the kitchen, the only thing separating it from the living room being the counter. Walking past these rooms, you had two doors; to the left was the bathroom and to the right was the bedroom. And despite living here for as long as he did, there wasn't much to fill the space.

So when he sees someone he doesn't recognize seated on his couch and having a conversation with his cat, his first instinct is freezing up. The guy is pretty: fair skin, pitch black hair and a thin face that, in any other situation, Renjun would have considered cute. Right now, he wanted to know who this guy was in the first place and what he was doing in his apartment.

He takes a step forward and the guy's head shoots up.

Sad. It's the first thing that pops into his mind when their eyes lock. Despite the softest of smiles across his face, his eyes were unbearably sad, like something tragic just happened and he was still overcoming the shock of it.

"Who are you?" Renjun says as the guy is about to look away and he's shaking. Renjun's hands are trembling, out of fear most likely and he can barely stand still as he stares at the guy in anticipation of a response. When he doesn't receive one, he takes another step forward. "Hey, I'm talking to you," he tries again, firmer this time. "Who are you? What are you doing in my apartment?" There's a quake in his voice that he can't hide. His voice is shaking along with the rest of him and more than anything he's tempted to pull out his phone and call the police or Haechan or Chenle.

Renjun whips out his phone when the guy doesn't say anything; he miss dials the number the first three times because he's trying to keep his eye on the guy and because of how much he's shaking now. He doesn't recall ever being in a situation where a break-in occurred. He'd always heard of them on the news, but this was the first time he was bearing witness; this was his first time being a victim and—

"You can see me?"

There's a jolt of electricity through his body at the sound of this guy's voice. It's something he couldn't begin to describe. A mixture of deep and high, somewhere in between but not quite like those voices. There's a soft lilt in his tone that comes off as sad as his eyes. A rasp Renjun picks up from the first syllable, like he's been crying.

He lifts his gaze to meet the guy's.

"Excuse me?" he stammers, but the sentence itself hits him in the gut. He's already dawning on the conclusion. Heart racing in his chest, he silently pleads this conclusion be wrong. For once he just needs to be wrong and he hopes he misheard the guy because it can't be possible. This can't be it and if it is, fuck. Just fuck.

"I thought you were talking to the cat, but..." He trails off in that voice of his that is making Renjun's stomach churn uncomfortable, but at the same time is sending jolts through him. Like he can actually feel the guy in front of him speaking. "But you can see me." This time the guy whispers and for some reason, Renjun's eyes start to burn as they brim with tears he tries to blink away.

"Oh." Renjun is whispering now, forcing his words past the lump in his throat. "Shit."