Labelled Yours
In a world reshaped by rapid technological advancement, humanity found yet another way to optimize connection: the Soulmate System.
Backed by global policy and powered by an intricate algorithm, the system pairs individuals based on compatibility: shared history, emotional resonance, and biological markers. It promises balance. Stability. A greater chance at lasting love. But its creators never admitted its limits.
The system can identify a bond, but it cannot force one. Love is more than data and connection, and not everyone trusts an algorithm to decide who they should spend their life with.
Some believe the system is flawed, easily manipulated by the wealthy to secure ideal matches for their heirs. Others see it as near-perfect intelligence, capable of guiding people toward happiness if they only surrender to it. After all, millions of people are satisfied with the lives it has built for them.
The system chooses a person during their teenage years. One morning, a name appears on their wrist, faint as ink beneath the skin. Permanent. Unavoidable.
Kirsten Park wakes up to a name she already knows.
She never believed in fate. After the mark appeared on her skin, she tried to hide it, terrified of what the truth might destroy.
But the longer she denies it, the worse it becomes.
The chip begins to malfunction. The mark glows whenever he's near, sharp with heat beneath her skin. It stings. It burns.
A constant reminder that secrets always come with consequences.