INEVITABLE

Chapter 35

Yuri relaxes on the couch and looks up at the ceiling.

What the hell is she thinking? Maybe she's only feeling this way because she's the one who cheated on Ryujin before.

She massages her temples, still remembering the look on Ryujin's face from before; how she was mad, how she cried, and how she willingly accepted Yuri after everything.

Yuri should trust her wife the way Ryujin still trusts her even after what she had done before.

Ryujin doesn't deserve any of this suspicion.

---

"What? You met your soulmate too recently?" Yuri asks, surprised. "How did you guys do that?"

Yeji puts away the papers and places them inside a folder. "To be honest, I don't know. It just happened."

"Like seriously? How come you and Miss Jisu are finding your soulmates like they are just dropping out of nowhere?"

Yeji chuckles. "It's not as simple as that. I just met mine recently. Jisu met hers three years ago."

"Still, it's something." Yuri sips then shakes her now empty cup of Frappuccino. "Finding someone's soulmate is very rare these days."

"I agree," Yeji says. "How about you; aren't you curious about your soulmate?"

Yuri eyes Yeji, then back to her empty cup, before finally deciding to put it down.

"I used to not care about it because it's always been Ryujin for me. But I've to admit the idea pops in my head from time to time recently after hearing miss Jisu's story about her soulmate. I think it'll be imprinted on my mind now after hearing yours."

Yeji smiles as she sips from her cup.

"You know what..." Yuri pauses, folding her arms against the table, "truth is, I consulted with a shaman last week in Alaska during our overlay."

"Oh. You did?" Yeji looks at her. "And then what happened?"

"It wasn't intentional." Yuri props her chin on her palm. "My colleagues and I were touring around a village when we spotted a small shop with a poor 'shaman inside' signage. Curious, we went in. an elderly man who claimed he's a shaman greeted us. He asked if we wanted a session and an activation. We didn't know what the hell that meant, so he explained it first. then when we asked for the price, he said he's charging us $250 each."

"Freaking $250 each?" Yeji's eyes grow wide. "That's too much!"

"That's what my friends thought." Yuri chuckles. "We didn't push through with it the first time. But I came back alone the next day to find out."

"It got in your head, huh?" Yeji smirks. "And what did he say?"

"Nothing concrete." Yuri grimaces, thinking she wasted that amount of money for nothing. "He said I'll meet my soulmate in a room with white walls and an aqua blue couch."

"That's quite specific if you'd ask me."

"Well, yeah. But the thing is, our apartment unit has white walls and an aqua blue couch. It's my favorite color. I picked it before when Ryujin and I were shopping for a couch."

"Oh. Did you tell him that?"

Yuri shakes her head. "That's the part that amazed me because he figured that out without me telling anything about myself. But still, none of it makes sense. He said I'll feel a pull on my ring finger if I focus on it. I tried it secretly with Ryujin in the same room, but it didn't work." she shakes her head again and sighs. "Do you think I got scammed?"

"I don't know. It's hard to say." Yeji shrugs. "But if I were to give my two cents, I think it means Ryujin isn't your soulmate. The shaman said you'll meet yours in that white room with the aqua blue couch. You didn't meet Ryujin there. You met her before when you were teens."

Yuri pouts and thinks. "Well, you're right about that. So, she really isn't my soulmate, huh?" she taps her fingers on the table. "Does that mean I'll meet my soulmate too, soon?"

"That I can't say. But if that shaman is legit, and he activated the thread for you, it is bound to happen."

Yuri sighs, running her fingers through her hair. "Now I'm not sure if I made the right move by consulting with him."

Yeji chuckles. "And why is that?"

"It doesn't feel right. I mean, I have Ryujin already. I shouldn't be looking for my soulmate."

Yeji hums. "I understand where you're coming from. But at least you got that out of you, you know. I'm sure curiosity would keep haunting you if that didn't happen."

Yuri sighs. "You're right. I agree with you. Sooner or later, I'm sure I'll still consult with a shaman if I get another chance."

"I hope you won't feel too bad about it," Yeji says. "I seriously think it's the spirits who urged you to do that."

Yuri finally relaxes at Yeji's words. "Thank you for saying that. It's tough for me to accept this reality of soulmates, you know. I was a non-believer since birth."

"I totally feel you there." Yeji points a finger. "It feels like you're burning your skin, right?"

"Right." Yuri chuckles. "But I'm curious, how does it feel to be with your soulmate?"

"I've never been happier," Yeji says. "I admit I was hurt before when Jisu admitted to me all about her soulmate. It didn't make sense at that time. But now that I look back, seeing things in a different light, I'm thankful it happened."

"Is it better than any of the relationships you've had before?"

"Far better! I've never thought being in a relationship can make someone feel so happy and blessed and content. There are no words for it. And the sex... mmm!" Yeji bites her lower lip.

Yuri covers her mouth with a hand when she chuckles.

"I'm serious though." Yeji gives a sincere smile. "After meeting Chaeryoung, for the first time in my life, it feels like I'm whole again. There's no more room for doubts or anything. It's pure bliss, love, and contentment. It's like I finally found a home after a long journey."

'Finally found a home after a long journey.'

Yuri couldn't understand, but every word Yeji said hit her right in the heart.

It's not like Yuri's not happy with Ryujin. Ryujin's been the greatest love she knew all her life.

But what if everything Yeji says about soulmates is true?

Is it really possible to have a relationship where there is pure happiness and contentment?

A relationship with no doubt?

Ryujin's face flashes on her mind.

Yuri looks down at her ring finger, wondering if she really wants to meet the person at the other end of her thread.