Shattered Souls (BTS)

Chapter 9: Madeline

It was something Madeline always wondered about. She wanted to know why people like her mom weren't gifted and why others were.

"When my parents found out I didn't have a soul mate, they cried. As if my life was over. Soul mates have become such a big part of our world and yet, we know next to nothing about it really." He continued, stirring his drink. "Why do we rely on them so much? Why do people who bond with their soul mates get sick? What about free will?"

Those were the type of questions people had been asking for centuries.

"There are also some people in the world who don't want soul mates. They don't want some bond," Madeline chipped in, bitterly. She didn't even want a soul mate in the first place and just when she was coming around to it, her own soul mates had decided not to search for theirs. She couldn't blame them—some of them had waited over ten years to meet their soul mate—but it still sucked.

"You don't want to meet your soul mates?" He queried, leaning forwards. Madeline flickered her gaze up to his warm brown eyes—eyes that could draw anybody in and hold them hostage.

Madeline threw her head back and chuckled sarcastically, "Already tried that. They didn't want anything to do with me. Didn't even get a chance to meet them."

Jensen's brows rose, "What do you mean you didn't get a chance to meet them?"

"Nothing," She shook her head, not wanting to reveal her soul mates were global superstars. "I never wanted to meet them anyways. In all honesty, I'm happy alone."

Jensen rested his elbows on the table, gazing at her intensely. "Alone? You don't want any sort of companionship?"

The look in his eyes said he was insinuating something in particular.

"Why are you interested in me, Jensen?" She queried, cocking her head to the side. "I'm really not that interesting."

Jenson smirked back at her, "You intrigue me. You might think you're not interesting but I say different. I guess I just want to get to know you more and see if anything happens."

Madeline hummed. She didn't think she could see herself with Jensen anytime soon but he was nice and perhaps she could actually make a friend. She needed any kind of distraction to stop her thinking about them.

"Okay then." She found herself saying. "So why is Ghostbusters 2 your favorite movie?"

***

WHEN MADELINE RETURNED to her dorm a few hours later, she received a call from her brother, Dash.

Sighing, she reluctantly picked up the phone. As much as she loved her brothers, she knew they were going to be asking about her soul mates. They thought that by finding them, all of her problems would be solved.

"Hey, Dash," She forced a lighter tone to her voice. "How are you?"

"I'm good. School's kicking my ass but other than that, I'm fine. I'm calling about you. Freya says you aren't picking up her calls."

Madeline had been trying to avoid Freya for the past few weeks. If anybody could figure out the truth of what happened in Seoul, it would be Freya. She was like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.

"I've just been busy with schoolwork. I'm not avoiding her," She lied, biting her bottom lip hard.

"Yes, you are." He countered, confidently. She was glad it was only a phone call, not a video call, otherwise, he'd be able to see the flash of irritation that crossed her face. She really didn't want to go into this today, not after the nice day she had with Jensen. But it seemed her younger brother wasn't going to relent.