Perfect Match | SOPE ✔️

initium finis | 1.0.1

"Yoongi!"

"I'm coming!" Yoongi called out, bolting out of the room. His mother stood outside the front door, tears in her eyes. She hugged Yoongi one last time, pressing a kiss on his cheek."Tell Father I love him for me. Maybe I'll be back again."

She smiled, knowing that the probability of her son coming back a second time was slim to none. Still, she indulged his hopes, whispering, "Of course."

"All eligible candidates for the two hundred twenty-second Perfect Match Ceremony please report to your trains immediately. The trains will depart to the Capitol in ten minutes."

"Now go, don't miss your train."

Yoongi nodded, hugging her tightly before sprinting away, his mother watching him with tears streaming down her face. After he had fully disappeared out of sight, she walked back into her house, sinking herself into the couch as she changed the channel to the live viewing of the Perfect Match Ceremony.

Maybe this year he'll be lucky.

🌟

The officer tapped on her glasses, a faint blue light emitting from them. She scanned Yoongi from head to toe, her eyes flickering around her glasses as she read the information that had appeared in her lenses.

"Min Yoongi from Daegu," her brows furrowed. "Male. One hundred seventy-seven centimeters. Twenty three years old. Second year here Mister Min?"

Yoongi nodded, his lips pursing slightly at the reminder.

"Welcome back to Perfect Match. I'm sure this year will turn out much better for you." She stated, smiling at him warmly. "Follow me, Mister Min. You'll be in the front this year, along with all second years."

"The Perfect Match Ceremony will begin shortly. Candidates, please find your seats at this time."

Candidates from all over Korea sat in their assigned seats. First years, full of excitement and anticipation, unable to stop squirming in their seats. As the officer led Yoongi to the front rows, all he could see were the same hopeful expressions, the beaming smiles, the incessant clapping. He turned away at the sight, forcing his gaze at the back of the officer's head. Once he was directed to his seat, Yoongi smiled wanly, thanking the officer.

The rows for the second years weren't full. Most candidates found their perfect match their first year. However, there were those select few who weren't as lucky and were forced to suffer humiliation in front of millions, only to come back the following year and possibly begin the process all over again.

Wild applause emerged from the crowd, accompanied by loud cheers as the President made his way onto the stage. He waved at everyone, flashing his signature bunny smile as he took the stage for the first time.

"Welcome to the two hundred, twenty second Perfect Match Ceremony," President Jeon smiled wider. "I am sure you are all excited as much as I am to find out who your perfect match will be. First timers, welcome to your first and hopefully your last perfect match ceremony. For returning members, welcome back! We are glad to have you back. Hopefully, this year will turn out different for you."

It was astonishing that President Jeon Jungkook had captured the country's heart the way he had, despite only being twenty years old. He was the youngest leader to ever rule Korea, his parents assassinated when he was eighteen, forcing Jungkook to step up and begin his rule over the country.

No questions asked.

"I am not of age yet but once the time comes, even I will have a chance to find my perfect match. As tradition states, we will start with the second years," He smiled once more. "Ahn Sanghee."

The girl's face appeared on the screen, displaying her information for everyone to see. The algorithm would then run through all available candidates before finding her most compatible— if it did. If not, it would cross out the person's name, before skipping to the next person. All Perfect Matches were final. According to them, the algorithm could do no wrong. The algorithm was never wrong. Never.

It was engineered too perfect for that.

The second years' matching passed relatively quickly, each one finding luck that they didn't have the previous year. The relief was clear on their faces as they went up the stage to meet their Perfect Match, their soulmate, their one and only and with the help of the government, build a new life together for the rest of their lives.

"Min Yoongi."

Yoongi's breath caught in his chest as he looked towards the screen, heart beating wildly in anticipation. Part of him was wishing to get matched so he wouldn't have to endure another ridicule but part of still clung to the hope of staying with his parents another year. To make matter worse, the algorithm passed through every female Yoongi could see and with each passing second, he would find himself losing hope.

After what seemed like an eternity, the algorithm finally stopped, landing on one person. At the sight, Yoongi's eyes widened, disbelief washing his face as his eyes flickered from the screen to President Jeon. Even President Jeon looked taken aback, momentarily losing his composure. In seconds, he straightened himself out, proving the impossible.

"Jung Hoseok."

a/n: so i ended up changing ages. i chose 22 bc thinking about it, that's when most get out of college and have a degree. that way, i could also make jungkook older and the timeline would make more sense for his character arc bc as i was rereading, i was making my calculations and i was like hold up— the ages aren't making sense. 

sorry to those who were reading perfect match before the unpublishing. i'll get it back up asap, i promise. i hope this was a tad bit better than the original at least. i would like to think so.