When we enter the restaurant, it's to be guided to a table where Jimin and Jungkook are already seated. As soon as they see us, they both get up and run straight towards me with, I know it, the intent to make me disappear from sight.
And they do. Their arms wrap around me and my body collides with two hard chests. "Jewel, I'm so happy to see you again" Jimin mumbles into my hair while Jungkook nods against my neck. I sigh in contentment. Being here surrounded by so many of my soulmates pushes away the previous incident as if it never existed.
They both pull away to stare at my face, hands cupping my cheeks with worried eyes. "Are you okay? We felt such a big panic, but twice the usual amount..." Jungkook starts but Namjoon puts a hand on my shoulder and clears his throat, cutting the youngest short.
"Let's sit first, we'll explain" he says and so we do, I'm seated between Namjoon and Taehyung while Jimin sits in front of me, Jungkook to his right, in front of Namjoon.
"I'll explain, Namjoon" I tell him, to which he agrees with a smile. I turn to look at the two men in front of me. "I actually had an appointment this morning, which is why I came to the city. It ends up that where I went is where Taehyung works and something happened that caused him to offer the option of Namjoon putting a barrier on me. Until then, everything was going well, but I ended up breaking something that caused a memory to trigger and Namjoon experienced it with me...".
"Oh" is all they say and they stare at Namjoon with a semi curiosity and semi concern. Namjoon sighs and puts an hand on my head to play with my hair affectionately. "I don't know how she can still smile after getting through so many of those, it's absolutely terrifying" he says in a soft voice.
Before I can feel bad again, guilty that he has to go through the same as I do, he pinches my cheek, getting a yelp out of me. "But I'm glad I can see what she does because that means I can understand her pain and share it with her". His love hits me like a tsunami and I almost fall down my chair.
He bursts out laughing from my panicked expression and hugs me the way you hug an animal because it's so damn cute. "Sorry, I'll try to tone it down a little so you can get used to it". When Taehyung's fingers start tickling me softly, I fall into a giggling fit as they all gaze at me with smiling eyes.
"Okay, let's eat!" Jungkook suddenly exclaims and I have to agree, I'm famished. "Yes!" I jump with him and he pulls me by the hand towards the kitchen where we ask for whatever we want. Since I'm obviously a little confused at how the place works, Jungkook orders for everyone.
"We'll get a lot of everything, please" and he pulls me back to the table. What? Is that all? Everything? That quick? In and out? What?
We sit back at the table and Jimin laughs at my dumbfounded expression. "He just pulled the 'we'll get everything' move, didn't he?". When I nod, everyone starts laughing. "He just wanted to show off a little, don't mind him" Taehyung whispers in my ear and I smile. I look at Jungkook's smug face, as if he pulled off the best move ever.
Well I can't blame him, it is sushi. "Well anyway, how was everyone's week so far? I know it's only been a few days, but I'm kinda curious about what you usually do" I ask them and their eyes light up.
"Well, I don't remember telling you actually, but Jungkook and I are in the dance department at university. Hoseok was with us too but he already graduated last year. I wanted to form a group, the three of us, but he said he'd rather be a teacher and that actually interested me a lot so I'm thinking about going in the same direction as him to be a contemporary dance teacher" Jimin starts explaining and I listen to his every words with interest. Learning more about them just feels that nice.
"As for me, since I can't possibly form a group by myself, I'm thinking about doing a solo career of being a singer and dancer. I'm taking extra singing classes and they say I have a lot of potential" Jungkook explains his side and I can't help but gasp at his words. "You want to be a singer! I want to hear you sing!" He beams at my words and nods. "Alright, I'll give you a private mini concert one day, just you wait!" he exclaims and we high five just as food arrives.
And I gape at the sight. Because an infinity amount of plates are placed in front of us, enough to feed an army, for the five of us. Namjoon nudges my shoulder softly. "Don't worry about the quantity, we always do that to bring the leftovers. But in this situation, you can bring them for the three others so they can have some too". I nod, not aware of the slip of saliva that's slowly running down my chin.
Namjoon smirks and wipes it with his thumb, earning a confused look from but he just shrugs it off. Jimin takes a plate and starts filling it with a bit of everything, maki, sashimi, nigiri and the likes. He takes a set of kitten chopsticks and sets everything in front of me before waiting for me to try one. My eyes fall on the shrimp and salmon on rice sushis and after the first bite, all resistance and grace is thrown out the window, for I am hungry.
It doesn't matter though, because the four men surrounding me are not that different, all inhaling the food as if we forgot to eat for years. The sight of us must be very weird. No matter how much I eat, the amount of sushi seems to stay constant, as if someone keeps adding them to the plates when we're not looking and soon, we're all filled to the brim.
"That felt good" I mumble, a hand on my stomach and patting it proudly. "I don't think I can walk anymore, Namjoon-hyung, please help me" Taehyung whines with a smile on his face. Scoffs are heard around the table, but we all laugh. We all look like we're going to fall asleep right there and then.
I take my glass of water and take sips, the fresh feeling making me sigh in happiness. "So, to continue with my question from earlier, what about you two?" I ask, pointing to Namjoon and Taehyung. The oldest motions for his younger soulmate to start.
"Well, I actually want to be a psychologist, I technically still have a few years of studying, but that doesn't mean I can't work in the industry. Bang Si-Hyuk has been really nice and allows me to be present sometimes for rough cases and makes me take care of some cases when he feels like I can handle it, which is now to the point that he lets me have regulars. So in that matter, my few years of studying are becoming only a few months now, I can end earlier since I'm already gathering a lot of knowledge and experience through work. The school makes me do regular exams every weeks and if I get a satisfying result, they make me skip years and classes".
I look like a fish, I know. But I mean, who wouldn't?
"I'm actually in the same situation as Taehyung. I want to become a doctor and am currently working at a well renowned private clinic. They consider me good enough to take care of some of their most important clients as they seem to request me often and the school is making me go through the same process with exams and the likes. I have one year left".
I'm soulmate with geniuses. Legit real geniuses.
"We're also thinking about opening our very own center. Taehyung and I would work together and offer both services. We already know some clients that will follow us and our bosses are well aware of that, but they don't really mind, they're just making use of us as much as they can while they still can" Namjoon adds with a proud voice as Taehyung straightens up too, eyes happy with my reaction.
Jimin leans on the table, setting his head on his hands. "They're great right? I'm so proud of them, they work so hard" he coos and the two men by my sides blush slightly.
"You're all so very great, no matter what it is you're doing, I'm so proud of my soulmates" I reply, surprising Jimin and Jungkook whose eyes are wide for a moment. They then break into huge smiles, as if they were scared that I would think them less impressive than the others.
"Well, I hate to cut this time short, but I actually need to head back to work now" Namjoon then mumbles while looking at the time and we all do the same.
"Oh, you're right, we have school soon too" Jungkook adds and we look at each other with sad eyes. I sigh and smile. "It's okay, you guys can come anytime you want, you'll always be welcome! I can try to visit from time to time too, although I can't promise how often".
They all nod and proceed to ask for bags for the many sushis so I can bring them back with me. Namjoon then looks at me with a sorry look. "I wish I could let you have a choice, but Yoongi will be waiting for you at the station. When we both had the small panic, he contacted me first and I explained what happened to him. He said he'll travel with you because else he would feel too nervous about leaving you alone. He's really stubborn when it comes to his soulmates".
I smile warmly at him. It's such a nice feeling, I can't deny it. Why would I get mad? With our enhanced connection, Namjoon seems to almost read my mind as his shoulders relax a little. Once everything is ready, Jimin takes a few bags while I take the others.
"I'll walk you to the station before going to school" he tells me and I nod, excited to spend some time with him. I can only hope that this won't make him late to class, but I know he wouldn't allow me to refuse his offer, nor do I want to.
We say goodbye and separate into three different groups, Jungkook with Taehyung while Namjoon leaves alone. Jimin beckons me to follow him and we walk side by side. The station isn't too far, so we walk slowly to enjoy each other's presence as much as possible.
I feel some unease come from him so I turn to him to see a frown on his face. "Jimin... what's wrong?" I ask him and he sighs. "Why did you need Namjoon to put a barrier on you?" he asks me and I almost stop breathing from the unexpected question. Of course he would want to know.
I wonder how many times I'll have to repeat the exact same story, but I don't want to keep them in the dark, I don't want to choose who should know and who shouldn't. I tell him everything, the locked memory, how I should never have had to see it again and why it did happen. I explain what led to Taehyung offering for Namjoon to use his ability on me and why.
Jimin is very quiet as he listens to my explanation, and slowly, his unease dissipates to just become glad for Namjoon's barrier. That there's a way to protect me even if only a little from possible attacks. It still gives life to other worries, such as, who would do this and why, but he tries not to focus on that right now. We only have so long to spend together after all.
After some basic chitchat, we arrive in front of the station. I open the door for Jimin since he's holding the most bags and he thanks me before entering and searches for Yoongi. Once I'm inside, I help look for him and eventually, we see a bright white fluffy head turn a corner and heading for us quickly. Watching Yoongi run is the cutest thing ever.
He smiles brightly at the two of us and takes us both in for a hug. "It's good to see you,I'm not used to not seeing you for so long" Yoongi whispers to Jimin and they both hug again as I watch from the sides with a smile.
I kinda feel bad that I live so far from them, that I had to separate them. Had it not been for the situation with my memory, they would all have left together. But then I would have been the one alone.
"I don't know what's going through your mind right now, young girl, but stop that" Yoongi then scolds me out of nowhere and I look up from my feet to see his narrowed eyes. I bring my lips into a fine line and turn to Jimin for help, but his face is no different.
I scoff. "I can't even think now..." I mumble and an arm snakes around my neck and brings me closer to a chest. "Depends on what you think about" Yoongi murmurs as Jimin sets his chin on my shoulder.
"I just feel bad that I had to separate you guys. If it wasn't for me, you would all still be together".
"That's not true, Y/N. The same would have happened. Jin, Yoongi and Hoseok would still stay behind to stay with you and we would still come back to the city because of school. Leaving you alone was absolutely out of question, the last incident just increased that need further. We'll all be together soon, don't you worry about that okay?" Jimin explains and I nod, letting their words and the bond soothe me.
Jimin makes use of his ability to make me feel how he feels. That he doesn't regret his decision, that he's happy I'm not alone, that he still thinks of us all the time and rejoice in the feelings from the bond when they reach him.
It seems like they always know what to say. "You're not less of a soulmate to us than the others. We like you very much, you need to realize it" Yoongi adds and I nod into his chest.
They both pull away from the hug and Yoongi takes the bags from Jimin's hands. "Alright, the train is leaving soon, let's go, I already got us both the tickets" he then says and we both turn towards Jimin with a small smile.
He takes me in his arms one last time, doing the same for Yoongi and then looks at the exit. "Okay, you two be safe. Let's do a group call soon with Jin and Hoseok too, I miss them".
"Let's do that" I reply and he giggles. He waves before running as fast as possible towards the exit. He's late, isn't he?
"He's so going to be scolded by his teacher" Yoongi smirks. Oops. "Come here now, snowflakes, let's not miss the train, let's go back home".
Home. I smile at the way the word sounded coming from him. It does feel nice, to have a home with my soulmates.
I want to say that I started a fifth fanfiction, which will be for Seokjin. My Love - Seokjin x Reader - Soulmate AU. Hope you guys enjoy it!