Something felt off when you realized you were dreaming. The flower field you were in was a comfortable, almost unnoticeable temperature, and the sun was partially covered by clouds, not enough to make it dark, but enough so you weren't blinded by sun rays to your face. You hesitantly pinched yourself and stared down at your hands in shock when the pain didn't register. You were definitely dreaming, especially since you had no recollection of how you got into this lush field, but you were aware of what was happening.
And then you saw him. There was another man in the field with you, looking about as bewildered as you felt. You lightly ran up to him, your white clothes brushing lightly against your body from the wind. He too was wearing a loose white shirt, with blue jeans that seemed to match the color of the sky around you. However, that wasn't what caught your attention, it was the elegantly styled purple hair that rested atop his head. "Hi," you tested out a little breathlessly when you were a respectable distance apart.
He started and spun around to look at you with a shocked look on his face. He evidently didn't see nor hear you running up to him. "Hi," he replied back with a smile, recovering from the shock quickly, "do you know what this is?" he gestured to the field surrounding you and you gave him a sheepish shrug in return.
"I was honestly hoping you knew," you couldn't help but look around in wonder as you voiced your thoughts, "this is the first time I've been here." He let out a hum of agreeance. You continued to watch the stranger in front of you, you had never seen him before, you figured purple hair like that would cause enough of a memory for you to remember, but as you wracked your memory, nothing came up. "Are you a figment of my imagination?" you couldn't help but ask. If this was all a dream, was he also just a dream?
His face scrunched up cutely as he thought about your question, his eyes darting around in confusion, "I don't think so."
You couldn't help but laugh nervously, wherever you were, you and Mr. Stranger were both completely lost. "Well, I'm (y/n)," you held out your hand for him to shake, which he promptly did.
"Chan. Nice to meet you." He gave you a brighter smile than before, making dimples show up on his face.
"You as well." You gave him your own bright smile, he seemed like a good person. You thought back to what you did before bed. You finished up an assignment before flopping onto your bed to check your social media for any notifications (only to be disappointed with nothing of importance) and then falling asleep. Nothing out of the ordinary, and definitely no drugs that would've caused this wild dream. Could it even be called a dream by this point?
"So what do you do?" you were snapped out of your thoughts to see Chan had taken a seat in the field with his hands behind him as he leaned back comfortably. You quickly took a seat next to him, the tops of the grass hardly coming up to your elbows.
"I'm a student," you answered honestly, "studying (your choice). Took a gap year, but I'm going to graduate soon!" you replied excitedly, the thought of being free from school brought a smile to your face, "what about you?"
Chan turned his attention to you and you took the opportunity to notice how clear his skin was. How you wished you could get clear skin like that. "I make music," he replied with a smile.
"That's so cool!" you couldn't help but gush in excitement. You loved listening to music, and while you entertained the idea of making your own music, the layers of vocals, harmonies, backing tracks, and the programs were all too discombobulating to you. So you were content to just listen to what other talented people could make. "What kind?"
His face quirked as he thought about it, "a variety. Mostly hip hop and rap." You nodded eagerly and seeing your excited expression, he elaborated a bit more, "I mainly do it with 2 friends of mine, they're amazing honestly."
"I'm sure you're very talented as well," you replied reassuringly with a confident nod.
He ducked his head shyly, "how can you say that when you haven't even heard it?"
"It takes amazing talent to know amazing talent," you replied with a knowing grin. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he and the field suddenly vanished. Leaving you discombobulated as your hand fumbled around for your phone that was blaring at you to wake up. As you sat up in bed, trying to figure out what day of the week it was, you remembered Chan's smiling face. That dream...it felt like more than just a dream.
☁☁☁
Several weeks passed and your nights passed without a peep from Chan. Maybe that was just a dream. But you couldn't help but feel something was different about that encounter. It felt more substantial than your past dreams, and you could remember every moment of the interaction, something your other dreams couldn't come close to (if you could even remember them).
So it was to your delight when you found yourself in the field again. You quickly looked around for Chan and rushed over to him when you spotted his figure. "I thought this was all a dream," you couldn't help but rush out breathlessly when you got close.
His eyes widened in recognition as he smiled and you felt a warmth grow in your chest, "(y/n)! It's you again!" his head tilted to the side cutely, "I haven't seen you in a while."
"Same here," you replied before plopping down to take a seat in the field, "so how's life been?"
He smiled again, "it's been good! I've been doing a lot of performances with my friends, it's hard work learning the choreography," he replied honestly with a shy look on his face, "but totally worth it." He sighed happily as he gazed up at the sky, "I love being on the stage."
"That sounds wonderful!" you couldn't help but smile with him, his happiness was just contagious like that.
He turned attention back to you, "and how about you?"
"It's been good! I think I'm finally getting the hang of Korea," you replied with a grin as you thought about how you finally navigated the route from your dorm to the grocery store without the use of a navigation app.
His eyes widened in shock, "oh! Korea?"
You nodded and gave a hum of agreeance, "I guess I forgot to tell you, I'm studying abroad this semester, and I chose to go to South Korea!"
"How do you like it?"
You didn't even have to think about your answer, "the food here is so good!" The other exchange students and you made it your mission to go out and eat at least three times a week, it was a pain on your wallet, but hey, you were in a new country and you were going to use every opportunity you could get.
His eyes widened in delight, "right! Korean food is so tasty."
"Do you live in Korea?" you were nervous to ask it, but what if he did? Would you be able to meet Chan in real life? Did you even want to? You've only met him twice, and meeting an almost-stranger seemed pretty sketchy. Turns out you didn't have to worry about his answer though, as you were suddenly yanked out of the dream and pulled back into reality.
You sighed, you wanted to talk to him more, but you smiled again when the image of him smiling at you popped up into your mind. There was just something soothing about his atmosphere. In the dream world, you felt safe with him, and time always seemed to fly by. You felt a blush rise to your cheeks as you recalled how his smile made your heart skip a beat, you couldn't be falling for the man, you've only met him twice. Yet, even just the thought of him made you feel safe and happy.
☁☁☁
(friend's name) gave you a (somewhat) judging look through your phone as you recounted your dream experiences with Chan, "not gonna lie, that's kind of weird."
You sighed and ran a hand through your hair, "gee thanks."
"Let me finish my thought," (pronoun) responded with an eye roll, "it's like, soulmate level of weird."
You froze, then blinked. Once, twice, "you think he's my soulmate?"
(f/n) shrugged, "I can't think of any other reason why you'd be able to vividly remember your dreams of him."
You couldn't help but just stare in disbelief. You'd heard stories. Only a small percentage of the population had signs of their soulmates, you never thought you'd be part of that population though. For your entire life, you had gone with hardly a second thought about it. Your eyesight was fine, there were no markings on your body, heck, even if it was the dream world, why did it make itself known now? Why was this your first time ever setting foot in that field? "Do you think I should ask him about it?" you were nervously biting your lip, what if Chan didn't believe in soulmates, and you bringing it up would make him hate you?
"I mean, I don't know him, so I can't say," (pronoun) responded honestly, but you could see concern leaking in (pronoun) eyes, "but what can you lose?"
You looked away, "I enjoy our conversations, I could lose a friendship."
"Or, gain a soulmate," (f/n) wiggled (pronoun) eyebrows mischievously, "but it's only happened twice?" you nodded as (f/n)'s tone became serious, "if you think he is your soulmate, and that he does live in Korea, you've got to make a move. You'll be moving back to (home country) before you know it and the opportunity will be gone."
You gave a firm nod, (f/n) had a point. You'd ask the next time you saw Chan.
☁☁☁
Almost as if the world knew, that night you met Chan in the field. "Chan!" you gave him a happy wave and the two of you ran to each other.
"(y/n)!" the two of you became inches away from a hug before you froze, and he quickly did the same. "Oh, sorry," he replied nervously and took a step back before taking a seat in the field again, just like normal. You couldn't help but silently curse at yourself, why did you freeze? You wanted him to be your soulmate, you wanted a hug, but maybe you just made the whole situation awkward before you even asked the question you'd been worried to ask. "How you doin'?" he asked after a moment of awkward silence.
You gulped as you sat down next to him, this whole soulmate thing has been on your mind ever since (f/n) mentioned it, your mind really hasn't been on anything else other than it. "Good, um," you had to ask it, but you were still so nervous. Chan looked at you curiously, not pushing you to continue, but just waiting and letting you go at it on your own time, "do you believe in soulmates?"
You nervously awaited his response as he turned his attention to the sky again and thought about it, "yes." He replied finally and you felt your heart skip another beat. He turned his attention back to you with a soft smile, "why do you bring it up?"
You wanted to shrink under his gaze, it wasn't harsh by any means, but you suddenly felt uncertain. Maybe he didn't feel the same pull as you. "Do you think we could be soulmates?" you couldn't look at him as you asked the question, opting to mumble into your knees instead.
"Sorry?" he leaned closer to hear you better.
"Do you think we could be soulmates?" you repeated clearer, but still avidly averting your eyes. There was silence and you tried to will yourself into a smaller ball, wanting to disappear from the awkward atmosphere you created.
"And that we're connected through our dreams?" Chan's soft voice didn't sound judgeful, instead, it sounded like he suddenly came to a realization. You looked up from your knees and saw awe settled on his face. His dark eyes met yours with a sudden passion that almost scared you, "do you go to sleep at like, normal times?"
"If you're saying midnight, then yeah?"
Chan let out a sound that sounded like a mix between a laugh and a cry, "then that might be why I hardly ever see you."
You tilted your head in confusion, what revelation did he make that you didn't know about? You wanted to ask him but once again, your dream with Chan was disturbed by your alarm. You let out a groan as you turned it off. Why couldn't you and Chan have a proper conversation?
☁☁☁
Much to your surprise, for the second night in a row you found yourself in the field of flowers, however, that did nothing to dampen your delight when you saw Chan already pleasantly sitting in the field. "Glad to see you again so soon," you grinned as you took a seat next to him.
He turned his dimpled smile to you, "your hunch, or maybe my hunch, either way, it was correct." You looked at him in confusion, you had no idea what he was talking about. You mentioned soulmates the last time you met, but you didn't know how that had anything to do with controlling when you met up in the dream world. He seemed to notice your confusion and quickly took it upon himself to explain, "I think the only time we meet is when we're both asleep, and I'm," he nervously shifted his gaze, "not one for sleeping before 5 am."
You couldn't help the cry of shock that escaped from your lips, "you need to sleep!"
He laughed, "I know, I know." He then met your gaze with a quiet intensity that you had never seen on his face before, "but I think I've found a reason to go to sleep at a decent time."
You couldn't help the stuttering of your heart and lips as you pointed at yourself, "are you talking about me?"
"Of course I am!" he replied with a bright smile, "even though I remember these interactions vividly, I still wake up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated." You couldn't help but nod in agreeance. Yes, it took you a hot second to wake up (as usual) but it never felt like you got any less sleep.
"So you live in Korea?" that seemed to be a logical conclusion, seeing as he was talking about sleeping at normal times and was so excited about Korean food, but his accent made him sound Australian, which could make sense, considering the two countries weren't too far apart from each other.
"Yeah," he nodded, confirming your hunch, "I'm from Australia though, and I'd like to keep my accent."
You smiled at his comment, "cute." You found the words spilling from your lips almost naturally. You gasped and clapped a hand to your mouth, but Chan was laughing joyfully, seemingly unperturbed by your sudden exclamation.
He stopped laughing as he looked at you, "do you, want to meet in real life?" he fiddled with the collar of his shirt nervously and turned his attention away from you again as if he was afraid of what you were going to say. You, on the other hand, was at a loss for words. He already seemed to know what you were going to say and what conclusions you were coming to without you even saying anything. Was this what it meant to be soulmates? You seemed to be on the same frequency, coming to the same conclusions and having the same experiences from the dream world. "Ah, nevermind, forget I said that." He hurriedly took back his words after you accidentally let the silence drag on for too long.
"No wait!" your hands reached out in a panic and he looked to you curiously, "yes! Yes, I'd love to meet you in real life!"
A bright smile broke on his face, "when are you free?" he asked eagerly.
"I should be free this-" the field suddenly disappeared and you found yourself staring at your dark ceiling, "weekend." You finished your sentence quietly before you turned to your phone. It was still early in the morning, so it wasn't your alarm that ended the connection. You couldn't help but feel dejected, you were so close to finding him, but something stopped you. Again.
☁☁☁
You were in the grocery store, staring at a wall of tofu that you could throw into a pan and make a quick stir fry, but your mind kept on wandering to Chan. Was it him who broke off the connection? Or was it something else? Something more ethereal and had to do with you being soulmates? "Sorry, excuse me," you jumped back to let the person get access to the tofu you were standing in front of. He had a bucket hat pulled over his hair and a mask on, just like everyone else, but you couldn't help but feel your gaze was drawn to him. Something about him seemed familiar, though you couldn't put your finger on why.
He seemed to notice your stare as he awkwardly turned to you, "can I help you with something?" you met his eyes and that's when it hit you like a lightning bolt.
You recognized those eyes, they matched the eyes on a face you couldn't stop thinking about. "Chan?" you let out a breathily, not believing that this was real. You pinched yourself and winced when it actually hurt this time.
"(y/n)," his eyes widened in recognition before they folded in a smile. "So we get to meet in real life anyway!"
"Wow," you couldn't help but say back breathlessly, "this isn't a dream right?"
He grinned back, "I don't think so." He suddenly fished in his pocket for something, "what's your phone number? This way we can talk without being dependent on our sleep schedule." You eagerly nodded as you dug around for your own phone. You quickly exchanged numbers, and you felt giddy when you saw a simple 'hi' from Chan appear on your phone. "Sorry, I've got to run," he apologized once you traded numbers, "but let's talk later yeah?"
"Of course! Looking forward to it!" you couldn't help the goofy grin on your face as he gave you a wave before rushing to wherever he had to go. You found your soulmate.