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Word count: 1906
POV: Jimin
THE SECOND THE doors opened, Jimin felt his hopeful heart deflate.
The pretty woman standing before them was not their soul mate. He could tell in an instant. There was no electricity in the air—his heart didn't burst or skip a beat.
Was this MS? The person who had the same initials as their soul mate? If this was the person they had invited, then they had failed to locate their soul mate. Again.
Around Jimin, the rest of the boys showed visible distress and heartache. They really thought they were close.
The pretty young woman stared at them in wonder, her eyes shining with awe. Jimin wondered whether this girl was MS or Freya. Either way, they weren't the person they wanted desperately. Pretending to act interested or friendly would prove to be difficult.
He was so close. They were so close.
Namjoon, the leader and the first person to get them out of situations, politely smiled at the girl.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you." He said in English. Over the past few years, Jimin has been studying English for interviews. He wasn't as fluent as Namjoon but he had improved drastically. Taehyung was the one who struggled the most. He could tell that his close friend had to recite the words in his head to translate them.
Jimin watched the girl swiftly move closer to them and bow. "It's an honor to meet you. My name is Freya."
The second her name left her lips, he perked upwards. If this was Freya, then maybe there was still a chance.
"My name is Namjoon. You can call me Namjoon or RM. Whatever is easier for you."
She smiled brightly, "I already know all of your names, Namjoon-ssi." She told them, surprising them with her formal language. She seemed to know the way they addressed each other in Korean. Had she studied? "I'm a big fan."
Hobi moved forward, revealing his sunshine exterior. "Why don't you come and sit down?" He gestured to the only single seat opposite them.
Freya gracefully sat down opposite them, eyeing each of them with a fond expression. "I—uh know you're not here for me."
That startled all of them. They hadn't revealed the truth about why they had arranged this.
"My cousin...she's probably the reason you're here." She added, chewing on her bottom lip.
"I'm sorry but I don't know what you mean," Namjoon said, warily. He knew exactly what she was alluding to but he didn't want to reveal anything just in case she was a saesang or lying. They didn't know anything about this person. Caution. That was what they were told. To be cautious.
Jimin felt Jungkook hold his breath beside him. They all wanted Freya to be telling the truth.
The brown-haired beauty cocked her head to the side, "A few months ago, my cousin turned eighteen and got her soul mark. Well, soul marks. She found out she had seven."
This time, Jimin held his own breath in anticipation. Could it be...?
"Uh, she hid the initials for a while. You see, she doesn't have the best relationship with soul mates. For reasons I can't divulge, she never wanted to meet her soul mates. I started noticing she was listening to a lot of your videos—well, more than usual at least. Every time she watched your videos, her eyes would brighten. I knew there was something going on. And then, I saw the initials. K.S., M.Y., J.H., K.N., P.J., K.T. and J.J."
Their initials. Could it be a coincidence or something more?
"I told my uncle—her dad—and he managed to get tickets to your last concert in Seoul. She even had tickets for a meet and greet. She was the only one so I had no idea how it would go. She returned quicker than I thought and was upset. She said she met you guys and found out you weren't her soul mates. I only found out that she didn't mean you guys when I got the email." She explained, tucking a strand of her wavy dark hair behind her ear.
Namjoon quickly translated Freya's words to the rest of them. Once he was done, Jimin snapped his gaze back to Freya.
"W—Where is...she...now?" Jimin managed to ask her in English.
Freya pressed her lips together firmly and took a moment to reply. "She was supposed to come with me but she canceled last minute. I didn't tell her she was meeting you guys but she asked me not to email back. I honestly don't know much but there's something seriously wrong."
Namjoon once again summarized Freya's words for them in Korean.
"We felt like something's wrong too," Namjoon surprised the rest of them by admitting. "We arranged this meeting because we believe your cousin is our soul mate."
Freya smiled softly at them, "I believe so too. And...I think she knows it too. But for some reason, she didn't meet you guys that day in Seoul and since then, she's been more distant than usual. We're all worried about her. Did—" She paused, flickering her warm gaze to each of them. "Did you see her?"
Yoongi shifted in his seat, not wanting to say he had bumped into their soul mate in a cafe in Seoul. Jimin knew his hyung was beating himself up for not chasing after her. He felt responsible for losing her.
"Yoongi did," Jungkook answered, shocking the rest of them. The second oldest threw the maknae a look.
Freya arched an eyebrow, shocked.
Namjoon laughed awkwardly. Jimin knew he was quickly coming up with an answer that didn't confirm it was Freya's cousin. So far, everything she said was a coincidence. Her cousin might not be their soul mate. Hell, he still didn't know her name.
Shit, they didn't know her name.
"Yoongi bumped into our soul mate in a cafe the day after the concert. He didn't have time to identify her because she fled." Namjoon said, quietly.
Recognition flashed on Freya's face. "Wait..." She started, licking her lips. "Was the cafe called Dimple?"
Yoongi's back straightened in an instant. Reluctantly, he replied. "Yes."
"Holy shit," Freya whispered to herself, leaning back in the chair. "We went there before our flight. Something happened as she went to the toilet because when she returned, she dragged me out of the cafe. I—it's starting to make sense now."
Namjoon relayed the revelation, his tone shaky.
"What's her name?" Taehyung sprung forward, desperate.
"Madeline Smith."
***
IT TOOK THEM a good ten minutes to process the overload of information. They were closer than ever and nearly certain that Freya's cousin—Madeline Smith—was their soul mate. After waiting for so long, they hoped that she was.
Jimin stared at the woman with so much hope. He prayed she wasn't lying. He begged the universe to not let this be one of those rare coincidences. He wanted Freya's cousin to be his soul mate. He wanted to be able to stare at his soul mate's beautiful face and tell them he loved them with all of his heart.
At heart, he was a romantic.
"Where is she?" Jin spoke up eventually, his voice weak.
"Probably at her dorm." Freya sighed.
Namjoon leaned forward, his voice full of regret, "I'm sorry to do this, Freya but do you mind giving us a few minutes?"
Freya nodded her head in understanding, "Of course, Namjoon-ssi. Take all the time you need. I'll wait outside."
She left the room quietly, shutting the door behind her. There was no anger at being asked to leave. From his first impressions, Freya didn't appear to be a bad person.
Now that it was just them, they all let their true feelings surface. Jimin leaned his head on Jungkook's shoulder, letting out a multitude of sighs. He knew that his brothers would be less convinced than him.
"What do we think?" Jin asked the group, standing from his seat.
"Whilst I want to believe her, we have to remember there are many people who would lie just to spend time with us," Yoongi murmured.
Hobi hummed, his shoulders dropping. He was no doubt recalling many times when they had been misled. Those moments were full of heartache and defeat. They had spent many years hearing random men and women claiming to be their soul mate. It pained them each time. People would go to many lengths to be with them. Some of them even tattooed their initials on their wrists, covering up their real soul mark.
"We shouldn't dismiss Freya-ssi though. Her cousin could really be our soul mate." Taehyung jumped in, confidently.
"Madeline," Jimin whispered her name under his breath, praying that was the name of his soul mate. It was such a beautiful name.
"What was that, Jimin?" Jin questioned him.
"Her name is Madeline." He repeated in a stronger voice.
There was a pregnant pause. And then, to everyone's surprise, Jungkook stood up and addressed them. "We have been waiting too long. This is the closest we've ever come. Are we really going to give up when we're so close?"
Jimin felt pride towards his youngest friend. He had never seen Jungkook so certain of something. He always carried his thoughts and feelings with a slither of doubt. But not with this.
Jimin drifted his gaze back to his hyungs. He, along with the other two maknae's, knew that nothing would happen if his hyung's didn't agree.
"I know, Kookie. But she could be using us for personal gain." Yoongi advised him, softly. He didn't want to be the bad guy, Jimin knew that. Yoongi was playing devil's advocate, saying the things none of them dared to say. It showed his care for them. He just wanted to protect them.
Namjoon loosened a tense breath and rested his elbows on his knees. As the leader, he felt like the final decision was on him. "Jungkook is right. We shouldn't give up now. Maybe all we can do is trust Freya."
Yoongi's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "It could end in disaster," He warned Namjoon in a low voice.
"Perhaps but we could also finally meet our soul mate. Obviously, we'll have to take Sejin and plan a safe way of doing this. We can't risk being spotted. We could get Freya to sign an NDA."
"Sejin might be reluctant about this," Jin reminded the group.
"As long as we face this carefully, he should agree," Hobi replied.
Jimin hoped putting faith in this stranger would pay off. She seemed to have passed Taehyung's vibe check which said a lot. Taehyung was very good at reading people and knowing whether they had good intentions or not. He rarely misread someone.
"Then should we invite her back in?" Hobi queried, his gaze shifting to the double doors.
"Yes. I'll message Sejin and ask him to come in as well." Namjoon decided, thinning his lips together.
There was no going back now.
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