-ˏˋ autumn, new york
Friday night arrived in New York. The big lights were off in Minjee's and Yuna's cozy apartment, the space being illuminated by the decorative lights and candles, creating a warm ambiance. Smooth R&B music vibrated through the room, setting the tone for a good night.
The girls had agreed that they would eat and get ready together. Minjee and Belle were seated on the couch, wine glasses already in hand as they softly chatted. A few feet away stood Yuna, talking on the phone to order some food.
Elena hadn't arrived yet, but that was expected. She'd be bringing Mika along with her after all.
Having drained her glass, Minjee rose from the couch, smoothing out her skirt. She was already dressed to impress. The skirt, featuring a slit, showed her well toned legs as she moved. Her satin crop top, adorned with long, puffy sleeves and a modest neckline, drew attention to the low cut back, accentuated by two strings wrapped around her exposed waist.
She looked elegant, yet hot at the same time.
Returning from the kitchen with a wine bottle in hand, she rejoined Belle again, refilling her glass.
"Want some more?" She offered Belle, lifting the bottle up a little.
Belle shook her head, laughing. "No way, you drink way too fast for me to keep up and I'm not gonna try."
"You're no fun," Minjee teased her friend, rolling her eyes.
Before Belle could retort a sarcastic comment, Yuna plopped herself on the coach next to the other two.
"Pizza is on its way!" She announced, grabbing her glass that was still filled up.
There was a knock on the door, and Minjee shot up, making her way over to answer it.
Elena was the first person she saw when she opened the door, greeting her with a big hug. As Minjee looked over her friend's shoulders, she made eye contact with a cute girl, whom she assumed was Mika.
The girl was on the shorter side, with short and dark hair. Her dark, round eyes sparked with curiosity and nerves. Minjee wanted to make the girl feel at ease, but Elena beat her to it.
"This is Mika," Elena introduced the girl, throwing her arm around the girl's shoulders.
"It's so good to meet you," Minjee offered her hand, which Mika took, "I've heard so much about you from El."
"All the good things, of course," Elena added, and a light blush covered Mika's cheeks.
Minjee wiggled her eyebrows at her before inviting them in. Yuna and Belle immediately stood up and introduced themselves.
Mika stayed close to Elena as they all sat around the coffee table again. Both of them looked a bit flustered.
The two best friends shared a knowing glance. Belle and Cooper had been like this when they first met, before they officially got together.
"So, Mika," Minjee began, "Elena has told us a bit about you, but I'd love to hear more from you. What brings you to New York?"
Mika glanced at Elena, a silent exchange of encouragement passing between them before she turned to face the three girls.
"Well, I actually moved here for school initially," she started, her voice gaining confidence as she spoke. "I'm studying graphic design at Parsons. New York has always been a dream for me, the energy, the diversity... and there was this feeling I had that told me to go."
Fate doing its thing.
"That sounds amazing," Belle chimed in. "What kind of design work are you passionate about?"
"I'm really into digital illustration," Mika replied, her eyes lighting up as she discussed her passion. "I love the idea of telling a story through visuals."
Yuna, ever the social butterfly, leaned in closer, her enthusiasm uncontained. "Do you have any of your work with you? I'd love to see it!"
Mika laughed. "I might have a few pieces on my phone," she said, retrieving her device from her purse. As she swiped through her gallery, the others gathered around, marveling at her talent.
Elena beamed with pride beside Mika, her hand finding its way to Mika's shoulder.
"I told you they'd love your work," she whispered, loud enough for the others to hear, which earned a collective "aww" from the group.
The intimate moment was broken by the arrival of the pizza delivery, the sudden knock on the door making them all jump slightly.
Yuna was quick to get up, declaring, "Food's here! Perfect timing!"
The group of girls kept chatting while sharing the hot, cheesy goodness.
After the pizza disappeared, and everyone had wine glasses in their hands again, it was time to really get ready.
Make-up brushes, bottles and pallets decorated the coffee table.
Minjee focused on her eye make-up through her little mirror, smoking out a darker shade on her lids. She finished the look with winged eyeliner and some lip gloss. Smacking her lips together, she inspected her face, fixing her hair before smiling at herself.
Yuna was still deciding on which outfit to wear, finding it difficult to choose between two options. Eventually, she decided on the first outfit she had put on, matching Minjee with a silk top.
While Elena and Mika quietly talked to each other as they finished their make-up, Yuna helped Belle with hers.
In the meantime, Minjee shuffled to her bedroom. Checking out her completed look in her full-body mirror, she deemed herself ready as she grabbed her go-to perfume and put some on.
'Something smells very good right now,' the voice of her soulmate startled her, 'Do I smell lavender?'
Looking down at the bottle of perfume in her hands, she almost laughed out loud.
'That'll be me again,' she informed him, 'It's my perfume.'
'Well, that explains it. I'm really loving that smell, especially now that I know it's from you.'
Minjee blushed at the statement. 'You're such a smooth talker,' she tried to sound unaffected.
'You love it, I can feel it,' he teased.
Stupid feelings. Exposing her like that. Why can't she turn them off?
'Shut up.'
'Are you heading somewhere?' Her soulmate asked, ignoring her words.
'Why are you asking?'
'I just wanna know what you're up to,' he voiced innocently, 'Did you spray your perfume while getting ready to head out?'
'You're spot on,' she chuckled, 'Me and the girls are going out to celebrate. One of our friends met her soulmate and, as you know, I got my connection.'
'Sounds fun! Where are you girls going?'
'Oh, just to a bar not too far from my apartment.'
Her soulmate noticeably paused, keeping quiet for a little while, puzzling her. She picked up on his confusion as well.
'Isn't it a little early to go to a bar?' He asked, sounding hesitant.
Minjee glanced at her digital clock on her nightstand, before looking outside. New York was covered in darkness, the lights of apartments and signs illuminated the towering buildings.
'It's just past 9pm, so it can be a little early for some bars, but we won't go for like another hour if the girls keep it up like this,' she joked, trying to ease the little tension.
He stayed quiet for another few, long seconds. Minjee bit her lip, confused.
Finally he sent something back. 'It's just past 11am...'
She felt her heart sink. A heavy feeling pressed on her chest. Realization kicked in that she could be in a different timezone than her soulmate.
Suddenly, it made sense for her. The long periods of silence, some of their conversations.
'So... you're not from New York?' Minjee's eyes started to sting as she felt that her soulmate was feeling the same things as her.
'I'm not... and you're not from Seoul.'
He's from South Korea.
Not only was he in a different time zone. He was basically on the other side of the world. Their times awake barely align.
'Wait, in which language do you hear me?' Asked Minjee, confused on how they had not realized this sooner.
'I hear you in perfect Korean... I'm guessing that you hear me in English?' His voice sounded sad.
Sinking down to sit on her bed, she wrapped her arms around herself. After having to wait for a long time to get her connection, she will probably have to wait a while until she'll be able to meet him.
'Yes, you speak English fluently in my mind.'
'Well this sucks, because my English is very bad.'
'My Korean isn't great either. I'll have to work on it then.'
'And I'll have an even bigger reason to learn English than I already had.'
She did not ask what other reason he had. The excitement of the evening ahead now carried a bittersweet tinge, and Minjee couldn't shake the heavy feeling in her chest.
'So this means that we won't be able to meet each other for a while,' he stated after a few seconds.
Minjee took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, the image of her ready for a night out contrasting with the sudden realizations about her connection.
'Yeah,' she replied. 'It seems that way.'
The conversation hung in the air as they both processed their newfound understanding. Minjee couldn't help but wonder how they hadn't realized their distance earlier, but the mysteries of soulmate connections were as complex as they were enchanting.
'I guess we'll have to figure out how to make this work,' he finally spoke, breaking the silence.
Minjee nodded, even though he couldn't see it. 'We will find a way.'
'It'll be alright,' her soulmate tried to comfort her, but it also sounded as if he was reassuring himself, 'Maybe we'll have to wait a little longer to meet each other face to face, but we can already communicate.'
'You're right, I'm actually really grateful that I can already talk to you,' she answered honestly.
'Same here,' his smooth voice calmed her down more than she wanted to admit, 'And who knows, I travel quite a lot for my work. Maybe we'll see each other sooner than we think.'
His words gave her comfort, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Minnie, are you okay?"
Startled, she looked up at the soft voice of her best friend, who was standing in the door opening. Yuna frowned at the sight of Minjee's expression, immediately coming over to sit next to her.
"What's wrong?" She almost whispered.
Clearing her throat, Minjee tried to find the right words to explain what had happened in those few minutes she had been alone in her room.
Finally, she was able to choke something out. "I was talking to my soulmate."
"I figured, but why are you looking so down right now?" Her best friend assessed her, as if to decipher what was going on.
"We- we just," Taking a deep breath, she tried again, "We both just realized that we basically live on opposite sides of the world."
Yuna blinked, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, what? He doesn't live in the states?"
"No he doesn't," Tears stung her eyes again, "He's from South Korea."
Saying it out loud was more difficult than in her mind somehow. Either way, she told her best friend what they had just realized. Through the connection, she could vaguely hear a commotion. She could only guess that her soulmate was explaining the same things to his friends.
"Oh Minnie, I know this sucks, but you will meet your soulmate, I'm sure of it," Yuna gave her an encouraging smile, "Distance can't stop what's meant to be."
"I hope so," Minjee looked up, blinking, as she did not want to ruin her make-up, "I'm sure our connection will help. Besides, I already kinda know where to find him now."
"Exactly," Yuna nodded, squeezing her hand, "Besides, your South Korean roots will probably help as well."
Minjee chuckled at that. Her father being from South Korea could be one of the reasons why her soulmate is from all the way over there.
"You still want to go out?"
"Yeah, definitely," Minjee responded instantly, "I want to go out and have fun with you girls."
"Good, come on, let's go."
As she got dragged by her best friend to rejoin the other girls, Minjee felt that her soulmate also had been comforted. Both of them felt more at ease after talking to their friends.
She was glad that he had great friends around him.
'We'll find a way,' She sent his way, more confident now than before.
His response came almost immediately, also more confident.
'We will.'
⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅
A/N: They finally discovered the distance that is between them. There will be much more for them to discover of course.
Next chapter will be more about them getting to know each other.
Also, I have found that describing outfits can be quite difficult. Luckily, I have many Pinterest boards that help me. I gathered styles for each soulmate that they would wear, so hopefully it'll be easier.
I hope you are enjoying it! Let me know what you think~
love, ily