𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗘
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Seo Changbin needed a damn break. And more than just spending his morning in the gym working out, he needed something else. Ever since their fanmeet where they had met Taemi, the adorable pup of Park Yiseul, who so happened to be the soulmate of Jeongin and Felix, everyone had been strangely on edge. In a way they hadn't been in a long time, but even then, it was different from the previous cases. Because they weren't even sure why they were on edge this time; though Changbin had his suspicions, especially since they had met Taemi. As if something about her had triggered something a little more primal in their secondary genders, and as an all-alpha group, it was always bound to be difficult to diffuse tensions at times. Especially when none of them even knew why their alphas were all reacting in such a way. But it was more than that, Changbin thought, as all of this had started as a subtle shift ever since Jeongin had met Yiseul...
Felix hadn't been able to see Yiseul in his dreams since they'd met Yiseul, and Yiseul had been really busy according to Jeongin, who was growing a little antsy because he wasn't able to text her as often as he'd grown used to, and was definitely itching to see her and the pups, again. It didn't help that Jeongin's control over his alpha tended to slip in times of stress, and while Chan had taught Jeongin a really tight control over his alpha years ago, the young man was always more inclined towards leaning into the primal aspects of his secondary gender than some of the others. He was by no means aggressive or a threat, but it simply meant his connection to his secondary gender was a lot stronger than some of the others.
Seungmin and Hyunjin had been helping keep the two occupied and distracted, but it was only a temporary solution. Minho had pointed that out, and then immediately following with the observation that Yiseul hadn't properly bonded to the two of them, which was probably why it was harder to control their antsy behaviour– knowing who your soulmate is and being aware of their close proximity was hard when the bond hadn't fully solidified, but was acknowledged. Minho and Jisung were the only two experienced with the aspects of a soulmate bond, and while they had their own privacy among their pack that they'd formed, many of the other members were at least aware of the history the two had had in solidifying the bond.
Minho and Jisung had it particularly interesting as they shared a bond that wasn't quite telepathic, because they did not communicate through their minds like telepathy, nor was it an empathic bond, but there was a connection that allowed them to always have an inclination to their thoughts and feelings. They seemed to have this intuitive knowledge of the other, and it helped them get along swimmingly, as they understood each other so well. Particularly since Minho had always been rather a bit reserved in opening up and being vulnerable, he'd learned to do it and be honest with the members of their pack and group, but that was after years of trust and experiences of hardships and great bright times of success.
He knew that there were times, and they'd admitted to it as much for fans and all to know, when the two would hang out and not even talk, just taking great comfort in each other's presence, and even the fact they were not actually in the same dorms could really separate them. Sometimes Changbin wondered why they'd even separated when they'd picked rooms for the two newer dorms they'd moved into when they were often attached at the hip anyways. But he respected their efforts to retain a healthy amount of distance and space in their complicated and private relationship, especially since at times Minho needed that space to be alone and Jisung needed time to recharge his social battery on his own.
But at this very moment, Changbin needed a break from all of this all-consuming new developments and changes. Which had lead him to where he was leaving the company for a walk to a nearby park. Perhaps Jisung's joking comment had been right, maybe he needed to touch grass.
As far as he knew, Chan had sequestered himself in the studio and Jisung had escaped to his own studio room to work on something else before they returned to working on the problem track. 3racha had spent the better part of their morning and most of their day arguing over a track. It just wasn't hitting right in the beat that they'd been working on, let alone the inspiration for lyrics just weren't finding them. It was as if they were stuck on a mental block, and that wasn't good.
So Changbin needed some time to decompress and what better way than to enjoy the nice day they were having. The sun was shining warm, but not overly humid, and the breeze was soft, but it wasn't cold. It was just a really pleasant day. And at first it had been irritating, as if the weather was mocking him, but after many minutes walking through the park, he'd relaxed and come to really enjoy the pleasant scenery and weather.
Sitting on a bench, he didn't know why, but his mind returned to the subject of soulmates. Changbin looked down at the mark of his soulmate, a red string, and couldn't help but wonder if he'd be able to find his. All this recent conversations of soulmates, particularly with the emergence of Park Yiseul being the soulmate to Felix and Jeongin, had sparked a resurgence in Changbin and the others in interest in finding theirs. It was an unspoken desire, but one he knew they shared.
For years, he knew most of them hadn't really even thought about finding their soulmates. Chan had been so interested in his music and before that was too busy fighting to debut; Seungmin kept his cards close in regards to soulmate discussions, but he'd shared his own thoughts on soulmates with this delicate yearning; Hyunjin himself always spoke so hopefully about his soulmate, ever the romantic artist at heart. As for Changbin, he'd honestly never really thought much about it. If he could find the person who was supposed to complete his heart, someone made especially by the universe who would love all of him, yeah he'd be delighted. Of course he thought about it with longing, but it was a distant yearning he tried not to focus on. For years, he'd been focused on achieving his dreams, of being a rapper and songwriter, a producer, and now that he was, he had always tried focusing more on that and his passion for making music than anything else like a soulmate.
But there were still sometimes those lingering thoughts in the back of his mind that reminded him how, even in a pack with people he genuinely loved and could say confidently that loved him, who understood him and accepted him just as much as he did for them... how incomplete it felt with such soul-deep yearning for that being destined to be connected to him on a soul-level.
And then Changbin watched with wide eyes, frozen in shock, as the string on his finger tightened in a way it had only ever tightened occasionally, fleetingly. It raised, leading him like an invisible map right to his soulmate. They were close.
Holy shit. Fuck. Oh my god. This was really happening!
Standing up on unsteady legs, Changbin took a deep breath to slow his racing heart and keep his composure, he began to shakily follow the string that just kept tightening and tightening, and shortening, until he was close enough to see.
And the sight had him blinking in shock.
. . .
The pups had been particularly more energetic than usual today, so after picking them up from daycare, Yiseul had taken them to the park. They'd immediately began to run around, chasing each other in a game of tag that Yiseul temporarily partook in until her own energy levels dropped and she needed a break.
Taeseong and Taemi chirped in their own happiness as they tackled her one last time, pouncing on her, allowing their more primal natures to come to the surface, eyes glowing a pure white to denote their status as pups and having not developed a specific secondary gender.
Yiseul laughed as she hugged her pups to her, her own eyes glowing a brilliant gold as an omega. Taeseong trilled happily as Yiseul began to tickle Taemi, who shrieked happily in laughter. Taeseong'd senses were sensitive, more so than most, and so Yiseul dared not tickle Taeseong for long when she moved onto him. There were times when noises became too loud to bear for her pup, lights too bright to handle, and smells too nauseating to endure... and then he'd become sensitive to touch and textures, finding touch against his skin unpleasant at best and torturous at worst. It left him in a fit of frustrated tears, especially as a younger pup who did not have the skills to communicate these intense feelings and needs.
As Yiseul got up to sit down on the picnic blanket she had set up, Taemi growled out playfully as she pounced on her brother. Taeseong growled back in good nature, allowing himself to immerse in the play as he wrestled with her on the grass. They snapped at each other in their faces, bearing their teeth but knowing better than to bite or scratch at each other. They rolled around for a while, testing out their strength and wasting their energy on battling for dominance.
Until Taemi finally seemed to surpass Taeseong, chirping brightly with a trill of happiness as she finally managed to pin him down to the grass victoriously. Taeseong simply giggled along, pushing his twin sister off of him as he sat up and moved back to Yiseul for a juice box.
Taemi continued to cartwheel on the grass and roll around when she'd unsuccessfully fall from her cartwheeling form. Until a ladybug on a dandelion caught her eye, and she was staring closely at it, transfixed. Taeseong instead moved on to the little playground around them once he'd finished his juice, moving by himself to the nearby trashcan to throw the box away. Taemi was quick to join him when her ladybug flew away.
Yiseul smiled at her babies, enjoying the break away from worrying about the revelations of finding out her soulmates were both kpop idols, let alone in the same group. She hadn't seen Felix since learning he was real and a soulmate because she hadn't really been finding much sleep at night. And she hadn't really been able to text Jeongin to the same extent as before because she didn't know how to bring it up, nor was she ready to bring the topic up, about his idol status.
Or even how he felt about sharing her as a soulmate with a bandmate? Did he even know? Had Felix figured it out already? She admits, he probably had, she doesn't even know how she hadn't connected it earlier before honestly... Was that something they were okay with? Having multiple soulmates wasn't a normal case, most people didn't expect it, and so... what if they were disappointed?
What if they didn't want her because of it?
But then those insecurities were just that, insecurities. And it brought up something she hadn't really allowed herself to think about. Did she want them? Obviously, she did... but like, how? Soulmates could be platonic. Her parents weren't soulmates, but their soulmates were both platonic– her mother's had died young when they were in college and her father's soulmate was also happily married to someone else. Or did she want them to explore a romantic relationship?
She knew Jeongin probably did, from his flirty texts, they weren't subtle, though he tried to remain respectful and never crossed a line of discomfort. It was always just cute and playful banter, and very hot images from his selfies he shared.
But she was just so overwhelmed. She didn't know what she wanted. And a part of her was also unsure if she could even give her heart away like that. It had been over a year since Jamie had died, but how could she move on so fast? She knew he wanted her happy, but how could she ever be happy in the same way with someone else that she was with him? It was one thing moving on from her all-encompassing grief to be there for their children. But being with someone else in a way she'd been with Jamie, feeling the way she'd felt for Jamie with someone else... she felt like she was betraying Jamie, betraying his memory and her love for him.
They'd promised forever, and he was dead, but she was not.
It was all just so confusing.
And it was about to get even more so.
Because it's at that point in time the universe sees fit to introduce her to yet another one, as the tug on the red string on her finger (which had gone unnoticed to her), causes the person behind her to finally speak up softly.
Clearing their throat, the voice spoke in an uncharacteristically soft voice, "Uhm, excuse me...?"
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