((screenshot by me, taken from seventeen's recent LieV, and music for ambience))
* you've grown up with a very interesting soulmate bond
* most of the time, when you slept at night, you found yourself in a fairly nondescript field with a boy a little older than you
* he could never tell you his name, and neither could you
* when you tried you went into a coughing fit or said something utterly embarrassing instead
* then he stopped appearing when he was about seventeen
* you were pretty sad actually
* then one day you fell asleep during the day and there he was
* you almost cried
* your boy tried to explain what had happened but he started coughing wildly, prompting you to rush to him and help him stay standing
* he managed to choke out the words "time zones" before resuming hacking out his lungs
* you rubbed his back in what you hoped was a comforting way and murmured that it was all right
* so it kept going until he was about twenty-one, maybe older, maybe younger
* you met only every so often when you or he found the time to steal a few minutes of sleep or when your sleep schedules overlapped
* but he got handsomer and handsomer as time passed
* he dyed his hair several times, from its natural black to brown to dark orange to a lighter brown to a sort of pinkish orange colour and so on, even going purple at one point
* and right now it was a lovely shade of pale pink
* and you got to know him better
* he was a beautiful kind and loving soul
* but also extremely embarrassing
* he made bad jokes in English and Korean alike
* taught you Korean so you could understand the language he spoke at home
* he often spoke fondly of a group of friends, particularly of two his age
* he tried to get their names out but that didn't work
* he sang for you occasionally, lamenting the fact that he didn't have a guitar
* he showed you his calloused fingers, explaining how much playing guitar could hurt in the beginning
* sometimes when he sang, he tried to tell you who wrote the song only for his voice to die in his throat
* after one such incident, he sighed, sitting down defeatedly and hooking his elbows over his knees
* you sat next to him, touching his shoulder gently
* "are you okay?" you murmured
* he looked up, his whole face set in an upset expression
* "I really... really want to meet you, you know?" he sighed. "I don't know how to help you find me, though."
* you leaned your head on his shoulder
* "why can't you find me?"
* he leaned his head against yours with a long sigh
* "I really wish I could, I do, but my work is..." He cut off in a painful-sounding cough, letting out a noise of discontent at the universe's continued jerkishness
* before you could answer you started fading as you woke up and he grabbed for your hand
* "promise you'll find me!" he called as you vanished
* a few weeks later you were hanging out with a friend when she mentioned a band one of her friends had started listening to
* "is this your weird k-pop friend?" you asked, stirring your coffee
* your friend laughed and pushed your shoulder
* "yes, it's my weird k-pop friend, but you might actually like this band. They're called Seventeen —"
* she pulled out her phone, showing you a picture
* you nearly dropped your drink, tugging the phone from her and zooming in on one of the members
* "what's wrong?" she asked, leaning over. "Oh, that's Joshua — he's from California, LA actually. He's a real gentleman."
* you stared at him, almost unable to believe it
* your soulmate's gentle smile and beautiful eyes stared back at you from the phone screen
* "show me their music," you choked out. "I want to hear it."
* over the course of the next few weeks, you got to know Seventeen and fell in love with them
* their names, personalities, music
* when next you saw Joshua, you tried to tell him that you found him, but the words stuck in your throat
* you wanted to tell him how much you'd grown to love the him you'd seen in Seventeen
* his awful freestyle rap, his hilarious personality, everything
* alas, the universe hates you
* you tried to call him by name but again the words stuck
* he could only watch and try to comfort you as you began crying
* "it's all right, I'm here," he whispered in your ear, putting his arms around you
* you sobbed into his shoulder, apologies tumbling from your lips
* "no, no, don't apologise, it's okay, it's all right," Joshua crooned, running his hand through your hair
* he started singing softly to you and this time you knew the song because it was his
* poor Joshua was so worried
* he woke up from his nap with Seungkwan standing over him, looking worried
* Joshua sat up and touched his cheek, and found that his face was wet with tears
* he'd left a large tear stain on the couch as well
* he brushed off everyone's questions, quietly explaining that he didn't have an answer either
* and tried to resume life as normal
* but it was no secret to Seventeen that Joshua's soul bond was through his dreams
* so not only was he worried about you
* but the entirety of Seventeen was worried about both you and Joshua
* meanwhile you were doing everything in your power to get to Korea
* a few of your friends pitched in money for plane tickets
* and one day the friend of your friend who was responsible for getting you into Seventeen arrived, brandishing a sheet of paper
* "look on me ye mighty and despair... actually no, just stand in awe of my power," she declared, and handed you the paper
* "you're going to a Seventeen fan meeting."
* you couldn't help hugging her even though you two had literally interacted once when she gave you a white version of Teen,Age with a Joshua photocard and desk stand
* and so you made it to Korea safely
* that night you saw Joshua again for the first time since the crying thing
* "are you all right?" he asked, concern written large on his beautiful features
* you smiled, wrapping your fingers around his hand
* "I'm great," you replied
* Joshua decided to let it go
* and the next day was the fan meeting and high touch
* not gonna lie you were panicking
* Joshua was feeling really antsy for some reason too
* he felt like he had fire running through him instead of blood
* he got sat on the end of the table so he'd be the last person you touched whoopsa
* and all proceeded mostly as normal except Joshua and you were getting very hot and incredibly antsy
* you were fidgety throughout your interactions with the rest of the members, distractedly mentioning that you were a new Carat
* your eyes kept flicking to Joshua when they weren't looking
* when you got to Joshua he dropped his pen in surprise
* wordlessly, he almost threw himself across the table and gently touched your cheek
* and the air around you two exploded in light and bright sparks like fireworks
* next to him Mingyu had to make a quick escape to avoid being scorched
* the light died down and Joshua stammered an apology to you
* you smiled, reaching up to brush his messy hair from his face
* "it's all right," you whispered. "I'm here."
* a staff member came up and tapped Joshua's shoulder
* they asked him to translate asking if you wanted to wait in the back for him
* you decided to be snarky and replied in fluent Korean that you'd very much like to, thanks
* so they guided you to the back room amid cheers and applause from Carats and Seventeen and the clicking of cameras
* so many Joshua fansites had a field day
* getting pictures of him being adorable and blushy the rest of the event
* and when everything was finished Joshua ran to you
* the rest of Seventeen decided to give you privacy
* "so... I guess you know everything there is to know about me... I just don't know your name," Joshua said with a laugh
* you introduced yourself, and Joshua repeated your name with that beautiful soft smile
* he shyly pulled you close, tucking some hair from your face
* "y/n, may I... may I kiss you?" he breathed
* you laughed slightly
* "you don't have to ask permission," you whispered back
* so without another second of hesitation he closed the gap between you
* unfortunately Seventeen had just decided that you two had had enough private time
* so they busted into the room
* cue screaming and covering Dino's eyes
* now it was time to work out the finer points of being Joshua Hong's soulmate
* the company decided that since you had so publicly united then there should be a vlive announcing it right away, but otherwise, you should temporarily stay out of the public eye
* you and Joshua were fine with that — you needed time to properly get to know each other.
________________
1515 words wowow,, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this!! on Wednesday I'll put up the first Prince!Seventeen au, and then I'll most likely alternate between my three major series in the works (boyfriend, soulmate and prince au) for the next little while. Thank you!