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Ae-Young's P O.V.

"Okay, spill." Soomin began, all of a sudden. She suddenly came up to my door, and the first thing I did was cling onto her, grateful she was there.

Then, I spent about five or so minutes apologising. She forgave me, of course. But also made me promise I'd never push her away like that again. I gladly agreed. We both sat down, and now here we are.

"I screwed up, again." I managed to whisper, thinking back to when Yoongi was here. "Even when I knew I should've stopped talking, I kept going. I don't know what was going through me head...."

"I do." Soomin quickly replied, looking both angry, and also just plain fed up. "It's your promise to your mother, you know that's not doing you any good."

"She just trying to-

"To what? Take care of you?" Soomin interrupted, looking even more angry, furious even. "Seriously Ae-Young, don't give me that shit."

"Maybe she thinks she's helping?" I managed to say, not knowing how else to defend my mother. Why am I defending her? She is my mother, and I love her. But at the same time, it's not like she was all that great. She wasn't there for me, ever. So why do I feel the need to protect her now?

"Ae-Young, you know better than anyone how she feels about soulmates." Soomin replied, in a calmer tone. "So of course she'd try and put that on you."

"But-

"Hey, let me finish." Soomin stated sternly, before I could continue. "Personally, I think you should see her. You should let her know you want to live through the experience yourself, without her holding you down."

I sighed lightly, upon hearing what Soomin had to say. I have to admit, she's not wrong. But what a conversation that would be, to have with my mother of all people.

"Alright...." I replied. "And Soomin, I'm really sorry, again."

"Sweetie, if you apologise one more time, I'm going to rethink about forgiving you." Soomin said with a small laugh. "I told you, it's fine. I understand."

"Can I ask you one more thing?" I asked, after taking a second to think to myself. After hearing a hum in response, I looked to the ground, thinking about what I was trying to say. "How do I apologise to him?"

"To who? Yoongi?" Soomin asked, and I nodded my head. "Ae-Young, I think that's something only you can figure out."

"Why must you make that sound so wise?" I whined, hearing her response.

"What can I say? I am pretty wise...." She giggled, then came closer to me, with open arms. I immediately understood the gesture, quickly hugging her tightly. "You feeling better now?"

"Well....kind of." I replied, still holding onto Soomin. Then, after a sudden thought came to mind, I instantly let go. "You haven't told me about your soulmate!"

"Ah, that's right...." Soomin replied, giving a huge smile. "I really need to introduce you two!"

"Well go on, tell me the name of this mystery person." I replied, crossing my legs, leaning on the sofa. "I presume there's a romantic story to go along with it?"

"Okay, okay. Her name's Eunha...." Soomin began, another smile showing at the thought of her soulmate. "We met at the convenience store, just around the corner."

"Oh, how romantic." I replied sarcastically, earning myself a light hit from Soomin in the process. "Alright, I'm sorry. Go on."

"Basically, I forgot my purse. She was my knight in shining armor, who offered to pay." Soomin continued, stopping for a minute as she thought to herself. "Then when she was leaving, I reached out to grab her arm, in the hopes of maybe getting her number. And the rest is history...."

"Wow, you got a lot more than her number." I whispered to myself, but Soomin heard, giving a light chuckle at my response. "So when will I get to meet, your knight in shining armor, as you so beautifully described her as."

"I'm not entirely sure." Soomin replied, pondering to myself for a moment. "You wouldn't be free later on today, would you?"

"With this new position, I'm basically free all of the time." I replied, sighing lightly. "I can actually make late plans now. Ask me over for dinner with only an hour's notice, I'll probably make it."

"That's a huge step up." Soomin commented, seeming surprised. "I bet you feel a lot less stressed now."

"Oh yeah, that's for sure." I replied, with a smile. As puzzling as the past few days have been for me, they're not nearly as bad as they would have been, had I not stepped down. "More Time to sleep in too."

"Well then, with that in mind....how does now sound?" Soomin suggested, which kind of caught me off guard. Yeah, I expected her plans to be short notice, but not this short. "I've already planned to meet up with her for lunch. I can just tell her you're tagging along."

"And I wouldn't be intruding?" I asked, after taking a second or two to think it over. I don't remember having any plans, so I'm pretty sure I have nowhere else to be.

"No, no. Don't worry about that. Eunha has been dying to meet you!" Soomin replied excitedly, as she began to stand up.

"Are we going now?" I suddenly asked, hoping I wouldn't be rushed off right this moment. But seeing a small shake of her head, I relaxed slightly. "What are you doing then?"

"Helping you pick out something to wear." She replied, walking towards my room. I looked down at myself, a perfectly good outfit in sight. Confused, I stood up and walked towards my room, following her.

"Is what I'm wearing not good enough?" I asked, seeing Soomin already throwing clothes on the ground, in a frantic search for a decent outfit.

"I mean, it's not bad...." Soomin stated, turning back towards me. "But you're meeting my new girlfriend,for the first time. I want you to make a good impression."

Understanding this, I nodded my head lightly, as a sign for her to continue. She giddily clapped her hands with a jump and squeal, before looking through my wardrobe again. I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.

"How about this?" She asked, taking a few pieces of clothing, holding them up for me to see. Seeing them together, I nodded my head, and took them from her. "Okay, cool. I'll just go call Eunha now, to let her know you're coming."

With that, Soomin left the room. I held up the clothes, looking at them once more, before changing-

This wasn't something I'd normally wear, but I had to admit, I really liked it. Not to Soomin though, I'd never admit it to her. I'd probably just use this as a reason to complain in the future.

"Eunha said that's no problem, and she'll be there in ten minutes!" Soomin called from outside, then she quickly rushed in after she ended her call. "You look amazing!"

"Ah, thanks....but you know I don't normally wear this." I replied, scratching the back of my head, whilst looking at myself in the mirror. "I wanna say you owe me, but I think this makes us even."

"Precisely." She stated, with a mischievous smile. I rolled my eyes in return, before Soomin grabbed my arms, pulling me put of my room. "Now let's go, and not keep Eunha waiting."

I was rushed out of my home, quicker than the speed of light. After locking up, Soomin and I linked arms, making our way to wherever she and I were to meet her soulmate.

While we walked to our destination, Soomin spent the time filling me in on what happened during the last few days. I was trying to pay attention, listen carefully and react accordingly. But my mid was elsewhere.

I thought that maybe this would put my mind at ease, from thinking about Yoongi. But as I found myself getting excited to spend time with my best friend, I couldn't help but also feel guilty.

I treated Yoongi horribly, ever since I met him. Yet here I am, enjoying the day as if I were none the wiser. I keep confusing the poor guy. He was right. One minute I feel like I can lean on him, then the next, I'm pulled back into reality; the one my mother painted for me.

I can't blame it all on her though, I have to take some of it. She may have put the image of soulmate functions and their dangers into my head, but I'm the one that let them take control.

The only reason I'm so conflicted though, between her view that I grew up with and an opposite one, is that I've witnessed bonds of all kinds. Some were beautiful, while other not as much. None however were nearly as bad as that of my mother's.

The severity of her bond, has definitely left an impression on me. An impression that is not so easily forgotten. But even so, it's no excuse for all I've put my own soulmate through. He has every right to be mad at me, I wouldn't expect anything less.

I just hope I didn't hurt him too badly.

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