AN/: Please enjoy and don't forget to comment. I love reading through all of them. Written for the AO3 "2 Dope 2 Trope 2023: Soulmate AU" by Ship Wars.

Everyone is born with a string tied around their wrists that connects them to their soulmate, only visible between those two individuals. Some were lucky enough to even be born with more than one string around their wrists. Most times, life had a way of bringing together the soulmates. However, there were ones who were never lucky enough to meet their soulmate throughout their entire lifetime. Whether that be due to not being born at the same time, one passing away too soon, or simply never having the fate to cross paths. Sometimes the stars just never aligned for those unfortunate soulmates.

From a young age, parents and the education system taught children all about the unique soulmate process with the knowledge that had been passed down from one generation to another. It was a sacred, unbreakable bond that was solely their own. Fated and destined to each other because they were ideally suited to one another in most cases as a romantic partner.

However, they did stress the importance that even if they were to meet their soulmate - or soulmates in those cases - it didn't mean they had to be together. It wasn't a relationship that was forced upon them or frowned upon by the rest of society if they were to reject their soulmate. Because there were many cases of lovely people that had ended up being destined to the most despicable humans, and no one should feel obligated to put up with it purely because it had been their fate.

It was not only the importance of a consensual soulmate bond that was taught to children, but everything else that came along with it. Every bond was unique. Majority could communicate with each other in one way or another, whether it be writing on a particular area of skin, telepathically through thoughts, seeing and sending messages that appear in thin air. It could never be predicted which method they would be able to communicate through; it was always trial and error.

Every single child grew up to know the string colour system by the age of four to five. The strings could change between seven different colours, all with a different meaning behind them. Each colour indicated how close they were to their soulmate. For those with multiple strings around their wrists, each individual string would change depending on the distance between that individual person.

Purple like an amethyst meant they were in a different country to one another.

Red like a strawberry meant they were in the same country but not close to one another.

Orange like a raging fire meant they were within 100 kilometres of one another.

Yellow like a bright sunflower meant they were within 10 kilometres of one another.

Golden like a gold bar meant they were looking directly at their destined soulmate. Eye contact wasn't necessary for the string to change to gold, just one person needed to be looking at the other.

Brown like a piece of chocolate meant that the other soulmate hadn't been born yet.

Black like a dark, endless void meant that the other soulmate had died.

To most people, growing up with a string that was primarily red, orange, yellow, and gold would be a blessing. Because there were some out there that were unfortunate to always have a blue, brown or black soulmate string. Knowing that they were located somewhere in the same country made it easier to track down their soulmate. Let alone if they got close enough to the point the string would shift into yellow and eventually gold.

But to Min Yoongi, it was the cruellest fate that he could have ever been given. From a young age, he knew exactly who his soulmate was. They had grown up attending the very same primary and high school. Yet, they had never spoken a single word to each other. For years, they had made eye contact, walked past each other in the halls, the playground, around the town, but not even once had they stopped to speak.

It was a painful childhood for Yoongi. To be ignored as if he didn't exist. To be unworthy of being recognised by his soulmate. To be rejected over and over again on a daily basis. As much as he tried to ignore it, his soulmate was always there, right in front of him. It was rather tormenting. He always held his breath whenever they were near each other. Always left to wonder if that would be the day he would finally be acknowledged.

It's not like his parents even cared. They had both rejected their own soulmates in favour of being with one another. From an early on in his life, they had always shut down any and all discussions to do with soulmates. So it was no surprise when he had announced that he had found his soulmate at the age of nine, they didn't make a big deal out of it. They didn't guide him on the next steps or even follow up with how it was going. In fact, it was the first and last time the subject of Yoongi having a soulmate was ever discussed.

As the years progressed, he couldn't bear to stay in that godawful town. The moment he had graduated, he had used all of his savings to move to a whole new city simply so he could start fresh. He never could have imagined just how freeing it would have been for him. Without even realising it, for most of his life, he had been tormented and suffocated by his soulmate bond. The moment his string primarily stayed red, with the occasional orange, he felt as if he could actually breathe properly for the first time in a long time.

Yoongi could finally move on with his life with nothing holding him back. He had gone through university as a Literature major while working a full-time job to support himself as he lived on his own. After his degree, he had managed to save up enough to invest in opening up his very own bookshop, a long term dream that fulfilled him and brought him so much joy. It was a small building, tucked in the busy streets of Seoul, with himself and three other employees. He sold both brand new as well as second hand books that were either donated or they would get in a bargain hunts. His bookshop was his safe space, his haven, his paradise.

Over the last month, Yoongi had noticed a shift in his soulmate string. More often than not, it had been flickering between orange and yellow. Much to his relief, it had never once gone to gold. But it had put him more high alert whenever he would notice it while walking around. If he noticed it was stuck on yellow, he would try to take the quieter streets, that way if he did unfortunately come across his soulmate, he could run in the opposite direction.

It was another quiet day within his bookshop. There happened to be only one customer that presently perused the shelves. The only other occupants were one of his full-time employees, Kim Namjoon, and Yoongi himself. Namjoon wasn't only one of his employees, but he was also Yoongi's closest and best friend. The pair had met during university and had remained best friends for the past seven years. Both Namjoon and his soulmate partner, Seokjin, were the only people Yoongi socialised with on a regular basis.

The only thing different about that day had been how Yoongi's soulmate string had been stuck on yellow. For the most part, he had tried his best to ignore it, confident that they wouldn't cross paths as long as he didn't leave the store. He sat behind the checkout desk in the back corner of the store and typed away on his computer. Since nothing needed his attention at that moment, he spent his time working on his own novella, hoping one day to sell a copy of it on his own shelves.

From where he sat, Yoongi had the perfect view of the door. He was able to see all of the customers as they entered and left. To his left were the shelves that lined the entire back wall. Directly behind him was the door that led out to the staff area, the storage rooms, and his private office. He sat in the very corner, with his right shoulder leaned up against the wall. It wasn't the healthiest of postures but he didn't overly care because he was comfortable.

"Hyung," Namjoon called out from the staff area behind him.

"Yes?" Yoongi spun around in his chair, his back to the front door, and peered into the open door only to find Namjoon hunched over a box that sat on the circular table in the staff area.

"I'm just going through the latest donations," said Namjoon, he held two books in his hands, his face the epitome of barely contained joy. "You won't believe what we just got."

"What?" he asked, intrigued by the discovery that got Namjoon so excited. Behind him, he heard the soft chime of the doorbell followed by footsteps entering.

"Two first editions of The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. Both of them are in great condition and guess what?" Namjoon smiled as he looked up towards him.

"What?" he repeated again. What could possibly be better than two first editions of that novel?

"They are both signed," he beamed as he showed off the inside of one of the novels. "I'm guessing you want them to be authenticated?"

"Yeah," he answered with a nod, a small smile on his face, very pleased by the discovery.

"Where would you like me to put them then?" Namjoon asked.

"Could you put them," he started to say as he lifted his left arm and pointed, "in my office for now?"

That is when his eyes saw it. Gold. Yoongi froze, his arm still in the air. His breath was stolen. His mind simply couldn't believe what it was looking at. There was no way it was real. His eyes were wide and locked onto the golden string wrapped around his left wrist. Maybe it was all just one big, bad dream. Hopefully it wasn't a living nightmare. Surely it was just the trick of the light, making the yellow look like gold.

'No, no, no. Nope. Nah. Negatory. Never. Most certainly not. Hell to the no. Absolutely not. No siree,' Yoongi thought to himself.

"You got it," nodded Namjoon and he began to walk in that direction. "Looks like you have a customer by the way."

'Yeah, no shit sherlock' thought Yoongi as his heart raced a million miles a second. 'Guess there is no avoiding this now. Unless I run into the backroom and force Namjoon to take over.'

Slowly, Yoongi dropped his arm until it rested upon his thigh. He took a deep breath in to calm himself as much as he could in that moment and spun his chair back around to the front at a snail's pace. Time seemed to move in slow motion. Little by little, his worst nightmare gradually came into view. Because stood before him, with a stupid, bright, heart shaped smile on his face, was none other than his soulmate. Jung Hoseok.

"Hi," breathily exhaled Hoseok, behind his stupid sunglasses, his eyes shone with happiness.

'Don't hi me. Go hi someone else,' grumpily thought Yoongi as he tried his best not to show how furious he was.

"Wow. I can't believe this," said Hoseok with a small chuckle. He held up his own left wrist and inspected the string that had always connected them together, almost as if it was the first time he had ever seen it in his life.

'Neither can I. This isn't necessary. You can leave now,' he clenched his jaw and balled his hands into tight fists on his thighs to stop himself from snapping at him.

"I'm sorry, but you look rather familiar. Have we ever met before?" asked Hoseok with a small tilt to his head, still smiling.

Yoongi's whole world crumbled around him. The words Hoseok had spoken were transformed into an invisible arrow, the tip had been sharpened dangerously by the question, and then fired directly into Yoongi's heart. Pain radiated from his chest while hot, angry tears welled in his eyes. It was the first time they were face-to-face after eight long years. And after all that time... This is what he gets?

"I hate you," shakily whispered Yoongi in barely withheld anger.

To most people, growing up with a string that was primarily red, orange, yellow, and gold would be a blessing. Because there were some out there that were unfortunate to always have a blue, brown or black soulmate string. But to Min Yoongi, it was the cruellest fate that he could have ever been given.

Throughout school, Yoongi had been in the grade above Hoseok. There had only been one year that they hadn't been in the same school together as they crossed between primary and high school. But apart from that, every single weekday of their entire childhood, Hoseok and Yoongi would pass by each other. Even on the rare occasion, they would cross paths on the weekends while Yoongi was out on a walk or even as he worked at his part-time job.

Not once, in all of those years, had Hoseok come over to him or initiated any type of communication.

Early on, Yoongi had noticed small writing that would appear on his inner left forearm, the same arm the string was tethered around. He knew that it belonged to Hoseok. He had been able to confirm it by sometimes being able to visualise the exact same scribbles in the exact same spot on Hoseok's own inner left forearm. But never once had those writings ever been for him. They had always been little reminder notes that Hoseok made for himself, or even the odd little drawings. As a result, Yoongi made sure to always write on his right arm, knowing that it wouldn't show up on Hoseok.

And so as the years went by, Yoongi always watched him from a distance, too afraid to approach or initiate anything. It's not like he could even if he desperately wanted to. Hoseok was almost always surrounded by people that happened to target Yoongi; one of many groups that found pleasure in picking on him. It was not only them, but so many other people, they all made his life a living nightmare. Not even his sanctuary and hideaway at school - the library - had kept him safe.

As if it couldn't get any worse, Hoseok had always been a passive bystander if he ever walked past those instances of Yoongi getting bullied. Silently, Yoongi would always plead with his eyes for help. But not one single time did Hoseok step in and put an end to his suffering. He never stood up for him.

The message was loud and clear. Hoseok didn't want him. Yoongi never understood why though. Was it because Hoseok was ashamed it was Yoongi who he got for his soulmate? Was Yoongi too ugly to be with such a stunning person? Was it because he was weak and on the bottom of the social ladder, whereas Hoseok was the polar opposite? He had never understood the reasons behind why he wasn't good enough for Hoseok.

But it was one day, one major event, that had solidified his growing resentment he harboured towards Hoseok and had been the final straw for any hope that had remained.

It had been a sunny day with fine weather during his last year of high school. His day had been rather uneventful to begin with. It had been surprisingly quiet for a change. None of the usual people that picked on him had shouted at him or shoved him in the hallway. It's not like he had been complaining either way. A day free from the normal torment he faced was a good day in his books.

But what had been a peaceful day had quickly spiralled into one of the worst days he had ever experienced in his whole life. The final bell of the day had rung and flocks of students exited the school grounds. Yoongi purposefully lingered behind. It was either he was one of the first to leave before the crowds swarmed out, or he was one of the last. He found it reduced his chances of being pushed, shoved and tripped.

What he had never expected to encounter, however, was a barricade of students that stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the back gate. His exit was blocked by familiar faces. They were ones that often haunted his dreams or he could clearly see whenever he closed his eyes. He frowned as he slowly came to a halt. His calculating eyes gazed over the strong line in front of him as he tried to predict what was about to happen before they enacted on it.

In a blink of an eye, the group charged directly at him. His eyes widened in fear as his body turned and he started to run in the direction he had just came from. Maybe he could slip away and head for the front gate instead, he just needed to be faster than them. A difficult task considering how he was never really one to enjoy participating in anything that involved running. At that moment, he was regretting not building his stamina up.

However, his plan was spoiled. He had been caught before he could manage to go anywhere. It had all been a trap; the barricade of students had been a mere distraction. Three students had come from behind him and caught him the moment he had turned around to escape. The shock had caused Yoongi to freeze as his mind tried to process what had just occurred.

"Let me g-!" he began to scream in panic before he was cut off by a sock being shoved into his mouth to gag him.

The entire group laughed as fear climbed up his spine. Before he knew it, his body was being dragged further to the right, off the path that led to the back entrance, and down towards the back corner of the school. The large group made their way towards the sheds where equipment for all the different sports were stored. The entire walk, he fought, he panicked, but he couldn't scream for help with the sock in his mouth.

In a whirlwind of blurred motions, Yoongi was thrown harshly onto the ground and pain started to flare up all over his body. That's when he realised that the pain was not caused by the fall, but rather the onslaught of shoes that continually connected with every inch of his body. Words were thrown down at him, laughs rang loudly around the space, the tips of shoes repeatedly kicked him. There was no escape. He was surrounded. He curled into a ball as he managed to spit the sock out of his mouth. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to protect himself as much as possible.

Silently, he cried. He didn't want to give them the satisfaction to hear him pathetically beg to stop. He would take the assault and hope it would be over before long. Yoongi tried his best to cover his head, but the occasional shoe snuck through his folded arms and landed squarely on his face. If only someone would save him. But the majority of the student population had already left for the day. There must only be the odd teacher packing up and heading home for the day. At that stage, they may be his only hope to put a stop to it all.

"What's going on here?" a voice asked.

Yoongi could have sobbed in relief as he heard the question. All of the students seemed to retreat from around him. Yoongi wiped the tears from his face as he slowly peeped through his arms at the person who had rescued him. He looked up to see a group of four people, tennis equipment in hand, heading towards the sheds nearby. Yoongi could have run to them and fallen into their arms with a thankful sob. However, that's when he saw exactly who they were.

Yoongi was not safe from three of the four newcomers. Those three weren't with the same group as the ones who currently towered above him. But nonetheless, they had also targeted him in the past too. They had never been as extreme in their bullying, more like the occasional soft push as they walked past him, or they knocked his books from his hands, but more commonly they just threw foul words his way.

And then there was him. Hoseok. He walked alongside the other three in the new approaching group. His empty eyes looked directly at him, their gazes connected. Yoongi hoped that this time would be different from all those times in the past. He hoped that Hoseok would save him, put a stop to this, and protect him for a change. The string between them was shining gold. How could he not care? How could he stand there and watch his soulmate get beat up and not care?

"Nothing," shrugged the ringleader of the particular group that had captured Yoongi. "Got a problem?"

"Nope," the ringleader of the approaching group shrugged before he led his small group into the shed.

Yoongi felt his panic rise.

'No, no, no. Hoseok please. Don't keep walking. Please save me. Please. Don't leave me here. Don't let them... Please...' his thoughts useless cried out to his soulmate.

Slowly, Hoseok started to walk towards the shed. His eyes lingered on Yoongi. Their eye contact was only broken once Hoseok had disappeared into the shed itself. Another tear rolled down Yoongi's cheek. That's when he realised that he wouldn't be saved. No one was going to rescue him. He was going to be left to the mercy of the group that surrounded him. He would just have to take everything thrown his way and hope he could survive the whole ordeal.

Hoseok didn't care for him.

He had never felt so rejected, so abandoned, so deserted in his entire life than as he laid there subjected to new bombardment of shoes while his soulmate turned a blind eye to it all.

"I hate you," Yoongi stated more firmly before the angry tears cascaded down his face.

"What?" quietly asked Hoseok as the happy expression fell from his face only to be replaced with shock and confusion.

Yoongi couldn't speak or breathe. The audacity Hoseok had to act all dumb, as if they hadn't known each other for their entire lives, it destroyed him. All of the pain, suffering, anguish he had endured throughout his childhood all because Hoseok hadn't accepted him had made him resilient. It had taught him that life isn't fair. That sometimes people didn't get what they wanted in life. And most importantly, it taught him that despite being rejected by his soulmate, he was still very much worth it at the end of the day.

Without another word, Yoongi stood up and walked into the back rooms. He prayed that Hoseok would leave; like he always had done in the past. Thankfully, he knew the bookshop like that back of his hand. Tears clouded his vision as he almost blindly navigated his way to his private office. His hands shook as his fingers trailed along the wall, it was the only thing that held him up as he walked on shaky legs.

"Yoongi hyung?" worriedly asked Namjoon as Yoongi walked into his office. "What's wrong?"

Wordlessly, he shook his head. His voice was lost. All he could do was walk over to the desk chair and collapse into it. He folded in on himself, his entire body shook, and he silently cried. He wouldn't let any of them have the satisfaction to hear him cry. He hoped that if he could block out the world around him, then the nightmare that had unfolded would disperse. Maybe, just maybe, Jung Hoseok would once and for all disappear from his world, from his life.

"Hey, you're not allowed back here," Yoongi heard Namjoon say. It turned out his nightmare was not yet over.

"I need to talk to him," he heard Hoseok say with a shaky voice.

"Hyung?" Yoongi knew Namjoon felt lost, unsure what to do in this scenario, he could hear it in his tone. "Do you want to talk to him or do you want me to escort him out?"

"No, please! You can't. Not yet. Just let me talk to him please. I need to," Hoseok seemed to almost desperately plead to the both of them. "I'm his soulmate."

The room fell into a tense hush, only broken by the occasional sound that escaped Yoongi despite him trying to withhold them all. He didn't need to look up to know the emotions that were currently on Namjoon's face. He heard the step back that Hoseok took, no doubt thrown off by the eyes that were full of fury that had just been laid upon him. It was all too overwhelming for Yoongi. The intensity in which his body shook increased as he folded into himself further. A small sob broke through the tense silence.

"Please don't cry," pleaded Hoseok, which only made Yoongi cry harder. "This... Please. This is meant to be a happy moment."

"Just fuck off, Hoseok," quietly seethed Namjoon.

Oh god. A quiet, angry Namjoon was a dangerous Namjoon. Yoongi didn't know what was more important right then; himself or his friend. It was rare to see Namjoon so upset. It was hard to actually get him upset. They both had polar opposite attitudes towards life. Yoongi always being the depressingly pessimistic one while Namjoon was always the sickeningly optimistic one. The fact that he had even told Hoseok to 'fuck off' in the first place said enough in itself. And that's why Yoongi wanted to give comfort to his friend even when he, himself, was a complete mess.

"Wait. How do you know my name?" quietly asked Hoseok in shock.

"I'm his best friend. Of course I know your name," Namjoon continued to say in his quiet, furious tone. "You don't think he hasn't told me all about you? About everything that you've done?"

"What are you talking about?" Hoseok asked with confusion. Yoongi slowly tilted his head up and stared through his tear filled vision at his soulmate. "What... What do you mean?"

"Joon-ah," interjected Yoongi in a shaky whisper. "There's a customer. I'll be fine."

"You're crying. You're not fine," he said, exasperated and frustrated on his behalf.

"I'll be fine. I need to talk with him," he whispered, clearly he wasn't fine. But he did need this even though it was painful. "I need closure."

There was a small pause as Yoongi and Namjoon both locked gazes with one another. Mutual understanding passed between them without words needed. They both knew that having this difficult conversation with Hoseok could give Yoongi a chance at long awaited answers and eventual closure down the track. He wouldn't have to live in fear of running into Hoseok while out on the streets. He wouldn't have to worry about seeing a yellow or gold string. He could finally just move on with his life for once and for all.

"Fine," quietly huffed Namjoon as he moved his fierce gaze towards Hoseok. "I'll be just out there if you need me."

Once again, the room was shrouded in silence as Namjoon closed the door behind himself on his way out. Yoongi straightened in his chair as his teary eyes stayed trained on his soulmate, on the one who had always brought him so much pain, on Hoseok. Despite being the one to insist he needed to talk with Hoseok, Yoongi was at a loss for words. He used the time in which he didn't speak to compose himself. Slowly, he calmed his breathing, the tears dried up, and the only sound that came from him were the occasional sniffle.

"I'm really confused," Hoseok said, the first to break the silence.

"So am I," quietly said Yoongi as he attempted to dry his face with his sleeves. "What are you confused about?"

"You seem to know exactly who I am," Hoseok stated, behind his sunglasses, his eyes flickered all over Yoongi's face. "What are you confused about?"

"I'm confused why you've come back into my life after all this time," Yoongi stated.

"Should we start with clearing up why I'm confused first and then I can possibly help clear up yours?" he suggested in a calm, soft tone.

Yoongi nodded his head. That sounded reasonable and rational. Even though it seemed impossible to him, he supposed that Hoseok couldn't clear anything up for Yoongi if he was confused about how they knew each other. He paused for another brief moment to collect his thoughts as his eyes fell to the carpeted ground. His mind was scattered, it was all over the place. He had no clue where to even start.

"How do you know me?" gently prompted Hoseok when Yoongi remained silent.

"We went to the same school," quietly answered Yoongi.

"Same school?" he echoed quietly with a deep frown. "Which school do you mean? Primary? High? University?"

"Primary and high school," he said, eyes still on the ground.

Another tense pause passed between the pair. Yoongi didn't know what else to say. He was in disbelief that Hoseok was here in front of him after eight long years, claiming that he never knew they were soulmates. His head hurt from all of the confusion while his heart ached from all the painful memories it brought up. Could it have been possible that Hoseok truly never knew?

Just as Yoongi had been thinking about taking a peek up at Hoseok to see what emotions were on his face, he noticed Hoseok start to move out of the top of his peripheral vision. Hoseok's shoes entered his line of sight as he approached where Yoongi was sitting on his office chair. However, much to his surprise, Hoseok didn't stop moving closer. His eyes widened in shock as he witnessed Hoseok slowly sink into a kneel and sit back on his heels right in between Yoongi's legs. His gaze finally moved back to Hoseok, only to find confusion written all over his face.

"You knew for all these years and never approached me?" softly asked Hoseok, his voice void of judgement or accusations, as his hands reached out and gently rested upon Yoongi's knees.

"I couldn't," Yoongi whispered, he shook his head side-to-side, the earlier tears threatened to return.

"Why?" he asked, his frown deepened.

"Two reasons. The first being the people around you," he said in a whisper before he focused his gaze on his own clasped hands in his lap. "They bullied me. So I couldn't really approach you because you were never alone. And the second being, whenever you would see people harassing me, you would always keep walking. I thought... I thought you didn't want me. I thought you were ashamed of me."

"I'm sorry," Hoseok said, full of sincerity, as both of his thumbs caressed the sides of Yoongi's knees. "I am so sorry, I didn't know."

All Yoongi could do in response was shake his head in silent disbelief. It turned out the impossible was possible after all. But he couldn't wrap his mind around it. He had spent the majority of his childhood believing that he had been unwanted, unworthy, unacceptable. He had felt rejected. And now? Well now he had learned that none of it was true. His entire world had been spun on its axis; everything seemed wrong.

"I think that clears things up for me. It explains why you looked so familiar when I first saw you," said Hoseok softly when Yoongi stayed silent. "And I suppose it can also tell you why I've suddenly turned up after all these years seemingly out of the blue. I just never knew."

"You really had no idea we were soulmates?" asked Yoongi in a whisper, still in disbelief, as his eyes shifted back to Hoseok's face.

"Yeah," he nodded with a sad, tight lipped smile. "I honestly had no idea."

"How?" he asked quietly. "I mean, how did you never see the end of our string connecting us? Or how it was always going between yellow and gold?"

"My string always looked black to me. From a young age, it was just black. Not once did I ever see it change colours. It almost became a habit for me to block out the fact that I even had a string around my wrist or how I could sometimes see it moving around," explained Hoseok.

"Black?" he asked in a mixture of shock and confusion. "How is that even possible? I was born before you and as you can see, I am very much alive and breathing."

"I am colourblind," he simply stated.

'Ah. That would explain it,' Yoongi thought to himself.

"These glasses I'm wearing help me to see colour properly," Hoseok continued to say, his sad eyes gazed up at Yoongi from where he sat between his legs. "I saved up as much money as I could throughout university and when I was twenty one I saw the red string for the very first time. I've spent the last three years looking on and off for a soulmate that I never knew existed... Looking for you."

Yoongi allowed the words to truly sink in as he gazed down deeply into Hoseok's eyes that were full of raw honesty and sincerity. He could see it. Almost as if he could look into his very soul and see the naked truth laid out bare for him. All these years, he hadn't been unwanted, unworthy, unacceptable, unsuitable, unfitted, undesired. He hadn't been rejected. No, it turned out he had just been invisible.

For a moment, Yoongi sat there in silence, wondering to himself about how it all could have played out differently. What if Yoongi hadn't been so stubborn and had decided to make contact with Hoseok? Would they have spent all those years getting to know each other? Could they have actually made a life together as a couple? Would they have grown up together and lived in happy harmony? Could Yoongi have grown up in a reality where he hadn't been the constant target of bullies? Would Hoseok have saved him?

"So that time, down by the sheds, you didn't know I was your soulmate?" finally asked Yoongi.

"What time?" asked Hoseok in confusion.

"You would have been in year 11," he started to explain. "It was after the school day had finished. You were with three others and it looked like you guys were returning some tennis equipment to the sheds. And you guys came across a group that were surrounding someone on the grou-"

"That was you?" interrupted Hoseok, quietly gasping, eyes wide with horror.

"That was me," he nodded in response as tears stung the corner of his eyes again. "You just walked away. You didn't help me."

The silence between them was deafening as they stared at one another. Yoongi watched as Hoseok's eyes slowly filled with tears. A mixture of shame and pain seemingly crossed his face. Hoseok's head fell forward, his shoulders drooped, and their eye contact broke - along with Yoongi's heart. It was almost as hard for Yoongi to witness Hoseok feel that way as it was for him to relive all of the memories.

"Fuck. I'm so sorry," whispered Hoseok.

Yoongi didn't know how to respond. He couldn't possibly say 'it's okay' because nothing about being a passive bystander was okay. He couldn't possibly say 'I forgive you' because he truly hadn't forgiven him yet. He couldn't possibly say 'I hate you' because at that moment, he didn't hate Hoseok as much as he used to. He was simply at a loss for words. Again. But as he stared down at their gold string that connected them together, he felt the massive desire to comfort Hoseok.

Tentatively, Yoongi reached his right hand out towards Hoseok and slowly ran his fingers through his soft, dark brown hair. It seemed to be the right thing to do. Hoseok hadn't recoiled from the unwarranted touch. Instead, if anything, he seemed to lean into it slightly. They sat in silence, Hoseok sat on his heels in between his legs, the younger's head tipped forward, while Yoongi slowly carded his fingers through his hair.

"I honestly don't blame you for hating me," whispered Hoseok with a shaky voice, he didn't look up. "No one deserves to go through what you did. I should have... I should have stopped it. I should have stepped in. I'm so sorry."

"Thank you, Hoseok," whispered Yoongi. It was all he could think to say. The apology was a starting place. But it didn't erase the many years of pain and suffering he endured.

"What's your name?" quietly asked Hoseok, as he tilted his head upwards and turned his teary eyes back up to him, his cheeks glistened from the ones that had already fallen.

"Yoongi," he answered. Without hesitation, he moved his right hand down, lifted his left hand up, and reached over to wipe the tear stained cheeks that were before him.

"Do you still hate me, Yoongi?" he asked in a whisper.

"A little," he whispered back truthfully.

"Do you think you could learn to not hate me?" he asked at a normal volume, a glint of hopefulness in his eyes.

"Yes," he said with a very small nod, eyes soft, face otherwise blank.

"Are you busy tonight?" he asked, a small smile started to form.

"My schedule is very much free," he told him, not exactly sure why his heart had started to beat a little faster at the question.

"Would you like to talk about everything over dinner? Obviously there's no pressure. Especially with everything I've put you through. But... But if there's even a chance that I could reconcile and make it up to you, then I'd very much like to work hard to make it up to you," Hoseok said quietly, a hint of a rosy red blush dusted his cheeks the longer he spoke.

The invitation to dinner had been quite unexpected. Yoongi didn't think that he would be worthy of getting to know. Let alone thinking Hoseok would ever say he wanted to make it up to him. Maybe old habits die hard. His thumbs began to slowly caress Hoseok's tear stained cheeks as they stared silently at one another. He weighed up the pros and the cons. The worst outcome being his heart got broken all over again if the later conversation didn't have a positive ending. The best outcome being... Well dare he even allow himself to be hopeful that something more could transpire between the two of them?

"Okay," Yoongi nodded after he carefully thought about it. "I close up at five. Are you... Would you like to stay around for a bit or would you like to come back later?"

"I have nothing better to do," smiled Hoseok, his eyes twinkled behind his sunglasses. "If you'd let me stay, I'd like to."

"You can stay," he spoke quietly and nodded.

Yoongi wasn't exactly sure why he had extended the olive branch, but it seemed to please Hoseok. And the look upon his face as he gave him permission to hang around, it was sort of worth it in his eyes. Hoseok perked up, he sat straighter, his shoulders weren't as drooped as beforehand, his eyes sparkled, and there was the faintest heart shaped smile on his lips. It made Yoongi's heart race even faster, not particularly understanding why yet.

"Could we hug it out for now?" suddenly Hoseok asked with uncertainty, his eyes still hopeful, the small heart shaped smile still there.

And who was Yoongi to deny such a polite request? He was nothing but a weak man.

"I'd like that," Yoongi whispered in confirmation, the tiniest hint of a genuine smile tugged at the edges of his lips.

Yoongi had barely blinked before Hoseok had pushed himself up from sitting on his heels to kneeling upright and had wrapped both of his arms around Yoongi's waist. Yoongi had been stunned into a momentary frozen stupor as his mind tried to process what had just occurred. Even though Hoseok had asked, and he knew what was coming, he still couldn't believe it. All of a sudden, he had two arms wrapped tightly around him, and a head pressed firmly against the middle of his chest. It still managed to take his breath away despite being asked.

Slowly, Yoongi tentatively wrapped his own arms around Hoseok. He placed his left arm around the back of Hoseok's shoulder blades while his right hand glided up the back of Hoseok's nape and his fingers tangled themselves within the short, fluffy hair. His eyes slipped shut as he took a long, deep, slow, calming breath. He had hugged other people before, even if he wasn't the biggest fan of physical affection with his very small friend circle. But nothing felt as nice as this hug that he currently shared with Hoseok. It felt... Right.

Neither of them pulled away. The silence within the room was no longer tense. Instead, it felt peaceful. Yoongi could feel himself giving in and he melted further into the warm, tender embrace. The longer they stayed in that position, the more he could feel his walls come down ever so slowly. And while he knew they still had so much to talk about and a long way to go, that difficult conversation had finally been started and perhaps it would continue in a positive direction later that day.

Hoseok had found Yoongi. After all these years of no answers, Yoongi finally had some clarity. Mistakes had been made on both of their ends. Hoseok had been unobservant due to his colour blindness. He had been a passive bystander and walked away without helping. Yoongi had been too hurt and too stubborn to make contact with Hoseok. He had simply allowed them to continue life as strangers. But the main thing was they had reconnected, started to clear all of the misconceptions and misunderstandings, and they could potentially start to move on from their rocky past.

Maybe it was possible that Yoongi didn't hate Hoseok after all.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I really hope you've enjoyed this new short oneshot. I've done it all within one month as part of the challenge. I'll see you next time.