Pairing: Jeongin & Felix & Jisung

Genre: Soulmate AU

!!TW!! : lots of angst, mild injury

(requested by @pandaa5)

PS. OMG THE PRE-DEBUT PIC IS SO CUTE!!!

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Jisung met his soulmate when he was only seventeen, and Jeongin sixteen. It was back when he was still a trainee, back when 3Racha wasn't a thing just yet and so his voice hadn't been put out for the world to hear. Frankly, Jisung considered himself incredibly lucky, because meeting Jeongin when he did meant he didn't have to deal with potential sasaeng who might pretend to be his soulmate.

(When someone heard their soulmate's voice for the first time, a tattoo of their words appeared inside their left wrist. As such, Jisung's tattoo was "What was that for?" while Jeongin's was "I'm so sorry!".

Jisung had accidentally run into Jeongin on his way to the company, thus spilling the coffee the boy had been carrying, hence why their tattoos weren't exactly romantic.)

So yeah, Jisung found his soulmate quite early in his life, and Jeongin and him had been happily dating ever since. It wasn't always easy at first, since Jeongin was busy with school and Jisung busy with trying to debut, but they still put in a lot of effort and eventually managed to make it work, developing sincere feelings for each other along the way.

Chan and Changbin, Jisung's best friends and the other members of their rap unit, weren't as lucky. Their trio debuted as 3Racha before either of them could meet their soulmate and, as such, numerous obsessed "fans" tried to lie by writing some random lyrics on their wrists and saying they were meant to be together.

(Of course, that never worked because their own words never appeared on Chan or Changbin's skins, meaning they weren't fooled. One sasaeng dig go as far as to actually tattoo a sentence on their wrist... not realizing they had it made inside the wrong one, since all soulmate tattoos were on the left, and not the right...)

Eventually, though, Chan met Minho – a young man who just started working as a choreographer at their company, and Changbin met Hyunjin, a friend of Minho who actually knew Changbin was his soulmate, but refused to say anything about it since he didn't want to look like he was leeching off of him for popularity when himself was trying to debut as a soloist artist. And then, much to everyone's surprise, barely a year after Changbin and Hyunjin got together, they met Seungmin.

It wasn't too unusual for people to have more than one soulmate. It didn't always lead to a perfect polyamorous relationship, mind you, as some soulmates were meant platonically rather than romantically, but it was still a fairly common occurrence. As such, while everyone else was surprised by Seungmin's addition to the preexisting pair, they weren't too taken aback by it.

(Also, the fact that Changbin's new tattoo was "You look like a pig" and Seungmin's was "That's pig-hyung to you!" was admittedly hilarious, and definitely help endear the younger to the rest of their friends – anyone who made fun of Changbin in a playful manner was a friend in their books.)

Which led all of them to where they were now: Chan and Minho had been openly dating for over a year, now; Changbin, Hyunjin, and Seungmin weren't exactly keeping it a secret, but they weren't screaming about it on the roofs either; and Jisung and Jeongin were dating secretly.

Since Jeongin was only just starting his studies in university, they both decided to wait before revealing their relationship to the world. Neither of them wanted the younger to be perturbed during his studies by disrespectful paparazzi and obsessed fans, and Jisung was admittedly a little scared that Jeongin might get hurt because of this, so they simply agreed on waiting until Jeongin was done with his three years of studies before finally coming out.

Jisung was happy. He had a wonderful boyfriend whom he loved very much, he had amazing friends, 3Racha was gaining in worldwide popularity, and he simply didn't know what could be better, really.

(He sometimes felt like he was missing something, though – as if this perfect puzzle of the perfect life was missing a piece, as if the grand picture was still a little blurry around the edges. However, he always pushed that niggling thought aside, figuring it was just his anxiety acting up because everything was going so well for him.)

Today was a winner kind of day. He'd spent the previous evening romancing Jeongin (watching Netflix while emptying their ice cream container was romantic, okay?), then slept surprisingly well, and woke up well-rested and in a good mood. They'd had breakfast with their entire group of friends, and then 3Racha had split up to go get warmed up before their fanmeeting later in the afternoon.

They'd gotten everything done on time, managed to complete two more songs because they were just really inspired, and Jisung even got a free snack because the vending machine was broken and ended up spitting back his money along with the snack he'd been trying to pay for. So really, how could this day get any better?

Well, it couldn't get any better, but it could certainly get worse, now.

"Hi! What's your name?"

The fanmeeting was drawing to an end, with barely three people left in line – the third and last fan now meeting Jisung. The rapper was admittedly surprised to find not a girl, but a young man, most probably around his age. He was... incredibly cute, with fluffy blond hair and freckles splattered over his cheeks.

He was blushing a bit, obviously nervous, and Jisung could only smile – having such an adorable boy as their fan was definitely a win in his books.

Instead of answering Jisung's question, however, the freckled boy pulled out a notepad from his pocket and flipped it open, before showing Jisung's its contents. The scribbled Korean wasn't exactly the best, so it was easy to guess it wasn't the boy's native language, but it was still written well enough for him to understand.

Hello! My name is Felix! It's really great to finally meet you!

"Felix? That's a nice name," replied Jisung, a tad taken aback. "So, um, I'm sorry if I'm being too blunt, but... you're mute?"

But the boy, Felix, simply smiled and nodded in confirmation. Jisung was admittedly a bit taken aback, but he certainly wasn't about to make the boy feel bad about his condition.

"Well, where are you from, Felix?" he asked, curious.

The boy quickly wrote down his answer.

I'm from Australia!

"Really? So is Chan-hyung! He'll be really happy to meet you!"

The boy chuckled at that and, though it was a very low sound, barely even noticeable, it instantly made Jisung's heart melt. How could someone be this cute?

I know that. I've actually been a fan of 3Racha since you debuted.

You're all amazing, really. I'm so happy I finally get to meet all of you!

You in particular, Jisung-ssi.

"Oh, me?" Jisung rubbed the back of his head, a tad sheepish. "That's sweet of you to say. Chan-hyung and Changbin-hyung are usually more popular..."

Felix firmly shook his head, writing some more. Their little meeting was starting to take up some time, the other two fans already done with Chan and Changbin and having left the room, but Jisung didn't want to let Felix leave just yet. He found the boy interesting, and it's not like they had anything more on their schedule, anyway.

You're incredible, Jisung-ssi. You're really talented, and your songs are always my favorite.

"That's... that's awesome. Thank you so much," answered Jisung, meaning it.

Felix smiled again, though it appeared a little hesitant. After a few seconds, he showed his notepad again.

Can I tell you something? And can you please promise to listen to me?

"Of course! What is it?"

Felix heaved out a deep breath, and Jisung refrained the urge to grab his hand or pull him into a hug. He wanted nothing more than to help him calm down, but he couldn't forget the boundaries between an idol and a fan. Plus, Chan and Changbin were now watching from the side, curious as to what was taking them so long.

Actually... It's going to sound crazy, Jisung-ssi, but I swear I'm not making this up.

Four years ago, you posted your first solo song called "Slump".

That's when I heard your voice for the first time. And that's when I discovered that you're my soulmate.

Time seemed to still as Jisung read the last few words written clumsily on the paper, his heart thundering in his chest. Sensing some movement, he looked up and found Felix now showing him the inside of his left wrist, where some all-too-familiar lyrics were tattooed in dark, glistening ink.

[And now I'm walking on my way, all alone, I'm feeling so cold

Not getting anywhere, I feel like I'm in slow mode]

Panic overtook Jisung and, without thinking, he slammed the notebook down on the table, pushing away from it as his chair loudly scrapped on the floor. Felix flinched but, before he could try to write anything else, Jisung was already on his feet.

"No," he snapped, gritting his teeth. "Get out of here."

Felix's eyes widened in horror, and Jisung almost felt bad before remembering what he'd just written, and he hardened his resolve – just because the boy looked cute didn't make him any less dangerous. He was obviously just another sasaeng.

"Jisung? What's wrong?" instantly asked Chan, coming to his side.

"He's pretending to be my soulmate. Make him leave. Please."

Chan's traits instantly became somber as he gently pushed Jisung away to go deal with the freckled boy. Tears were gathering in his eyes as he kept on shaking his wrist, mouthing "soulmate" over and over again even though no sound came out of his mouth, and security also started getting involved.

Chan was trying to reason with him and make him leave, while Felix kept on protesting, begging with his eyes because he didn't have a voice to do it. Eventually, Chan gave up and walked away, gesturing for the security to take the frantic boy away. Felix simply slumped in defeat as he was dragged out with much more force than Jisung thought was necessary and, soon enough, he was gone.

Jisung gulped as he noticed the notepad still wide open on the table, where Felix's lies were still written for the world to see. He carefully picked it up and, after a moment, decided to keep it – he didn't really know why, but leaving it there just felt wrong.

"Are you okay, Ji?" asked gently Changbin.

"Y- yeah, I'm fine. I just... He was so sweet, you know? I didn't expect him to turn out to be a sasaeng," sighed Jisung, admittedly disappointed in how his meeting with Felix had turned out.

Changbin simply patted his shoulder in support. "It's okay. He won't bother you again, now that he's been caught."

Jisung simply nodded, though he couldn't help but glance back to the doors through which Felix had been dragged. His panic was gone, and now he just felt... sad.

I'm just tired, he reasoned. As soon as I see Jeongin again, I'll feel better.

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"—and so that's what happened."

"I see. And how do you feel, right now?"

Jisung sighed, slumping into Jeongin's chest as he fiddled with his fingers. "I don't know, really. I think... I think I just feel sad. For him, I mean. I don't think he was lying about being mute but, if he wasn't, then that just means... that just means it'll be that much harder to find his real soulmate, you know?"

Jeongin hummed in understanding, hugging him tightly from behind. He didn't say anything else, seemingly deep in thought, and Jisung also kept silent, simply basking in his boyfriend's affection and warmth.

This was his soulmate. He was happy, and he most certainly didn't need anyone else.

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Jeongin couldn't help but feel curious about the sasaeng Jisung told him about. His boyfriend usually had good instincts, and he'd trusted the boy until he delivered that bomb and declared they were soulmates. As such, Jeongin couldn't help but wonder...

What if?

If there was the slightest chance that they had another soulmate out there, then Jeongin didn't want to miss it – and the only way to know for certain was to find Felix, talk to him, and see if his words also became tattooed on his skin.

He'd seen a profile picture of the boy, graciously taken by Changbin before the whole ordeal went down "because who doesn't like pictures of cute boys?" and, the next morning, Jeongin had set off on his search for the mysterious foreigner.

Thanks to the security members with whom he got to talk, he managed to find out they'd sent him on his way back with a taxi – and, since he was a foreigner, he would obviously be staying at a hotel. So, Jeongin started looking into the cheap hotels around, asking each receptionist of they'd seen the boy anywhere.

As the afternoon was drawing to an end, Jeongin was just about ready to give up. He'd visited practically all of the hotels in the area the security members gave him, and he'd had no luck. He only had about three hotels left on his list, though, so he decided to push through and see his investigation to an end—

"Oh, yes! He's staying here at the moment!"

Jeongin's eyes widened. "You're- you're certain it's him?"

"Absolutely," replied the kind receptionist. "It's kind of hard to forget someone so nice – the entire staff is already whipped with him, ah, ah! He actually went out early this morning, so it probably shouldn't be too long before he comes back. Would you like for me to pass him a message?"

"Is it alright if I wait for him here?"

"Actually, you'd have to wait outside, but surely—oh! Speaking of the devil!"

Jeongin's hope surged at once as none other than the boy stepped through the door. He looked incredibly tired, but he was still just as pretty as Jisung had described him – soft features, sharp jawline, and big eyes highlighted by his freckles.

It was Felix, Jeongin had no doubt about that. So, without really thinking—

"What are those!?" he yelled in the most broken English he ever used.

There was a moment of awkward silence as Felix stared at him with big, wide eyes, obviously startled by the sudden outburst. The receptionist was also staring at him as if he'd grown a second head. Before Jeongin could apologize for making a ruckus, though, the freckled boy suddenly flinched... and gripped his left wrist. 

Almost in a daze, Jeongin walked right up to him and, ignoring his squawk of protest, he grabbed his arm and pushed up the sleeve. There, in dark ink, the words "What are those!?" were now tattooed into the tan skin, just under Jisung's lyrics.

This was it. Felix hadn't lied. He really was Jisung's soulmate – and Jeongin's, too.

"Felix—!"

The freckled boy suddenly ripped his arm out of Jeongin's grasp and, without another look back, he ran outside. Jeongin almost instantly took off after him but, by the time he made it, all he saw was Felix disappearing around the corner. In the few seconds that he lost sight of him, he was gone, and Jeongin cursed under his breath.

I need to talk to Jisung, he eventually decided, figuring it was better to head home now rather than chase someone who didn't want to be found. We'll figure this out.

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Telling Jisung that Felix truly was their soulmate proved to be harder than Jeongin expected, mostly because of the guilt now written all over Jisung's face.

"You did the right thing," insisted Jeongin as they walked toward Felix's hotel. "You couldn't have known, Ji. If he'd truly been a sasaeng, then you'd have been in trouble—"

"But he looked so sad, Innie... He was- he was begging, and I had him kicked out...! And- and I promised I'd listen to him, and I didn't!"

"Then you can make it up to him by apologizing and talking things out properly," reasoned Jeongin.

Jisung nodded, rubbing his eyes before his guilty tears could spill out. The pair then walked inside the cheap hotel, where the same receptionist as yesterday was currently working. Upon seeing them, her eyes widened a bit... before settling into a pitying look.

"If you're looking for your soulmate, he left yesterday evening."

"W- what? Where did he go?" instantly asked Jeongin, horrified.

"I don't know. He didn't have enough money to stay any longer. We did offer for him to stay a night longer for free, but he refused – too kind a boy, I tell you." She shook her head with a sigh. "When I asked him about you, he simply said there had been a misunderstanding, and to pass along his apologies and his wishes of wellbeing if you happened to come back."

"And you- you really have no clue of where he could have gone?" asked Jisung, his voice trembling a bit.

"None, I'm afraid. But why don't you leave your number here? If he does happen to come back for whatever reason, then I promise to give you a call."

Figuring this was the best they could do at the moment, Jeongin agreed and left his phone number, which she carefully tucked into a drawer. She then bid them a good day, and good luck too, and the pair eventually left the hotel.

"He's truly gone, isn't he? And it's my fault," whispered Jisung.

"It's not. If anything, I'm the one who scared him off," replied Jeongin. He then pulled Jisung into a hug. "But... we're soulmates. We're meant to be together – all three of us. We'll find him again."

Galvanized by the thought, Jisung nodded. "And- and we won't let him go again."

"We won't."

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Three weeks after Jeongin last saw Felix, neither him nor Jisung were doing very good. Despite their best efforts to keep up their morale, they were eaten away by guilt and simply couldn't focus. Jeongin had a hard time keeping up with his studies, and Jisung simply wasn't able to produce anything but really depressive songs that everyone agreed shouldn't be released, for their fans' sake.

They'd told their friends, of course – asked them to keep an eye out, in case they happened to run into him again – but the chances of finding Felix were slim to none. Who was to say he hadn't just gone back to Australia, after all? With Jisung rejecting him, and Jeongin scaring him off, he'd have no reason to stay in South Korea anymore.

But something the receptionist had told them all those weeks ago stayed on Jisung's mind, replaying almost constantly.

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"He didn't have enough money to stay any longer."

::

If he couldn't even afford another night at the cheap hotel, how could he possibly afford a plane ticket back to Australia? That thought kept Jisung awake at night, and he was worried sick for the freckled boy.

And so, three weeks later, Jeongin and him decided to go out for a late-night walk in a nearby park, determined to clear their heads and move on. They couldn't just keep on wallowing in misery, they still had their own lives to tend to and, as such, they needed to make their peace with the possibility of never seeing their other soulmate again, no matter how much it hurt.

And yet, Fate worked in strange ways.

"Jisung," whispered Jeongin, eyes wide. "Jisung, look."

A tad confused, Jisung did as told... and took a double-take as, in the distance, he saw an all-too-familiar mess of blond hair. The figure was barely a few meters away, leaning heavily against a tree and their body wracked with a violent coughing fit... and it was unmistakably Felix.

"Felix!" exclaimed Jisung, relieved.

The freckled boy looked up, and Jisung momentarily halted, taken aback by the blood and dirt caking his face. Felix tried to use that opportunity to run away, but he barely managed to make it a few steps before completely collapsing in the grass, coughing once again and curling up on himself.

Jeongin was the first to reach him, carefully pressing his hand to the boy's forehead.

"He's burning up," he hissed. "We need to get him treated now."

Jisung was quick to help him pick up Felix – he looked even smaller than Jisung remembered him to be, and he was way too light. He obviously hadn't eaten much in the past few days, and Jisung suddenly wondered if Felix had just been roaming the streets for the past few weeks.

The thought made him want to cry all over again but, knowing Felix needed them right now, he held back his tears and helped Jeongin take him home.

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The blood dirtying Felix's face actually came from a rather superficial gash on his forehead, which Jeongin was quick to treat as soon as they'd cleaned him up a bit. They changed him into clean, warmer clothes, and they'd also given him some medication for the heavy fever he was sporting.

The pair spent the entire night switching guard duty, so to speak. They kept watch over him, cooling him down with cold packs and wet rags alike, and checking his vitals every hour or so. By the time morning came, they were both exhausted, but they were also relieved to find him already doing much better.

The next day was spent in a similar fashion. They managed to wake him up long enough to administer more medication and make him drink some water, though he'd been pretty out of it so he probably wouldn't even remember it happened in the first place. And, by the time the evening came around, Felix had regained some colors, and his fever had died down.

Jeongin and Jisung slept on the couch that night, at peace now that they knew Felix's state was getting better by the hour, and he was now resting safe and sound in their room. However, as much as they enjoyed a well-deserved rest, they were woken up quite early the next morning when Felix suddenly stumbled out of the room, loudly ramming into a wall, and the ruckus effectively waking up his soulmates.

"Felix!" Jisung rushed to him in an instant. "You shouldn't be up just yet! You—"

Jisung cut himself off as he met Felix's wide-eyed stare. The freckled boy looked so scared... Jisung hated that look. He never meant to hurt Felix, he never meant to hurt his soulmate, he never meant any of it.

"Come on." Jeongin carefully walked over and picked Felix up. Though the boy struggled, he was too weak to actually fight his grasp. "You should rest some more. We'll get some food and water in you while you're awake. Do you need to use the bathroom?"

Understanding they weren't letting him go anywhere, Felix weakly nodded, and Jeongin took him to the bathroom. Once he was done, the younger carried him all the way back to the room, where he tucked him into bed once more. At the same time, Jisung returned carrying a plate of steaming rice and a large glass of water.

They managed to make him eat about half of the plate, and drink the entire glass of water. He was barely awake by the time they made him swallow two more pills to finally get rid of his cold, and he didn't fight it as Jeongin helped him lay down. He was out like a light the moment his head hit the pillow, and Jeongin heaved out a sigh.

"He's going to be okay, right?" asked Jisung, just to make sure.

"He is. He should be back to his feet by tomorrow," assured his boyfriend with a smile.

Relieved, Jisung smiled back.

Tomorrow, they'd finally clear up this entire mess – and, hopefully, Felix would be willing to give them another chance.

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The next morning, Felix silently joined them in the living room. They didn't say anything as he sat down on the couch opposite to theirs, simply watching as he hesitantly made himself comfortable while keeping his eyes locked to the floor.

After a moment, Jisung got up and handed him his notebook, which he'd kept ever since Felix forgot it at the fanmeeting. The boy's eyes widened slightly and, when he looked up to meet Jisung's eyes, the rapper offered him a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, Felix. Can we please... talk things out? I swear I'll truly listen, this time."

Felix offered a hesitant nod, and Jisung returned to sit next to Jeongin. Felix gestured for them to go ahead first, and they instantly launched themselves into explaining how they'd met each other, and how Jisung had grown wary of fans who pretended to be his soulmate, and then how Jeongin figured out Felix's story was true, and how they spent the following weeks looking for him.

In return, Felix explained (with a fair amount of paper) that he was just a day younger than Jisung, and that his parents had kicked him out upon finding out his soulmate was a rapper from a foreign country – a secret Felix had been keeping ever since he found out about it, many years ago.

Having nowhere else to go, Felix decided to use what little money he had to grab a flight for South Korea and find a way to meet with Jisung – which he did, but they all knew how well that plan turned out. He'd then been planning on sticking around for a little longer, hoping he'd manage to see Jisung again and convince him that he wasn't lying, but then Jeongin found him, and Felix only then realized he didn't have one, but two soulmates.

Except this meant Jisung already had a soulmate. What need did he have for another?

Figuring he wouldn't be good enough for them just like he hadn't been good enough for his family, Felix simply settled for leaving them alone. He'd tried to find a part-time job, but no one wanted to employ a mute foreigner, and he'd ended up in the streets before he even knew it – hence where they found him a few weeks later.

To say Jeongin and Jisung were horrified by his story would be an understatement. Jisung once again felt the guilt hit him tenfold. Not only had he indirectly caused Felix to be kicked out of his home, but he'd then pushed Felix away even though he was the only thing the boy had left.

But not again. He wouldn't make that mistake twice.

"Stay with us," he eventually said, once Felix finished his tale. "We want- we want to get to know you better. And even... even if it doesn't lead to anything, in the end, we still want to help you. At least- at least stay here until you've figured out what to do next."

"And before you say anything, you won't be a burden to us," added Jeongin, serious. "We want you to stay here, Felix. We want to be your friends, at the very least, so let us help you. Please?"

The tears were falling before Felix could stop them, and he started sobbing, overwhelmed by their kindness – and, no longer having to hold himself back, Jisung was quick to jump to his feet to pull him into a tight hug. Jeongin promptly joined them, and Felix only cried harder, mouthing "thank you" over and over.

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Three months later

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Jeongin and Jisung exchanged a nod. Then, with synchronized movements, they started signing the same question: "Do you want to be our boyfriend?"

Felix was crying again. This time around, though, he was crying tears of joy as he signed back: "I do."

And, if Jisung didn't know how his life could get any better before, he certainly did now.