Match-Made Heaven [Ch. 2]
Title: Match-Made Heaven [2/2]
Author: ryuutsuki
Pairing: HaeHyuk, hints of various pairings
Fandom: Super Junior, Dong Bang Shin Ki
Rated: PG
Genre: Romance
Comment: (Finally,) here's part two. Now I can sulk at the corner until my writer's block ebbs away =_=;
Synopsis: [AU] Looking for true love? Match-Made Heaven can help find the person who's perfect for you.
Previous chapter: Chapter One
After an half an hour of eating and quick shopping (due to Sungmin, "Oh my god, a life-size stuffed bunny! And it's pink too! Let's get it real quick. Let's go, let's go!" "Hyung! Do you know how much that cost?!" "Who cares? You two are helping me pay!"), the trio finally arrived to their designation. As soon as their eyes laid upon the building, Sungmin and Donghae’s jaw literally dropped in awe.
“This…is the clinic?” Donghae squeaked out, a little intimidated.
“It looked like some multi-million dollar company! It must have at least twenty floors!” Sungmin exclaimed with wide eyes.
Jongwoon let out an amused chuckle. “You’re exaggerating. There’s only four floors to this building.”
The younger two snapped their heads toward him, incredulity written all over their faces.
“We have eyes, you know.” Sungmin replied with a frown as he pointed to the clinic. “That is not four floors.”
“Floors can be spacious.”
“Spacious enough to fit a concert hall or a football field?”
“Again, you're exaggerating.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Guys.” Donghae interrupted suddenly. The two glanced over to him with raised eyebrows. His eyes met theirs as he pointed to the clinic with a concerned frown on his face. “Are we going in or what? We have an appointment, remember?”
“Oh, right! Let’s not waste any more time!” In less than two seconds, Sungmin rushed over and proceeded to push Jongwoon and Donghae ahead of him.
--
“...Wow.”
The moment they stepped into the lobby, they were greeted by one of the several concierges passing by. "Good afternoon, gentlemen." ("Whoa! Super polite." Donghae whispered excitedly into Jongwoon's ear.) "I assumed you three have an appointment?"
"Yes, we do." Sungmin smiled sweetly.
"I see. Please step up to the front desk on your right."
Thanking the man, the three then strode over to the largest ivory desk in the room where a young woman sat. She glanced up with a friendly smile. "Hello and welcome to Match-Made Heaven. How may I help you?"
Jongwoon took the opportunity to speak up. "We have an appointment for three in the afternoon with Park Jungsoo."
"Oh! We were expecting you." Then, she flipped a page on her clipboard and checked their names. "Hmm...it will be on the second floor, room four."
"Alright. Thank you." The eldest nodded in reply before grabbing hold on Sungmin and Donghae's wrist and proceeding to the elevator. Once they were in, Sungmin couldn't contain his excitement any longer.
"Oh my god! I can't believe we're actually going to try it! We're going to meet our soul mates!" He jumped around with a big grin plastered on his face. Then, he tried to make Donghae join in by wrapping his hands on both the other's wrist and shaking them around. The younger stood there and rolled his eyes.
Jongwoon raised both eyebrows at the enthused brunette. "Don't get too excited. Who knows how long you'll have to wait."
Suddenly, Sungmin pouted, all excitement gone in an instant. "Stop bursting my bubble and let me daydream."
Just when Donghae was about to comment, they heard a slight ting followed by the elevator door sliding open, revealing a bright grand hallway.
"I'm blind!" The youngest shielded his eyes with the palm of his hand.
"The electricity bill must be pretty high, to put this much light in one hall." Sungmin later commented.
Jongwoon let out a sigh and ushered the two out of the elevator. "We're going to be late." He said, as he continued on with both hands pressed on their backs. Sungmin and Donghae didn't argue and instead, followed the other's lead.
The hall was longer than they expected but it didn't take them much time to spot the shiny gold number 4 embedded on the simple yet beautifully crafted peach-colored door. The younger two stared at each other, unsure of their next action, but they watched as Jongwoon, who was more familiar with the place, knocked on the door twice and said, "Excuse us" as he twisted the knob open.
The interior of the room wasn't remotely fascinating. In fact, it looked more like a dentist's room, if any. Posters of the human body and structure were placed around the room and a short row of uncomfortable-looking chairs were gathered on one side. Also, at the right corner was a reclining chair as well as a small cart filled with various silver tools and strange objects. Donghae shivered inwardly at the sight of it.
"Jongwoon! Sungmin, Donghae...you've finally made it!" A cheerful voice greeted them from their left. It was none other than their own school's principal, Park Jungsoo.
"Hey, Hyung." They all pulled together into a big group hug.
After a moment, Jungsoo moved away first and introduced the middle-aged man behind him. "This is my uncle. He'll be putting on the wristbands for you two."
"Hello." The man greeted in a friendly manner as he held up two clipboards to Sungmin and Donghae. "Here's the papers you need to fill out. Make sure you read through them, okay?"
Thanking him, the two then proceeded on and began filling out the form without question. Once they were done, Jungsoo took the clipboards and spoke up carefully, "So are you sure you two won't regret this? Once you've gone through it, it's done."
"I have absolutely no regrets!" Sungmin declared with confidence. "It's what I've wanted since Match-Made Heaven began."
"Donghae?"
Said man glanced up to the older. "Oh...yeah. If I didn't want this, I wouldn't be here."
Jungsoo looked satisfied. "Okay, you can go first, Donghae."
The younger nodded slowly, ignoring the small protest coming from the brunette beside him. Gingerly sitting down next to Jungsoo's uncle, he watched him nervously as the other went to get started.
"Now, then." The middle-aged man glanced over to Donghae, as he raised up a syringe and tested it by pushing all of the clear liquid out into a quick squirt. This frightened Donghae out of his wits. Immediately, he turned to the older two- or rather, to Jongwoon- and shrieked out, "You never told me they actually used needles for this procedure! I'm leaving this instant!" He was about to push himself off his seat when Sungmin pushed him back against it and warned with a slight glower, "This is a privilege, Donghae. Don't waste it by freaking out and running away. Besides, it's just one needle."
"What are you talking about? Whether it's one needle or a thousand, I don't want any poking into my skin!" The younger struggled as Jongwoon firmly took hold of his thrashing legs.
"Calm down, Donghae!" Jungsoo cried out, hurrying to help out and taking a grip around the other's shoulders. "It's painless so you don't have to worry!"
"I don't ca-" Sungmin eventually became impatient and annoyed by Donghae's child-like tantrum so he raised his hand and quickly jabbed into the other's vital point- somewhere around the nape. Almost immediately, the younger collapsed on his seat in a dead faint.
The three let out a sigh of relief.
"Now that he's settled, please continue." Sungmin chirped as he relinquished his hold.
Jungsoo's uncle looked down at the unconscious male. "...You know, if he doesn't want to do this, why pressure him?"
"He does want it." The brunette replied, turning his head around and taking a couple of steps back so that he could take the nearest seat. "It seems that he held some fear for needles...hence the given reaction."
"How long will he be out?" Jungsoo asked, gesturing to Donghae with concern.
The other paused and gave it some thought. "...At most...five minutes. I didn't hit that hard, so you wouldn't have to worry." Then, he glanced up to the eldest in the room with expectance shining in his eyes. Even though he had the urge to talk informally to Jungsoo's uncle, he tried his best to hold it in and spoke up almost innocently. "Can you work on him now? I would like to take my turn as soon as possible."
"Ah...yes, of course." For some reason, the older man felt that he must concede and do what the brunette ask. Otherwise...well, he rather not go there. And so, he proceeded on and picked up the syringe from the cart.
Jongwoon shifted away and sat closely to Sungmin, watching the procedure with high interest. Jungsoo stayed where he stood, in case if Donghae woke up and cause havoc once more. Thankfully, he didn't so it went by smoothly and it took no more than a minute.
With a final pull of the wristband on Donghae's wrist, Jungsoo's uncle turned to his awed audience with a slight smile. "It's finished."
"Wow, you're fast!" Sungmin smiled brightly as he shot up from his seat. "It's my turn now~" With the help of Jungsoo, he managed to have Donghae lie on the row of seats before jumping in and taking his position almost immediately.
Jungsoo laughed his unique laugh and patted the enthused brunette on the shoulder. "Super excited, are we?"
"I am!" Sungmin nodded repeatedly, like a child would. "I want to be as lucky as you and meet my soul mate!"
"Hey, take a look at Donghae's wristband! Something's wrong with it!" Jongwoon suddenly called to them. The two quickly exchanged worried glances as they headed over to take a look. Jongwoon raised Donghae's wrist. "It's...blank. Nothing's showing up."
And indeed, nothing was on.
"That's impossible. The wristband should take immediate effect." Jungsoo muttered as he turned to his uncle, uncertain of what to do. The older man strode over and glanced down. Humming to himself, he eventually spoke up. "This is not the first time I've seen something like this. There were some people who had this problem and they might be due to three possibilities."
"What are they?" Sungmin asked, curious.
"One is that the result is delayed due to the blood in the wristband. The second is that the other person has not obtained the band...or..." The man paused. "The person is deceased."
Stunned silence filled the room.
Jongwoon, being the first to take the information in, asked, "...So it's either the person's death, Donghae's blood, or the wristband?"
"Basically, yes. So far, no deaths had been reported from it so there's high hopes that it's just the previous two."
This seemed to calm them down, including Jungsoo, who never even heard of this kind of problem.
"So I'm safe?"
The three looked down to find Donghae wide awake and thankfully, calm. He was staring up to the middle-aged man with obvious hope in his eyes. The man smiled reassuringly. "It's safe to say that you are."
Donghae visible relaxed as he raised an arm over his eyes, sighing. "Good."
"Now that's solved..." Jongwoon turned back to Sungmin and gestured the dentist's seat with a jerk of his chin. "Get going, Minnie!"
"Ah! Right, right!" The brunette scurried to his seat and raised his left arm with a child-like grin. "I'm ready!"
Jungsoo's uncle let out a small chuckle and carried on with the procedure. As he worked, Donghae turned away when the needle made its appearance. He really didn't like needles.
Before they all knew it, Sungmin's procedure was done.
"That's it." The older man gave a nod to the brunette after he tightened the strap. "We are finished."
As soon as he moved away, a loud beeping came from the wristband and Sungmin immediately raised his arm to see what was going on. Everyone watched as his eyes grew wide.
"Thirteen days and two hours!!" Sungmin cheered loudly, arms raised.
"You're kidding!" Jongwoon rushed to him and took hold of his wrist. And there it was...on the wristband, written in bright neon red were: 13d 02:21:07. "Two weeks? Two weeks!" Without thought, he roughly shook the brunette's shoulders in shock and stunned disbelief.
Jungsoon placed a hand on Jongwoon's arm and warned into his ear, "Stop that unless you want to be on the end of Sungmin's fist. He's getting pissed off."
That stopped him. Focusing his eyes on Sungmin, he could clearly see that the other was holding his emotions in. He laughed a little, albeit awkwardly and mumbled, "Sorry, Minnie."
The brunette took a deep breath and tried to relax. "...S'okay. So are we done?"
"Yes, you two are done. You are free to leave." Jungsoo's uncle spoke up as he cleaned up.
"Oh great. We're going to be leaving then." Jongwoon stood up and gave a short bow to the elder man. Then, he turned to Jungsoo and inquired, "What are you going to be doing today?"
"Ah...just going to be staying around here. What about you three?"
Donghae was the first to reply. "I'm going home. I'm starting to feel tired from all this."
"I'm going home too." Sungmin replied. "Jongwoon?"
Said man gave a shrug. "I'm going to visit Jaejoong. He said he wants some help around the shop."
"Ah...well, then. I guess we'll see each other again tomorrow."
After a while, the three took their leave and went off to their separate ways.
--
Days passed since that day and Donghae had yet to have his time appear. So far, it had been a big disappointment. Why wasn't it showing? Was his blood really difficult to decipher? Did his soul mate not recieve the wristband yet? Or...was his soul mate already dead? No, he didn't want to believe that. He refused to believe such a possibility.
One day, as he was teaching his class about the change in the underwater terrain and plate tectonics, a loud beeping echoed throughout the room and caused him to pause in surprise. He knew what it was. "One moment, class. Need to, uh...check my phone."
He crouched down to his bag behind his desk but instead of opening it, he checked his wristband. What he found left him almost breathless.
It was working! The wristband was working!
Donghae let a barely audible gasp leave his lips. He couldn't believe it. After waiting for over a week, his wristband finally gave him his result. He had to tell Jongwoon and Sungmin! Glancing up to his students, he licked his lips and said, "Uh...we're taking a twenty minute break. Continue your work and I'll be right back."
And with that, he quickly left the room and at the same time, tried to be as casual as possible.
Upon reaching his destination, the first thing that came to the male's mind was to call out, "Hyung!"
Jongwoon, who was sitting behind his desk with a book in hand, raised his head to the door in mild surprise. Then, he said, "That's rude, Donghae. I happen to be teaching a class at the moment."
"Just come for a minute? It's urgent."
Staring at the other for a while, Jongwoon eventually sighed before relenting. "...Alright. Class, I'll be right back." Soon after, he placed his textbook down and headed out the door.
"What is so urgent that you made me leave in the middle of lecturing?" he asked, sounding both wary and curious. Donghae decided to raised his wrist and pulled up his sleeve. He watched as the other's eyes widened and his eyebrows raised. "It's working?"
"Yeah, it's working! It just started to beep and then, there it was!" he explained, just as surprised. The wristband read: 2d 18:30:16.
"...It says you'll be meeting that person in less than three days."
Donghae stared at his wrist in thought. "...Isn't Sungmin's around that time?"
Jongwoon frowned a little. "That's true. Let's go to make sure."
The younger nodded in agreement and together, they headed toward the field to meet Sungmin.
--
After getting confirmation on the brunette's wristband ("Amazing! Only two minutes ahead of mine!"), Jongwoon sulked as Donghae comforted him. "Don't worry, Hyung. Two month will fly by really fast!"
"Right, right..."
"Hyung..."
Jongwoon waved his hand in dismissal. "Really. I'm fine. I'm not really in a hurry anyway..."
They didn't say anymore after that so they retreated back to their respected classrooms.
--
Time was ticking by and all Donghae could feel was tension, excitement, and anticipation. After waiting was seemed like forever, there were only ten minutes left in his wristband. He later decided that he didn't want to stay cooped up in his apartment so he left toward the park for a walk. But even as he headed there, he couldn't help but to take a glance every few seconds.
Five minutes.
He glanced around. There weren't many people around so there was a high chance that he'd catch the person almost immediately.
Three minutes.
Taking a seat on the nearest bench, he watched the children play. Ah...it would be nice to have children of his own someday. And with his partner, it would be perfect.
One minute.
He stared at his wrist now, counting down each and every second. It won't be long now.
Three, two, one...
It went off, beeping loudly into the air. Donghae lowered his arm and looked around, trying to see if anyone noticed his presence as well as trying to hear a similar beeping mingling with his own. No one seemed to notice. And after half a minute of scanning the area, it suddenly stopped. His eyes widened with shock as they trailed back to his wrist. What just...happened?
He stood up and twisted his body around, now frantically searching for his soul mate-to-be. No one came up to him. The people around him merely passed by without even a glance.
He stared at the ground, his eyes filled with disappointment. So it didn't work for him, after all. He was such an idiot for believing that the wristband would work in his favor.
Just when Donghae was about to turn back toward his apartment, someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me?"
Still feeling glum, he twisted his head back to tell the person to back off but as he did, his breath was caught in his throat for the first time. Before him stood a young man around his age with smooth crimson red hair and pale skin. He was...perfect in every sense of the word.
The male smiled at Donghae when he spotted him gaping with his mouth hung open. "You didn't notice me...so I came to you."
At this, Donghae's eyebrows furrowed together. "What...?"
The red-head raised his right wrist and showed him his wristband. He thought his heart was going to leap out of his chest as soon as his eyes laid on it.
"It's you...you're my soul mate." Donghae breathed out.
The other blushed at the comment and nodded shyly- a cute gesture that Donghae immediately fell for. "I'm Lee Hyukjae. What's yours?"
"Lee Donghae." As he introduced, he couldn't hold it any longer and wrapped his arms around Hyukjae.
"W-What's wrong?" He heard Hyukjae asked, sounding both flustered and concerned.
He tightened his hold a little and nuzzled into the other's shoulder. "At first...At first, I thought you weren't going to come and that I'm really without a partner in life."
The red-head let out a slow sigh and returned the hug. "...I'm sorry. For making you worry."
"No...it's fine. I'm fine." Donghae took a step back but he still held the other in his arms. "In the meantime, I would like to ask you out for a date so that we can get to know each other more."
Hyukjae flushed a little but he smiled brightly and replied, "I would love to."
End.
A/N: DONE! (+_+)/ After a two months delay, I am done with this chapter~~ Sorry if this doesn't make sense...
I shall work on Eunhyuk's part soon. :3 And I kinda wonder if I should write one for Yesung and Sungmin...
And...I can't think of anyone (else) who would want spots ._.;
Author: ryuutsuki
Pairing: HaeHyuk, hints of various pairings
Fandom: Super Junior, Dong Bang Shin Ki
Rated: PG
Genre: Romance
Comment: (Finally,) here's part two. Now I can sulk at the corner until my writer's block ebbs away =_=;
Synopsis: [AU] Looking for true love? Match-Made Heaven can help find the person who's perfect for you.
Previous chapter: Chapter One
After an half an hour of eating and quick shopping (due to Sungmin, "Oh my god, a life-size stuffed bunny! And it's pink too! Let's get it real quick. Let's go, let's go!" "Hyung! Do you know how much that cost?!" "Who cares? You two are helping me pay!"), the trio finally arrived to their designation. As soon as their eyes laid upon the building, Sungmin and Donghae’s jaw literally dropped in awe.
“This…is the clinic?” Donghae squeaked out, a little intimidated.
“It looked like some multi-million dollar company! It must have at least twenty floors!” Sungmin exclaimed with wide eyes.
Jongwoon let out an amused chuckle. “You’re exaggerating. There’s only four floors to this building.”
The younger two snapped their heads toward him, incredulity written all over their faces.
“We have eyes, you know.” Sungmin replied with a frown as he pointed to the clinic. “That is not four floors.”
“Floors can be spacious.”
“Spacious enough to fit a concert hall or a football field?”
“Again, you're exaggerating.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Guys.” Donghae interrupted suddenly. The two glanced over to him with raised eyebrows. His eyes met theirs as he pointed to the clinic with a concerned frown on his face. “Are we going in or what? We have an appointment, remember?”
“Oh, right! Let’s not waste any more time!” In less than two seconds, Sungmin rushed over and proceeded to push Jongwoon and Donghae ahead of him.
--
“...Wow.”
The moment they stepped into the lobby, they were greeted by one of the several concierges passing by. "Good afternoon, gentlemen." ("Whoa! Super polite." Donghae whispered excitedly into Jongwoon's ear.) "I assumed you three have an appointment?"
"Yes, we do." Sungmin smiled sweetly.
"I see. Please step up to the front desk on your right."
Thanking the man, the three then strode over to the largest ivory desk in the room where a young woman sat. She glanced up with a friendly smile. "Hello and welcome to Match-Made Heaven. How may I help you?"
Jongwoon took the opportunity to speak up. "We have an appointment for three in the afternoon with Park Jungsoo."
"Oh! We were expecting you." Then, she flipped a page on her clipboard and checked their names. "Hmm...it will be on the second floor, room four."
"Alright. Thank you." The eldest nodded in reply before grabbing hold on Sungmin and Donghae's wrist and proceeding to the elevator. Once they were in, Sungmin couldn't contain his excitement any longer.
"Oh my god! I can't believe we're actually going to try it! We're going to meet our soul mates!" He jumped around with a big grin plastered on his face. Then, he tried to make Donghae join in by wrapping his hands on both the other's wrist and shaking them around. The younger stood there and rolled his eyes.
Jongwoon raised both eyebrows at the enthused brunette. "Don't get too excited. Who knows how long you'll have to wait."
Suddenly, Sungmin pouted, all excitement gone in an instant. "Stop bursting my bubble and let me daydream."
Just when Donghae was about to comment, they heard a slight ting followed by the elevator door sliding open, revealing a bright grand hallway.
"I'm blind!" The youngest shielded his eyes with the palm of his hand.
"The electricity bill must be pretty high, to put this much light in one hall." Sungmin later commented.
Jongwoon let out a sigh and ushered the two out of the elevator. "We're going to be late." He said, as he continued on with both hands pressed on their backs. Sungmin and Donghae didn't argue and instead, followed the other's lead.
The hall was longer than they expected but it didn't take them much time to spot the shiny gold number 4 embedded on the simple yet beautifully crafted peach-colored door. The younger two stared at each other, unsure of their next action, but they watched as Jongwoon, who was more familiar with the place, knocked on the door twice and said, "Excuse us" as he twisted the knob open.
The interior of the room wasn't remotely fascinating. In fact, it looked more like a dentist's room, if any. Posters of the human body and structure were placed around the room and a short row of uncomfortable-looking chairs were gathered on one side. Also, at the right corner was a reclining chair as well as a small cart filled with various silver tools and strange objects. Donghae shivered inwardly at the sight of it.
"Jongwoon! Sungmin, Donghae...you've finally made it!" A cheerful voice greeted them from their left. It was none other than their own school's principal, Park Jungsoo.
"Hey, Hyung." They all pulled together into a big group hug.
After a moment, Jungsoo moved away first and introduced the middle-aged man behind him. "This is my uncle. He'll be putting on the wristbands for you two."
"Hello." The man greeted in a friendly manner as he held up two clipboards to Sungmin and Donghae. "Here's the papers you need to fill out. Make sure you read through them, okay?"
Thanking him, the two then proceeded on and began filling out the form without question. Once they were done, Jungsoo took the clipboards and spoke up carefully, "So are you sure you two won't regret this? Once you've gone through it, it's done."
"I have absolutely no regrets!" Sungmin declared with confidence. "It's what I've wanted since Match-Made Heaven began."
"Donghae?"
Said man glanced up to the older. "Oh...yeah. If I didn't want this, I wouldn't be here."
Jungsoo looked satisfied. "Okay, you can go first, Donghae."
The younger nodded slowly, ignoring the small protest coming from the brunette beside him. Gingerly sitting down next to Jungsoo's uncle, he watched him nervously as the other went to get started.
"Now, then." The middle-aged man glanced over to Donghae, as he raised up a syringe and tested it by pushing all of the clear liquid out into a quick squirt. This frightened Donghae out of his wits. Immediately, he turned to the older two- or rather, to Jongwoon- and shrieked out, "You never told me they actually used needles for this procedure! I'm leaving this instant!" He was about to push himself off his seat when Sungmin pushed him back against it and warned with a slight glower, "This is a privilege, Donghae. Don't waste it by freaking out and running away. Besides, it's just one needle."
"What are you talking about? Whether it's one needle or a thousand, I don't want any poking into my skin!" The younger struggled as Jongwoon firmly took hold of his thrashing legs.
"Calm down, Donghae!" Jungsoo cried out, hurrying to help out and taking a grip around the other's shoulders. "It's painless so you don't have to worry!"
"I don't ca-" Sungmin eventually became impatient and annoyed by Donghae's child-like tantrum so he raised his hand and quickly jabbed into the other's vital point- somewhere around the nape. Almost immediately, the younger collapsed on his seat in a dead faint.
The three let out a sigh of relief.
"Now that he's settled, please continue." Sungmin chirped as he relinquished his hold.
Jungsoo's uncle looked down at the unconscious male. "...You know, if he doesn't want to do this, why pressure him?"
"He does want it." The brunette replied, turning his head around and taking a couple of steps back so that he could take the nearest seat. "It seems that he held some fear for needles...hence the given reaction."
"How long will he be out?" Jungsoo asked, gesturing to Donghae with concern.
The other paused and gave it some thought. "...At most...five minutes. I didn't hit that hard, so you wouldn't have to worry." Then, he glanced up to the eldest in the room with expectance shining in his eyes. Even though he had the urge to talk informally to Jungsoo's uncle, he tried his best to hold it in and spoke up almost innocently. "Can you work on him now? I would like to take my turn as soon as possible."
"Ah...yes, of course." For some reason, the older man felt that he must concede and do what the brunette ask. Otherwise...well, he rather not go there. And so, he proceeded on and picked up the syringe from the cart.
Jongwoon shifted away and sat closely to Sungmin, watching the procedure with high interest. Jungsoo stayed where he stood, in case if Donghae woke up and cause havoc once more. Thankfully, he didn't so it went by smoothly and it took no more than a minute.
With a final pull of the wristband on Donghae's wrist, Jungsoo's uncle turned to his awed audience with a slight smile. "It's finished."
"Wow, you're fast!" Sungmin smiled brightly as he shot up from his seat. "It's my turn now~" With the help of Jungsoo, he managed to have Donghae lie on the row of seats before jumping in and taking his position almost immediately.
Jungsoo laughed his unique laugh and patted the enthused brunette on the shoulder. "Super excited, are we?"
"I am!" Sungmin nodded repeatedly, like a child would. "I want to be as lucky as you and meet my soul mate!"
"Hey, take a look at Donghae's wristband! Something's wrong with it!" Jongwoon suddenly called to them. The two quickly exchanged worried glances as they headed over to take a look. Jongwoon raised Donghae's wrist. "It's...blank. Nothing's showing up."
And indeed, nothing was on.
"That's impossible. The wristband should take immediate effect." Jungsoo muttered as he turned to his uncle, uncertain of what to do. The older man strode over and glanced down. Humming to himself, he eventually spoke up. "This is not the first time I've seen something like this. There were some people who had this problem and they might be due to three possibilities."
"What are they?" Sungmin asked, curious.
"One is that the result is delayed due to the blood in the wristband. The second is that the other person has not obtained the band...or..." The man paused. "The person is deceased."
Stunned silence filled the room.
Jongwoon, being the first to take the information in, asked, "...So it's either the person's death, Donghae's blood, or the wristband?"
"Basically, yes. So far, no deaths had been reported from it so there's high hopes that it's just the previous two."
This seemed to calm them down, including Jungsoo, who never even heard of this kind of problem.
"So I'm safe?"
The three looked down to find Donghae wide awake and thankfully, calm. He was staring up to the middle-aged man with obvious hope in his eyes. The man smiled reassuringly. "It's safe to say that you are."
Donghae visible relaxed as he raised an arm over his eyes, sighing. "Good."
"Now that's solved..." Jongwoon turned back to Sungmin and gestured the dentist's seat with a jerk of his chin. "Get going, Minnie!"
"Ah! Right, right!" The brunette scurried to his seat and raised his left arm with a child-like grin. "I'm ready!"
Jungsoo's uncle let out a small chuckle and carried on with the procedure. As he worked, Donghae turned away when the needle made its appearance. He really didn't like needles.
Before they all knew it, Sungmin's procedure was done.
"That's it." The older man gave a nod to the brunette after he tightened the strap. "We are finished."
As soon as he moved away, a loud beeping came from the wristband and Sungmin immediately raised his arm to see what was going on. Everyone watched as his eyes grew wide.
"Thirteen days and two hours!!" Sungmin cheered loudly, arms raised.
"You're kidding!" Jongwoon rushed to him and took hold of his wrist. And there it was...on the wristband, written in bright neon red were: 13d 02:21:07. "Two weeks? Two weeks!" Without thought, he roughly shook the brunette's shoulders in shock and stunned disbelief.
Jungsoon placed a hand on Jongwoon's arm and warned into his ear, "Stop that unless you want to be on the end of Sungmin's fist. He's getting pissed off."
That stopped him. Focusing his eyes on Sungmin, he could clearly see that the other was holding his emotions in. He laughed a little, albeit awkwardly and mumbled, "Sorry, Minnie."
The brunette took a deep breath and tried to relax. "...S'okay. So are we done?"
"Yes, you two are done. You are free to leave." Jungsoo's uncle spoke up as he cleaned up.
"Oh great. We're going to be leaving then." Jongwoon stood up and gave a short bow to the elder man. Then, he turned to Jungsoo and inquired, "What are you going to be doing today?"
"Ah...just going to be staying around here. What about you three?"
Donghae was the first to reply. "I'm going home. I'm starting to feel tired from all this."
"I'm going home too." Sungmin replied. "Jongwoon?"
Said man gave a shrug. "I'm going to visit Jaejoong. He said he wants some help around the shop."
"Ah...well, then. I guess we'll see each other again tomorrow."
After a while, the three took their leave and went off to their separate ways.
--
Days passed since that day and Donghae had yet to have his time appear. So far, it had been a big disappointment. Why wasn't it showing? Was his blood really difficult to decipher? Did his soul mate not recieve the wristband yet? Or...was his soul mate already dead? No, he didn't want to believe that. He refused to believe such a possibility.
One day, as he was teaching his class about the change in the underwater terrain and plate tectonics, a loud beeping echoed throughout the room and caused him to pause in surprise. He knew what it was. "One moment, class. Need to, uh...check my phone."
He crouched down to his bag behind his desk but instead of opening it, he checked his wristband. What he found left him almost breathless.
It was working! The wristband was working!
Donghae let a barely audible gasp leave his lips. He couldn't believe it. After waiting for over a week, his wristband finally gave him his result. He had to tell Jongwoon and Sungmin! Glancing up to his students, he licked his lips and said, "Uh...we're taking a twenty minute break. Continue your work and I'll be right back."
And with that, he quickly left the room and at the same time, tried to be as casual as possible.
Upon reaching his destination, the first thing that came to the male's mind was to call out, "Hyung!"
Jongwoon, who was sitting behind his desk with a book in hand, raised his head to the door in mild surprise. Then, he said, "That's rude, Donghae. I happen to be teaching a class at the moment."
"Just come for a minute? It's urgent."
Staring at the other for a while, Jongwoon eventually sighed before relenting. "...Alright. Class, I'll be right back." Soon after, he placed his textbook down and headed out the door.
"What is so urgent that you made me leave in the middle of lecturing?" he asked, sounding both wary and curious. Donghae decided to raised his wrist and pulled up his sleeve. He watched as the other's eyes widened and his eyebrows raised. "It's working?"
"Yeah, it's working! It just started to beep and then, there it was!" he explained, just as surprised. The wristband read: 2d 18:30:16.
"...It says you'll be meeting that person in less than three days."
Donghae stared at his wrist in thought. "...Isn't Sungmin's around that time?"
Jongwoon frowned a little. "That's true. Let's go to make sure."
The younger nodded in agreement and together, they headed toward the field to meet Sungmin.
--
After getting confirmation on the brunette's wristband ("Amazing! Only two minutes ahead of mine!"), Jongwoon sulked as Donghae comforted him. "Don't worry, Hyung. Two month will fly by really fast!"
"Right, right..."
"Hyung..."
Jongwoon waved his hand in dismissal. "Really. I'm fine. I'm not really in a hurry anyway..."
They didn't say anymore after that so they retreated back to their respected classrooms.
--
Time was ticking by and all Donghae could feel was tension, excitement, and anticipation. After waiting was seemed like forever, there were only ten minutes left in his wristband. He later decided that he didn't want to stay cooped up in his apartment so he left toward the park for a walk. But even as he headed there, he couldn't help but to take a glance every few seconds.
Five minutes.
He glanced around. There weren't many people around so there was a high chance that he'd catch the person almost immediately.
Three minutes.
Taking a seat on the nearest bench, he watched the children play. Ah...it would be nice to have children of his own someday. And with his partner, it would be perfect.
One minute.
He stared at his wrist now, counting down each and every second. It won't be long now.
Three, two, one...
It went off, beeping loudly into the air. Donghae lowered his arm and looked around, trying to see if anyone noticed his presence as well as trying to hear a similar beeping mingling with his own. No one seemed to notice. And after half a minute of scanning the area, it suddenly stopped. His eyes widened with shock as they trailed back to his wrist. What just...happened?
He stood up and twisted his body around, now frantically searching for his soul mate-to-be. No one came up to him. The people around him merely passed by without even a glance.
He stared at the ground, his eyes filled with disappointment. So it didn't work for him, after all. He was such an idiot for believing that the wristband would work in his favor.
Just when Donghae was about to turn back toward his apartment, someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me?"
Still feeling glum, he twisted his head back to tell the person to back off but as he did, his breath was caught in his throat for the first time. Before him stood a young man around his age with smooth crimson red hair and pale skin. He was...perfect in every sense of the word.
The male smiled at Donghae when he spotted him gaping with his mouth hung open. "You didn't notice me...so I came to you."
At this, Donghae's eyebrows furrowed together. "What...?"
The red-head raised his right wrist and showed him his wristband. He thought his heart was going to leap out of his chest as soon as his eyes laid on it.
"It's you...you're my soul mate." Donghae breathed out.
The other blushed at the comment and nodded shyly- a cute gesture that Donghae immediately fell for. "I'm Lee Hyukjae. What's yours?"
"Lee Donghae." As he introduced, he couldn't hold it any longer and wrapped his arms around Hyukjae.
"W-What's wrong?" He heard Hyukjae asked, sounding both flustered and concerned.
He tightened his hold a little and nuzzled into the other's shoulder. "At first...At first, I thought you weren't going to come and that I'm really without a partner in life."
The red-head let out a slow sigh and returned the hug. "...I'm sorry. For making you worry."
"No...it's fine. I'm fine." Donghae took a step back but he still held the other in his arms. "In the meantime, I would like to ask you out for a date so that we can get to know each other more."
Hyukjae flushed a little but he smiled brightly and replied, "I would love to."
End.
A/N: DONE! (+_+)/ After a two months delay, I am done with this chapter~~ Sorry if this doesn't make sense...
I shall work on Eunhyuk's part soon. :3 And I kinda wonder if I should write one for Yesung and Sungmin...
And...I can't think of anyone (else) who would want spots ._.;