3: Drunk

"Minho, stop drinking, please; you are going to get a headache tomorrow," Changbin whispered as he snatched the life-killing beer bottle from Minho's hand, making the taller male groan in annoyance.

"Give that back!" Minho slurred drunkenly, trying to grab the bottle from Changbin, who passed it to Felix.

"I'm not going to give it to you." Said Felix, making Minho glare at him hard.

They are all inside a nightclub. The neon lights inside the club circulate all around the area, making it hard for everyone to point out people's faces. The lights were dim when the boys entered the club.

When they sauntered over to the drinks area, fighting for space amongst the sweaty bodies, they found their beloved friend drunk while crying his eyes out. It was at first very tough to discern anyone amidst all the glaring neon glow, but as they reached forward, they confirmed it as Minho.

The music blared through the speakers, making it difficult to hear what Minho was saying, but the shocking revelation about his soulmate was beyond words.

They were happily cheering for their friend until Minho said that his soulmate didn't want him.

And here they are.

"Give it back, Felix; I need them." He tried to stand up only to be pushed back by Hyunjin.

"Leave me alone, Hyunjin. My soulmate doesn't want me." He said, trying to push Hyunjin away from him, that his mind was getting uneasy with the blurring thoughts of the man who didn't even show his face.

"I want to get wasted and laid. Who cares whether I am going to have sex or not?"

"Drinking or getting laid isn't going to bring your soulmate back, Lee Minho! Behave yourself." Changbin exclaimed furiously.

He had enough of seeing his best friend cry over someone who left him for insensitive reasons. He was getting worried since the latter seemed like he was not going to stop drinking and crying any time soon.

"Felix, help me to carry him." Felix nodded as he grabbed Minho in bridal style. Even though he was the submissive one in their relationship, when it came to things like this, he was more powerful.

They get outside the club with an agitated Minho who won't stop punching Felix's chest, weakly saying to leave him alone, which Felix or any of his friends are not going to do.

Changbin and Hyunjin watched Felix struggling to put a whining Minho on the front seat of the car and sighed.

"I hope that the person who left our Minho feels the pain he is feeling now," Felix said angrily, making the twin brothers shake their heads.

"Don't judge someone's actions without knowing the reason, Felix."
_________

He clutched his chest, feeling his heart twist in pain. His soulmate was suffering, causing him to feel pain.

The pain created by him.

He never thought he would be able to meet his soulmate this early, but if only the circumstances had been different, he would have stayed behind.

He would have been the happiest man in the world, but the faith and world we live in are cruel enough to make people suffer.

Jisung looked outside, watching the night with an empty soul, except that he was feeling discomfort about the things happening.

Slowly, he stood up and walked towards the window, placing his hand over its railing. He leaned his head there, looking over at the horizon in a daze.

He didn't tell Chan and Seungmin about finding his soulmate, Minho Lee.

Well, who wouldn't know the famous Korean director? And who would have thought this fine man would be his soulmate? Not him anyway.

Seeing the older man made his heart feel like it was running a marathon. Minho was so handsome. In the industry world, he was always the talk of the town among young people, who always wished him to be their soulmate.

He was a caring, loving, generous, polite, tall, handsome, respectful, yet competitive man. He was what we call a typical gentleman, a man written by women.

For Jisung, he thought he didn't deserve him. He was so far away that it was difficult to be near him, even in his shadow. He believed that he couldn't be the partner the older one desired to be.

Jisung has always watched the older man's interviews, and the way he describes his future soulmate is so endearing and heartwarming to hear that even a married person will feel so loved.

The one thing Jisung learned about Minho was that he rarely gets angry, and he wasn't a person to judge anyone by appearance.

I'm scared. Jisung thought, clenching his shirt in his fists.

With this face of mine, I'm scared of him getting judged by the people around us and the society around us. If it weren't for my appearance, I would have never wasted a second embracing him in my arms.

He closed his eyes, feeling the pain increase.

Is he crying for me? But why? What is this feeling?

Jisung opened his eyes in shock, feeling a cold thing flowing down his life cheeks and touching his hand. Why was I crying?

He moved away from the window and turned around, running away from it. He stepped down the stairs but was stopped by a worried-looking Bright.

"Where are you going late tonight?" Jisung could see his worried eyes looking at him, but he wanted to see Minho.

He desired someone to comfort him.

"Chan hyung, I will tell you about everything later, but for now I have to go somewhere else." It's an emergency."

"But Hannie, it's already late and you..." Before Chan can point out what he had to say, Jisung cuts his words.

"We will talk later," Saying this he runs away from there with his bare feet, leaving Chan behind.

"You are only wearing pyjamas," Chan mumbled, looking at the now-closed doors.

"Where did he go in such a hurry?" Chan looked behind to see Seungmin running towards him in panic.

"Don't worry, he will be fine." Seungmin glances at his soulmate, helping hella worried about his friend.

"But Hyung, he is alone, and it might rain outside anytime soon."

"I know," Chan smiled, gently pulling Seungmin by his waist," but we can't stop him from finding his soulmate, can we?" Seungmin's eyes went wide in surprise, and a delighted smile began forming on his lips.

"He found his soulmate! But..." Seungmin trails off, frowning. "Why didn't he inform us?" Chan sighed and leaned forward, pecking the crown of Seungmin's head.

"He isn't ready to accept the sudden change, but..." Chan looked back at the door and said, "HHe will eventually, and we should give him some time."

Jisung doesn't know where he was going, but his heart and body took him to the opposite side of his apartment road, a thirty-minute walk to be exact.

He stopped and looked up at the dark sky, seeing the dark clouds covering the moon as it gave its light to the earth.

Taking a deep breath, he wandered around the road, already guessing it was going to rain, but he didn't go away because he needed something that would be a distraction for his sanity.

As he walked forward, he felt something glowing, and he looked down with a shocked gasp to see a red string forming around his wrist. His eyes followed the direction where the string was getting extended.

Does Minho live around here? He thought as he walked quickly, following the string.

"Yah Hyunjin! Open the door!" He heard someone saying something and hid behind a tree. At the same time, they all heard a thunderstorm along with lightning, making them flinch.

"Oh, God! It's going to rain! Yeah, Hyunjin! Open the damn door." He watched a lean man with black hair shout while carrying a man by his shoulders, along with a bulky man beside him.

"Minho?" He whispered as he watched closely to see the men opening the door and getting inside. Who are they? He thought as he slowly moved towards the house.

He saw a window open and slowly peeked inside to see the kitchen. He looked around and saw the men struggling to move Minho upstairs.

"Minho! Who told you to drink this much?"

Is he drunk? Jisung thought as he watched the man yelling at his soulmate, making him feel his body shake in anger. "Who the hell is he?"

"Yah! Stop shouting; let's lay him down on the sofa."

"But Felix, Minho will feel back pain in the morning." Felix nodded, realizing.

"If that's the case, then I will bring the pillows; you guys make him sit," Changbin exclaimed, moving upstairs to bring the pillows for Minho.

Jisung watched everything happen with a smile. The men there reminded him of the friends who are staying back at his home now. At least there are still people who appreciate feelings.

"Here," Hyunjin nodded as he placed the pillow under Minho's head, his waist side near the sofa, and under his foot. They silently watched their friend sleep and sighed.

"I think it's better if we leave now," Changbin exclaimed, turning on the A/C. Hyunjin sighed, nodding.

"Let's check around the house first to see whether any window or door is open, then let's lock the door from outside with the spare key." The men nodded as they parted ways.

Seeing this, Jisung entered the kitchen through the window and closed it silently, then moved under the closed cabin.

"Everything is okay here." He heard one saying:

Okay, then let's get going; it will be raining anytime." He heard footsteps fading away and patiently waited. He sighed in relief after hearing the front door close and waited for a few seconds.

When he made sure no one was there, he stood up and moved silently towards the sleeping man.

He stopped when he saw the male turning on his back. He saw his soulmate's cheeks have a glimmer of dried tears, and a noticeable scowl was present over his forehead, expressing his distress.

He slowly knelt near Minho's body and carefully brought his shaking hands up, and before he could touch the latter's cheek, he stopped midway when a thought invaded his mind.

Is it okay to touch him? He shook the thought away and slowly caressed the latter's cheek. Silent tears started streaming from his eyes as he continued caressing the cheek.

A sob broke through his mouth when Minho snuggled closer to Jisung's palms, feeling warm and relieved. He caressed his head and smiled with tear-filled eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for hurting you, Minho. I know what I did wasn't good, but if I don't leave you in the first place, I will not be able to leave you because my heart is already beating for you." Jisung touched his face and closed his eyes, feeling the scar over his face.

"If it wasn't for this, I would have screamed at the whole world that you are my soulmate." He slowly opened his eyes and glanced down at Minho.

"But I can't do it, Minho. I'm not ready for people's judgement. I'm... I'm...," Jisung gulped his tears and exhaled, breathing shakily," I'm not ready to face you." He sobbed out as he placed his forehead against Minho's hands, which were clasped in his fists.

"I never imagined this would happen to me. In my whole life, sadness has reached and left, but it has liked to stay with me lately. I'm sorry for not being what you wanted, but I'm not going to change. These scars will forever stay with me." He looked at Minho's frowning face and shook his head, then took a deep breath while slowly removing the grip.

He watched as Minho turned around, groaning. Jisung got up immediately, "Please don't see me crying." He muttered, watching the latter groan again. He froze when the latter harshly started buttoning down his shirt button.

Jisung's cheeks started forming a pink glow. He must be feeling sticky. He thought and walked from there to grab something to clean the latter.

When he reached there, he started blushing furiously at the scene in front of him.

There on the sofa lies a half-naked Minho, whose white shirt is on the floor while his blue jeans pants are undone but still covering his lower parts. Veiny hands tangled down the couch like lifeless ones.

Jisung bit his lips in slight shyness, then walked towards the small wooden teapot near the sofa, placing the towel and a small tub that was filled with water.

He dropped the towel on the water and twisted it to make it less wet, and he slowly ran the towel over Minho's upper body to make the latter feel clean and less sweaty. After cleaning the front part of his upper body, he stopped and bit his lips in thought.

Should I pick him? Is it okay? He thought, then slowly picked up the latter and placed Minho's head over his shoulder. With one hand, he grabbed the latter's waist, and with another hand, he started rubbing the towel over his back.

He flinched when he felt arms wrapping around his waist and a warm breath on his neck.

"Don't leave me," The younger man started panicking, hearing the wavering voice of his soulmate. He doesn't want his soulmate to notice him or his face.

"I'm happy that you are here..."

"Minho..."

"Why did you leave me?" Minho mumbled, snuggling closer to Jisung's nape, sighing in comfort. "I'm not dreaming, right? You are here, right?" Before Minho could move away, Jisung pushed him and stood up, turning away to hide his burnt face.

"You are pushing me away again," Minho uttered, his vision a bit blurry due to his drunken self.

"I'm doing this for our good," Minho said, hearing the soothing voice of his soulmate in a dazed way. He can only see the blurry image of a silhouette.

"Then why did you come here?" He asked slowly, turning around, putting his feet on the ground, and shivering, feeling the cold floor on his bare feet.

"I came here when I felt your pain," Jisung said, controlling his wavering voice. "And I can't do anything since I will not be able to stop the pain I'm feeling when you are in it."

"What did I do, my soulmate? Do you know how many years I have been waiting for you? Do you know how many times I cried when I felt so lonely? I don't have anyone with me other than my friends, who are each other's soulmates now. Do you know how it feels not to be loved?"

I know. Jisung wanted to say these words, but he couldn't. He doesn't have the right to say this when the reason for the pain caused by Minho was himself.

"I don't care what you felt all these years, but you should leave me. It's better to leave each other before we start something that won't bring anything good," Jisung said, glancing over his shoulder and frowning sadly, seeing the man looking all vulnerable.

Minho glanced at the floor with tear-filled eyes. What did he do to make his soulmate hate him? Isn't he good? Or does his soulmate have another lover?

That thought alone broke Minho's heart into pieces.

That couldn't be possible, right? But it could be possible if his lover's soulmate was already dead.

Minho glanced up, making Jisung look away. "Do you perhaps have a lover?"

"What? No!" Jisung shouted, making Minho stunned by the voice.

"I didn't even try to date anyone my whole life." Jisunv stopped, suddenly realising what he said. Minho smiled lazily at the words, and the liquor slowly started making his body a bit tipsy.

"I'm happy that you don't have anyone, but... what did I do? Why are you against this bond?" Jisung closed his eyes.

"It's suffocating to be with the same person," Jisung sighed quietly to avoid the pile-up of emotions from bursting out.

"I hate bonds." Minho felt something breaking inside him. He sat there motionless, hearing what Jisung said. His emotions and the effects of the drug started taking a toll on him, making his hands turn into fists.

"If it wasn't for this bond, I would have never,"

"Enough." Jisung flinched at the cold, deep voice used by Minho. His eyes were wide in panic when he felt Minho getting up.

Before he could do or utter anything, he was turned around harshly by a furious Minho.

Loud gasps filled the hall along with the lighting and the rain pouring sound.

Jisung trembled at Minho's hold with closed eyes as tears started streaming from his eyes. This was what he hated so much. He didn't want his soulmate to see this pathetic self he has now.

Whereas Minho felt like he was above thin ice, with one careless move, his life would be in danger. His eyes trailed all over Jisung's scars, and his heart beat fast, realising why his soulmate avoided him.

"Your face...,"

A storm broke out, leaving Minho all alone in the house, surrounded by darkness.