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주름
A FEW WEEKS had passed since the stormy night, and Yuri's schedule had been packed due to the amount of restaurants and joints requesting for her. She would turn them down, but she really had nothing better to do. And she would be receiving free food, of course, so who could turn that down?
Stepping out of the shower in preparation for a long day, Yuri buried her towel in her face, letting the drops of water on her skin be absorbed by the fabric. Her everyday was identical, an endless loop of: wake up, shower, eat, go home, sleep, and repeat.
She sometimes wondered if she should find her soulmate, but deep down, she knew that she would never gather the courage to do so. Her heart was still in Jisung's hands, almost as a promise to never forget him and their relationship.
Letting out a sigh, Yuri brought the towel away from her face. Her breath immediately stopped when she noticed something.
A wrinkle. On her hand.
With wide eyes, Yuri examined the small wrinkle in her hand that definitely was not there the last time she checked. Her heart raced as she glared at it, deep in thought.
People get wrinkles. With age.
Could it be? Have I found my soulmate?
-
This anomaly kept her mind occupied even as she was working, eating a quite mediocre meal at a restaurant downtown. She couldn't wrap her mind around it, the mere existence of the wrinkle enough to make her heart race.
She wasn't excited. Rather, she was terrified. She was unsure as to who it was, as she'd met many different people within the past few weeks. But she was especially afraid of the fact that she was growing up. She could feel it in her body, the way she felt extra fatigued after a flight of stairs, the way her pants would suddenly be tighter. It was something she hadn't experienced in a century, and she had to get used to it. To get comfortable with it, with growing up without Jisung.
After her day of eating and writing, she felt she needed to see her only friends, to tell them about her life-changing situation.
She swung the door of Taehyung's now-closed restaurant open, seeing Jieun already sitting at the bar, alongside Taehyung, Seokjin, and Namjoon, who was Seokjin's soulmate.
"There she is!" shouted Taehyung, his voice echoing through the empty restaurant as he wiped the bar counter. "We were just talking about you!"
"Only good things, for clarification," Seokjin reassured her as he began to grab his stuff, along with Namjoon. "We were just about to head out. See you tomorrow at noon, Taehyung," Seokjin said farewell to the boy, grabbing Namjoon's hand and walking toward the door. Namjoon had bowed slightly to her on his way out, which Yuri returned before she stomped toward the two.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Taehyung took notice in her expression, full of panic and uncertainty. Jieun noticed as well, glancing up at her in worry while turning in her bar stool.
"I have found my soulmate," Yuri stated, her feet still planted to the floor as she found it difficult to even move.
"What?" Taehyung widened his eyes, his wiping hand freezing on the counter. "You did?"
"Are you serious?" Jieun excitedly raised her eyebrows at the girl, a light smile on her lips. "That's amazing! Sit down and tell us everything," she patted the seat next to her, which Yuri hesitantly sat on as she tried to catch her racing breath.
"I-I noticed this morning, after my shower. That I'm aging," she swallowed, her fingers lightly caressing the area on her hand where wrinkles were beginning to form.
"Who is it?" Jieun asked curiously, leaning onto the counter as she watched Yuri intently. Taehyung stood still, his mind barely comprehending her sudden announcement.
"That is the issue. I'm not sure," Yuri let out a sigh, her eyes dropping to the dark wood of the table.
"You don't know who it is? How is that possible?" she furrowed her eyebrows.
"I've met an ample amount of people in the past few weeks. It could be anyone who works at any restaurant I've visited. A manager, a waiter, a cashier, anyone," Yuri explained, glancing up at Taehyung. His face was unreadable, a mixture of shock and almost disappointment as he listened to her.
"Taehyung?" Yuri asked gently. "Is something the matter?"
Taehyung blinked out of his trance, resuming his mission to clean the counter as he began wiping more aggressively. "N-No, I'm fine. I'm happy for you," he said, though it wasn't very convincing.
"Taehyung, don't worry," Jieun spoke up, seemingly noticing his change in attitude. "You'll find your soulmate. It tookYuri this long, and she found hers."
A heavy sigh fell out of the boy's lips as he paused, his eyes darting to the floor. "You're right. I'm sorry, Yuri, this is a big thing for you. I'm really happy for you," he offered a lazy smile as he looked at her. "We just have to figure out who the hell it is."
"If you don't know who it is, how are you going to find him again?" asked Jieun, shifting her attention back to Yuri.
"I'm not entirely sure I want to..." her voice trailed off, the lump in her throat beginning to grow.
"You should, Yuri. You got to meet your soulmate, and now you'll grow up," Taehyung said. "Do you want to spend the rest of your life alone?"
Yuri stayed silent, unable to answer the question. Of course she didn't want to be alone anymore. But the mere idea of having to grow old, without her Jisung, made her hesitant.
"Anyways," Taehyung cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "I matched with this cute boy on Tinder a few nights ago. He's this hunk who's also a fucking dancer, which in itself is hot as shit, so we're meeting on Friday night. He offered to bring our friends, so the two of you are coming."
"Great, I'd love to go," Jieun rolled her eyes. "Thanks for asking. What's his name?"
"Park Jimin, I think," Taehyung answered, a dreamy smile plastered on his lips. "He's such a cutie. You guys will love him, but not any more than I will."
"We're counting on it," Yuri spoke up, causing the other two to break out into a fit of excited giggles, a smile finally appearing on Yuri's lips for the first time in a while.
