My Soulmates are IDOLS Books 2+3 | 18+ [SoulBond Series]

240:The End of the Nation's biggest stars.

The seniors were laughing at him, they'd tossed the food he'd bought with what little money he had on the ground. He'd purchased the steaming bag with big smiles from the granny down the street. It was his favourite store, one that he had to get up and queue for from the crack of dawn. It was famous for tasting like cotton candy clouds that melted on the tongue.

His seniors would love that.

JieMi had watched those donuts roll across the cement, and then a heavy boot crushed the rings of frosted sugary goodness. His cheeks had burned, embarrassed and he didn't know what to say, his lips trembling. Tears burning at the back of his throat at the way they'd shoved his donuts aside. He was young then, just fifteen, and he didn't quite understand the world.

'Which dumbass bought all this for us?'

'Why would we eat this sugary crap?'

They'd laughed then, shaking their heads as they blew rings of smoke from their lips.

'Newbies, they still can eat sugar?'

'Idiot, he will never debut like this. Another wasted 'talent'.'

He had squirmed, words choked in his throats, his eyes wide and shivering. He didn't know they wouldn't like donuts. And maybe...Maybe, he should have known that they wouldn't like it. He should have bought salads and water. He should have known—And then Ha-Eun stepped in with anger hot in her eyes, an angel from the heavens. His saviour.

'What are you talking about? Why are you so mean to the newbie? He bought them for you!' She'd knelt to the ground, picked a donut and took a vicious bite out of the broken, dirtied frost. 'It's delicious! It's from that super famous store down the street.'

They'd stammered out words of apology, then agreed that it was a waste. He watched as they took bites out of the dirty donuts from trembling hands, admitting that they had made a mistake and the food had slipped from their fingers.

She'd turned and smiled at him sweetly, and that had been an arrow straight to his fleshy heart. She was everything he wanted to be, tall, beautiful and kind. She was ridiculously famous then, a child actress turned super model. And she was trending and rising in fame, so much more experienced than him as a senior in the industry. She was his goddess in everything.

She'd dragged him to a corner after the shoot, and had asked for his number with a coy smile that made his heart flutter in his chest. Maybe, it had all been adoration, but he accepted because she was his idol. He accepted because he was floored by her actions. He accepted because he truly, truly liked her. He believed in fate, and what she'd done had been something he'd only seen in the like of fairy tales and soulmate romance.

He considered that she might be his soulmate.

'I'll help you out. I know you'll be a big star.'

He should have known what she was doing, but she was nice and she was kind. She listened to him, and she treated him like an actual person, so different from the others in his industry. So while the words of that trainee buzzed in his head, he shook the feelings of unease off when she asked to take his virginity just two weeks later.

She'd gifted him a few thousand dollars just before that. It paid for better diet food, iron pills for the team, vitamins and things. It paid for rental for a better home that didn't make Sieon's sinuses clog up, and wasn't just beside the train. They needed the money for better things that would make a world of a difference, and he promised to pay it back. But she waved it off saying that it was just something she would do for a friend.

Then she asked to take his virginity, and the rejection had caught in his throat. He was afraid then, nervous and scared but he couldn't say no, right? It would be wrong to say no after she'd helped him out. She just liked him...Right?