Unwanted--BTS--Soulmate AU

Encounter

I walked down the street enjoying the feeling of the lingering summer warmth on my skin. It wasn't too busy out today, and I took my time walking to work so I could enjoy the weather. I was still getting used to the bustle and flow of the busy city. Seoul was so different from where I grew up in America, but it was exciting. I had lived in LA for hot minute, so I knew how to navigate a city, but the vibe in Seoul was different. Not bad, just unfamiliar, and that in and of itself was both terrifying and exciting. The basic nature of people never changed, no matter where in the world one might be, and I drew comfort from that.

While the culture here was still new to me, I was trying my best to settle in. It helped that I was skilled in the language well enough that I could assimilate relatively easily. In fact, my bilingual skills were a large part of the reason I had come to South Korea. I had been lucky enough to have secured a position teaching English to the Korean community.

The agency that I had signed on with taught English to anyone and everyone from varying age groups. All they had to do was sign up. And luckily, many of those who did sign up were also very interested in learning about American culture so that they might one day study at an American university or send their children to do so. I was selected to lead an American cultural class in addition to my regular English courses, so I was pretty busy most of the time. My classes were full up, even though I had only been in Seoul for around four months.

I smiled to myself as I made my way down the block to the English school. It was a huge leap of faith to leave my life in America behind, but I was glad I did...most days. Sometimes it was so overwhelming that I hid from the world in my little studio apartment and frantically searched flights home. But coming all the way across the world to a completely unfamiliar country was better than staying there.

For several reasons.

But today felt different somehow. I woke up with no lingering anxiety or urge to hide. I felt happy. I looked forward to going into work and seeing my coworkers and students. There were a few people I had started to get close to who also worked at the English school. One was from Australia, and one was from Germany. One of the other Americans who had worked at the school previously had left only two weeks after I started. He was going back home to finish his PhD, so I didn't get to know him very well. It was his position that I had been hired to fill and I felt like he was a bit cold towards me for it. Even though he was the one who had resigned in the first place.

Lyle, who was from Germany, was the one I had really grown the closest to. He was bright, funny, and a bit of an asshole but I immediately felt a sense of warmth and kinship to him. He had even managed to drag me to a few clubs the first few weeks I was here, but I quickly learned that they were too busy for me. I loved to dance, but not in a sweaty nightclub with people constantly leering at and brushing up against me.

Lyle was always on the hunt for a "k-hottie with a body" and oft steered me towards some underground gay clubs, which made me nervous. I had nothing against gay people, love is love, but I know how conservative South Korea is and I worry for his safety. I love Lyle and I hope he would be able to find a partner and live in comfort and safety. It also didn't help matters that some clubs were extremely wary of foreigners and a few even refused to let us in. I wasn't antisocial per se, but I hated huge crowds and the lifestyle that came with partying. I had a hard enough time acclimating to the extreme work hard, drink harder mindset many Koreans have. I feel like a little bit of a pariah for how often I beg off of after work soju and tteokbokki. Maybe that was why I had a harder time making friends outside of the English school.

I also hadn't been on very many dates since moving here. I'm not exactly looking to start a relationship, but it is nice to be asked out, to be wanted. I hoped that one day I would come across my soulmate, but realistically it wouldn't happen any time soon if at all. I was already 27 and many people meet their soulmates between 19-24. It wasn't unheard of for soulmates to meet later in life, but it was somewhat uncommon. I definitely didn't think I would meet my soulmate here. Direct skin to skin, full on touch is required to trigger the soul bond and Korean culture doesn't allow for a lot of casual touching.