Broken

77

The vacation days went by beautifully, read, Jihyo and Dahyun slept to their hearts' content, and now, here they were, in Jeju, forced into swimsuits and out of the house to get that vitamin d. Jeongyeon and Sana were to arrive around lunch, not much longer until then, and were staying for four days, they got close enough to be invited to the 'vacation at the Sons' the group tried to do as often as possible. It had been a couple vacations since Jihyo and Dahyun had been able to join, and it was nice to have everyone together again.

The engaged couple had been questioned by the girls the very night they arrived, Mina had declared a sleepover and was taking no objections, and they all wanted to know anyways, might as well let the penguin loose on her curiosity. At some point, Nayeon and Momo disappeared for a while, Im junior and Chou senior decided to just go swim a little, they were already at the beach anyways, the older couple came back with another two in tow.

"You two alright there?" Nayeon asked, seeing her companions stopped.

"Yeah, it's just-" Jeongyeon chokes a little.

"It's the first time we see it." Sana completes the thought.

"See what?" Momo questions, trying to understand what the two are looking at.

"Jihyo's flowers." The younger japanese explains, not averting her eyes. "It's the first time we see them. They are beautiful."

Now they understand what the new arrivals are referring to, Jihyo was standing near the ocean, looking at Dahyun playing in the waves and doing a great job at almost drowning, with grumpy Chaeyoung saving her everytime and scolding the older one to stop her nonsense. She was wearing an incredibly flattering two-piece bikini, her back in full view, the purple and yellow ever-so-vibrant, two beautiful flowers taking half her back shown proudly.

It was almost instant, as soon as Jeongyeon and Sana saw it, they started crying, it wasn't a break down, but the tears didn't stop flowing and they just stood there, trying to gather themselves and admiring the girl that got away. Sure, Jihyo had told them about getting engaged, and they were way past the 'you are ours and should be with us' phase, and the four, five back then, had worked out their relationship, but seeing those flowers for the first time, the ones that bloomed for them but were never appreciated, brought up a sadness they couldn't explain.

"We'll give you two some time to pull yourselves together." Nayeon says affectionately. "Just join us when you feel ready."

"She's happy, you know." Momo mentions, looking at Jihyo and Dahyun, who were now side-hugging and watching the ocean. "It's okay to feel what you are feeling, but know she really is happy."

The older couple goes back to the group, and Sana motions for them to go on, this wasn't the time for crying, and that wasn't the attitude they wanted to show. They were there to celebrate their soulmate's engagement, knowing it wouldn't be with them, and they were very happy for her, but the pull of their soulmate would still be there, forever, and it brought up conflicting emotions. They should talk about it later, now wasn't the time.

"It's alright to feel whatever you two are feeling right now, you know?"

The couple jumps a little, Dahyun had come up beside them and none had noticed. The pale woman had a warm look in her eyes, and her words brought some security to the older couple. Jihyo was sitting on the sand, still looking at the ocean, and Dahyun seemed to have slipped away towards the newcomers.

"Hey Dahyun, congratulations on the engagement." Jeongyeon is the one to greet first this time.

"Hey Dubs. Congrats." Sana speaks up. "It's just-"

"The first time you see her flowers, Yeonnie told me." She interrupts. "It's alright, you know. The pull of your soulmate is something that never really goes away."

"Sorry. We couldn't really control ourselves."

"It's alright, Sana-unnie. I understand, and it's not our thing to be jealous like that." There is a lighthearted chuckle, not a drop of malice in her words. "I'm just here because Jihyo asked me to come and talk to you. She saw you two crying and got worried, but felt it wasn't a good idea for her to come herself."

"She had always been nice like that." Jeongyeon ponders. "It hit us a bit harder than expected, that's all."

"Talk to her later." Dahyun simply answers, before walking back to her fiancé.

The rest of the day goes as well as it could, dinner was supposed to be an outdoor barbecue, and everyone spread out to do their own thing after, Jihyo and Dahyun decided to let Jeongyeon and Sana walk out first, and follow later. They should talk, and avoidance has never been the younger woman's forte, and Dahyun was not planning on starting now.

"Hey , you two." Jihyo greets as they approach her soulmates. "I think it's time we talked, no?"

"Looks like it is now." Sana laughs. "We just got a bit overwhelmed earlier. First time seeing your flowers and all. They are beautiful, by the way."

"It's alright, you know." Jihyo asures them, snuggling into Dahyun's arms. "The soulmate bond is never really severed, and I think I just had some stroke of luck, having seen your flowers as they bloomed."

"We really regret it, you know." Jeongyeon croaks out. "Not having seen you back then."

"Don't hold onto it. Regret doesn't do anything but hold you back." Dahyun offers. "I regretted not really getting into a relationship with Vernon back then, and, had it not been for Hyo and Chris, I would still be living with my what ifs. Never really moving forward, and never letting myself become anything but the girl who lost her soulmate too soon."

Jihyo just beams, proud of her fiancé for, finally, opening up about her past like this. It meant Dahyun was comfortable enough to talk about it now, that she stopped allowing her doubts to keep her rooted in a past that never was.

"We really are happy for you two." Sana speaks up this time, pulling Jeongyeon closer. "It's great that you two have each other, and you said it yourself, we wouldn't be anything today if you had said something to us back then. This, right here, wouldn't be happening right now if Jeong and I had known when we met.

"It's alright to feel everything you two are feeling." Jihyo asures them. "We are soulmates, our bond can only be broken one way." Dahyun kisses her cheek. "Let's just keep moving, our what ifs won't bring anyone happiness, we will always have each other, and I promise I love you two, I just love Dahyun in a different and voluntary way."

"We understand that now, but it did take a while to accept it." Jeongyeon sighs.

"It's alright." Dahyun soothes the other couple. "Your relationship might not be what you imagined it, but your connection can never be broken."

There are simple hums in agreement, and the four spend some time watching the shoreline bathed in the moonlight. It doesn't last long, the girls call them over to start their dance party. The parents had already moved inside, claiming they were 'too old to keep dancing the night away with the youngsters', as papa Chou had put it. It's nice, and Jihyo thinks everything turned out infinitely better than what the frail little girl had imagined all those years before.

"MYOUI MINA, STOP TRYING TO GET MY FIANCÉ ON TOP OF THAT TABLE THIS INSTANT!"