i pretend to look around, but I'm actually looking for you.
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my friends all sat around the small table, making it rather cramped for us all to fit around, but we managed to all squeeze in.
the group erupted into laughter, by far one of the loudest tables in the bustling food hall, a few of them slapping the table or clutching their legs as they did.
i felt someone grab onto my upper arm, resting against me for support as they shook with laughter.
despite my friends having a good time and sharing hilarious things, i simply sat there with my arms resting on the table in front of me and my eyes watching as i fiddled with my fingers.
many thoughts were running wild throughout my mind, tormenting me for answers that couldn't be given, and it was driving me crazy.
i turned my wrist slightly, subtly tugging my blazer sleeve down my wrist so that i could look at the most significant thing on my forearm.
the two, tiny, white numbers of one and eight imprinted in my skin stared at me.
so many people said that your soulmate emblem was an important and beautiful thing on one's body, but i disagreed.
it was like a cruel, sly reminder everyday that i was still waiting to find my so called other half and i honestly wish i didn't care about it and could just ignore it.
that's exactly what i'd done my entire childhood : ignored it.
what significance did it have until i turned eighteen, the age of which i was supposed to meet my soulmate?
a lot apparently.
as soon as middle school came around and most of the kids, whom were still waiting to meet their soulmates, began to become aware of the huge ordeal, it was one of main priorities for a teenager.
hell, we even had topics about it in various subjects that you wouldn't believe could be linked without the soulmate mystery.
why did it matter so much?
why did people want to waste their lives looking for someone who their were apparently supposed to love just because of some number on their wrist?
i almost yelped in shock as i felt a finger prod my shoulder, making my head shoot up.
"naeun, you're really quiet, are you ok?" just as i was about to turn to my best friend, the face of a young boy on one of the tables not far from us caught my attention.
his brightly bleached hair stood out, even though there were kids at school who had various hair colours.
he wore a uniform just like the rest of us and had an average face, but there was something about his appearance and aura that stuck out like a sore thumb.
