Chapter Text
The bond had first manifested itself when Lee Sa-young had turned 15, as it did for anyone of that age who had a soulmate as old or older than them.
He hadn't been too interested in getting to know them, curious yes, but largely uninterested. How could he bring himself to care about a stranger he might never form a meaningful relationship with, when the world was actively being destroyed by monsters? These days, death and devastation were common, the future more unsure than ever.
So no, he hadn't particularly cared, but his parents had. From the moment Sa-young had woken up on his 15th birthday, they had both been overjoyed that their baby boy was not only a year older, but that he now also had the chance to find someone for himself. A partner, a new family member or a friend; it didn't matter to them as long as he was happy.
They had celebrated the day as well as they were able to in a world on the brink of collapse. They ate all their meals together, played a few games, and simply spent time in each other's presence.
It was a rare peaceful day where they could pretend that the world outside was the same as the one before the Day of The Rift.
That night, right after they had finished eating Sa-young's homemade birthday cake, his parents had pestered him into writing to his soulmate.
Seeing how excited they were, Lee Sa-young had taken the offered pen and written a simple “Hey” on his arm, ignoring his parent's scolding about manners.
When no immediate answer had come, Sa-young had quickly lost what little interest he'd had, listening with one ear only to the unneeded reassurances from his parents telling him to be patient.
That night he had gone to sleep happy but tired from a day well spent, and promptly forgotten all about his potential soulmate.
J had forgotten about soulmates entirely.
The Day of The Rift had rocked the entire planet, bringing calamity, destroying countries and with it; Cha Eui-jae’s peaceful life.
He had awakened on the same day, right there in the ruins of his home amidst the bodies of his family. He hadn't thought about soulmates at the time, all that had plagued his mind in that moment was survival.
‘I want to live,’ He'd thought, more a desperate prayer than anything else; and so, the System had answered, giving him the power to survive.
From then on, J’s life had been nothing but one long, exhausting fight to stay alive. Every day he entered dungeon after dungeon, rift after rift, fighting monsters while trying to save as many people as he could.
Rest was a luxury he couldn't afford to bask in too often for too long; he was South Korea's number 1 hunter after all. He was one of the only two S ranks in the country, the strongest countermeasure they had against the apocalypse trying to crush them.
He was the hero of the nation, so it stood to reason that he should put his everything into fulfilling his duty, and work as hard as he could.
There was no time to rest, how could he possibly rest when people could die if he wasn't fast enough to reach them, simply because he was sleeping instead of standing at the ready?
It was fine though. J was fine. As a S rank; he didn't need as much sleep as he did before.
It was fine.
Saving lives was the priority.
Hello
Lee Sa-young stared blankly at the word that had appeared on his arm. The characters were crooked, small and cramped like chicken scratches.
What kind of terrible handwriting is this
Who taught you to be this rude? Respect your elders you brat
Sa-young raised an eyebrow at the reply, was his potential soulmate a senior citizen?
He imagined a person hunched over from old age, waving a cane around threateningly.
What was the point of being overly polite in a world like this?
Shamelessly ignoring the fact that he'd never been particularly well mannered to begin with, Lee Sa-young decided to tease the other person a little.
Oh, should I use honorifics then? How old are you?
19
Seemed like he didn't have an old person as a possible soulmate, just a very stuck up one.
What's your name?
There was no answer for a few minutes, as though the other person was pausing in thought or hesitating to answer.
Cha Eui-jae, you?
Lee Sa-young, should I call you hyung?
Aren't you being too familiar?
… Why was he acting 10 times his age???
You're the one who told me to use honorifics, hyung
Such an annoying soulmate
Oh? Hyung already considers me his soulmate? Even though the bond isn't fully formed yet?
Lee Sa-young watched in amusement as the writing Cha Eui-jae had last left on his arm was quickly scrubbed away, before another one replaced it;
No, shut up
Well, at least the person connected to him was entertaining to rile up.
Maybe trying out this whole soulbond business wouldn't be so bad. It was certainly a nice change of pace, better than boredom or depressing thoughts about the state of the world.
Despite his attempts, there were no more replies from his hyung, he was either ignoring him or busy.
After cleaning his arm up, Sa-young wrote one last message for Cha Eui-jae before rolling his sleeve down and going about his day.
Hyung, are you sulking? :(
J stared at the writing on his arm. It had been mocking him all day, irritating him throughout every rift and dungeon he cleared.
Needless to say; his brutal take down of monsters, ominous aura and tense body language had been more than enough to dissuade anyone from approaching him unless absolutely necessary.
… The fact that he'd been covered in blood had probably discouraged them as well.
‘Where does this kid find the courage to be this bold?’ He thought, pondering whether to exercise self restraint or answer. He didn't have the time to argue with some kid, he barely had the time for a meal most days.
‘Besides,’ J thought, his eyes narrowing, ‘It's better if he doesn't get attached.’ Nothing good could come from being bonded to him, he knew.
J spent nearly all his time fighting dangerous creatures and when he wasn't, he was busy writing a monster encyclopedia or reporting to the Bureau.
He could barely take care of himself; his aunt was the only reason he ate any meals at all instead of rations.
He had nothing to give, how could he possibly take care of another person? No, it was better to not get attached. For both of them.
‘Especially if I end up dead in a dungeon-’
J slapped his cheeks with both hands, the sting helping him clear his mind to focus on the more important task at hand; organizing his notes on the last rift he'd cleared to bring to the Bureau in the morning.
As he was tidying up, from the corner of his eye, Lee Sa-young's words stole his attention again.
‘This brat,’ J thought, his eye twitching.
At last his self control broke; grabbing a pen, he firmly repeated to himself that he would not get caught in a quicksand-like conversation again.
Who's sulking? I was busy
Keeping the pen in hand, he huffed before standing to put the folder with his notes on the table close to the entrance of his house.
As he walked to the bathroom to get ready to sleep, J felt the tingles of his potential soulmate’s incoming answer.
Turning the lights on, he looked down to read what cheeky words the other had sent.
So busy you couldn't even find a moment to reply all day? It's almost midnight already hyung, you can't have classes until that late
‘That's because I'm not a student.’ J rolled his eyes while preparing to brush his teeth.
Clicking the pen repeatedly, he pondered on what to write for a moment. He'd already decided to not tell Lee Sa-young that he was a hunter, but he could tell him he had a job. That technically wasn't a lie; being a hunter was his job, besides it wouldn't be weird to say that right? There were probably plenty of 19 year olds who had jobs.
Nodding to himself for a self rationalization well done, J stuck the toothbrush in his mouth before writing a reply;
I have a job. You focus on school, isn't it past your bedtime?
What kind of job makes you work for so long without even a break?
Rinsing the toothpaste from his mouth J’s eye twitched in annoyance, ‘Why is this kid so persistent?’
My job. Go to sleep already.
Besides, aren't you too young to work so many hours? Isn't it illegal to work more than 4 hours without a break?
Staring blankly, a vein throbbed in his head.
‘Did this kid think he was a police officer or something?’
This isn't an interrogation, stop talking to me and go to sleep
But how will our soulbound grow if we don't talk? :(
‘It won't! That's the point!’ J thought, slightly delirious from both exhaustion and exasperation.
Before he could answer though, another message appeared;
Oh I see, it's because hyung doesn't want me as a soulmate isn't it? I understand..
J stared at the words in disbelief. Well now he just felt like shit. Should he try to follow Jung Bin’s exemple and attempt damage control? This was technically what he'd wanted; for the kid to not get attached and eventually let the bond dissolve naturally into nothing. However…
‘Did I accidentally give this kid lifelong self-esteem issues???’
From the tone of Lee Sa-young's message, he was probably feeling rejected and unwanted. Those were formative years for him, right? He had heard hunters talk about their children once; one of them had mentioned teenage years being important in the development of a person.
What if J, by being so inexplicably harsh, caused him to suffer crippling insecurities? Issues he'd have to struggle with for the rest of his life, thinking there was something wrong with him when really, the problem lied with J himself!!
‘What should i do?’ He fretted, he had never planned to talk to his potential soulmate, in fact; he hadn't thought about soulmates until he'd felt the tingles of Lee Sa-young's first message to him.
His aunt had been the one to talk J into responding. She'd practically coerced him really, threatening to have Jung Bin join their conversation, “To get an unbiased opinion.” she'd said.
Clicking the pen rapidly, J thought about his options and tried not to panic. Surely, reassuring the kid a little couldn't hurt right? Lee Sa-young wouldn't necessarily get more attached to him if J tried to let him down easy... right? He would accept it, knowing he wasn't at fault; his mental health would be safe, and J would be able to move on knowing he hadn't crushed some kid's fragile sense of self.
Nodding to himself, J wrote down a response as he grabbed something to wipe his arm with before making his way to his room.
It's not that I don't want you specifically, I just don't have the time for a soulmate
There, that should do it, a gentle let down.
So it's not that hyung doesn't want a soulmate?
No, I just really don't have the time
I see
Hyung, I don't mind if we don't talk every day, I also don't mind if we can only talk at night.
J sighed, rubbing his aching temple with his thumb. Why couldn't Lee Sa-young just move on quietly and leave him alone? He might even get another possible soulmate sometime in his life; why did it have to be J?
It's not just about that, I can't guarantee anything, it's better if you just move on
There was no reply and, for a moment, J started to think that maybe he'd finally managed to get rid of that annoying barnacle of a potential soulmate.
His hopes, as always, were quickly dashed.
Even if you say you don't have anything to offer, I still want to use this one chance to get to know the person with a bad handwriting connected to me
Lips pressed tightly together and looking up at the ceiling as if praying for strength, J decided to ignore Lee Sa-young.
He cleaned the writing from his arm before settling into bed for some much needed sleep.