You Can Quote Me On That [Michaeng]

Chapter 14: "We're Soulmates"

A/N: Parts of this chapter really hurt me to write, like seriously guys. Please skip the last section of the flashback in this chapter if you want to avoid the trigger. I won't be offended. I want you guys to have a fun time while reading, not a bad one.

TW: past rape/non-con

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It was such an incredibly mundane moment. That was how Mina finally realized it? Who was she kidding? Of course, it was. She was never one for dramatics, so while that kiss in the rain certainly contributed to the realization, it was Momo's words and the fact she decided to wear her bracelet that made all the difference. She and Chaeyoung had officially been together for a couple of weeks before that, since Jeongyeon's birthday when Chaeyoung agreed to what she said that morning, but she wasn't entirely sure about the soulmate label, well, until now, that was.

She didn't need to know if Chaeyoung's animal was actually a tiger or if she was a start quote to know they were soulmates, because she knew—or at least she was once told—that it wasn't really anything physical that determined soulmates, but more so a feeling, and the feelings she had were so intense and unlike anything she had ever felt before.

From the time Chaeyoung grabbed her arm in that lecture hall after their soulmate class, she felt something; in the way she rambled after she messed up, in the way she was so apologetic over something practically meaningless in the long run, in the way she held her gaze, in the way of her strong conviction. All of it was endearing in a way she hadn't experienced from anyone else.

Her feelings were never like this with any of the other people she had been with before. She had never been with someone who was so content just spending time with her doing nothing at all. She had never been able to sit in such a comfortable silence with someone, studying without feeling distracted at all. She never thought she would've had a relationship that was unconditional, where she didn't feel like she had something to owe the other person. She never thought she was worthy of a love like that, especially after what happened on her sixteenth birthday.

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Five years ago

23:59:14, 15, 16, 17. Mina watched the seconds on her clock tick up as she sat on her bed. 24, 25, 26, 27. She turned away for a moment and then looked back at it. 34, 35, 36, 37, 38. She didn't even care about soulmates that much, but she stayed up to see her quote appear on her arm, just because that was what everyone else did. She wanted to fit in with at least one thing. 55, 56, 57, 58, 59. She looked at her phone. 0:00. Fri, 24 March.

She took a deep breath and looked at her arms. "...small things with great love," she read off of her right arm. "An end quote." She smiled bitterly as her eyes watered. Someone knocked on her door. "Come in."

It was her dad, Akira. "Oh, sweetie!" He hugged her tightly.

"Papa." Mina cried against his shoulder. "I'm an end quote," she whispered.

"It's okay. It's okay. You're not alone. There are billions of others out there." Akira showed her his arm with a soft smile. "If there's ever a time you forget that, just remember me. I'm one too." He reached into his pocket and handed her a bracelet. "I want you to have this. Keep it with you. It might help in the future. Happy birthday."

"Thank you." Mina sniffled.

"Try to get some sleep, okay? I love you."

"I love you too."

Akira hugged her once more and walked out of the room, closing the door slowly behind him. She wiped her tears, put the bracelet on her bedside table, and turned off her lamp, tucking herself into bed in an attempt to at least try and get a few hours of sleep.