Chapter Text
It was uncommon but not unheard of for people that have more than one soulmate tattoo. Mark would know, he'd spent the majority of his early teenage years researching the subject to ensure that he wasn't some sort of black sheep.
Everyone had a soulmate out there somewhere and from an early age children were taught that their main purpose in life was to find the person who's name was inked into their skin so that they could attain their happily ever after.
Mark found his first tattoo when he was nine. In the beginning he hadn't recognised it for what it was for two reasons. One, the unfamiliar word was written in a language different from his mother tongue of English, the sketchy characters becoming nothing more than a pretty arrangement of lines in bold, navy ink. Secondly, it appeared on the back of his shoulder blade and he hadn't ever taken note of its existence until his parents had asked him a peculiar question one day.
"Mark, who's Lee Donghyuck?" his mother had inquired, calling him closer so that she could inspect the unfamiliar writing for herself.
When Mark was nine years old he started learning Korean because he learned that one day he would have to move to the country of his parents birth to meet his soulmate.
•
Meeting Lee Donghyuck for the first time was something that Mark would likely never forget.
At ten years old, he'd only been living in Seoul for two months when he bumped into his soulmate, quite literally. He'd been walking through the park close to his house, his mind preoccupied by thoughts of the new school he'd be starting at the following week and so not focused on side stepping the oncoming boy who'd been approaching at a pace faster than just a leisurely walk. Needless to say, neither were particularly happy about the ensuing collision but the stranger was a lot more vocal about it that Mark himself.
"Ever heard of looking where you're going?" The slightly shorter boy huffed, picking himself up off the ground and brushing gravel off his jeans before bending to retrieve the messenger bag that had previously been slung over his shoulder. Among noticing all those things, the only thing truly on Mark's mind was that his left shoulder blade was burning and holy hell, this was Lee Donghyuck!
"Donghyuck...?" he ventured, watching as the boy straightened and his shirt lifted slightly to reveal small, concise letters in Mark's own hand that spelled out his name in both his mother tongue and Korean. The small yellow script was all Mark needed to be convinced.
The other boy's eyebrows furrowed, eyes narrowing as he scanned Mark once and then a second time before finally meeting his gaze.
"So you're Mark," He stated, lips turning up into a smirk, "You write like a girl." Mark did the most natural thing in that situation. He took his shoe off and threw it at the cocky boy.
That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
•
When they were twelve and thirteen respectively Donghyuck broached the subject of multiple soulmate tattoos for the first time.
"We're soulmates right Mark?" He asked offhandedly, scribbling down the answer to an advanced equation that Mark had just finished explaining and closing the workbook before pushing it to one side completely. Having finished his homework almost half an hour before, Mark was stretched out on the bean bag sketching half-heartedly in the sketchbook that he always carried on his person and Donghyuck took a moment to admire the way his specs sat on the bridge of his nose and accentuated his high cheekbones. Small things things that Donghyuck found himself noticing more and more as time passed.
Mark looked up, surprise colouring his expression at the unusual question. "Of course," he replied with slightly furrowed brows, waiting to see where the line of questioning would lead.
"What if we had another soulmate?" The younger boy asked finally after taking a few seconds to gather his somewhat scattered thoughts. Whatever he'd been expecting, Mark's reply was not it.
"Ah," Mark's features smoothened out immediately, a small smile even threatening to tug at the edge of his lips, "I wondered when we were gonna talk about Jeno." While he was speaking he'd tugged up the edge of his sweater to reveal the flowing red script that read 'Lee Jeno' that he was sure would be reflected somewhere on Donghyuck's body. Mark had noticed the tattoo almost two weeks ago but had decided to see if Donghyuck brought up the subject because he needed to be sure that this soulmate applied to the both of them. After all, in the time since they'd met, Donghyuck had become his best friend as well as the person he was destined to spend the rest of his life with.
Donghyuck's eyes narrowed, grabbing hold of Mark's wrist and inspecting the tattoo closely before pushing up the bottom of his pant leg to compare it to his own tattoo. Once he was satisfied that they were the same and that they most definitely had another soulmate, he dropped Mark's wrist once again and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the low table and resting his face on cupped hands.
"I know him, I mean- I think I do at least. There's got to be more than one kid out there called Lee Jeno but I'm pretty sure he's the one." Donghyuck explained, pausing momentarily to blow stray hair out of his eyes and make a mental note to get a haircut. Mark waited, knowing that goading Donghyuck into revealing more information would make the younger boy purposely drag the process out as long as possible.
"He went to the same elementary school as me but I think he's homechooled now because I haven't seen him around in a while. He was a pretty poorly kid and used to miss a lot of school but I occasionally see him playing soccer up at the green so I assume he's better now."
Donghyuck idly wrote the three of their names in combination as he spoke, trying to recall everything of the small information he knew about the boy.
"So he lives close by?" Mark asked, standing from his spot on the beanbag and depositing his sketch book on the desk before perching on the edge of the low table and lifting Donghyuck's workbook to scan through the completed problems. "Not too far from here but our best bet is going to the soccer game on Sunday because it'll be easier to talk to him." Donghyuck explained, watching as Mark approved the completed work before placing th book down again.
"We'll do that then," Mark agreed.
•
It wasn't hard to spot Lee Jeno from the edge of the field seeing as he often had possession of the ball and the spectators (especially the female ones) cheered the loudest when he was doing well. A knowing look traded between them told Mark and Donghyuck that this was definitely the person they were looking for and they decided to stay and watch the game.
"Looks like we're gonna have some competition," Mark muttered when the girls cheered rambunctiously as Jeno scored for his team once again. Donghyuck was grinning, enjoying the sport far more than his companion and Mark's comment only turned that grin into a smirk. "There won't be any competition, soulmate trumps fangirls any day."
Surprisingly, as the game came to an end, it was Jeno that approached them before they had a chance to work out a plan of attack. The taller boy strode up to them with confident steps and stops right in front of the two, smiling so widely that his eyes curved into tiny crescent moons. "I wondered when you two would show up," he announced, sticking out his hand in greeting. "I'm Lee Jeno, I've met Donghyuck but I don't believe I've had the pleasure meeting you yet Mark."
Every ounce of nervousness that they'd felt prior to the meeting evaporated in light of the actual company, easily falling into step with one another as they made their way towards the middle of the field where the rest of the players had dispersed into smaller groups.
Talking to Jeno came as easily as the silly conversations he and Donghyuck had on the phone as 2am, trying not to be caught by their parents who would surely punish them for still being awake. However, Mark found it increasingly hard to focus on what the others were saying as he met the gaze of another boy not too far behind Jeno. Narrowed eyes were watching him with something akin to frustration and hints of malice hidden behind hard eyes.
The other boy was probably around their age as well, with messy black hair and a soccer jersey draped over his lanky form that made him look a little smaller than he probably was. Mark didn't know what he'd done to upset the other boy but there was clear dislike rolling off him in waves and his shoulders were tense as if he was physically stopping himself from approaching the small gathering.
Jeno stopped talking when he realized that Mark's gaze led behind his shoulder instead of meeting his own which was the norm. Turning, he wasn't surprised to see Jaemin standing several feet away with a less than friendly look on his face. Really, he hadn't expected the most cordial of greeting when the time came for them to all meet.
There was a few things that Jeno had forgotten to mention to his new soulmate upon their first meeting. First and foremost was the fact that Jeno already had a soulmate, one that didn't seem to be shared between the three of them.
He'd known Jaemin since elementary school and they'd discovered their soulmate tattoos when they were just six so it would have been an understatement to say that Jaemin had been displeased when Jeno had brought up the discovery of his second and third soulmate tattoos the week prior.
It had quickly become clear that Jaemin didn't like the idea of sharing and honestly, Jeno was already getting fed up with his childish behaviour.
Now, he did nothing but raise his eyebrows at the slightly younger boy and wait to see what he'd do next. Jaemin muttered something that sounded extremely rude under his breath before spinning on his heel and stomping away, pausing only once to throw a sneer over his shoulder which was presumably directed at all three of them.
"That was um-- intense," Mark commented off handedly, still not completely sure what had just transpired or what any of them had done to earn the boys ire.
Jeno sighed, leaning back against tree, "That was Jaemin, I'm afraid you're probably going to have to gett used to that." He explained, running a hand through his hair as he tried to think of the fastest and easiest way to explain what exactly was happening.
"Jaemin is my soulmate." He said, spitting the words out quickly and ducking his head when he saw identical looks of confusion on the two boys faces. For now, he could only hope that they didn't take as badly to the situation as Jaemin did because the last thing Jeno wanted was to be stuck in the middle of some cold war because a group of teenage boys didn't understand the meaning of courtesy.
"Another one?" Donghyuck asked, glancing towards the retreating figure with a clear look of dislike on his face. Jeno had a bad feeling that no matter how much time passed, those two would never really get along.
"Yes and he's not very pleased about the whole situation but I'm hoping he'll come around if we give him some time. I'm not going to humour his belligerent behavior but Jaemin is my best friend and I've come to the realisation that sometimes, you have to put the things that are important to you first." Jeno explained, his eyes sparkling with a fondness that reflected the truth of his words even if he was exasperated at that moment.
"We'll give him some time then," Mark, ever the voice of reason spoke for all three of them.
Donghyuck still didn't look pleased but Jeno nodded his head I'm agreement.
•
Jaemin didn't like Lee Donghyuck. He could deal with Mark because the older boy tended to give him space and only spoke to him when he was trying to include him in a group discussion. Donghyuck on the other hand did his best to antagonize and beguile him to point that often ended up in both verbal and physical confrontations. The only reason Jaemin tolerated his presence at all was because Jeno would often look saddened by their inability to get along and he never wanted to be the cause of sadness in the person that he considered as his other half.
He'd spent six months trying to get over the idea of sharing Jeno with his new soulmates but no matter how hard he tried, Lee Donghyuck was always there to make it a thousand times worse by hanging all over Jeno or purposefully making eye contact with Jaemin just to smirk at him and give him satisfied looks.
It was evening now but he often had to wait till late to spend time with Jeno because Mark and Donghyuck were often at his house in the afternoons to make up for the fact that they didn't attend middle school together. Silently, Jaemin longed to return to the time when he was the most important thing in Jeno's life but he'd never speak those thoughts aloud because removing those two would be like forcefully removing a bit of Jeno's smile. If there was one thing he wanted even more than Jeno's undivided attention, it was for the older boy to be as happy as he could be.
"You frown a lot more now," Jeno muttered from behind his book, breaking the comfortable silence they'd fallen into as soon as they were alone, "Is it really so bad?" And there it was, the sadness that crept at the edge of his tone, making Jaemin want to do anything in his power to get rid of it. Crawling from his spot on the floor, he joined Jeno on the bed and linked their hands in a move that wasn't unfamiliar to either of them.
"It's not," Jaemin admitted quietly, unwilling to lie just to justify his actions. He wasn't an angel but he wasn't about to lie to Jeno and he hoped the other would pay him the same respect.
"Everything is different now. I know you don't care about me any less but I hate having to share you with people who couldn't care less about me." It was the first time he'd every admitted those feelings of inferiority in words and he was immediately afraid that Jeno would somehow think less of him for it.
"Jae..." Jeno's hand tightened around his, tugging lightly on it to make the slightly younger boy meet his eyes. "You're right, I don't care any less and you'll always be the most important thing in my world no matter what... It's just that my world got a little bigger. My heart is big enough for all of you." Maybe it was the soft, guiding tone that brought tears to his eyes or maybe it was the reassurance that he'd so desperately needed but been able to bring himself to ask for.
"I'll try," Jaemin whispered honestly, "But at the end of the day... I've only got you but they've got each other as well so who's the loser if you get taken away?"
Jeno's heart broke a little at that moment but he was quick to whisper words of reassurance in response.
"I'm not going anywhere Jae, no-one's going to lose."
From that moment, he wondered if things were going to change.
•
Jaemin was fifteen when he got his second soulmate tattoo and he was about as displeased with it as he was addicted to cherry flavour lollipops.
He burst through the door of Mark's shed which had become their hangout spot somewhere along the way, slamming it roughly against the back door and searching for his target before locking eyes with Donghyuck and stalking towards him with slow, calculated steps.
"What the fuck is this Lee Donghyuck?!" He seethed, tugging at the edge of the blue turtleneck he'd worn in the middle of summer to reveal the latter's name in navy blue, blocky letters tattooed across the left side of his neck. Mark was the first to react to the dramatic situation, snorting before bursting into full-bellied laughter after seeing the placement of the tattoo.
Donghyuck only sneered in response, not seeming at all intimidated by the overdramatic display. "Think yourself lucky Na Jaemin, I've got your name tattooed across the center of my chest in fucking baby pink. You realise that I can never take my shirt off again with looking like some sort of pansy?"
Jeno and Mark watched, waiting to see how the situation would play out. If hanging around each other for three years had taught them anything, it was that it was best to leave Donghyuck and Jaemin to sort through their own arguments because stepping in to try and stop them literally wouldn't work anyway.
"Mark's name appeared in nice, small letters on my elbow but yours? Oh no, you've got to be infuriating even when you aren't around!" Jaemin raged, stomping his foot and not caring that he was acting less than half his age because as much as he hated Lee Donghyuck's right then, a small part of him felt satisfied and complete now that all four of them were connected properly.
It was then that Donghyuck did something completely unexpected. He raised an eyebrow before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Jaemin in the most awkward hug he'd ever received in his life. "It's great that you finally joined us Jae, doesn't everything feel right now?"
"I still hate you," he muttered in response but his true answer came in the fact that he didn't try to push away from the hug, even going as far as to wrap one arm around Donghyuck in response.
"Love you too Jae!" Donghyuck grinned, finally pulling away when Mark and Jeno started cooing in the background.
"Awwww young love is so nice." Mark cooed, quickly scooting to the side when a plastic cup came flying at his head courtesy of Donghyuck.
"Such a cute couple," Jeno added, throwing a wink in Jaemin's direction and ignoring the rude gesture he got in response.
Oh yes, the local highschool was going to have it's hands full when Jeno, Jaemin and Donghyuck joined Mark there the following year because as a unit, the four of them worked together scarily well, even if some if them (read: Donghyuck and Jaemin) turned on each other on occasion.
A new era was about to begin and they were embracing it with open arms because at the end of the day, someone had to show everyone else how it's done and they might just be volunteering.