wrist aches; h.rj
hello!! could you write a renjun fluff where they're like soulmates and they finally meet each other? your works are literally so cute uwu
↬ genre; fluff // soulmate!au
↬ word count; 1.8k+
↬ summary; your wrist aches every time he paints about you
↬ a/n; THIS GIF OF RENJUN EXISTS AND I ONLY KNEW ABOUT IT NOW?? he looks so ~boyfriend material~ ahem, let me collect myself for a second,,,,,right, so this ended up being longer than I planned it to be, but please enjoy painter!renjun
“why are you hurting?” you mumbled, staring at your right wrist.
your frown deepened, the ache in your wrist similar to a growing pain but not quite the same. you closed your eyes, stretching your arm upwards, letting it hang in the air. it was three in the morning, and all you wanted to do was sleep.
nothing changed, even after five minutes.
you sighed, letting your arm drop and turning your body to lay on your back. just as quickly as it came, the pain went away.
-
renjun gasped awake, afraid that he was going to get hit by that girl’s arm. he stared confusedly at the paintbrush in his hand and was even more confused at the finished painting in front of him. the last time he checked, he fell asleep in his bed.
and oddly enough, he found himself wanting to kiss your ache away.
“that’s amazing, ‘sung!” you told your brother, leaning forward on your balcony railing. you looked at your wrist, the ache starting to bother you.
“it was magical,” jisung dreamily sighed. you knew your brother’s eyes matched the starry night sky.
“I believe that this is the first time I’ve ever heard someone say that getting punched in the face was magical,” you chuckled.
he was silent.
“hello?” you asked, moving your phone to see if he disconnected.
“have you gotten your soulmate mark?”
you swallowed, the throb in your wrist increasing, “it’s late, you should go to sleep.”
“y/n-”
“goodnight, ‘sung.”
you hung up, brushing a hand through your hair. stretching your limbs, you held onto the railings. the various buildings of the city mushed together in front of you.
you looked up, closing your eyes as a shooting star passed by.
“I’m getting impatient,” you sighed, “find me soon.”
-
renjun blinked his eyes open, another painting finished. he stared at his outstretched hand and brought it back to his lap. why couldn’t he see your face?
he sighed, looking out the window. how was he supposed to find you if he didn’t know what you looked like?
well, at least he knew your name. his phone let out a ding.
‘I know a place you can display your art!’
you ignored the giggles of the girl to your left.
“stop,” she quietly told the guy next to her, continuing to fold clothes.
“but my girlfriend looks so cute,” her boyfriend smiled, snapping more photos.
did they have to do coupley things at 3 in the morning? you chucked more clothes in the washing machine. couldn’t they leave you to wash your clothes by yourself? you aggressively added the laundry detergent, gritting your teeth at the ache in your wrist.
“no! don’t post that,” the girl whined, trying to grab the phone from her boyfriend. he watched in amusement, stretching his arm to make it out of her reach.
you slammed the washing machine door closed. the couple jumped, looking over at you. you continued to ignore them, picking up the empty basket.
“would you take cute photos of me?” you whispered to yourself, eyes trailing to your aching wrist.
-
renjun tilted his head at the painting of you, your back towards him, yet again.
“most definitely.”
“another night without sleep,” you frowned, adjusting the ice pack on your wrist as the clock glared 3:46 am.
you closed your eyes, laying your head down on the table. you thought about the instagram account jaemin showed you today.
“this is the artist’s account,” he explained, giving you his phone.
“who are you?” you read. the post showed a painting of a girl laying down on her side, her back in view. her right arm was stuck up straight in the air and her hair was a mess on her pillow. purple, iridescent sparkles glowed on her wrist, floating around in the air and trailing to her open window. an empty spot on the bed sat next to her, almost beckoning someone to lay with her; it felt rather cold.
there was something about her that made you feel funny, like you knew the girl.
“that’s one of the paintings we’re hanging tomorrow,” jaemin commented.
“huang renjun,” you sighed, finding it odd how smoothly his name rolled off your tongue, “your gallery is in two days and you haven’t once met with us.”
-
who knew his heart would race this fast because you said his name? or maybe it was beating fast because you uttered the words:
“‘haven’t once met with us?’” he repeated, eyes wide as he stared at the painting.
“does this girl seem lonely?” you frowned, head tilting at the painting you were hanging.
the girl was at a laundromat, right hand clenched around the washing machine door. her wrist had the same glow of purple as the one in his instagram post. although you couldn’t see her face, her tense shoulders gave off the vibe that she was annoyed by, you presumed, the blurred out couple to her left.
“what makes you say that?” jaemin asked, adjusting another painting.
you pointed at the girl in his painting, “well, she’s alone in all of these.”
jaemin chuckled, “there’s a lot of people alone in pictures.”
you shook your head, “but doesn’t it feel like she’s looking for something- someone?”
the girl in the painting held onto the balcony railing, her right wrist glowing the same purple as the shooting star in the sky. her head was tilted up, back towards the viewer. the purple sparkles were sprinkled lightly around the cluster of buildings in front of her.
“and what about this one,” you told him, pointing to another painting. the girl was sitting at her kitchen counter, an empty seat across from her. her face was tucked away behind her left arm, her other arm stretched across the table with an ice pack resting on her glowing wrist. the spotlight of the lamp above her did nothing but accentuate the fact that her apartment was empty.
“don’t you want to hold her hand?” you mumbled sadly.
after a moment of silence, jaemin spoke.
“well, I don’t think she’s alone.”
“why not?”
“don’t you see all the purple? it’s on her wrist, right?” he shook his own wrist, “that’s where most people have their soulmate marks.”
you stared at him, still confused, “what’s your point?”
he rolled his eyes, “I think the artist is trying to say that even if you feel like you’re alone, you’ve got your other half there with you.”
-
“is this everything?” you asked, hanging the last canvas.
you looked over to jaemin, confused as to why he looked nervous, “I think we forgot one.”
“well, he can just bring when he comes here, right?”
he frowned, “he’s not coming in today.”
“we’re supposed to open tomorrow! how are we supposed to-” you inhaled sharply, pain suddenly shooting through your wrist, “I’ll just go to his studio.”
“renjun?” you called out, knocking on his door. you clicked your tongue, your phone going to the automated voice message system.
“hello?” you called out again, surprised to see that his front door was open.
you wandered inside, not seeing his shoes by the door, but you did see the painting you forgot.
“is anyone home?” you shouted, picking up the canvas.
there was a girl on it, her knees hugged to her chest. her purple glowing wrist covered her eyes, the tears still dripping down her chin. a crumpled wedding invitation laid next to her on the wrinkled bed sheets, words glimmering under the moonlight. a weird sense of deja vu swirled in your stomach and the ache in your wrist worsened.
“am I going to be alone forever?” you wailed, fridge empty of any ice cream that you could use to eat away your sorrow..
chenle held his fiance in his arms, the both of them smiling as they looked into each other’s eyes. it didn’t help that you just finished watching a kdrama that made you feel single AF.
you dropped the wrinkled piece of paper next to you, hugging your knees tightly to your chest. the ache in your wrist was nothing compared to emptiness in your heart.
“just got myself until then, I guess.”
you placed down the painting and shook away the memory. “I can give you a ride to the museum,” you announced, exploring further into the apartment. sketches of a girl littered his apartment, none of them revealing what her face looked like.
“renjun?” you asked, slowly pushing open the ajar door, the ache in your wrist dulling away.
he was there, facing away from you. he sat in front of a canvas.
“it’s you.”
your furrowed brows soon rose in shock when he turned around, revealing a painting of you. you stood in the open doorway, face caught in surprise.
“you’re way more beautiful in person.”
“that’s...that’s my face,” you dumbly replied.
renjun chuckled, “I believe it is.”
your face felt hot and you wished that he didn’t looked so good with messy brown hair that shined under the sun. you really hoped you weren’t drooling.
his eyes crinkled with joy and held the same relieved look as yours. for a moment the two of you stared into each other’s eyes, the world put on pause.
“wait,” you suddenly said, everything clicking in your head, “are you the reason why my wrist hurts?”
he chuckled, stepping closer to you. he gently grabbed your right wrist, giving it a peck, “sorry ‘bout that.”
if possible, you felt your face heat up even more, “you can make up for it with a date.”
you stepped away from him, “but not before we add the final touches to the gallery.” you quickly turned away from him, annoyed that your face hasn’t cooled down and that your heart was still pumping like you just finished a race.
“let’s go,” you mumbled, hurrying out the door.
renjun raised his brows, taking the painting of you and the other painting that you initially came for.
“can’t forget these, can we?” he reminded, meeting you by the elevator.
you blinked, away your daze. “of course!” you told him, looking ahead. did he have to be so handsome?
when the two of you got into the elevator, you stood in the farthest corner, away from him.
“you know,” he started after a few moments of silence, “for someone who seemed very eager to meet me, you sure act like you don’t like me.”
you turned to him, his teasing smirk making the butterflies in your stomach go wild. “well, being around you makes my mind go blank.”
the elevator dinged and you didn’t waste any time to bolt to your car. you scrunched your face in embarrassment, hoping that maybe the earth will swallow you up.
“if it makes you feel any better, I can’t think straight when you’re naturally adorable like that,” he told you, easily catching up with you.
“don’t say things like that,” you pouted. your face was burning hotter now.
“but it’s true! you’re acting cute right now,” he laughed. your heart thumped at the noise, the most joyous sound you’ve ever heard.
you sighed, opening your car door. this boy will be the death of you.