Meeting your soulmates was like finding the missing puzzle pieces to your heart. But life is complicated, and love isn't easy. Slice of Life fic about being in love with 8 members of your favorite K-pop group, and what it takes to be a part of their life.
Pieces of My Heart - Chapter 1
Stray Kids OT8 x reader, Soulmate AU
Masterlist | Next Chapter
When you first arrived in the city, it was in the middle of the night. The sights had blurred around you, dinner felt tasteless, and you found your entire body ached in a way that only jet lag could cause. You wanted nothing more than to just crash in your bed and go to sleep, which was exactly what you did.
In contrast, the second day felt like waking up in a movie.
You would have contributed your good mood to the concert, but it wasn’t until tomorrow. There was just something about the air around you as you got up and got ready - the way that the city sounds entered your open window made you smile instead of feeling irritated like it had last night, or the way your smile at the strangers in the elevator felt a lot less forced. Maybe it was the anticipation of being in a city you had never been in before, the new sights that you hadn’t been able to appreciate the night before.
Or maybe it was the concert you were looking forward to.
Either way, there was an extra skip in your step as you made your way out into the streets.
Your first stop was to a café you had googled the day before that was only a 15-minute walk from your hotel. It had great reviews and offered your favorite treats, so you wanted to get something to eat before you decided to visit some of the city’s landmarks.
The café wasn’t particularly full when you arrived, only 3 people in the line in front of you, but somehow the small chatter and the colorful menu managed to distract you until there was only 1 person left. It was only then, looking at the large expanse of fabric from a dark hoodie in front of you, that you noticed the red string disappearing into their chest.
Your heart skipped a beat.
For as long as you could remember, the floor around you was littered with red strings. When you were younger, your mother explained to you what a soulmate was, explained the stories and myths behind it, even tried to explain the science behind it. But the thing that grabbed your attention the most was how insistent she was that you never tell anyone how many strings you had.
8 strings.
“Not everyone has a red string”, you remembered her telling you. “Some people have words, the first words their soulmates will say to them. Some are lucky, they have names. Some people don’t know what their soul bond is until they meet their soulmates, and some never get any at all.”
“But I got 8,” You had exclaimed proudly with a smile, the excitement of having 8 people to love all you could think about. You were too young to consider the ramifications of having so many soulmates. The constant harassment you would endure, the words people would whisper behind your back.
Most people got 1 soulmate. Some were lucky, and they got 2 or 3. Not all soulmates were romantic. Some were platonic or even familial, but since the vast majority ended in a romantic relationship, the idea of multiple soulmates was frowned upon.
You had learned from a very young age to ignore the strings that followed you around.
But this one was impossible to ignore.
The man in front of you shifted, enough that the string followed his movement. It was leading directly to him, not just passing through. You had deduced a long time ago that your soulmates lived very far away, since their strings rarely changed directions. You had never seen it this high, never seen it move so easily, and there was no doubt in your mind that your soulmate was directly in front of you.
Your brain froze.
“Thank You! Next?”
The barista’s voice snapped you out of your stupor, and you turned your head to the side to follow the string (and your soulmate) as it moved to the seating area of the café. You forced yourself to look away, your heart still beating hard, and impulsively ordered the first thing on the menu. You gave them your name and stumbled to an open table near the café windows, on the other side of the store from where your soulmate now sat, scrolling through his phone.
‘Talk to him’ a voice in your head screamed at you.
‘What do I even say to him?’ the logical side argued. ‘What if he had the first words soulbond? You don’t want your first words to be something stupid’.
The other voice grumbled in agreement, and you struggled to think of something to say. Something flirty, maybe? Or something sweet, reassuring, so you knew they grew up with kind words on them. What if they didn’t even have a first words soulbond at all? They couldn’t have an indicator type bond, otherwise they would have noticed you by now.
And like a flip had been switched, you were suddenly very aware of the other 7 strings that sprouted from your chest, and the movement that came from them. Two of them were behind you, swaying slightly as if affected by a small breeze, and the other 5 were at eye level, disappearing into the distance through the café windows, out into the city.
Not just into the distance. Up above.
All of your soulmates were here, close by, possibly even in the very same part of the city as you. The thought made your already nervous heart nearly burst out of your chest. You nearly jumped out of your seat when the barista called out your name, and you rushed to the front to grab your drink only to realize that your soulmate was no longer in the last place you had seen him.
You turned in your spot, eyes darting around frantically, and you spotted his blue jacket just as the café doors closed behind him. Through the windows, you watched him make his way to the left.
Moving so fast that your hot drink splashed against your fingers, you stumbled out of the café behind him, eyes trying their hardest to keep sight of his retreating back as it blended into the crowds.
“W-wait!” You shouted. A few people around you stopped to look, but not your soulmate.
You were running now, panicked at the idea of losing sight of your soulmate, the person that destiny had created to match with you on every level, the person you had dreamed of meeting your entire life. You yelled out again, nothing coherent and certainly not witty or flirtatious or nice, but it was enough to get them to look back.
God, you really hoped they didn’t have those words on them forever.
The man, your soulmate, had his face hidden by a mask and his eyes covered by a hat, yet somehow you could sense the panic that was coming off him in waves by his body language alone. It was enough that you suddenly lost your confidence, stumbling to a stop in front of him as you took a deep breath, staring into his wide eyes with your own.
He held his coffee in front of him as if he had been prepared for you to tackle him, his entire body tense.
“You-“
Your voice seemed to get stuck in your throat, and so you took a second to swallow. Your soulmate used that moment of silence to lower his raised arms, his shoulders seemingly relaxing but still holding tension.
“Ah, hello.” He said.
There was an accent to his voice, and you blanked at the realization that English might not be his first language. You started to panic. Does this guy speak English? How were you going to explain this situation to him if he didn’t?
“Oh, do you need … something?”
These words were spoken slowly, as if he was unsure of what he was saying. But it was enough reassurance that even if he didn’t speak English well, he had to know enough to understand what you were about to say.
You really hoped he did.
“You’re my soulmate!”
Both of you stared at each other with equal degrees of shock. Him at your words, and you at your bluntness.
You were really hoping he didn’t have first words.
At his silence, his lack of reaction, you began to have doubts. What if you had been wrong somehow? The string attached to your chest definitely connected to him, but maybe it was a one-sided connection. One sided soulmate bond was extremely rare, but you had 8 soulmates.
Maybe this was simply a mistake.
Your panic must have shown on your face because he suddenly moved, raising his hands in reassurance and babbling something quickly in Korean. You only understood ‘its okay’, watching as his own panic seemed to overcome him as he looked around. You weren’t sure what he was looking for, but as his eyes landed on your own drink, he was suddenly right in front of you, pushing your drink up towards your face.
“Drink,” was all he said, urging you to do exactly that.
At his sudden movement and weird manhandling, you began to pull away from him, confused. “What, wait- what the hell man!”
But then he let you go, mimicking with his own drink what he wanted from you. “Drink, please.”
And then it hit you, that he wasn’t just being weird. He wanted you to drink your drink, because he wanted to see if you were actually his soulmate.
It wasn’t unexpected for some people to use a soulmate bond as an excuse to get close to strangers, to take advantage of others, and the fact that you didn’t think about that before suddenly springing this on to a complete stranger made you want to hit yourself in the face.
So, with a nod of understanding, you were quick to down your now cooling drink. It wasn’t bad, not your usual go-to choice, but it had a strong aftertaste. You grimaced at the sensation, running your tongue over your teeth to get rid of the lingering flavor.
And then you were being pulled into a hug.
It was like something inside of you clicked, like a piece of the puzzle being put together. All your worries were gone, all your thoughts empty, the only thing you could feel was peace. The rest of the world just disappeared.
You weren’t sure how anyone could confuse someone for their soulmate, not with this feeling as confirmation.
He pulled back, saying something once again in Korean, and then pulling you back in for another hug. “You are my soulmate! Ah, I’m so glad. I … wait a very long time.”
“I’m really glad too,” You whispered, trying hard not to cry at the sudden emotions that overwhelmed you.
You held him just as tightly, breathing in his scent and familiarizing yourself with the way your arms fit perfectly around his shoulders. When you finally pulled away, you were suddenly aware of the fact that the two of you were in the middle of the street, and while it wasn’t odd to see soulmates meeting in public (it was usually common courtesy to give them space), some people were glaring as they walked around the two of you.
Woops.
Your soulmate seemed to realize at the same time, and you weren’t surprised when he grabbed your hand to pull you off to the side. What you did find odd was the sudden panic as he pulled his cap down further, turning away from the crowd and pulling you close so that you were hidden behind him. You tried to look behind him to see what he was hiding from, but he pulled you back in.
“Ah, no. Please. Uh …. Not safe.”
“Huh?”
His eyes narrowed as his nose scrunched up, and he scratched his neck. “I … um. Fuck. I am a … celebrity.” He gave an exaggerated point to his face, waving his finger around the mask specifically, and you nodded in understanding.
Then your brain caught up.
Having a celebrity for a soulmate was definitely unexpected, but you supposed it wasn’t impossible. You had seen a couple of celebrities announce their soulmates were random people, sometimes even fans, but you had never once entertained the idea that you could be one of those people. However, with 8 soulmates, it was bound to happen.
And then your soulmate gave another quick glance around, and he turned back at you with a soft gaze.
His hand reached up to grab his mask, pulling it down just enough for you to see his lips move with his next words.
“My name is Yang Jeongin. It’s nice to meet you.”
You would have found the way he bowed his head in greeting adorable if you weren’t too busy freaking out. He quickly pulled his mask back up and asked you what your name was, but you couldn’t get your mouth to close from where it had dropped. And while he tilted his head to the side in confusion at your silence, he quickly righted himself as he seemed to realize what had happened.
“Ah, are you Stay?”
You could tell he was smiling. Your mouth closed shut so quickly it made an audible snapping noise, and you stuttered out your name. When his smile only seemed to grow, you quickly hid your face behind your hands and let out a groan, not even complaining as Jeongin seemed to laugh.
What were the odds?
“So cute,” he cooed. “My soulmate is Stay. Good.”
You had been saving up for months to afford the plane ticket, the hotel, the concert. The concert you were supposed to go to tomorrow.
“It’s okay. Don’t hide, please. I’m happy!”
Jeongin’s hands covered yours, pulling them away from your face so he could see you clearly. His eyes were so soft, so full of emotions you couldn’t begin to comprehend. You couldn’t stand to see him this close, so you buried your face into his shoulder instead. He didn’t complain, pulling you into a hug and letting out a hum in content.
“Finally,” He whispered. He said something else in Korean, but your little knowledge was not enough to translate what he said, and he didn’t repeat it in English, so you weren’t even sure he was talking to you.
What were the odds that you would meet your soulmate the day before their concert?
Ive finished editing my chapters, and will be working on reorganizing the story soon, so don't be worried if you see chapters being deleted - im combining some of the smaller chapters together. Im also almost done with the epilogue, so I'll probably post that during the week.
Hope you guys have a great sunday (or depending on where you are, a great monday)!
Hi hiiii I’ve been loving pieces of your heart and Secret Secret! ❤️ I’m especially in love with your depictions of this modern day ABO setting and I’m wondering if you had any guides or sources for it? Or if you have any fun settings and behind the scene headcannons you haven’t been able to write out yet?
Hiiiiii! Im so glad you like my story, and OMG thank you for asking about the worldbuilding! Ive been waiting to gush about this, but i was worried an unprompted info dump would make people think i was weird >_<
Im not prepared to write out everything, but i figured i could just post my notes and remove anything with spoilers. As for sources, basically any abo fics ive read, and what I can work in to make sense in my world.
Some things not added in my notes:
- men cant get pregnant. Even with fanfiction standards, my brain just cant brain it. I cant write what i dont understand (funny enough, i dont mind reading it. I think i just overthink too much)
- discrimination does exist in my world, but its similar enough to everyday sexist ideas that i didnt bother mentioning it (alphas are seen as more masculine and omegas as feminine, so you can imagine how female alphas and male omegas are treated/viewed)
- presentation (subgender is revealed) happens around ages 15-20. Alphas and omegas have their first heat/rut, and betas scents develop fully. (On that note, unlike most characteristics for humans, it is impossible to confuse a specific scent with another sub-gender.)
- not necessarily about the world, but Chans scent is actually based on a specific sun screen i have that makes me think of the beach, but i couldnt put "chan smells like sunscreen" because that would just be mean, so i went with tropical. But just know he actually smells like my lavender-pineapple sunscreen lol
Some headcanons i have that i dont think will ever get brought up:
- Han originally picked a fight with Hyunjin cause he was prettier. SS han picks a fight because he was attracted to hyunnie and didnt know how to deal with it
- At the time of debut, neither suengmin, jeongin, nor hyunjin had fully presented. All three of them were a surprise - seungmin and hyujin expected to be betas, and with his strong emotions and instincts, it was expected for innie to be an alpha.
- Maya is korean-american :)
Anything else I want to add may be a spoiler, so ill hold off on it until it comes up, but there might be some other things im missing. If anyone has any other questions, feel free to ask!
4 Scenes down, 3 to go. And it's already almost 5000 words 🫠 This is going to be my longest chapter to date. I cant believe I thought I could get the entire finale in one chapter 😂😂
Im so tempted to just post right now, but I have a vision. A VIBE! Plus, my favorite scene is the one im working on rn and Id be so mad if you guys had to wait even longer to read it (hint: It includes SeungJin).
If I dont finish this chapter by the end of the week, im uploading whatever I have because im in the final month of classes. Wish me luck!! >_<
I totally might have missed this but if reader has red strings do the red strings disappear when they meet their fated or can they use it as a tracker thing like if they’re lost in the woods XD
The strings are for life. They can never play hide and seek if reader is seeking. Its great in big crowds or when someone gets lost though.
Also, AU where reader is a police officer and the boys are mafia or secret assassins or something, and the strings can be used to track them down. That would be fun.
