I LOVE MY MEN WHEN THEY NEED A LITTLE FIXING - Tumblr Posts
You're a fucking dumbass
jun x reader ꕤ wc 8.3k ꕤ fluff/soulmate au ꕤ cussing/passing out/vomiting/very very vague implication of su*cide
Moon Junhui is grateful for a lot of things. His family, his friends, the fact that everyone he knows loves him and appreciates him, but most of all, his soul sign. He's grateful that his soul sign is one of the better ones out there. He's grateful that he can check up on his soulmate anytime, anywhere, simply by tugging on the red string that had tied itself around his finger the night of his twelfth birthday. The one thing Jun isn't grateful about, though, is how day by day it seems like his soulmate cares less and less about herself.
Jun's relationship with his soulmate is…complicated, to say the least. It didn't start out like this, though. When his soul sign first appeared, Jun wasn't really sure what it was. He was confused for a second but forgot about it soon enough, until, of course, his mother asked him whether something had happened to him last night.
Jun shrugged. “When I woke up, there was this string around my finger. That's it.”
“Oh.” His mother said, obviously realising something that he didn't. “Do you know what that is?”
“No.”
“That's your soulmate sign Jun. Everyone has one. It connects them with their soulmate. The red string around your finger is yours,” she explained, putting down the cookie dough that she was kneading to give Jun her full attention.
“According to Chinese legend, the red string intertwines two people who are supposedly a perfect fit for each other. This person is supposed to be your ‘other half’. Your soulmate. The colour red is believed to bring good luck while it also represents passion, which is why red is such a common colour in Chinese culture. You're the only one who can see that string. You and well, your soulmate. That red string will lead you to your soulmate,” she ruffled his hair, smiling.
Jun stared at his finger. A soulmate. Whoa. “Were you and dad soulmates?” He asked, looking at her just in time to see an expression pass over her face.
“No,” she said, going back to her cookie dough. “No we weren't.”
Frowning, Jun looked back at his finger. “Why?” The question slipped out before Jun could stop it.
“Jun, honey. There's around eight billion people in this world. Finding your one person can be really difficult sometimes.” Noticing her son's furrowed eyebrows, she quickly reassured him. “That doesn't mean no one finds their soulmate. My parents were soulmates. I spent fifteen years looking for my soulmate before I married your father. Hopefully, you'll find yours as well,” she winked at him.
A few times a day, Jun would tug the string just to see if his so-called soulmate would tug back. He was unsuccessful until one day a few months later, when he felt a little tug on his ring finger. He ran to tell his mom and she guessed that it was probably because his soulmate had only turned twelve now.
It had become a daily routine for Jun after that. Each morning he'd wake up and give the string a little tug to say hello. Sometimes he'd already be in class when his soulmate tugged back. It became an absentminded habit of his, to immediately inform his soulmate when something happened, whether it be sad, happy or exciting. She was always the first to know.
All throughout primary and high school, Jun never met anyone with a soul sign even close to his. Everyone else had classic soul signs like not being able to see colour or dye-d hair or a timer. He wasn't believed a lot because everyone said that he didn't actually have a soulmate and was making it up to make himself feel better.
Things got better when he moved out to start college. He met three other people all with varying soul signs. soonyoung had none so far, jihoon hadn't seen his since he was fifteen but he couldn't care less and wonwoo's one was …unique, to say the least.
His roommates didn't really understand how his soul sign worked either because, again, they couldn't really see the string, but that didn't mean that they denied its existence.
“So you just have a string around your finger?” soonyoung furrowed his eyebrows.
“Yes, soonyoung.”
“Does it tangle when you do something or-” wonwoo glanced up at Jun.
“No, it doesn't. I've never really thought about it, though.”
“Leave him alone, you two.” jihoon pulled up a new blank document. “All three of you have assignments due tomorrow, get a move on.”
- ᯓ★ -
When they had moved out from college they separated from a group of four to duos. wonwoo and Jun both lived together in one apartment and soonyoung and jihoon lived together in the apartment right across theirs.
Slowly their little group of four expanded, until making sure thirteen people fit in everyone's house was a necessity more than a precautionary measure. Not to forget the two newest editions to their friend group: the soulmates of vernon and mingyu.
Jun had met both of them and he had marvelled over how perfect they were for their respective significant others. Vernon's soulmate was just as impulsive as him but was more aware of her surroundings compared to him, keeping vernon grounded. Mingyu's was so much more clumsier but her way of bringing up other people's mood by cheering them on was the reason why she and mingyu made such a great team. And in return, vernon and mingyu made up for their weaknesses. vernon would go about in his nonchalant way, taking care of his soulmate without her realising, since she wasn't the best at doing it herself. He'd place a bottle of water next to her while she studied, making sure she wasn't dehydrated. mingyu would make up for the clumsiness by carrying extra bandages and keys just so she wouldn't have to worry about it. Through their relationships, Jun realised what the term ‘soulmates’ actually meant.
Jun wasn't jealous. Heaven knew that those four deserved a happy ending. To Jun, it was endearing how sometimes he'd open his phone to see a text from mingyu asking what would be a good food to cook when your girlfriend's body is trying to kill her (that was the exact message) or the time when vernon randomly showed up at his apartment with seven different flower bouquets.
“Why?” Jun asked, closing the door.
“I didn't know which one she'd like,” vernon sneezed.
“I also forgot I'm allergic,”
“vernon, what-” he sneezed again, so Jun quickly removed the flowers and locked them in Wonwoo's room.
“How do you forget you're allergic?”
“I just-” sneeze. “-wanted to g-” sneeze. “-g-get her flo-,” sneeze.”
Jun shook his head and dialled his girlfriend's number,
“Hey?”
“Hi, come pick up your man, he's dying.”
“Oh god. I'm on my way.”
Later Jun was sent a picture of a sleeping vernon with the caption, he's so dumb. I love him. And he couldn't help but smile.
- ᯓ★ -
He didn't realise it but the more time went on, the less he felt a tug around his finger. Actually, it was because of soonyoung that he remembered at all. Jun had no idea how soonyoung had a key to his apartment but he did and he would barge in at random times. Today it was because-
-“we don't have any popcorn,”
“So?”
“So I came to steal yours,” he flopped down on the couch next to Wonwoo.
“Why don't you go and annoy zee?” wonwoo asked, referencing his childhood best friend.
“She has class.” soonyoung said, frowning.
Wonwoo sighed. “You seriously have nothing better to do, do you?”
“Nope!”
Shaking his head, Wonwoo made to get up.
“Hey!” soonyoung pouted. “I just got here, where do you think you’re going?”
wonwoo paused outside the door, “Con, I have work, remember?”
“You're the CEO. “You don't count.”
Wonwoo and Jun exchanged looks. Jun just raised his eyebrows as if to say, not my problem.
wonwoo sighed, “I'll convince Joshua to bake you cookies and bring them for you on my way back, if you let me go.”
“Done.” soonyoung immediately brightened.
Wonwoo made a show of sighing and shaking his head but Jun could see the smile on his face.
After wonwoo left, soonyoung just sort of moped around while Jun worked. Jun noticed how depleted his energy seemed today. Concerned, he asked him if everything was okay.
“Yeah. just…” his voice trailed off. “When was the last time you interacted with your soulmate?”
Jun didn't answer. soonyoung’s question had thrown him off guard, but it didn't seem as if he was looking for an answer either. He was just kind of spacing out and staring at nothing.
Jun tried to go back to his work but soonyoung's question still echoed in his mind. When was the last time he had felt a tug around his finger? He was certain it hadn't been anytime this past month.
The last thing jihoon expected to see when he came home a few hours later, was two of the most chaotic people in his friend group sitting quietly and spacing out, but that's exactly the scene he witnessed when he opened the door to wonwoo and Jun’s shared apartment.
“What has gotten into the two of you today?’” jihoon asked, placing the bags he had brought on the table. “wonwoo told me to get home because he was sure soonyoung was talking your ear off but I come home and you look like you're watching paint dry.”
soonyoung jumped off the couch at his voice and ran to where jihoon was standing, grinning. He rambled to him, complaining about how Jun had basically starved him. He winked at Jun when jihoon’s back was turned, though.
Half an hour later, wonwoo walked through the door with a container which was filled to the brim with cookies. As soon as soonyoung spotted him, he basically tackled him.
“Hello, wonwoo. How are you, wonwoo?” wonwoo rolled his eyes, setting the cookies on the tabletop.
“Hello Won! How are you! Give me my fucking cookies!”
“I'd give them to him-” jihoon looked up from the sausages he was frying, “-He goes insane for those cookies.”
“As if you didn't absolutely inhale the last batch Shua gave us.”
Leaving the two to their bickering, wonwoo came and sat down next to Jun.
“Did you end up getting any work done?”
“No.” Jun slammed his head on the table with a small thud. wonwoo laughed, turning to tease soonyoung for clinging to Jun. Soon all three of them were chattering and laughing but Jun couldn't bring himself to join their conversation. He couldn't believe that soonyoung was the one who had reminded him of his own soulmate. Was he really such a shit soulmate? No, he reasoned with himself, it wasn't like his soulmate had reached out as well. Maybe she was just busy. Just like he had been these past days. But when he looked down at his finger to tug on the string, he realised it wasn't there. In a panic he brought his hand closer to look properly. The movement caused it to be visible again. He sighed in relief and inspected it closely. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Why did the string seem way lighter than before?
- ᯓ★ -
To escape from jihoon's careful gaze, soonyoung's loud remarks and won’s well-intended nagging, Jun started spending more time at work. It seemed like fate was also on his side as his department was currently short-staffed which meant his workload was already more than it should’ve been. He was working 16 hour shifts, coming home late around 2 or 3 a.m.
It was five in the afternoon and Jun was running on a single strawberry shake. This was the third time he was editing the same article. This client seemed to be too stubborn for his own good because this was the third time Jun was editing this blog. No matter how much feedback and corrections Jun made, the person always sent back the same draft, but since this was a very influential and important client, as much as Jun would've liked to, he couldn't curse him out. Jun decided that taking a break would be the best decision right now as he was slowly getting closer and closer to throwing the draft at the client’s face.
The thing that Jun loved about this firm was how it had everything. From dorms for student interns or anyone who couldn't afford a living space right now, to a cafeteria paired with a small convenience store and finally, best of all, a library. Jun had lost count of how many times the library had saved his ass.
He was passing by the library when he heard a relatively loud voice. Frowning, he followed it as the one thing this company was extremely against was being disrespectful to the staff, which included raising your voice at them. The CEO was extremely adamant about it. She said that she'd have no regrets firing the offender on the spot if such a situation ever arose.
The voice led Jun into the library. When he rounded the corner he came face to face with you and you looked like you were fighting every urge to slam your phone onto the floor. You seemed to be on call with an asshole, who kept droning on about how shitty the company was to allow a woman to work here and how stupid the policies were. He was basically yelling and his rant had a lot of expletives mixed in it. A quick glance informed Jun that you had been on call for the better half of an hour. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe it was the fact that he himself had been dealing with an insufferable client, or maybe it was just the fact that this guy was an asshole but Jun felt a surge of anger rise in him and he grabbed the phone off of the table, ignoring the surprised look on your face.
“May I know who this is?” he asked, waiting for whoever the dick on the phone was to answer.
“Scott Rhodes.”
“Well, Mr Rhodes-” Jun smiled grimly, “due to directly violating our company policy by verbally assaulting an employee, I in fact do not regret to inform you that our firm will no longer be corresponding with you.” Not in the mood to listen to his half assed threats and arguments, he ended the call. He then bought a bottle of water from the nearest vending machine and placed it in front of you before sinking down on one of the couches.
“You know, you don't have to listen to their bullshit. Alex is very strict about this kind of stuff.”
“Alex?”
“The CEO,” Jun corrected.
“You call the CEO by her first name?” you asked, raising your eyebrows.
“The real question is why dont you?”
“Maybe because I have some semblance of respect?”
“Are you saying I don't?”
“Oh no, absolutely not.” you sipped your water, “It isn't as if my first impression of you was you stealing my phone to yell at a client on my behalf.”
“Ah.” Jun smiled sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I just had enough insufferable clients for today.”
“I never said it was a bad first impression.”
Jun smiled. He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the sound of his ringtone. Grimacing, he picked it up, mouthing a sorry to the girl.
“What do you want?”
“Come up whenever you can in the next 30 minutes.”
“Now?”
“Now works.”
Ending the call he turned to you and smiled guiltily.
“Uh, I need to go. Um, just remember if anyone tries this on you, please tell them to screw off or something.”
“You don't need to worry.” you seemed amused.
He shooted two thumbs up at you before exiting awkwardly. What he didn’t see, however, was the small smile on your face as you shook your head at his antics.
- ᯓ★ -
Sighing, Jun opened the door and flopped down on one of the couches.
“What do you want now?”
“You know, I hear you're supposed to have some kind of respect towards your boss,” Alex mused, holding two cups of coffee.
Sitting up, Jun took one of the cups from her, “you want me to have respect for the person who once vomited on me when she was drunk and then when i confronted her about it the next day, told me to ‘get over it’?”
Laughing, Jun narrowly dodged the bottle of water she threw at him.
“You say that as if you didn't lose my keys that same night.”
“I WAS DEALING WITH YOUR DRUNK ASS, THAT'S WHY!” He shook his head and sipped his coffee.
“Besides, let's not forget all the stupid shit you've done to me over the years.”
She rolled her eyes, “Yeah yeah. What the fuck do you want?”
“The fuck do you mean, what the fuck do I want? Give me my fucking life back. Where's the employee I was promised?”
“Ah yeah,” Alex rubbed her forehead, suddenly looking very tired. “That's what I called you up for.”
“So? What's going on?”
“I hired one just three days ago. She was the top employee of ‘dickshit and co’,” alex said, referring to the nickname they had for their rival company. “but since they treated her like shit, she was really glad to be rid of them.”
“Damn. What did you offer her?” Jun asked curious to what possible offer could make her leave such a position.
“That's the thing.” Alex looked troubled. “I offered her our standard salary.”
“I'm sorry, are you telling me that she was paid less than our starting salary as a top employee?”
“Exactly.”
“Shit. What are you paying her now then?
“Obviously more than those dicks paid her. Her standard is way higher than that. I'm paying her something similar to you.”
Jun whistled. “She's that good?”
“No,” Alex smirked.
“She's better.”
- ᯓ★ -
They talked for a bit longer and just when Jun was about to leave there was a knock on Alex's door.
“Oh, that's probably her,” Alex said, opening the door.
“Hey, come sit down.”
“Yeah, thanks,” you smiled.
“Nice to meet you,” you added, turning to Jun.
“Didn't we just meet downstairs?” Jun asked, recognising you as the girl from the library.
“Nice to meet you again, then.” you shrugged. Jun let out a small laugh and shook your hand.
“Right.” Alex offered you coffee as well, which you denied graciously. “Now. The two of you are now the senior editors of this firm.”
“Uh-” Jun and you exchanged looks. “The whole firm? Not just the news department?”
“Yes.”
“yn, you're more comfortable with smaller clients with personal issues right?”
“Uh- yeah.”
“And Jun thrives better working with larger companies.” Alex added, nodding to him.
“And since the two of you will be dealing with all of this, your workloads will obviously increase. So I'm assigning the two of you a team. Give me two weeks to get it together.”
Jun opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Alex's alarm ringing.
“Shit,” she grabbed her phone. “Okay you two go have dinner. My treat.”
“Yeah well, no shit.” Jun rolled his eyes as Alex ran around her office grabbing her things. “You're the only CEO in this room.”
“You. Shut up.” Alex looked around the room one last time. “I have to go meet another cocky ass bastard today and this time I seriously might end up killing someone this time.”
“You say that every time.”
“Shut up. And don't come back here before tomorrow,” she added, glaring at the two of them.
“So does that mean we get to max out your card?” Jun asked her retreating back, hopefully. Alex threw a pencil at him which hit him square on his forehead and left her office with a small laugh.
Grumbling, he turned to complain to you but instead saw you trying your best to hold your laugh. When you saw him, you apparently couldn't hold it any longer. You doubled over and burst into laughter.
Rubbing his forehead he asked, “Are you laughing at my misfortune?”
“Oh my god. I'm so- sorry.” you choked out between laughs. “It's just- you should've seen your face.” and with that you broke into another fit of laughter.
A warm feeling erupted in Jun's chest when he saw you laughing so freely at him. Like he did sometimes absentmindedly when he was flustered or nervous, he reached for the string around his finger to play with it to calm himself down but when he looked down the string was gone. Again.
What the-
Just when he was about to start panicking, it reappeared but this time there was a distinctive lack of colour. And that didn't seem to be its only new development either. Jun noticed that for the first time in his life, the string actually seemed to be leading somewhere. His eyes followed the string just to realise that it led him straight to the person sitting across from him.
The string, his string, which was supposed to be his soulmate sign, that leads him to his soulmate, was leading him straight to you.
When the meaning of this settled on him, Jun froze.
“What's up?” you asked, obviously noticing something wrong with him.
“Uh- nothing.” Jun stammered. “I- uh, I need to go get my laptop. I left it in the cafeteria.”
“Uh okay. Sure.” you turned to get your things as well. “Where shou-” but Jun had already left.
What on earth?
- ᯓ★ -
Jun was trying his best not to panic. He called Wonwoo, but Luna, his secretary, picked up, informing him that he was in a meeting. Not knowing what else to do, he called Minghao.
“Hello? Jun-”
“I just met my soulmate.”
“You what?”
“Yeah.”
“Why are you talking to me then?”
“What do I do now?”
“Obviously not be on the phone with me!”
“But-”
“Jun. Where is the poor girl?”
“Oh. Oh shit. shit. shit. shit.”
“What did you do now?”
“I was supposed to have dinner with her,” Jun mumbled.
“Is she waiting for you right now?”
“Uh- yes.”
“Then why are you still talking to me? Go to her right now!”
“I- can’t.”
“Why?”
Jun mumbled something else into his phone.
“What? Wait- How long have you been hiding from her?”
Jun looked at his watch and winced. “Around 2 hours?”
Jun could hear Minghao sighing on the other side.
“Oh my god. Jun.“
“Yeah I know. I- lost track of time.”
“Where are you right now?”
“Like five minutes away from home.”
“I'm home alone today, just come here.”
“Um okay. Yeah. okay.”
“Okay. See you later. Don't stress.”
“I'll try,” Jun whispered into his phone before ending the call and slamming his head on the steering wheel. I fucked up.
- ᯓ★ -
A few hours later, Jun sat across the table from both vernon and his girlfriend while minghao sat next to him.
“I thought you said you were alone today?” Jun hissed.
“I was,” he shrugged. “But then these two heard how you found your soulmate and dropped their plans so they could interrogate you instead.”
“You hid from your soulmate for two hours after you found out that you're soulmates?” Vernon's girlfriend asked, staring at him.
Jun winced, “uh, maybe?”
“That's going to make for a great story afterward,” vernon laughed and his girlfriend smacked him on the shoulder.
“Maybe later, but right now he just seems like a dick.”
Jun winced again, “yeah, i know.”
“Okay, i think he gets it,” minghao intercepted. “Now let's talk about what he's going to do.”
“go and talk to her. obviously." Vernon's soulmate looked incredulous at the thought that Jun would do anything else.
“No, I don't think he should..” minghao said slowly. All three of them turned to look at him.
“What?”
“Listen,” minghao leaned forward, “according to what Jun said so far, it seems like the girl has just gotten out of a shitty environment. We don't know what was going on in that place. Right now, she's adjusting to this new situation. It's just going to be hell for her if you drop this on her even before her first official day at the firm.”
Everyone exchanged looks.
“It...does make sense,” she admitted, begrudgingly. Jun looked down at his soulmate sign to play with the string just to realise that it was gone, again.
“What's wrong?” minghao asked, spotting Jun looking around for something.
“Its my soulmate sign. It keeps disappearing and each time it comes back it's always lighter than before.” Jun replied, realising something as he looked at the string that had just become visible again.
“What?” All three of them looked at him.
“How long has this been happening?”
“I don't know, a week?” Jun looked up. “Do soul signs usually fade away?”
minghao and vernon's soulmate both exchanged uncomfortable looks.
“What is it?” Jun asked.
“Well…i'm not too sure about your specific soul sign, but, uh-” Vernon's girlfriend started.
“-basically most soul signs usually start to fade because, well- the soulmate is either dying or close to it.” minghao finished.
“What?” Jun looked at one and then the other. “Do you mean to tell me that my soulmate could be dying?”
“oh shit,” Vernon's girlfriend whispered, suddenly thinking of something.
“What?” Jun seemed desperate.
“I- don't. um.” she looked around. “Do you think that, maybe the stress was too much for her and she might- uh. commit?'' She said the last word so softly, Jun almost didn't hear it. Almost didn't hear it. The word ‘commit’ echoed in his head.
At her words, both Vernon and Minghao started talking, telling her that's probably not it, but Jun could only think about his own soulmate.
That night, Jun could barely sleep. All he could think about was you and how he might lose you before he even got to tell you that you were soulmates. Determination filled his veins and he decided he was not going to give up this easily.
I'll fix this. I'm not letting you go anywhere.
- ᯓ★ -
The next day, Jun knocked on your office door bright and early with an apology and an offer to buy breakfast.
you, it seemed, had not gone home for the night as you were wearing the same clothes you were wearing yesterday and rubbing your eyes as she held back a yawn.
“What's wrong?” you asked, yawning.
Jun looked concerned. Are you overworking yourself? Without thinking twice about what he was saying Jun said, “did you…sleep here last night?”
“Oh yeah,” you looked around your office. “I wanted to finish the whole moving thing so i could start working as quickly as possible. I just need to unpack a few more things then i'm done.”
“You can do that later. Let's go have breakfast today.”
“Uh-” you looked somewhat confused, “yeah sure. Okay.”
“i'm sorry about ditching you yesterday,” Jun said, wincing when he thought about it. “I lost track of time.”
“don't worry about it. I've gone through that a couple times myself.”
oh? hearing this Jun was just even more determined to let you rest no matter what.
After having a somewhat simple breakfast at the cafeteria, Jun marched into Alex's office, determined.
Alex was sitting at her desk, rubbing her forehead when he entered. But before she could say a word, Jun was already speaking.
“I need you to put together yn's team immediately.”
Alex sighed, “I'm trying but there's not enough candidates for two separate teams.”
“Take my current team then.”
Alex stared at him. “what?”
“Give yn the current team i'm working with.”
“And what do you plan to do?”
“I can work fine on my own.”
Alex looked confused. “Jun-”
“Oh, I also need you to shift half of her workload onto me.”
“Okay, no. I'm not going to do that. You're going to be overworked.”
“Alex, just do it. please.” Jun was desperate now.
Alex clearly spotted something in his eyes because she sighed and said, “fine. But i'm going to try my best to find a team for you anyway.”
“As long as yn has a team.”
“as long as yn has a team,” Alex agreed.
- ᯓ★ -
The next few weeks were hard for Jun. And by that, he means that they were complete hell. He had so much work that he was spending night after night in his office, and that was after Alex had cut down his workload. He wasn't about to complain, though. So far, you only had 3 projects to do per week, and the more complex ones were handed off to either your team or Jun. That was all that mattered.
Meanwhile, Jun's friends were growing more and more concerned about his daily routine. Minghao specifically was extremely worried. When he heard wonwoo mentioning offhandedly that Jun hadn't been home for at least a week, he and Vernon exchanged concerned glances.
The next time Jun came home, minghao dragged mingyu (since Vernon was busy and mingyu had figured out that Jun found his soulmate) and scheduled what soonyoung would call an ‘intervention’.
“You're no good to anyone if you wear yourself out,” minghao said, passing him a bottle of water.
“exactly. Look at you, jun.” mingyu said, his eyes lingering on his eyebags, clearly showing how restless his sleep was.
“I need to do this,” Jun said, his voice hoarse but determined.
“Jun-”
“Look, it's only until Alex manages to find someone else for my team. Then half of my work would be shifted onto them. Okay?” Jun said, looking at the two.
mingyu and minghao exchanged uneasy glances.
“Fine,” minghao sighed, knowing this was probably the best he'd get from him.
“You have to eat everything I brought though,” mingyu gestured towards the containers of food he had placed on the table.
Jun smiled, “okay, yeah. I will.”
- ᯓ★ -
It seemed as if Jun's friends weren't the only ones worried for him. Your concerns were also growing for the health of your fellow co-worker as you spotted him asleep in the library, for the third time in the last five days.
Shaking your head at him, you quickly spread your jacket over him to give him some warmth. You stuck by him until he woke up, partly because you were worried about the boy and partly because you had nothing else to do.
When Jun woke up, he realised he had accidentally fallen asleep, again. He sat up, yawning as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He felt someone's jacket on him and noticed a girl sitting next to him, typing on her laptop.
“You really need to get more sleep,” the girl said. Jun recognised her voice.
“I'm sleeping just fine,” Jun said, stretching.
“not if this is the third time i've caught you asleep in the library,” you looked at him, over your laptop.
“i blame alex. Why'd she have to make the library so sleepable?”
you let out a small laugh, shaking her head. “Let me buy you lunch. You look like you haven't eaten in ages.”
Yawning again, Jun shook his head. “Can't. Too much to do.”
“Yeah, why is it that i have a team when you don't yet?”
Shit. “uh i guess people are more interested in personal editing nowadays.”
You raised an eyebrow, “really?”
Jun tried to shrug nonchalantly, “I guess.”
You didn't look convinced so Jun changed the subject.
“Uh, is it just me or does alex seem overworked?” he grabbed onto the first topic that entered his head.
“Shes not overworked,” you said smirking, “she has what you call a problem.”
Jun stared at her. “What?”
“Look.” you pointed behind him. Jun spun around just to catch a somewhat furious Alex on her way to her office.
“What's so weird abo-”
“Keep looking.” Jun spun around again, but this time he saw a white shirted man following her. He was nearly running to keep up with her but stopped abruptly at the vending machine.
“You want something?” he called out. His voice seemed vaguely familiar to Jun but his sleep deprived brain couldn't really make the connection.
“Just get here,” Alex's irritated voice replied. And the man basically ran to her.
Jun turned to you, horrified. “Who the fuck would fall in love with her?”
To your credit, you really did try to not laugh but the scene was too much for you. You doubled over laughing and choked out an apology to alex mid-laughter. Jun was interrupted from his admiration of his - soulmate, by his phone ringing.
“Oh shit.” he looked at the time. He had gotten carried away. Bracing himself, he picked up the phone, expecting an angry tirade of curses. What he got, however, was a very pleasant woman who asked how long it would take for the final draft to be sent over.
Jun, thanking his luck, told her that it would only take around half an hour. As soon as the phone call ended, Jun opened his laptop again, desperately trying to finish editing the draft. He was so focused on his work that he wouldn't have noticed the sandwiches and water next to him unless the string around his finger didn't momentarily tighten.
“ouch,” he rubbed his finger, “that hurt.”
he looked up while he rubbed his finger and spotted you standing over him, a curious expression on your face. You motioned for him to eat and then opened your laptop and started your own work. Jun mumbled a quick thank you and started eating the sandwiches while he edited.
- ᯓ★ -
Luckily, Jun was able to get the draft to the client in time. His workload was starting to hit him hard now. Alex apologised, saying applicants were at an all time low and suggested for him to take a few members off of your team. He stubbornly refused.
Jun was barely getting three hours of sleep per week. He was working weekends and most nights. Once, he forgot to eat for days and only remembered when he almost fainted headfirst down the stairs. But he would bear with it. Why? For you.
Atleast, that's what he told himself. It did help him usually. Not today though. It seemed as if he had used all his luck already.
He had a project due. Unfortunately for him, it was the same goddamn client who kept sending back the same draft demanding for it to be edited but refused every change Jun made.
It was due later this evening and no matter how much Jun tried, nothing was working. His head ached. He couldn't type properly because his eyes kept closing, but he'd finish this project no matter what. He couldn't afford alex losing such an influential client. Alex had already kicked him out of the office telling him to get some rest. He had refused and alex gave in and told him to work from home then.
wonwoo had a business trip, soonyoung was camping with friends and jihoon was out of country working on a new project. That was the only reason why Jun had agreed to go home initially. As time passed by, his headache got worse. He had thrown up a couple times already but there was nothing in his stomach to vomit out so his nausea didn't go away. And worse for Jun, he only had around forty minutes left and the draft still wasn't complete.
When worse came to worse, Jun dragged his laptop into the bathroom so he could get some work done because he kept throwing up.
Meanwhile, alex was getting more and more restless. She was sure that Jun would still work even if he was sick. She called wonwoo to ask if he was home. When he said that he was out for a week, her suspicions were confirmed. Since she was away from home herself, she shot a quick text to the first person she could think of, praying that for once, Jun had prioritised himself first.
You were very surprised to receive a text from your boss on a saturday. Your surprise was quickly replaced with concern when you read what the text was about. You knew Jun was overworking himself. You knew he would end up sick. You had told him. But that stubborn idiot never listened.
As per alex's instructions, you did try to call Jun first. When he didn't pick up after eleven missed calls, you decided to drive over and check up on him yourself.
You quickly drove over and typed in the key code to his apartment which you had gotten from him the last time the two had made plans.
“hello?” you called out tentatively. “Jun?”
Hearing no reply, you quickly shut the door behind you. You kept calling for Jun while you looked around. He wasn't in any of the rooms or the living room. Just as you were about to give up and call alex again, you saw that the bathroom light was on.
there were two possibilities here; either Jun had been in the bathroom which is why he didn't pick up her calls or answer you, or he was very sick and had passed out.
You knocked on the door with a soft, “Jun?”
You tried two more times. And then, ‘fuck it.’
You opened the door and gasped. fuck. Jun's laptop was open in front of him while he sat on the floor, head resting against the toilet. He was still wearing his work clothes and he was covered in sweat. his lips were dry and pale, as if he hadn't had anything to drink for a while. Most concerning of all, Jun's eyes were shut.
you immediately launched into action. A quick hand against his forehead showed that he had a fever which you had already guessed. You grabbed his laptop and put it away while you dealt with Jun.
Waking him up was the most important thing for now.
Nudging him? nothing.
Rubbing his back slowly? nothing.
calling his name multiple times? also nothing.
finally, in a moment of panic, you turned on the tap and flicked some water on Jun. after two or three tries, he wakes up grabbing his head. Relieved, you slowly help him get up, telling him to lean on you so you can take him to his bedroom. Jun seems to be struggling to stay conscious so he complies easily.
Carrying most of Jun's weight, you take him to his bedroom and slowly let him lay down on the bed. You grab the first hoodie and sweatpants you see and ask him to change into it because his old clothes are full of sweat and vomit. You help him put on the hoodie himself but go out of the room to let him wear his pants. It takes a little longer, because you have to explain to him a few times what he has to do and Jun practically has no strength, but you're not about to cross a line right now. especially since he's dazed and can't be trusted to make decisions right now.
You tuck him in and straighten to smooth back his hair from his forehead but your heart drops to the pit of your stomach when your hand meets his face. His skin is flushed and clammy and it feels warm when you run your hand through his hair. He's shivering but there's beads of sweat running down his forehead. Concerned, you run to grab another blanket from wonwoo's room and put it around him, cocooning him in it.
You look at his face again for any sign of comfort, but Jun's eyes are unfocused, and he's staring at a spot on the wall with a blank look on his face. It's so different from the Jun you know that you feel like sitting down and crying. but you don't. you can do this. You've gone through worse when you were working at your old company, and right now, Jun needs you. So you put away any lingering emotions you have, straighten your back, and make Jun lay down against the pillows, promising him that you'll be right back.
You scour the cupboards for medicine. Jun is still wrapped up in a blanket and leaning against the headboard when you come back inside. you hand him the pill along with a glass of water and encourage him to swallow it. After that's done, you busy yourself with preparing cold towels to press against his forehead to attempt to break his fever.
- ᯓ★ -
Jun seems to drift in and out of consciousness while you switch out the towels on his head. This is made evident in the way he turns to the sound of your voice when you let out a quiet curse because you dropped a towel, even though he’s half asleep.
It's quiet. He's mumbling. You almost don't hear it. Almost. But you're sitting less than ten centimetres away from him so there's no chance you don't catch it.
“I'm glad you're here,” he's mumbling the words as he turns on his side to face you while you pat a cold towel on his face.
“Oh really?” you ask, amused. Seeing him this open is kind of fun. “Why?”
“Because that means you aren't working,” he grabs your hand and huddles it close to his chest.
you frown, confused. “Why do you not want me to work?”
“Because then you won't die.” he says it so casually, his voice half slurred as he continues to hug your arm.
“What?” you stare at him. What the- “Jun what are you talking about?” You're worried now, wondering if the fever’s bad enough to make him delirious but his next words catch you off guard.
He sighs and murmurs, “the string. It keeps disappearing.”
Oh.
Everything made sense now. The way Jun disappeared that first day, his constant work, the look on his face when he saw that you had slept in your office that one time and how after so much pestering, alex had finally given in and told you the reason why Jun still didn't have a team; because he was adamant that you wouldn't have to work over time.
you didn't know whether to laugh or smack his head for overworking himself to this extent, just because of you.
“you’re a fucking dumbass,” you sighed, stroking back the hair stuck on his forehead lovingly.
- ᯓ★ -
Jun woke up in bed, which was confusing because the last thing he remembered was definitely not laying down. In fact, he was pretty sure he was forcing himself to stay awake. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and then frowned as a towel fell onto his lap. What is going on right now?
He got up, his socked feet muffling the sound of his footsteps as he followed the noise coming out of his living room. Passing by a mirror, he paused and stared at his clothes. At this point he had no idea what happened, or whether he had blacked out because his reflection seemed to be wearing soonyoung’s clothes. The ones he would leave at his house, when he came to visit. And if his reflection was wearing them that meant…he stared at his legs and sure enough, soonyoungs sweatpants hung off of his legs. Shaking his head, he continued to follow what seemed to be a hushed but angry voice coming out of his living room. And there he found a woman standing in the kitchen, her back to him as she stirred something on the stove while on the phone with someone. As Jun approached her, he realised the phone she was talking on was his own.
“No, i can not let you speak to Junhui as he is not currently available.” you said, furiously. “Mr jacoby. Either use the five meticulously edited drafts we have sent you before which you constantly refuse or stop contacting us."
You turned around to grab something and your eyes met Jun’s. Jun raised an eyebrow. What are you doing?
You held up your hand to stop him as he reached for his phone and said in a very frustrated voice, “Mr jacoby. You do realise that according to our company policy, we have the right to deny you service when you are yelling and verbally assaulting an employee?” You sighed in relief when the voice died down. “As unfortunate as it may seem, I do not regret to inform you, that after careful consideration and advice from our CEO, that we will no longer be corresponding with you. And if you do continue to harass us through incessant phone calls we will talk to the authorities. That is all. Have a good day, sir.” You sighed as you ended the call before he could reply.
Jun stared at you. “What?”
you turned back to the stove, turning off the gas. “Sit.”
He was still standing there, really unsure of what was going on right now.
“Jun, sit down so you can eat the food I spent the last hour cooking.” you said, deadpan.
…he sat down. You placed a bowl of soup in front of him and a few pieces of bread to dip it in.
“Okay, will you please tell me what's going on?”
you sighed, “you must have been really sick if you don't remember anything.”
You explained when you saw the look on Jun's face, “alex was worried about you and you weren't picking up your phone. She messaged me and I came to check up on you except you had passed out so i'm glad i came.”
“and the phone call?”
“this dude kept calling you and yelling and shit so i called alex, and she said he has a history of being a douchebag. She said she was waiting for a word from you, and she'd immediately cut off all contact because she wasn't really fond of him either.”
“Oh.” Jun stared at his food.
“and you-” you got up to smack him lightly, “who the fuck told you to work so hard that you end up sick and delirious?”
“hey, I had a reason,” he said, rubbing his head.
“no you fucking didnt. The reason was that you're a dumbass.” you scoffed.
“You don't even know the reason!”
“Junhui. Working your ass off because you thought I'd die if I worked is a very stupid reason.”
Once Jun got over the initial shock he countered, “what did you want me to do? Let you die?”
you rolled your eyes, “I wasn't about to die!”
“Then why was the string disappearing?”
“Jun. I know we have a very rare soulmate sign but it's not the only one to exist, you fuckface. Maybe, just maybe. instead of jumping to conclusions, you could have - oh, i don't know? Searched it up? Then, you would have realised that the string disappears when you meet your soulmate. Not because they're dying!” You glared at him, sitting across the table.
Jun grinned, sheepishly. you shook your head.
“You're a fucking idiot.”
“Okay okay, but- how'd you know?”
“The string started disappearing the day I met you but I wasn't sure who it led to because I hadn't seen it. I saw it on the day you passed out in front of the library.”
Something suddenly clicked. “Is that why my string tightened?”
“Look who finally figured it out!” you laughed.
“Okay but how did you know that I knew?” Jun asked, his brain still trying to process everything.
“Jun, babe. You told me,” you said, gently.
“I what?”
You laughed. “You told me! You were half asleep and you said that you hate it when I work because then I'll die! And i asked you what the fuck you were talking about and you said the string keeps disappearing!”
As his memory returned, he leaned his head forward on the table, embarrassed. you laughed at him, coo-ing at how cute he was.
“Shut up.” He said, his ears reddening by the second.
“Aw, is my poor junnie shy?” you said, squealing as Jun chased her around the kitchen. He caught you pretty easily and spun you around. You were glowing with laughter and Jun couldn't help but just stare at you.
Smirking, you leaned forward and pressed a small kiss on the corner of his mouth, whispering, “I'd kiss you but i'd get sick and we can't let the only smart one here get ill.”
Taking a second to process what the fuck just happened, he pouted, “hey! Who made you the smart one?”
You poked his nose, “I did. After the fiasco that was today, I think it's pretty fair to say I'm the smart one in this relationship.”
Jun rolled his eyes.
“Okay now you need rest,” you said, peeling Jun off of you. Or at least- trying to.
Jun had a mischievous glint in his eye, “okay i'm going,” and he turned to leave. But not before quickly pressing a kiss on your lips.
“you little-”
- ᯓ★ -
you were curled up on Jun's chest with his arm wrapped around you as the two of you watched a movie.
“Okay but who told you to not tell me?” you asked, turning to look up at your now boyfriend.
“Ah,” Jun winced, “Mingyu and hao?”
“Of course they did. How did you guys survive?” You mutter, shaking your head.
Jun smiles, hugging you closer. “It was hard,” he murmurs, against your hair. “But now I have you to take care of me.”
“Oh yeah,” you made to get up, “your medicine.”
Jun pulled you down again, “Where are you going?” He wrapped his arms around your waist, successfully trapping you.
“Jun, we need you to take your medicine if you want to get better on time,” you tried to free yourself from his tight grip.
“Five more minutes,” Jun said, kissing your hair.
you sighed, smiling. “Okay,” you melted against him. “Five more minutes.”
song rec: invisible string by taylor swift
my note: this was so hard to finish and 8.3k is insane 😭 im sorry for the wait i hope you like it!!!
svt soulmate series
back to the shelves!!
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