Soulmates!Chulin AU, but the end game is ChoiBaek and WooZhi
Soulmates meet each other in their shared dreams; the first time soulmates meet in real life, a symbol appears on their wrist—while the symbols of soulmates of the same soulmates unity aren't necessarily identical, they still thematically complete each other;
Jinchul and Jongin both have one wing as a soulmark, drawn in a simple single line; the two wings make a pair
Soulmates are a rare occurrence in this universe; the only other case of soulmates among Solo Leveling characters is SungPark, who hides their bond because they don't want to attract excessive attention
In every shared dream, soulmates meet in the same place; it's the same for Chulin, who has a beach as their very own, special place, with a lot of birds flying around
Jinchul found out he and Jongin could also fly in their dreams, and then taught Jongin; Jongin's first attempt, however, ended up with him turning into a fox, Jinchul would tease him about that for the rest of their days
But thanks to that mishap, Chulin realised they could do virtually everything they wanted in their dreams as long as they concentrated enough; sometimes, they would join the birds flying in the sky by taking the form of birds themselves
In one of their dreams, Jongin shared what university he wished to go in the future; Jinchul entered the same university in hopes to meet his soulmate there
When Jongin's mother died, Jinchul could only comfort Jongin in their shared dreams as the two of them hadn't met in real life yet; Jinchul wished he could be there for Jongin in person, but he was doing military service at that time; the feeling of helplessness weighed heavy on his heart
While soulmates can't see each other's appearance clearly in their shared dreams, only blurry, Jongin’s hair colour still stood out enough for Jinchul to recognise him as the boy from his dreams, even before they both noticed the marks appear on their wrists
Chulin tried to date while still in university; Jinchul's assertive advances often made Jongin a flustered mess; however, the two of them soon realised romance was not the type of relationship they wanted to have with the other
While they did quit their dating attempts, they didn't drift apart and remained close; so close, in fact, that it would confuse the heck out of other people; whoever tried to guess whether or not the two were dating failed miserably
Chulin didn't bother to hide their bond, but they weren't interested in making it known either, so they went unnoticed by the general public until the gates appeared; even then, though the media's attention on Jongin as South Korea's best hunter skyrocketed, it took a while for Chulin's marks to be spotted since they both used to wear clothes that covered their wrists
But in the end, everyone knew the two of them were soulmates; as such bonds were rare, Chulin received even more attention, but they ignored all the questions about them being a couple; though occasionally, they made vague and confusing statements to mess with the public
They changed their minds once ChoiBaek and WooZhi became a thing though;
Both Yoonho and Zhigang were hesitant to go out with their respective lovers, neither of them could understand why Chulin would like to date someone else when they had a soulmate; but Jongin and Jinchul were convincing enough to dispel their doubts (though their initial reaction was more like 😮💨🙄🤦♂️);
When WooZhi and ChoiBaek got together, Jongin said that Jinchul likely just needed someone older than him, while Jinchul said Jongin needed someone taller than him; while I say Chulin are just greedy and need more sexy men around them;
Eventually, Yoonho and Zhigang got to join Chulin's shared dreams every now and then;
Yoonho and Zhigang, the first time it happens: Where are we?..
Chulin: We're home :3
