Welcome to Day 4 of Twelve Days of Idolmas. To find out the idol and read the story, click to expand. Each story will be shared daily, with the last being on Christmas Day (NZST).
Stories: A Fiery Getaway | Stocking Stuffer| Christmas Bells | Skate With Me | Peppermint Kisses | Elf Business | Christmas Pies
Pairing: Im Jaebeom x female reader
Genre: fluff
Tropes: established relationship
Warnings: brief mentioning of past toxic relationships
Word count: 970
Author’s Note: Welcome to Day 4 of “Twelve Days of Idolmas”. This is a quickfire writing session based off a single word from a Christmas word generator. I got the word “skating” and gave myself 30mins to write this. I hope you enjoy and come back tomorrow for Day 5.
When you heard about the ice rink being set up in your neighbourhood, you immediately started plotting the best date night. What sounded more romantic than going out for a walk through the Christmas market, skating around on the ice for a bit, and then warming up with hot chocolate? Maybe you had watched too many Hallmark movies that highlighted the magic of Christmas over the years. But now that you had a boyfriend, you knew you had to go ice skating as a festive activity this year.
However, Jaebeom wasn’t so sold on the activity. “You want to go ice skating.”
“Yes! We can get all bundled up and go skating tomorrow night. I’ve checked the times, and it works out for us to spend some time skating first, and we can get hot chocolates and browse the stalls nearby. I still need to get a present for your mum. Small businesses always sell the best gifts at Christmas time.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to go skating, though?” Jaebeom peppered, giving you a look that you knew was questioning your athletic skill entirely. Or complete lack thereof.
You folded your arms, affronted. “How hard can it be?”
“It’s not like walking,” he replied with a snort, and you pouted, earning a grin in response. “All I’m saying is that you struggle not to be clumsy without the addition of skates on your feet.”
“That’s where you come in,” you proclaimed factually, and Jaebeom grew thoughtful. “If you’re holding my hands, I’m going to be fine.”
You stepped gingerly out onto the ice the following evening in your hired skates, feeling a little awkward, but determined to fulfil this bucket list activity off your Christmas 2025 bingo card. So, you didn’t actually have a bingo card, and as you started to loosen up and move around the rink, you realised that it was a good idea to create one. Your mind was going over other festive ideas as you slowly skated, only to get a jolt on your arm suddenly. Blinking down at Jaebeom, who was now sprawled at your feet, you then let out a pelt of laughter. “Who’s being clumsy now?”
“I told you it’s not like walking,” he muttered, accepting your tug up off the ice. You wobbled a little, but between the two of you, you managed to stay upright.
“You’re a dancer, Jae.”
“I don’t wear skates to dance.”
You smirked. “You questioned my athleticism yesterday. Maybe I should query just how strong you are.”
“I’m plenty strong,” he remarked with a huff, dragging you along until you fell into a rhythm again. Jaebeom then sent you a smug look. “It was just a once-off.”
Except it wasn’t. You lost count of the times Jaebeom fell, though you weren’t any better. After ten more minutes of attempting and failing to both stay off the ice, you hobbled over to the exit in mutual agreement to get off before permanent injuries occurred.
“That was brutal,” you commented, as you eased your feet into your boots. You glared down at the discarded skates at your feet. If you weren’t hurting so much, you would have kicked them for the inconvenience they’d just caused your body to suffer through.
“I have a newfound respect for those who do ice sports,” Jaebeom replied, and you nodded in firm agreement.
“Let’s never do that again.”
Jaebeom glanced at you. “I didn’t want to in the first place. I knew you’d end up bruised from the experience.”
“What about you? Your butt is going to look colourful from how many times you fell on it.”
“I only agreed to this because I knew you wanted to do it.”
“Even when you knew it was going to be a disaster?”
He nodded. “When you get an idea in your head, it’s best to just let you try anyway. Either you’ll find out why I was hesitant on the plan, and I’ll step in to help you recover from it, or we’ll both discover something amazing together. I like making memories with you, Y/N, even ones like this. Don’t ask me if I still agree in the morning, however. We’re going to feel this then.”
His words hit home with you. In previous relationships, you had less willing partners than Jaebeom ever was. They’d tell you no firmly or make you feel stupid for coming to them with a fun idea to get out and about. In hindsight, meeting Jaebeom highlighted just how much you had settled for the wrong people. Now, however, you were certain you had found Mr Right. Jaebeom made you feel like you could do anything, and he’d be at your side through the good and bad.
Case in point, as he nudged you gently from beside you. Jaebeom stared back at you with a knowing smile before reaching over to brush loose strands of hair from your face. “You’re beautiful. All pink from being flushed from our botched activity.”
“Thank you for agreeing to try it out with me anyway.”
“Well, if I’m honest, I’m here for something else,” he said, and you grew curious. Leaning towards you, Jaebeom hovered just an inch from your waiting mouth. Instead of kissing you as you expected, he explained, “You promised me hot chocolate. I’ve been craving authentic Belgian chocolate all afternoon.”
Laughing, you threw your arms around him and then kissed him on the cheek. “Let’s get you a hot chocolate to warm up with. It might ease some of our aches and pains away as we hobble around the Christmas market.”
Jaebeom groaned, albeit good-naturedly. “We’re still going to do that? Y/N, we’ve just inflicted injury upon ourselves. Can’t we skip the rest of the night and go home and curl up on the couch together?”
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Even though it had been six months since finding out that your new, real-life friend Jaebeom was the same person as your not-so-new, online friend DefSoul, and the two of you had spent about 98% of your waking hours during those six months either physically together or in some sort of communication (virtual or otherwise)... you still couldn't quite believe any of it was real.
And that was probably because the past six months had been so...
So...
Happy.
You'd finally achieved what your mom had told you to do all that time ago: you'd made your own fun. It had started off with SoulTracks, then had eventually landed on coffee shop hangouts, and had now settled on what was turning out to be the best relationship you'd ever had.
Jaebeom had started out as -- and always would be -- your friend. His friendship had been a comfort to you. He'd made you feel comfortable being yourself from the very beginning.
Once the two of you had realized that your connection went much further back than you'd thought, your friendship had quickly evolved and become that much deeper. He became your best friend. Someone you wanted to share everything with, the good and the bad. Someone who knew you, inside and out, and accepted you for exactly who you were.
And, unsurprisingly, just a month or so after that fateful morning in the coffee shop, you and Jaebeom had found yourselves ending a lovely evening dinner date with a kiss. It hadn't been planned as an actual date, and you hadn't actively thought you were going to try to kiss him at the end of the night.
It had just happened. And nothing had felt more natural in your entire life.
So, you'd been right six months ago when you'd pointed out that meeting DefSoul in real life would be a turning point, and everything would be different afterward. Because everything had been different afterward. In a really, really, really good way.
Jaebeom had gone from being your friend to your best friend to...
Okay, it felt a little too soon to say something like 'your soulmate' or 'the love of your life.' The two of you had exchanged those three words quite a while ago, yes, but... still.
Five months wasn't enough time to know that someone was your soulmate.
Right?
...Or was it?
When you asked yourself if you could possibly imagine sharing your life with someone other than Jaebeom, the answer was a very obvious and easy 'No.'
When you watched him at his desk, preparing for his nightly Soul Tracks stream as you lounged on the small couch in his home studio, you absolutely could not imagine looking at someone else and feeling the way you felt right now.
That didn't necessarily mean he was the love of your life, but even if you dug way down deep into the recesses of your mind, you couldn't find a single doubt.
That had to mean something.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jaebeom's familiar, comforting voice -- and yes, you had pondered many, many times why you hadn't immediately recognized Jaebeom's voice as DefSoul. You had yet to land on a reasonable answer -- broke into your thoughts.
"Like what?" you asked, straightening your posture a little and blinking your daydreams away.
"I don't know," he chuckled. "Like the way you just were."
A bashful grin tugged at your lips, and you lifted your shoulders in a shrug. "I was just caught in a thinking rabbit hole."
Although you'd done your best to keep your tone light and amused, Jaebeom knit his brows together, took his headphones off from around his neck, and stood from his desk chair.
You closed your book and set it on the side table next to the small couch, folding your legs up to give Jaebeom room to sit -- since that's what he was doing.
As soon as he sat down next to you, he reached for your legs, draping them over his lap and holding out the arm closest to you to invite you over.
"What were you thinking about?" he asked gently as he wrapped his arm around you.
Did you want to tell him that you'd been contemplating the fact that Jaebeom was your soulmate? No. You knew him so well, but you still weren't sure how he would take that at this stage in your relationship.
But you'd gotten so used to telling him everything that you just couldn't stop yourself.
"I was... thinking about... you," you told him. "And... how much I love you."
Unsurprisingly, his facial expression morphed from one of slight concern to one of bashful glee. A smile curved his lips, and he pulled you even closer next to him.
Once you'd snuggled into his side, fitting your head right into the crook of his neck, he kissed your hairline and murmured, "I love you, too. I think I always have, to be honest. Since your very first message. I didn't realize it, of course, but... I don't know, it's like deep down, I always knew we had a connection."
...Well! That sure sounded familiar!
So, you inhaled softly and took a chance.
"Okay, I was actually thinking just now about how you might be my soulmate. I was too nervous to say it, but it kind of sounds like you feel the same way," you chuckled.
"Oh, for sure," he replied.
You wanted to laugh because of how casually he'd replied. He hadn't stiffened or gotten nervous or pushed you away for bringing up something so serious.
And, honestly, that sealed the deal for you.
"Great!" you sighed. "Glad we got that settled."
Jaebeom hummed in response as he picked up one of your hands and began playing with your fingers.
The hand he'd picked up, though, was the one with your watch, and the motion made the face light up.
"It's almost time for Soul Tracks," you reminded him. "Don't you need to go get ready to start?"
"I do," he confirmed, his voice low and soft. "I just need a few more moments."
"...A few more moments for what?"
"Just to be with you. To recharge."
You let out a knowing 'Ahh'... but you were still confused.
So, after a second or two of silence, you whispered, "What do you mean 'recharge'?"
You felt Jaebeom's neck and chest vibrate gently as he chuckled, but he didn't pull away before answering.
"Being around you takes all my stress away," he explained. "It always has, even when 'being around you' meant reading your messages. From the very beginning, I always looked forward to getting your reply in my inbox. And then when we met at the coffee shop, I felt the same way. Every time I saw you, I forgot about any problem I had. That should've tipped me off to you being the same person I was messaging, but hindsight is twenty-twenty. As it was, I just felt a little... guilty."
You gasped, sitting up and meeting Jaebeom's gaze. "I did, too! I knew it was silly because why should anyone feel guilty for having more than one friend?"
"Exactly!"
"But I did," you chuckled.
Jaebeom lifted the arm that wasn't currently wrapped around your shoulders and moved to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear. Then, he simply rested his hand there, cradling your cheek and gently caressing your skin.
"And now look at us," he murmured. "In love and totally guilt-free."
You wrinkled your nose affectionately at him before leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips. When you began to pull away, Jaebeom caught your lips, kissing you a few more times.
"Okay, I'm recharged," he whispered... but then kissed you one last time.
"If you don't get up now, you really will be late," you grinned as you moved your legs from across his lap.
"How can I be late when my commute is literally five steps?"
"You have one minute until the show starts!"
"Okay, I'm going," Jaebeom chuckled, pushing himself off the couch and shuffling back to his desk. As he sat down and reached for his headphones, he swiveled to face you and asked, "You're not going anywhere, right?"
His question made you wrinkle your forehead and frown in confusion. "Of course not," you assured him. You came over to his apartment most nights because you loved watching him put on the livestream you'd come to know so well. It made you feel special and important to be the only other person on the other side of the mic, if you will, even though you never actually participated or said anything. You just listened (and stared -- Jaebeom was somehow even more good-looking when he took on the persona of DefSoul). You'd never come over here just to leave when the show started.
Why had he asked that?
"Good," he nodded. Then he put on his headphones, cleared his throat, and turned on his mic.
"Happy Tuesday Evening, and welcome to Soul Tracks. I'm your host, DefSoul, and for the next hour, I'll be sharing a playlist with you. Now, ordinarily, I'd start the show by reading a message sent in by a listener before sharing a playlist I put together just for them. But tonight, I'm going back to the Soul Tracks days of old, before I had enough listeners to create playlists for and would share playlists I made... well, for myself, I guess. I'll get back to you listeners tomorrow, I promise. For tonight, I hope you indulge me and enjoy."
Before he could start the first song, you quickly put your earbuds in so you could listen to the songs with no distractions -- and tonight, you were more eager than usual. Jaebeom had created a playlist for himself? You remembered when he used to do that back when you'd first started listening, but it hadn't lasted long since his show had garnered a good amount of listeners pretty quickly.
And, in the back of your head, you wondered why he hadn't told you about it beforehand. The two of you told each other everything -- but not this, apparently.
You weren't upset, of course. If he hadn't told you, it only meant he had a good reason not to. And, quite frankly, you knew you would ask him about it in an hour's time, and there was no way you'd let him not tell you.
As the opening notes of the first song began to play, your lips automatically curved into a wide grin; it was the song that had brought you two together in person, the one playing in the coffee shop when you met face-to-face for the first time.
You glanced over at Jaebeom a few times during the song, mostly because you felt a bit nostalgic, but each time, he was very actively not looking at you. His gaze was glued to either his phone or his laptop screen.
Something was definitely up, but you would do your best to wait until Soul Tracks was over before bringing it up.
The next song to play brought on another wave of nostalgia because it was one he'd put on your very first Soul Tracks playlist. Jaebeom had created many more for you in the past several months, of course, but the first playlist he'd created for you after reading your letter on the air still held a special place in your heart.
As the playlist went on, though, you found you weren't familiar with the rest of the songs -- but they all had a common theme: love. The songs near the beginning of the playlist leaned more toward having a crush, getting to know someone, and falling in love. Then, toward the end, the songs became more about actually being in love and living your life beside that one person.
So, it was pretty clear what this playlist was really about.
But, still, after Jaebeom went through his outro and ended the stream, you still stood from your spot on the couch and asked, "What was that all about?"
Of course, you immediately realized how accusatory that sounded.
"I mean, I know what it was about but... why?"
Okay, that still sounded accusatory.
"Not 'why did you do this?' but, like --"
Jaebeom had stood from his desk after ending the show, and he now closed the distance between you and reached out to gently grasp your shoulders.
"I get it," he assured you, a soft smile on his lips. "Let me start by saying that I had already planned to do this before you brought up the soulmate thing."
For some reason, your heart and stomach were filled with butterflies. "Okay," you whispered.
"I started making this playlist right after we first kissed. And as our relationship has progressed, I've kept adding to it. I kind of feel like it'll never be truly finished, but I was happy enough with it that I thought it was time to share it."
Your brows knit together as he spoke, and the butterflies in your chest only got more chaotic -- but in a good way.
Jaebeom frowned slightly at you and asked, "Did you... like it?"
Oh, no. He obviously took your expression to mean something else entirely, so you stepped up to him, winding your arms around his middle and pressing your cheek right where his neck and shoulder met.
"I loved it," you murmured.
You felt him sigh with relief before you felt his arms circling your shoulders.
"Okay, good," he said softly. "I was worried that maybe you didn't like being put on the spot like that."
"No," you chuckled. "I wrote into you once, remember? You read my words on air."
"Yeah, but... this was definitely different."
"Except no one knew that the playlist was for me -- for us."
"Exactly," he confirmed, tightening his arms and holding you closer. "Just for us. And even when we became pen pals, I never wanted to share anything about it on the show. Not because I didn't want people to know, but because you're that precious to me."
A giddy smile appeared on your lips, and you pulled your head away from him just enough to be able to purse your lips and request a kiss.
"I love you," you said softly just before his lips met yours.
"I love you, too," he replied after a quick peck. "And I have a request."
"Yes?"
"I would like you to help me work on the playlist from now on. Add whatever songs you want. Make it perfect. It'll never be complete, but I think it can be perfect."
This made you happier than you ever realized a small and mundane request like this could make you.
"Really?" you asked through a wide, beaming grin. "You trust me enough to add to the playlist?"
Jaebeom's forehead wrinkled, and he scoffed, "Of course I do. I'm offended that you don't realize I trust you with my life, let alone my music."
"...Aren't they one and the same?" you teased (kind of).
Jaebeom leaned in once more, capturing your lips in a sweet kiss -- a longer one this time.
"You're not wrong," he admitted in a whisper, his lips still brushing over yours. "But you're my life now, too."
"When did you get so sappy?" you giggled, wrinkling your nose at him.
"You know the answer to that," Jaebeom chuckled.
You decided to reply to that with yet another kiss -- about five more kisses, actually.
Honestly, even if he hadn't said anything of these sappy things, you would still know that he loved you. The fact that he allowed you into his studio during his livestream was enough to know how he felt about you. And asking you to create a playlist with him? That sealed the deal.
Okay, the more you thought about it, the more excited you were about this playlist. You imagined it eventually becoming 20 hours long -- longer, really -- because, as Jaebeom had said, it would never be fully complete. The two of you would keep adding songs until... well, I guess until your love for each other no longer existed.
So, you'd keep adding songs to this playlist forever.
"And those are all the tracks I have for you tonight," Def Soul's soothing voice murmured. "See you next time here on Soul Tracks."
The second the livestream ended, your heart jumped into your throat.
In just 15 minutes, he would receive your message, and... well, not to be dramatic, but everything would change.
If Jaebeom and DefSoul were the same person, that is. You were pretty sure they were, but there was still a chance you were wrong!
But if you weren't wrong, DefSoul would (most likely) figure out that you were you because of the whole 'berry cobbler tea' thing you'd snuck into your message.
The thought of what his response would be was eating you up inside! You weren't exactly sure why you were this nervous because, if Jaebeom and DefSoul were one and the same, that would be a good thing. A very good thing! You were already friends with both of them! (And had a crush on one -- maybe both? -- of them.)
But still. Your heart was stuck in your throat and beating a mile a minute, and there was nothing you could do about it.
You did remind yourself that DefSoul wasn't in the habit of replying to your messages right away, though, so after letting yourself sit with your anxiety for a few minutes... you forced yourself to get off your couch and do something. Anything. You'd even resort to doing your laundry if you had to.
Even though it was just barely 8pm, you decided to brush your teeth and do your evening skincare routine anyway, just to get it out of the way.
You flossed. You swished your mouthwash. You brushed your teeth for two full minutes. You washed your face. You toned, hydrated, and moisturized. You put your hair up for the night.
And then, unsurprisingly, you couldn't stop yourself from checking your phone.
Nothing.
So, you headed into your room to grab your laundry basket. After lugging it to your laundry closet, you sorted out your whites, threw them in, and started up the load. But, then, you remembered you still had some towels in the dryer -- perfect! You needed to fill the time, and what better way to fill the time than with mindless towel folding?
You folded, folded, and folded some more. And then you organized. You actually ended re-organizing your entire towel/bedsheet closet, and by the time you'd finished, the load in the washer was done. Amazing! More busy work!
You moved the wet clothes into the dryer and started a new load in the washer, letting out a sigh as you heard the water start to fill up inside the machine.
When you slid your phone out of your pocket then, you almost gasped when you saw it was now past 9.
But honestly, you weren't sure if it was a gasp of amazement at how much time had passed or a gasp of astonishment at how little time had passed. You'd gotten so much done, but only an hour had passed?!
Well, at least it was an acceptable time to call it a night. You weren't sure how easily you'd be able to fall asleep, but you could sure try.
And try, you did!
You changed out of your after-work comfy clothes and into your pajamas, patted yourself on the back for already brushing your teeth and doing your nightly skincare, and slipped under your soft, fluffy quilt.
You turned off your lamp and closed your eyes.
But not even three seconds later, you remembered you hadn't put your phone on its charger. In fact, you'd left your phone in the pocket of your sweatpants!
With a soft sigh, you sat back up, crawled down to the end of your bed, and bent over with a groan to grab your sweatpants from your laundry basket. Then, with phone in hand, you crawled back toward your nightstand.
When you set your phone in the charger, though, the screen lit up.
And you saw your notifications.
...DefSoul had replied.
I would start my message with more lyrics from that 'Friday' song, but I don't remember anything else, and I just can't be bothered to look them up (no offense if you genuinely like the song beyond it just being a meme).
So, instead, I'll just say that I do think it's a little weird that we don't know anything about each other. I don't even really know why. It wasn't for any actual reason on my end, I promise. It just sort of... never came up.
But now I'm a little nervous.
I have no idea why --
You were pretty sure he was lying about that. He was nervous because you'd mentioned the berry cobbler tea, and he now had the same suspicion you did: that the person he'd been messaging online with this whole time was the same person as the friend he'd made in line at the coffee shop.
-- so just bear with me.
With no further context or explanation, I'm just going to say to meet me at the coffee shop tomorrow at 10am.
If that means nothing to you, then don't even acknowledge it in your response, and we'll move on.
-DefSoul
P.S. I'll answer your question tomorrow, I promise.
And now you were screaming internally. Even though he hadn't even confirmed his name and location, he had still confirmed that he was Jaebeom.
And he wanted to meet you tomorrow morning.
As much as you wanted to reply and let him know you'd be there, you somehow held yourself back. You forced yourself to put your phone back on the charger, turn your lamp back off, and pull your quilt over your head.
You forced yourself to close your eyes and (attempt to) go to sleep.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that you barely slept. You'd tossed and turned all night, your mind racing with anxious thoughts of meeting DefSoul, who you were now completely and utterly certain was Jaebeom.
But what was a surprise was the reason you were so anxious: 10am seemed too damn far away. You could hardly wait to walk through the coffee shop doors and sit down across from Jaebeom at your usual table.
Heck, you'd even thought of what you'd say to him first thing!
"It was a great show last night."
You'd come up with a million other -- arguably better -- ways to say it, but you knew you wouldn't be able to handle anything more than 'it was a great show last night.' You'd be so nervous and excited that anything more detailed or clever would get lost on the way from your brain to your mouth.
And, honestly, you hadn't let yourself think about what would happen after that. You didn't want to imagine Jaebeom's reaction because, if it ended up being even slightly different than what you dreamed up, you would be weirdly disappointed. So, you would say your line as you sat down and then let the chips fall where they may.
But your phone told you it wasn't even 7am.
You had a long way to go until then, and that's what you were so anxious about.
After lying in bed, staring (see: dissociating) at the ceiling, you came to the decision that you had to simply continue what you'd done last night: keep yourself busy doing any and everything you could.
Since you'd barely slept last night, you'd been able to finish your laundry, so that was out of the question.
But, again, just like last night, you could start with brushing your teeth and doing your morning skincare routine. Better yet, you could take an everything shower. If you factored in the time it would take you to do your hair after washing it, then it would practically be time to leave when you were done!
Thinking about actually leaving for the coffee shop brought on a whole new wave of anxious excitement, and that gave you just the kick in the pants you needed to get up and get started.
After rolling out of bed and shuffling into your bathroom, you got the bright idea to listen to the playlist DefSoul created for you while you brushed your teeth and showered. Sure, it wouldn't help the time go faster -- if anything, it would make the wait seem even longer -- but music had always been your go-to coping mechanism, and if you listened to anything other than a DefSoul playlist, it just wouldn't feel right.
And, as expected, as soon as you pressed play, your heart began to flutter around inside your chest -- in a good way. You brushed your teeth, washed your hair, exfoliated, moisturized, and styled your hair with a huge smile on your lips, and by the time you finished getting dressed, it was just about time to leave.
You'd decided to arrive at the coffee shop just a couple of minutes past 10 o'clock because you'd rather walk in while Jaebeom was waiting for you instead of the other way around. But you didn't want him to wait too long, of course, so just a couple of minutes would do.
You took your time getting your bag together and putting on your shoes.
You took your time leaving and locking up your apartment.
You took your time heading to the bus station and, thankfully (for once), had to wait a few extra minutes for the next bus to arrive.
As you approached the coffee shop about twenty minutes later, you glanced at your phone and saw it was 10:02.
...You couldn't have planned that out more perfectly.
Was that a sign? Was it a good omen? Or maybe it meant that things were going too perfectly, so you should prepare yourself for it to go incredibly downhill from here on out.
You shook your head slightly to stop those thoughts from taking root and growing.
And then you forced yourself to walk up to the door, you opened it, and you stepped inside.
A smile instantly appeared on your lips as you saw Jaebeom sitting at your usual table. His hands were clasped on top of the table, his thumbs nervously twiddling. It shouldn't have been cute that he was nervous, but it was. It really, really was.
As you started to make your way over, you noticed two drinks across from him. When you glanced back at him, though, you saw a third drink sitting between his arms.
He'd ordered you two drinks, and you had an inkling as to just which drinks they were: a latte and a berry cobbler tea.
Your heart rate began to pick up as you neared the table, and you started repeating your rehearsed line in your head so you wouldn't forget it.
But, unsurprisingly, by the time you got there, you were so nervous and anxiously excited that when you did sit down and say "It was a great show last night," your voice was all breathless and your words were rushed and it didn't sound nearly as cool and casual as you'd hoped.
Oh well.
Jaebeom's eyes filled with awe, and you saw him inhale deeply before he said, "So, it is you."
"It's me," you replied with somewhat of a timid chuckle as you lifted your shoulders. "I can't believe this whole time..."
"This whole time," Jaebeom murmured, shaking his head slowly. "When did you figure it out?"
"I wasn't actually sure until last night when you told me to meet you here," you explained.
Before you continued, you lifted your latte to take a sip.
"Oh, I got you caffeine since it's still morning, but I also got you the berry cobbler tea since... well."
You could only reply with a giddy smile.
A small wave of shyness tinged your cheeks as you picked back up on your explanation. "But I started to suspect when you left your laptop open a couple of days ago, and I saw you had a playlist up. I wasn't snooping or anything, just curious. Then I heard the same songs in the same order on your show that night, and I started to put the puzzle pieces together."
"And that's why you asked me what my name was and where I live?" he asked, his forehead wrinkled ever so slightly.
"Oh! Well, that, actually -- I decided to ask you to go to dinner with me last night just to see what you would say. I figured, if you said yes, then you definitely weren't him. But if you said no... that could mean you were too busy with Soul Tracks. And since you did say no, I felt a little more confident that you were... you. So, I asked you your name and where you lived. Now that I say it out loud, that sounds a little strange. I bet you felt like my asking you that came out of nowhere."
A half-smile tugged at Jaebeom's lips. "Kind of," he admitted, chuckling softly. "But then you mentioned berry cobbler tea, so it made more sense."
You had to hold back an incredibly smug expression because you'd been right about including the berry cobbler tea. It had made it obvious that it was you. Man, you were good.
Jaebeom's expression, on the other hand, morphed to one of pure bewilderment -- bordering on confusion.
"I can hardly even wrap my head around it," he muttered. "I mean, what are the odds? Honestly. If you really think about it, what are the odds?"
"I know, I can't believe it," you agreed with a soft laugh. "To think that, all this time, I was talking to someone who lives practically around the corner."
"And every time you mentioned getting coffee before work or going there to meet your friend -- that was here. It was me!"
"Right?!"
As Jaebeom shook his head in disbelief and took a sip of his coffee, your mind followed the path of you mentioning this coffee shop in your messages to DefSoul to messaging DefSoul in general and then...
"Wait," you frowned. "Does that mean... there's really no need for us to be Internet pen pals anymore? I mean, I know we don't need to. We can be real-life pen pals, except our messages will be actual, verbal conversations. But..."
Jaebeom's expression turned bashful, but only for a second. Then he said, "We don't... have to stop. Right?"
When you didn't answer right away (because you were trying to process the fact that he didn't want to stop exchanging online messages), he continued:
"It's just that -- well, reading your messages was always my favorite part of the day."
A huge butterfly took flight in your stomach, and you had to hold back a gleeful smile because you'd been right. When he'd listed talking to you as something he would do with his magical extra hour, you'd thought that he must love talking to you just as much as you loved talking to him.
...Okay, let's be honest.
What you'd really thought was that he might have romantic feelings for you since you absolutely had them for him.
But we don't have to bring that up right now.
"Mine, too," you admitted, your gaze fixated on both of your drinks.
"So, let's try it. Let's try meeting up in person and messaging each other, like we have been. And if it gets too weird or confusing, we'll stop." A flash of panic flew across his features, and he quickly added, "Stop messaging each other, I mean. I definitely don't want to stop meeting up with you."
Well, would you look at that! That huge butterfly in your stomach had now duplicated about a million times over, turning into a whole fleet! Perfect!
"No, definitely not," you agreed. "I'm a little scared that this coffee shop would go out of business if we stopped coming here."
"You're absolutely right. At the very least, the employees would be sad to not see us," Jaebeom smirked.
"Exactly! Anyone would be sad not to see us! We're amazing!" you chuckled.
As you sipped your berry cobbler tea, you watched as Jaebeom's look of amusement slowly morphed into one of thought. You had been thinking of remarking just how good the tea was today, but since he was quite clearly thinking, you kept quiet and waited for him.
After just a few moments, he met your gaze and said, "This is a total change of subject, but there's something that's always... mystified me."
"Mystified you?"
He nodded before leaning in just a little closer to you. "Your job."
Your head jerked back a little in surprise. "My job?"
"I know you work in HR, but... what do you do? I just can't seem to wrap my head around it."
Even though you knew he was serious, you couldn't stop a laugh from bursting through your lips. "Honestly, I could say the same about you! You work in a music studio? How is that real?"
Of course, this led to a pretty long, in-depth discussion about each of your jobs, and when you left the coffee shop hours later, you thought to yourself that you'd never before enjoyed a conversation about work as much as you had with Jaebeom.
Also, you'd planned to meet up for lunch the next day, so to say you were in a good mood was an understatement.
You'd been pretty good friends with Jaebeom up until now, but after finding out the two of you actually knew each other on a way deeper level... it seems obvious, but it was a turning point. It felt like everything from here on out would be different.
But in a really, really good way, y'know? A really good way.
Looking back, you became what you would consider to be friends with Jaebeom in a very short period of time -- and that should have been the first big hint. The fact that you so easily became comfortable being around and talking to him should have planted the idea in your head, but we'll get to that more later on.
When you met up with him at the coffee shop after work the day after he gave you a list of songs to listen to, the two of you had quickly become engrossed in a conversation about that music artist. So engrossed, in fact, that Jaebeom had practically jumped out of his seat when he realized how long it had been. He had apologized profusely as he hastily grabbed his backpack, but he hadn't left before exchanging phone numbers with you.
You ended up texting him later that night, after Soul Tracks, and the two of you had picked up where you'd left off. Then, after falling asleep with your conversation still open on your phone, you continued texting the next day -- and the day after that, the day after that, the day after that, etc etc. Plus, you arranged meet-ups at the coffee shop in-between your text conversations, and the more you talked to him (both in-person and over the phone), the more you realized how much you loved talking to him (both in-person and over the phone).
The thing was, you were still messaging back and forth consistently with DefSoul, and your crush on him hadn't wavered. If anything, it had only grown deeper!
And you still weren't really sure why your friendship with Jaebeom and your crush on DefSoul made you feel so guilty and uncomfortable!
But then, one day, the pieces started falling into place.
Since you didn't have time to meet at the coffee shop before work (and since Jaebeom admitted to rarely ever being awake that early, anyway), your get-togethers occurred either during your lunch hour or after you clocked out at 5pm. Today was a lunch hour day, so after grabbing a sandwich from the cafe in your office building, you headed down the block to the coffee shop.
Your eyes immediately shifted to the right of the shop as you entered, looking to see if Jaebeom and his laptop had already claimed your usual table -- and, indeed, there was his laptop. The man himself was nowhere to be seen, so you figured he'd gone to the restroom. But next to his laptop were two drinks, and your heart skipped a beat or two. He'd gotten a drink for you, and you hadn't even asked him to.
So, instead of joining the line to place your order, you shuffled through the maze of tables and chairs until you reached Jaebeom's laptop and both of your drinks.
Now, you weren't trying to be nosy. Honestly, you weren't! You didn't look at his laptop on purpose! But you just so happened to catch a glimpse of it, and you noticed what looked like a music playlist.
Obviously, that caught your interest!
He had left his laptop open, and if he didn't want anyone seeing this playlist, he would've closed it -- right?
You skimmed over the songs, recognizing only a few. The first song listed was one by the artist who had brought you and Jaebeom together as friends in the first place, so you were definitely familiar with that one.
Since the last thing you wanted was for Jaebeom to think you were snooping, you forced your gaze away from his screen after less than a minute and took the empty seat on the other side of the table. Just as you took your sandwich out of your bag and began to unwrap it, Jaebeom appeared, sliding into the seat across from you and closing his laptop.
The two of you had a very pleasant lunch, and you went about your day as you always did once your hour break was up.
But then. After you got home, made dinner, and did a chore or two, you sat down to enjoy Soul Tracks.
DefSoul introduced the show and read out a listener's message, as he always did. And then he began the playlist he'd created for them.
The first song was the same first song you'd seen on Jaebeom's playlist earlier.
You would have dismissed it as a coincidence, but it wasn't a popular song. The artist was somewhat well-known (at least well-known enough to play in a locally-owned coffee shop), but the song was one you'd only heard about from Jaebeom's recommendations. You imagined people didn't add it as the first song on a playlist every day.
Still, though, you decided to wait. You couldn't quite remember what the next songs on Jaebeom's playlist had been, but you definitely remembered a few -- if they were on DefSoul's playlist tonight, you would recognize them.
Lo and behold, after a couple of songs played, one came up that you absolutely knew had also been near the top of Jaebeom's playlist.
Then, a few songs later, it happened again: yet another song from Jaebeom's playlist.
It was too specific to be a coincidence.
So... did DefSoul not create his own playlists? Did he outsource that part of the job?
Surely not! He'd talked too many times in his messages to you about how much he loved sitting down and crafting playlists --
And then it hit you. Not like a ton of bricks, but little by little.
You thought of the times you'd received a reply from DefSoul either right before or right after your cafe meet-ups with Jaebeom. You thought of how Jaebeom worked in a music studio -- and so did DefSoul. You thought of how DefSoul had mentioned one time that he had started working on Soul Tracks at a coffee shop, and Jaebeom almost always had his laptop with him when the two of you got together.
Were DefSoul and Jaebeom... the same person? Could it really be that, this whole time, you'd been talking to just one guy?
You honestly didn't know what to think or how to react. Most likely, the best idea would be to sleep on it. If you did anything right now, you would probably end up regretting it. Because what if it wasn't true? What if everything really just was a coincidence? The last thing you wanted was for Jaebeom or DefSoul to think you were accusing them of something because you wouldn't be! Of course not! But your emotions and anxiety were a little too high right now that anything you said would come out that way.
So, yes. Best to sleep on it. Get a good night's sleep and face the situation with a refreshed mind in the morning.
Hopefully.
You were never more glad that today -- the day after realizing that Jaebeom and DefSoul could possibly be the same person -- was Friday. You'd spent some of last night mentally composing a message to DefSoul, but you didn't want to send it until after work. One, because you didn't really have time to before or during work, and two, because you knew that after you sent it, you'd be too busy overthinking and waiting for his reply to focus on anything else.
But then, as you were heading into work, you remembered that you'd made plans to meet Jaebeom at the coffee shop again. And since it was Friday, the plan was to meet after work.
Oh, boy.
You would be seeing Jaebeom face-to-face before you had a chance to send your message to DefSoul. That meant you had to tweak your plan.
The more you thought about it, though, the more you realized this was a good thing. Depending on what happened with Jaebeom, you may not even have to send your message to DefSoul. You could potentially start the weekend having confirmed that they were not, in fact, the same person, and could relax!
As you stood in line at the coffee shop for your morning latte (trying not to think about the fact that you'd be in here in mere hours carrying out the very thing you were thinking of), you started writing a script for your interaction with Jaebeom. The easiest thing to do would be to invite him to dinner after your hangout because, if he were DefSoul, he would have to decline. Soul Tracks started at 7pm, so he wouldn't have time to meet you here at the cafe and go out for dinner after.
If he accepted your invitation, then you could relax. If he didn't... you would start typing your message to DefSoul as soon as you stepped foot through your front door.
But, of course, you had to get through your workday first.
Nine hours. Nine long hours. Eight of them trying to distract yourself with work, and one of them trying to distract yourself with eating lunch.
Luckily, you'd (unintentionally) left enough on your weekly to-do list and had enough meetings to keep busy throughout the day; you'd even gone so far as to keep working through lunch, answering emails and creating spreadsheets as you ate your sandwich, both to keep your mind off your social life and to help out Next Week Y/N when the weekend was over.
By the time 5pm rolled around, you were both surprised that time had gone by so quickly and incredibly nervous to actually put your plan in motion.
You really didn't know why you were nervous because there were only two outcomes! Jaebeom would either say 'yes' or 'no'! If he said 'yes,' then you'd be certain you were wrong, and they were two different people. If he said 'no,' then you could still be wrong!
...But would it be bad if you were right?
Why hadn't you stopped to think about what it would really mean for Jaebeom and DefSoul to be one and the same? Because, when it came down to it, it meant that you were friends in real life with someone you'd become friends with on the Internet! And that's basically the best possible scenario, right?!
Plus! You would feel absolutely vindicated for having a crush on DefSoul because have you seen Jaebeom?
You had no reason to be nervous!
But, of course, the second you stepped into the cafe at 5:02 and saw Jaebeom sitting at your regular table, your heart jumped into your throat and began to beat triple-time.
"Hey," he greeted with a half-grin as you sat down across from him. "Happy Friday."
"Happy Friday!" you replied, sighing and lifting the mug of steaming tea to your lips. "Thanks for this."
"I just got you the berry cobbler tea again, I hope that's okay."
"It's perfect," you assured him. "You didn't even have to get me anything!"
His half-grin tugged at his lips again, and he said, "I thought it was an unspoken rule that the first person to get there buys the drinks?"
You sputtered out a laugh as you set your cup down. "I've never heard that, but hey, it works to my advantage most of the time."
"Plus, it's unspoken, so --" Jaebeom zipped his lips.
"Got it," you whispered, holding back a giggle.
After you set your mug back down in front of you, Jaebeom inhaled and asked, "How was your day?"
Okay, this was the perfect time to initiate your plan.
You began by letting out a sigh and briefly closing your eyes. "It was long," you admitted. "I had a lot to do that I hadn't been able to get to during the rest of the week, plus I had meetings, and I don't know if I'm just letting the stress get to me, but I just felt so... distracted and off today."
Jaebeom furrowed his brow, frowning slightly at you. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
"Are you sorry enough to go have dinner with me?" you asked, clutching your mug just to keep your hands from shaking and showing your nerves. "I think a really good plate of pad Thai could fix me."
Despite the fact that Jaebeom's frown morphed back into a half-grin, he shook his head. "Sorry, I can't. I have plans already. What about lunch tomorrow?"
Well!
You couldn't say for sure that he was DefSoul, obviously, but you also couldn't say that he wasn't. His refusal to your dinner invitation was certainly evidence, and when you factored in the playlist situation? The scales were tipping!
"No worries," you replied reassuringly. "There's a great Thai place on my way home, I can still pick some up. Plus, I have a show I like to tune into at 7, anyway."
You were not prepared to get into a discussion about just what show it was, so before Jaebeom could ask, you turned his question back around on him, asking about his day.
Thankfully, he answered and didn't try to circle back to what you'd just said.
...Ew, had you just used the phrase 'circle back'? Outside of work hours?
You needed a vacation, desperately.
After Jaebeom left just before 6 o'clock, you almost immediately began writing out in your head what you would say to DefSoul.
You were more convinced than ever that they were the same person, but you didn't want to give that away. You didn't want to give away even the fact that you suspected anything.
So, as soon as you got home -- no, you couldn't wait until after Soul Tracks -- you opened up your laptop and got typing:
It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friiiidaaaaay
Listen, if you insist on being my friend, you're going to have to deal with my brain rot.
You're welcome.
Anyway, speaking of friends... I've kind of been thinking. One of the things I look forward to the most in my life right now is talking to you, and I can't help but wonder what it would be like to actually talk to you, y'know? Like... face-to-face. But I keep reminding myself that I don't even know where you live, so it's probably not possible to be face-to-face.
Do you think it's weird that we've never told each other our real names or where we live? I think it's a little weird since we've been talking for so long and know each other so well at this point. But if you don't think it's weird, and the last thing you'd rather do is reveal your true identity to me, then I absolutely totally completely accept and understand that! And I won't hold it against you, I promise.
I'm just curious.
So, what I'm saying is, you show me yours, I'll show you mine.
Name and location, that is. Nothing more personal than that. I realize now that kind of sounded like I was asking for a specific type of picture from you and would then send a specific type of picture in return, but I'm not. Not even a little bit.
Sorry, this is taking a weird turn.
OKAY MOVING ON to answer your question, something about me that I can't explain is I love drinking coffee. I love hot coffee, iced coffee, bitter coffee, sweet coffee -- if I'm desperate, I'll even drink black coffee. I also love cake! Any and every type of cake! But I hate tiramisu. I've tried it four times now, and I just think it's disgusting.
Speaking of drinks, my question is this: if you could only drink one drink for the rest of your life (besides water -- water doesn't count!), what would it be? I know you're surprised to read that I choose coffee. However! A local cafe I go to a lot does have this berry cobbler tea that I've become obsessed with, so that's a pretty close second, I think.
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!
See what you did there? You brought up something that Jaebeom would recognize without being obvious about it!
You were more than tempted to send your message now, but you didn't want to risk throwing Jaebeom/DefSoul off before having to go on air. So, instead, you scheduled it to send just 15 minutes after the Soul Tracks end time.
Of course, that meant you'd be anxious during the whole show, but... oh well. You were so close to finding out if your theory was correct that the anxious wait would be worth it!
Just as you exited through the front door of your office building, your phone vibrated -- just one, short vibration, so at least no one from work was calling you, wondering where you were. (I mean, you'd just snuck out of the office a minute ago to head to the coffee shop, so there would've been no reason for anyone to wonder where you were, but still.)
You were a few minutes behind schedule, though, so you resisted the urge to take your phone out of your pocket and see what the notification was. For now. If there was a line in the cafe, and if Jaebeom wasn't already there, then nothing could stop you!
Alas -- unlike yesterday, only one person was at the register, and after a cursory glance around the rest of the cafe, you saw Jaebeom was already sitting at a small table for two with his laptop.
He must have felt your eyes on him because his gaze suddenly met yours, a tiny smile appearing on his lips as he lifted one hand to greet you with a wave.
Making eye contact with him made your stomach flip way more than you expected -- probably because the guy was way better looking than you remembered. You'd somehow convinced yourself that your mind had been playing tricks on you yesterday since it surely wasn't possible for one person to possess good looks on such a scale.
But he did. Your eyes (and your somersaulting stomach) had just confirmed it.
You did your best to casually wave back at him before stepping up to the register to place your order.
"Decaf latte today," you told the employee, pulling a face that clearly said your full-caf latte yesterday had been a mistake. At least, you'd blamed your restless night on the 3pm caffeine instead of admitting that your overthinking about the DefSoul/Jaebeom situation had kept you up.
Once you paid, you let out a shaky breath and turned to head over to Jaebeom's table rather than waiting at the counter for your drink as you normally did.
"Hello," you greeted cheerfully as soon as you came within earshot. "Fancy meeting you here."
A barely detectable smirk tugged at Jaebeom's lips as he closed his laptop, and he replied, "It's almost like we planned it or something."
"I know, right!" you remarked with feigned shock. You heard him let out a soft, breathy chuckle as you slid into the chair across from him.
"How's your Tuesday going?" he asked. "Is there even any hope for a good Tuesday? Since it's the worst day of the week and all."
His question made you tilt your head curiously, and you said, "You know what, that's a good point. Do I start every Tuesday automatically assuming it's going to be just a day I have to get through and not one I can enjoy? Maybe. And maybe I should work on fixing that."
Jaebeom chuckled softly. "I promise it wasn't my intention to cause an existential crisis about how you treat a specific day of the week. I really did just want to know how you were."
"Intended or not, that's what you did," you replied, letting out a sigh and trying not to smile. "If Tuesday is no longer the worst day of the week, I may spiral into a full-on panic about it, and it'll be all your fault."
As you lifted your shoulders into a shrug, you could tell by the look on Jaebeom's face that he was now no longer sure if you were kidding...
Thankfully, a barista arrived at your table to hand you your latte, so you shot them a bright smile and chirped, "Thank you!"
When you shifted your gaze to Jaebeom again, you saw his expression had relaxed, so you finally answered his question. "My day has been incredibly average up until now," you told him before taking a sip of your drink. "What about yours?"
"About the same," he replied. And then he gently lifted up his laptop, sliding out a small piece of paper from underneath. "I... didn't want to risk being creepy and asking to friend you on Spotify, so I just wrote down some songs I think you should listen to."
Your eyes widened, and you leaned forward slightly to look at the paper. "Perfect!"
You decided to ignore what he'd said about friending you on Spotify because he was kind of right -- it was a little creepy to ask someone you'd just met yesterday if you could share your music data with them. Maybe not to everybody, but to you, music was personal.
"Thank you," you continued, skimming over the list before folding it up and putting it in your pocket. "I will work through this for the rest of the day."
Saying that immediately spurred the thought of how/when you would let him know your opinions after listening, and you opened your mouth to ask him if he would be willing to meet up again tomorrow --
"Would it be too much to ask if we could meet here again tomorrow?" he asked, his brow furrowed adorably. "It's okay if you can't, I just --"
"No, I have to tell you what I think of the songs," you assured him with a nod. "I do think, though, that I may not be able to get away with taking 3PM breaks every day... Any chance you'd be around at either 7:45 or just after 5? AM and PM, respectively."
Jaebeom gently drummed his fingers on his laptop a few times before answering, "Either one, but let's do 5. That way, you're not on as much of a time crunch."
Your heart jumped a little. That obviously meant he wanted to stay longer and talk more, right?
"That sounds great," you agreed, hoping the grin you were forcing on your lips was as cute and casual as you intended it to be. "I keep seeing this Berry Cobbler herbal tea on their menu, so tomorrow after work will be the perfect time to try it."
The corners of Jaebeom's lips lifted in a small smile, and even though it really was just barely a smile, it still made your heart jump again -- and your stomach flipped this time, too.
"Perfect," he murmured. Then he raised his brows and said, "I'll let you go, then. But I'll see you tomorrow at 5?"
"You can count on it. And thank you again for the list," you answered as you slid out of your seat and stood up. "I can't wait to listen."
After saying your goodbyes, you wove your way through the other tables toward the door. And as soon as you set foot outside, feeling the afternoon sun on your face, you couldn't stop yourself from letting out a soft squeal.
During your mild guilt trip last night, you'd tried to convince yourself that the vibes between you and Jaebeom had just been friendly. But you certainly couldn't say that with any degree of certainty right now, and you'd bet you wouldn't be able to after tomorrow evening, either.
At least, the vibes on your end didn't seem friendly. Maybe he felt otherwise, but... you didn't need to worry about that right now.
As you walked the short distance from the cafe to your office building, you suddenly remembered feeling a notification come through on your phone when you'd arrived. Now that you didn't have anything to be nervous about or late for, you slid your phone out of your pocket and tapped on the screen to see what you'd missed.
Oop!
A message from DefSoul.
You were now thankful you hadn't checked it earlier because knowing you had a reply from DefSoul at the same time as knowing you were imminently meeting up with Jaebeom? That would've thrown you for a loop, let me tell you.
Even now, you stuffed your phone back in your pocket and pushed the knowledge of his reply to the side; you much preferred to wait until you got home to not only read his messages but reply to them. Work was neither the time nor the place for this piece of your life!
Hi friend --
I did, indeed, get all of my to-do list tasks checked off, but I truly appreciate you continuing to hold me accountable. I can't tell you how many times I feel too lazy and almost don't get something done -- but then remember that you'll be checking in on me, and I don't want to let you down.
Okay, how do you come up with such good questions? This one is so simple, but it really made me think. And after thinking for a pretty long time, I came up with a few answers (and, unfortunately, most of them are pretty boring or, at the very least, predictable).
With an extra hour, I would:
Extend my show for at least 30 more minutes.
Clean my apartment.
Work (more) on my own music.
Talk to you.
And there we go.
My question is not really a question, but it's what came to my mind first, and I can't shake it -- I just want to hear about your day. What did you do? I don't work an office job, so I really just want to know every mundane detail since I've never experienced it. Tell me everything, please.
I'll start. Today I woke up around 9am, went for a jog at my apartment's health center, made myself some eggs and toast for breakfast, did some work for the music studio, ate a protein bar for lunch, and right now, I'm at a nearby coffee shop. I've started a new-ish thing where I try to work on my show outside of the house just so I don't get cabin fever. So far, it seems to be working. Once I'm done here, I'll head back home to get ready for the show. After that, I'll probably do some more work work until I fall asleep.
How exciting, right? I don't know, maybe to you, it is. It's all about perspective, I guess.
-DefSoul
P.S. Along with trying out working in coffee shops, I also thought I'd try out a new greeting for my message. I definitely overthought it before I settled on 'Hi friend,' and now I'm pretty sure that's lame. It's too late to change it now, but I'm open to brainstorming.
P.P.S. No, it's not just you. New friends are definitely scary.
As soon as you finished reading his reply, you shifted your gaze to stare at the wall of your apartment... blinked a couple of times... and then started to read it again.
First of all! He'd started off his message with 'Hi friend,' and even though he eventually admitted it was lame, you were glad that he'd confirmed what you'd been thinking lately. The two of you were friends! Even though you'd never met in real life, you had become close enough just by exchanging messages online.
Second of all! His random question that wasn't really a question was so overwhelmingly cute? He wanted to know what your day was like! Something about that just tugged like crazy at your heartstrings.
And let's not skip over the fact that one of the things he'd do with his magical extra hour was talk to you.
Honestly, you weren't sure how to take that, and not even in a bad way. In a 'that kind of sounds like you could possibly have more than friendly feelings for me' way, even though you knew that was pretty ridiculous. Sure, you had a crush on him, but somehow it was ridiculous that he would have a crush on you.
But, of course, now that you'd thought it, you couldn't unthink it.
So, the only thing you could do was distract yourself by finishing the list of Jaebeom's songs, settling down to prepare for DefSoul's livestream, and writing a first draft of your reply to him in your head.
...Should you include that in your answer to his random question that wasn't really a question?
Why not?
Hi Friend --
No, it's not lame, so I'm going to use it, too. Ha!
I do, in fact, think your day is exciting! I mean, just the idea of waking up at 9am on a weekday is thrilling -- and I'm not joking. I also don't understand how you have the energy to work out, period, much less jog! I can handle a brisk walk, but nothing more. I would say 'teach me your ways, oh wise jogging one,' but I'll be completely honest -- jogging/running does not appeal to me, and I have no desire to start. But, seriously, props to you.
Also, you hardly ever mention the work you do for the music studio, and I don't understand why! That is so cool, and I want to know more!! I mean, unless it's confidential. Like, are you working on a new album for a very well-known artist? If that's the case, then I totally get it, and I will absolutely keep all the details hush-hush. I'm so good at keeping secrets!
Onto my day now -- and remember: you asked for this.
I woke up at 6:30am, got ready for work, caught the bus to my office -- if I wake up early enough and am not running late, I'll walk. Today I did not wake up early enough and was running late -- popped into my favorite local cafe (because even when I'm running late, I've built in time to stop for caffeine! It's a necessity!), and then my workday started promptly at 8am. I checked my emails, replied to the ones I wanted to reply to (kidding -- I replied to them all because I'm a good worker bee), added to my To-Do List for the week, had a meeting with management about company structure, prepped for some interviews with potential new hires, had lunch (a burrito from the cafe on the first floor of the office building), conducted those interviews, coffee break, had another meeting about benefits, and then I went home! My days are usually just meetings, emails, and admin tasks like filing, paperwork, etc etc. Like you said, it's boring, but maybe you'll think it's exciting.
After I got home, I read your reply, started making dinner (a cheeseburger salad, which is basically just a cheeseburger in a bowl with tons of lettuce and no bun), ate dinner, and now here I am! Getting ready to listen to your show and writing this to you.
My random question: if you could invent a holiday, how would people celebrate?
I would invent a Treat Yourself holiday where people get off work and spend the day treating themselves however they want to -- maybe they visit family, maybe they don't. Maybe they eat healthy, maybe they don't. Maybe they do their nails or a sheet mask or sit on the couch all day playing video games or go on a hike or clean the house. A holiday with no obligations or responsibilities. A day to just be.
What about you?
-Peace out
P.S. A protein bar for lunch? Sir. I surely hope you're not one of those people who work too hard and forget to eat real food!!!! Don't make me worry about you!!!
After hitting send, you saw you only had a few more minutes until Soul Tracks started, so you closed every other tab, put his channel on full screen, turned the volume up, snuggled under your blanket on the couch, and let out a sigh of contentment.
Tonight, you got to listen to Soul Tracks. Tomorrow, you would spend a little more time with a possible new friend.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
No matter how hard you thought about it, you couldn't think of a legitimate reason why you couldn't (and shouldn't) go back to the cafe for another latte.
You could certainly think of reasons why you should, though.
It was Monday. Mondays were awful in just about every way.
You were tired. You needed a pick-me-up.
Your regular shop was locally-owned. Another latte meant supporting your community!
The cafe was so close to your office that no one would even know you were gone.
Before you could think of a fifth reason, you were already heading toward the elevator. It didn't matter that it was 3pm -- in fact, it was actually the perfect time for a caffeine boost. Monday at 3pm. Can you think of a worse time during the whole week?
Exactly.
You needed a break, and you needed a treat!
Just a few minutes later, you stepped into the familiar cozy comfort and joined the line at the register (it did make you feel better that you weren't the only one indulging yourself this afternoon).
In fact, the person you got behind in line had a pretty magnificent head of dark, wavy hair and enticingly broad shoulders.
...It had been way too long since you'd had a crush on someone.
Someone real, that is.
I mean, not that DefSoul wasn't real. He was real!
Presumably.
You'd just never met him in person.
Wait, hold on, had you just admitted to having a crush on DefSoul?
I guess you shouldn't have been surprised since the two of you had been exchanging emails for a few months now, and everything you'd learned about him had been so fascinating. The banter had been top-tier. And hearing his deep, smooth voice every night? How could you not fall for him?
The only thing missing was being able to ogle his miraculous head of hair and broad shoulders.
If he had them, that is.
But the person standing in front of you did, so he would have to do!
Suddenly, a new song began playing in the cafe, and you immediately recognized it as one of the songs from the playlist DefSoul had created for you.
"Oh, I love this song," you said quietly to yourself, the corners of your lips pulling into a grin.
The beautiful hair in front of you turned to glance over his alluring shoulders and said, "It's a great song."
"Right!" you replied, ignoring the fluttering in your heart and stomach at the sound of his voice.
And also? You could see just a sliver of his face, but it was enough to know this dude was handsome.
He then turned around almost fully to look at you, and his eyes were so piercing that you nearly took a step back.
"This is one of my favorite artists," he said. "But hardly anyone I know has ever heard of them."
"Really?" you asked, brow furrowing and eyes widening in distress. "That's such a shame, they're amazing!"
A smirk tugged at his lips, and he murmured, "You must have good taste in music."
"I like to think so," you chuckled.
The guy opened his mouth to reply to you, but unfortunately, the person in front of him finished ordering and stepped away from the register.
"It's your turn," you said, nodding at the counter.
As much as you wanted to continue admiring the music with this attractive stranger (and, to be honest, continue admiring him), a handful of people had gotten in line behind you, and you wanted nothing less than to delay others from getting their caffeine.
Attractive Stranger raised his eyebrows in surprise before turning back around and stepping up to place his order.
Just a minute or two later, when you finished placing your own order and stepped aside to wait for your drink, Attractive Stranger (who, thankfully, was also still waiting for his), cleared his throat gently before asking, "Do you have a favorite song by them?"
You were just barely able to keep a delighted smile from curving on your lips -- you'd been hoping he would talk to you again.
"Actually, that's the only one of theirs I know," you admitted with a somewhat guilty expression. "That song is on a playlist I've been listening to non-stop for a while, so I just haven't had time to listen to anything else. But if you have any recommendations, I'm all ears!"
And now that you were more face-to-face with him, you realized just how good-looking he was. His face was absolutely as handsome as the back of his head -- though, let's be honest, more than.
That dark hair you'd studied from the back fell in perfect waves just so over his forehead, ever so gently touching his eyelashes. His features were angular but also somehow soft. And your gaze was drawn to a very adorable and charming freckle on his eyelid.
"I recommend songs like it's my job," he replied with a soft chuckle. "I'm happy to. Do you usually come here around this time?"
Typically, a line like that would immediately give you the ick, and you would reply with a polite but stern, "No" before hastily retreating.
But something about the way this guy had asked you -- and something about the way his face and hair and shoulders and aura was so damn attractive to you -- had you responding quite differently than normal.
"Not usually," you admitted with a somewhat guilty chuckle. "I come here every morning before work -- my office is right down the street -- but I hardly ever come here in the afternoon."
"Got it," he replied.
You tried not to tell yourself that you definitely heard disappointment in his voice.
But you absolutely did.
"I can show you some songs now," he continued. "I just... I like to take my time with music recommendations. But it's --"
"Don't you think Tuesday is the worst day of the week?" you interrupted.
His brow furrowed slightly, but you continued before he could express his confusion.
"I mean, Monday always sucks just because it's the first day of the work week, but if you think optimistically, you could take Monday as being a fresh start. Plus, if you had a particularly good weekend, you can still cherish all the fun you had because it's still fresh in your mind. Wednesday is the middle of the week, Thursday is Friday Jr., and Friday is basically the weekend! But Tuesday? What's special about Tuesday? Nothing. So, I think I may have to treat myself to another latte right around this time tomorrow just to get through the rest of the day."
Understanding dawned on his incredibly handsome face, and a smirk tugged at his lips. "I would have to agree," he chuckled.
A barista set down an iced Americano and a latte on the counter, and the two of you reached for your drinks.
He gestured toward the door, ushering you that way and opening it for you when you arrived.
"So... same time tomorrow?" he asked.
"Same time tomorrow," you confirmed with a nod. And then you remembered you didn't actually know his name and hadn't given him yours. So, you held out your hand to him and said, "I'm Y/N, by the way."
He took yours, and you had to pretend like your breath hadn't gotten stuck in your throat as soon as his fingers touched your palm.
"I'm Jaebeom," he told you.
"Nice to meet you," you grinned. Because it certainly had been.
"Likewise."
As you settled down to listen to Soul Tracks later that evening, you found you couldn't stop thinking about Jaebeom. It was the first time you'd ever struck up a conversation with someone while in line for coffee (at least, a conversation past a few inane words about the weather or what have you), and it was certainly the first time you'd ever struck up a conversation with someone so intriguingly good-looking while in line for coffee.
Plus, you'd made plans to meet up again at the cafe tomorrow, something you'd never done with a stranger you'd just met five minutes prior!
Today had been a momentous day for you! How could you not think about it?
And as the show went on, you were unable to stop yourself from feeling guilty. There was actually no reason at all to feel guilty; you didn't even know DefSoul in person -- or even his real name! -- so it wasn't like you could classify him as a friend. Right? And you'd known and spoken with Jaebeom for all of, what, five minutes? It's not like you were going on a date with him. It was a very casual meet-up so he could recommend you some songs. That's it!
...Honestly, there was a lot to process about this whole thing.
First of all, it felt so wrong to even think that DefSoul wasn't your friend. You'd been messaging him for months now, and you couldn't talk to someone that often without developing a friendship. I mean, you'd told him things you'd been too scared to tell anyone! Of course he was your friend!
Second of all, wasn't it a bit odd that your friendship with DefSoul had started because of his music recommendations for you, and now you were possibly starting another friendship with someone who was recommending music for you?
You didn't think it meant anything, obviously. It was just... odd. Nothing more, nothing less.
But even knowing all of that, why should you feel guilty? Having more than one friend is an extremely normal thing, and it seems pretty far-fetched to think that one can only have a singular friend with a specific hobby. In fact, it would be strange if you did have just one friend who liked music. You, yourself, liked music, and isn't the whole concept of friends kind of based on the idea of having common interests? Not always, of course, but most of the time, absolutely!
All of this to say, if DefSoul somehow found out that you had another friend who liked recommending songs to you, he surely wouldn't be hurt by it. He would just think it's normal!
Because it was!
"So, stop feeling guilty about this, Y/N," you muttered to yourself as you turned the volume up on your computer, hoping that louder Soul Tracks music would drown out your annoying thoughts.
In another attempt to stop thinking about this weird guilt, you started thinking about your reply to the very person whose livestream you were listening to. He had sent you a message the other day, so it was now your turn.
But it didn't take long for you to wonder if you should mention your run-in with a potential new friend at the coffee shop.
Was it something you would tell any of your other friends? Yes, of course. Standing behind someone in line and ending up with plans to meet again the next day was a classic meet-cute! If it had happened to any of your friends, you would certainly want to hear about it!
But DefSoul... was just different. And not even different in the fact that you didn't actually know him in real life.
You had some very close friends. Friends you'd known for decades and knew everything about you. Friends you felt comfortable telling any and everything to.
Your friendship with DefSoul somehow surpassed that. It was probably because it was a lot easier to divulge your darkest, deepest thoughts through words on a screen instead of face-to-face, but he was also just the most incredible listener. Even though you couldn't see him as he read your messages, you could just tell. His replies were always so thoughtful that it was plainly obvious he'd not only read your words but paid attention to them.
So, on paper, you should have wanted to tell him about your coffee shop encounter. He would most likely reply with some insightful advice on what to do next!
But each time you started typing out your reply, it just didn't feel right.
Not telling him didn't feel right either, though.
You briefly floated the idea of not replying to him just yet but tossed that in the trash just about as soon as it appeared. That wasn't an option.
In the end, you settled on mentioning the tiniest hint of the situation and moving on.
Happy(?) Monday!!!!
How did the weekend fly by so quickly 😭 Did you get all of your to-do list checked off? It always seems like you do, but you asked me to hold you accountable, so continue to ask I shall!
I will answer your question later in this message, I promise, but before I do, I have a random one for you: what is your favorite and least favorite day of the week? I was talking to a friend at work about this, and now I'm curious what other people think. Does anyone else in the world have a favorite day other than Saturday? These are the thoughts that keep me up at night!
Speaking of friends at work -- I may have made a new one? We just met today, but it seems like we have pretty similar music taste, so things seem promising. (But lowkey, new friends are scary. Right? It's not just me? Maybe it is. Whatever.)
Now onto your question, and my answer might be surprising: I do think I would quit my job if I won the lottery.
I know. you're thinking 'But Y/UN! I thought your lifelong dream was to work in an office!'
And, yes, that is correct. That's all I wanted to do when I was growing up. And to be fair, I really don't mind the work itself.
It's just the time! Why is the workday SO LONG? Why do I have a scant handful of hours at home before I have to go to bed and get up the next morning to do it all over again? And the weekend being just two measly days? Out of SEVEN? It's borderline criminal.
So, the main reason I would quit my job if I won the lottery is so I could get back this thing known as 'Free Time'! I want more hobbies! I want to volunteer! I want to travel and spend more time with friends and not be too exhausted to deep clean my apartment every Sunday! A part-time job at a cafe or a used bookstore wouldn't be half-bad, either, if I really started to get bored.
And now my random question for you is this: if there were 25 hours in a day instead of 24, what would you do with that extra hour? And you can't say sleep. Let's say the extra hour is between 6 and 7 pm -- after average work hours but before your livestream starts. What are you doing?
Me? I'd probably try to fit in one of those hobbies I was just complaining about not being able to have because of lack of time. Maybe I would read more. Or watch more popular TV shows that everyone talks about. Or maybe I would cook more elaborate meals for myself!
Your turn!
Not too long ago, you had inadvertently started a new tradition of asking a random question each time the two of you messaged each other. You'd just mentioned a question that had been posed to you at work one day, and before you knew it, you and DefSoul were exchanging answers and asking new ones. It was now one of your favorite things about talking to him because you got to learn more about him in a fun, somewhat unusual way. He always seemed to have such thoughtful answers, and you really liked that about him.
But that shouldn't have surprised you -- he spent much of his free time creating bespoke playlists for people based on their life situations. That in and of itself was incredibly thoughtful and required more than a modicum of consideration.
Without thinking, you clicked 'Send' -- and then promptly gasped. His livestream was still going on!
So you scrambled to bring up his latest message again, clicked 'Reply,' and typed out I swear I am listening!!! I didn't mean to reply DURING your show, I just had too many thoughts and had to get them all out before they left!! SORRY!!!!!!!!!
Thankfully, DefSoul was playing a song at the moment; if he'd been in the middle of talking or reading someone's letter, you were certain he would've stumbled on his words or worse, called you out on air. He took his show seriously, and there was nothing you wanted less than for him to think you didn't listen and appreciate it.
As Got7 have just comeback could I request something with Jaebeom please? I haven't fully recovered from the excitment of yesterday
i know the comeback was a while ago, but i hope you're still excited for this @lostfictionalbee !! thank you so much for your request!
Genre: AU, Fluff, Slice of Life
Pairing: Jaebeom x You (Female!Reader)
Warnings: None
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | Words: 2,496
Growing up, nobody ever told you just how exhausting and overwhelming it was being an adult. Your parents had certainly made it look easy; in fact, they'd made it look so easy that your dream as a child had been to grow up and get an office job. The idea of dressing in business casual clothes, taking the train into the city, having your own desk, typing away on a laptop, getting coffee at a quaint cafe just around the corner -- it had all just held so much appeal for you in your younger years. Your most played make-believe game had been one with you as the receptionist for a very high-powered law firm. You'd typed away at an old keyboard, taken calls on a disconnected phone, and filed scribbled-on papers in an empty drawer of the coffee table in your living room.
It had taken almost no time at all after going off to university, majoring in business administration, graduating with honors, and getting a job in HR to realize that your childhood dreams had been highly glamorized and romanticized -- to say the least.
Yes, you enjoyed building a business casual wardrobe and becoming a regular at a locally-owned coffee shop next to your office and making friends with your co-workers.
But the actual work part of it was draining, stressful, and taxing on your mental and emotional health.
Yes, you now made adult money and could afford to buy all the things you'd wanted as a kid.
But after paying for rent, utilities, and groceries every month, it seemed like you hadn't even received a paycheck at all! Where did all your money go?! And how had your parents managed to not only buy a house but also raise children?! It must've helped to have two incomes, but still. If they'd ever been worried about finances, they'd done a great job of hiding it because you'd never known.
When you'd brought all of your woes up to them shortly after admitting to yourself that being an adult wasn't nearly as fun as you'd thought it would be, your mom had answered with a lilting laugh and said, "Of course, it's not fun. It's work. That's why you have to make your own fun."
You'd spent every day since trying to do just that.
After some trial and error (and a bit too much extra money down the drain), you found comfort in a YouTube channel called "Soul Tracks." It was almost like a radio show; the host would go live just about every night to create custom playlists based on listener requests. While you weren't musically gifted in any way, shape, or form, you'd always loved listening to it. Music had the ability to soothe and relax your frayed mind in a way nothing else really could. One night, the Soul Tracks live stream had popped up in your recommended feed, and something about it had drawn you to click on it.
You'd felt a connection to the show almost instantly, and from then on, you tuned in every chance you got -- which was basically every single night.
A few months after becoming a regular listener, you'd even sent in a message to the host -- someone you only knew as DefSoul -- to request your own custom playlist.
Hi DefSoul 😊
I've been listening to Soul Tracks for a few months now, and really, I have to start off by thanking you for sharing your time and talents with us. Your show is so calming to me, and I don't think I've missed an episode since I found your channel.
But the reason I'm writing in is the same reason everyone else writes in: I'm looking for a playlist.
I'm kind of new to this 'adult' thing -- I graduated from university a while ago, and have been working an HR job for a few years, but I still feel like I just became a grown-up. To be honest, I still don't actually feel like a grown-up, but apparently I am.
Anyway. As weird as it sounds, my dream growing up was to work in an office building, and now that I've achieved that dream... it kind of sucks. Not at all what I thought it would be! I guess I'm just feeling lost. Hopeless. Unsure of what life is really all about and who I really am.
Gee, is that all? 😂
You've proven yourself to be a musical genius, so I know whatever you come up with will solve all of my life problems and answer all of my life questions. (Or at least keep me entertained for months on end, which is just as good.)
Feel free to read this on your show -- I'm crossing my fingers that I'm not the only "adult" out there who feels this way.
Thanks 💜
-[Your Username]
Since his livestreams regularly had thousands of viewers, you told yourself that sending in a request was a long shot. He probably got so many messages each day and only had time to read a handful of them. It was very unlikely yours would be one of them.
Lo and behold, just a few days later, you heard the soothing, deep voice you'd come to know so well reading your words for all to hear -- well, for all twelve thousand people who were currently listening.
"I can assure you, you're not the only adult who feels this way," DefSoul said after finishing your letter. "I certainly feel that way. Not even sometimes, but most of the time. And I don't know about the whole 'musical genius' thing, but I put together a playlist that I think -- I hope -- will help you settle into those feelings and make a little peace with them."
Your heart was thudding inside your chest as you listened, and as the first song on the playlist -- your playlist!! The playlist DefSoul had made especially for you!! -- began to play, a voice in the back of your head wondered if this is exactly what your mom had meant about finding ways to make your own fun. You felt as giddy as a child right now, so surely it was!
But the giddiness you felt as you'd listened to your personal playlist had been nothing when, the very next day, you'd received an email reply from DefSoul himself.
Hi Y/UN--
I'm hoping you heard that I read your message during my show last night. You mentioned that you hadn't missed an episode since you found my channel, so I think there is a good chance you did. In case you didn't, though, I'm including a link to the replay.
Thanks for sending in your request, and a huge thanks for listening and supporting my channel. It's hard to put into words how much it means to have people actually enjoy what I do. I know I'm lucky to have found my passion and get to do that for a living -- I hope you can find that, too, if that's what you want.
In all honesty, I don't usually reply to messages because I figure that creating a playlist is reply enough. But there was just something about your message that stuck with me. Sure, I've turned my passion into a career, but that doesn't mean I know the answer to all of life's questions. I still feel lost and meaningless, like you said. I really connected with your words, and your playlist feels pretty special to me. (I hope that's not weird.)
I guess I just wanted to reach out and assure you that you're not alone, not by far. And if you ever need someone to talk to and ponder what life is all about, I'm here.
-DefSoul
You couldn't quite believe this was happening. And, worst of all, you had no one to talk to about this! Your closest friends and family knew about your favorite daily livestream, but they didn't really know. Nobody else listened to it or truly understood how much it meant to you.
The fact that you had no one to tell this to didn't stop you from writing him back, though. And you did so almost immediately.
Hi!!!! 💜
OMG I'm sorry, but I have to be a fangirl for a second. (To steal your own words: I hope that's not weird.) I just love your show so much, and I was already so thrilled when you made a playlist for me. But getting your reply just now is definitely going to be the highlight of my month! Thank you so so so much for taking the time to read my message, put together a playlist for me, AND write me back.
All right, now that I've gotten that out of my system!
It really is comforting to know that someone who does what you do -- has a passion, shares it with other people, can earn a living from it, and seems to have it all together -- feels lost just like I do. I mean, it's not comforting because if YOU also feel lost, then is there any hope that we ever won't feel lost? But it's comforting simply because it means I'm not alone. And one thing about me (that you didn't ask for) is that I've never felt lonely in my entire life, but I sure am scared of being alone.
Does that make any sense?
Well, even if it doesn't, that's how I feel.
Is it okay if I completely pivot and ask a somewhat personal question? You can totally ignore this -- in fact, if it's too much, and you don't feel comfortable, just don't reply to me at all, and I will get the message! But how did music become your passion? How did you start Soul Tracks? As someone whose only ever thought about growing up and working in an office, I'm incredibly intrigued to hear about how people who do really cool things started their journey to do the really cool things.
Again, you don't have to answer that if you don't want. Just call it me pondering what life is all about.
-Y/UN
As soon as you clicked 'Send,' you regretted asking such a personal question. DefSoul had told you in no uncertain terms that he was here if you ever needed someone to talk to, but... still. There was a reason he used a pseudonym from his show. Maybe divulging more about that part of his life was taking it one step too far.
To your surprise, an email arrived in your inbox just a couple of hours later:
Y/UN --
Just wanted to let you know I saw your reply, and I'll get back to you soon. I want to take some time to answer your question thoughtfully (but truthfully, I promise). I didn't want you to think I was blowing you off. Honestly, it may take a few days.
-DefSoul
Of course, you hit 'reply' immediately.
Take your time! I completely understand. 💜
And then you had to take a seat and take a breath. Was this really happening? Were you becoming internet pen pals with the host of your favorite livestreaming music channel?
True to his word, DefSoul sent you another email a few days later. You'd been on tenterhooks for those few days -- barely able to concentrate on work and looking forward to Soul Tracks more than usual -- but as soon as you opened his email, you found the wait had been worth it. You were immediately faced with a wall of text, and it almost took your breath away that he'd felt comfortable opening up to you this much.
You read his email slowly and thoroughly... and then you read it again three more times, for good measure.
Long story short: DefSoul had worked in a music store as a teenager because he'd always loved listening to music, singing, writing songs, and he'd taught himself to play the guitar from a very young age. When it came time to start making his own money, he'd applied to his favorite music store in less than a heartbeat. The owner had been a former local musician who'd retired to become a shopkeeper. During the several years DefSoul had worked there, the owner (who had remained unnamed all throughout the email) had instilled into him the idea that music is not just music. It's so much more. It's a language that can connect people of any age, race, gender, and more. Anyone. It's a way to speak to people you've never met. It's about creating moments that resonate with people. And because the owner believed this so wholeheartedly, he developed a habit of creating mixtapes for customers.
You can see where this is going, right?
The first time DefSoul had ever followed in his boss/mentor's footsteps had been when one of his close friends went through a breakup. He hadn't known any other way to comfort her, so he'd made her a playlist with songs that could help her both release her sadness and heal from it.
After DefSoul went to University and, eventually, stopped working at the music store, he found himself in much the same position as yours currently: lost. He'd wanted to become a professional musician, but his career hadn't taken off, and he'd needed some way to pay the bills. After working a desk job for just a couple of months, he'd received a message from that friend out of the blue.
She had told him that she wasn't sure if she'd ever thanked him properly for the playlist he'd made for her. She'd been scrolling through her music library earlier that day, seen it, and the thought to reach out to him about it hadn't left her since. Apparently, the songs had been a huge help to her, and she'd been able to move on more quickly than she'd ever thought.
An idea had popped up in DefSoul's head almost immediately, and that very night, he had created his Soul Tracks channel.
The rest, as they say, is history.
At the very end of his email, he'd written this:
I know this was long, so I'm sorry if it was way more than you ever wanted to know. I've never actually told the whole story to anyone before. I think taking the time to write it all out was more for my sake than anything, so thank you for letting me do that.
Obviously, the invitation to spill all the details of your story is always open. I'm all ears.
-DefSoul
P.S. At risk of being too forward, I think maybe we've become pen pals? I'm up for it if you are.
But if you're not, pretend I never said that.
You knew that it would take a while to reply -- just as it had taken him a few days. But you knew at least one thing you wanted to say to him.
Jaebeom isn’t usually the type to argue over trivial things. But when he was left waiting for you outside your building in the snow for hours, he cannot help but be furious at you when you finally came out of the building.
The argument seemed endless as he drove you back to your apartment. He was pissed and you were not one to back down either. So when he reached the front of your apartment, there were no good byes or yells. He was waiting for a strong slam of the car door but nothing came except for a strong gust of wind—you did not close the fucking door!
