#johnny was happy once... just a while ago. and on a different continent

[melonmork]

once in a blue moon

soulmate!jaemin 🌙💕

a/n: in this au, identical birthmarks indicate soulmates!

~the only time you see your birthmark is through photos that your friends take or, when you’re bored, you’ll manage a blurry photo and inspect it disinterestedly

~it’s in the shape of a crescent moon, with another small disconnected spot perched right above the top of the moon shape, and it sits right behind your right ear before your hairline, in just the right spot to give you a headache when you try to see it in your reflection…

~the whole soulmate thing seems so intangible to you, although one of your closest friends just recently met their soulmate after noticing her identical birthmark while she bent down to pet a puppy

~of course you’re happy for them, and you’re excited to meet your own soulmate, but for now it seems so far away, so unattainable

~first of all, you think, what if their birthmark is somewhere i can’t see and i never know they’re my soulmate?

~and anyways, you muse further, my soulmate might live on a different continent, for all i know

~the unnecessarily loud snapping of fingers right before your face snaps you out of your daze, and you let out a little huff

~you look over to see your boss’ unamused face and your cheeks heat up

~”sorry, i won’t let it happen again, i’m sorry…” you say softly, glancing down to your lap before trying your best at an earnest expression, hoping to convince your boss once again to be lenient on you through your attempt at puppy eyes

~he sighs, shakes his head, and laughs, “that’s what you tell me every time. can you go stack these fiction books? they came in this morning. and put those poem books on the front display, they’re supposed to be a big seller.”

~you nod and quickly accept the task, thanking him and getting to work stocking the shelves with the books from the cart

~you finish up, admiring your creative setup of the poem books on the front display case, thanking your boss again when he compliments your work

~you decide you deserve (and need) a hot drink from the book store cafe, so you wander to that side of the book store and wait in line behind a few customers, one of them holding a poem book that you handed them while you were setting up the display

~while you wait, you check your phone to see that your friend sent you a photo of her with her soulmate; your friend smiles broadly while the pretty girl beside her plants a big kiss on her cheek. she sent it with the message “having so much fun at the beach with her! can’t wait for you to meet her!” 

~you smile at your phone and then put it away, opting to wait a while longer before responding

~and your mind cant help but wander to your soulmate again

~how tall will they be? you wonder

~how well will their hands fit in mine? what color are their eyes? do they prefer winter or summer? will they like the way i dress? do they like to read books too?

~again you’re snapped out of your daze, this time by the barista, jaemin, who calls your name gently

~”you want the usual?” he asks, smiling slightly at you, looking you in the eyes

~he always does that, and it makes you blush, and for a second the thought occurs to you that jaemin could be your soulmate…

~no, you think, he probably already found his

~”please and thanks” you respond, returning his smile and waiting at the counter as he writes your name on the cup

~you admire his black hair that falls softly in small strands out of the style and into his eyes as he looks down and writes

~you admire his profile as he hands the cup to the other barista, taeil

~you cant look away from him, from his shapely jawline, his dark eyebrows, his lips, soft and slightly shiny from the lip balm you sometimes see him rubbing on from across the book store

~aaaand much to your embarrassment, you’ve dazed again

~you snap out of it at the sound of jaemin’s soft laugh

~he’s shaking his head slightly, and you blush and laugh along with him

~since there’s no one in line behind you, you have time to chat with him for a bit, so he strikes up a conversation

~”you always seem like you’re somewhere else, you know. what are you thinking about now?” he inquires, leaning his elbows on the counter and watching you for your reply

~you hesitate… how can i tell him that i was thinking about how beautiful he is? you think… eventually, you decide to just tell him that you were thinking about your soulmate

~”oh,” he says, his eyes widening, “you’ve found them? what are they like?” he asks, his smile fading slightly, but just enough for you to notice

~”oh no no i haven’t met them yet! i was just… wondering what they might be like…”

~he smiles again and looks at you silently for a moment

~”they must be wonderful if they’re your soulmate, and im sure they think about you as well. who knows, maybe they work in a book store too,” he adds, then leans back from the counter, “i should get back to work. see you!” he affords you another smile, a jaemin smile, and waves at you, then disappears into the small pantry behind the counter

~you pick up your drink and thank taeil, then head back to the register area to relieve your coworker johnny and take over for a bit

~he hangs around, leaning against the counter beside you, talking about a book he read last week that he recommends, and you two talk books in between ringing up customers and helping people find a certain book

~when the conversation lulls, johnny looks at you intently for a moment and you’re like what?? do i have cream on my face?? and he laughs and shakes his head

~”you like jaemin, dont you? you go get a drink from the cafe every time you work, but only after you spend a solid ten minutes stealing glances at him from all the way over here”

~as he says that, you involuntarily glance at jaemin, then immediately look back at johnny, your face heating up

~”see! you can’t deny it” he affirmed, crossing his arms across his chest and smiling, a bit smug

~”maybe i do. but what’s the point of liking people, johnny? why do crushes even exist when soulmates exist too? isn’t it pointless?” 

~johnny ponders this for a second, then responds, “attraction isn’t pointless. the universe has its ways of steering us along its path.” he smiles at you, places his hand on your shoulder, and then bids you goodbye and leaves the store

~”the universe has its ways of steering us along its path…” you repeat to yourself, mulling it over 

~it makes perfect sense, doesnt it? you think

~in fact, it gives you courage, and you decide then and there that next time you have a shift at the same time as jaemin, you’ll spend more time talking to him, maybe even wait for his shift to end and sit down with him like you did once a long while ago

~two whole weeks actually pass before you see jaemin again at work, and you swear he looks even more beautiful when you finally see him again

~his skin is a bit tanner and brighter and his hair looks wavy and you find it even harder than normal to look away

~this time he catches you looking too, and he flashes you his lovely, big smile before you’re able to turn away in a sorry attempt to hide your embarrassment at having been caught staring

~you’re trying hard not to look at him, because it makes your heart beat way too fast, and you even begin to question your plans of going over to him

~but it turns out you don’t need to worry about that anyway, because a moment later you see beautiful, glowing jaemin’s dazzling smile right in front of you, and he looks so cute in his barista apron and cap with his wavy hair poking out from underneath the sides

~”jaemin, hi…” you manage, a little bit breathless by how suddenly he came to see you

~”hey, when do you get off?” he asks, and his face lights up when you tell him that you get off in an hour. “me too! would you like to sit down and have a cup of coffee with me then?” and when he asks, you look into his eyes and you swear that they have stars in them; there’s no way the poor book store lighting could make them so dazzling

~”i would love that, jaemin” you respond happily, the weight of being the one to ask him lifted off your shoulders

~”i’ll see you then,” he says before flashing you another smile that makes your heart skip twelve hundred beats

~johnny from the register beside yours: ayyyyyeeeeeeee get it!

~once the hour has passed, you take off your own book store cap and make your way over to a cafe table, sit down, and wait for jaemin 

~a minute later, he emerges from behind the counter, still wearing his cap and apron, balancing two cups, a pastry bag, and a photo album in his hand, his signature beam plastered across his face

~you can’t help but giggle at his cuteness, and even though you’re nervous, you’re also so comfortable in his presence as he sets down everything he’s holding and gives you another big smile, saying hello

~you two make small talk about work and sip on the drinks he brought (of course he brought you your usual order)

~and then he says in a more serious tone “i have something i’d like to show you” and he opens the photo album he brought

~your moth drops open when you see the photos… they’re all of the moon

~each photo is a breathtaking shot of the moon, hanging amiably over the dark ocean in the dusk, adorning the warm pink morning sky like a pearl, or boldly white against a stark black sky speckled with stars

~”i went to the beach with my family last week,” he explains, “and i had some great opportunities to photograph the moon. it’s kind of my passion” and when you look at his profile beside him, your heart is filled with adoration for this boy

~and then you remember your birthmark, shaped like the moon, and here you are next to the boy who loves the moon, and you think it really could be possible that he’s your soulmate…

~when you see jaemin begin to look at you, you quickly return your gaze to the photo album, moving your hair absentmindedly out of your face 

~and you don’t realize it, but in doing so you’ve revealed your birthmark to jaemin, who is fixated on you as if you are the moon

~theyre my soulmate, he thinks to himself, oh my god theyre my soulmate

~after a moment you meet his gaze again and you give him a puzzled expression in response to his own shocked one

~”is everything okay?” you ask, and he clears his throat, smiles, and nods, and tells you that it’s getting dark, he’ll lead you out to your car

~so you two walk out side by side (johnny winks at you when you catch his eye on your way out) and step out into the cooler night air and he walks with you in silence as you make your way to your car, a bit confused by why he ended your conversation so abruptly

~when you get to your car, you begin to thank him, but he gently cuts you off

~”i… there’s something you need to see.” he says

~the street lights illuminate his figure from behind and the moonlight, especially bright tonight, although you cant tear your eyes away from jaemin to afford the moon a look to see why, shines softly on his face

~without moving his gaze from your own, jaemin slides his fingers slowly underneath the collar of his shirt and pulls the material down over his left shoulder

~at first you’re shocked by his actions, but when you see the darker patches of skin right below his shoulder, you begin to understand

~he’s showing you his birthmark

~and it’s yours

~a crescent moon with a small spot just above the tip of the moon, gracing his tanned arm

~and everything makes sense now

~”we’re soulmates,” jaemin says gently, his voice soft and wonderfully raspy as he pulls the collar of his shirt back over his shoulder and smiles so softly at you, and you find yourself jealous of the moon because of how often she must get to kiss his beautiful features

~”may i?” he asks, his fingers hovering over your right ear, and when you nod he ghosts his warm fingertips over your birthmark

~and in a moment his chest is against yours, his right hand tenderly holding the small of your back and his left hand deftly sweeping your hair away from behind your ear

~he leans in to kiss your birthmark and his breath is hot and wonderful on the side of your neck and you tilt your head, inviting him to kiss you, wrapping your arms around his waist and trying to control your racing heart and fast breathing

~his warm lips plant two, three, four kisses gingerly on the tender skin where your birthmark is

~he pulls away and looks at you fondly, smiling and still holding your back and your neck in his warm palms

~”you know,” he begins, “i’ve always felt that you are the only person more beautiful than the moon. i wonder how it is that we just so happened to work at the same book shop, in the same town, at the same time…”

~suddenly, johnny’s words echo in your head, and you voice them aloud, “the universe has its way of steering us along its path.”

~he smiles widely and, after thinking about it for a minute, says “you’re so right..” as he leans back, this time planting his gentle, strawberry-lip-balm-flavored kisses on your lips, savoring his time with you under the moon and stars, inexplicably glad that it’s you, it’s you, it’s really you…

~after he kisses you, he looks up at the moon

~you continue to watch him, even daring to kiss him quickly underneath his chin, making him laugh so cutely

~”look up,” he says, and you do

~”a blue moon…”

~”yep. a few minutes ago i would have called it coincidence, but you’ve got me thinking othwerise.” and he looks back at you and gives you that impossibly lovely smile of his, and you find yourself thinking the same thing as him

~it’s you, it’s you, it really is you...

thank you for reading!!! i hope it's a fun read! feedback is very much appreciated! 🌙💞😌💙 much love to you all! xxxx