Coffee’s cold, runs the first thought through Jaejoong’s head when the icy liquid touches the pale rose skin of his lips. Sometimes he wishes that the side effects of his abilities had been read off to him like the ones in the drug commercials, warning him about freezing things around him and cold cups of coffee that had been steaming minutes ago for the rest of his life. Maybe he would have picked a different ability instead, had it been his choice in the first place. 

With a short glance down to his wrist, Jaejoong sees the black numbers printed on his skin ticking down second by second, as always. Today is a special day for these numbers; today they will fulfill their purpose of revealing his soul mate when they finally trickle down to zero. Personally, he’s never really believed in ‘soul mates’ or ‘meant to be’ relationships; he’s always thought the concept to be a bit unrealistic and childish, regardless of what he’d been told the numbers were meant for in school. 

Still, he finds himself filled with a bit of excitement and curiosity as he waits patiently for the last ten seconds to fade into the past. One glance over to his left hand reminds him that he still has a half frozen coffee he needs to toss, so he scans the room for the nearest trashcan and figures he has time to run over and throw it away before his clock runs out. 

As he stands, he notices that the cafe is actually relatively empty today, only a few patrons stay inside the cafe itself and relax, while the others hurry out, drink carriers in hand, and rush back to wherever they need to be. 

A couple of pulses, mere milliseconds apart, travel from Jaejoong’s wrist and through the rest of his right arm; and upon looking to the source of the pulses, he sees that he’s only got five seconds until he meets his soul mate. He looks up briefly as he’s walking, and upon seeing no one else even standing in the area of the cafe he’s headed for, his mild curiosity spikes as the last five seconds on his clock slip away. 

Five… What if he doesn’t have a soul mate?

Four… What if he’s just supposed to be by himself for the rest of his life?

Three… What if his soul mate is a trash can?

Two… He’s not spending the rest of his life with a plastic waste receptacle.

One… Life thinks living with a trash can for the rest of his years is funny, but Jaejoong doesn’t see it in the same light.

As the numbers hit zero, a slight chill runs up his right arm, and he takes his attention away from his wrist long enough to catch a glimpse at another patron just before he runs straight into him. The impact causes him to spill his ice cold coffee all over himself, but luckily it doesn’t ruin any of the other’s clothing. It does, however, leave splashes all over Jaejoong’s white jeans and tan shirt, which were already tight enough without a cold, wet, and sticky substance forcing them to stick to his skin.

Embarrassment creeps through him and displays itself as a bright pink blush that dusts his cheeks and reddens the tips of his ears. He blinks one, no, two times, before he regains his focus and looks over the man standing before him. 

Though he’s a bit shorter than himself, his looks make up for what he lacks in height, and then some. There’s a difference in age, that much he can tell. A bit older than himself, he thinks. Jaejoong completely forgets about the mess he’s made in the middle of the cafe for a few moments and just stares at the man in front of him wondering how he got lucky enough to be paired with someone like this. 

He watches the other slowly drop his arm to his side and assumes that this man was watching his numbers just as attentively as he had been, which would also mean that he could be just as much at fault for the collision as he is. However, none of that really matters now.

Unfortunately, this is the first time they’ve met and Jaejoong has just humiliated himself in a public place, while proving that he is also quite clumsy as well. The elder doesn’t seem to mind much, though, and looks Jaejoong over a couple of times; then, he holds out his hand. “I’ve waited a bit too long for those numbers to hit zero and the outcome is actually better than I assumed it would be.” 

For a moment, Jaejoong wonders if he’s encased himself in ice, because he cannot bring himself to open his mouth or move even a mere centimeter. When a smile crosses the other male’s face, the tension in the younger’s muscles eases and he can finally bring himself to speak. “Well, I must admit that I didn’t expect this either.” He’s still nervous and wondering if there was any way that this could have just been a mistake and he was destined to be with a trash can, because there’s no way he’s been good enough to get someone that looks like this.

The other chuckles, but it comes out as a deep rumbling sound, and Jaejoong has to find some way to avoid throwing himself on the other then and there. Then, he remembers that he doesn’t even know this man’s name. The elder quickly solves this issue, however. “Call me Ruki.” He purrs, and the younger thinks that he might faint for the first time in his life.

“Jaejoong.” He tries his best to put on a confident smile, and assumes he’s doing fairly well, until Ruki laughs quietly. 

“Why don’t you let me help you clean up,” With a slight tug, he pulls the younger closer. “Then we can get to know each other better." 

Declining Ruki’s offer doesn’t even begin to cross Jaejoong’s mind.