He's stopped shaking, but the words ring clear in his head.

The thing about soulmates was that you never really knew who they were until one of you passed on. You could love someone as much as you want and date them for as long as you wish only to find out they weren't your soulmate. It was the one thing that scared Renjun about dating. Something he never wanted to admit to Chenle or the others.

He's thought a lot about how he'd meet his soulmate, but not once did he ever think he'd meet them after they passed away. He wasn't prepared. At least not for this. Hands trembling, he makes his way over to the table where the guy sits, face lowered toward the cat as he pets her.

"Guess animals are an exception," he murmurs in an attempt to chase away the tension in the air. It takes everything in him to stop from fidgeting as he takes a seat, resting his elbows on the table and sucking in a breath. He wills himself to find something to say, so when something pops into his mind, he's silently thankful. "So, I never got your name."

"Jaemin. Na Jaemin." His lips curve across his face into a gentle smile. It's silent as Jaemin's eyes flicker up and down in a way that Renjun knows he's being scrutinized. His lips quirk a little and the smile makes him think of mischief. It was the sort of smile that screamed 'hey, come on. Look at me. Which is precisely what it did. It made him want to look; to not look away for a second.

"Cute," he comments softly, eyes shifting back to Kyong. The cat seems to like the attention, despite getting it all the time.

"Excuse me?" Renjun stammers, flushing at the unexpected compliment.

"You're cute," he repeats, unfazed. "I like your hair colour too. It suits you." A few months ago, he'd been spontaneous and gone to get his hair done. Unable to decide a colour, he called Chenle who said to just do whatever he felt for and that's how he ended up with a cotton-candy pink colour for his hair.

"Thank you," he murmurs. Jaemin doesn't look like the sort to lie, so he takes his word for it. While he didn't exactly know the guy and contrary to his belief that nothing but mischief twinkled in his brown orbs, he actually had a trustworth 'I'd never lie to you' kind of presence.

"So, I don't think I caught your name either," Jaemin points out, looking up at Renjun and watching him carefully. When he stares, there's this tingle through his body. As if his soul was being stared into, and maybe that was what was happening. Maybe that was the feeling you got when making eye contact with your soulmate. After all, they're the people you end up with the rest of your lives so there has to be something different in interacting with them than the rest of the world. Maybe they saw more than other people did and understood more than anyone else ever could.

He takes his time to respond. "Huang Renjun." Their eyes meet again and there's a peculiar expression across his face, like he's ready to say something. Before the words can so much as slip past his lips, Renjun points at him in what is meant to be a threatening manner.

"If you say a pretty name for a pretty face, I will not hesitate to hit you."

A light, hearty chuckle that matches well with his voice leaves Jaemin. Smiling all the way up to his eyes that stare softly at him, like he can't believe where he is. "How did you know?" he almost whispers, words almost lost between his laughter. "Either way, you can try to hit me all you want, but I'm pretty sure it won't do you much good."

The tension is back. His throat is closing up. In between their conversation, he'd managed to forget that little factor. The fact that as much as he looked to be real, he wasn't. Not quite in the way Renjun was. He wasn't relying on oxygen to breathe and Renjun couldn't touch him.

"Can I ask you something?" He forces past the lump in his throat, trying to swallow it away as he waits for Jaemin's response. When he looks up, his forehead creases. His eyes seem to be a shade darker, and Renjun wonders if that's possible, but he won't ask because that's not the question.

"Go ahead."

"How did you find me?" He sighs, frustrated with himself at how short the question came out. He continues, adding on what he initially wanted to ask. "How did you know I was here?" Truth be told, it was the first thing that popped into his head after realizing who Jaemin was. He just hadn't wanted to ask it as the start of their conversation. He wanted to wait until the right moment and, as he looked to Jaemin, he knew was now.

He can see the way Jaemin tenses; his shoulders stiffening and his hands stopping mid stroke along Kyong's back. He's gnawing at his lip in consideration and then his head lowers so all Renjun is facing is his head of hair. They sit like that for a good few moments that start to stretch for so long that it feels like forever. But he waits. Patiently.

Jaemin's hands start moving, stroking Kyong's fur again. Looking at him, their gazes lock and there's an intensity that feels like a slap in the face. "To be honest, I was looking for someone else. Somehow I ended up here."

So it was an accident. A mere coincidence that Jaemin was able to find him. Disappointment settles itself in the pit of his stomach and suddenly, he can't drink his coffee anymore. The idea of drinking it right now sickened him.

"I don't think it was an accident though." It's like his mind is being read. Jaemin is looking at him and Renjun is doing all he can to not look away. His heart rate is increasing rapidly.

"Then what do you think it was, if not an accident?"

He's smiling again. Renjun likes his smile more than any of the other expressions he's shown so far. There's a look in his eye that tells Renjun just how serious he is as he says, "Fate."