Stray Kids waved goodbye to Rose as she left the room. They met a lot of people, a lot of fans, and those meetings were usually short, so this one didn't seem out of the ordinary. At least, not to most of them. It was only a few minutes later when Chan ran out of the room without a word.

"Chan-Hyung? Where are you going?"

"I'll follow him."

"Felix, don't strain yourself. I'll go."

Before anyone could protest, Changbin had run out the door after their leader. Only a few seconds later, Felix walked out of the room as well despite the others telling him to stay put. However, he wasn't going after Chan as they believed. Instead, he hoped to catch up with his new friend before she left, and he potentially never saw her again.

He would have missed her if he had been rushing. In a dark corridor off to the side, Felix spotted Rose sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, looking to be in pain. As someone who always seemed to be smiling, she almost seemed like a different person with this broken expression on her face. Not only did it alarm him, but it made him wonder what had caused her so much sadness and what he could do to comfort her.

Rose had stumbled out of the room with a million thoughts running through her mind. Needing a minute to gather herself, she rounded a corner and leant against the wall for support. She slid down until she was sitting on the ground, her eyes glazed over as she replayed the first and only words her soulmate had said to her.

None of her scenarios had worked out this way. She had been caught off guard. Her confusion had clouded her mind and led to her needing to walk out of that room, to think, but now she needed answers. It had taken her two years to get this chance. She couldn't let it be another two years before she saw him again.

Why didn't he feel it? Is there such a thing as an unrequited soulmate? But if he did, how did he not react to it? Did it not affect him?

Rose made a plan. She hoped that skinship, along with directly asking him, would answer all of her questions. She was about to stand up and march back down to that room when she heard Felix's voice.

"Rose? Noona? Are you okay?"

She scrambled to stand up and brushed down her clothes to make herself more presentable.

"Felix? What are you-? I'm fine. Just getting over the shock of meeting one of my favourite groups."

The young idol looked at her strangely. He had seen that she was upset just now before she had known that he was there, and there was also the way she left the room. She had said such happy words but in a sad, almost sarcastic way. He felt as though he was missing something.

"Really? You could've stayed a little longer if you wanted to."

"No, you must all be exhausted. That was a three-and-a-half-hour show! What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be heading home?"

"Oh, I was looking for Chan-Hyung."

"Looking for...? But he was just there with you."

"He suddenly ran out of the room, a few minutes after you left. I don't know why."

Rose stared at Felix in shock for a moment and a little bit of hope returned to her heart.

Did he run after me?

"I'll help you find him. I need to talk to him. Would that be okay?"

"Okay. Sure, I'd appreciate the help."

They smiled at each other before continuing to walk down the corridor to begin their search. What they didn't know was that Chan had already been found.

Although he was worried about his leader, there was a part of Changbin that hoped he would run into Rose. It hadn't escaped his notice that she was acting strangely before she practically ran out of the room. Something didn't seem right, and he wanted to make sure she was okay. He had enjoyed spending the evening with her at Wooyoung's and he wanted to get to know her more. Something about Rose intrigued him.

When Changbin found Chan, the leader was sitting on the stage looking out at the empty audience seats.

"Hyung, are you okay? Why did you run away like that?"

When the leader didn't answer, Changbin sat down beside him. It was then that he noticed the tear marks running down Chan's cheeks. It had been an emotional few days, but it was still unusual to see him cry.

"Channie-Hyung? What's wrong?"

"As a young trainee, I grew up watching my sunbaenims pray that they wouldn't meet their soulmates because if they did, they would have to choose between their careers and the person who was meant for them."

It wasn't often that the leader talked to him like this. Chan was too busy taking care of everybody else. So, Changbin just let him talk.

"That must have been hard."

"They couldn't always choose their soulmate, even if they wanted to. It left them... brokenhearted. They were never the same after meeting their soulmate."

"But things are different now. Because of the sickness, they have to let us bond with our soulmates, to keep us alive."

"I know, I know, but for ten years I lived thinking that my soulmate was someone who would only bring pain and misery. I never wanted to meet them."

"Oh, Hyung... Do you still believe that? Think of all the people we know who are happy. Wooyoung and San. Hongjoong and his soul group. BTS found their final soulmate and they've never looked happier."

"I don't know. I don't want to think like that. I see what others have and... it's just hard."

Changbin reached out his hand and gave his leader's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"What brought this on? Why are you suddenly thinking about all this? Did something in the fan meeting trigger -"

"Because I met them."

"Who?"

"I just met my soulmate."

His initial reaction was a giant smile as he felt happy for his Hyung, and then confusion as to how he acted earlier. Changbin's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as he started to piece it all together.

"Really? Hyung, that's great! Who...? Rose? Why didn't you -? You ran after her."

"Yes, but I was too late. She's gone. I met my soulmate and I let her slip through my fingers. I should have grabbed her like I wanted to when I walked into that room. Binnie, our connection... it was so strong! It took everything I had not to react to it."

"Don't worry she's not a stranger. We can find her again. I'll ask Wooyoung..."

The younger trailed off as something else occurred to him.

"What?"

"It's a strange coincidence. I wonder if Wooyoung knew."

Changbin frowned at the thought of his friend keeping such a big secret from him.

"You said she works with ATEEZ, how long?"

"Um, let me think... two years! She said she took the job after visiting Korea and -"

"And?"

"Attending our concert in Seoul. Do you think...?"

"Even if she didn't know back then, how did our paths not cross during Kingdom?"

"Right, if ATEEZ knew they would've said something back then, not almost a year later."

"How close are they? Would she have told them? If she knew I was..., why didn't she ask them... urgh!"

Chan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He was so confused about the whole situation. He didn't know how to feel or what to do.

"They're pretty close, but she is still a member of staff. She's really nice too. She spent the evening with four Idols and didn't ask any personal questions, or even for autographs."

"Maybe she didn't care who you were?"

"Oh no, even if Wooyoung hadn't told us that she was a fan, she was so flustered when she first saw us. Wooyoung didn't tell her he had guests."

The leader rested his chin in his hand as he listened to the younger Idol talk about his soulmate.

"What else do you know about her?"

Changbin smiled at Chan showing interest in getting to know his soulmate. It was a step in the right direction.

"Why don't we go home, and I'll tell you everything I know?"

"Sounds good. I'll text the others to let them know we're leaving."

The pair headed out, not knowing that the girl they were talking about was still in the building.

Felix and Rose were still walking around the venue when his phone buzzed. It was a message from Chan on the group chat saying that he and Changbin had headed home. Felix's face fell knowing that this news would upset the girl next to him.

"What's wrong? Who is it?"

"It's Chan-Hyung. He's gone home."

"Oh."

Felix watched Rose's expression carefully. As someone who regularly had to put on a mask to deliver the perfect performance on stage, he recognised when someone else was wearing one, and Rose was right now.

"Maybe we could -"

"Never mind. Lost my chance. Thank you, Felix. You really are as sweet as you appear on camera."

The young Idol hoped Rose didn't notice that his ears were turning red at her words.

"Thank you, Noona."

"Good luck with your comeback. I'll continue to cheer for you. Goodbye."

As she walked away, Felix couldn't bring himself to say goodbye. He didn't want this to be the end. He wouldn't let it be the last time he saw or spoke to Rose.

"Wait!"

She turned around at his shout and he walked up to her with his phone in his hand.

"Can I have your number?"

"What?"

"You said I could let you know if I ever need anything."

"Oh! Sure. There you go. Now, look after yourself, okay?"

"Yes. You too, Noona! Bye!"

Rose smiled fondly at the boy as she waved goodbye. His warm and friendly demeanour had been just enough to stop her from completely falling apart after being rejected by her soulmate. This only lasted until reality hit and she realised that Felix could never be in her life when his best friend and leader was the person who had taken away all of her hope.