Jung In sighed, neatening his tie and then pausing, looking at the names on his wrist. They overlapped, but they didn't clash - they looked more like . . . like they belonged there, together. Like one couldn't be had without the other. Like the people themselves belonged together.
Jung In wasn't so sure of his own place with them - wasn't so sure he should be looking for them now.
"Ah, Director?"
Jung In jumped as a hand came to rest on his arm, and Seo Jun dropped it as she came around him, head cocked curiously. Jung In cleared his throat and, without looking, pulled his sleeve down to completely hide the names written there. "Yes, Seo Jun?" he asked with a polite smile.
Seo Jun shook her head slowly. "You seem preoccupied." she said with a studiedly careless shrug. "Is . . . everything okay?" she asked. "I saw you come out here alone." She gestured to the empty stretch of terrace around them. It was a little too chilly - and damp - to be much of a draw with the party inside.
"I'm fine." Jung In assured her easily. "It has been very busy, arranging all this, I was just taking a moment to . . . appreciate all of it."
Seo Jun frowned, but nodded shallowly. A few more minutes of conversation had her smiling and walking back inside alone. Jung In sighed, walking all the way to the balustrade and putting his hands on it, looking out into the gathering fog without really seeing it.
Mary and Mu Gyul had slipped away earlier; it had been at least half an hour before Jung In had made it outside himself that he last saw them - together, of course. Mary had promised to stick around until the end of the evening . . . and Mu Gyul had not expressly said but had implied the same, so Jung In had to assume they were out here somewhere.
He followed along the balustrade towards the stairs downwards, but he was . . . no longer so sure he should even be looking for them. It wasn't as though it was really. . .
It wasn't his place.
Jung In stopped and looked at his wrist again, then sank down onto a nearby bench. The fog billowed in around him, growing ever denser and bringing more of a chill with it, but he ignored it. He would go back inside - the party that he should be overseeing was still busily going on, after all - in a few minutes. Mary and Mu Gyul would come back, he trusted - they had said they would - but for now . . . they were best left alone.
It wasn't . . . his place.
"Director?" It was a soft, almost tentative murmur.
Jung In looked up just in time to see Mary sit at his side, smiling sweetly at him. He stuttered, shocked to see her come back at all, it was so late now. The party had broken up perhaps an hour ago - he wasn't sure how long ago he had returned to this bench, but he had expected to remain alone.
An arm draped around his shoulders. "Jung In." Mu Gyul said, his voice just as soft, but more sure. "You made it hard for us to find you." He snorted disapprovingly.
"You needed to find me?" Jung In said uncertainly.
"Of course!" Mary said, wrapping her arms around his right arm. He felt himself warming with the contact, inside and out, but he tried to pull away all the same. Mu Gyul's slender body was pressed up against his other side, though, preventing him from doing so. Blocking him in between them. "You belong with us." Mary said with a smile, tilting her head and hugging his arm a little tighter.
"I. . ." Jung In swallowed. "No I- I don't." he said, bowing his head. "You belong . . . together. I- I am sorry." he choked out, bowing his head.
"You mean you don't have a Mark?" Mu Gyul asked bluntly, and Jung In's eyes widened as his head shot up.
"Mu Gyul!" Mary scolded, but Mu Gyul was bringing his arm back towards himself already. Jung In swallowed and pulled away from Mary again. Trying to gently dislodge her, he wasn't watching Mu Gyul, so he was shocked when Mu Gyul grabbed his arm and pushed up his sleeve, baring the Mark - Marks? - there.
Jung In ducked his head, flushing with shame. Mary's name had faded in - stark and sure - after Jung In had impulsively kissed her outside Mu Gyul's home. As he'd . . . hoped it would, even if it had not been the reason for the kiss - but Mu Gyul's . . . had come with it, a sort of shadow. A shadow that twined with Mary's name.
It was rare, for . . . for someone to have a soulmate that didn't return their- But Jung In had heard stories about it. He had not intended to tell them. Either of them. Ever.
"I'm sorry." Jung In said again, trying to free his hand from Mu Gyul's tight, warm grip.
"Why?" Mary said quietly, stroking his right forearm.
"I. . ." Jung In trailed off, flexing his fingers - they brushed Mu Gyul's hand - and looking at the names on his wrist. His heart ached and his throat tightened.
Mu Gyul huffed and released him, then held out his own arm, rolling back layered sleeves and pushing down the leather band buckled there. He showed-
Jung In choked. His own name was there, clear and- and twined with Mary's. Softer, yes, a shadow perhaps, compared to Mary's name, but- He looked down at his own Mark, and then at Mu Gyul's.
"You belong with us." Mary said quietly, snuggling against his shoulder. "You see?"
"I. . ." Jung In blinked, trying to process. "You. . ." he looked at Mary.
Mary didn't pull her arms from around his, just slid her left one forward, turning her palm up and offering it to him. Jung In tentatively reached out, and Mu Gyul hummed, nudging his shoulder encouragingly. He pushed Mary's sleeve up and found Mu Gyul's name, stark and clear, as he'd have expected to see it - as he'd been imagining - but there, beneath it, just as stark and clear, just as deeply-coloured, the strokes almost twining together. . .
"Jung In." Mu Gyul said, and Jung In tore his eyes away from Mary's slim wrist, looking at him, eyes wide, amazed.
Mu Gyul smiled, knuckles brushing Jung In's hair back before he cupped Jung In's face gently with both hands. He leaned in close, and Jung In's breath caught as soft lips first lightly brushed, then pressed firmly against his own. Jung In relaxed and Mu Gyul pressed his advantage, tongue stroking over Jung In's lower lip.
Jung In caught hold of Mu Gyul's shoulder, moaning softly as Mu Gyul bit him lightly.
One of Mu Gyul's hands slid down from his face and trailed along his chest - his fingers skimmed right past Mary's arm, and she hugged herself tighter to Jung In. He shivered; Mu Gyul's mouth was hot on his, his body solid and close, and Mary was warm and soft pressed against his other side, and they were both. . .
Mu Gyul's fingers tightened on his jaw, and he pulled away a bare fraction - not even fully losing contact - before he deepened the kiss. Jung In pressed into it, his nose brushing Mu Gyul's cheek, fingers curling into the scarf wrapped around Mu Gyul's neck.
He hummed, nudging against Jung In's mouth and stroking his cheek with a thumb before pulling away slowly, with a soft breath that wasn't quite a sigh.
Jung In heard himself whine softly at the loss of contact, and he opened his eyes to find Mu Gyul still almost nose-to-nose with him, but looking down. Jung In followed his gaze, and Mu Gyul squeezed Jung In's wrist, then smoothed his fingers over it and down to clasp his hand instead.
As Mu Gyul's hand slid away, it revealed that the shadow of his name was now darkening to match Mary's. He turned his own hand over and revealed Jung In's name on his own wrist was doing the same.
"I. . ." Jung In caught Mu Gyul's hand and squeezed, glancing back at Mary, who smiled sweetly, her scarf and the fluffy collar of her coat ruffled around her face as she snuggled against him a little more. "You are both. . ."
"We belong together." Mu Gyul said, stealing another soft, quick kiss.
"All of us." Mary said, and Jung In startled as she caressed his face, leaning up to kiss his cheek, then ducking away quickly, blushing. "Don't hide from us again?" she asked, looking up through her bangs at him. Mu Gyul snorted delicately.
"We'll find you," he said, lifting his jaw with a touch of familiar assertive bravado, "but don't make us do it too often." he added with a smirk, fingers curling around Jung In's jaw, gentle and sure.
Jung In laughed, bowing his head. "I won't." he promised, his heart fluttering and heavy with warmth in his chest.
I adore these three so much. This story was written as part of a multi-fandom soulmate AU challenge, for the prompt 'Fog'. (This is the third story out of ten for that challenge.)