Chapter 1: "... one step closer to finding mine."

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Y/N POV:

"Are you serious?" I yelled into the phone. "They're canceling the flower order two days before the wedding?"

"Well," the voice on the other end of the phone, my assistant Kai, said, "you would cancel the wedding too if you found your soon to be wife in bed with your brother and best friend."

"Oh damn," I replied, calming down. "That sucks. I feel bad, but that's a lot of money and time wasted."

"Don't worry," Kai reassured me. "The mother of the bride is willing to pay for all the flowers. I think it's her way of trying to make things better."

I rolled my eyes. "At least that's good news," I replied. We talked for a few more minutes and I disconnected the call.

At the ding of the bell in my shop, I look towards the door. An older gentleman stepped through the door. "Good afternoon and welcome to Once Upon a Tulip," I said politely. "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for an anniversary present for my wife," the man explained. "She loves flowers but hates roses."

Laughing at that, I nodded my head in understanding. "My mom is the same way. She prefers carnations and lilies. We have a lovely carnation bouquet that would be ideal for an anniversary," I said, gesturing towards the refrigerated displays. The man nodded in thanks and headed towards the display, a smile on his face. I loved my flower shop but sometimes it made me sad seeing all the people coming into choose flowers for their loved ones. It made me think of my own lonely life.

As the man studied the displays, I looked around my shop. I had opened it five years ago shortly after moving into the area. Although I had a degree in business, I hadn't wanted to work an office job or something like that. During my cousin's wedding, I had fallen in love with the flower arrangements, looking at how I could make them better, prettier and the idea of the flower shop was born. My parents had lent me the money for the opening and I had paid them back 18 months after the shop opened. Although it wasn't what they were expecting when I got my MBA, they were still proud of my success.

Kai began working for me three years ago and he was the best coworker anyone could have. He was smart, friendly, and had an eye for arrangements. We bounced ideas off each other and between the two of us came up with flower arrangements that could rival that of a larger, more established company. Am I sounding a little arrogant? Maybe, but I knew what my shop was capable of, knew what Kai and me were capable of.

And Kai was much better at dealing with irate brides, which is why he was currently handling the discussion with cheating bride and angry groom. I had no tact and would probably end up slapping the dumb girl. The groom was undeniably handsome and I was surprised she would be dumb enough to cheat on him. His brother wasn't nearly as good looking and had always seemed a little dodgy to me when he came into the shop. He was a blackjack dealer at a casino and had the greasy haired, sleazy look down pat. The groom, on the other hand, was a pediatric oncologist at the local hospital and had a heart of gold. Hopefully he would find a woman way more deserving of him then his slutty, now ex-fiancé.

With a pretty arrangement in his gnarled fingers, the elderly man made his way towards the front counter. He had chosen a beautiful assortment of red tulips mixed with baby's breath, two flowers that symbolized love, all gathered together in a winter white vase adorned with streaks of silver glitter. I grinned at the selection, a perfect choice for an anniversary present.

"You got some nice flowers here." The man grinned at me, setting the flowers on the counter. "First time I've been in here, but I will definitely come back."

"Thank you so much. I'm happy you found what you were looking for." Knowing I had a new repeat customer helped to make the crummy news about the wasted time on the wedding a little bit better, helped to release some of the tension I had been holding in my shoulders. I made small talk with the man while I processed the order. I learned he had been with his wife for sixty years, marrying her shortly after her 18th and his 21st birthdays. Hearing of their love story made me long for someone to love, but I pushed the thought from my mind.

I had a couple relationships before, but nothing really serious. My longest was just under two years and we ended up breaking up when Carlos accepted a job offer on the other side of the ocean. I wasn't angry with him in the slightest for accepting, since it was way more money than he had been making. We said our goodbyes and parted on good terms, after I wished him the best of luck. He texted me once in a while and I learned he just recently met someone, a pretty local girl who worked in the coffee shop of his building. I was more than happy for him, excited for him to find someone he loved and cared about.

My best friend, Estrella, couldn't understand why I was so happy for him, but I explained that the breakup had been mutual and I wanted him to find love. Estrella just shook her head and told me I was being more understanding than he had a right for me to be then once again offered to introduce me to any one of her cousins. And damn the girl had a lot. I had met a couple of them at a party and I had to admit that good looking genes sure ran in her family. She was absolutely stunning with long silky black hair and dark brown eyes the color of coffee. The cousins she had introduced me to already were just as handsome. I had even accepted a date with Jose, but we had decided before our entrees even arrived that we were better off as friends. We still kept in touch and he would send me funny memes and pictures that he came across.

As I said goodbye to the man, I couldn't help but feel a ping of longing. Was I happy with my current life? Eh... I was more content than anything else. I had a good job, great friends, and a really cute dog name Chicken Nugget. However, sometimes at night, I did think how nice it would be to have someone love me again. Was it even possible?

Jin POV:

Sitting down on the sofa with my evening glass of wine, well a combination of wine and blood, I studied the scroll in front of me. I looked over at Namjoon, who was seated across from me. "Do we have any idea where she is?"

Namjoon nodded, explaining what the information I was looking for. "His soulmate owns a flower shop that specializes in wedding arrangements."

Tapping my fingers against my chin, I thought about his answer. "A flower shop, hm? Now why does that seem perfect for our Hobi?"

Of all of my brothers, I think Hoseok was the one most excited to find his soulmate. As a witch, yes a witch and not a wizard, he had spent the last few hundred years creating spells for people to find true love. He was picky about what he agreed to, never forcing someone to love someone else; he just made it a little easier for him or her to draw the attention. If the person on the other side fell in love then that was their choice. It was why it made it so interesting that he wanted to find his soulmate. I never thought he would agree to what destiny had in store for him, but it is what it is.

"Yeah it does seem like destiny has chosen well for our brothers so far, doesn't it? I mean choosing a naval officer for our siren? And a literature major for Jimin? I don't think I could have chosen any better myself." Namjoon leaned back in his seat and I knew he was thinking of two of our younger brothers. "It makes me wonder whom destiny had chosen for me."

Giving him a slight nod in agreement, I thought about the lovely women that my brothers had fallen in love with. Jimin's soulmate, affectionately called Princess, loved that man more than anyone I had ever seen in my long life. They had definitely run into troubles along the way, including Jungkook attempting to steal her away, but like true soulmates, they had come through it stronger than ever and I had never seen Jimin happier. I was stunned when he had chosen her over his true self, an incubus choosing one woman for the rest of his life, but he clearly was in love with her.

Jungkook's Bubbles was just as sweet and just as enchanted with our siren. As a naval officer, she had just come upon her reenlistment and had made the decision at first to end her career, but after some convincing from Jungkook, she changed her mind. Her first thoughts had been about not seeing him as often because of the potential to move duty stations, but our little magic trick of being able to appear in any location had been a game changer for her. Bubbles was currently out at sea for six weeks and had been thrilled when she realized she could see Jungkook even on her ship.

Turning back to the scroll, I studied it for a moment longer before sliding it inside the book. "Now we just have to get this to her."

Namjoon was silent for a moment and I knew his big brain was filled with scenarios. "What... what if we have them meet before giving her the scroll? I know how Hobi is about forcing people to fall in love. What if we give them that chance to make first contact without the use of the scroll? See if there is any kind of... sparks between them."

Namjoon's idea intrigued me, making me wonder if it was the best thing to do. What if... what if there were no sparks? "What do you suggest?"

"I hate to eavesdrop, but maybe we can help." Jimin came into the room, clinging to his soulmate's hand.

"Hey Jiminie, Princess." I turned to the two of them, never tired of the look of love that consistently passed between them.

She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you got them all calling me Princess now."

Jimin tugged her hand, pulling her close. "They have nicknames for all of us. Calling you Princess is their way of accepting you."

Princess nodded in understanding then gave him a mischievous smile. "So what about my nickname for you baby bo...?"

Her words were cut off when Jimin placed a hand over her mouth, his cheeks flushing a bright red. I wanted to laugh out loud at his reaction. It was the first time I ever saw our incubus blush, so whatever she had been about to say had to be good. "Nuh uh. Keep that nickname for our bedroom."

Ahh... that kind of nickname. I didn't realize Jimin had that kind of kink, but to each their own. "What kind of idea do you have?"

Jimin turned his attention back to me, dragging his eyes away from his soulmate. "Well even though we can't get officially get married, we want to have a ceremony of sorts. I overheard Joon say that the girl specializes in wedding arrangements. How about we use her shop for flowers? We can take Hoseok with us, you know, for his professional opinion."

Although the idea was a little different, I had to admit it was a good one. "That's actually not a bad idea."

Putting his around his soulmate, Jimin grinned. "See my princess? I told you it was a good idea." His eyes turned sad for a moment. "Are... are you sure you don't mind not actually being able to get married?" Jimin's insecurity with her constantly surprised me. As an incubus, he could literally have any girl in the world, but there were times when he had a hard time believing this kind, caring woman loved him with everything she had.

Princess's eyes turned soft and she ran a hand through his hair. "Oh baby. I don't need a piece of paper from some government official to tell me you're mine or to say I'm yours. I have you. That's all I need."

The smile returned to Jimin's face as he tugged her closer to his body, wrapping both arms around her waist. "This is why I love you. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

"Are you sure it isn't just the bond?" She pinched his cheek, making him whine in protest, but then his face turned serious.

"The bond called me to you, but my heart belongs to you. The bond brought us together, but I fell in love with you." Jimin's words were sincere and even though Princess teased him, she had made that worry known to me before. My words of reassurance to her were similar to Jimin's now. The bond was responsible for bringing them together, but just because they were soulmates, it didn't mean they had to love each other. That was all on them.

"When do you think you can do this?" I pulled their attention back to me, wanting to get the plan moving.

Jimin grinned. "Whenever you like. We can talk to Hobi tomorrow and make plans to go to her shop."

I nodded at his words. "Sounds good to me." Knowing that another of my brothers was going to find his soulmate soon made me happier than I had expected. I also knew that helping them find theirs was going to bring me one step closer to finding mine.

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