There’s a crowd of people waiting for the next train, pushing at the boundaries of the yellow line. The moment the train arrives, they surge forward instantly, and Jaehwan nearly loses his footing. He’s already missed the train three times before, though, and if he misses this one, he won’t be able to meet Hongbin on time.

Jaehwan can almost imagine Hongbin’s complaints about Jaehwan being too busy to bother with his friends. He’s even more reluctant to deal with that than with rush hour traffic.

Somehow, Jaehwan manages to push his way into the train. There’s a moment when he thinks that he won’t be able to make it in, when it seems like the cluster of people at the door couldn’t possibly fit. Just before the doors close, though, there’s a small shift, barely enough space that Jaehwan can slip further into the train.

He grabs onto the handle overhead when the train starts moving, nearly losing his footing when it jerks abruptly. He tries to make himself as small as possible in the crowd, tries to ignore the press of people around him.

Many people get off at the next station. There are a few vacant spots on the benches, and Jaehwan sits down in one of them before anyone else can take it.

A warning that the doors are closing plays overhead. As the train pulls away from the station, the name of the next station is announced, followed by a general message reminding passengers to let the elderly and younger children sit.

There aren’t any elderly citizens or children around, so Jaehwan reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone.

It’s then that he realizes the red string around his pinky is glowing abnormally brightly. He stares at it for a few moments before touching it lightly, hissing as it burns him. He’s seen the string for nearly ten years now, long enough that he barely notices it anymore, but it has never acted like this.

Jaehwan follows the string with his eyes. He almost expects the string to fade into the distance, but instead, it leads him to the man sitting next to him, the thread wrapping around his pinky.

Jaehwan stares at the thread for a while, wondering if the man had noticed as well. He’d all but given up hope of ever meeting his soulmate, and he isn’t sure how to react to the fact that his soulmate is sitting right next to him. He wonders if it would be inappropriate to introduce himself with the excuse, Hey, we’re meant to spent the rest of our lives together, so would you mind telling me your name?

He turns his head to the left, trying to look at the man sitting next to him as inconspicuously as he can. He can’t see much more than a side profile, just hair and a rather nice nose. It’s not quite enough, but Jaehwan doesn’t think it would leave a good impression if he leaned forward just to stare at him. Besides, he doesn’t want to give up his seat yet.

It’s not like Jaehwan is bad at starting a conversation, but he’s never had a reason to talk to a stranger on the train. For all he knows, the man sitting next to him might be sleeping.

This could be his only chance, but Jaehwan can’t decide on a starting line—basic pleasantries, direct introductions, or cheesy pick-up lines—that would leave a good first impression. The last thing he wants to do is scare his soulmate away.

It seems like the train ride has never been so short before. Jaehwan is reluctant to leave, but he’s already a little late in meeting Hongbin. He gets up, barely managing to look back at his soulmate as he gets pushed out of the train by the flow of the crowd.

The man has his head lowered and he’s staring down at his phone. He’s dressed casually in a sweatshirt and jeans, but there’s no way he could pass off as even a college student. Jaehwan can’t see his face, but the only word that he can think of to describe him would be sad. There’s something haunting about the slope of his shoulders and the way his hair falls in front of his face.

Jaehwan looks back as the train leaves, watching the vibrant red string around his finger fade away. He pulls on it, feeling it tense around his finger, but there’s no response on the other side.

By the time Jaehwan gets to the coffee shop, Hongbin is already there, waiting for him at their usual table.

“What took you so long?” Hongbin asks. He’d already ordered, steam escaping over the brim of his open coffee cup.

Jaehwan is only five minutes late, and it’s hardly fair when Hongbin works at the shop. “I met my soulmate today,” he says, sitting down across from Hongbin.

“Really?” Hongbin’s eyes widen, and he leans forward. “Who is it?”

Jaehwan shakes his head, looking down at the cheerful blue paint on the table’s surface. “I don’t know. I saw him on the subway.” He hesitates for a moment, trying to find the words to describe what exactly had happened, but even he isn’t sure if it counted as an encounter. He hadn’t expected to meet his soulmate in the city, least of all in a crowded subway train after work. It’s almost unthinkable, the thought that his soulmate hadn’t been that far away all along. “How was your day?” he asks instead, changing the topic quickly.

Hongbin stares at him for a moment, clearly disappointed that Jaehwan isn’t elaborating. He answers anyway, letting the subject go as he talks about the customers he’d meant that day. Jaehwan listens as attentively as he can, trying to forget about a certain person he’d meant on the train earlier.

No one questions when Jaehwan starts leaving for work earlier than usual. Hakyeon gives him a weird look the first time Jaehwan gets up as soon as his work hours are over rather than staying behind and messing around.

Jaehwan doesn’t see him the first few times. Just when he wants to give up and brush off the meeting as a one-time thing, he sees his soulmate in the train across from him.

Jaehwan takes a seat across from him, trying to subtly stare at the man’s face. He has his earphones in and his eyes are closed, seeming unaware of the world around him.

The red string between them is glowing brightly. Jaehwan stares down at it, hesitant to touch it for fear of burning himself again. It’s mildly uncomfortable around his finger, just enough that he can’t help tugging on it.

The other man doesn’t react, and Jaehwan wonders if he can even feel it. Jaehwan has fabricated stories before, imagined pasts of strangers he’s seen in public places. It’s not hard to imagine the man sitting across from him, with his soft cheeks and long nose, his long bangs falling over his eyes, as a lonely painter. Maybe someone who had come to the city in search for inspiration, spending nights sitting on the railings of a bridge with a cigarette held to his lips.

It’s not until the train is a stop away from Jaehwan’s destination that the man opens his eyes, slowly pulling his earphones out and wrapping them around his phone. His gaze flicks over to Jaehwan, almost lazily, and Jaehwan raises his hand and gives a small smile. Just as he’s preparing to introduce himself, though, the man looks past him, eyes fixed on a point just past his shoulder.

Jaehwan lets his hand fall back to his side, clearing his throat awkwardly as he stares down at his shoes. He shouldn’t think too much of it, he tells himself. Maybe the man hadn’t noticed the red string between them. He can always try again next time.

Jaehwan had been excited when he’d first seen the red string on his eighteenth birthday. He’d been fascinated by it for the first few days, even trying to follow it to find the other person on the other end.

In all the times that he’d imagined actually meeting his soulmate, he’d never thought that it’d be anything like this—sitting just an arm’s length away from him, yet unable to even introduce himself.

The man doesn’t look back at him for the next of the ride, and Jaehwan tries not to be too disappointed as he gets off the train. After all, he’s already waited to meet his soulmate for so long. There’s no harm in waiting a little longer to introduce himself.

Jaehwan spends most of his day sitting down in front of his computer, and Hakyeon always tries to drag him out for some exercise during breaks. He's learned to avoid it, especially since it usually involves mud and soccer. He knows that Hakyeon means the best, though, and Jaehwan goes along, if only because he really does need to do something other than sit around every once in a while. 

Standing on a subway train, though, is not exactly his idea of exercise. His balance isn't the best, which means he's constantly swaying from side to side, barely holding on to the handle overhead. 

Jaehwan has traveled this very line every weekday for the past five years, but the turns still manage to surprise him. It's harder getting a solid footing when there are so many people around him, pressing in on all sides. He doesn't have much room to move around, and he clings onto the leather handle as tightly as he can. 

The leather handle digs uncomfortably into his palm as he sways with the train's movement. There's a young kid near the front of the train, his arms by his sides, balancing perfectly as the train moves. Judging from his uniform, he's still in high school, and Jaehwan swallows his jealousy as he looks away. 

He didn't always used to try to beat the rush hour, but since he'd met his soulmate on the train, Jaehwan has been taking the train every day for the past month. His soulmate is always on this very carriage at the same time every day. He's always in the same seat, and Jaehwan always tries to take this train to watch him. It's equally sad and amusing that Jaehwan still hasn't even talked to him yet. 

The train comes to an abrupt halt at the next station, and Jaehwan loses his grip on the handle. He falls forward, hand reaching out blindly. He's saved from face planting the ground by a hand around his arm. 

Jaehwan turns once he regains his balance and jumps a little when he sees who had saved him from a disastrous fall. "Thank you," he says, smiling at his soulmate. 

The man lets his hand drop from Jaehwan's arm. "It's okay." His voice is soft, almost lost in the noise around them, but Jaehwan manages to hear him loud and clear. 

Jaehwan can't help looking back as he holds onto the handle again. He'd spent so long trying to start a conversation with the man that he'd almost given up altogether. 

He isn't looking at Jaehwan anymore, though, and Jaehwan turns away for fear of looking like a total creep if he keeps staring at him. 

Jaehwan replays the man's voice as he walks out of the train. He hadn't even spoken five syllables, but it had sounded so nice, low and comforting. 

If all it would have taken to hear his soulmate speak was nearly humiliating himself in public, Jaehwan would have done that a long time ago. 

Hongbin looks up, startled, as Jaehwan falls into the seat across from him. "What's wrong? You look stressed." 

Jaehwan wonders if "stressed" is the appropriate word. It's not the weight of a deadline, of knowing that he has to submit a paper the following morning that he hasn't even begun. Hongbin had helped him through that in college, staying next to Jaehwan as he'd pulled several all-nighters to pull together a last minute essay. Even now, Hongbin lets Jaehwan stay in his coffee shop for hours on the end whenever he has a deadline coming up. 

No, this situation is even trickier than a deadline because there's no stamped date, no way of knowing when Jaehwan might not see his soulmate again. He doesn't even know the man, and there's no telling if he might one day decide to leave the city. He's bound to do so soon, if Jaehwan's guess about his soulmate being a broke artist is anything to go by. 

"I talked to my soulmate today," Jaehwan says, accepting the cup of coffee that Hongbin gives him. 

"You're just talking to him now?" Hongbin's laugh is too loud in the cafe. It rings with incredulity, and Jaehwan winces as he ducks his head to drink the coffee. "I thought you'd have done that a long time ago." 

"He's a stranger." Jaehwan makes a vague hand gesture. "I don't want to come off as weird, you know?" 

"I'm sure he'd get that impression anyway if he ever looked at your face." Hongbin ducks when Jaehwan reaches across the table and half-heartedly tries to hit him. "It's not that hard, you know. Just go up and introduce yourself. Preferably without tripping over your own feet." 

Jaehwan laughs as he remembers the first time he'd met Hongbin. It had been the first day of high school, and he'd been a little too enthusiastic in introducing himself to the boy sitting next to him. Luckily, Hongbin hadn't minded, even if he never fails to remind Jaehwan about it. 

"We just take the same subway train. And most people don't want to talk, especially during rush hour." Jaehwan spins the straw in his coffee, staring down at the dark liquid. He tells Hongbin what had happened, concluding with, "He has a really nice voice." 

Hongbin stares at him for a moment before leaning back in his chair. "I thought you meant that you had an actual conversation with him. He's your soulmate. You don't have to act so awkward around him." 

"Yeah, but..." Jaehwan isn't sure how to express it into words. It's like the other had never acknowledged his presence before. "It's just not that easy." Hongbin pats his hand, offering an unspoken reassurance. "How did you do it?" 

It hadn't been easy for Hongbin, since he'd known that Sanghyuk was his soulmate about two years before Sanghyuk could even see the red thread. Hongbin had been worried and Jaehwan had to talk him through it several times, but Hongbin's fears had been unfounded in the end. He and Sanghyuk will be having their third anniversary this year. 

"It wasn't easy," Hongbin says, and Jaehwan snorts because yeah, he knows. He had been there to witness the disgustingly awkward moments between Hongbin and Sanghyuk, and he's had some cringe-worthy moments of his own in trying to approach his soulmate. "You should introduce yourself first. Start from the beginning." 

Jaehwan pours more sugar into his coffee, stirring it with his straw and blowing bubbles over the surface. He'll try again tomorrow, he tells himself, and he's at least going to get the other man's name.

There aren't that many people left on the train. Jaehwan stares up at the map display of their course, watching the red dot indicating their position move closer to the end of the line. He's never taken the subway this far before, but even though the line is going to end soon, he still hasn't found a way to start talking to the man next to him. 

"Aren't you getting off here?" 

Jaehwan jumps, startled from his thoughts by the question. He hadn't expected the man to notice him, since he'd been staring at his phone for nearly the whole ride. "What?" 

"You usually would have gotten off two stops ago," he says, his eyes serious as he stares back at Jaehwan. 

Jaehwan laughs, linking his fingers together nervously. His other hand brushes against the red string around his smallest finger, and Jaehwan quickly pulls it away with a hiss. He catches the other man looking away with a smile, and knows that the gesture hadn't gone unnoticed. It also means that he can see the red string, even if he hasn't mentioned it yet. 

"I just wanted to see the end of this line," Jaehwan says, smiling though he realizes how flimsy his excuse is. "Are you getting off at the last stop?" 

"Yeah." The man's eyes flicker up to the map, and Jaehwan remembers that he only has so much time. 

"My name is Jaehwan," he says quickly, when the silence between them stretches a little too long. 

"I'm Taekwoon." He looks back at Jaehwan, his gaze soft, almost inquisitive. 

Jaehwan can feel the train coming to a stop, and he gets up, holding onto a railing for support. "Are you free tonight? We can grab some dinner together if you want." His sentence trails off awkwardly, and Jaehwan fidgets as Taekwoon stands up as well. He could be a lot smoother, but he also doesn't want it to seem like he's only approaching Taekwoon because they're soulmates. 

"Sure," Taekwoon says, following Jaehwan out of the subway. 

"Where do you want to eat?" Jaehwan asks, once they're out of the subway station. The sky is still surprisingly bright, the sunset painting it bold shades of purple and gold, and the streets are crowded under the dim street lamps. Jaehwan edges a little closer to Taekwoon, their elbows brushing as he leans in to speak. 

Their conversation is a little smoother from there, from a discussion about the best restaurants in the city to little anecdotes about their everyday life. Jaehwan learns that Taekwoon isn't, in fact, an artist, and that he actually works at a local college. He has also lived in the city his whole life, which makes Jaehwan falter in surprise. 

"How have I never met you before?" It's a rhetorical question, since the odds of them meeting in the first place had been low. 

Taekwoon shakes his head, his smile barely visible as they duck into a small restaurant. "I wasn't really paying attention the first day we met, but when you tugged on the string..."

Jaehwan touches the string again as they're seated at a table. It's still warm, but not unbearably hot. He knows that the temperature will even out over time, following the natural progression of a relationship. Soon, the wide range of hot and cold will fade into steady warmth. Fate can tie two people together, but it's up to those two people to make the relationship work. 

Jaehwan looks across the table at Taekwoon, watching as he struggles over a name on the menu. He thinks that, even if he hasn't known Taekwoon for so long, he'd like to get to know him better and try to make this work. 

Taekwoon is almost always on the same train at the same time, usually sitting in the same seat. Some days, Jaehwan misses the train and they don’t see each other that day.

For the most part, though, they’ll eat dinner together on Thursday nights. It’s not too early in the week that they’re still tired, or too late into the week that their schedules are too busy.

It doesn’t progress as quickly as Jaehwan had managed. Some days, they only exchange a quick greeting on a crowded train, a little smile before Jaehwan has to get off at his station, but it leaves a warm feeling in his chest long afterwards. They don’t exchange phone numbers until about a month in, and Jaehwan slowly lets Taekwoon fit into his life, filling in all the spaces that he hadn’t even known were there.

It’s not obvious, not at first, but it comes naturally when Jaehwan reaches over and takes Taekwoon’s hand when they’re walking down the street, or when Taekwoon’s knee brushes his as they eat dinner.

Taekwoon isn’t the most talkative, and the silence that occasionally falls between them when they eat is soothing and comfortable. Jaehwan learns to read into the smaller details, in the way Taekwoon’s hands wrap around a cup of hot chocolate, in the way his eyes curve as he smiles.

Taekwoon looks up, catching Jaehwan’s eye halfway through a meal. It makes Jaehwan realize that he’d been staring, and he looks down at his mostly finished plate, spinning the fork in his hand. “I was wondering,” he begins, resting his fork against the edge of the plate, “do you want to come over this weekend? Some of my friends are going to be over and we’ll be watching a movie, so if you’re free…” It’s just going to be Hongbin and Sanghyuk, but Hongbin has wanted to meet Taekwoon for a while, and Jaehwan figures that he might as well get the inevitably embarrassing moment over with.

“Sure,” Taekwoon says. His smile is soft and reassuring, and Jaehwan makes a mental note to warn Hongbin against scaring him away.

“I can’t believe you’ve been dating him for so long and you still haven’t introduced him to me yet,” Hongbin had complained the last time they’d talked over the phone.

Jaehwan wonders, sometimes, if this counts as dating—their knees touching under the table, Taekwoon’s laugh next to his hear, the two of them taking turns paying for the bill from week to week.

“Your hands are so cold,” Taekwoon says, his fingers brushing against Jaehwan’s as they stand outside the restaurant. He reaches over to link their fingers together, his palm still warm from the cup of hot chocolate he’d been drinking, and the red string between them glows brightly under the darkening sky. Jaehwan looks up at Taekwoon and he doesn’t try to hide his wide smile when Taekwoon meets his eyes.