► ribbon - beast

Wonwoo collapsed as soon as he entered his shared apartment with his best friend. He’s down to his knees, his shoulder hit the shoes rack near the door, rattling it and alarming Jisoo of his entrance.

“Wonwoo!” His roommate rushed to him when he saw him, kneeling down next to him and holding his shoulders. “What happened? Wonwoo, are you alright?”

 “C-Cold,” Wonwoo managed to say between his chattering teeth. “It—It h-hurts.”

“Hurt?” Jisoo repeated. “Where?”

“… E-Every—Everywhere.”

Wonwoo leaned onto his roommate, letting Jisoo picked him up, feeling sorry because Jisoo was shorter and smaller than him. But still he succeeded in dragging Wonwoo to his bed, bringing out the winter’s blanket in a hurry to wrap him up.

“You’re shaking,” Jisoo said, face painted with worry. Wonwoo couldn’t even see him clearly, and even though his rational mind knew Jisoo was right next to his bed, he sounded like he’s so much further. He tried to focus on Jisoo’s voice. “… Is this normal? Is this the side effect of the procedure?”

Wonwoo’s eyes fluttered close, and behind his eyelids he kept on seeing his soulmate’s face, the terrified expression plastered there, the red thread, their connected fingers—

He’s drifting in and out of consciousness.

There were times he thought he saw Jisoo, helping him to eat and drink, and other times he’s back in Hwayang’s waiting room again, biting his nails, but mostly he’s in his room, covered from toe to neck in a thick blanket, the room’s dark and spinning.

“… I’ll get Mingyu…,” he thought he heard Jisoo said at some point, the concept of time already lost in his delirious state.

In the back of his mind he wanted to tell Jisoo that Mingyu was a god-damn vet, and even if he’s a doctor Wonwoo wouldn’t put his life on that ’s hand, but he’s too weak to do anything. Soon the sight of his neighbour entered his room; tall, dark, with a mop of brown hair on top was peering down to him.

“… He’s been like this since yesterday,” he heard Jisoo said. “... He keeps saying it’s cold but he doesn’t have a fever… Do you think it’s because of the procedure? Or he’s just sick? He was fine when he left…”

A big, warm hand was pressed to Wonwoo’s forehead. “… I don’t think it’s the procedure.” Another voice, deeper than Jisoo; Mingyu, the nosy neighbour. “It takes days, remember? Even to get it approved can take up a week,” Mingyu told Wonwoo’s roommate. “He didn’t say anything else?” 

“He says it’s hurt.”

“Where?”

“… Everywhere.”

His friends’ voices faded then, Wonwoo couldn’t make out the rest of their conversation. He probably out again after – he wasn’t sure, but the next time he came back to semi-consciousness, it was to Mingyu’s face, right above his own.

“Wonwoo, can you hear me?” Mingyu asked, his eyes searching. “Wonwoo. Did you meet your soulmate?” 

Soulmate.

Without control, her face comeback to Wonwoo’s mind, going through every nerves and pulse, spreading through him like wildfire that he could feel that moment back in each inches of him . And he needed, he wanted, he craved for her, here, now, right by his side, at the tip of his fingers, on his lips, inside of him—

He managed a small nod, gritting his teeth. Mingyu held onto his face, forcing him to focus on him.

“Where did you meet her? Was she there? At the hospital?”

Again, Wonwoo nodded. His thoughts were a mess, and he could only hold onto one memory – Hwayang Red Thread Hospital’s waiting room, him and his soulmate, the rest of the world forgotten.

“… Is she a patient?” Mingyu asked, quieter this time.

“… y-yes,” Wonwoo rasped, the memory of his soulmate brought a strange sense of relief. “… She. Wanted to. … L-Like me.”

Mingyu took a step back, out from his personal space. “… She wants to cut her thread too? Well damn. Some soulmates you are.”

Jisoo slapped Mingyu’s arm but Mingyu just shrugged, unapologetic.

“So this is all because he met his soulmate?” Jisoo asked. He sounded stressed. “Is it always like this?”

“I don’t think so… It’s different for every person. Some people are fine. Some experiences rush of adrenalines for days, some feels like . I puked all day after me and Minghao were connected. He said he had the worst stomachache of his life.”

“What do we do? Will it go away after a few days, then? He seems worse than yesterday.”

Mingyu was quiet for a moment before he answered. “… Honestly? I don’t know if it will go away by itself. When I couldn’t handle it anymore, I called Minghao and we met up. That’s how we got over it. I heard being with your soulmate... Well, heal you.”

“… You’re saying… we have to get Wonwoo to his soulmate? But… you know Wonwoo doesn’t want to meet his soulmate,” Jisoo said carefully. “And since she wants to cut the thread, she probably doesn’t want to meet Wonwoo either…”

There’s a sting in his heart when Wonwoo heard Jisoo talked about his soulmate and her intention to cut her thread – her connection with him. Theirs.

A groan escaped his lips when the sting became too real, as if someone got a hold of his heart and crushed it, taking Mingyu’s and Jisoo’s attention to him.

Whatever they saw on him, it made Mingyu exhaled. “That’s it, no other choice. We’re going to her. I’m calling Minghao, we can use his car.”

“But we don’t  know where she is…”

“Romeo knows.” Mingyu was up on Wonwoo’s face again, looking down at him. Despite his mockery, his eyes were dead serious. “We’ll follow the red thread. Don’t be an idiot, Jeon Wonwoo. You need your soulmate.”

***

When Minghao finally came he seemed panic, explaining something in heavily accented Korean that honestly made Wonwoo confused at times, especially when the Chinese guy was in a rush like now and Wonwoo’s head felt like it was about to split into two. Yet, Mingyu nodded at his soulmate, seemingly had no problem at all understanding the gibberish.

“It’s cool, you’re not late or anything, let’s just go now,” Mingyu told him. Minghao must had been in the middle of tutoring his student – he’s a middle school teacher – and Wonwoo thought he should thank Minghao later; if he could remember all of this later.

They got Wonwoo into the backseat of Minghao’s car. As usual Minghao wouldn’t let Mingyu drives, still didn’t trust his soulmate after that one time Mingyu scratched his dearest car. Jisoo couldn’t come along, so it’s only the three of them.

The ride was quiet, even Mingyu didn’t let out any sarcastic remarks and Minghao’s shoulders were tense.

Wonwoo’s lung hurt when he tried to breathe as if he’s drowning, but with every meter they passed to get to his soulmate, it was easier to breathe. His heart beat in anticipation, louder and faster, like it knew that it’s going to meet its other half, but his mind was upset, trying to hold back the excitement, because—

Jisoo was right – Wonwoo didn’t want to meet his soulmate.

He had decided that he didn’t need them, that he’s alright, living without a soulmate, that he didn’t care about all the fairy tales about how being with your soulmate will change your life forever.

But Mingyu was also right, and his pride took a hit.

Yet here he was, curled up in the backseat of Minghao’s car, cradling his head and glanced pitifully at his hand at times, telling Minghao which road to take in a hoarse voice. True to Mingyu’s words, he did able to follow the red thread, now that it’s a bold red. He still couldn’t touch it, though.

“… Here?” Minghao asked as he slowed down in an apartment complex. “Which one?”

Wonwoo looked around the apartment towers, and his thread tugged at him when he saw one of them. “… That one,” he whispered, nodding at the one on the left.

Minghao nodded and parked his car in the basement. 

They entered the elevator; Wonwoo’s finger hovered above the buttons before he pressed number seven by pure instinct. It’s both terrifying and exhilarating at the same that he could do that just because he was bonded with the other person, and Wonwoo stepped away, clenching his fist, trying to hide the tied up little finger from his sight.

Minghao, always the sensitive one, stood closer to him and held Wonwoo’s fist, murmuring something in Chinese that he couldn’t understand.

“… It’ll be alright,” Mingyu suddenly said from his place, leaning on the elevator’s wall with his arms crossed. It was a little bit out of his character to be directly nice.

But then Wonwoo looked to the side, catching the last bit of glance Minghao threw to Mingyu.

Those shared glances, as if they knew each other’s mind without words needed, Wonwoo had seen it hundreds of times between the two. Even though they argued every time about everything, Mingyu wouldn’t do anything without Minghao’s approval, and Minghao wouldn’t let Mingyu did things alone.

It would be a lie if Wonwoo said he never envied the bond they shared.

Minghao turned to him and smile. “It’ll be alright,” he said softly before repeating the words in Chinese.

As far as Wonwoo knew, Mingyu and Minghao met at a park’s basketball court during their university days. They were strangers who often played together with a group of other people, and based on Mingyu’s story, the bond didn’t show up immediately upon their first meet.

Even though they were only acquaintances at best, they often bickered about the smallest things, and Mingyu swore he hated Minghao’s guts – “Likewise,” Minghao chimed in during Mingyu’s story to Wonwoo about how they were before they’re tied to each other. Then one day during a three-on-three game, they had bumped into each other, and just like that, the red thread had showed up.

Apparently they were too shocked about it that the first thing that came out from Mingyu’s mouth, after they both had stayed still for 10 seconds, was a loud, “THE ?!” and Minghao said he also had spewed out a string of curses in Mandarin.

Mingyu had felt nauseous back then, and when he went to the bathroom to puke, Minghao fled to his own dorm. They met later that day, spending the rest of the day shouting an angry, “WHY YOU,” toward each other.     

That was a couple of years ago.

They’re not together, just best friends.

Soulmates.

And now Wonwoo had one, too.

/awkward wave. ahem. anyway-- most of this was written before my hiatus. only wrote a few paragraphs today, but hopefully I can write more from now on. thank you for reading!