Searching through the tangled mess of red string connecting the world together became burdensome. It wasn’t that you gave up looking—you just got tired of weaving through a mess for someone that fate has decided for you. What if you didn’t like him? What if he was an ? What if he didn’t come into your life until you were old, gray, well beyond the years where you can enjoy the kind of love fate has connected with these strings?

 

It was after college when you met Yoongi. He was in the cubicle next to you at work. He had seemed cold and distant at first, making the days quiet and focused on work. You excelled without the distraction, but it’s always lonely not having someone to talk to as you labor way over documents and letters and numbers. He was polite, nodding and smiling when you’d come in the morning. He didn’t ignore you; he just didn’t talk to you, or anyone for that matter.

 

Until one morning you were running late. Your dog was sick all night and you had to take him to the vet. You accidentally called Yoongi’s office number instead of your boss’ to let them know you’d be an hour late. You came in with a small box and a coffee steaming on your desk.

 

 

I hope your dog gets well soon.

My dog, Holly, said she’d share her treats too.

Fighting! ~~Yoongi

 

 

You smiled and pulled a post-it note from the stack, drew a dog with a speech bubble that said: Thank you Yoongi and Holly. I’ll share my treats soon. ~~Turnip. You reached over the edge of the cubicle and stuck it to his wall. You listened as he moved, as he chuckled, and he came around the wall to look at you.

 

“You really named your dog Turnip?”

 

You jumped and looked back at him.

 

“Yeah. He has a white belly and brown fur on top. When I got him as a puppy, he had this weird mop of hair on his head that looked like the top of a turnip.”

 

“I guess that’s cute.” He holds up his phone, showing you a picture of light brown, curly-haired dog. “This is Holly and she’s an angel.”

 

You reached for the framed picture of you and Turnip when you first got him, his hair ungroomed. “This was Turnip a year ago.”

 

Yoongi grins and nods. “He does look like a Turnip.” He went back to his desk and you couldn’t help but notice that he had the most beautiful smile you’d ever seen. You couldn’t help but notice that you suddenly had an office crush.

 

Your friendship with Yoongi blossomed from then. You brought treats for Holly a few days later. You asked Yoongi to join you for lunch in the break room. He said your kimchi looked better than his and pouted until you shared. He gave you some of his pickled radishes. You told him about college and he told you about his passion for music.

 

You didn’t notice the pull of the string until he left a cupcake on your desk one morning and a note that read: Instead of lunch today, how about a picnic date this weekend. Holly and Turnip can meet. You didn’t miss the word date. You ate the cupcake before giving him a post-it that simply read: I’d love that.

 

The string pulled on your pinky hard, the thread tight and taunt for the rest of the day, making even simple tasks far too difficult.

 

You didn’t care that the string didn’t connect you to Yoongi. He didn’t seem to care that his string didn’t connect to you. You fell in love. He looked cold and distant but he was warm and welcoming inside, hungry for love but never sure how to express it until he was comfortable. He was good to you. He made you feel safe. He made your heart race. He made you angry. He was complicated and set in his ways, but he loved you fiercely and he always made sure you knew it.

 

He wrote music for you. He kissed you like it could be his last. He made love better than anything you experienced. He was your soulmate in every way except the strings. It didn’t matter anymore if you ever met this person because you found what you wanted, what you needed with Min Yoongi.

 

Everything changed when Jung Hoseok started at the office four years after you. He was bubbly, cheery, smiled brighter than the sun. And your strings stopped pulling the moment you met. It dangled between your two pinkies. Yoongi’s face dropped in the corner of your eye. He’d never looked so defeated in the time that you knew him. But you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the person that fate had destined for you. He was handsome, so handsome.

 

But you were in love with Yoongi. You couldn’t imagine a life without him, even after he broke up with you.

“You don’t want this.”

“You found your match.”

 

“Yeah, I know. His name is Min Yoongi.”

 

“I’m not going to compete with the string.”

 

“You’d think I’d break up with you if it had been your string that started working?”

 

“My string broke when I was sixteen.”

 

You didn’t give up on Yoongi. Hoseok seemed to understand and didn’t try to pursue you. Love is stronger than destiny. That’s what you wanted to believe, what you needed to believe when it came the man you loved. The more you tried, the more he pushed you away.

 

It wasn’t that you gave up on Yoongi—you were just tired of your shattered heart crunching into smaller and smaller pieces until it was a fine dust. You kissed him goodbye. His lips tasted of salt and regret for letting you go.

 

Hoseok didn’t want to pounce or take advantage, but he was never the kind of person to leave a hurting person alone. He didn’t believe in the red string of fate as lovers as much as he knew that you’d be great friends at the very least. He would leave you notes with funny characters to make you smile, commenting on how it grew more and more every day. He bought Turnip a collar with a bell on it shaped like a Turnip.

 

Maybe he’s not a cat, but we know now he’s a turnip.

 

You rolled your eyes and enjoyed the little jingle every time your dog came running to you.

 

It was easy to love Hoseok. He knew what made you happy. He never fought with you except that Harry and Hermione should have wound up together while you insisted that Ron and Hermione were soulmates. They fought and got angry, they were different and complimented each other well—they may not have been the most compatible, but they were in love and that is stronger than any bond.

 

Except the bond of red strings, I guess, you always thought.

 

You tried dating Hoseok but it didn’t seem right. It wasn’t as passionate. It was too easy. He was your best friend soulmate, but not the one you spend your life in love with. You knew, you always knew, even from the last kiss, that it was Yoongi. It will always be Yoongi. Your string with Hoseok broke when you mutually agreed to end the relationship.

 

“Friends are pretty great. I’ll be here to make sure whoever that string connects to next is worthy of you,” he said as he held up the dangling end of his string.

 

“Same for you. Whoever you end up with will have a lot to get through before I allow them to steal your heart.” Your string was already stretching, finding the next end.

 

You hadn’t seen Yoongi in years since that last time. He transferred to a new city with a promotion. You didn’t know where. You just knew that if you found him, you’d never let him go this time.

 

You were walking to work one morning when a pair of small paws jumped up on your legs. You looked down to see the familiar brown curly hair mingled with gray.

 

“Holly?” You dip down to pick her up, smiling as she your face.

 

“Hey stranger.”

 

“Yoongi?” You turn to look at him, aged just enough to know there had been time between you. He was looking at your pinky. You followed his gaze. His string had reconnected to yours.

 

“Guess you were right.”

 

“What do you mean.”

 

“Love is stronger than fate.”