She was either crazy or dreaming. That’s what she thought. Because there was some extremely odd things about this string that just didn’t make sense.

1. She had tried pulling it wondering if she could find an end. She had pulled and pulled until she had a little mass of string bundled in her hands. She dropped it, giving up trying to find the end by this method. She had blinked once, and she swore that the mass of string that was lying on the floor suddenly reverted back to its original length.
2. When she took of her cardigan, she expected the string to become entangled through the sleeve. But when she looked at the cardigan, it was separate from the string. And the string was attached on her finger the whole process.
3. When she had walked in the direction of the string, it had always remained the same length. She assumed that if she walked towards the other end of the string, she would begin to have more string on her end. But when she walked, it remained the same length. It was as if someone on the other end pulling it exactly when she walked toward it.

So here she was now, following the string, wondering if she could walk to the end. Surprisingly, there seemed to be direction to it, a turn here or a turn there. But in all, it seemed to go on forever.

She sighed, glancing at her watch. She only had thirty more minutes before she had to head to class. Trying to solve the enigma of this string was getting her nowhere. She had no idea what it was, why it was there, or where it led. She was tired, frustrated, and angry, which none of these emotions seemed to benefit her finding a solution to her problem.

She glanced at the string on her hand and then to the path it led. Gritting her teeth, she decided to follow it for the last time today before heading to her class.

She walked straight, passing a group of people who were talking rowdily. If it was any other day, Soojin would have not paid them any attention. But today was different. It was different because there on one of the person in that group was a red little bow on his left pinkie.

Soojin couldn’t believe it. Was she hallucinating it because she wanted to find a solution to all of this? Apparently not because the string was attached from her pinkie to his.

Disregarding any common sense, she ran to the that one specific boy.

“You,” she gasped. “Do you know what this is?” She showed her left hand and pointed at her pinkie. The boy looked surprised at her sudden entrance, as well as his group of friends. They all fell silent at her abrupt burst.

The boy calmly smiled and lightly pushed her hand down. “I’m sorry, who are you? Do I know you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know you, and you probably don’t know me either. But you are related to the solution to my problem.” She was pleading in heart that he knew what was happening. She put her hand up once more. “Please, do you know what this is? Do you even see it?”

He was silent, staring at her with a confused look, but an unidentifiable look was in his eyes.

“There’s nothing there,” a voice muttered. Soojin looked in surprise because it wasn’t the boy in front of her that said it; it was the boy to the right of him.

Both Soojin and the boy turned to look at the person who spoke. “What?” the boy who just spoke asked. “There really isn’t.”

The boy in front of her shook his head. “Is there something I’m supposed to be looking at?”

She stared at him desperately. “You don’t see it. This red string?” She pointed from her finger to his.

He shook his head, “Sorry. I don’t,” he apologized.

Soojin put her hand down and closed her eyes when common sense had finally decided to come back. She was embarrassed at her current situation and was now trying to find a way out of the mess she created.

“Red string,” another voice popped out. “As in the red string of fate?”

Soojin opened her eyes and quickly turned to look at him. This time it was the boy to the left.

“Red string of fate? What is that? Why is it connecting from me to him?” she whispered confusedly.

His eyes widened. “Oh my god. Are you confessing to him?” He burst into laughter. “Ah… this has to be the best confession ever!” he chuckled. “Seriously, most girls are extremely unoriginal, you know the usual, ‘I have always been looking at you from far away’ sort of confession. But this, this is ingenious, saying that you’re connected to him by a red string. I applaud your imagination.”

Soojin was confused and appalled. She didn’t know why this person had inferred it that way, and she was shocked that he had.

“No, no forget it,” she muttered, trying to leave before it was too late. “I must have made a mistake. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

“Nice going,” the boy in front of her harshly said, elbowing his friend. He mumbled something in return.

“Look, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you find what you’re looking for. Is there any way I could help…” he trailed off indicating he wanted her name.

She shook her head. “No, it’s nothing. I’ll probably never meet you again, so try and forget what happened.”

She bowed her head in apology and left. After a good distance, she glanced back to see if she really did make a mistake, but there it was, a small red little bow on his pinkie with a single red string trailing back to her.

Now that she had a clue on what this string was, Soojin headed straight to the library after class. She hastily sat her herself in front of a computer and started typing.

There was an instant hit on the internet, and she clicked on the first web result.

“Red string of fate…” she mumbled softly, reading what she saw. “Also known as red thread of destiny…. Myth believed to have originated from East Asian culture…Can stretch and tangle but never break…Is said to connect soulmates....” She stopped, bewildered with what she had just learned. This red string, this little piece of material, is said to connect her to her destined lover? To that boy?

She shook her head. That was impossible, completely impossible. She didn’t know he existed until today.

She glimpsed at the clock on the computer and cursed in head for the hundredth time today. She was going to be late to her second class.

She rushed across campus, dodging pedestrians and bicyclists. She didn’t have time to apologize politely because her professor was a stickler for punctuality. She was afraid that he wasn’t going to let her into class if she was late. That is why she was running as fast as her legs could take her. That is why she ignored the person trying to catch her attention. That is why she glared menacingly when he forcefully stopped her.

“What. Do. You. Want?” she barked out.

There in front of her with a sheepish smile was a boy. Not just any boy, a boy she had made a mess out of herself in front of him earlier today. A boy she had specifically told to forget what happened. A boy that was supposed to be her soulmate.

“Er, it looks like you’re busy,” he mumbled.

“Oh, really?” she said sarcastically, too busy worrying about her class to be polite. “As if running like my life depended on it means I have all the time in the world.”

“Right. So you are busy. But I just want to say…” he trailed off, trying to find the words to express what he wanted.

“Look, if you’re here to make small talk, I don’t have the time of it. Now, if you excuse me, I have a class to attend.” She tried to move around him, but he blocked her. She stared at him with bewilderment.

He held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll make this quick,” he started. She impatiently nodded for him to continue. “I want to help you. I want to help you with your problem.”

She couldn’t help but to stare at him. “Help me. With my problem,” she repeated. He nodded his head.

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but no thanks. Now, I really have to go.” She made a motion to pass him, but he firmly stood in front of her.

“If you change your mind, meet me in front of the clock tower after you finish class. You finish in an hour, right?”

She just stared at him with no expressions.

“Well, I assume that is a ‘yes’.” He made a sweeping motion with his arm. “You may go, m’lady,” he smiled cheekily.

Soojin couldn’t believe he had the nerve to make a joke. She glared at him one more time before taking off.

Fortunately, she made it into the classroom. Unfortunately, she was caught by her professor trying to sneak into class and ridiculed her in front of the whole class.

The whole time in class, she fumed with anger at the boy, her supposed soulmate.

A/N: So she still doesn’t know who he is, but I pretty sure you guys know. He is in the foreword.

And you decided to continue reading! Thanks! I appreciate that you have taken interest. I will see you guys again in due time.