A result of listening to a combination of Coldplay's Yellow + Adam Levine's Lost Stars (shout out to Nhim2826), Up Dharma Down's Tadhana - KZ Tandingan cover, and Snow Patrol's Signal Fire... a lot of songs, I know. *sweatdrops* Don't ask me how the lyrics relate to the story scenes since I literally just typed what comes to me while I listened. I didn't even pay attention to the lyrics and the song meanings... though of course the songs can still be related to the scenes, one way or another.

Oh, and by the way, it's BobDong. 

He hates the color red.

He hates how it burns his eyes to tears when the shade is too much. He hates how it stains the skin when it’s wounded, like a blatant show of pain and loss.

More than that, he hates how it pollutes his world; strings of it connecting one person’s ring finger to another. Sometimes each end of it is visible. Sometimes one end isn’t.

Most of all, Donghyuk hates the absence of it from his own hand, as if telling him he has no destiny, and the presence of it around Bobby’s - his red connected to someone who’s not him.

---

He first saw the red as early as when he first knew what “seeing” means. He thought it’s a natural part of the world - something that each person can see. He told his parents about the strings, about how each end were wrapped around the fourth finger of the left hand, how mom and dad both have them and that no matter how hard he tries to hold them, he couldn’t. He told them how he doesn’t have it and asked them why.

His mom told him it just means he’s free to love anyone he wants, and how he’s going to be loved in return as well. He asked them about their strings. Does that mean they only love each other because of them?

His dad answered him with a smile, telling him that the strings are only a guide, that he’s more than sure he and mom will still love each other even if their strings aren’t tied together. He remembers being in awe with that, also wishing that someday he’ll meet a person who can share with him a bond as strong as his parents’ own.

His parents humored him with those answers for years. Other people didn’t.

He quickly learned that the red is something only he could see. That telling other people aside from his parents equaled to being labeled a “weirdo” and a “freak”. That trying to make them understand just pushes them further away.

So he shuts his mouth, goes through the motions of society as quietly as possible. He fakes a smile when someone mentions about him having “fantasies” when he was a little kid. He tries to be cordial by saying he had a wild imagination during that time. Inwardly, he seethes with bitterness. If only the strings were really just a product of a child’s fantasies. If only the red disappeared as soon as he became conscious of how cruel the world is.

---

“So, they say you were kinda weird.”

Bobby says to him on the day he suddenly sat across him at the cafeteria. He starts eating his lunch there as if there’s nothing wrong with his introduction.

“It’s rude to ignore people you know.” Bobby remarked when he didn’t answer and chose to focus on his Physics textbook instead. Donghyuk gave him a leveled look, slightly curious as to why the school’s most popular kid is talking to him out of nowhere.

“What’s it to you, sunbae?”

“Nothing. You’re always the top in your year right? And you’re part of the robotics team. Just genuinely curious on how a person as cool as you can be weird.”

No one has called him cool before. That word was never part of the list of vocabulary associated with him. The most positive was “smart” and “good”. It never went beyond that because the weird and freak label has never left him even when he stopped talking about it.

“You think I’m cool.” he says sarcastically, closing his book to focus on the older boy. “You wouldn’t think of me like that if I tell you.”

“I’ll decide that for myself, kid.” Bobby smirked at him, amusement glinting in his eyes. “Try me.”

So he told him.

He expected the confused face, the mocking laughs and the shifting gaze because of disgust. Instead, he got an impressed stare and an excited grin.

“Dude are you kidding me? That’s so cool! It’s like you’re an overseer of the world or something.”

“You’re making fun of me.”

“What, no! Why would I do that to someone I just met?”

Bobby held out a hand to him, toothy grin still intact on his face and small crinkles adorning the sides of his eyes.

“I’m Kim Jiwon by the way. You can call me Bobby-hyung from now on.”

“I’m Kim Donghyuk.” he replies and shakes Bobby’s hand because it’s the polite thing to do.

That was the start.

---

Kim Jiwon pesters him everyday after that. He goes all the way to his classroom during lunchtime, popping his head at the door and loudly calls him out with exaggerated waves of his arms. His classmates would whisper around, shocked that Jiwon “Bobby” Kim is suddenly friends with him. He doesn’t like being gossiped at so he follows Bobby out, freezing when the upperclassman slings an arm around his shoulders as they walk through the halls.

Bobby asks him many questions about his ability. He asks if he could touch the strings, if he could cut them. He asks if the color changes, if it stretches and tangles with other strings.

Donghyuk isn’t sure why he answers each of those questions honestly. Maybe because more than the red, Bobby asks him about himself. He asks if he has siblings, the reason why he joined the robotics team, his favorite colors, favorite music, favorite food.

He asks him of his aspirations. Of what he wants to do someday. He asks him things no one has asked him before - of the things that are about him, separate from the red that cursed him.

“Why won’t you ask me to prove it to you?” he asks one day when they’re at the rooftop, sharing a whole pizza Bobby smuggled from outside. “You know, about the red strings…”

“There’s no need. I know you’re telling the truth Donghyukie.” his sunbae answers with a wide smile amidst the pizza in his mouth. “I can see it clearly in your eyes.”

He doesn’t know what exactly his sunbae sees in his eyes but Donghyuk finds himself believing.

Eventually, the “sunbae” naturally became “hyung”. The lunchtime meetings became his most anticipated part of each day, and it extended to going home together to hang out at each other’s homes or having a weekend excursions to the city.

Eventually, he smiles more. Laughs more. Thinks that his world polluted with red isn’t so bad. That he can find it in himself to live as long as he has Bobby-hyung.

Eventually, against his better judgment, he falls in love.

---

He consoles himself with the fact that he can’t see the other end of his hyung’s string. It means Bobby-hyung’s soulmate hasn’t appeared yet. Hasn’t come to take his hyung away from him.

He likes to think maybe, he and Bobby-hyung are the ones fated. That maybe that’s the reason why he can’t see the other end. Because he is the one tied to him and since he can’t see the string on himself, he can’t see his hyung’s other end as well. Bobby-hyung will come to see him sooner or later and realize that they’re each other’s destinies.

But sophomore year comes for him and Bobby-hyung becomes a senior. They still eat with each other during lunchtime and still hang-out after classes. Then he sees it.

He sees the other end of Bobby-hyung’s string. It’s tied around the ring finger of another senior - the transferee one. A beautiful girl with long black hair and an angelic smile. He remembered his male classmates raving about her. Kim Jisoo, they said her name is.

Suddenly, his world stops with all the activity in the bleachers seemingly halting. He breaks out into a sweat, dread boiling up inside him. “You alright?” he hears his hyung ask him while he raises a hand to gently pat his head.

He smiles and tells his hyung he’s fine. Just the heat of the weather getting to him.

He doesn’t tell his hyung about his string.

---

He wants to hate Kim Jisoo.

Bobby-hyung introduces her to him soon after the incident by the bleachers, during lunch. He waits at their usual table, excited to tell his hyung about the new lego robot his team is working on, when Bobby-hyung arrives with Kim Jisoo.

Kim Jisoo shyly introduces herself, tells him about how she and Bobby-hyung are classmates for all of their subjects.

“Bobby told me you’re his best friend. I hope we can be friends too.”

Bobby-hyung is excitedly looking at him. He doesn't have the courage to say no.

He watches Kim Jisoo throughout lunch while trying to ignore the red knot on her and Bobby-hyung’s fingers. So what if she’s tied to his hyung? It doesn’t mean anything. He fell in love with his hyung despite not being tied to him. His hyung can fall for him as well. Like what his parents told him, the strings are just a guide. He’s free to love whoever he wishes and he’ll be loved in return, regardless of the strings.

He’s blinding himself, he knows. All his life, he sees the connections the strings established and not once did they fail. He knows that falling for a person with a string attached to someone else means the love will be unrequited.

He knows all of it but maybe, this one time is a mistake.

So he doesn’t complain when Kim Jisoo started eating lunch with him and Bobby-hyung regularly. Each time, he waits for some sort of sign, anything that can tell him Kim Jisoo is the red’s miscalculation.

Cautiously, he lets her sit beside his hyung and lets her sit beside him as well. He lets her give him side dishes when he runs out of it, lets her smile at him and call him with a nickname - the same nickname Bobby-hyung calls him with.

Eventually, the “sign” he wants to look out for is forgotten. Kim Jisoo becomes “noona” for him, and he starts looking forward to her presence in in their small group. He smiles when she smiles and laughs at her awkward but cute jokes.

Jisoo-noona is not only beautiful outside, but inside as well. She looks at him without judgments, dotes on him as if she’s his real older sister, and talks with him for him. Just like Bobby-hyung.

Most of all, he sees the way Jisoo-noona looks at his hyung. Bare and innocent but sincere. The most sincere he’s seen in a person. Maybe… even more sincere than he is.

He can’t hate her, he finds out. He can’t look at her and think a person like her is a mistake. Because the more he becomes closer to her, the more he thinks she’s the only one for Bobby-hyung. She fits him like they’re two unique puzzle pieces with only one side to fit.

She fits him far better than how he does.

---

Then he meets Goo Junhwe.

He vaguely knows Goo Junhwe. Knows him through rumors as this ultra rich guy who’s tall and handsome but is scary and a loner. They have two classes together but they never interacted or exchanged a single word.

But one day, when both Bobby-hyung and Jisoo-noona are too busy to eat with him at the cafeteria, Goo Junhwe sits across him - similar to the way Bobby-hyung did when they first met. He asks Goo Junhwe if he needs something from him, but his classmate throws him something else.

“You can see them.” the taller male says, eyes unwavering and face completely serious when he continues. “The red strings.”

Despite the serious face, Donghyuk can’t help but think the guy’s planning a prank or something bad. 90% it was always like that. Bobby-hyung was the only exception.

“Did you hear that from somebody?” he narrows his eyes at him. “Did they tell you how I was a weirdo because of it?”

“No. I didn’t hear it from someone else. I just know.”

Goo Junhwe gestures to his hands with a nod. “You can’t see yours right? I can’t see mine too. It’s the catch for people like us. We can’t see our own strings and we can’t see each other’s.”

He feels himself freeze.

“What?”

“The red strings. I can also see them. Been like that since I was born.”

His whole world immediately shifts. He always thought he’s the only one who can see the red but now…

He scolds himself. Wait, don’t fall so easily for that. Maybe this is a new kind of prank. Maybe this is Goo Junhwe’s way of making fun of him. But his classmate sees through him and takes out his hands that are tucked inside his hoodie. He places both of them on the table.

“See for yourself.” he says, and Donghyuk does see.

His heart starts beating wildly because there really is no red string tied around Goo Junhwe’s ring finger, just like his. Then as if to further convince him, Goo Junhwe starts listing the connected ones in their Math class, even pointing out the string status of people they don’t know in the cafeteria.

“Ok, I get it. You really can see.” he tells Goo Junhwe when he had enough. He feels a bit light headed at the shock, but he composes himself.

“So what do you want from me? Why are you telling me this?”

Goo Junhwe shrugs and places both hands back to the pockets of his hoodie. “Just for business. You’re in love with that senior right? Bobby Kim. His string’s connected with Kim Jisoo.”

He ignores the fact that a semi-stranger knows he’s in love with his hyung. Still, he doesn't like where the conversation is going.

“So?”

“So,” his classmate leans towards the table and smirks. “I can cut the string.”

What…?

“I can cut Bobby Kim’s string and tie the other end to your finger. Once it's tied, your original string and Kim Jisoo’s will automatically disappear.”

“Don’t give me that bull.” he hisses. Of all things! He doesn’t need such sick jokes right now.

But Goo Junhwe isn’t fazed. He leans more towards him as if to whisper. “I’m serious. I told you, it’s business right? Why do you think my family’s so rich? The world’s more ed up than you think.”

He doesn’t need an elaboration for him to get it. What kind of scum! He can’t believe anyone can stomach playing with fate like that for money. The people who paid for such a thing are even worse.

But then, he’s not any better because he starts to think on it - starts thinking about how the red isn’t absolute after all.

Starts thinking that this is a chance. His chance.

“H-How much do you need? If...if ever.”

Goo Junhwe’s smile is as sickening as the feeling he has in his stomach.

“Money’s not the game here. I need to pass on certain subjects, you’re the top in our grade, and no one’s willing to put up with my . You know what to do.”

He gulps. Goo Junhwe nods at him then stands up to leave. “It’s a really cheap offer don’t you think? Tell me once you decide.”

Donghyuk knows he shouldn’t, but he still lets the black consume his mind and heart.

He can have Bobby-hyung all to himself.

---

He still hates the red.

Still hates how it burns his eyes when the shade is too much. Still hates how it can be a symbol of pain and loss, and how it still pollutes his world.

But a part of him starts to love it. He can hate it all he wants but it’s the same thing that’s giving him a chance. Once Bobby-hyung’s string is tied to his, that is.

He sees Goo Junhwe huddled in the corner most seat in Math. He sits lazily, chin rested on his hand as he stares at the sky from outside the classroom window. They had a couple of seconds of eye contact as soon as he stood in front of his desk, the unspoken question hanging around the air between them.

“I’ll do it.” he softly says, still unsure but too desperate to think more on it. Goo Junhwe regards him with analytical eyes, as if waiting for him to back out but he stands firm. His classmate nods to him after a bit and blurts out “Alright.” as if it’s as simple as that.

He introduces Goo Junhwe to Bobby-hyung and Jisoo-noona a few days after. He says Goo Junhwe is his classmate who needs his help with certain subjects, so he’ll be tagging along with them for awhile. Bobby-hyung is pleased but also suspicious. His hyung knows about Goo Junhwe’s scary reputation and warns him about taking advantage of him. Goo Junhwe says he isn’t, that they are already friends.

“Why else would I be hanging out with all of you when I prefer to be alone?” His classmate reasons. Jisoo-noona nods then scolds Bobby-hyung for putting pressure on Goo Junhwe. Bobby-hyung has no choice but to accept Goo Junhwe in their group.

But Bobby-hyung is right to be suspicious. Goo Junhwe isn’t “hanging out” with them. He isn’t friends with him either. Goo Junhwe is there because he needs to personally know both owners of the strings’ ends for him to be able to cut it.

Donghyuk stays quiet as Bobby-hyung and Jisoo-noona ask his classmate about the subjects he has problems with and the rumors of his family’s wealth. Goo Junhwe answers each question smoothly, not bothered one bit about their secret.

He gulps, tells himself to be as unbothered as Goo Junhwe, who is playing with Bobby-hyung and Jisoo-noona’s string between his fingers.

---

“There’s no confessions happening yet.” Goo Junhwe tells him one day when they’re working on trigonometric functions at the library. “This is the best time to cut it, when both ends are still unaware. It’ll be harder for me to cut it if we wait more.”

His classmate stares at him while waiting for his answer. He clenches his fingers around his pen, the unease inside him never going away.

“Before that, I want to know something…”

“Shoot.”

“What will happen to my original soulmate? To Jisoo-noona? Will they be alright?”

“If you mean the effect on their life, yeah they’ll be fine. Their lifespan won’t be affected or anything. No sudden incurable diseases as well.”

“...You know what I’m talking about.”

He doesn’t know why Goo Junhwe is purposely trying to avoid the question when he’s the one who’s so nonchalant about the strings. But the avoidance itself causes him to feel more sick. What if the repercussions are too dangerous?

Goo Junhwe seems to notice his apprehension so he he finally tells him.

“They’ll be alone for life. They’ll lose most of their feelings for their original soulmates, but will forever feel like they’re missing something.”

He tenses at the revelation. The burden of what he’s been planning with Goo Junhwe is suddenly more severe.

“It’s cruel, but if you really want to have Bobby-sunbae, you have to accept it. Otherwise, even when the two of you are already together, you won’t be fully happy.”

Goo Junhwe pauses at his silence, then nudges his foot with his under the table.

“Don’t think about other people. Sometimes, it’s okay to be selfish especially when your own happiness is at stake.”

That didn’t reassure him. It only fueled the growing guilt in his heart.

“...That’s not true love.”

“And why is that?”

He glares at Goo Junhwe, angry at how he’s making him contradict himself, at how he’s fully aware of the wrongness of his whole situation.

“Love is love.” His classmate answers, unfazed. “In the end, the strings decide what’s true or not.”

He knows. The red is always absolute. That’s why his feelings for Bobby-hyung will always be unrequited. That’s why Goo Junhwe’s blasphemous business has been successful.

That’s why he’s here, engaging in the same blasphemy, just so he could flip his “absolute” end with his hyung.

“And you?” he asks, bitterness seeping from his voice. “Have you loved already? What do you know about love?”

He expects Goo Junhwe to be smug and talk him down. Instead, Goo Junhwe smiles. Not the sickening type, but one of defeat and bitterness that is mirroring his own.

“I know plenty enough. Why do you think I can stomach what I’ve been doing?”

And it strikes Donghyuk. There’s a whole universe in Goo Junhwe’s answer; unspoken truths that only someone who interferes with fate knows, experiences that someone like him - who can only see and despise the red, won’t be able to comprehend. He purses his lips and decides he has enough, tapping on Goo Junhwe’s textbook to tell him that it’s time to return to studying.

Despite what his parents have taught him, maybe he doesn’t know anything about love after all.

---

It’s D-day. The day in which Bobby-hyung and Jisoo-noona’s strings will be severed.

“What’s the occasion Donghyukie?” Bobby-hyung asks him curiously as he and Jisoo-noona sit on the small picnic feast he prepared at the school rooftop. There’s his hyung’s favorite pizza, Jisoo-noona’s favorite danish pastries, and both of their preferred drinks.

“Nothing! I just realized I haven’t shown how much I appreciate being friends with you two.”

“So this is a thank you party? Aww, you shouldn’t have!” his hyung says with giggles, moving from his place beside Jisoo-noona to hug him from the side. Donghyuk’s heart dances at the contact, but he held it in and smiles.

Jisoo-noona looked teary-eyed when she reached to hold both his hands in hers. “Thank you too Donghyukie. If it wasn’t for you and Jiwon, I would be still alone…”

He nods and smiles at her as well, squeezing her hand back as he gives the red knot around her ring finger a glance.

This is it. There’s no turning back.

“Oh and also, this whole thing is my message for both of you.”

His two older friends glance at each other before looking back at him again.

“What do you mean?”

“This is me telling you to get together already. I’m tired of seeing your secret stares and hand-holding attempts.”

He stands with a wide grin upon seeing the instant flush on both their faces.

“I even set-up your first date. Thank me later okay?”

Bobby-hyung sputters his words and Jisoo-noona looked like she wants to run away in embarrassment. But both of them remained seated on the picnic rug, their eyes shyly stealing glances at one another.

He bids them good luck, still with the wide grin, as he leaves.

Goo Junhwe is still there when he reached the empty classroom for their Math class. He’s on standby, waiting for his text to come up to the rooftop and finally cut the string.

Instead, Donghyuk comes down himself, delivering a different message with small sobs and uncontrollable tears on his face.

He futilely wipes his cheeks as he approaches his classmate, stopping when he’s exactly a foot away. He doesn’t know why he’s even there in the first place when he could have went straight home.

But when Goo Junhwe sighs in defeat and opens up both his long arms for him, he didn’t hesitate to step in. As soon as he feels his classmate’s arms around his frame, he lets everything out.

“Love is love.” Goo Junhwe gently says, repeating what he said in the library. “And you just showed the world how true yours is.”

---

He dislikes the red.

He dislikes how he tears up when the color shade is too saturated. Dislikes how it can be a sign of hurt and loss.

He would have disliked how it pollutes his world with countless strings, but not anymore. Not too much, at least.

“Take care Donghyukie.” Bobby-hyung tells him as he embraces him tightly. He tries not to get his hyung’s graduation gown more wrinkled despite the ceremonies being already done.

“I’ll call you regularly and visit you whenever I can, okay?”

He snickers and pulls out of the embrace to playfully punch his hyung on his chest.

“You should be saying those things to your girlfriend hyung. What would Jisoo-noona say?”

“I’ll say the same thing. I’ll call and visit my Dongdong whenever I can too.” His noona interrupts with a chuckle as she cheerfully extends her arms to him for a hug as well. He enthusiastically returns it.

When Jisoo-noona pulls away and both she and Bobby-hyung are looking fondly at him, he says it.

“I love you Bobby-hyung.” he confesses, smile still intact on his face. “I love you Jisoo-noona.” he adds.

“I love you both. Thank you.”

He laughs when both of them are suddenly tearing up and pulling him into a tight group hug. Bobby-hyung says something about being the luckiest hyung in the world, while Jisoo-noona coos at him and gives him a long kiss on his cheek. Bobby-hyung pretends to be offended, then tries to kiss him too but he dodges.

Both of them tells him they love him too.

“Be happy Donghyuk.” his hyung whispers to him before fully letting go. “You’ll definitely find your soulmate even if you can’t see your red string, just like me and Jisoo. I’m sure of it.”

That’s still uncertain for him, but he thanks his hyung regardless.

But what’s really certain is the freedom in his heart, as he watches both his precious people lace their fingers together and smile at each other with love. Their strings are intact, connecting them both for eternity and though the red is infallible, he still hopes from the bottom of his heart that it will stay that way.

His happiness is their happiness. That is his love.

His true red.

.

.

.

.

.

.

He watches the clouds and the sky, his arms crossed behind him and one leg crossed up. He’s the only one in the rooftop and the distant chatters and cheers from below are the only things breaking the silence.

Junhwe ponders more on that. Donghuk is probably still down there, chatting with Jisoo-sunbae and Bobby-sunbae for the last time in a long while. Both sunbaes will be leaving for college the very next day. His classmate must be sad. Those two were his only friends in his two years of high school life so far. It’ll definitely hard for him to adjust once junior year starts.

“So here you are Junhwe! Hyung and noona were looking for you!”

He frowns a bit when the door bursts open and Donghyuk steps into his line of sight, effectively blocking his view of the white clouds and blue sky. He sighs and crosses both his legs as he sits up, still no intentions of leaving the comfort of the school rooftop. Donghyuk shrugs then sits beside him, leaving his legs outstretched and his arms supporting him up from both sides.

“You could have gone down to congratulate them you know? What’s the point of going here then?”

“My family owns half the shares in this school. That’s the point of me being here when I’m not even a senior and I don’t have friends there.”

“What? Bobby-hyung and Jisoo-noona are your friends.” Donghyuk tells him with a dumbfounded tone. “I’m your friend.”

He smirks. “Last time I checked, you think of me as scum. How the world trolls.”

Donghyuk snorts. “I would have still thought of you as scum if you forced me to tutor you even when I backed out of our agreement.”

“But you still tutored me even when I told you there’s already no need.”

“It’s a top student’s pride.”

“Pfft. Nerd.”

Donghyuk kicks him with his right leg but agrees with his thought of the world playing with them. He tells him he hated him at first, but now they’re bantering like long-time friends. That it’s kind of crazy how he’s so comfortable with him now even when it’s only been a few months.

“Well, you can’t help it. I’m the only one you’ve met so far who can see the red strings too.”

“That makes sense.”

Of course it does. But there’s also a deeper reason why they had become so close in just a short amount of time.

“Donghyuk.” he calls and waits for Donghyuk to give all his attention to him. “I lied to you about many things. I’m sorry.”

His friend still looks at him, unwavering. There’s no judgment in his eyes but somehow that makes Junhwe feel more uneasy. He’d rather Donghyuk be mad at him than be nonchalant about his confession. At least with anger, he’ll know that Donghyuk cares.

“I know.”

“You know.” he repeats, surprised. “You know...what?”

“I know that you can see my string, and that you can see yours.” Donghyuk sighs.

“You think I didn’t notice? You have this habit of looking at my left hand when you’re relaxed. And sometimes, you cover your own as if you don’t want to show anyone what’s in there.”

He smirks then pulls his legs up to wrap his arms around his knees. “For someone who had a shady business, you could have been more aware of yourself.”

Junhwe would have retorted if it’s any other person but instead, he sniggers and shakes his head.

“It’s been 3 years since that shady business of mine is closed down so cut me some slack will you? The only reason I approached you is that I badly needed help with my grades.”

“Ha! Those scores were indeed bad.” Donghyuk smirks again, teasing him, while he just sighs and lets the other have his fun.

The thing with his grades was just half the truth though. The other half is deeper than that.

He approached Donghyuk because Donghyuk needed him. His ability was the only way. He didn’t even want to meddle at first. Initially, it was just mild interest. He suddenly saw the full length of his string during the freshmen entrance ceremony, followed the end of it with his eyes among the other students in the auditorium.

And lo and behold.

He really just want to watch, quietly observe and not interfere. He has far too many sins to account for and too many losses because of it; because of the red and the choices he and his family did in regards to his ability.

He was nonchalant, vaguely amused because he found out Donghyuk can see the red but can’t see his own, which means he wouldn’t be able to see his as well. It’s ironic how that “defect” is just another way for Donghyuk to find his soulmate. He just has to look for the person who appears to him as “string-less” too.

But Donghyuk doesn’t know that, and Junhwe didn’t do anything to let him know. He stayed in the background, careful not to attract attention from Donghyuk himself. He watched and observed, not seeking the red but only when they cross paths. Then in the middle of that, he began noticing.

He noticed the sincere and fake smiles, the grim looks and the rare joys, the hate for the red and the longing for it. The way he tucks the little strands of hair on his ears, the way he slightly pouts his lips when concentrating, the way he smiles at himself when he gets the answer right.

He noticed those things, keeps noticing more and before he knew it, he’s already surrendering to the red.

He began wanting so much more than observance. He wants to talk to him; smile, laugh and cry with him. Share everything. Share their lifetimes together.

But most of all, he noticed Bobby-sunbae’s presence and Donghyuk’s love for him.

“I know plenty enough. Why do you think I can stomach what I’ve been doing?”

He loved his parents; that’s why he had cut countless strings despite hating that ability - all because they wanted him to. Even though something important to him was taken with each act, he continued because he wanted his parents to be happy. And yet, the cost for his last sin was the same people he’s doing it for.

Since then, he vowed not to use his ability anymore. He won’t seek out his soul mate either. He’ll die alone and unfulfilled among the ill-gotten wealth from destroying the fates of others - a fitting end he decided for himself.

But he found his soulmate, fell in love with him and once again, he was going to use his ability because it was the only way for said soulmate to be loved back by his hyung. He was going to cut their string, attach Donghyuk’s to someone else, just so he could be happy. He’s willing to do it even though that time is already the ultimatum, with his own life being the final cost. That’s a much better end for him, he thought.

That didn’t happen of course. Donghyuk chose Bobby-sunbae and Jisoo-noona’s happiness above his own. A part of him was relieved because Donghyuk doesn’t deserve to have the burden of such an ugly sin. Now he’s moving on and Junhwe can’t be any prouder.

He wonders if he could step forward too, forgive himself and continue trying to make Donghyuk happy.

“Want to know the status of your string? If the other end is visible or not?” he asks, resigning his immediate fate to Donghyuk’s answer.

If Donghyuk wants him to he’ll tell everything, even the fact that he semi-stalked him for almost a year. But Donghyuk shakes his head and smiles at him, grateful and with no regrets.

“It’s okay. I think...I think I’d like to find that person just like how Bobby-hyung found Jisoo-noona. I want to find my soul mate using my heart, not because of supernatural red strings. Just like how normal people would.”

Ah. Well, he isn’t much surprised. After all, it’s the same person who’s selfless enough to sacrifice himself for the ones he love.

“Are you sure you don’t want me telling you? You might end up having to go around the world finding that person.”

“Then let’s travel around the world someday! Let’s search everywhere and find both our soulmates!”

He already found his, but he’ll let Donghyuk have his epic quest by not spoiling the end.

“It’s fine to search far and wide, but don’t forget to look nearby as well. Who knows? Maybe your soulmate is just around the corner.”

He stares at Donghyuk unabashedly and smirks when the smaller male becomes conscious and looks away, tints of red on his cheeks.

Fate is either trying to punish him still, or is giving him the signal to go ahead. Donghyuk is oblivious (intentionally and unintentionally) but at least he’s aware of him now.

Junhwe will be patient.

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...Ok, I lied. It's more like BobDongJun. hahaha... *carefully slips away*

Like always, tell me what you guys think! :)