Present

        “Bringing up my fiancé is not fair and you know it, Seulgi,” Sooyoung whispers, surprised at the older woman’s low blow. Her jaw flexed and clenched as she watched Seulgi begin washing her hands dutifully in the sink, as if trying in vain to wash away her pain.

        As Sooyoung looks on, she twists the engagement ring glittering on her finger. The familiar weight of the band floods her system with comfort and reassurance. It reminds the taller woman of her soon to be wife, Kim Yerim.

        Yeri was currently on a flight back to Seoul from Shanghai for Joohyun and Seungwan’s wedding. She’d been on a business trip with her entertainment firm, and wouldn’t arrive until the dead of night, and would most likely fall straight asleep in order to prepare for the next morning.

        Yeri was and still is Sooyoung’s godsend. The younger woman was an angel in disguise who relentlessly believed in the strings though she could never see them herself. Sooyoung recalled the day they met with such a force of emotion swelling through her, tears began to prick at her vision.

        **

Flashback

        Sooyoung’s mother had passed away the year Sooyoung left for Seoul National University to study nursing. She’d moved into Seulgi’s newly leased apartment as the older woman’s roommate. It was mid-semester when it happened. The cause of Mrs. Park’s death had been a violent, sudden deterioration that no one could have predicted.

        Despite how quickly Mrs. Park had passed, the lasting effects were a completely different matter. In fact, they were almost catastrophic on the young woman. Sooyoung blamed herself for her own ignorance to her mother’s health immediately after she’d heard the news.

        “I should’ve known better,” the nursing major whispered, horrified and breaking down, clinging to Seulgi’s arms when her father called. On speaker phone, Mr. Park’s voice sounded even more raw and broken than either of them could’ve imagined, notifying his daughter that he no longer had a wife and she no longer had her mother.

        “I shouldn’t have left home,” the taller woman cried after she numbly hung up the phone. She allowed Seulgi to pull her closer, and Seulgi drew the shivering young woman towards the warmth and strength of her chest. “It’s not your fault, Sooyoung-ah,” Seulgi had cooed, gently smoothing down the frazzled strands of the younger woman’s long, black hair.

        The two best friends stayed in that position for hours, sprawled out on the carpeted living room floor, with Seulgi’s lean arms wrapped carefully around Sooyoung’s shuddering frame. After that, Sooyoung rarely left the apartment, save for sporadically flitting to her classes and getting notes from her classmates.

        In an instant, Sooyoung became a kind of stranger in all of her friends’ eyes. The spry, fiery girl Seulgi had known the taller woman to be throughout their years of friendship was nowhere to be found. In her place was a quiet, reserved, severe woman who rarely spoke and hardly ate without being prompted to first.

        Sooyoung’s transformation scared Seulgi enough to take off work a few times each week. She began making home cooked meals again, something that had become a rarity due to both of their college workloads and Seulgi having to close at her job. The English major also went through a ritual of throwing out the mounds of junk food Sooyoung hoarded within the kitchen cabinets.

        Rather than studying in the library by herself, as she had grown accustomed to, Seulgi would remain within their apartment. She stayed a mere hand’s stretch away from the younger girl, always within shouting distance, just in case if there came a time when Sooyoung needed her. She did all this while maintaining a respect for Sooyoung’s privacy, knowing that if the younger woman ever needed her, Sooyoung would ask.

        It took time for Sooyoung to regain the part of herself that Seulgi, as well as the nursing major’s other friends, cherished so dearly and wished feverishly to see again. After Seulgi spilled the news of Mrs. Park’s passing, Joohyun became a frequent visitor to their apartment during that time. The engineering major was never far behind Seulgi when she came home.

        The eldest of them all would tag along with the English major after class to surprise Sooyoung. Joohyun did her best in helping the younger woman with her chemistry labs, doing anything and everything she possibly could to lift even a fraction of the massive weight that had settled on Sooyoung’s shoulders.

        Even Seungwan made an effort to comfort Sooyoung. The Canadian often sent Joohyun over with batches of freshly baked goodies for all of them whenever she found the time to bake. Seulgi learned from Joohyun that it was one of Seungwan’s passions. While Joohyun visited, Seulgi and Sooyoung heard many stories of Joohyun coming home to find Seungwan in the middle of her kitchen, sprinkled with bits of flour and kneaded dough.

        Joohyun’s stories about Seungwan always made Sooyoung quirk a smile, and Seulgi thought it had to do with the way the older woman spoke. It was clear to the English major then that Joohyun was undeniably in love with Seungwan, and while the fact made Seulgi’s heart pang with pain, she quickly forgot her sorrow when she realized Sooyoung still needed her.

        Seungwan began to make appearances when Joohyun was too busy with her classwork to drop in. Though the engineering major never failed to apologize profusely whenever she wasn’t able to stop by, all of them understood completely. Joohyun’s workload was staggering compared to theirs, and Seulgi considered it a miracle the older woman had time to spare to even say hello.

        Seulgi appreciated the way Seungwan did her best with the given situation. They’d known each other for almost a semester by the time of Sooyoung’s mother’s passing, and Seulgi was still learning more and more about Joohyun’s girlfriend with each day.

        The English noticed that the music major was timid, yet encouraging at the same time in her way of comforting Sooyoung with her many tales of her time spent in Canada. There were funny stories where she’d accidentally embarrassed herself in front of the whole school that cracked a smile on the nursing major’s solemn face. There were freshly baked cakes adorned with rich frosting and fresh strawberries.

        Seulgi would giggle along quietly as she sat next to Seungwan and ate the Canadian’s latest batch of goods, feeling increasingly fond of Joohyun’s girlfriend with each visit she made. Though it sent a twinge in her heart, Seulgi was beginning to understand why Joohyun was so invested in the music major.

        Seungwan had a heart of gold, and she wasn’t afraid of showing it.

        With all three of their efforts combined, Sooyoung finally returned to following her school schedule diligently, to acting somewhat like her usual self, to flashing smiles more and more frequently. Her misery and gloom still followed everywhere she went, however.

        After those many grueling months of slow improvement on Sooyoung’s part, Seulgi and Joohyun arrived at the apartment to find Sooyoung chatting animatedly with a girl they’d never seen before. “Oh! You guys are finally here!” Sooyoung called happily, causing Seulgi and Joohyun to cast sidelong glances at each other.

        The tall young woman stood from her spot on the couch, and threw her arms around a startled and stunned Seulgi and Joohyun. “It’s about time you guys came home,” Sooyoung continued in the same cheerful tone, a large grin gracing her elegant features. “We’ve been waiting for hours for you.”

        Unable to come up with a coherent response, Seulgi looked at Joohyun for guidance, her eyes wide and her face portraying utter confusion. Joohyun looked back at the English major, her own expression mirroring Seulgi’s down to the tee. Neither of them were sure what to make of the situation at hand, until Joohyun cleared quietly. “Sooyoung-ah,” the engineering major finally stammered, “Why don’t you introduce us to your friend?”

        Sooyoung looked over her shoulder, and gave a short jerk of her head, signaling the other young woman to stand. The stranger had shoulder length chocolate brown hair, a set of wide doe eyes, and a grin as wide as the Cheshire Cat’s. With three pairs of eyes locked onto her, the young woman stepped forward confidently, brushing at the sides of her rich red coat to smooth out its creases, and executing a perfect bow before them.

        “Hello,” the young woman greeted softly, nodding at the two older women as she came to a halt beside Sooyoung. Her voice was lower than either of them had been expecting from such a petite, pretty young woman, but warm and soothing at the same time.

        “My name’s Kim Yerim, but you can just call me Yeri. I’ve heard all about you guys,” she said, wrapping an arm around Sooyoung’s lean waist. Seulgi followed the action subtly, and saw the string immediately, matching almost perfectly with the same color as Yeri’s coat.

        Unlike her and Joohyun’s, Yeri’s was minimalistic, yet held the same riveting beauty and symbolism to it as any other red string of fate. The English major followed the trail of the string from Yeri’s right pink, and was shocked to find that it ran a length to Sooyoung’s own hand. Yeri was Sooyoung’s soulmate, and neither of them had any idea. Or did they?

        After exchanging another look between her and Joohyun, Seulgi burst out into one of her own trademark smiles. Her heart was fluttering in her chest, for she knew that Yeri and Sooyoung were destined to be together. “Well, Yeri,” the English major said cheerfully, “Would you like to stay for dinner? Joohyun and I brought pizza!”

        It took no time at all for Yeri to be inducted within their ring of friendship. The girl was an upcoming freshman at Seoul National as well, and had been on a tour of the college campus when she’d spotted Sooyoung wiping away her tears in one of the bathrooms, and felt the urge to stay back and comfort the older woman.

        One thing led to another, a round of hot chocolates were purchased from one of the coffee joints and they’d ended up chatting most of the day away. About a week after Yeri’s introduction, Sooyoung would come to reminisce on the time with a somewhat confused look in front of Seulgi and Seungwan.

        “It was so odd,” she chuckled, mainly to herself rather than Seulgi, “but the moment Yeri walked up to me, I felt like I knew her.” Seulgi had merely smiled in response, nodding her head as she watched Sooyoung take a sip of her coffee.

        It was endearing, the way Sooyoung talked about Yeri when the younger woman wasn’t around to hear it, even more so to Seulgi because she knew they were destined to be together.

        The two of them kept in touch often through texting and meeting up at different places on campus. It was almost as if the hardship had never been endured by Sooyoung.

        “I think I know what you mean,” she murmured, her thoughts drifting back to Joohyun for a brief moment before Seungwan shook her out of her reverie. “You got the brown sugar latte, right, Seul?” The Canadian asked, setting down a steaming mug in front of her before slipping into the booth beside the English major.

        Seulgi tries to ignore the pang in her chest when she sees Joohyun’s name flash on Seungwan’s phone screen, and thanks her politely for grabbing her drink for her. She pretends not to see the wide, happy grin that dances across Seungwan’s face, the eagerness in the Canadian’s fingers as they tap wildly across her phone screen.

**

Present

        The startling blank look in the older woman’s eyes shone indifference when Sooyoung finally rose her