The Strongest Bond

Threads That Bind Can't Unwind
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        “Come on, Seul, we’re almost there.” Joohyun had an arm wrapped around Seulgi’s waist and was practically dragging the younger woman up the front porch of Seulgi’s house. Grunting, Joohyun propped Seulgi’s limp frame against the door while she rummaged for Seulgi’s house keys.

        The drunk woman’s eyes were glazing over, and there was no doubt she would’ve fallen asleep there had Joohyun left her at Sooyoung and Yeri’s apartment party. “Thank god you’re not too heavy,” Joohyun muttered to herself. She draped Seulgi’s arm around her neck and pulled the younger woman into an upright position.

        Kicking the door open with her foot, Joohyun led them inside the dark interior of the house. Flicking on the light switch, Joohyun locked the door behind them and then turned to face the living room. She nearly dropped Seulgi onto the floor, shocked at the shambles of living space surrounding her.

        “Well, I know what I’m going to be doing after I get you to bed,” the civil engineer muttered underneath her breath, glancing around the room while whistling. The interior of Seulgi’s home was in almost complete disarray, something entirely uncharacteristic about the author. It looked like someone had broken in and ransacked the place.

        Joohyun stared at the discarded fast food wrappers, the jumbles and piles of loose leaf printer paper scattered across the floor and furniture, the unwashed plates and cups littering the furniture. “I’ve been so busy lately…,” Seulgi mustered up for an excuse, swallowing thickly.

        She felt embarrassed at the state of her house. She hadn’t wanted Joohyun to see her like this, to catch a glimpse of just how much of a mess she was at the moment. Seulgi’s words were still slurring, but she felt the need to explain herself to the older woman. “Too tired.”

        Joohyun nods her head slowly at Seulgi’s words, urging the author to take small baby steps with her in the direction of Seulgi’s bed room. Seulgi’s feet dragged across the dusty hardwood floor, head lolling onto Joohyun’s shoulder. The older woman tears her eyes away from the mess, her heart beginning to pound with worry.

        “I know you have been, Seul, I know you have,” Joohyun responds in a soothing tone, reaching out to twist the doorknob of Seulgi’s bedroom. Luckily, the author’s bedroom was unscathed from the chaos that consumed the houses’ other rooms. Had Seulgi been sleeping on the couch, then? Had she been sleeping at all?

        Carefully, Joohyun walked them over to the queen sized bed situated in the center of the room and laid Seulgi as gently as she could down on top of it. For a moment, Joohyun stared down at her, studying the younger woman’s limp figure. Seulgi’s eyes were hazy and unfocused, seeing but unseeing. Another wave of nausea and worry washed over Joohyun.

        “You know, I don’t remember your writing spells ever causing you to forget to clean up after yourself before...,” the older woman murmurs, mostly to herself. She stood next to the bed, massaging her temples. Even when they were in college, Seulgi hadn’t been the type of girl to let loose and party once in a while.

         Seulgi merely stared up at her silently, her mind and body still hazy from the champagne. Joohyun looked like an angel in the dim light of her bedside lamp, an untouchable goddess. “Alright, here’s what’s gonna happen, okay, Seul? Game plan time.”

        The mattress dips, and there’s a hand weaving through Seulgi’s tousled locks, teasing in and out of the tangles of her dark hair. The aroma of Joohyun’s Guerlain perfume wafts from the inside of her wrist as she works through Seulgi’s hair.

        The author stares up at Joohyun, a hazy outline of long black hair and pale skin, with enough adoration to stop anyone dead in their tracks. Even when she’s drunk, Seulgi can tell she’s beautiful. Joohyun, however, remained lost in thought while surveying the room, trying to remember if she knew where Seulgi kept her cleaning supplies.

        “I’m going to draw you a nice hot bath, then I’ll whip up your favorite midnight snack while I clean your apartment. Then, after that, we’re going to have a nice long chat. How’s that sound, hm?” Her fingers carefully untangle themselves from the silky strands of Seulgi’s hair, and the dip in the bed evens out as Joohyun stands, clapping her hands together.

        “That should be enough time for you to sober up a little before we talk, right, Seul?” A warm palm settles itself across Seulgi’s forehead, causing the author’s eyelashes to flutter ever so slightly. The author doesn’t move an inch from where she’s flopped down onto her mattress. She feels the cool sensation of the engagement ring against her skin and feels sick.

        Seulgi feels tempted to sink into the warm depths of her duvet and sleep the rest of the night off. The corner of twitches, but the urge to respond to Joohyun fades as the beginnings of slumber loom over her. Joohyun’s touch was more than enough comfort alone for Seulgi to persuade her tired body to remain lying there.

        The author began quickly drifting off, even with Joohyun patiently waiting for her answer. For a while, the hand remains on her forehead, tenderly at the baby hairs of her bangs, waiting. Eventually Seulgi becomes too tired to even think about opening her eyes.

        Joohyun sighed quietly to herself when she looked down and took in the sight before her. Deep down, Joohyun knew Seungwan was most likely still up, no doubt waiting for her at home. She imagined the Canadian sitting up in their bed, reading a paperback novel and trying not to glance at her phone every few minutes to check for a text from her.

        Seungwan. Irene’s girlfriend of nearly six years, who had just proposed, who had been everything Joohyun had ever dreamed of in a partner. Home. A place where she and Seungwan thrived together while Seulgi seemed to almost wither away. They were happy together, her and Seungwan. That’s what Joohyun kept telling herself.

        Doubt stabbed at Joohyun’s heart. She regretted not having Seulgi tell her straightforwardly, back in college, if Seungwan was really her soulmate or not. What if she’d just six years with someone she wasn’t meant to be with? Joohyun bit her lip. But she felt so sure about Seungwan, the Canadian was the perfect partner.

        She was warm, she was caring, she was understanding. Not to mention the fact that she could cook up a storm in the kitchen, always managed to sweep Joohyun off her feet over and over again. They were happy. But there was a tiny voice whispering in the back of her head, reminding Joohyun of her doubts over and over again.

        Seulgi hadn’t told her if Seungwan was the one yet, and Joohyun had to know. After years of searching, had she finally found her soulmate? Ever since Seungwan popped the question, Joohyun felt a little on edge. It was torturing her from the inside out. She’d asked Seungwan for time, just a little bit of time, so she could think.

        Graciously, Seungwan agreed without a beat of hesitation. At her girlfriend’s matured understanding, Joohyun felt yet another surge of adoration for her, but it was quickly masked be her fears. Seungwan truly was an amazing partner...so why was she still hesitating?

        They were madly in love, right? Joohyun had said yes the day after Seungwan asked her to marry her, refusing to be plagued by her childish worries. Yet it was still nagging at the engineer.

        Realizing that Seulgi had fallen fast asleep in the midst of being lost in her own thoughts, Joohyun’s hand came to a standstill. The civil engineer peered down at the younger woman, taking in the sight of her slumbering best friend, the glittering of the gems lining her finger.

        Seulgi was beautiful, even more so now that the light was soft enough to erase the bags beneath her flashing eyes and highlight the fairness of her skin. But there was a weariness to her youthful, sharp features. Something was amiss here, Joohyun just didn’t know what it was yet.

        “What am I going to do with you, Seul?” Joohyun murmured, shaking her head at the sight of the sleeping woman. She resisted the urge to run another hand through Seulgi’s long, flowing hair as it spilled out from beneath her. The silky strands had been so soft, soothing to the touch, even. “You haven’t even taken off your shoes yet, silly.”

        Joohyun pulled out her cell phone and typed out an apology to Seungwan. In couple sentences, Joohyun that she would be staying the night at the author’s house because Seulgi needed her more than she’d anticipated. It looked like Seulgi wouldn’t be waking up any time soon, and she had a huge favor to ask of Seulgi.

        A favor so immense that it would have to wait until the morning to be discussed, when Joohyun was sure the younger woman was sober. As soon as she sent the text, Joohyun flicked her phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and then pressed the device face-down on Seulgi’s bedside table.

        She knew Seungwan would be fine with her staying over. After a moment, Joohyun sighed. Idly, she wondered if it were normal to be ignoring your future wife as much as she was now. There was something just a little unsettling, even to her, about how much Seungwan didn’t affect her sometimes.

        Like now, when she was staring at her best friend intently, as if willing her to wake up, taking in every detail of her features. Seungwan had just barely come to her mind, and Joohyun had barely remembered to notify her fiance in the change in plans.

        “Really, what am I going to do with you, Seul?” Joohyun mumbled as she snapped out of it. Slowly, the older woman got up and began moving towards Seulgi’s dresser to search for pajamas. Regardless of what Seungwan’s answer would be, Joohyun was staying the night.

        She rummaged around the drawers for a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, then ducked into the bathroom connected to the bed room in order to change and freshen up. The clothes held the comforting scent that lingered around the author, a mixture of rich perfume and spice.

        Joohyun had a toothbrush stowed away in the confines of Seulgi’s medicine cabinet, and with a soft sigh, she pulled it out. It had been a while since she’d stayed over at Seulgi’s, hadn’t it? Enough time had passed for the layout of the bathroom to change up, for Joohyun to feel a little disoriented in a place she considered her second home.

        But that was to be expected by two young adults with full time job obligations, right? Seulgi couldn’t be ignoring her. She and Seulgi couldn’t always be together, but lately it felt like they were hardly seeing each other.

        After Seungwan’s proposal, Seulgi seemed to be dedicating more and more time towards the development of her fictional plots rather than the further development of her actual real life friendships. But maybe that was just a figment of Joohyun’s imagination.

        She could imagine how difficult it must be to have to recapture the world’s attention with the power of written word. Seulgi was in charge of creating vast worlds and universes for her readers to romp around and lose themselves in. It took a painstakingly long amount of time to churn out the amount of books Seulgi had.

        Despite knowing the reason behind why Seulgi was missing out on so many of their outings together, Joohyun couldn’t help but sense there was something off about her best friend. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it yet, but she believed that she was inching closer to the truth.

        Hastily, Joohyun washed her face and changed into Seulgi’s spare clothes. When she made her way back into Seulgi’s room, she found the younger woman was tugging off her shoes with sluggish fingers. Wordlessly, Joohyun kneeled in front of Seulgi’s slumped figure and undid the knots of the shoelaces with ease.

        “Thank you,” Seulgi murmured, sounding slightly sobered up. Her eyes were still glazed and her lips were tugged up into a half smile. The sight made Joohyun laugh, then roll her eyes. It felt like they were two teenagers again, readying themselves for a sleepover at Seulgi’s house over a free weekend.

        “You know, sometimes I wish we grew up together when we were younger,” Joohyun confessed with a sad chuckle, speaking her mind openly. She set Seulgi’s shoes by the foot of the bed and gazed up at the younger woman while still kneeling on the floor. “I bet we would’ve had the best sleepover parties if we had.”

        She watches as the younger woman stands from the bed, her stance wobbly as she picks her way across the room to her closet. “That’s okay,” Seulgi answered as she slowly opened one of her dresser drawers. She lurched as she shifted through the dresser. “I know we’re going to grow old and gray together one day.”

        Seulgi glances over her shoulder and locks eyes with Joohyun, her tone more serious than Joohyun had heard before. “We’ve got all the time in the world, Joohyun-ah,” she said as she picked through her clothes for her pajamas. Her voice was nothing like the way Joohyun was used to hearing it.

        The author was completely monotone, her voice as flat as a pancake as her lips moved. It was as if the life had been out of her lean frame, never to return again. Like Seulgi was reciting facts straight from an encyclopedia. “Our time will come,” the author continued. “I’ve always had faith that it will.”

        Joohyun feels her heart freeze, then warm over, melting in her ribcage like a marshmallow left too long in the flame. Our time will come. Seulgi’s mysterious words still came out of slow, as if she’d chewed on them. What could it all mean?

        “I don’t remember you being the philosophical kind of drunk, but I guess a lot of things have changed since college,” Joohyun murmurs underneath her breath. Knowing that Seulgi was still under the influence, Joohyun merely shook off her best friend’s odd choice of words as an undying proclamation of their friendship.

        “Alright, sleepy head,” Joohyun chuckled, rising from the floor. She carefully led Seulgi back to the bed, helping to ensure the younger woman didn’t losing her balance. “Let’s get you to bed, huh?” She eases Seulgi underneath the cov

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smiley-seulgi
Since I'm already seeing requests: I'm not planning on writing an epilogue. We made it to the end of the line, folks! I'm looking forward to moving on, hope you guys understand. The ending is meant to be left open for YOU GUYS to fill in the gap with your imagination and decide what happens. :)

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Oct_13_wen_03 67 streak #1
Chapter 9: 🤍🤍🤍🤍
hi_uuji
#2
Once I see the title in my Angst-label, I just remember all the pain in this story 😭
Oct_13_wen_03 67 streak #3
Chapter 1: After these years I wonder where irene gone too, and want to see their time together too😭😭😭🤍🤍🤍they deserve their beautiful endings 😭🤍🤍
Lipfeatchichu #4
I don't know if I'm tripping and I missed it, but how did Joohyun found out that Seulgi was the soulmate she was looking for?
Kang_bae_rene
#5
Chapter 9: Wait a minute...? seulgi got agree to cut the thread it's just she only thinking about joohyun but after seeing seungwan with eunji I realised what will happen to eunji if seulgi join seungwan and Joohyun threads?

Won't eunji will be heartbroken too 😭 I'm sorry but I really appreciate that Joohyun stopped whatever gonna happen because I'll might file case against Kang Seulgi for destroying the pairs made in heaven...she doesn't deserve the power she had....she is too sensitive for it.

Also I don't know I feel Joohyun side story as incomplete I need more side of her story since I read this ff mostly on seulgi's pov...what she did in those 4 years though 🤔?

You'll torture us thinking by ourselves? Of any scenario? 🙄

YOU LEFT US HANGING! 🤨😒😩
Kang_bae_rene
#6
Chapter 9: I'm really lazy to think of the ending as you left it on me I consider they're SOULMATES and that's it like why people even doubting what gonna happen next....?

Maybe they wanted to see some lovey Dovey moment between them since they both portrayed as Lovers but nothing like that happened between them and it's surprising that it's still the best story I ever read ....no nothing is there no love confessions, no sweet moments, no nothing between them it's was just angst ride for me...
lokonaba
#7
Chapter 9: that was so goooood
Luvylynn #8
Chapter 9: You got me reading this with bated breath and churning stomach. It feels like I was drowning underwater reading your every word, sentence and chapter. I was in agony reading chapter after chapter. Thank God it didn’t end badly for seulrene or I might throw hands at you. But it was such a beautiful story and I regret why I haven’t stumble upon this sooner. Kudos authornim!
Lina_99
#9
Chapter 5: Re-reading this again and again and still crying so much
One of my favorite stories really
cream_rv
#10
Chapter 9: Alexa play Hurts so good by Astrid S