732. Soonyoung glances at the number on top of the doorframe before ringing the doorbell. It only takes a few seconds before the door opens, showing a tall guy with a smile on his handsome face clad in a simple white shirt and blue denim jeans. "Soonyoung! It's been a few months since we met." The guy spreads his arms for a hug and Soonyoung gladly embraces him back. "Come in. It's quite messy, though." The guy leads the way after he closes the door and Soonyoung follows him into the cozy appartment after taking off his shoes at the entrance. 

   The brown furniture compliments the cream colour of the appartment and Soonyoung eyes the pictures hanging on the wall as they walk to the living room. The abstract paintings and aesthetic photographs shows a clear resemblance of the two owners of the appartment. He chuckles to himself and his friend raises an eyebrow as he sits on the couch.

   "What's wrong?"

    Soonyoung shakes his head as he takes a seat opposite him. "Nothing." His gaze lands on the picture frame on the coffee table; a backview of a couple walking hand in hand at the beach he recognizes at Busan. "How's Minghao?"

   Jun's face softens at the name. "As good as he could be. He's at Ilsan right now, taking his students to the art exhibition held there. He'll be back on Tuesday if you're wondering." Jun's gaze then drops to the empty coffee table and he gasps slightly in realisation. "Oh, I forgot to make you some tea. Wait a moment as I fix you some."

   Soonyoung watches Jun retreats to the kitchen as his eyes catches the golden string wrapped tightly on the latter's pinky. A sign of a strong and happy relationship with his soulmate. He remembers the shocked expression on Jun's face when he asked him about his progress to tell Minghao about the string.

   "How did you know?" Jun's eyes widened as he looked at him in disbelief. The vanilla ice cream he was holding slowly dripped to his hand but he was not bothered to wipe them. "I've never told anyone about it."

   It had been a mistake; the words had slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them but looking back at it now, it seemed like he had made the right desicion. When he received the message from Jun telling him that Minghao had accepted his confession, he knew that all their efforts were worth it. Jun had said that his ability to see others' string of fate was a blessing but when he looked at the little red bow tied along with the violet string on Jihoon's pinky before he went out to his studio this morning, he knows that it is a curse instead.

   "Earth to Kwon Soonyoung!" Soonyoung snaps out of his daze as he stares blankly at Jun. "What were you thinking that makes you ignore even my handsome presence?" Jun jokes but as he looks at Soonyoung's glazed eyes, he knows that something is up with his friend. But before he could ask any question, Soonyoung lets out a deep sigh before lifting his head to meet Jun's eyes.

   "Jun, I," He slowly grips the hem of his blue sweater as Jun waits patiently for him to continue. "I have a problem."

   "It's about that string of fate."

   That sentence had been ringing in Jeonghan's ears since yesterday and he hates it. He had been listening to his friends and people around him talking about that string as long as he could remember but he never believes in it. The reason? Simple: it's his parents.

   He closes his eyes and the scene plays in his mind instantly, like a cassette playing after he push the 'play' button. He remembers it in great details: the family picture crumpled in sea of glass pieces from the picture frame, his mother's red eyes as she glared at his father and the pitiful back of his father as his hand gripped the edge of the table so tight his knuckles turn white. 

   "Why can't you just let me leave? Why can't you let me be happy with my soulmate? You know that I've been searching for him for years!"

   His father's voice was cold as he replied, "Then what am I to you? Are you just using me the whole time? Just because you've found your soulmate, you're willing to just leave Jeonghan and me here and go spend your life with your soulmate?"

   "I love him!" His mother screamed as tears began to flow down her cheeks. "I love you too, but it's different. I know that I'm being selfish right now but please," He watched his mother got to her knees from behind the dark staircase, the sharp pieces of glass cut her knees and legs as blood trickled down to the floor. "Please, I beg you. Please just let me go and divorce me."

   The silence that hung around them was suffocating him and after what felt like eternity, his father slowly exhaled out a shaky breath and looked at his mother. "Alright. If that's what you really want, then bring back the divorce form tomorrow and I'll sign it. But remember one thing: once you leave this house, you're never allowed to come back again."

   His father left the living room and walked to the master bedroom before slamming the door shut. His mother's sobs echoed in the silent house and he leaned his back against the wall and put his head between his knees, crying silently for the broken family before his eyes.

   His father never said it but he knew that he still loved his mother. He never remarried nor dated anyone after his mother packed her things and left and sometimes at night, when he went down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, he would hear his father crying himself to sleep in his room. He knew that his father never threw away the photo album that stored their memories together that had once been proudly displayed on the shelf on top of the television. He knew that his father never changed his alarm and woke up at six a.m. just to stare at the white ceiling until he is supposed to wake up at seven. He had heard it ringing through the thin walls of their house too many times. He also knew that his father would sometimes go to the park he met his wife at and just sat on the bench until the sun setted before going back home. He had caught him a few times when he was walking towards the famous restaurant near the park with his friends.

   His father never told him but he knew that he had watched his string of fate crumbled to pieces to be with his mother.

   When he accidentally found his father's journal that he had written in it for years while he was cleaning the house and stayed up to read it, he had cried himself to sleep just like his father did on cold, lonely nights; his sobs echoed in the empty house like his mother's when her husband retreated to their shared room, knowing that it would be the last night they shared under the same roof. 

   They say that the string of fate is a gift from the universe to let mankind knows that a partner is waiting for them at the end of the string but to him, it is a curse and brings more despair than love. 

  The sound of footsteps approaching him brings him back to reality as he lifts up his head to see Hyungwon waving at him. He smiles and beckons him over to sit with him at the rooftop of the news company. Hyungwon plops beside him and stretches his long legs with a groan as Jeonghan giggles at his action.

   "Sitting and typing words all day are gonna be the death of me." Hyungwon pops the soda can he brought with him open before drinking it.

   "Editing photos are making me sick, too." Jeonghan watches as a pigeon lands on the rails and looks around for a few seconds before taking off again. "Hey, wanna eat dinner together after work today? My treat."

   Hyungwon ponders the question before nodding his head. "Okay. I've got nothing to do tonight anyway."

   Jeonghan smiles as he drinks his cola and resumes to enjoy the silence and company before having to get back to work later.

   Jihoon leaves his studio at half past two and arrives at the cafe five minutes early than the decided time. He walks towards the table beside the window and sits facing the counter. He takes out his phone and is reading an article about a cure to a deadly disease when the waitress comes to his table to take his order. He orders an iced latte and smiles to the girl in formality before she retreats towards the counter. Just as he is about to continue reading the article, the bell on top of the door chimes and he turns towards the door just to see Seungcheol walking in; his navy tailored suit hugs his figure in a way that makes Jihoon forgets how to breathe. The black-haired guy sees Jihoon and gives him a wide smile that makes his eyes crinkle at the edges which flutters Jihoon's heart as he makes his way towards the table.

   "Sorry that I'm a bit late. Need to finish some work. Have you waited long?" Jihoon tries to not shiver when Seungcheol's eyes meet his as he shakes his head.

   "No. I've just arrived, too." Jihoon gives him a nervous smile. "W-well, have you ordered anything?"

   The waitress comes to bring Jihoon his order before Seungcheol could reply and he just chuckles a little before telling his order to the waitress. As Jihoon watches Seungcheol talk to the waitress, he remembers their first meeting at the hospital.

   It had been raining when he arrived at the hospital after receiving a phone call from Soonyoung. His boyfriend's voice had been shaky and he was crying as he told him about the accident and it had broke Jihoon's heart to hear him sounds so vulnerable. He rushed to the counter to ask the directions to the intensive care unit and after the nurse explained it to him, he gave her a curt bow and had only taken a few steps before he bumped into a guy. He had muttered an apology as he staggered backwards from the impact and when he lifted his gaze to meet the stranger's eyes, a thunder crashed loudly outside. And Jihoon could see a black string wrapped around his pinky slowly making its way towards the stranger's pinky, connecting them together. The stranger eyes him worriedly, his hand lightly touch Jihoon's shoulder in an attempt to help him retain his balance as his mouth slowly opens—

    "—Are you okay?" Jihoon looks at Seungcheol as a small smile forms on his face.

   "That's exactly what you said when we first met."

   Seungcheol shrugs as Jihoon stirs his latte with the straw before taking a sip of it. "Well, you've been spacing out. Why do you call me out today, anyways? Do you need anything with your work or something?"

   Jihoon clenches his hand under the table into a fist in determination as he takes a deep breath. There's no going back now. He makes eye contact with Seungcheol before the question that had been lingering in his mind spills out from his lips.

   "Do you believe me if I said that the both of us are soulmates?"

   Jun has his arms wrapped around Soonyoung's torso as he caresses the brown locks gently. "So," Jun hesitatedly breaks the silence as Soonyoung sniffles in his embrace. "You're telling me that your boyfriend and that Seungcheol are soulmates?"

   Soonyoung nods his head as a response as he buries his head deeper into Jun's neck. He could clearly remember that familliar violet string wrapped around the guy's pinky and the way his stomach sank when Jihoon stepped into the hallway a few minutes later and he saw his boyfriend's violet string connected with that guy's and a little red bow that he had never seen before tied along with it. Jihoon already knows. That was the first thought that went to his mind as he saw the lingering gaze Jihoon gave Seungcheol as he walked past the latter and towards him.

   "But Jihoon has been so nice to you even after he knew it, didn't he? He don't strike me as a person that would just leave his partner for someone he met less than a year, even that someone is his own soulmate." 

   "I'm sorry for not coming home last night. I accidentally slept at the studio,"

    Soonyoung had said that it was alright but a part of him died as he heard that excuse for the third time.

    Unanswered phone calls, sticky notes left on the fridge with a scribbly handwriting telling him that he could not make it to dinner that night, messages left on read, the empty space beside him on the queen-sized bed. Soonyoung had noticed the way Jihoon hurriedly decline the call coming on his phone and said that it was nothing when he asked him about it; the way Jihoon giggled as he typed a reply on his phone when he thought that Soonyoung was asleep. 

    Soonyoung looks up at Jun with teary eyes as the latter silently wipes the tears on his cheeks away with his thumb. His voice is soft as he replies and he feels his stomach sinks with the words. "No. He would."

    Jun's thumb stops moving as the words leave his mouth and he closes his eyes with a shaky sigh. He almost cannot hear the screeching of tyres from the loud heartbeat ringing in his ears as he stepped on the brake pedal in reflex. The headlights shone brightly on the face of the young boy standing a few metres from his car but he could make out a pair of brown eyes staring back at him when he turned towards the car. But instead of widening in shock, the eyes that he looked at reflects lost and emptiness before they closed and the silver Ford Focus crashed into him. He remembered rushing out of the car and lifting the boy into the backseat before driving to the nearest hospital in panic but he also remembered the bright yellow string wrapped around the boy's pinky and the little red bow attached to it — a sign of a slim chance for the string to succesfully connecting the boy to his soulmate. Soonyoung has always detested yellow; hating the way the bright colour seems to mock someone to find their happiness like how a yellow tulip represents hopeless love. And when he saw the colour on the string of fate for the first time, he was left speechless.

   But now, when the love of his life could leave him at any moment, he is more than willing to accept any obstacles if it means a yellow string of fate that connects him to Jihoon.

   Because he knows that if he looks down at his pinky even for a thousandth times, he will find no string attached to it.

   Seokmin furrows his eyebrows in confusion as he looks at Hansol. "Kim Mingyu?"

   Hansol merely nods his head as they walk past a group of seniors that are excitedly talking about the upcoming football competition, his shoulder slightly brushes against the blonde guy's upper arm. "Yeah, our senior by one year back in high school."

   Seokmin hums a little as he tries to remember the said guy before his eyes light up in recognition. "Ah, the tall guy with sun-kissed skin who is the captain of the basketball team, right?" Seeing Hansol nods his head again, Seokmin assumes that his answer is correct. "Why do you suddenly ask if I remember him, though? Did you perhaps met him or what?"

   "Well, yeah. Accidentally ran into him at Hongdae yesterday." They turn the corner towards the choir room and they bow their heads in greeting to the male music professor heading towards the opposite direction. The professor smiles at them as a reply and Hansol watches his long coat flutters in the wind before he disappears down the hallway.

   "Talking about him, I wonder how Seungkwan's doing. I heard that he attend the same college as his boyfriend." Hansol gulps down the lump in his throat as Seokmin's words sink in. If he remembers correctly, the both of them had been dating for almost four years since their senior years in high school and it seems like their relationship is still going strong even after all the years. And Hansol knows that his chance is growing slimmer with every single day that passed.

   They arrive in front of the choir room and Hansol tells Seokmin that he would just wait outside while he packs his things and takes his bag. Seokmin goes inside the room and Hansol leans against the wall beside the door as his mind travels back to their high school graduation party. Loud music blaring from the speakers installed around the bungalow, the smell of colognes and perfumes mixing with the strong smell of beer and sweat hanging heavily in the air as he makes his way to the kitchen designated as the bar, the roars of laughters coming from the spin the bottle room — he barely remembers what he did that night except the taste of vodka in his tounge and the growing headache he suffered as the night got older. He did not know how many bottle of beer he emptied after finishing the vodka he ordered or what exactly did he talked to the beautiful guy in dark blue button-down and tight ripped jeans sitting beside him about. But when he woke up with the stranger sleeping soundly beside him in one of the bedrooms upstairs, he knew that whatever he did that night was not supposed to happen. He quickly wore his clothes that were scattered on the floor and left the bungalow without saying goodbye to the stranger he spent the night with.

   Especially when he realized that the stranger was Seungkwan and the number that was calling him when he changed into his clothes belongs to his boyfriend.

   Hansol knew that it was wrong but he could not help but hope that Seungkwan would say something when they met at a cafe a few days after that but the guy just exchanged a simple greeting with him before leaving with his coffee in his hands. 

   The door creaks open as Seokmin steps out of the room after waving his friends goodbye. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Seokmin smiles sheepishly as they begin to head towards the entrance of the building. Hansol looks up when they are out in the campus compound and he realises that his heart is just as empty as the cloudless sky.