For the first time in his life, Jeongin welcomed being stuck in class for hours straight. It was the perfect remedy to keep his thoughts away from anything that involved strings and soulmates. Those were the kind of thoughts he desperately tried to keep at bay as he devoted all of his attention to his professors, even if there weren’t any lessons yet with the first day of class, hanging on to anything he could.

Still, he wasn’t completely successful.

More than just a few times, Jeongin would end up glancing back at his left hand. It looked so bare now that he’s seen what it could look like with red around it, even if it was just a few loops around his pinky finger. Maybe he shouldn’t have ran away? Although he didn’t run away, exactly, it just so happened that he was rushing to class and he technically had to go. He didn’t want to be late on the first day or anything.

Right?

That’s what he told himself, anyway.

It’s not like Jeongin wasn’t happy. There was no denying that he was. He was ecstatic, even, at the idea that he actually did have a soulmate. It was definitely the natural response upon knowing that you had someone who was just fated for you, an eternal bond held together by a red string that can never break, one’s true love. It’s because he was so happy that it also made him scared and worried.

He had a soulmate who could either accept him or reject him.

It was a worry that went both ways. He could also just as easily dislike his soulmate. It wasn’t something Jeongin hadn’t thought about before, either. That was the reality of things, in the end. At some point, he had even come to the conclusion that if that were to happen—a sad ending, essentially—then wouldn’t things be harder for him? He’d be the one who knew all about how they were meant to be soulmates, after all.

All these thoughts and he didn’t even know who his soulmate was. Would they ever even talk? Would they even meet amongst the sea of people the university had? Would they even just cross paths again? Jeongin was suddenly struck with regret that he didn’t get himself to look up.  He didn’t even have a face to match. All he knew was that it was a boy who wore white sneakers that were nowhere near pristine. That applied to a good majority of the school’s population.

He’d have to count on the string to show up again, then.

By the end of his first two classes, Jeongin had managed to memorize almost everything that was on the syllabus for each class.

Not exactly something that happened often, but Jeongin figured it would come in handy eventually. Hopefully, anyway, since it was a good amount of information considering how much he still thought of his soulmate regardless. With lunch around the corner, he was set to meet up with Seungmin and also get to know some of Seungmin’s circle of friends, too. Thankfully, the walk to the school cafeteria was uneventful; if Jeongin had stared at his finger the whole way there, he wouldn’t admit to it.

“So, how were classes so far?” Seungmin greeted him immediately.

The younger boy shrugged as he took a seat across the other, glancing around and sparing his left hand one final look before keeping it clasped under the table. The movement didn’t go unnoticed by Seungmin, ever attentive to details, as his eyes widened immediately. The older boy checked to see if his friends were coming by yet before leaning in closer.

“You’ve met your soulmate?” He asked, as low as his voice could go.

“I don’t think met is the right term to use,” Jeongin answered honestly, fiddling with his fingers as he remembered what happened again. His voice went softer as he continued. “I saw the string appear on my way to class. I didn’t really stop to meet him or anything.”

“You’re telling me you skipped meeting your soulmate so you could go to class? Nerd,” Seungmin said pointedly, before catching the worried look on the other boy’s face. It wasn’t like they’ve never talked about soulmates before; Jeongin used to talk about it all the time, pointing out every red string he saw, until one day he just didn’t. He knew more than anybody what was going through the younger’s head.

The brunette sighed, “you’re thinking too much, Innie.”

“A little bit,” Jeongin easily agreed. He couldn’t help it; even in the cafeteria alone he could spot a few red strings floating about. It wasn’t as much as when he would simply be walking around campus, where more people were, but it was still more than he was used to seeing. He sneaked a glance back at his hand and sighed. If only he knew how things actually worked, like how near he really had to be to his soulmate before it’ll appear.

“Well, my friends could probably keep your mind off of things,” Seungmin said with a smile. “We’re a sort of mismatched group, but I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

It didn’t take long before his friends began to show up.

Seo Changbin arrived first, immediately complaining about how his professor had given them a quiz right on the first day. Who does that? His history teacher, apparently. He took the seat next to Seungmin without realizing Jeongin was there at first, only to stop in the middle of his rambling when his gaze finally fell on the younger boy who was listening to the story rather intently. He stared at Jeongin before glancing over at Seungmin.

“You could have told me we were meeting your friend today.”

“I did,” Seungmin replied. “Changbin, this is Jeongin.”

“Hi,” Jeongin piped up before the other boy could reply. He smiled brightly—something he knew always managed to win people over, which seemed to work since the older boy ended up smiling back almost immediately—and spoke again. “Must to have a quiz right away, I’m glad I didn’t experience that.”

Changbin nodded, “thank you. I’m glad someone listened.”

“I was listening!” Seungmin shot back.

“Are you fighting again?” came another voice from behind them. Jeongin watched as another figure approached the table, already carrying a plate of food. The boy shook his head as he took the remaining seat next to Seungmin, leaving Jeongin alone on his side, but that was fine since he liked seeing what happened, anyway. “It’s only the first day back.”

He glanced at Jeongin after he spoke, a soft smile on his lips.