Baekhyun sat on the sofa in disbelief. Chanyeol’s words were slowly sinking in and as the story unfolded. He realized that he could actually recall some of it. He suddenly remembered when he felt so angry at his soulmate that he wanted the string to tear. He recalls thinking that it would teach his soulmate a lesson.

He had been the one that tore the string.

“It wasn’t Kyungsoo.” Jongin said from behind Chanyeol. “And it’s unfair that you—“

Kyungsoo grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, sending a glare at him. Jongin clammed up quickly.

“And that’s it Baekhyun.” Chanyeol finished, ignoring Jongin.

Baekhyun kept his head down, unable to find the words to express how sorry he was. He felt like the biggest trash on the planet. He had been blaming Kyungsoo this whole time, when in reality, it was him.

He shut his eyes and let out a soft sigh. “Can I be alone, please?” Baekhyun asked quietly, his voice coming out a whisper.

Jongin scoffed, “That’s it? No apology?”

“Hey!” Kyungsoo scolded as he pulled Jongin back.

Baekhyun pierced his lips together and his eyes stung with tears. He didn’t deserve Kyungsoo. He couldn’t bear to even look at the latter.

“He needs time to process this.” Chanyeol said. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“You’re more than welcome to stay in your room for as long as you need.” Kyungsoo told him lovingly. “I’m always going to be here for you.”

Baekhyun again felt like crying. How did Kyungsoo still love him? He made him suffer so much and yet Kyungsoo still stayed. He didn’t deserve such kindness. Why couldn’t Kyungsoo hate him? Or yell at him? That’s what he deserved.

“Is that ok Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asked as he smiled at him.

Baekhyun sniffled, “Can I sit in the car for a bit?”

Chanyeol blinked, “The car?”

Baekhyun nodded.

“Uh…” he looked over at Kyungsoo and Jongin. Jongin’s eyebrow was raised in confusion. Kyungsoo merely nodded.

“Whatever he wants, he gets.” Kyungsoo told Chanyeol as he handed him the car keys.

Chanyeol gulped and gave Baekhyun the keys. “Yea—“

Baekhyun snatched the keys and stormed out of the house. He ran into the car, locking the doors and threw himself onto the backseat. He let out the loudest yell he could manage as he pressed his face into the seat. He hated himself so much. There was nothing he hated more than himself.

***

Kyungsoo looked out the window as he finished rinsing the cabbage in the sink. “Jongin?”

“What’s up?”

“Did the forecast say there was going to be a storm?”

Jongin looked out the window to see gray clouds beginning to make their way towards them. Light drizzles fell from the sky.

“It said slight chance.” Jongin answered as he straightened up.

Kyungsoo looked down at the cabbage again. “Seems like it’s going to happen. Is Baekhyun still—“

“Baekhyun!?” Chanyeol shouted from the living room as the door shut behind him. He stormed into the kitchen, eyes wide and palms sweaty. “Is Baekhyun here?”

Kyungsoo looked up quickly and furrowed his brows, “He wasn’t in the car?”

Chanyeol shook his head, “The door was open. I thought maybe he came in the house.”

Jongin stood up from his chair, “I’ll check upstairs.”

Kyungsoo ran outside and opened all the doors to the car. “Baekhyun?” He questioned. He got into the car on all fours and his eyes scanned every corner of it. “Baekhyun?!” He shouted out, knowing full well it was futile.

He looked towards the woods on the other side of the car. Was it possible that…NO! He couldn’t think like that!

He felt his breath speed up and he peeked his head out of the car towards the woods. He looked down into the dirt, that was now becoming mud, and saw what he dreaded—footprints.

His breath accelerated just as his heart did. He felt the panic beginning to settle in. “Baekhyun!” He shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Kyungsoo!” Jongin shouted from behind him.

The younger reached over and placed a jacket over Kyungsoo’s trembling body.

“Kyungsoo, we have to go look for him. But first, we have to put on something warmer.”

Kyungsoo felt droplets of rain hitting his face. He knew Jongin was right. They had to go into the woods to look for Baekhyun. Kyungsoo was nothing without him.

After going into the house, the first thing they did was call the rangers that scouted the area. They were at the ranger station and said they would begin looking for him as soon as the storm calmed down a bit.

This angered Kyungsoo. They had no idea where Baekhyun was and they were willing to risk his safety because of a little storm? What guaranteed he was even ok?

“If he isn’t found safe, I swear on everything, that I will do everything in my power to make sure you all lose your jobs!” Kyungsoo shouted into the phone as he hung up. Their cellphones held no power here since there was no signal. The only phone that worked was the landline at Jongin’s lake house.

“We’re looking for him then.” Chanyeol said as he tightened his beanie around his head. “I’m not just gonna sit here and do nothing.”

 After putting on warm clothing, they each grabbed a whistle. They would use it to signal where each of them were, as well as draw attention to themselves if Baekhyun happened to be near.

“Ok, how are we going to do this?” Chanyeol asked as they made their way outside. Rain was falling down hard now, thunder roared from behind them.

“We go into the woods and don’t go far from each other.” Jongin replied, being the calmest of the three.

Kyungsoo nodded and went on ahead, Jongin and Chanyeol stayed closely behind.

“Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo shouted at the top of his lungs. Thoughts of Baekhyun shivering somewhere lost in the woods circled Kyungsoo’s mind. It made him feel useless. If anything happened to Baekhyun then what would be the point in liv—

Jongin blew his whistle, taking Kyungsoo out of his thoughts.

“Baekhyun!” Jongin shouted out.

The rain hit them hard. They were squinting so that it wouldn’t land in their eyes.

Kyungsoo let out a sniffle and shouted out again, blowing his whistle shortly afterwards. His lips were practically frozen and his hands trembled. But it didn’t matter. It had felt like an eternity that they had been searching. It could have been five minutes or maybe even an hour. All he knew was that his throat was starting to hurt.

“Baek—“ Jongin called out but stopped. He let out a small gasp and bent down to his knees. He frantically began to remove the leaves that covered something under them. He had stopped calling out because he felt he had stepped on something. When he uncovered what was under the leaves, his worst fears came to life.

He quickly grabbed his whistle and blew into it multiple times. “It’s Baekhyun!” he shouted out. He reached over to his face and moved the hair out his eyes. If his hands weren’t so numb, then he would have realized how cold the latter was. His fingers hurt, he couldn’t pick him up. His teeth chattered and he looked behind to see Kyungsoo and Chanyeol making their way towards him.

“Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo shouted as he hovered over Jongin.

Chanyeol quickly scooped him up in his arms and stood up. “Let’s go back!”

Kyungsoo’s eyes watered as he saw how helpless the latter looked. His entire body was limp and he leaned into Chanyeol, eyes shut and mouth slightly ajar. His lips were purple and his skin a light blue. How long had he been there? “Baekhyun?” He reached out and the latter’s hair.

Jongin took Kyungsoo’s hand and lead him forward, “We have to get him to the house Kyungsoo.”

The three of them marched on with Baekhyun in Chanyeol’s arms.

***

“Turn on all the heaters.” Kyungsoo instructed once they set foot into the house. “Turn up the fireplace!”

Jongin obeyed each and every command. Chanyeol placed Baekhyun onto the bed.

“Turn on the bath, make sure the water is hot!” Kyungsoo commanded. Chanyeol quickly obeyed.

Kyungsoo looked over Baekhyun and began to take him out of the wet clothes he was in. The latter was breathing but barely.

“Ok Kyungsoo, get him in.”

Kyungsoo lifted Baekhyun up slowly, starting with his head. The latter was like a rag doll, Kyungsoo hated how he wasn’t responsive.

Gently, Baekhyun went into the warm water.

“Chanyeol, can you get Baekhyun warm clothes from his suitcase?”

“On it.” Chanyeol replied as he walked out of the restroom.

The entire house began to feel like a sauna. Baekhyun lay in the hot water, it reached his chin.

Slowly, Kyungsoo removed his hand from the back of Baekhyun’s head. Then something caught his eye.

A big red mark was left behind on his hand. His eyes widened in shock at the discovery. He gently lifted Baekhyun’s head to see traces of blood in his hair.

He grabbed a small sponge and very carefully, using the warm water, began to scrub at the area where the blood was at.

He gritted his teeth together as he felt tears sting his eyes. “Why Baekhyun?” He questioned out loud.

“Jongin!” He shouted at the top of his lungs. “Call a doctor!”

“What?!”

“CALL A ING DOCTOR!”

He would never leave him alone…Baekhyun was his soulmate. He would officially be there now. He was stuck with him now, whether Baekhyun liked it or not.

***

Kyungsoo, Jongin, and Chanyeol all sat outside Baekhyun’s room as the doctor from the ranger’s station examined Baekhyun. He got there quickly once Jongin called and told them they had found their friend in critical condition. The rain still pelted the windows harshly while the wind shook the trees violently outside.

“I’m going to get them all fired…” Kyungsoo muttered as his knuckles pressed his lips. “If something happens to him…they’re all—“

“Kyungsoo, he’s going to be ok.” Jongin comforted.

Chanyeol stood by the window as he looked out at the hazy forest. Who would have thought that it would turn out like this? The trip was supposed to be fun. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and a soft, “Shhh…” Whispered into his ear.

“He’s going to be fine. I promise.”

Chanyeol leaned into Jongin and let out a sigh.

The door began to open slowly, making Kyungsoo scurry to the doctor. “How is he?”

The doctor smiled. “He’s fine. He says he remembers running and tripping over something. He must have hit his head on something hard; I assume a rock. The bleeding has stopped and his body temperature has returned to normal.”

They all let out a sigh of relief.

The doctor placed his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, “Your soulmate is going to be fine.” He smiled.

Kyungsoo looked up at him, eyes wide. No one had referred to Baekhyun as his soulmate in such an endearing way.

Chanyeol smiled as he eyed Kyungsoo, “What was the first hint that he’s his soulmate?”

The doctor let out a chuckle, “The way you looked at him while he was unconscious and how you cradled him in your arms so tenderly.”

Kyungsoo was devastated when he saw the blood. He would easily give up his own life if it meant that Baekhyun would be ok.

“Anyway, you all can go see him.”

They all rushed into the room to find Baekhyun on the bed. The color had returned to his face and he had a bandage wrapped around his head where the wound was.

“Baekhyun…” Kyungsoo sighed in relief.

Baekhyun gulped and looked away.

“Oh no!” Chanyeol reprimanded as he walked over to Baekhyun. “You’re looking at us. Why did you run away, huh? Do you know how worried we were?”

“I just needed to be alone…” Baekhyun replied.

“You could have told one of us at least.” Chanyeol scolded. “Do you know how hard it was to be walking around in the rain—“

“I didn’t ask you to go out and look for me.” Baekhyun responded angrily.

Silence. Neither of them knew how to respond to that.

“How…could you say that?” Chanyeol questioned. “You’re my best friend. Of course I’m going to look for you.”

Baekhyun felt the tears sting. Why was he so mad? He knew why…but why was he taking it out on them?

“Can I…be alone with Baekhyun please?” Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun turned to look at him eyes wide.

“I think that would be best.” Chanyeol responded as he took Jongin’s hand and lead him out.

Baekhyun didn’t want to be alone with Kyungsoo. That meant confronting—NO!

Baekhyun began to sit up slowly, but was unsure what he could say or do to get Chanyeol to come back.

“Wai—“

The door shut just before he was able to finish the words. He bit his bottom lip and sank into the bed.

Kyungsoo looked away from the door and into Baekhyun’s wide brown eyes. Baekhyun quickly broke the eye contact and looked down at his string…his torn red string.

“Well, first off…” Kyungsoo began. “How are you feeling?”

Baekhyun gulped, “Fine.” He said. The pain medication that the doctor had given him had made him feel a lot better. The pain from his head was subsiding as well.

“Do you remember anything?” Kyungsoo asked as he pulled the blanket higher up Baekhyun’s body.

Baekhyun stiffened and shut his eyes tight. He didn’t deserve such kindness, not after what he had done.

“You can tell me anything.” Kyungsoo soothed him as he sat down on the bed next to him.

Baekhyun opened his mouth slowly, “I—“ He gulped, “I ran out. I needed to be alone. And I just ran and ran, until it started to rain. The rain caused me to slip and—“ He furrowed his brows as he tried remembering what happened next. “Oh! I tripped! And hit my head as I rolled down!” He blurt out once the memories came back. “And I—“ He clammed up quickly before he let anything slip out. He didn’t want to tell Kyungsoo that when he hit his head, he remembered the night he tore the string. He remembered every detail and emotion he had felt that day and honestly…he wanted to forget it again.

Kyungsoo sighed as he shook his head, “I should have been there.”

Baekhyun looked up at him and his heart broke at what he saw. Kyungsoo’s eyes were watery.

“No…Kyungsoo, you don’t owe me anything.”

Kyungsoo scoffed, “I don’t know what I did wrong…but I want you to know, that I’ll do anything for you.”

That’s when it hit Baekhyun. Kyungsoo blamed himself for the torn string. Baekhyun was the one that tore it. But Kyungsoo was the one that was suffering. This entire time, Baekhyun had thought that his soulmate had torn it. But in reality, he was the one behind it. He was the one that caused Kyungsoo’s grief.

His own eyes began to water and he let out a sniffle.

Kyungsoo’s eyes shot up and his hands were up quickly. He rubbed his thumb along Baekhyun’s cheek.

“What’s wrong?”

Baekhyun took Kyungsoo’s hands in between his own. “How do you still love me so much? I tore our string. I blamed you for everything. I said awful things to you. And yet…” He trailed off as he looked into Kyungsoo’s eyes. “You love me and blame yourself. I did this Kyungsoo, not you. I want you to be mad at me, yell at me, something. But instead…” He choked up and let out a sob. Kyungsoo took him in his arms and squeezed tight. “You love me…” Baekhyun allowed himself to be cradled by Kyungsoo and slowly began to calm down in his arms. This is what Baekhyun wanted from the very beginning. He wanted his soulmate.

“You hurt me…” Kyungsoo finally spoke.

Baekhyun let out a sniffle as he nodded slowly.

“I spent so many nights crying and wondering where I went wrong. I would spend days locked up in my room, I couldn’t even face my family because they saw me as an embarrassment. The maids needed to come into my room and leave food because I refused to get up and get it myself.”

Baekhyun’s hand slithered down Kyungsoo’s arm and squeezed his hand tight. “You must have really hate—“

“But, I never stopped loving you.” Kyungsoo interrupted. “And I still love you beyond words.”

Baekhyun let out a small scoff, “I loved you too.” He told him. “I tore the string because that’s what I thought you wanted.”

Kyungsoo blinked and looked at him. Baekhyun locked eyes with him.

“I thought you couldn’t remember?”

Baekhyun gulped and placed his hand on his head. “The hit on my head.” He began, “I remember that night because of it.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes watered. “You…remember?”

Baekhyun nodded slowly in shame. “I’m sorry.” He said. “I love you Kyungsoo. I’m so sorry.”

Kyungsoo felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders and he leaned into Baekhyun’s chest as uncontrollable sobs escaped his lips.

“Kyungsoo? What’s wrong?” Baekhyun asked with concern.

“I’m—so happy.” Kyungsoo straighted up again as he let out a small laugh. “I forgive you Baekhyun. I love you.”

At the utter of those words, something began to shine underneath them. They gasped as their eyes went down onto the sheets. Their wrists? No…their strings!

Their eyes widened as they witnessed firsthand their strings coming together. The closure they had received was what they needed to have their strings be one once again.