The Red String of Fate.

After changing, you headed downstairs. Sehun and D.O were in the kitchen, setting up the table for dinner. Suho and Kai were in the living room, watching the television. You noticed Chanyeol and Baekhyun wasn't there. You went into the living room and sat between Kai and Suho. "Where's Chanyeol Oppa and Baekhyun Oppa?" You asked. "They're upstairs. Chanyeol is telling Baekhyun about the new comic he just read I guess. Those two are always together." Suho said, his eyes still glued to the tv screen. You nodded your head. *So the both of them are close huh?* You looked at the tv and noticed a movie was playing.

"What movie is this?" You asked. Nobody answered. You looked at both Kai and Suho. You cleared your throat. "Ahem, I asked, what movie is this?"
Kai clicked his tongue, "My Tutor Friend 2. Now shut up and don't distract me." Kai said and continued watching. *Sheesh, you could have just told me the first time.* You thought to yourself and rolled your eyes. You crossed your arms and leaned back on the couch.

The movie was actually quite interesting. It was about a Japanese girl coming to Korea as an exchange student to learn the language. She stayed in a guesthouse with its friendly owner and even had her own furnished room. But she then found out that the room belonged to the owner's son. She then wanted to leave but the owner of the guesthouse begged her to stay and tempted her with a deal to stay in the guesthouse, and given private Korean lessons from his son himself. At first, the girl and the guy kept fighting and couldn't agree with each other, but in the later part of the movie, both of them fell in love.

The movie ended and Suho turned off the television. "That was an awesome movie, don't you think Ryoko?" You smiled and nodded your head. It was the first Korean movie you had ever watched and it was going to be your favourite from then on. You turned to look at Kai who had a blank expression. "What do you think about the movie Oppa?" You asked. Kai looked at you and shrugged, "It was okay I guess." You frowned. *Kai Oppa doesn't know a good movie when he sees it.* You stuck your tongue out at him and followed Suho into the kitchen. Actually, Kai thought it was a great movie. It actually was a bit similar to him and Ryoko. Ryoko now stays in his room, in class he would always teach her the tough Korean words the teacher would say. But the only difference is, he doesn't know how he really feels about her. *It's too soon to call it...love right?* He touched his chest where his heart was pounding real hard.

"Oppa, time for dinner!" You called out from inside the kitchen. Kai jumped when he heard you. "A-arasso, I'm coming." He chuckled softly. *I wonder how she feels about me.* Kai smiled and slowly walked in to the kitchen where everyone is seated. You pouted, "Kai oppa palli! I'm hungry!" You said and pulled him down to sit. *Guess I still need time to find out about her feelings.* Kai thought to himself.

Now that everyone was already in their places, you clapped your hands together like you always do before eating, "Itadakimasu!" The rest smiled at you and started eating as well. Today, D.O cooked his famous kimchi spaghetti. But you separated the kimchi and placed it at the side of your plate. *Ugh, kimchi.* D.O noticed and his eyes widened. "Omo Ryoko ah, I forgot you didn't like kimchi! I'm so sorry!" He said. You laughed and waved your hands. "It's okay Oppa. The spaghetti's nice! You're the best cook in the world." You said and showed him a thumbs up sign. D.O felt relieved and continued cooking. "Ryoko ah, can I have your kimchi then?" Sehun sat beside you and he eyed the abandoned kimchi on your plate. "Sure, be my guest." You said and placed them on his plate. "Thank you Ryoko! I love kimchi!" You smiled and patted his back. *You love basically everything Sehun ah.*

Suho stopped eating for a while and turned to you. "Ryoko ah, in the movie that we watched earlier, is it true?" You cocked your head to the side. Everyone stopped eating too and looked at you. "What is true, Suho Oppa?" You asked, still confused by his sudden question. "The red string of fate. They mentioned it in the movie just now." "Red string of fate? What's that?" Baekhyun asked. "Oh that.." You said, suddenly remembered a part in the movie where the girl talked about the string of fate to the guy.

"Unmei no aka itto." You said in Japanese, "Means, the red string of fate or also red thread of destiny. In my country, we believe that God tied an invisible red string around the pinky finger of those who are destined to meet each other in a certain situation or help each other in a certain way. The two people connected by the red string are destined lovers, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break." You said. All of them were listening intently to your explanation. "Then, do you believe in the red string of fate?" Chanyeol asked you. You thought about it for a while and then smiled. "You can say that. I mean, you're not the one writing your own love story. God is. So yeah, I guess I do believe in it." You said and continued eating. Everyone was quiet then, all in their own thoughts.

*I wonder if I'm connected to Ryoko's string of fate.* Baekhyun thought. Sehun and Chanyeol looked at their pinky finger and furrowed their eyebrows. *I wonder if it's true. That we're tied to the person we're destined to meet. And some day, that red string around our finger would get closer and closer until we meet.* Sehun thought to himself. Kai ate quietly too and was also thinking. *The guy who's connected to her string of fate must be lucky.*

After dinner, you helped D.O wash the dishes as usual. The others were already in their rooms, doing their own business. "D.O oppa, do you believe in the aka iito?" You asked him. "The what?" You smiled and smacked his shoulder. "Aka itto, the red string of fate?" You laughed. D.O remembered and chuckled, "Oh you mean that? Hmm, I'm not sure if I do." D.O said as he looked out of the window in front of the sink. You furrowed your eyebrows. "What do you mean you're not sure?" D.O chuckled and looked down at the sink. "How do you know if you've met the person you're destined to meet? I mean, how would you know if you've met the person who is actually holding on to the other end of the red string?" He looked at you with his big round eyes.

"Hmm, I'm not sure about that either. I guess you just know?" You and D.O laughed. "Well, that's a logical explanation! But then again, I guess you're right." You and D.O finished with the dishes and went into the living room. You sat on the couch beside Suho and suddenly Sehun came rushing in. "Ryoko! Ryoko! I found it!" Everyone in the room turned. Sehun jumped from behind the couch and landed right beside you. You blinked at him, "What's wrong Sehun ah?" Sehun smiled at you and he suddenly took your hand. "Hey what are you-" He then tied a red string on your pinky finger and tied the other end of the string on his.

After doing all that he held both his and your hand up and smiled at you. "There, now we're connected to each other!" You figured out what he was trying to do and laughed. So did everyone. Kai went up to Sehun and smacked the back of his head. "Yah, you're not supposed to really tie it like that." Sehun rubbed his head and glared at Kai. You nodded and patted Sehun's shoulder, "Sehun ah, like I said before, it doesn't work this way. You don't get to control your own love story. It's all fate. Destiny." Sehun frowned and you actually felt bad. You took his hands. "I'm sure the girl who's destined to be with you would be the luckiest girl in the world." Sehun smiled and nodded. *And that lucky girl would be you Ryoko.*

"Alright, I'm going up to do homework. Goodnight you guys." You told them and stood up. "I'll accompany you." Baekhyun said as he stood up and followed you. "You don't have to you know. It's not like I'll get kidnapped while going to my room." You said. "Nah, I just want to ask you something that's all." Baekhyun shrugged and the both of you entered your room. "Make yourself comfortable then." You told him and sat on the study table. Baekhyun sat at the edge of your bed and watched as you took out your books and pencil case to get started on your assignments. "What homework are you doing?" Baekhyun asked. "Math. And the problem sums are in Korean so I don't really understand. I'd ask Kai but he'd probably get mad at me cause I asked him to much questions in school already." You said, frustrated that you couldn't understand some of the words. You ruffled your hair and put the pencil down.

Baekhyun smiled and went closer to you. "You know, you could ask me to help." He said and looked at you. "That's right! I forgot! I guess I kept depending on Kai oppa too much I forgot the other Oppas could help me. Thanks Baekhyun oppa." You smiled at him gratefully. "You can ask me as many times as you want and I won't get mad at you." He said and pinched your cheeks. *You can also stop depending on Kai so much but depend on me instead.* "So, which do you need help with?"

The whole night, you and Baekhyun worked together on the sums and there were times where you two just talked about random stuff and laughed. It was like you two forgot about the rest who were in the house. Once you were done on your last sum, you put your pencil down and yawned. "Finally! I'm done! Thank you Oppa, if it weren't for you, I'd have many sleepless nights doing my homework." You patted his shoulders. He looked tired too but managed a smile. "No problem, anything for you." You suddenly remembered why Baekhyun was there and decided to ask him. "Oppa, you said that you wanted to talk to me about something. What is it?" Baekhyun looked at the clock on the wall and smiled. He ruffled your hair and stood up. "It's okay Ryoko, it's getting late. I'll tell you next time neh? Sweet dreams." He smiled and closed the door behind him.

He actually wanted to ask you whether you really do believe that there is a red string connected to everyone and the person their destined to be with. He also wanted to ask you whether you've had a crush on anyone lately and think you might find the person you're fated to be with. Baekhyun smiled and shook his head. *What are you thinking Baekhyun ah?* He took a last look at your bedroom door. *Goodnight Ryoko.* and he went inside his room.

You stretched your arms and yawned again. You looked at the clock. It was already 2a.m. *Four more hours to sleep.* You reminded yourself and quickly climbed up your bed, under your covers. You thought about the events that happened today. But the one thing that you couldn't get out of your head was the 'Aka itto'. "The red string of fate huh?" You said to yourself. Your voice echoed in the quiet room. You sighed. Truthfully, you don't know whether to believe in such things. But it was your dad that told you about it. You could still remember. You were so small then.

...."Papa, how did you meet Mama? I mean, she's from Korea and you're from Japan. How did you two fall in love?" Your dad put down the newspapers he was reading and thought for a while. You cocked your head, still curious to know. Your dad then smiled and carried you to sit on his lap. "Ryokochan, people are all connected by the aka itto with the person they love. It doesn't have to be in the same place or country. No matter what happens, the string will get tangled or pulled. But it won't break. And eventually, when the time is right, you'll meet the person who's been waiting for you at the other end of the string. And that's how I met your Mama." He told you and smiled. When he told you this, he couldn't take his eyes of your mother, who was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Aka itto?" You asked your dad. He chuckled and kissed your forehead, "You'll understand when you grow up. Now let's go help your Mama okay?"....

You were small back then and couldn't understand. And now, you're 19 years old. And you still couldn't. You don't really know what love is, except the love between you and your parents. *I wonder what the person at the other end of my aka itto is doing right now.* You thought to yourself. You also wondered if after all these years, you've met him but just never knew. Your eyes were getting heavier and you decided it was time to get some sleep.

*I guess I'll know when the time comes.*

So what about you guys? Do you guys believe in 'The Red String of Fate'?
For me, I kindo do. I mean, like in this fic, what Ryoko said, 'It's not you who write your love story, it's God.' I guess I can say God really do write our love story. And he's writing the same thing about the person who you're destined to be with. So haha, be good and always pray to God, who knows, he might write an awesome love story for the two of you ;)

Here's the cute maknae Sehunnie for y'all,