Chapter 18

Hongbin does not even understand how his relationship with his N-hyung works. He had not said his apologies for his previous mistakes as of yet, but he guessed that N already had already forgiven him. It was an unspoken forgiveness, but Hongbin knew that they were fine again. That was just the way his N-hyung was: a selfless, forgiving person –

Well, that was until he pounced on N and tried to peel the school uniform off of him. Admittedly, Hongbin knew that he was in a foul mood at that time, but he knew too that that was not a rational reason for him to pour out his frustration on N who only wanted his lifelong friend's forgiveness. Before he met N, Hongbin was sure that he was in full control of his own feelings. He vowed to himself that he would not let unnecessary feelings to get in the way of how his mother wanted him to live his life. Lee Hongbin was meant to be a role model – a person that people would look up to and admire. However, all of it changed when his pesky N-hyung started loitering in front of their school's golden gates, peering as if he was waiting for someone. The only reason why Hongbin was upset about N's visits was the fact that the latter would never listen to him whenever he would politely ask him to leave. He did not understand whether N just wanted to annoy him particularly or if he was just persistent with what or who he would always wait for. It was only until later that Hongbin found out that it was Seohyun that N would patiently wait for.

Another thing that Hongbin did not have words to explain was why N considered them as 'friends' despite their small bickerings and constant name-calling. Of course, he appreciated N at times, but it still did not make any sense to him how N still sees the good in him even if Hongbin treated him badly –

"Ahhh~ Won –" Hongbin giggled as his brother traced random letters on his back to draw him out of his thoughts. "Wonsik!" He squeaked, unable help himself from laughing. Now that he thought about it, he missed spending a lot of time with his brother – especially at the times when things get a bit rough. Hongbin had played the scene of him and Wonsik walking past each other in his mind countless of times before. He always thought that Wonsik was mad at him for not believing his words when they were younger and yet, Wonsik himself did not even mention a single word about it ever since he came back – "Wonsik! Wonsik! Stop it!" Hongbin cried, now smacking Wonsik's arm to get him to stop.

The said boy, of course, stopped his teasing at once to look at his brother. "What is it, Hongbinnie~?" Wonsik rested his chin on Hongbin's shoulder. "It's been a really long time so of course I missed you and doing these things with you..." He murmured, his breath tickling the former's neck.

"Ah, really!" Hongbin playfully pinched his brother's arm, turning his body around. Wonsik yelped and whined, but Hongbin carried on, "Stay still for a while, would you?"

"Okay, okay. Don't be grumpy anymore..." Wonsik buried his face on his brother's back. Hongbin recoiled, but allowed him to do as he pleased in the end. It was as long as it didn't have anything to do with tickling then he was fine with it. He extended his hand to reach out for Wonsik's and he intertwined their fingers together. "I'm sorry, Wonsik..." Hongbin started, finally opening up the conversation about what set them apart in the first place. "If it wasn't for me then we wouldn't have to live far from each other and our parents would still be –"

"It's not your fault, Hongbin," Wonsik told him firmly, sighing right after. "I don't know if you remember but I did tell you that your mother's red string isn't connected to my father's red string. This means that even if their relationship was okay for a while, it wouldn't last like how it's like for soulmates are bound to each other until they die." He drew silly shapes on his brother's hand with his thumb as he kept talking, "Rather than being regretful, I think that we should be more thankful that they have separated. Otherwise, we could get affected and caught up in between them if they have disputes. Don't you agree?"

Hongbin nodded, making Wonsik chuckle. "I wonder what made you believe my words now when you used to ignore everything that I told you... Lemme guess... Hmmmmm..." Hongbin gave him time to think and organise his thoughts until – "There's another one, right? Another person who can see the strings?" When Hongbin was about to explain himself, Wonsik suddenly laughed. "It must be a girl then. What's her name, Binnie? She might be that girl at the other end of your thread!"

Blood rushed straight to Hongbin's cheeks at the thought of his soulmate. "No! It's not a girl!" He denied in an instant. "It's a hyung! I just... noticed since he had the same habits like you did. He would always stare at people's hands as if he's looking for something. And besides, he is normally quiet too so it is easier to spot. Then I thought that I should ask him if he could see them. He said that he could –"

"Hongbinnie~ Hongbinnie~" Wonsik interrupted him in a sing-song voice, "I wonder what happened to my brother who used to be suspicious about every single little thing? Now, you would just believe what you're told! You shouldn't believe people too easily, alright? That's what I liked about you!" He said as he poked Hongbin's forehead.

"But –" Hongbin was going to protest, but he got cut off when they heard the door creaking open. It was one of his sisters, he figured since the knocks were softer than his mother's. Hongbin immediately pulled away from his brother's embrace and he scrambled to open the door wider for her.

"Oh~ Am I disturbing something?" She teased, her smile widening upon seeing them.

"Nope~" Wonsik chirped. "How are you doing, noona?" He asked to try and divert her attention to him from a flustered Hongbin.

She giggled, but she replied soon, "I'm fine! I'm just checking how you two are doing and if you need anything."

Hongbin shook his head. "We're not doing anything." He was about to ask her to leave them be when he thought about something – "Noona," He whispered as he slowly shut the door close behind her. "Can I borrow your phone real quick? Eomma took mine so –"

She instantly scooped for her phone from her pocket and handed it to him, grinning. "Sure," Hongbin's sister said to him quietly. He gave her his gratitude before he hastily dialed N's phone number. Above anything else, he wanted to make sure that he was well and that hopefully, he wasn't too upset about the last incident (which he doubted, knowing how fast N recovers). Hongbin gulped down the lump in his throat and he swore that with every ring that passed, his heartbeat would pound louder in his ears.

But finally, someone picked up the telephone – "Hello! This is Lee Hongbin and I'm Hakyeon-hyung's friend. May I speak with him?" He said as politely as he could. Hongbin heard his brother snickering behind him so he only threw him a glare.

"Hakyeon hasn't come home since yesterday. I'm glad that you've called because I was worried about him! Do you happen to know any of his friend's numbers? I'd like to contact them and ask them about his whereabouts," N's mother cried, her voice shrilly and panicked.

This only caused Hongbin's worry to worsen. From what he knew, N would always come home no matter what and despite his rather rebellious actions. Hongbin hesitated at first, but in the end, he trusted his guts just like Wonsik told him and admitted that he had not seen N. From his knowledge, his N-hyung should have gone to the singing audition to give his support to Leo. But just in case N lied again, Hongbin did not say a word. What scared Hongbin the most during his conversation with N's mother was the fact that she sounded surprisingly calm with his answer. So, he quickly bade her goodbye and he stole a glance at his brother. Wonsik had an eyebrow raised and his sister looked just as confused as him. Hongbin did not say another word to them, but immediately returned his attention to the phone to dial his Leo-hyung's phone number and ask him if he knew anything. Luck seemed to be at Hongbin's side as it was Leo himself who picked up the phone with only a few rings. "Hyung! Do you know where N-hyung is? I wanted to speak to him and apologise but –"

"He should be at home," Leo replied with his usual soft voice, speaking over him. He sounded tired, Hongbin noted, but he dismissed the thought easily.

"I just called their home number and his mother told me that he hasn't been home since yesterday. I just thought that you might know where he is..." Hongbin explained to him, but Leo only became even quieter than he normally was. After a long moment of silence, Hongbin murmured a soft "Hyung?" but after a while, the only thing he heard was the beeping sound of the other line. Leo seemed