No Strings Attached

The red thread

There were many things that made Ji-yeon a little different.

She liked her ramyeon dry. She hated mint chocolate like it had personally offended her. She was obsessed with collecting cat stickers, despite never owning a cat.

Oh-and she could see fate.

Specifically, the red thread of fate.

Thin, glowing strings tied around people's pinky fingers, trailing through space like invisible paths. Some tangled. Some frayed. Some knotted in the middle like a bad breakup. But they were always there.

Always.

Except for her own, which never once changed. It had always stretched forward-tight, unyielding, straight ahead into a future she hadn't reached yet.

She has seen them since she was a kid. At first, she would tell everyone about it, but stopped when her parents started worrying.

"Ji-yeonie!" a voice called out, breaking her thoughts.

She turned.

Minji bounded toward her, practically sparkling. Her short black hair was put in a ponytail revealing her ear piercings. "You're spacing out again. Don't tell me you're thinking about the red thread thing again." She said, as she wrapped her arms around the other ones neck.

Minji was the only one who knew about it, since they were friends from kindergarten.

Ji-yeon blinked. "What? No."

"You always make that weird face when you're thinking about destiny or whatever." Minji gave her a teasing nudge. "Come on, let's go. Professor Seo said he's checking attendance today."

Ji-yeon sighed and followed her best friend into the lecture hall. Another day of marketing theory and way too much coffee.

Class dragged by as usual. She doodled in her notebook absently-more strings. More knots.

At lunch, a sunbae from the engineering department tried to sit at their table. Again.

"Hi, Ji-yeon," he said, his smile just a little too hopeful.

Minji rolled her eyes behind her drink.

Ji-yeon smiled politely. "Sorry. I'm waiting for someone."

He blinked. "Oh. Who?"

She motioned to the air. "Someone."

A moment of awkward silence passed. He gave a half-hearted chuckle and backed away.

Minji leaned in. "Girl, why do you keep doing this? That was like, your fifth confession this semester. And this guy is really cute."

"I told you," Ji-yeon said, opening her yogurt drink. "I'm not interested in anyone who isn't the one."

Minji threw her arms up. "But you don't even know who he is! What if your soulmate is a gamer living in his mom's basement?"

Ji-yeon smiled faintly. "Then I'll wait for him to log out and come find me."

Minji groaned.

Despite the teasing, everyone liked Ji-yeon.

Maybe it was her voice, soft and a little dreamy. Or the way she always tied her brown hair on the side with a red hair tie. Or how she never seemed bothered by gossip or stress.

That evening, the sky over Seoul turned gold as the sun dipped between buildings. Ji-yeon walked alone past the shopping district, watching the people rush by.

Then-

A sharp pull.

Her hand jerked. Her pinky throbbed. The red string-the one she'd followed all her life-tugged hard.

Harder than ever before.

She froze on the sidewalk.

It tugged again.

Her breath caught.

Her feet started moving before she could think. The string glowed, pulling her like a magnet, through crowds of strangers and blinking lights. Her heart raced with every step.

It's happening.
It's finally happening.

She ran past cafés and vendors, almost tripping on a curb. Her hand trembled. The string was burning bright red now, vibrating like a live wire. Her head spun.

She turned a corner-and stopped.

Crowd.

There were people everywhere. Phones out. Gasps. Flashes.

Something was happening.

"Did you see him? That's him, right?"

"I can't believe he's here..."

"Step back, everyone!"

Ji-yeon's eyes widened. What...? Could her soulmate... BE FAMOUS?!

She pushed through the crowd, heart pounding.

People yelled. Flashes blinded her for a moment. She stumbled between bodies, ignoring the stares and whispers, until she reached the front line.

And then-

She stopped.

Her eyes locked forward.

The red thread burned like fire, stretched between her and - ?

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Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this :)) I hope you'll stay for another chapter!! Also, I'll take any critique - it all helps!