RED STRING REWRITTEN

3

Fourth’s Side – Alone in the Small House

The sound of the front door closing echoed in his mind even though no one had come home yet.
Fourth sat at the edge of his bed, still wearing the same damp hoodie from earlier, the faint smell of dirt and cold water clinging to him. His bag lay open on the floor — notebooks crumpled, pages still stuck together from the puddle, pen caps missing.

He stared at the mess without moving.
His fingers itched to clean it up, but his chest felt too heavy.

He pulled his knees to his chest, resting his forehead against them.
The house was too quiet. Too safe. And yet… not safe at all.

---

Fourth’s thoughts (silent, bitter):
"If Tae hyung sees… he’ll ask. And if I tell him, they’ll find out I told. They’ll… go after him."

He bit the inside of his cheek until it hurt.
He could almost hear Gemini’s low voice from earlier, the words replaying like a curse.

> “Every time I call, you come. No questions. No hesitation. Or… we find your brother.”

A shiver ran through him.
He wanted to cry — not for himself, but because he knew they meant it.

---

Evening passes slowly

Fourth forced himself to take a shower, scrubbing at his hair until the water ran cold.
The bruised spot on his arm from Joong’s grip stung under the spray.

When he changed into fresh clothes, he shoved the ruined hoodie deep into the laundry basket, covering it with other clothes so Tae wouldn’t notice.
The lunchbox… he washed it quietly, hands trembling when he poured rice down the sink.

Dinner time came, but he wasn’t hungry. He boiled water anyway, made tea, and sat at the small kitchen table staring at the steam.

The clock ticked loud. Tae still wasn’t home.

---

Night – Tae comes back

The door opened, and Tae stepped in, tired but smiling.
Fourth immediately forced himself to smile back, standing quickly so Tae wouldn’t get a good look at his face.

Tae: “You’re still awake? It’s late.”

Fourth: “Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d wait for you.”

Tae: (smiling warmly) “Good thing you did. I brought leftover bread from the café.”

Fourth: (pretending cheer) “Nice. I’ll eat it later.”

They sat together for a few minutes. Tae talked about work — the annoying customers, the boss, a broken coffee machine. Fourth nodded at the right moments, forcing little laughs.

When Tae asked about his day, he kept it simple.

Fourth: “Classes were fine. Same as yesterday. Just… tiring.”

Tae: “You’re adjusting. It’ll get better.”

Fourth: “Yeah… probably.”

Inside, he wanted to scream the truth. But the image of Gemini tipping his lunch into the dirt, the cold water pouring over him, and the dangerous glint in his eyes… kept him silent.

---

Later – Fourth’s Room

Tae had gone to shower. Fourth sat on his bed, phone in hand, scrolling mindlessly to distract himself.

Then the screen lit up — a notification from an unknown number.

He froze.

The message read: