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deathbyseventeen · 1 year

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As the World Caves In (Ending)

pairing: Dino/Chan x f!reader

genre: post-apocalyptic, romance/fluff, angst | zombie!au

word count: ≅3.4k

series: To be Together

chapter warnings: allusions & talk death, weapons (the knifebrella & a gun), violence (defending self from zombies), oh and blood and references to body parts and viscera (not descriptive though)

summary: The world ended on a Tuesday in November, days after Halloween, when the sun was less than an hour away from setting. Chan had just left his dorm’s building, late to his History of Dance 136A lecture, when it happened. You hadn’t been as lucky on the day the world began to crumble.

a/n: hello again :) the ending is here! apologizes for the wait. but if you’re just seeing this fic now... maybe take a chance and start from the beginning? :)) links are right there below. oh boy oh boy oh boy

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{intro} + {3 days since the end} + {7 days since the end} + {10 days since the end} + {20 days since the end} + {24 days since the end} + {27 days since the end} + {a month since the end}

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a month since the end

Chan struggles to breathe from under the bundle of blankets you’d wrapped around him as if the combination of hoodies, coats, and scarves he was wearing (something you’d insisted on, he remembers) were nothing more but a pair of swimming trunks. In a span of a couple of days, the temperature dropped drastically, and though it had yet to snow, the river had already frozen over. Guilt gnawed at him as he watched you carefully step onto the center of the river, a simple beanie and coat to fight off the bitter cold, while you tried to get a good look at the surroundings.

He understood that he was still sick, though not as bad as he was before. Still, he wished you would let him be the one to catalog the locations and amount of zombies around. He hadn’t moved from the spot where you’d helped him sit down inside a service closet the two of you had found underneath the river’s bridge. You were meters away, far enough that he couldn’t really tell what face you were making but not far enough to where he couldn’t see that you were trembling in your boots.

Sometimes, when the sun went down, he swore the mild fever he still had was giving him hallucinations. At this moment, however, he knew it wasn’t just his imagination that was making you shake.

He wished he could call you back, urge you to turn around, and return to him.

It felt like an eternity before you made your careful way back across the iced river to him and let the door close all but an inch or two with a brick. You sat down across from him, dragging the duffle bag where you’d stuffed the night’s supplies to you with a hand.

A sleeping bag, the cans of food that would be dinner tonight, two water bottles, two flasks, and two trash bags. He reached for the bottle of medicine you pulled out then.

“How are you feeling?” You asked him as you opened the cans of food, waiting for him to swallow the syrup.

“Better,” he croaked, then cleared his throat.

“Maybe we should look for something stronger,” you suggested, holding out a can of salmon for him.

“No,” he shook his head. “I am getting better. This’ll go away, I know.”

“Alright.” You relent.

The two of you ate in silence, only sharing the sound of your spoons scraping against the insides of the cans.

Chan would have preferred conversation, the silence between the two of you felt too much like a wall was being built between the two of you, but his sore throat prevented any attempt from his side.

Even after you finished eating and began to unfurl the sleeping bag and arrange an even bigger pile of blankets around it, he continued to eat in silence. The rock he felt in his throat forced him to eat languidly, almost entirely focused on pushing the food down his throat.

But by the time he finished, he’d had enough, and the words left him before he could think them through.

“You told the others where we were going, right?”

Chan watched you still for a moment and squeeze your eyes shut. Almost immediately, he regretted what he’d said and cursed himself for not stopping and thinking of something better to say. You had yet to say anything or turn to look at him, but he could still read the words running through your head from a single corner of one of your eyelids. ‘For the hundredth time.’ Then they shot open--you wouldn’t say that to him-- and you turned to him.

“Yes, Chan. I told them, as best I could, the general direction we’d be taking toward your hometown.”

“Okay,” he croaked, a bright red blush settling on his cheeks.

He managed a couple of seconds of renewed silence, toying with the seam of his pants before grabbing one of the trash bags.

“I’m going to go to use the bathroom outside.”

“Here.” You held out a roll of toilet paper. “Try not to stay out too long, or you’ll get sick again.”

He mumbled out a thanks as he grabbed the roll and shuffled outside the fastest he could.

Without the armada of blankets encompassing him in a cocoon of warmth, a gust of cold December wind chilled him to the bone and froze him just outside the door. He trembled, gaze stuck on the horizon with tears pricking at his eyes. Then the wind settled, and he was able to look away, blinking away the tears as he left the enclave.

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Chan traced circles into your arms later that night. Much like earlier, you had yet to say anything to him, choosing to arrange your supplies while you waited for him to get ready for sleep. There was only one sleeping bag and it had come with a series of compromises. While you’d attempted to get him to use the bag for himself, he refused until the two of you wound up pressed together inside. Even then, you refused to sleep inside until he was already under it. So he slipped in first, and you zipped shut the bag.

Tonight, though he was sure you were upset with him, changed nothing. You slipped into the bag after him, silently, zipping it shut enough around the two of you that you could still pull the blankets at the front of the sleeping bag over you two. Then, laid down, half on top of Chan with one hand resting on his shoulders and the other at his side.

He couldn’t sleep.

Even with a hand clutched around you, he was uneasy.

Words accumulated at the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t find a way to say them.

It wasn’t until he felt your breath even out that the words managed to slip past his lips.

“I’m sorry,” He whispered. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I don’t mean to keep asking you. I just…” he squeezed his eyes shut, “I don’t like the silence. I keep thinking about them, and I start to worry they’re already dead.”

His heart raced at the admission, and he let out a shuddering breath as he tried to calm down. He did, eventually, and when that finally happened, he shifted so he was able to place a kiss on the crown of your head.

He had just closed his eyes when he felt you shift and brush your own lips across the underside of his jaw.

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Your fingers toyed with the inside of his pant pocket, encompassed in the warmth of a heat pack you’d found in the maintenance room you’d slept in days before.

“Now, if I were a sporting store, where would I hide?” Chan whispered into your ears as the two of you walked down a block of stores.

The streets were zombie-free, and it unnerved him. He wondered if you had noticed the eerie loneliness of the streets or if you had managed to ignore it in favor of a prettier image.

“Running a few laps around the block, I imagine.” You answered, giving his hand a squeeze before returning to your ministrations on his fingers.

“Perhaps they’d like to break so we can have a chat.”

You hummed. “Maybe. Would you like to call out to it instead? See if it comes?”

He laughed.

With an added bounce to your step, you started to hum under your breath. Chan was sure that if it’d been warmer, you’d have--

You slipped your hand out of his pocket, pulling his hand and the hot pack along with yours, and swung them. He smiled. It was an innate reaction, and in the end, the only thing he could have done that wouldn’t break the spell you’d cast over yourself.

The two of you continued to walk like that for what seemed like an eternity to Chan. The sun had long past reached its highest point in the sky for the day. It would only take another couple of hours before it would begin to set, and the sporting goods store was yet to be found. Just how many times had the two of you gone in circles? He was sure he’d seen that ravaged kiosk of cell phone cases at least fifty times. (And still, no zombies anywhere in sight.)

His thoughts strayed toward the stolen-- he frowned, though he knew it was now inconsequential-- car the two of you had found in one of the university’s parking structures. If he had managed to count correctly, the car was at least ten blocks down the street you’d come from, a mile or more so away.

Lost in thought, he missed the moment you stopped humming and swinging your intertwined hands.

“How long do you think it’ll take us to find it?” It was faint, hardly louder than the gusts of wind that brushed past the two of you every now and again. But it was enough to pull him out of his preoccupations and startle him into flinching.

“What?” He swallowed. “The sports store? I know it’s already taken us too long--”

“No,” you interrupted, “I mean, how long do you think it’ll take us to find the safe zone?”

“The safe zone?”

“What if it’s not even a safe zone anymore? What if it’s moved?”

“Wait. Wait.” He pulled you to a stop. “What? Y/N, you can’t-- you shouldn’t be thinking about those things.”

“Chan, our only goal is to get to safety. To get to the safe zone. But what do we do if it’s not real anymore.”

He shook his head. “Y/N, our only goal right now is to find that store.” He grabs you by the shoulders, leaving the hot pack in your hands, “We need a tent. We need to find food. We need to get back to the car. We find shelter for the night. We need to find my brothers.”

“And then?”

“And then we find safety.”

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“How much longer do you think we have?” You ask Chan as the two of you speed walk down a pathway that leads to a hidden street.

A single directory station the two of you had stumbled upon by chance hours after he’d reassured you had shown you the location of the store you looked for.

“Not long,” he frowns. “Maybe an hour, hour and a half, if we’re lucky. What do you think?”

“An hour,” you agreed, then nudged his shoulder and nodded to the sky. “Maybe less.”

In the distance, beyond the grove of trees you were walking through, a patch of sky was visible. While most of the sky was a chilly blue, the horizon was starting to turn a warm orange, with bits of pink starting to bleed into the blue.

“Maybe less,” Chan agreed.

“It should be around here somewhere,” Chan murmured as the two of you reached the end of the path.

The two of you stood at the end of the grove, taking in the wide, dead-end street it opened into. Then your eyes fell on the elusive sporting store you’d been looking for.

You gripped Chan by the forearm, a grin overtaking the tired expression on your face.

“Come on,” Chan nodded. “We have to hurry.” Then he took off running, and you set off after him, nipping at his heels.

From far away, the rows of stores looked like they were perfect recreations of pictures of a miniature model shopping district. Both of you could have sworn that its windows were glittering from the sunlight, that you could see glare streaks across the glass. But the closer the two of you got, the quicker the little details started to come into focus.

Like the other stores, the sports store’s front windows had been smashed through completely. Its glass rested on the floor in front of the store like grains of sand, forcing you to a stop.

“We don’t really have a choice, do we?” You mumbled.

“No,” Chan agreed. “Follow me.”

Chan walked alongside the front of the store, looking for a space where the glass hadn’t fallen. Finding none, he stopped at the edge of the store and pointed at the corner of the window sill.

“We’re going to have to stretch as far as we can to get inside. I’ll go first and give you a hand.”

His hands were freezing when he grabbed yours and pulled you inside, but it was the temperature inside the store that made a shiver run down your spine. Then, as the two of you turned to step inside, the two of you froze as if you’d suddenly been hit by a cold snap.

Deeper inside, where the sunlight was quickly receding, blood splattered the floor and clothing racks. Corpses, complete or not, laid one on top of another, all of them heading deeper into the store. The sunlight didn’t reach deeper inside, but you didn’t need to see deeper inside to imagine the corpses and body parts that were probably strewn around.

“They probably took refuge here.”

“Yeah,” you choked out.

While the undead terrified you, it came as a terrifying realization that you had managed to ignore all of the corpses and body parts that you’d run into before. Images of the day the world ended came flashing back. The people pounding on the gym’s windows, the undead behind them, the viscera on the way to the stadium, and the random body parts and trails of blood throughout the city. You’d managed to ignore it all. That was so… unsafe.

“Y/N,” Chan called to you, “Y/N. Y/N, I need you to focus. Look at me. Y/N, look at me.”

He forced you to turn and look at him, though you were trembling nonstop. He didn’t know if you were listening, if you were even here. You had a hazy look in your eyes that made the apprehension he felt intensify tenfold.

“We’ve only got a little while to find everything we need, but we’re going to have to split up. Are you okay with that?”

You shook for a moment longer, and Chan was sure he was going to have to pull you along. Then you nodded.

“Don’t think about it. Just ignore it.”

You nodded again.

“I’ll go this way.” He waved a hand to the stairwell against the wall. “And you can go that way,” he nodded to the rest of the store behind you. “Do you remember what we need?”

“A-A tent. Tarp. Duffle bags. Trash bags.” You began.

“A solar-powered portable heater and a solar-powered power generator if we can find any. More blankets and thermal clothes.” He finished.

“O-Okay.” With a single, short kiss goodbye, the two of you split.

The store, without its fluorescent lights and customer-created white noise, was disorienting to say the least. You were already living a nightmare, but this made you feel like you were taking part in a horror movie. It felt as if death was waiting for you just a couple of steps ahead, just out of sight, hidden in the darkness.

Your vision adjusted quickly, though it didn’t stop you from wishing you had a flashlight. Thankfully, finding thermal clothes and duffle bags were an easy find, and you stuffed as many as you could into your duffle.

“Generators. Heaters. Tents,” you mumbled under your breath, taking care to keep focused (and not look at the floor) as you made yourself venture deeper into the store.

“Flashlights,” you murmured in relief when you saw some.

“Generators. Heaters. Tents.” You began to repeat again like a mantra.

While the flashlight was a relief, it made it harder to dismiss the streaks of blood on the floor and splattered onto the merchandise.

You were approaching the back half of the store, when between boxes of shoes and workout equipment when you felt the world freeze around you.

Pools of dried blood stained the floor under their undead feet, and the stench of decay permeated the air. You gagged, hands flying to cover your mouth in an attempt to keep yourself from crying out as you backed away.

Unaware of the steps you were taking, you slipped on a patch of fresher blood. You yelped as you lost your balance, and if that weren’t enough, you took down a display of shoe spray.

The result was instant. It was almost like they were machines by the way their heads snapped up as if they’d just been powered on.

You screamed as they turned around, glazed eyes training on you as you scrambled to get up. They lurched forward and you backward.

Finally, on your feet, you raced in the opposite direction, feet following the path you had taken to get there in the first place. You were nearing the stairwell when you caught sight of Chan stumbling down it, a horde of his own zombies after him.

“Run!” He yelled when he saw you. “Get out! Run! Hurry!”

The glass outside was inconsequential as you ran, even as you fell and it dug itself into your hands.

In the light of the setting sun, you could nearly delude yourself into thinking you were hallucinating.

Behind you, though, Chan fired a gun at the horde.

Your nonstop screams only added to the chaos around him.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” He spit as he missed his mark yet again.

Though he wanted to take out his knifebrella, he accepted that it would be futile against the horde after the two of you. Realizing he was getting nowhere, he took off running behind you.

“Through the grove!” He yelled, narrowly avoiding the hand reaching for him.

The sun set as the two of you ran through the grove, stumbling over raised blocks of cement and fallen branches. You’d taken two steps outside before you were almost killed, and a bright light enveloped your forms, a screeching of tires forcing you to a stop.

“Chan!” Someone yelled.

“Get inside! Hurry!” A second, deeper voice yelled, and a moment later, a flatter screeching sounded above the groans of the undead.

When neither of you moved (Chan too stunned at the appearance of his friends), one of the owners of the voices jumped out from the light and grabbed the two of you, pulling into the light and--

You blinked. A long, yellow school bus rested before you.

“Seungcheol. Jeonghan.” Chan finally spoke. You could tell he was trying to keep his composure, but as he said their names, his voice faltered.

“In. In,” Seungcheol insisted, pushing you inside.

Jeonghan smiled thinly, unshed tears lining his eyes, “I told you I’d find him.”

“My apologies.” Seungcheol huffed and after ushering the two of you past Jeonghan, pulled a lever at the base of the driver’s seat to close the doors.

“Move!” A third voice suddenly yelled. “They’re coming!”

“Seungkwan!”

“If we die, I’m killing you first, you martyring bastard!”

“Everyone sit down!” Seungcheol ordered the lot as the bus lurched forward.

You gasped as you fell onto one of the seats, catching only a brief glance at who you guessed was Seungkwan.

“How did you even find us?” Chan asked when he stood up again.

Jeonghan, leaning against the seat across from you, lifted a book into the air. “The XXXX Updated Travel--”

“You used a travel guide?!” Disbelief was all you could really feel.

“You must be Y/N.”

You nodded.

“I’m Jeonghan. It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for taking care of Chan again.”

You shook your head, “He took care of me.”

“Wait. Wait.” Chan interrupted moving up to stand beside you, behind Seungcheol’s driving seat. “Where are we going?”

“To find the others.”

“We’ve got to go back.”

“What?” Seungcheol snapped.

Chan pointed southeast of the way Seungcheol was driving. “We need to go back. To our car. We need our things!”

“Your things?!”

“We had food!” Chan snapped. “Medecine. Bandages. Clothes. Supplies!”

“This better be worth it,” Seungcheol snapped, jerking the wheel for a right turn.

“I’ll tell you when we’re close.”

Satisfied, Chan plopped down and turned to look at you. Finally taking in your appearance, his eyes widened.

Your smile was wobbly at best. “I take it you didn’t find any of the things we needed? I found the du-duffle bags and c-clothes.”

He stood up, and though you couldn’t see his mouth, you knew it was hanging open.

“It’s--It’s not my blood.”

Wordlessly, he threw his arms around you and hugged you. After a while, you thought he was letting you go to sit down again, but rather than that, he leaned into you to give you a long kiss.

“Oh,” Jeonghan said from the other seat, “Interesting. Very interesting.”

Chan sighed, pressing his forehead against yours. “Turn left here.”

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fin | masterlist

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soundofseventeen · 6 years

Text

Anywhere But Here (Boo Seungkwan)

I hope the Joshua one wasn’t too terrible! Unto Seungkwan! (I own nothing except the words.) -Bee

Masterlist

Seungkwan remembered when he was a teenager, he read a book by some American author about a guy who was looking for a girl, but he didn’t actually know who she was or where she lived, but he found her by chance and he remembered thinking how that was the stupidest thing a person could ever do. But it wasn’t how it conveniently played out that made him think that. It was the fact that the guy walked the whole way to her. Granted, if his curiosity wasn’t as great as it was, he’d be on his couch back in Jeju and not walking in the forest in the middle of the night following the red string that was visible only to him. (He did however, vow not to critique any other fictional character since he now knew their struggles.)

This endeavor might have been his most challenging feat by far. He could recall being younger and following the string coming out of his pinkie to see where it’d lead him but he would make it to the end of the block before one of his family members would come out and take him back inside. Of course as he grew up, he ventured a little more just to see where it ended, often growing frustrated because the end never arrived. (On one occasion he ended up somewhere in Taiwan, and another between the North and South Korean border when he was supposed to be on vacation.)

Many times he found himself holding a pair of scissors ready to cut the accursed thing, only to be scolded by his mom not to be doing that because it was dangerous. However, the one time he did manage to do it, he ended up breaking the scissors and he didn’t even know why that happened. His dreams plagued him on what was on the other end from finding the lost city of Atlantis to picking up the lottery ticket off the floor that could earn him millions and once he even found the famous Michelle Obama at a comic convention. The final straw for him was when the end led him to a spaceship that took him to a different planet and the people there made him their king. He tried to ignore it, but when that left him restless, he sold his safe house (probably not his best idea if he was being honest) and with that money, hit the road with nothing but his backpack with necessities and the skin on his back. He supposed he could’ve used that money to drive to the destination, but he figured that would’ve been anticlimactic and what could he say to friends back home if he didn’t go above and beyond? Well, if he had friends that’s what he’d tell him, at least.

By day, he roamed where the red string led him, sometimes through the woods, other times through a suburban neighborhood, and by night, found a hotel that would meet his standards so he could shower and wash his clothes. In one instance, he rented his own boat to cross the water that led him to a dock that led to nowhere where he walked and walked until he ended up in Busan. Sometimes he felt like giving up and when he wanted to turn around, he’d feel a light tug as if pulling him closer to where he needed to be. He backtracked maybe once or twice but pursued nonetheless. He ran out of cash a lot sooner than he expected and instead of withdrawing from his bank account, he resorted to busking in the streets and relying on his voice to keep him going. Nature was his constant companion and he didn’t know how he ended up enjoying the quiet, but he realized that once he did, he couldn’t get enough of it. He eventually bought a blanket to carry around with him when the days were cooler but even then he came down with a cold, which made him stay indoors a lot longer than he liked, like now. At one point, it got so bad, he was bedridden for a couple days, and right before his fever broke, he felt like something was pulling towards him, but because of his lack of strength, he couldn’t do anything except moan and groan that he couldn’t. He could feel the physical force of the something pulling at the thread and if he wasn’t so weak, he would’ve gone up and searched for the culprit. By the time he recovered a bit, all he could see was the string he was supposed to follow.

“Thanks for the help DK!” You exclaimed, stepping back to admire your newest painting that had been delivered. You might’ve been fond of art, but when it came down to the flowers and trees and everything that Mother Nature created, there was only one person who could capture its beauty and that was Chinese painter The8. You’d had your eye on one of his works that would continuously sell out but had finally been able to snag it albeit you had to go through different cities all over South Korea (and sometimes leaving it!) to find it. You handed him his paycheck once you were back at one of the counters before he clocked out for the evening and he gave you the day’s sales from his deliveries plus loose change and tips despite the fact that he was alone for a few days. He chatted away of the day’s events, filling you in on the events from how one of the people at the retirement homes was looking more and more like the undead and how one of his friends at the thrift shop was consuming an unhealthy amount of coffee and the neighbor’s dog Aji chewed on his welcome mat while he was on lunch break.

“Aren’t you pissed about that?” You asked him. “If that was me, I would’ve...never mind, I wouldn’t.”

“Nah, she was just hungry. Usually I leave her snacks since Mingyu is okay with it, but how you left early and I had to open, I didn’t have time, so I guess there’s that.” He glanced up at your painting. “I still can’t believe you went all the way to Jeju for that. Where’d you sleep anyways?”

“At a hotel somewhere in Busan…”

“That’s...quite a tourist move.”

You didn’t tell Seokmin about your time in Busan. It’s not like he wouldn’t have understood, but there was something there that kept you from leaving. Your curiosity had gotten the best of you and used part of your free time to see how you far you could get following the string around your finger. It led you to a hotel on the other side of town and that’s where the fear set in, mentally using the excuse of being needed for orders at Smile Flower and keeping things in order even if you were short handed. (You hated to admit that you went up to the door and deliberated whether or not to knock, and opting to pull the string.) You scratched your pinkie finger, digging your thumb nail into the soft material of the red thread that wouldn’t be seen by the boy you were conversing with and opted for a shrug. “A change is good sometimes.” A fake yawn. “Well, I think we should we head out now. I have a long list of orders for this weekend and please remind me to put up a help wanted sign in case we stop being able to handle it. Good night.”

At precisely 4:47 the next afternoon, you delivered the bundles of flowers to Adequate Eternity, the coffee place next door with the help of Dino, one of their workers. He was a colorblind boy who often asked you about the colors you picked and you were always happy to answer. The reason was because of the eccentric old lady who owned the place. You figured Yoon Jihye must’ve been alive during the Great Depression (maybe longer!) but she had the youth of a child. She liked telling tall tales of soulmates and how some people were born with one (like you, she once said but you’d laughed nervously at that.) She was also one of the few people who could see your red string even without the help of the full moon so you trusted her judgment, even if she sounded a bit far fetched at times. She claimed she had a gift and that wasn’t a doubt you had for a second.

Auntie Jihye usually had Jeonghan, her great (you weren’t sure how many greats he was if you were being honest) grandson and caretaker call in an order weekly to place on the tables so the guests could have something good to smell and different types to see. You bid a good day to Wonwoo who was sans Jihoon (probably in class or something. Wonwoo himself didn’t go to university until dark from what he’s told you when you bumped into him out in the streets) but working quietly on an assignment. Seungcheol had your check ready along with the small order Seokmin had placed beforehand.

“Lovely day isn’t it?” Seungcheol commented, using his permanent marker to draw a happy face on your coworker's cup of chocolate milk. “It feels like Christmas is upon us.” He stopped long enough to assess your reaction, knowing that you had no rest.

You plucked a chrysanthemum from the bouquet and handed it to him. “I love it but not that I’m not ready for overtime.”

“Ahh my young soul. Your impatience is that of a toddler. Yah, Chan! I told you to open it now!”

“Oh, I’m impatient?” You had to snicker. “I just don’t wanna feel like I’m wasting my life away to make sure everyone’s arrangements are perfect.”

“Why not make a post on FaceTwit or however you youngsters get your news out nowadays?” He looked out the window a little too dramatically. “In my days, why, I think we had only a newspaper.”

“Seungcheol? I’m pretty sure we’re about the same age.”

“Don’t mind him; full moons make him nervous,” Jihye interrupted the conversation. She had a bright smile on her face, arms wide open, expecting you to give her a hug, which you did because who wouldn’t wanna hug an elderly woman that loves you to bits? “Look at you, looking prettier everyday.”

“Good day Auntie. Where are you headed at this hour?” You waved at Jeonghan who had just appeared behind her. He smiled at you politely, busy chewing on his granola bar to answer. Your eyes widened. “Oh! Is it Saturday already?”

“Just some errands; we’re all in for an exciting remainder of the day...things to do and people to meet, words to explain. Not me, of course, but rather to guide them. Full moons mean I have a lot to do,” she mumbled more to herself. “Let’s see candles, wax figures, oh and can you get some roses ready for me too? Any color will do.” She grabbed your hand without warning. “My, my. Is it me or is your string looking...better? Ah yes, you’re in for some changes. I can tell by the look in your eyes.”

“Come on Grandma...let’s leave Y/N alone, shall we? We have a full day ahead of us. Ow!”

“You rapscallion. I wasn’t talking to you, or are you in a hurry to get somewhere?” She waggled her finger at him. “We’ll get there when we get there. But you’re right. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back. It’d be rude to keep my guests waiting. And you have plans with the dream boy. What was his name? Joshua. ” She turned her attention back to you. “Now, if you don’t want an angry customer, I’ll expect my roses tonight.”

“Yes Auntie!” You saluted her. You picked up your drinks, bid them a good rest of the day and went straight back to Smile Flower, sighing when you realized the rest of the work ahead of you and then the phone rang an hour or so later. When Seokmin came in a few minutes later, you were rushing out the door, with only a vague explanation of you leaving for an auction in China and finding help for the time being. You heard him laugh at your enthusiasm but promised to keep to the place standing. By the time you turned and waved at him, a handmade help wanted sign already on the front window for passerby to see and you waved to Jeonghan who was coming back from the presumable dinner with his friend. In an instant, there was chaos but you were already running late to see for yourself. You cursed The8 for being an artist with too much talent. The only thing you had caught was Jeonghan kneeling on the floor and struggling to pick something up.

It was a little after dusk when Seungkwan finally set foot in Seoul and he cursed under his breath when he saw that his string was leading him the same way he showed up. He put his foot down though and decided to settle in Seoul for a time because he didn’t leave Jeju just to probably go back. He walked around aimlessly, looking at the department stores, thrift shops, a few malls, a couple of chains that sold international products, recording studios, too many coffee shops to keep track of and even a flower shop sporting a help wanted sign. The door opened not much later and out came a boy carrying a rather large bouquet of flowers in a vase. He set them on the floor and locked up when he noticed Seungkwan. “I’m sorry, did you need something? I’ll be back in like five minutes.” He picked them up. “I just need to take these next door.”

“I uh, couldn’t help but notice you were hiring.” He decided to walk with the boy. There wasn’t harm in asking a few questions.

“Yeah my manager is currently on the way to China and I need someone to deliver while I stay there….HI EVERYONE!” Not being used to having eyes on him (it has been awhile since he had attention) he picked nervously at his string. The barista at the register acknowledged him with a greeting and he deemed it rude to not respond, so he ordered a hot tea and a cake pop, waiting for the boy he was walking with to finish his run so he could discuss the possibility of a job. He sat at a table where no one would question being alone, feeling at home despite the fact that he was an outcast. There was people despite the hour, two boys chatting amongst themselves at their own table near the door, a couple of actors with killer makeup skills that gave them an undead look, and a guy with his grandma, looking expectantly around them. She would say something to him and he’d nod in response. The only other worker was asking about the colors of the flowers and Seungkwan almost snorted at him for not being able to differentiate the red from the purple.

“I was starting to think I wasn’t going to meet you.” The old lady startled his people watching and he stared at her confused. “The red string,” she elaborated. The boy escorting her pulled a seat out for her and she sat across from him while his just jaw dropped. The boy then called for a Hansol who had emerged from another door, while they bugged the zombie looking actors. He only caught the name Joshua, but the other slipped his mind, remembering someone claimed his attention.

“I don’t-” She sighed, took his pinkie and yanked at the thread and his hand involuntarily shot forward. “How’d you know about that?”

“I don’t need a full moon to see it,” she laughed fondly. “And I can tell you we’ve been waiting for sometime to meet you. How rude of me! What’s your name young man?”

“S-Seungkwan.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean we, Auntie?”

“Goodness, look at the time! Everyone out. I must get this done by midnight.” She looked at the analog clock on top of the entrance doors. “Anyone who dares contradict me is more than welcome to help me get this ready. I am old and frail after all. Seokmin! Get this boy a job with you! Lord knows you and Y/N need the help. He will be a very good asset to the business.”

“Uhh, yes Auntie!” The boy named Seokmin pulled on Seungkwan’s arm. “Come on, I guess you’re hired. Let’s go get you a form filled out and you can get started tomorrow!”

Seungkwan surprised himself by staying a lot longer than intended in Seoul. He got the hang of making his deliveries in maybe one week. Granted, he had to learn the lay of the land first, but once he did, he realized how different life was here and he wasn’t complaining. He liked the rush of feeling like he was living in the fast lane. Seokmin turned out to be a really great coworker as well as friend. (He hated to admit he was slightly afraid of him though because of the “ghost girl” as he called her that followed him everywhere. DK swore though that she never tried to harm him, but he didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t see what he looked like.) They went to a lot of places together, from the thrift store they regularly delivered to an aquarium on the coast near the outskirts of Seoul. He had a friend who worked there regularly and despite the minor clashes, Seungkwan liked him right away. He also befriended the boy named Hansol, a boy who was literally cold to the touch, only because his roommate started spending more time with a boy she’d met, as he had learned his friends weren’t actors, just heavily sleep deprived.

He became an everyday customer at the Adequate Eternity, learning the names of Wonwoo and Jihoon who both seemed rough on the edges but melted that exterior rather quickly as well as Seungcheol who had a funny way of talking and Chan who he learned couldn’t see colors (and that made him bad for judging the boy when he first saw him. He made it up to him by trying to explain what they looked like though.)

He learned to confide in Jeonghan about his doubts and any worries. Seungkwan knew that he knew about the string (he figured it was Auntie Jihye who told him since they spent so much time together. Jeonghan simply adored her even though she was very sarcastic and tended to hit him playfully. He also learned it was part of the relationship) but he never brought it up in conversation or even hinted if the string even had an endpoint.

He spent many years accepting the fact that it was the mathematical vocabulary word ray; it had a starting point but the string could go on forever. Jeonghan would simply shrug and pull out the pendant he wore around his neck. “It’s like this,” he explained one day when it changed color. “My grandma said it changes according to moods, but it’s not my mood, but rather someone else’s. Some things just don’t have an explanation, and sometimes it’s up to us to find them. That’s why you’re here, right? You didn’t come all this way to get away from home. You want to see where it leads you. I don’t blame you though. I’d be curious too. But regardless, I’m glad it led you here.”

“Hey hyung, what do you think it could be? Why is it us?”

He paused, toying with the object. “Soulmates,” he finally admitted. Some things are much too powerful to be anything else.”

Seungkwan nodded, feeling oddly satisfied with the answer. It was the first time he thought a person could be on the other end and it seemed more probable. He didn’t grow up scorning the idea that someone was out there just for him and he thanked his family for being as open minded as they were about it.

However, he supposed a lot of his nervousness came from the fact that he didn’t know who his manager was, despite the fact said manager phoned in a few times a day. Seokmin often filled her in on the day’s events and assuring her that Seungkwan was being a lot more helpful than he thought, spoiling the fact that he was hired on Auntie’s recommendations. He did speak to Y/N once though and he floored by knowing how friendly she seemed. She shortly explained that she left often because she was a fan of The8’s works and his art popped up all over Asia but she was thankful for him helping out. She was due at the end of the month though and he was excited for that notion.

You were gone a lot longer than you thought and you felt guilty that you hadn’t paid either of your employees but were grateful that they were understanding. You were bummed that you couldn’t get The8′s newest work but it wasn’t a complete loss since you managed to buy one of his books, so it was a small victory. The growling of your stomach made you stop with Yoon Jihye, despite the fact that that it was a little passed closing. Okay it was almost midnight but still. You knocked on the door, and Jeonghan opened the door, giving you your welcome back hug. “Here I was thinking you skipped town and moved to America,” he joked. His pendant was clear that night, but still illuminating the dark place. “Shouldn’t you be home, or on your way there?”

“I was hungry and I needed to check next door first. My priority is to pay whatever damage DK and his friend caused and them too for being good sports. Hi Auntie.”

“Welcome back dearie. We missed you. How was your trip? Unfortunately Seungcheol burned our last batch of zucchini bread so I can’t offer you anything. Poor boy must’ve had a bad day.”

“That’s okay. I guess I can just stop by one of the stores still open. But I guess I’ll see how my business is. Good night.” Luckily for you, Seokmin had started the filing the receipts that needed to be sent out as well as stamping the checks that could be sent out for depositing and you saw several orders with upcoming deadlines as well as rough outlines of how to bunch them together. The place was spic and span, albeit a few stems strewn about. You texted him and told him you’d be closed tomorrow so he could have a couple of days off (which were gonna be paid as a thank you for taking over with no complaints) but you told him to let the new coworker meet you at the coffee place so you could decide if you really wanted him or not. Based on your conversations with Seokmin, he was new to the area but was rather efficient so keeping him definitely seemed likely.

Your growling stomach didn’t let you do much else so before heading home, you did a quick shopping trip just so you could have something in your system because ordering out took too long and it was too late to get pizza delivered. You deliberated with yourself the whole way there. Instant noodles seemed like a really tempting option but you really didn’t want to be hungry again after an hour but a home cooked meal would take too long to prepare and you were sure you’d fall asleep before it finished. You weren’t really a fan of microwaveable food either, so frozen was definitely out of the question as well. So your best option was to have what teenagers ate for lunch: chips and an energy drink. It’d keep you full until morning but you’d switch that for water for the simple reason that you wanted sleep.

You waved to a few of the workers, chatting idly before getting back the mission at hand. You finally found the aisle you were looking for, craving salty and going to the other end of the aisle until you can across the specific brand you were looking for and it seemed like your luck ended there because there wasn’t anymore, or so you thought. You crouched to the bottom row and there was one more left. You didn’t even have to stretch far to get it but you didn’t notice that someone else had their eye on it because they grasped it at the same time you did. “Hey, that’s mine,” you grumbled, ready to fight. You looked at the chips in your hand, and almost dropped them in surprise. The red string on your finger was tied to the other person who was looking just as dumbfounded as you. You stared open mouthed at each other for sometime, the food in question already on the floor. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, extended his hand out in a greeting, which scared you a little but otherwise shook it, disregarding the fact that the custom in South Korea was to bow.

Behind you, a trio of old ladies giggled at the sight which made both of you whip your attention towards them. They said nothing but looking satisfied at how the situation turned out. “Congratulations,” you heard one of them whisper and they disappeared almost as quickly as you noticed them. “Two down.”

“It was you I’ve been looking for,” he murmured in awe. Tentatively, he reached for your hand again, both of you watching the string grow in length when he pulled away and shrinking when he came close.

You broke out into a smile and you were sure you could’ve cried if you weren’t in public. You weren’t weird after all. And then it hit you. Against your better judgment, because hello you just met him, you asked him a single question. “Can you come with me?”

As it turned out, Jeonghan and the old lady were long gone by the time you reached them. Not that it mattered because you had gone back alone because he declined saying he to get ready for work the next day and you respected and admired him for that. He left you his phone number in case he finished early and he suggested Adequate Eternity which was more than convenient for you. You had more than enough time to spare to get to know Seungkwan so you decided to grab him a cup of hot cocoa before you finally met him. Saturday mornings for some reason were busier but that was beyond your control, not that you were in a rush or anything. You took your time starting an order for a grand reopening of an art museum you were so fond of and and giving the place an overall cleaning Since you had finished earlier than planned, you decided to go for the coffee run, locking up just as slowly, well once you were sure someone had your small order ready. The only thing out of the ordinary was quite literally bumping into a girl who seemed more focused on her watch, and before you could open the door for her, she gasped. “My card!” She exclaimed and turned around just as quickly. “I’m sorry!”

Inside, you heard a cry of frustration, followed by the sight of an annoyed Jihoon running out of the bathroom, a bit of toilet paper stuck on his shoe. “Damn it, not again,” he groaned. He resumed his spot next to Wonwoo, and they continued writing down some notes. (At least that’s what it looked like to you.) They argued quietly and it never ceased to make you think they’d end up being those friends who grew old together but instead of spending their days in the park, it’d be here.

Chan waved at you and continued his window cleaning with a newspaper and some kinda drinking alcohol while Seungcheol read his copy out loud. And the people you were looking for were were looking for some keys. “Grandma, where did you leave them?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t ask you to look for them, right?”

“Good morning Auntie. Hey Jeonghan. Auntie, guess what happened last night?”

“From the light in your eyes, I can assume something good.” She pushed Jeonghan slightly. “Isn’t Y/N glowing?”

“Radiant Grandma. Ow! Hey, that wasn’t sarcasm! I meant that.”

“Oh hush, it’s rude to interrupt when someone is talking. Find the keys. Joshua said Babylon’s shipment is a can’t miss! You were saying, my dear?”

“I think-” you snickered at Jeonghan’s face and composed yourself, “I saw someone on the other end of the strand. What does that mean?”

“That I will explain when Jeonghan and I come back. Poor soul didn’t know where he left my keys. I think he’s the one with bad memory.” She winked at you. “Have you met the young man that’s been helping around?”

“Not yet. I told him to meet me here at noon. Um, this is kinda embarrassing, but do you know what he looks like?”

“He’s already waiting for you.” She pointed in the direction of where Seungkwan was sitting, eyeing the red string connecting you both and smiling smugly to herself when she saw the look of surprise on your face. “By the way, you’re soulmates. Jeonghan, let’s move! I have them right here!”

To say the least, you were nervous as you walked up to him. But then again, actually no, there was no then again. How the hell did something like that happen. Soulmates were extinct, weren’t they? There hasn’t been any evidence of them in years, so why now?

“Some things don’t require explanations though, right?”

“Holy shit, can you read my mind too?”

He smiled at you. “No. I was really surprised too but it makes sense. Hannie hyung helped me to understand that.” He pulled at the string and it brought your hand to his. “I guess what we decide to do with the knowledge is up to us. I know I came a long way to find you so I know I’m staying here for the time being. If you’ll have me as an employee and friend, that is.”

“Seungkwan, it would be a privilege to have you here as long as you’d like.” You returned his smile. “It’s officially nice to finally meet you by the way.”

“The honor is mine Y/N.”

A few days later, he took you out to the aquarium his friend worked, casually linking pinkies as you walked along, seeing the marine life, watching them swim in circles and come up for air. “Hey Hansol-ah!” He waved at someone you recognized, but he looked like he was on a date with a girl you noticed as someone from the museum you frequently visited and you smiled shyly at her. “What brings you here?”

“Enjoying the beach vibes my friend.” He waved excitedly at you like you were good friends and you returned the gesture. Anyone Seungkwan was fond of, you adored, especially him because of how well they got along and how there was no secrets between them. “Are you on a date too?”

“Yeah, this is my soulmate Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you. Well, we better get going but it was great to see you Kwannie.”

“You know, I hope he’s as lucky as I am and has a soulmate too. Do you think it could be her?”

You shrugged. You’d found out from Jeonghan that they came back in this century but only a rather near nonexistent percentage. “I’m not sure. It’d be nice if he did too, but if he doesn’t, well, I hope he ends up with someone that could be like one.” You agreed that not everyone was lucky enough to have an other half though. He threw his arm around you as the wind blew and he kissed your hair, messing it up that much more.

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