Red Thread || KEPAT

Chapter 1

We live in a world where people really believe in love. When you turn 18 a red thread will be knotted on your finger, meaning you have what they call a soulmate. And the red thread can be only seen by you and your soulmate and it can only be untied by the two of you when both parties agree. It's hard to believe that it's real, but it is.

They consider the people that have a soulmate are perfect and have to be respected. But, for people that have no soulmate are just a waste, they said, so in order to keep the wealthy family's name clean is to hide the truth and arrange a marriage for their children, just like my mother, she doesn't have a soulmate so my grandmother arranged her marriage with a guy who is my father. And now my mother is wishing me to not be like her, Having a hard life.

Soulmates are usually mentioned in novels and shows and that makes the plot ten times better, but what they don't know is that it's what ruins people. Not because of love, but because of the world. No matter how much you love that person, there will still be a time where the world tries to pull you away from each other. I have been having a 'what if's' since I was a kid. I have been preparing for this to come. To be prepared for the future. If i will ever have a soulmate, then I have to be careful. Because there is no love when there is no pain.

I'm Patrick, and I'm an exchange student from Thailand. Today is my 18th birthday. But, I don't really care whether I will have a soulmate or not.

I walked inside the kitchen and saw my best friend Nine cooking breakfast. He greeted, "Happy birthday, Patrick!"

He placed the egg on a plate on the dining table and we began to eat. While eating I can sense that Nine is staring at me waiting for me to talk. I said, "You can ask."

Nine put his head closer to me. "Do you have a soulmate? What?" He immediately asked.

I took a bite on the toast and without looking at him, I said, "I haven't got a red thread. Maybe I don't really have a soulmate."

"Hey. Don't say that. I had a soulmate really, really late." He said and gave me a convincing-but-not-so-convincing look.

"You had your soulmate as soon as you turned 18."

He coughed, feeling embarrassed. He looked around the room, probably trying to find a new topic to talk about. "Well... Anyways you received a package from someone. It's on the coffee table."

I nodded as I put the spoon with rice and egg into my mouth.

After eating I washed the dishes and I took a shower and prepared for school. Then, I grabbed my bag and put it on my shoulder and me and Nine went on our way to my school and him to the university.

When I got inside the classroom, my friend Jiayuan was holding a burger. "Really? 7 in the morning?" I sarcastically said.

He is Jiayuan. The first person that became my friend when I got here in China. He's months older than me and he has a soulmate, but he still doesn't tell me who it is.

"What? I just ate an oatmeal at home 'cause of my mom. I'm still hungry cuz of that." He answered.

I just shook my head and sat on my seat beside him.

"By the way, Happy birthday. Have you got your thread?" He asked and took a bite on the burger.

I take my textbook out of my bag. "Not yet."

"Don't worry it takes time." He said then patted my back.

The teacher entered the classroom and that made Jiayuan startled and start to panic, afraid that the teacher might catch him eating again. "Good morning class." Jiayuan took the last bite of the burger and put it in his bag.