Red Thread Of Fate

CHAPTER 3

Day 2

I lean into the window of the art room, squinting my eyes to see through. The lights were on and towards the back of the room, a large canvas was propped up on a stand. Upon seeing a pair of chunky lacy boots below the canvas, I enter the room. Jungkook sat on a stool with a black backpack on the ground beside him and earphones plugged into his ears. Today, he wasn't wearing a hoodie over his head. His black hair was parted down the middle with an undercut. He had big dark brown eyes, warm beige-tinted skin and a well-defined jawline. He was beautiful. But what caught my eye was the greenish-yellow bruise over his jaw and a dried-up cut on his bottom lip. Once he noticed me by the door, he removed his earphones and gave me a small smile.

"Hey Jungkook" I greet while approaching the man.

"Hi" he smiles back politely.

"Can I take a look?" I point towards his painting

"Oh sure, but I'm not done yet"

I stand beside him and examine his artwork

"Wow" I whisper in disbelief. He was only painting the scenery in front of him, but it was beautiful.

He notices my jaw hanging open and lets out a small giggle. "Thank you"

"How long have you been painting?" I question

"Since I was 10" he replies while working on his painting.

"Do you always come here?"

"I come early morning and leave late at night"

"I see" I grin while taking a mental note.

I noticed my staring was making him uncomfortable, so I decided to grab a canvas and paint something. I prop my stand beside him and begin to paint the same scenery that he was painting. A few minutes pass before he speaks up.

"So, how are you liking it here?" he questions

"It's nice, but it's kind of lonely when you have no one to rely on"

"Yea, I know that feeling" he forces a laugh

I peer over at him. It was hard to read his expression but I kind of knew the meaning behind those words.

"Well, why don't we become art buddies?" I say with a smile

He raises an eyebrow "Art buddies?"

"Yea, since we both don't have anyone to rely on, we can help each other out"

He pauses for a second, thinking about my words. His lips curve into a wide smile and he chuckles. "Sure"

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Day 5

A few days went by and Jungkook was slowly getting comfortable with me. I sat beside him in the art room, quietly working on my painting.

Suddenly, the door swings open.

"Yah"

Our heads dart over to the door in surprise. Oh God, it was Jungkooks stepbrother. He had a cold expression with a dark look in his eyes. Jeez, this guy was creepy. His eyes suddenly dart to me, as if he just noticed me. His expression immediately changes and he grins widely.

"Ah, Y/n, nice to see you again"

I wanted to slap him silly, but for the sake of my plan, I had to hold back.

"Jin was it?" I ask with a tilt of my head.

He lets out an awkward laugh. "Actually, it's Chul"

"My bad" I fake a laugh and continue painting. Chul brushes off my behaviour and approaches me.

Chul clears his throat. "So you're an art student?" he asks while examining my artwork. "Wow, you're an incredible artist!" he claps.

"Not as good as Jungkook" I look over at Jungkook "You have to teach me your ways, art buddy"

Jungkook briefly smiles but tries to hide it.

"Art buddy?" Chul questions, "Lucky you Kook, your first friend" he pats Jungkooks shoulder with an irritated smirk.

I roll my eyes but decide to reply. "Really? I must also be lucky then"

Chuls smirk disappears. That was satisfying to see.

"Anyway, Jungkook, I need to talk to you. I'll see you next time Y/n" he winks before leaving the art room.

With a grim expression, Jungkook grabs his bag and follows Chul. I watch the two men leave the room before sneaking towards the door. I peek out and spot the two across the hall. Jungkook took his wallet out of his bag and handed a large sum of money to Chul.

Why the hell?

Chul rips the money out and counts through it. He shoves it into his back pocket and says something I couldn't hear. Before leaving, he poked at Jungkooks shoulder and smacked him across the head.

Dickhead

Jungkook stood there silently with his head lowered down. I suddenly felt a little tug, making me jump. The red string appeared. But I didn't even have time to process what that meant. I had to run back to my seat before Jungkook found out I was eavesdropping.

A few seconds pass and Jungkook enters the room and takes his seat. He didn't look or even talk to me. He just grabbed his paintbrush and continued painting. I notice his tight grip and shaking hand from the corner of my eye. I think it's better if I don't speak right now.

The silence lasted for an hour before he decided to leave. There's no point in staying since he's gone so I'll leave too. One thing I did make a note of was the issue with money. When I headed out this morning, the tenant reminded me to pay rent. I didn't even think about that until she mentioned it. I guess I should find a job.

I remember seeing a small convenience store near my apartment this morning. I head over there and ask for night shifts. Since I'll be spending my days with Jungkook, night shifts would be more convenient. They only had weekend shifts available, but it was good enough. They asked me to start immediately, which was surprising, but I agreed anyway.

While waiting for customers, I recall my days with Jungkook. I have noticed something. I've never seen him eat. He drinks water but whenever I asked him if he wanted to get food, he would always say he already ate or wasn't hungry. The scene of Chul taking Jungkook's money crosses my mind. Is that why he wasn't eating...because he had no money!?

Oh, man. I really hope it's a coincidence. Maybe I'm overthinking this. But this seems serious.

I didn't expect this to be so hard.