Red Strings

Red Strings 3/?

It had been two weeks since Taekwoon last saw the tattooed man and if he were to be honest, Wonsik never once left his mind. He would catch himself dazing off as he laid in bed, thinking back to the moments that they had shared, dissecting every word that the other had said. His parents would catch him staring intensely at his rice bowl during dinner, lost in thought. They would call out his name repeated before snapping their fingers in front of his face.

They knew something was up and that made Taekwoon worry. They weren't suppose to know that he broke the rules. They started acting the slightest more suspicious, repeating the rules more than once. They would enter his room and converse with him more often even though it was the same story each day.

He had to behave himself better than before. He felt uncomfortable with their attention on his every move. It was about an hour after they left, he was in the kitchen getting some water when his father burst through the front door without notice. Taekwoon paused mid-sip, eyes wide in surprise as his father hastily checked each room in the house before mumbling that he was looking for his wallet. When Taekwoon pointed out that it was in his back pocket, he father scratched his neck with an 'oops.'

Now, he laid in his bed with a newly fueled anger in him. Why was he lying here like a sitting duck waiting for Wonsik to come? Who was the other to him?

That didn't stop him from tugging on the red string that was tied around his pinky finger every few minutes, hoping that each tug would bring the man he wanted to see an inch closer. Sometimes he would think about whether or not Wonsik could feel each tug, if not, maybe his heart strings felt a small pinch— maybe a feeling as though he shouldn't be where he was but somewhere else, with someone else.

That was only wishful thinking though and Taekwoon knew that.

He sighed as he turned on his side, burying his face into the plush pillow that he was hugging tightly to his chest.

Just forget about him and everything, just like Wonsik told him to.

But he knew. He knew that he couldn't forget the man with those piercing eyes that have seen much more than he has. He couldn't forget the way Wonsik seemed to be a living contradicting. He would so nice one second, terrible the next, then caressing his hair and making him feel all sorts of things that were foreign.

And Taekwoon wanted to know what those feelings were.

"I think I'm going the right way..." Taekwoon murmured to himself as he starting looking at his surroundings. If anything, everything looked worse than he could remember. Maybe it's because that infuriating man was no longer with him for him to hold onto but his sense of safety was not present. He was fearing what the other had said.

"The world is much, much worse. Those men could have beat you up real good if you were alone."

He didn't want to get beat up, but he also wanted to find something out.

Ravi.

What had that meant? Why did those men seem to be so fearful of such a simple thing?

Why were they about to apologize?

He couldn't ponder on the thought too long before he stopped in his steps, eyes wide. It was almost like deja vu; the scene that played out in front of him. It was a different person this time but in the almost exact same manner as when he first saw.

Sobbing, pants down, clothing tattered.

Taekwoon heart sped up as a foul taste coated his tongue, one of the same men coming out with another one in tow. His stomach churned with something wretched as he felt fear seep through his skin. To make things worse, he had made eye contact with them.