j0ngseiz

[j0ngseiz]

01. goldfish memory

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"i know i'm not your only, but i'll still be a fool, 'cause i'm a fool for you."

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on the way to school, kyorin treads the path of crackling leaves beneath her feet and the cold breeze hitting her face with every step she took. she took the time on her walk to school to start looking up articles online about the so called red string.

all of the articles were the same: only talked of the legend but never spoke of the what ifs. always explaining what it was but not it's significance. kyorin sighed before slipping in her air pods into her ears, putting the volume at 70. she kept her eyes forward for the majority of her walk through the courtyard, not wanting to make small talk with anyone. kyorin preferred to not be spoken to so early in the morning as she's basically waking up herself.

through her peripheral vision, she was able to find her two friends waiting for her outside the school doors. the girl pulls her hands out of her pockets to remove one airpod before putting it back into the case.

"oh? rin! goodmorning!" nari calls out, waving to her friend.

kyorin smiles before waving back, "i told you guys you don't have to wait for me. it's fucking cold, bruh."

"rin, how could you forget?" her other friend, NAM YOOJIN gasps, "a hoe never gets cold, bestie."

kyorin rolls her eyes before pushing yoojin only slightly, "of course you would say that. out of the three of us, you're the only one that would apply to."

yoojin and nari laces their arms with kyorin, them being on both sides of her as the trio walk inside the school. the warm air hits the trio, leaving them to sigh with relief.

"oh my god, that reminds me! we have the annual lantern festival coming up!" nari says with excitement, tugging at kyorin's arm.

"please, enlighten me what that is again and why we should care? we usually never go anyways." kyorin furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

yoojin uses her free hand to open up the door to their classroom, leading the other girls to go in after her. she slides the door closed, slipping her arm out of the lock with kyorin.

"it's the one day in the year that everyone gathers for lanterns in the sky! how could you forget?" says nari as she sits at her desk.

"she has the memory of a goldfish, nari. she barely even remembers her own birthday." yoojin snickers while taking her seat beside nari.

the three of them were the first in the classroom, with other students waiting outside with their friends in the hallway or them running to the cafeteria to get a breakfast snack. kyorin plops her bag down on her chair before returning to the door side of the room where yoojin and nari sat.

"i do not have the memory of a goldfish," kyorin says, pushing yoojin head back by pressing her forehead with the tip of her finger.

nari laughs before replying, "are you sure? you need us to remember when it's your siblings birthday."

kyorin's cheeks flush red before crossing her arms, "that's different. that's my stanky ass brother."

"your brothers hot though, i'd definitely fuck him if he didn't have a girlfriend." yoojin shrugs.

kyorin pretended to gag, "that's disgusting."

"what? me fucking your brother?" yoojin asked.

"no, the possibility of you and i being in laws."

nari held in her laugh while yoojin's jaw dropped before raising her arm back to pretend to get ready to hit kyorin.

"what's so wrong about us being in laws, hm? i'd be a great addition to the eun family." yoojin huffed, crossing her arms.

kyorin shook her head while laughing, dismissing the conversation with yoojin. she turns her attention to nari, "so why are we supposed to care about the festival?"

nari exaggerated a shocked expression before holding onto both yoojin and kyorin's arms, "the red string of fate!"

yoojin raised an eyebrow, "you really believe in that crap?"

"it's romantic! literally it's tradition for a couple's red string to appear at the lantern festival." nari says, planting her hand over heart.

"that's such a myth bruh, the red string isn't even real. the legend even says you're not supposed to see it." yoojin scoffs.

kyorin stares down at the hand that nari gripped on. the red string laced around her pinky lying on the desk. the two friends haven't noticed the string on the desk nor have they even asked about it.

"what if you do see it though?" kyorin asks.

yoojin groans while leaning back into her chair, "aw no, kyo. you're not supposed to agree with her! don't tell me you believe all that soulmate bullcrap."

kyorin shrugs, "it's interesting."

she lied.

"well, you're not supposed to see it. that literally ruins the point of finding your soulmate. if you can see it that would be concerning. i'm pretty sure that's like some type of glitch with the legend?" nari replied with a smile.

kyorin nods, looking down at her hand. the red ribbon that remains untouched mocked her. it did kind of disappoint her to know that it may not even be real. maybe she was just seeing things. kyorin couldn't help but feel a bit upset. so much for a soulmate, she thought.

"a glitch? this ain't some computer valorant shit, bestie. i think you got a few loose screws." yoojin let out a low laugh.

"you'll have a loose screw in your head if you don't shut the fuck up, yoojin." nari flicks yoojin's forehead, causing yoojin to hiss in slight pain.

"but basically, the legend of the lantern festival here is that there will be one couple who will be able to see their red string and become one that day! they say these couples last lifetimes together," nari squeals, "romantic, right? the setting of the lanterns in the sky and all those foods and activities? it's just so romantic to me."

kyorin looked at yoojin who was pointing her finger in mouth, faking a puking expression. kyorin lets out a small laugh, "if you keep doing that, people will think you suck dick for a living."

yoojin rolls her eyes, "romance is an ick."

"you're just mad SUNGHOON has a date for the festival that isn't you." nari teased.

kyorin's jaw dropped, "shut up, he didn't."

"i don't wanna talk about it."

before kyorin could tease her friend, nari nudged yoojin to look out the window of the classroom to see a couple arguing outside. the windows were open so they could hear everything. curious, kyorin shifted her body to look outside as well. the back of another students faced what seemed to be a dark hair colored girl. kyorin couldn't make out her face too well until nari suddenly gasped.

"oh my god, that's JOO CHAERIN."

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"listen, i just think we need to talk about what you're going through!" the girl says, putting her hands in her pockets.

the boy standing in front of her stood there with an annoyed expression on his face, "why? i'm fine so i don't what we have to talk about."

chaerin pinches the bridge of her nose, "i don't have time for this, PARK JONGSEONG. i can't keep up with this relationship when all i do is wonder where the fuck my boyfriend is all the time."

his facial expression changes at the sound of his full name. he sticks his hand out to hold onto her hand but she only pulls her hand away, "if we can't talk about whatever's going on with you whenever you're gone, then i can't be in this position with you anymore."

"chae, c'mon you don't mean that—" he says, tears welling up in his eyes. he didn't mean for it to get this far, he just hasn't been ready yet.

chaerin shakes her head, "i'm done playing games, jay. i love you, i really do. but i won't stay in a relationship where i can't even know where my boyfriend is going after school without telling me anything."

"i'll tell you everything! it's just—i'm not ready yet," he grasps onto both of her hands, trying to look her in the eye. he looks down at his hands, seeing the hint of the red string hanging from his pinky. but his vision began to blur when he realized chaerin won't spare him a glance.

"im done, jay. we're done." chaerin removes his hands from hers, walking away from the boy. leaving him in the garden with only the pieces of his heart to pick up.

he felt his heart pounding through his chest even though it felt like his heart sank to the pit of his stomach. jay watched as chaerin's figure disappeared from his line of sight, but it only made the pain in his heart grow.

jay looks down at his hand, watching the red string in his palm. he was angered by it. the red string didn't matter to him but everyone said it's a big deal. jay clenches his fist, refraining himself from punching whatever was closest. he looked up and looks into the window—eyes meeting kyorin's for the first time.

and for just a second, the red string glowed a beautiful gold color as their eyes met for the first time.

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[j0ngseiz]

00. the red string of fate

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"the world is cruel, but i still love you.

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            the calm of the night was still. soothing sounds of the wind outside mixing with the music coming from her room filled her environment. the sunrise peeked through her curtains, providing the cozy and copious amounts of light in her room.

the night before, while preparing to go to bed, she noticed a red string that was attached to her pinky finger. she'd try grasping onto the string as she had assumed it was just a piece of thread only for her fingers to go right through the red material.

          at first, she thought was going crazy. she constantly looked away from her hand to see if it was just a part of her imagination. every time she would glance back at it, the red string would still sit there pretty as it could be. a mix of feelings ran right through her body, mainly with confusion. it couldn't be her eyesight since her vision wasn't half too bad.

          she tried sleeping it off but it only resulted in multiple failed attempts. she laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling. twisting and turning for hours and hours, trying to sleep but to no avail she ended up pulling an all nighter. she faces her nightstand, picking up her phone while unplugging the charger.

6:00am

          she let out a huff and brings her right hand up, to reveal the same red string wrapped around her pinky finger. every time she attempted to grab the string, her hand would go right through it—as if it wasn't actually there. confusion written all over her face, she stares at her palm trying to make sense of what the red string was.

          she came to the conclusion that she was just seeing things and it's probably because she hasn't slept. as she stumbled out of bed, she thought maybe it'll go away after my nap after school today.

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          fixing her hair after getting ready for school, she glances at her alarm clock which now read 6:37am. looking at herself in the mirror, she adjusts her name tag on her blazer only for her eyes to meet with the red string. she couldn't see it before, but the string wrapped around her pinky nicely into a bow. the manner of the bow managed to plant a smile onto her face.

          walking out of her room, she drapes her backpack over her shoulders while putting her phone into her pocket. patting down her skirt as she walks down the stairs and into the kitchen.

          "hey there, sunshine. sleep well?" her mother greets her, shoving a bowl of dakjuk. the smell of the porridge was as inviting as the appearance was. her mom only made this when the weather was "cold" enough for it. today just so happened to be cold despite the sun shining bright through the windows of the kitchen.

          she took a seat at the table, enjoying the porridge as she was hungry all night but she didn't bother to get up. she was preoccupied thinking about the string.

          "mom, can i ask you something?" she asked.

          "what is it? if it's about sex i don't wanna hear it, EUN KYORIN." her mother says sternly, placing a glass of water next to her.

          "what's the red string of fate?" kyorin says, taking a sip of water.

         the brunette watches as her mom pauses very briefly in her footsteps before turning around, "why're you asking?"

          "me and NARI were talking about it yesterday and it seemed interesting." kyorin shrugs. she wasn't lying, it was merely the half truth.

          about a week before, kyorin had met up with her friends at a study cafe for their exams that were coming up. eventually, as do normal teens do, they grew bored and slacked off. her friend, nari , brought up the topic of the legend of the red string. so she wasn't completely lying to her mom, she truly was curious.

          her mother pauses before answering, "think of it as a soulmates concept, sunshine. it's just another legend where it's like a string that connects you to your soulmate and what not. your grandma talked about it all the time while i was growing up."

          kyorin smiled at the thought of her grandma being giddy of such things, "that sounds cute. so what, did you and dad have one?”

          her mom smiles, "i like to think so, i mean you can't see it."

          kyorin felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach at what her mother had just said, "you're not supposed to see it?"

          she shook her head, "of course not, that ruins the whole purpose of the legend."

          "what if you can see it?" kyorin asked, taking another spoonful of the porridge into her mouth.

          "well, i think you'll have to ask your grandma next time we visit, don't we?" her mother replies, patting her back before exiting from the kitchen. kyorin rolled her eyes in annoyance before glancing at the time again. 6:57am.

          she takes a couple more spoonfuls of the porridge before placing the empty bowl into the sink, filling it with water. she drinks the rest of the water in the glass before placing that into the sink as well. washing her dishes, she watches the red bow constantly going through the physical objects whether it be the sponge and even the water.

         placing the dishes on the drying rack, she dries her hands off but takes one last look at her hand and wonders:

then why can i see the red string?

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[j0ngseiz]

NO STRINGS ATTACHED. enhypen jay.

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PAIRING. park jongseong x oc (as eun kyorin)

GENRES. semi social media!au, fake dating!au, soulmates!au, fluff, strangers to lovers. highschool!au, angst, fluff, suggestive scenes. (& more to be added!)

WARNINGS. profanity, underage drinking (i do not encourage this, please wait for the designated age to drink in your country to drink!), partying, eventual romance, suggestive references/depictions, sexual tension, pet names, miscommunication & misunderstandings, angst, sex jokes, mentions of death. (& more to be added!)

IMPORTANT NOTES. this au is currently unedited! oc is mentioned with she/her/hers pronouns! all ocs belong to me, and any similarities to others are completely coincidental.

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SYNOPSIS.

besides the red string between us, this dating contract will be the only thing that binds us together until it expires. i will be your fake girlfriend and we will be each other’s for only a short while. it’s just like you said, the red string may bound us together but the string itself doesn’t determine who we love

your string connects with mine, but i’m afraid your heart does not belong to me.

🏷 note! this book is written by me that is also being written on wattpad on my account J0NGSEIZ. i hope you guys like this! it means a lot to me & let me know how you think of it! this is ongoing as of 220115 so parts may be uploading inconsistently!

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masterlist.

00. the red string of fate

01. goldfish memory

next part >

more coming soon…