Iseul looked down at his pinky, a red string tied to it in a neat bow. He let his eyes drift down the line of it, knowing that it would land on Areum's own pinky. Ever since he could first remember, he's always been able to see this red string, even if others couldn't. He remembers he even tried to follow it one time when he was younger but his mother held him back, saying that his soulmate will be at the end and he'll see them soon enough.

It kind of hurt Iseul. He blamed himself immensely for whatever happened to him that time before. Ideally, he should be in jail, right? Yet Areum, the person he hurt in the first place, had believed every word he said. Most everyone else in his life never believed him when he did something horrible and told them it wasn't really him. Whenever he'd tell people about Haneul, they'd only make his punishment worse for 'lying'.

Not Areum, though. When Areum believed him and when she forgave him, that's when Iseul realized one of the reasons she was his soulmate. She forgave him and believed him every step of the way. There was nothing she wouldn't understand. Even if everyone in the world hated him, she'd always love him and that was something that he's always needed.

He couldn't help but smile at her. She's taken everything rather well and finally, finally moved on like he asked her to. After he did those terrible things to her, he realized he can't possibly have her anymore. No matter how much tears she cried over him, no matter how much she begged or pleaded and no matter how much heartbreak she was in when he kept telling her she should look for another love, he always kept his distance for the first few months.

It's not like he ever stopped loving her. He just stopped loving himself. He couldn't love her if he did all of those things to her. He doesn't even remember doing most of it. He wanted to move on too, truly he did. He wanted to be able to love somebody and have a relationship but every time he thinks of it, he always reminds himself of Areum. He reminds himself of what happened to the person on the end of that string and how he let the relationship fall between his fingers like sand.

There's a reason for everything... Maybe this was a lesson that you can't be loved... That you can't love in return.

Over and over again, that sentence would play in his mind. It was infuriating and, most of the time, he'd cry at the thought of it, if only a little. Iseul could only blame himself. He had done this, so only he may pay the price. He was not going to put blame on someone else, even if that would be the easier way out. No, his own mind and body had done this, right? He's insane and dangerous. He needed a straight jacket from the start.

All his thoughts are centered around this. Iseul knows his mind is trying to bully him again. He knows that his mind is trying to make him feel even more shitty than he already does. Like some sick form of self punishment even if most of his punishment has already been dealt out. How long had he been doing this to himself? Years, possibly.

Still, he finds it a miracle that he is able to watch Areum from afar. It was a blessing and a privilege he doesn't plan on losing. He gets to see how much she's grown after the whole ordeal and gets to see who she's with. He gets to protect her from anything she doesn't handle first and even gets to make new friends. Some call Areum naïve but Iseul doesn't see her as that. He sees her as a person who still believes that even the worst person can change.

That belief is what's different about her. It's what makes her special. She's always seen the good in him, even when he wasn't a good guy in her story anymore. Even if she feared him at one point.

Areum was a special girl. She was beautiful, strong and courageous. Despite her merciful ways with him, he knows she's strong. He knows she would've easily killed him if she had enough willpower to do so. She was able to dance with the devil and slap him in the face without ever batting an eye. If that's not brave,
Iseul doesn't know what is. If anything, she was his knight in shining armour.

He knows that Areum was someone to be feared. He knows not to underestimate her abilities and knows that she's a hell of a lot stronger than what people give her credit for. Despite him knowing this, he couldn't fear her because the mere thought of her gave him a reason to smile.

Iseul is never going to untie his red string. He knows Areum won't be able to either. Only a few people are able to see the fate string, him being one of them but he was never sure about Areum. She never mentioned it but that doesn't mean she can't see it. Hell, he never mentioned it to her so why would she bring it up?

No matter how much Iseul says he wants to cut that string or how much he wants to leave it for another fated person to cross paths with Areum, he couldn't. He was only lying to himself and knew that, no matter what, him and Areum may never stop loving each other fully. They may never be able to forget about one another and that was okay.

As long as Areum is happy with someone else, that's all that matters. As long as she finds someone other than him, that's the only important thing to Iseul. We won't ever let go of each other's hands... But that's fine because we have another hand that needs occupying.

A/N: Iseul knowing that Areum is his soulmate and knowing that the relationship that could've ended in marriage fell apart because of his bitch of a brother? Yeah, don't mind me, I'm just sobbing. To add onto that, he knows that he will love her for eternity? Riding a wave of my emotions.