赤い糸 - Red String of Fate | JeongSa - MiChaeng

Chapter 1 - Coffee

The day had finally come.
The first day of university life.

Jeongyeon and Nayeon decided to walk to campus together. Jeongyeon, oddly enough, dragged her luggage along. It looked strange, but she didn't really care.

Class wouldn't start for another hour, so instead of heading straight to the lecture hall, they stopped by the campus canteen. They browsed through the menu for later, and both ended up buying a cup of Americano.

coffee~ uuu bitter ~

While sipping hers, Jeongyeon suddenly noticed something missing from her wrist. Her face stiffened. She quickly told Nayeon to go to class first, masking her expression with a poker face. She didn't want to make her friend worry.

.

.

But inside, Jeongyeon was panicking.

Her eyes darted around as she searched desperately. How could I be so careless... I should've tightened it after showering.

It was a handmade bracelet from her grandmother, given to all the grandchildren. She and her sister had one each. Normally, it never slipped off, even when loose. But today, of all days, it had vanished.

Frustrated, she scanned the floor. That's when she noticed her shoelace was undone. Kneeling down to tie it, she set her Americano beside her.

*Splash* 

The cup tipped, coffee spilling across the floor.

"!?" Jeongyeon froze, startled, and looked up.

Standing in front of her was a girl with long hair and round, hamster-like eyes, flustered and apologizing with her friend beside her.

"Omo! I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy! plase forgive me!" the long-haired girl exclaimed in a panic.

"..." Jeongyeon stayed silent. Her mind was still fixed on the bracelet, not the coffee.

"Please, let me buy you a new one!" the girl pleaded.

But Jeongyeon wasn't interested. She stood up, brushing off the situation. "No need. Just watch where you're going next time." Her tone was blunt, and she walked away quickly to continue her search.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm. Jeongyeon turned. It was the other girl—the one standing beside the apologetic long-haired girl. Her sharp eyes glared at Jeongyeon, expression dark with annoyance.

"Excuse me!? My friend is trying to apologize and replace your drink. What kind of attitude is that!?" she snapped, her tone icy.

"Tzuyu-ah, it's okay..." the long-haired girl tried to calm her down.

"Well, I'm sorry, alright? But I really don't have time. I need to do something important," Jeongyeon muttered, pulling her arm free before walking off.

Tzuyu? That doesn't sound like a Korean name... Is she an international student?

Tzuyu? It's not a Korean name, Is she an international student?

The girls murmured behind her about her rudeness, but Jeongyeon had no time to care. As she walked through the corridor toward class, her mood sank lower and lower.

Nothing's going right today... And my bracelet is still gone.