Empire | ATEEZ

026

As the days went by, I became increasingly unsure of myself despite my monologue from the spot on my floor.

I was also becoming increasingly nervous and unsure whether it was actually me, and not Seonghwa, who needed the other more despite having declared the opposite to the empty room.

I was embarrassed to admit that, despite the fact that I had bitterly stated that I would rather he stayed in his own room after the incident in the hallway, I didn't even know what to call it, I had stayed up most of the night, secretly anticipating and maybe even hoping that he would sneak through the door and come talk to me, make up with me.

He didn't.

Seonghwa had stayed away, alright. He had kept his distance and, when it wasn't possible to avoid me completely because of meetings or briefings with the entire group, he had barely even looked at me.

An entire week passed by like that.

An entire week of glares, low-spoken insults and complaints, cold shoulders, and at last, utter silence between the two of us as neither wanted to be the one to break the ice that was slowly forming.

At some point, the situation had become so sad and pitiful that I had to fuel myself with at least a little bit of happiness before I would truly have to crawl into the loneliness of my own room and let out the tears that had been threatening to spill as my frustration continued to grow.

I ran a hand through my hair as I turned the corner and dragged myself through the door to the kitchen, having waited until long after darkness had fallen in the hope that, despite the many aspects of the others' jobs that required them to head out at night, I would at least get some time to myself.

But I froze as my eyes locked onto Mingi who sat hunched over by the kitchen island in the dimly lit kitchen, supporting his head with one hand while holding a spoon just above the tub of ice cream he had been eating as he returned my stare, looking slightly taken aback.

I cleared my throat, "I can come back later if you want to be alone," I said, still feeling guilty about the other day.

"If it gets any later than this, you'll be having ice cream for breakfast, Nari," he hummed, digging back into the ice cream as he lowered his gaze and let out a deep sigh, "Just grab a spoon and sit down. You look like shit so we might as well share."

"Thanks," I breathed, following his suggestion as I pulled out a chair next to him, "I really needed to hear that. You're such a good friend," I said sarcastically, "You don't look much better yourself, though. What happened?"

He pushed the tub closer to me without answering, mumbling "Friend," under his breath as he bit his lip and nodded a little. I scrunched my nose as I realized that the ice cream was already melting, digging my spoon in nonetheless.

"Have you talked to him?" Mingi mumbled.

"I don't even want to talk about him," I sighed.

A moment of silence passed between us. I felt so guilty, so responsible for the blond's mood despite not even knowing what was wrong, not even having the courage to ask.

"Should I keep up my end of the bargain now, then?" he asked. I furrowed my brows slightly in a silent question as I turned to face him, his dark eyes the same colour as the night outside.

"It'll be impossible to name every group out there, so I'm going to stick with the five most powerful after us," he said, immediately making me light up as I realized what he was saying.

I pushed the tub of ice cream back to him, gesturing for him to dig in as I leaned my head on my hand and watched him carefully, expectantly.

"You already know about Nocturne, its members, and the shit they've done. I'd rather not get into any of that though. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Mingi said, straightening himself slightly as he looked down at me and sighed.