↱ECHO↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽

第十三

"So how are things going with Seonghwa-hyung so far? I didn't know Wooyoung was leaving, so I'm just kind of surprised. Hyung takes awhile to warm up to people."

"Oh, well he hasn't really warmed up to me yet if that says anything." Hongjoong laughs into his passionfruit and chai tea.

It tastes far better than he expected and it's a nice change of pace from the stuff stocked in Seonghwa's fridge.

To be honest, just getting out of the apartment has been nice, seeing as how his job is nearly 24/7 now that he has a live-in caretaker position.

He looks forward to his daily walks with Joy, but they never go too far.

Yeosang does all the grocery shopping and Seonghwa never really requests anything.

So going out is nice; San is nice.

He's warm and open, yet exudes a careful intelligence that Hongjoong has yet to encounter in this city.

The man had even insisted on buying Hongjoong's drink and offering him some of the pastries behind the counter, but the nurse declined, satisfied with just his tea and pleasant company.

San smiles at Hongjoong's reply and his face dimples adorably.

Adorably?

Hongjoong blinks down at the plastic cup in his hands.

He has no idea why he thought such a thing, but he dismisses it as soon as the other man begins speaking.

"I kind of caught on to the tension," he admits. "It takes a bit, but it does happen. He used to absolutely hate me back in college."

"Oh? You've known him that long?"

"Yeah, I've been with him since he entered into the music program at Seoul National," San explains.

"Of course, back then he was... quite different. Maybe that's why we didn't really get along. I honestly expected him to drop out of the program at some point."

Hongjoong fiddles with his cup and bites his tongue.

He hasn't really been able to discuss Seonghwa's past in detail with anyone, let alone the man himself, but he's curious about what happened.

"Because of the partying, I'm assuming," he adds, eyeing San curiously.

San sighs and it sounds world-weary.

"Well, I wasn't going to say that, but, yeah. I didn't think he would get as far as he did, but the.... accident really helped focus him."

"You don't have to answer this if you don't want to," Hongjoong begins, "but what was he like back then? I've read things, but I just can't see him as that kind of person— You know, wild and... reckless. He seems so controlled now."

San smirks into his cup of coffee.

He seems more amused at the question and Hongjoong breathes out a sigh of relief.