Nosferatu || Seongjoong ✓

4| Sleepless nights

Already the day after he had gotten the job at the large research center, he had run to the small café he normally worked at. Of course, Seonghwa could just have sent a message to his boss, but because he got a short week before he would start at his new job, Seonghwa thought he might as well take some more guards at the café. On the other hand, his boss probably wouldn't be so grateful if he suddenly just quit without any warning. And Seonghwa certainly didn't want the café to close as well, as it had always been his favorite café. It was impossible to count how many hours the dark-haired boy had spent sitting and studying at the very familiar place...

The little doorbell rang as he stepped in and was greeted with a pleasant warmth as opposed to the cold outside. It was raining that day. With a quick glance around, he didn't find quite a few people sitting here, but it was also quite understandable for a Tuesday morning when most people were at work or school.

"Seonghwa!" there was a voice that disrupted the air and caught the young man's attention. 

It was an even black-haired man with some characteristic broad shoulders. His face beamed with a smile as he walked towards Seonghwa. 

"I'm glad to see you here, but I thought your guard started a little later?"

A feeling of guilt suddenly broke down in Seonghwa and he forced his smile ahead. Maybe it was a bad idea to show up to quit the job?

"Yeah uh Seokjin, actually it was  to talk to you about something .." Seonghwa said cautiously, his gaze only slightly focused on his boss's.

Seokjin immediately caught the other male's mood and frowned.

"Is something wrong?"

Seonghwa shook his head lightly, cracking a smile. Then he took a deep breath and looked directly up at his boss, "I got the job at the research center and actually came to quit this job."

Seonghwa looked down and laughed awkwardly as he scratched his neck. And the other didn't say a single sound, which only made the atmosphere even thicker.

"Wow... Uh, I don't really know what to say .. Congratulations on the job."

The sentence cut deep into Seonghwa, he knew the other would react like this. For many years, Seonghwa had worked at the cafe, which of course meant that he had a close relationship with his boss. Seokjin had literally seen the black-haired boy grow up, and suddenly not having him to be in the cafe was not very pleasant news. But of course, he knew it would happen one day, so it wasn't that surprising.

"But I can work all this week anyway. I won't start before Monday," Seonghwa continued as he poked his coat a little.

The elder nodded with a smile, "Yeah that sounds good, then I have to see if I can find someone who can replace you."

He laughed a little and Seonghwa tried to smile.

"Sorry hyung.." Seonghwa said quietly, the guilt engulfing him, and he just had to apologize for his resignation, even if it wasn't his fault or anything he should feel guilty about.

With motioned hands, Seokjin shook his head, "No, don't apologize. Come and sit down and I'll have you a cup of coffee at the house's expense."

The midnight-haired boy gave Seokjin a big smile and followed with relief. Fancy the sound of a cup of coffee could soothe one so much...




After Seonghwa sent the first message to his best friend, he suddenly had the courage to sent some more. He kept doing so, but Hongjoong had not seen a single one of them and far from answering them and Seonghwa had dark bags under his eyes because of sleepless nights. There was something completely wrong and he just knew it. The only person who could keep his days together was Emma. She was and always would be his little ray of light to show him the way.

It was Sunday and Hongjoong was originally supposed to be visiting by but instead, the house was just empty. Seonghwa wasn't really present and it made the air empty and tasteless in his house. He had the sickest knot in his stomach reasoned he still hadn't visited Hongjoong to find out what had really happened, but he just didn't dare to do so. It was a heartfelt fight against himself, and it just made him so exhausted.

Then he got up from his seat on the couch and moved toward the kitchen, and for a second it felt as if time stopped and no sounds could be heard. Only Seonghwa's breathing and his cellphone ringing in with a message. He froze in the spot and slowly turned around on his heels until his gaze now landed on the cell phone, lit by an on-screen notification. He did not think the thought through once before flying towards the device on the table, and he unlocked it faster than he had ever done before. He held his breath as his eyes darted across the screen and pulled in every little information that was written and sent to him. And almost disappointed he breathed out again, his fingers pausing over the keyboard to write another message.

Hongjoong:
Sorry Hwa, I can't come today, unfortunately I got sick...

What does this now mean? The younger male hadn't answered any of his questions. Seonghwa felt rejected at a point and had now only been confirmed in the fact that something had happened.

So he sent a message saying he could come over with some food. But over and over again, Hongjoong kept writing how sick he was and how he didn't want to infect Seonghwa, and eventually, the black-haired boy gave up. Nothing could move the younger male, nor would he push him too much.

"Fuck I need some sleep," the young man said sighing to himself as he tiredly ran a hand over his face.

Then he finally threw away the phone and decided not to touch it until tomorrow morning.

†