end of the day | seongjoong

chapter seventy four

as nine thirty neared, seonghwa's nerves picked up even more than before. a few minutes prior, hongjoong's mother had left to pick the boy up from wooyoung's house. seonghwa knew it was only a matter of seconds before they arrived back home, meaning it was only a matter of seconds before he had to apologize to hongjoong.

what if he doesn't accept my apology? so far, everything has gone right with his family members, too right if i'm being honest... maybe this'll be my rude awakening...

before seonghwa could think any further, the front door of the kim residence opened. he stayed as quiet as a mouse, not wanting hongjoong to know that he was lurking in his house just yet.

"mommy, i think i'm just gonna go to bed now. i know you wanted to watch spongebob with me, but i'm really sad... i don't think i'll be able to do it." seonghwa heard hongjoong say to his mother and his heart dropped, hoping the whole plan wouldn't be ruined because of this.

"no, you can't!" ms. kim exclaimed, "i have a surprise for you in the kitchen that you need to see, i think you'll be wide awake after you see what it is."

hongjoong was confused by his mother's statement at first, furrowing his eyebrows at her sudden enthusiasm. but after taking one deep breath in, he smelt the strawberry shortcake from the kitchen, a large grin forming on his face afterwards. he squealed out loud, skipping his way over to the kitchen happily.

seonghwa heard the boy's tiny feet skipping on the ground and his heart rate increased significantly. he took a deep breath, standing up from the seat he was sitting in at the kitchen table. he moved the cake to sit right in front of him, the frosting writing out 'i'm sorry' in sparkly red icing.

when hongjoong entered the room, his smile immediately turned into a frown when his eyes met seonghwa's. seonghwa's heart dropped, immediately figuring that the night would not end well.

before he even opened his mouth, hongjoong quickly turned around to face his mother who was still standing by the front door, giving seonghwa his backside.

"mommy, why is he here? how did he get in the house? why is he standing by my cake!" hongjoong cried out, tears threatening to fall down his cheeks as he screamed at his mother. chinsun walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, giving hongjoong a weak smile.

"baby, i let him in. seonghwa has a lot to say to you and he asked me if it was ok. he even helped me make the cake for you. can you please go over there and listen to what he has to say? i think you'll appreciate it." ms. kim said sweetly to her son, hoping he would listen to her word and wouldn't run off to his room.

hongjoong looked down at the ground, pondering what he should do in his head. he let a few tears escape his eyes, the salty liquid splashing on the tile floor below him. he eventually lifted his head and nodded it, hesitantly turning around from his mother and walking closer to the kitchen table.

"i'm going to leave you two alone to talk. if anyone needs me, i'll be in my bedroom." chinsun excused herself, waving goodbye to both boys in the room. hongjoong waved weakly and seonghwa bowed respectfully to the woman before waving goodbye.

"so, why are you here?" hongjoong asked with venom in his words, not even bothering to look up into seonghwa's eyes. seonghwa expected this reaction so he didn't react negatively, already having his whole speech ready for the boy.

"hongjoong, i messed up. i messed up t-terribly." seonghwa started, immediately getting choked up as he spoke.

"yeah i know you did. what about it?" hongjoong sassily asked, crossing his arms as he replied.

"w-well, i'm here to apologize for it. now, don't get me wrong... you don't have to accept my apology, because hell, i don't know if i could forgive someone if they did what i did to you, but i hope you realize how genuine i'm being when you hear what i have to say.