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Seonghwa awoke the next morning to the buzz of his phone ringing under his pillow. His hand traveled blindly around his sheets and under the soft cushion, grasping at the vibrating device. With his eyes still tiredly closed, he answered the call and put the phone to his ear. "What?" His voice was deep and husky due to just waking up.
"How was your night?" He recognized his father's voice on the other line.
He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose and squinting his eyes as they fluttered open forcefully. "Dad, it is literally-" He pulled his phone away from his ear to check the time, "It's fucking 9am on a Saturday morning. Are you seriously calling this early just to ask how my night was?"
"Well I need to know all I can about this boy. He is by far the biggest mystery we've encountered yet." Chanyeol sounded desperate. He needed to get to Hongjoong to destroy his father.
"There's not much to say other than he's the biggest asshole I've met." Seonghwa sighed as he dragged himself out of bed, his legs dangled loosely over the mattress, his head hung low as he tried to gather his surroundings. He was shirtless with only a pair of grey joggers adorning his legs.
"Not even a spurt of aggression, or pushing you around in any type of way, any murderous tendencies?" There was craze coating Chanyeol's tongue as he spoke caused Seonghwa to grimace.
He ran his fingers through his raven hair and pulled himself onto his two feet, "You sound ridiculous."
"Just answer me." He was clearly impatient.
Seonghwa put his phone on loud speaker and set it on the dresser as he began making his bed. "The answer is no. To be fair, the kid seems as neutral as it gets. I went through his stuff yesterday and it seems like he goes to school to study music."After fluffing his pillows, he picked up his phone again, "There is no way he has ever killed anyone before. So, I have no idea how you've heard all this bollocks about him."
"I know I'm not mistaken. There is something deeper going on here, and I have a feeling Minseok also has something else up his sleeve."
"Or maybe you're just over-thinking."
"Shut up and keep your guard up. The Kims are dangerous people."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Seonghwa ended the call and rolled his eyes. It was too early for this.
With another comb through his hair, Seonghwa left his bedroom and walked downstairs to prepare himself a cup of coffee for the morning. Only he wasn't expecting to be startled by a small figure asleep on the island counter. Hongjoong's blond curly hair stuck messily to his forehead, his eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were formed into a bratty pout with a string of drool pooling onto his laptop.
Seonghwa scoffed, "What kind of idiot falls asleep like that?" He muttered to himself. He walked past the younger, disregarding him for the time being, and began making his warm drink.
While the kettle was boiling, he turned to lean on the counter, facing Hongjoong. He had yet to fully acknowledge the beauty of the boy, despite his denial. Anyone could see that Hongjoong was somewhat ethereal, he had a type of elven grace about him that enhanced his femine features. It was cute, Seonghwa found it easy to endure that.
After his coffee was finished, he walked up to the younger and slammed his laptop closed, which only hit Hongjoong's head harshly, causing his torso to jump up in exhaust surprise while he rubbed his head where he'd been hit. Seonghwa just chuckled in amusement as he sipped neatly on his beverage. "You do have a bedroom, y'know?"
Hongjoong's eyes got stuck on the elder's exposed torso. Seonghwa smirked knowingly, "Like what you see?"
Hongjoong gave him a dirty look as he re-opened his laptop. "Leave me alone." He Hopped off of the stool and walked around the counter over to his boxes. Seonghwa watched with careful eyes as the smaller brought out a set of headphones and a small keyboard. Hongjoong set it all up before picking up one box and leaving Seonghwa alone in the kitchen as he packed away his stuff.
Although Seonghwa, being the curious cat he is, decided to observe the laptop screen. It seemed like Hongjoong was making a song, but Seonghwa knew nothing about the sort, it didn't stop him from getting intrigued and pressing play.
The melody was smooth, not upbeat, but also not saddening, it brought comfort to Seonghwa in an unfamiliar way, soothing his mind. It was drawing him in so much that he almost didn't catch the meaning of the lyrics. There weren't many, he assumed the song wasn't fully finished yet, but this small rap part was sung in a boyish and giddy voice, almost forgein if Seonghwa didn't know who it was.
Why is my life so dark?
Why always makes me hard?
A lost heart
The burden on my shoulders
Let's wait a little longer
Even if it's cold
It's gonna rise, sooner or later
Let's wait and see, alright
It was like Hongjoong had made the brightening melody to distract the listeners from the sorrow hiding behind the lyrics.
Seonghwa read the title, sunrise. His pride didn't allow him to appreciate the art.
As he heard Hongjoong's footsteps, he quickly pressed the space bar and moved over to the pantry. The younger still looked at him with suspicious eyes when he continued moving boxes up and down the stairs.
While Hongjoong was busy upstairs, a ring at the door caught Seonghwa's attention. It wasn't the doorbell, it was the signal that someone was walking in freely. Cautiously, Seonghwa put down his mug, his focus not leaving the hallway that led to the front door, advancing slowly towards the magnetic knife holder on the wall. His finger grasped the smallest one so he could hide it behind his back and then he walked closer.
The moment a silhouette was spotted, Seonghwa flicked his wrist that held the kitchen utensil. It flung out of his grip rapidly, scarring the white wall behind the new figure, or figures?
Seonghwa breathed out heavily in relief. Thank God he only used that as a warning shot. "How the hell did you three get in here?"
The culprits all had wide eyes and their hands held up in surrender, mockingly. "Your father asked us to bring the spare key for your hubby." Mingi spoke.
"Actually, he asked me." Jongho then gestured to the other two, "They just tagged along because they're nosy."
San nodded in defeat, "Is he here?"
Seonghwa rolled his eyes and went back into the kitchen, the others following closely behind before taking their seats on the island. The oldest ignored the question and changed the subject, he didn't want to talk about Hongjoong. "Are you hungry?"
A heavy hum came from Mingi, he rubbed his stomach and stared into space as if he was in heaven. "Yes. It's been a while since we've had your cooking."
Seonghwa just started his task of making breakfast for the four of them, creating a clutter in the meantime.
Jongho's finger danced over Hongjoong's equipment opposite them, "What's all this?"
Seonghwa peaked behind him, "That is Hongjoong's stuff." He shrugged his shoulders, "I think he makes music or some shit."
"So where is he? I wanna meet him." San spoke.
"And here I thought you wanted to see me." Seonghwa said sarcastically.
San scoffed, "Don't be silly, and stop avoiding my questions." The pout was practically seeping through his voice, Seonghwa didn't even need to look at him to know.
"He's upstairs, jeez."
As if on cue, Hongjoong was spotted coming down the stairs. The tip of his nose met the knife sticking out of the wall. He stared at it with crossed eyes before jamming it out. With four sets of eyes watching him, Hongjoong walked into the kitchen, disregarding them all, sitting at his stool, the knife being placed beside him. An eyebrow cocked up and then he looked at the three newcomers and then back at Seonghwa who wasn't even looking at him. "Who touched my laptop?"
"No one." Seonghwa replied.
"It says at least 2 minutes have been played." Hongjoong explained. "Someone has touched it."
Seonghwa slammed down the spatula he was using and faced the younger who was already glaring at him, he glared back with equal force. "So what?" He stepped forward, towering over Hongjoong, "What are you gonna do, Huh?"
"Get away from me." Hongjoong spoke, his voice quieter after each syllable.
Seonghwa held back the need to scoff so hard in his face. This is the guy he has been told to watch out for? He's pathetic and weak. "Or what?" He provoked.
"Hwa-" Mingi tried to speak up but was cut off by Seonghwa holding his hand up in a stop gesture.
"No. He thinks he's all big because of his father, and because of the false reputation he has been given." He poked Hongjoong chest, which he found surprisingly broad, with a smirk gracing rudely over his lips. "You are nothing. Just because we are married doesn't mean you are something to me other than a nuisance."
Hongjoong was desperate to fight back, but other than Seonghwa's obvious dominant energy, he couldn't risk losing control. So instead, he shut his laptop and grabbed all of his stuff before barging out of Seonghwa's grip. Yet he stopped before he reached the stairs and faced them again, "Believe what you want about me, just don't call me weak. I am anything but." And then he continued his route to his room.
"Was there any need to be that harsh? He is your husband after all." Jongho said.
"Only on paper. In reality, he is nobody to me."
"Can you just hurry up with making food? I am starving." Mingi moaned.
San nudged him, telling him now was not the time. "At least he's cute."
"San, you think everyone is cute. You once dry humped a traffic light." Jongho mocked.
"I was drunk!"