Seonghwa was starting to get annoyed with Jongho. It was one thing to protect him from a potential spy, but to entirely sabotage the conversation and make it incredibly awkward was another.
He finally decided it was time for him to go.
When San and Wooyoung excused themselves and headed home, Seonghwa saw Hongjoong was distracted and pulled out his phone.
Jongho
hey i know i'm the one who dragged you
here but can you give us some space??
i don't think he's going to talk if
you're sitting right between us
fine
but know that i'm still watching
just from a distance
perfect
thank you
i'm getting paid for it so
really thank you 🥰
go please
alright alright
Seonghwa clicked out of the chat just as Jongho stood up, bringing Hongjoong's attention back to them.
"I've got to get my workout in for the night so I guess I'll head out. It was nice meeting you, Hongjoong," he smiled insincerely and walked out of the bar.
Seonghwa sighed relieved. He placed his head in his hands, massaging his temples. He heard Hongjoong move over to Jongho's seat and turned his head back towards him, only to see he was holding his phone.
"Oh my God. Are you serious?!" Hongjoong yelled, gaping at the phone.
Seonghwa felt his breathing quicken, felt his heart pounding. He knew. He saw everything. He had royally fucked up.
"I can explain—"
"You haven't changed my contact name but Jongho gets a teddy bear emoji?! Jongho!?"
Seonghwa almost collapsed in relief.
"He changed the contact against my wishes. I—I don't actually know how to do it. I tried but—"
"Don't worry, I'll do it for you," Hongjoong smiled mischievously and Seonghwa felt his eyebrow arch.
He sincerely doubted he would like the contact name.
Hongjoong giggled to himself as he handed the phone back to him. Seonghwa sighed and checked the new username.
Joongie ❤️
"Hongjooooooooong! If anyone sees this they'll get the wrong idea!" Seonghwa tapped around frantically trying to change it. He didn't notice the hint of disappointment on Hongjoong's face.
"That's what you get for being an old man."
Seonghwa looked up and scowled and Hongjoong smiled back.
Seonghwa finished his drink and started to stand, putting his coat back on.
"Woah woah woah! Where are you going? I'll change the contact back if you want!"
Seonghwa laughed and handed Hongjoong his jacket.
"I need some fresh air. Care for a walk?"
Hongjoong calmed down and nodded, following Seonghwa out of the bar.
It had gotten late enough that the streets were pretty quiet and the traffic lights had switched to flashing red, foregoing their duties for the night. The streetlights shone a dull yellow overhead, filling them with warmth as they passed.
Seonghwa walked slowly, his hands tucked in his pockets. He watched his breath as it left his lips, watched it snake up to the sky before disappearing.
He and Hongjoong walked for about fifteen minutes before either said anything. Hongjoong was the first to talk.
"I think I needed some fresh air too."
"It's really nice out here at night. I haven't lived in the city here for very long so it's still new to me."
"Me too. I'm used to the business of Seoul. It's not so loud out here."
"You came from Seoul too?"
Seonghwa tensed a bit. That meant he could have been working for the corporate branch of JYP.
"Only for the past few years. I grew up just south of it. How about you?"
"I'm from Seoul originally."
"I can't imagine living there as a kid."
"I can't either," Seonghwa sighed before realizing he was sharing way too much information.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing I—I was just a bit of a recluse. I never really made any friends."
"Neither did I."
Seonghwa looked up and saw Hongjoong staring at the pavement. Hongjoong made eye contact and stopped walking, fidgeting with a pebble under his foot.
"I've always been told I have a very loud personality and most kids didn't really get along with me. Once I realized that I kind of kept to myself."
"Who said that? I'll fight them," Seonghwa said while motioning little punches in the air. Hongjoong laughed and pushed his arms down.
"It's fine, I'm over it. I realized I'm just too cool for them," he smiled.
"Good," Seonghwa nodded.
They started walking again in an uncomfortable silence.
"I'm sorry. That was a lot of personal stuff," Hongjoong said shyly.
"I'm the one that brought it up so you have nothing to be sorry about."
"It's just—you're so easy to talk to."
Seonghwa felt his face heating up. He'd been thinking the same thing. He assumed it was because of Hongjoong's spy training or something but apparently it went both ways?
Seonghwa shook his head.
If he was intentionally running the conversation, he would know how easy he would be to talk to and therefore bringing it up would knock Seonghwa off his game. He wouldn't let him get to him. But he wouldn't let Hongjoong know he caught on.
"So are you," he smiled.
They each stared at the ground in embarrassment for a while before Seonghwa decided he had gotten as much information out of Hongjoong as he could for the night.
"I should probably head back home. I've got a bit of cleaning to do before I go to bed."
"Cleaning?? Sorry—it's just—I'm a bit offended that cleaning beats me out."
"Oh trust me I'm not looking forward to it," Seonghwa lied, feeling a bit ashamed that he really enjoyed keeping his spaces tidy.
"I understand, it's alright. Thanks for meeting up with me! I'm glad we got to spend some time one-on-one."
Seonghwa caught that the last phrase was intended to throw him off but he didn't let it.
"Me too. Do you have a ride home?" He wanted to play into Hongjoong's ploy. But Hongjoong nodded his head.
"Yup! Thanks for offering though. See you tomorrow coworker," Hongjoong smiled and Seonghwa smiled back.
"Goodnight Joongie," he teased, referencing the horrid contact name Hongjoong had entered in his phone. Before Hongjoong had a chance to retaliate, Seonghwa hopped into his car which he'd cleverly already walked to.
He waved at Hongjoong before heading back to his apartment in satisfaction.