"My sweet baby Hwa!" Tzuyu greeted him loudly with a hug and squeezed the soul out of him.
Seonghwa laughed and patted the girl's back, "Yeah, yeah, I missed you too!"
"How was summer break?" The girl asked, releasing him so he could answer her question.
The boy mentally recalled every single scene from his break and then nodded.
"Not bad, I guess." Then he clasped his hands together, "Oh! I have something for you!"
Seonghwa then pulled out a box from his bag and shoved it in Tzuyu's direction.
"I know how much you love Tokyo Banana since you never stopped talking about it when you got some from your cousin. So, I decided to buy you one."
Tzuyu looked at the box in her hands with wonder.
"What the fuck? Hwa! Did you go to Japan or something?"
Seonghwa scratched at his neck, "Hongjoong took me."
"Hongjoong as in Kim Hongjoong?" Tzuyu asked with a softer voice this time.
When the boy nodded, she leaped out of her chair and exclaimed, "He seriously took you there?! For your honeymoon?! Are you saying you got married?!"
"I swear to God, Chou Tzuyu! No one got married! Sit the fuck down!" Seonghwa hissed, pulling the girl to sit back down beside him.
It seemed the regular students who always spent their lunch break with them at the dining hall had adapted to Tzuyu's sudden outbursts because some of them sent Seonghwa a smile that screamed'be strong, dude' in passing.
"So?" Tzuyu demanded, folding her hands over the box on her lap carefully.
"Well, he went to take care of some business. And because I was also on break, he decided to take me so we had a small vacation together after his work had been done. It wasn't that grand or anything, really."
"This guy is serious, huh?"
"What do you mean?" Seonghwa asked back, frowning.
"I mean," Tzuyu pursed her lips.
"I don't think anyone would just take anyone for a vacation overseas. And to think he had work to do first, I think you're pretty much fully integrated into his life."
"I literally live at his place, Tzuyu," Seonghwa frowned, "Of course he has accepted me into his life."
"Ugh, that's not what I meant." The girl grimaced.
"I mean, I'm sure he doesn't only see you as his - what's that called again? Sub? Yeah, I don't think he only sees you as his sub. I think he considers you as more than that. I mean, okay, I'm not going to lie. After you told me about your contract with Hongjoong, I kind of did some research about that, and I found out the rules and all this other shit that made me get a headache because, wow, there are so many of them and those kinks-I found out that-"
"Tzuyu, you're getting off track."
"Right." Tzuyu snapped her attention back to their conversation.
"What I mean is that I didn't find any dom so caring like Hongjoong is, so I thought, maybe, he doesn't only see you as a companion? Goddammit, Seonghwa, I'm telling you that maybe he likes you."
Seonghwa frowned and Tzuyu continued.
"Romantically."
Seonghwa groaned, "That's not possible."
"Why not?" Tzuyu shrugged.
"Because we have this clause in our contract telling me that I can't feel any romantic emotions towards him, which means it's not possible for him to have any for me either." The boy sighed hopelessly.
"And it says Hongjoong can revoke the contract if he finds out that I love him." Seonghwa turned gloomy and rested his head on the table.
"I don't want him to revoke the contract. I don't want to part from him. Not this soon, at least."
"Wait. Hwa," Tzuyu called him cautiously.
"Are you - God, do you love him?"
Seonghwa bit his bottom lip and looked away from Tzuyu's awaiting eyes.
He didn't want to admit out loud that the feelings he had have been clawing at his chest for a while now.
"Oh, my God." Tzuyu inhaled sharply.
"Hwa. Seonghwa, you totally do."
"I know I shouldn't. But-" Seonghwa let out a heavy breath.
"He's just-he's too sweet. He treats me so well, he treats me like I'm the most precious thing, you know? He treats me as if he loved me." And then he chuckled weakly, pressing the heels of his palms on his eyelids to hold back the tears threatening to fall.
"But, I know it's not possible."
"Oh, Hwa..." Tzuyu put the box on the table and pulled him into her arms.
"This is stupid." Seonghwa sniffled, chuckling again, "I shouldn't be like this."
"Hwa, I don't know what to say." Tzuyu said.
"This is what I feared the most when you told me about the contract. You realize that even though you distance yourself from most people, you're also someone who gets attached easily, right? I don't want you to get hurt."
"It'll go away. I promise." Seonghwa smiled at the girl.
"It'll take some time. But, I'll handle this. I've been through broken-hearts before, I know what to do."
"You don't make it sound any better." Tzuyu pouted.
"I don't want you to be all gloomy. You're the sunshine on my rainy days."
Despite his teary eyes, Seonghwa laughed wholeheartedly at that remark.
__
Seonghwa rocked back and forth on his heels.
His headphones were blasting into his ears as the remixed song for their choreography was playing on loop.
He couldn't stay still.
He was nervous.
And so were the rest of his teammates.
It was the D-day of the dance competition and Seonghwa couldn't get his mind to focus.
From the waiting area he was pacing back and forth around in, he kept trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of a midnight haired lawyer in the VIP section, but so far, his attempts were still fruitless.
If Jongho noticed him, the instructor didn't say anything, instead, he kept giving Seonghwa pats on the shoulder to tell him that everything was going to be okay.
By the time that there were only three teams left to perform before his, Seonghwa was ushered backstage to get ready.
He ripped his headphones out of his ears and ruffled his already damp hair, trying to make it as wild as their choreography was
From the place he was waiting at, he couldn't see the audience, which meant he couldn't look around to see if Hongjoong had come or not.
Deep in his heart, he was praying that he would find Hongjoong amongst the crowd while he was on stage.
Suddenly, the roaring call was heard, calling the name of their dance team, and he had to forcefully throw away his thoughts of Hongjoong as Jongho pushed him onto the stage.
It was wild, indeed.
It was loud.
It was hot.
It was amazing.
The spotlights felt so hot, glaring above his head.
The bass thumping out of the speakers was frantic, furious.
It was encouraging him to keep moving, keep dancing, keep showing his energy.
The exhaustion he had experienced after each late practice at night had flown away, had been pushed away.
There was only delirious feelings of how their bodies were moving together in synchronized choreography.
Going along to the rhythm of the song.
But, he still couldn't find Hongjoong.
The cheers were loud.
Every single soul was screaming for him and his team.
The MC was shouting into her microphone, encouraging the crowd to keep making noises, exploding the whole crowd with her unbelievably loud voice.
They were worshipping their dance team.
They were voting for them.
They were screaming for them.
This was his and his dance team's stage.
They successfully killed it.
But, he still couldn't find Hongjoong.
Another wave of cheers were heard again and now, it was followed by an explosion in the night sky, sparking the darkness with a colorful burst of fire.
The huge bouquet of flowers, the weight of the framed certificate, and the coldness of the trophy in his arms felt so wonderful.
The tightness of the embrace Jongho gave him was warmth.
The wide smiles and grins of his teammates were his brightness.
But, he still couldn't find Hongjoong.
The grass was dirty.
The spotlights were still on, but they had been dimmed down slightly.
The workers were chatting absent-mindedly, walking around him with metal poles, boards, and everything which had been used to build the stage in their hands.
The banners and tents were starting to get folded and stuffed into a huge chest.
But, by the time the lights were turned off, Seonghwa still couldn't find Hongjoong.
The stage he had stood up on before had been packed up and he still wasn't moving from his spot, standing on the said dirty grass with leftover trash around him, in the middle of darkness on the open field.
The first drop was almost unnoticed.
But the second was definitely cold.
The rest of them followed heavily.
It was raining.
The sign of an oncoming monsoon.
Well, at least figuratively.
The workers started running around, trying to save the electrical equipment first.
That time, Seonghwa finally found Hongjoong.
Seonghwa could sense him by his scent; the fresh smell of aftershave and the fragrance of expensive cologne.
It was all over him, invading his personal space as a thin arm hugged him across his shoulders and chest.
The drops of water weren't falling on him anymore.
There was a black umbrella spread widely above their joined bodies.
But, the drops of tears spilling from Seonghwa's eyes weren't that easy to stop.
"I'm sorry." The raspy voice whispered softly, soft lips brushing accidentally against the shell of his ear.
"I'm sorry I couldn't make it."
Seonghwa didn't say anything.
"You won. I'm proud of you. I'm really proud of you, baby."
The nickname that always brought him either warmth in his chest or a flame under his skin now felt like a thousand needles giving him frostbite.
"Baby?" Hongjoong's voice sounded desperate.
"Please, say something."
That sentence snapped the last string of control Seonghwa had had over his aching heart and he felt his emotions finally take control.
As a form of self-defense to protect the gaping wound in his chest from getting bigger, rage came to the surface.
Seonghwa turned around and then shoved the ruined bouquet of flowers onto Hongjoong's suit-clad chest.
"We're in public."
And then Seonghwa looked up, managing a sarcastic smile to bloom on his trembling lips.
"Thank you for coming, Hongjoong-ssi."
The bouquet fell down at the same time Seonghwa ran away to wherever his tired legs could bring him.