𖡼𖤣𖥧𖡼𓋼𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊
"So, Joong, who kissed your cheek last night?"
"Yeosang, for the last time, I'm not telling you."
The next day, Yeosang didn't let up on teasing Hongjoong.
As they walked to the Grand Apartments to begin their assistance with San's final project, Hongjoong did his best to keep a poker face.
He refused to give in to Yeosang's persistence.
"Oh, come on! Who is she?" Yeosang whined, poking Hongjoong's arm.
Hongjoong bit his lip.
Of course Yeosang would assume it was a 'she.'
Hongjoong did his best to keep his own interests vague, despite being openly attracted to girls.
But with Seonghwa, he felt different.
He hadn't felt like that since...
Jackson reappeared in Hongjoong's mind, and he shook his head to clear his thoughts.
There was no way he could tell Yeosang that he and Seonghwa were kinda seeing each other.
It would be too much.
If I did, it would seem like I'm coming out or something.
Hongjoong reasoned with himself.
But I'm not, because I'm not gay.
I just...
"Earth to Hongjoong!" Yeosang tugged the back of Hongjoong's shirt. "You're about to run into a pole!"
Sure enough, Hongjoong was an inch away from ramming his forehead into a streetlamp.
"Oh... thanks." Hongjoong sighed.
Yeosang eyed his friend suspiciously.
Hongjoong had been very distracted lately.
Ever since he went looking for Seonghwa on Halloween, Hongjoong has been behaving differently.
Sometimes he seemed content, and other times, like now, he seemed distant.
Just the mere mention of relationships made Hongjoong uncomfortable.
Is there something going on between them?
Yeosang wondered.
Is there really a girl in the picture?
I could ask Seonghwa-hyung if anything is going on, but since Hongjoong seems so uneasy, I won't.
If he trusts me, he'll confide in me.
If Hongjoong is indeed seeing some girl, I wonder how Seonghwa would feel about it?
Yeosang shook the weird feeling off, believing he was making something out of nothing.
They arrived at the Grand Apartments, San waiting by the door to let them inside the building.
"I already wrote out the lyrics to my song." San explained to them as they walked up the stairs to the second floor. "I'm still working on the melody, but I wanna try recording your parts."
"This is so fucking awesome!" Yeosang gushed. "I've never done a professional recording before!"
"Not quite professional, but it's as close to it as I can get." San chuckled, patting Yeosang's shoulder.
San left the apartment door unlocked, so the three sauntered inside, greeted by the scent of eggs and bacon.
"Good morning!" Seonghwa popped his head out of the kitchen. "I made you all breakfast so you'll have ample energy! I'll make myself scarce so you guys can work hard on the recording!"
"Wow, thanks hyung!" Yeosang cried, tearing up comically. "You're the best!"
Hongjoong's heart skipped a beat at Seonghwa's radiant smile as he petted Yeosang's head affectionately.
He felt himself freeze up when Seonghwa directed that smile at him, eyes bright.
"Hey, get out of the way so I can close the door." San barked at Hongjoong, flicking his forehead.
"Oh, right." Hongjoong blushed as he fully entered the apartment.
Seonghwa removed his pink apron after he got out plates and silverware. "Dig in, guys! I'm sure you guys wanna eat and work at the same time. Just don't spill anything on the floor."
"Okay, mom." San quipped.
"San, what's it like living with a gourmet chef?" Yeosang moaned as he grabbed a plate from Seonghwa.
"It's great, if you enjoy incessant crying at 1am when Seonghwa watches Star Wars." San deadpanned.
Seonghwa's eye twitched.
That only happened one time.
Those were manly tears of joy, dammit.
Suddenly remembering something from a few weeks ago, his irritation melted into a smirk. "Well, at least I don't have Yeosang's name saved in my phone as Yeo-Boo-"
San quickly placed his hand over Seonghwa's mouth to shut him up.
Yeosang, oblivious as usual, simply spooned some eggs and bacon onto his plate before heading to San's room.
San hissed several violent threats to Seonghwa that made him both amused and scandalized before following behind Yeosang.
Hongjoong stood awkwardly in the kitchen.
Suddenly nervous, Hongjoong reached for a plate, trying to be smooth. "So, Seonghwa, I was wondering-"
The plate slipped from Hongjoong's fingers and plummeted to the floor, shattering into pieces.
"Uh-oh, the God of Destruction strikes again!" Yeosang shouted from San's room, as if this was a daily occurrence.
"Uh... woops, butterfingers?" Hongjoong said sheepishly.
Seonghwa stared at him, unimpressed.
Hongjoong hung his head. "Damn, I shouldn't be making jokes right now. I'm so sorry, hyung." The ravenette squatted down to start picking up the pieces.
"Wait, Joong, don't touch-"
"Oh..." Hongjoong lifted his hand to find his index finger bleeding.
Seonghwa clicked his tongue. "You're hopeless. I'll clean this up in a sec. Come with me to the bathroom."
Seonghwa gripped Hongjoong's wrist and headed towards the small bathroom.
Seonghwa closed the lid to the toilet and had Hongjoong sit down.
"Haven't you ever learned that it's dangerous to pick up broken shards with your hands?" Seonghwa scolded as he searched the cabinet for his first-aid kit.
Hongjoong sighed as he stared at his cut finger. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sorry."
Seonghwa knelt in front of Hongjoong and wiped up the cut with a small piece of gauze.
Hongjoong couldn't help but gaze at Seonghwa.
The blond pursed his lips in concentration while he sprayed an antiseptic on the cut.
Seonghwa peeled the protective layers off a band-aid and wrapped it around his finger.
Before standing up, Seonghwa bent his head down and gave the bandaged finger a quick peck.
Hongjoong's face flushed at the gesture.
"S-Seonghwa?" He stammered.
Just realizing what he did, Seonghwa blushed as well. "Oh, sorry! It's... something I learned from my grandmother when I was a kid." He explained wistfully. "Whenever I hurt myself, she would always kiss the bandage. She said it made it heal faster. I... only do it to people I care about."
Hongjoong's lips slowly curled into a smile. "Hyung..."
"Hey, are you two playing basketball?"
Seonghwa and Hongjoong looked up in surprise at San who was at the door with a scowl on his face.
"No... why?" Seonghwa frowned.
"Then why the hell are you two courting each other?"
Hongjoong choked. "W-What?"
Seonghwa groaned. "San, that was barely humor. Do us all a favor and don't drop out of school."
"C'mon Hongjoong, we have music to produce." San snapped, ignoring Seonghwa's jab.
When it came to his music, San hated wasting time.
Hongjoong stood up swiftly, almost knocking Seonghwa over. "Right."
San stomped back to his room, giving Hongjoong and Seonghwa a few more seconds alone.
"...I certainly won't kiss San's bandage if he gets hurt." Seonghwa sulked.
Hongjoong fiddled with the band-aid wound snugly around his finger. "I'll talk to you later." Hongjoong murmured, still embarrassed.
He timidly kissed Seonghwa's temple before retreating to San's room.
Shocked at the affection, Seonghwa hastily busied himself by cleaning up the broken dish, trying not to focus on the tingly feeling Hongjoong's kiss gave him.