Work Text:
When Hongjoong had clocked into his office job at 9:01 am after dropping off his daughter at primary school, he’d expected anything but seeing his favourite idol talking to one of his coworkers at the empty desk next to his.
Hongjoong did a double take. Then a triple take. It took a quadruple take to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating.
There, on the other side of the room, in the corner where Hongjoong’s desk sat, was a new head of neatly arranged silver hair talking to Yunho, and that silver hair belonged to none other than Park Seonghwa.
Hongjoong had been a fan of Ateez for a while. As in since they debuted eight years ago kind of a while. They were a five member boy group, and hadn’t been huge, but they’d had a pretty decent following. Clearly not a big enough following that anyone else in the office recognised him though, because everyone else was sitting calmly at their desks without battering an eye in his direction. But their music had been everything to Hongjoong. From the moment he’d first stumbled across them at 19, all the way until now, they’d always been his favourite group. He listened to other groups, of course. He and his best friend Wooyoung had been avid kpop fans since high school together, but something about Ateez had always just been so addictive to Hongjoong. And since that very first video he’d watched, Seonghwa had been the one to catch his eye, the power in his voice and the way his body moved when he danced, his confidence, his style, the way he carried himself. Everything about Seonghwa was so intriguing, and he had very quickly become Hongjoong’s bias. And even after they’d disbanded about a year ago, Hongjoong hadn’t stopped listening to their music, and had continued to follow the paths of the members who’d continued to share their lives as ex idols. Seonghwa had posted a few times early after their disbandment, but it’d been almost nine months now since any fans had heard anything about him.
And now here he was, standing at Hongjoong’s neighbouring desk, which had been empty for the last couple of weeks after his coworker had moved away, in a little marketing firm in the middle of Seoul.
And by the looks of it, if Hongjoong’s short circuiting brain was interpreting things right, he was going to be Hongjoong’s desk neighbour.
Before Hongjoong could turn on his heel and run out of sheer panic, Yunho caught his eye and was waving him over, blissfully unaware of who he was standing next to. Hongjoong’s stomach plummeted. Too late.
Slowly, stiffly, heart racing, Hongjoong began the trek across the room. He waved back to Yunho, and he knew it looked awkward, and oh god, Park Seonghwa was looking at him now.
Every self conscious thought Hongjoong had ever had in his lifetime rushed back into his mind like a flood.
Had Seonghwa spotted the decorations on Hongjoong’s desk yet? The photocards, some of Seonghwa, mind you, decorating his pin board alongside the photos with his friends, his daughter, a few of her little drawings, and photos of the Ateez concert he went to a few years ago. Oh god he had a plushie keychain of Seonghwa’s animal mascot on his bag. And as he rounded the corner of his desk into full view of Seonghwa and Yunho it was far too late to try and hide it. What did he do? Did he pretend he didn't recognise him? But Seonghwa would surely recognise that he was a fan, but Hongjoong didn't want to make a big deal about Seonghwa working here because he probably didn't want that attention on him and-
“Hey Hongjoong,” Yunho said, putting a hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder to guide him forward a few steps. “Meet your new desk neighbour. This is Seonghwa,” Yunho turned to Seonghwa, “Seonghwa, this is Hongjoong.”
Hongjoong's heart was racing out of his chest, as he shakily stuck out a hand, praying his palm wasn't too sweaty when Seonghwa took it. He knew his expression was giving everything away, but he was far too panicked to school it in.
“Nice to meet you, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong said, and he could hear the quiver in his voice. He watched as Seonghwa’s eyes darted to the plushie on his bag, clearly recognising it as a grin spread across his face, and Hongjoong damn near melted because holy shit that grin was somehow even more beautiful in real life than on a screen.
“Nice to meet you, Hongjoong,” Seonghwa replied, giving Hongjoong’s hand a gentle, friendly squeeze before he let go. “Since we'll be desk neighbours I hope you can help show me the ropes.”
Hongjoong nodded hurriedly. He'd been working here for years, he knew the ins and outs like the back of his hand, but he really hoped Seonghwa had at least a basic grasp on the kind of programs they used because he had no idea if he'd be able to articulate full sentences in his presence.
“Hongjoong's been at this for forever, he'll easily be able to help you out,” Yunho supplied, and Hongjoong wasn't sure if he hated Yunho for dobbing him into the job or was grateful for him taking the lead for a moment. “Now, you've got all your login details, right?”
Seonghwa nodded. “Everything was emailed to me last week, thank you Yunho.”
“Perfect, I'll leave you to it then! If you have any questions I'm just over there,” Yunho said, gesturing to his spot in the middle of the room, “but Hongjoong or any of the other staff will be more than happy to help you out while you get the hang of things.”
“Thank you,” Seonghwa replied with a grin, and Yunho gave Hongjoong a solid pat on the back as he slipped past them and headed towards his own desk.
Seonghwa then turned his attention back to Hongjoong, and Hongjoong was pretty sure if he didn't sit down in the next 30 seconds he was going to pass out.
“Hongjoong, are you okay?” Seonghwa asked softly. He knew. He definitely knew.
“I… I think I'm in shock,” Hongjoong replied, the words escaping barely louder than a whisper.
Seonghwa smiled softly, a small laugh escaping his lips, that same laugh that Hongjoong had seen countless times online and god Hongjoong was already going insane.
“If it helps I am just a normal citizen now,” Seonghwa replied softly. “I'm not an idol anymore. Not a celebrity. Just… Seonghwa.”
Hongjoong nodded, but he didn't think he trusted himself not to do something entirely stupid so he took a step back and collapsed into his seat, putting a few steps of space between them and forcing himself to take a deep breath. Seonghwa stepped forward, leaning his hip against the end of Hongjoong’s desk.
“I can ask Yunho to help me get started,” Seonghwa added. “If you need to like… take a breather or something. I met some of my idols at award shows a few times and it can… I get that it can be a lot. Especially on common ground.”
Hongjoong nodded again, breathing still shaky, as he slipped his bag over his shoulder and dropped it on his desk, the little pink rabbit staring at him as he slowly stood up.
“You- you know where his desk is, right?” Hongjoong asked, voice still quivering.
Seonghwa nodded.
“Okay. Thank you. Thank you. I'll be back in a minute. Thank you.”
And with that he turned on his heel and almost broke the no running rule with the speed he made it to the bathrooms in.
Hongjoong locked himself in one of the cubicles with shaking hands, putting down the lid of the toilet and sitting down on it, pulling his phone out. He pulled up Wooyoung's contact, the only person he could trust with this sort of information and who would understand the absolute turmoil he was going through right now.
Me:
Wooyoung
Im fucking shaking holy shit wooyoung
Wooyoung respond
Please respond
Right now
Holy shit holy shit holy shit
I think im gonna be sick
Woo:
????
Joong you okay??
Do i need to call an ambulance
Please dont die
Me:
Too late
Im already dead
Woo:
????????
Whats happeningggg
Tell meee
Me:
So
You know how i said my desk neighbour seoyeon moved a few weeks back
you'll fucking NEVER guess who i saw at her old desk this morning
NEVER
Woo:
pretty guy?
the new love of your life?
YOUR EX???
Me:
Park
Seonghwa
Woo:
Youre lying
Me:
I fucking wish i was lying
Woo:
No
THE park seonghwa??!?!?
from THE ATEEZ!?!?
Me:
the one and only
he is at my fucking workplace
he is working here
he is my DESK NEIGHBOUR
IVE BEEN OBSESSED WITH HIM FOR LIKE 8 YEARS AND HES MY FUCKING DESK NEIGHBOUR
AND HE KNOWS
HE KNOWS I KNOW WHO HE IS
HE TOLD ME TO GO TAKE A BREATHER CAUSE HE COULD SEE I WAS OVERWHELMED
WOO IM GONNA CRYY
I CANT DO THIS
IM QUITTING MY JOB
I HAVE HIS PHOTOCARDS ON MY DESK AND HIS DDEONGBYEOLI PLUSHIE ON MY BAG IM SO AHHH
HE LITERALLY SAW THEMMM
i feel so perceiveddddd
wheres the nearest cliff woo?
you know geography, wheres the nearest cliff?
Woo:
for the sake of your health im gatekeeping that information
also what about yunhee
she’ll be so sad if her dad falls off a cliff from gayness :(
ill have to adopt her and feed her lots of candy and buy her lots of plushies and become a better father :(
she'll be so sad :(
Me:
you wouldnt :(
Woo:
i would :D
but also if i was in your situation rn i think i would also die
you have my condolences
but also WHAT THE FUCK THATS ACTUALLY FUCKING INSANE
I AM FREAKING OUT FOR YOU RN
get his autograph for me pleaseeee
but AHHHHH
IS HE AS PRETTY IN REAL LIFE??!?!?
I MEAN DUH WOOYOUNG OF COURSE HE IS BUT IS HE???
Me:
he's fucking STUNNING you have NO IDEA
AND HE'S GOT THAT SILVER HAIR HE HAD A FEW YEARS BACK
AND IT'S KINDA LONG
LIKE ITS BASICALLY THE EXACT SAME
HE'S ACTUALLY STUNNING LIKE ACTUALLY INSANE IM ACTUALLY GONNA AHHHH
Woo:
AHHHH PEAK PEAK THAT WAS MY FAVOURITE HAIRSTYLE
IM SO JEALOUS HOLY SHIT
YOU'RE GONNA INTRODUCE ME RIGHT??? ONCE YOU'RE BEST FRIENDS?? RIGHT!?!???
Me:
if we become best friends i promise you i will introduce him o7
unfortunately that relies on me not making even MORE of a fool out of myself and scaring him away
but
if i manage to befriend him i pinky swear youll get to meet him
Woo:
thank youuuuuu i love you hongjoongggg
Me:
love you too wooooo
Woo:
so like
where are you rn
Me:
i have locked myself in a toilet cubicle
i honest to god might just stay here for the rest of the day
ill come out once hes left
Woo:
how am i gonna get my autograph if you stay in the toilet :/
Me:
:(
Woo:
go on joong~
go back out there
you cant stay in there forever
the longer you stay there the more awkward your return will be
Me:
dont bring logic into this
but you have a point
unfortunately
Woo:
go onnnnnn
Me:
fineeeeeee
finneee im going now
if you dont hear from me ever again just know i died of a heart attack and make sure they add that seonghwa was the cause on the autopsy report
also yunho will be getting yunhee because he would definitely be the more responsible stand in father sorry not sorry
Woo:
meanie :(
now go get your man
good luckkkkkk
Me:
hes not my man
but im going now
byeeeeeee
also i know its obvious but please dont tell anyone about this cause we wanna respect his privacy and all
byeeeeeeeeeeee
Hongjoong turned off his phone, and slipped it back in his pocket as he took a few (several) deep breaths, willing his heart to calm down and his brain to stop running in every which way at a thousand miles a minute.
He was still shaking, but it wasn't quite as intense as before, and slowly he brought himself to his feet. He unlocked the cubicle door, quickly checking that there was no one else in the bathroom, before he crossed over to the sink, splashing his face with water, trying to calm himself down and not explode on the spot.
Maybe exploding would have been preferable actually.
He straightened his shirt, making sure it was tucked in exactly how he liked it, adjusting his jewellery so it was all sitting straight and even, before with a final deep breath, he pushed himself out of the bathroom, into the hallway, and then into the main office.
Within seconds Hongjoong caught Seonghwa's gaze again. He was sitting at his desk, Yunho hovering behind him, pointing at something on Seonghwa’s screen, saying something Hongjoong couldn't hear from the other side of the room.
Hongjoong could feel the heat in his cheeks as he made his way back across the room, sliding quietly into his seat.
“All good, Joong?” Yunho asked, leaning past the partition. Hongjoong nodded.
“Just needed the loo. All good.”
Yunho nodded, returning to Seonghwa's side of the partition, explaining something about the programs to him, most of the words going in one of Hongjoong's ears and out the other as he focused all his attention to logging in and making a start at his tasks for the day.
Hongjoong managed to get three emails replied to by the time Yunho slipped past him.
“He's a quick learner,” Yunho whispered as he passed, before disappearing to head back to his desk. Hongjoong let out a small sigh of relief. That was something at least.
Hongjoong managed to reply to all the rest of his emails before he almost jumped out of his skin in surprise when he heard a voice behind him.
“Better now?” Seonghwa asked, head sticking around the partition, silvery white hair looking infuriatingly soft as a few strands fell over his large, boba-like eyes.
Hongjoong gulped, replying with a nod.
“Yeah. A bit. I think,” he said, voice still shaking slightly.
Seonghwa nodded. “Good. I’m… I’m sorry if I like… made you uncomfortable or anything.”
Hongjoong’s eyes widened. “Huh? Of course not, you did nothing wrong. It’s not your fault I’m useless in social situations with new people, especially when the new people are… well…”
Laughter glimmered in Seonghwa’s eyes. “Okay. Well as long as you’re not uncomfortable.”
“I’m not,” Hongjoong replied. “I promise. Just going to take a little to get used to seeing you around here. If anything I should be apologising for the way I reacted, I’m sorry. ”
Seonghwa shook his head. “You’re fine. I promise.”
“You sure?”
Seonghwa nodded firmly. “I’m sure.”
“Okay.”
“Anyway, Hongjoong, can you give me a hand for a second?” Hongjoong nodded, trying to ignore the way his name on Seonghwa’s tongue sounded. “I’m up to the point Yunho explained, but I’m a little unsure where to go next.”
Hongjoong nodded, carefully rising to his feet, legs still a little shaky beneath him, as he moved around the partition to see Seonghwa’s screen, Seonghwa wheeling his chair back to its spot to meet him. He took in what was on Seonghwa’s screen, quickly understanding where Seonghwa was a little lost, before easily launching into an explanation on where to go next.
An hour or so later, Hongjoong was feeling a little calmer, a little more sane, and had managed to get a decent amount done considering the circumstances. But now his brain was starting to feel a little sleepy, so it was definitely time for a coffee.
He stood up, grabbing his mug from its spot on his desk, glancing over the partition to see Seonghwa looking intently at his screen, typing away at something or another.
“I’m grabbing a coffee,” Hongjoong said, quickly gaining Seonghwa’s attention, his heart stumbling a little. “Do you want one?”
Seonghwa seemed to think for a moment, before nodding. “Yes please, but I’d like a tea if you don’t mind.”
Hongjoong nodded. “What type?”
“White please. With a teaspoon of sugar.”
“Can do. I’ll be back in a minute,” Hongjoong replied, giving Seonghwa one of his half smiles as he made his way across the room, into the hallway and into the break room.
One of his coworkers, Minji, was already in the breakroom making her own drink, and she looked up upon hearing Hongjoong enter.
“Oh, hey Hongjoong,” she said with a smile. “Coffee break?”
“Yeah,” Hongjoong replied, putting down his mug next to the coffee machine and opening the cupboard to pull out another one for Seonghwa. Minji and Hongjoong weren’t super close, but she’d been here for a few years and she was nice enough, and Hongjoong didn’t mind the occasional conversations he had with her. “How are you getting along?”
“Good,” she replied. “I’ve got a lot of work to get done for a deadline tomorrow, but it’s still early so I should be able to get it done on time. Haneul’s got all the tasks planned out for us to work on, so it should be manageable.”
“That’s good,” Hongjoong replied, dropping a teabag into Seonghwa’s mug and turning on the kettle.
“So who’s that new guy?” Minji asked, finishing up with the coffee machine and pouring some milk in, “He your new desk neighbour after Seoyeon? He’s awfully pretty.”
“Yeah, he’s my new desk neighbour,” Hongjoong replied, feeling his cheeks warm slightly. He hoped it wasn’t noticeable. “Name’s Seonghwa.”
Minji hummed thoughtfully. “Nice name too.”
“Yeah,” Hongjoong replied.
“Well, I’d better get back to it, or Haneul will be on my ass about time management,” Minji said, with a small laugh. “See you Hongjoong.”
“Bye Minji,” Hongjoong replied, as she slipped out of the room.
He made the drinks quickly, making his way slowly back to their desks, hands slightly more unsteady than usual. He placed the mug down on Seonghwa’s desk as Seonghwa looked up at him with a smile.
“Thank you Hongjoong,” Seonghwa said, picking up the mug and taking a sip. “It’s perfect, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Hongjoong replied, a small smile creeping onto his own face, as he passed by Seonghwa’s desk and back to his own, almost spilling the drink in his movements.
He sat back down, logging back into his computer, and pulling up the task he’d nearly finished.
Honestly, except for his little runner this morning, Hongjoong had been managing the situation pretty well he reckoned.
He just hoped tomorrow would run as smoothly.
The next day Yunhee had a day off school, so with a quick text to his manager, and a thumbs up in response, he buckled her tightly into the backseat, put on his own belt in the driver’s seat, and they headed into the office.
“Daddy, is Yunho going to be there today?” Yunhee asked, and Hongjoong chuckled.
“I think he will be,” Hongjoong replied, “but remember, we’re going to work today, so he can’t play with you like he does when he comes to our house. He’s got lots of work to do, just like me.”
He saw Yunhee nod in the rearview mirror. “Can I do some drawings?”
“Absolutely honey,” Hongjoong replied. “Do you have any homework?”
Yunhee stuck her tongue out. “Blurgh, gross. No homework. The teachers don’t give homework to first graders, only big kids.”
Hongjoong chuckled. “Are you sure~?”
“Mhmm,” Yunhee replied, crossing her arms defiantly. “I’m going to spend all day making drawings.”
“Okay sweetie,” Hongjoong replied. “Are they all gonna be for you? Or are you gonna do one of Yunho’s dog again?”
Her eyes lit up, and Hongjoong grinned. “Yes! I’ll draw Yunho’s doggy! And maybe I’ll draw a flower, and a cake, ooo and a bunch of ducks taking over the world, and…”
Hongjoong listened absently to her ramblings, sliding into a car park a block away from the building (it was the closest he could usually find one) and turning the car off.
“Guess where we are,” Hongjoong prompted, grabbing his bag from the passenger seat, that still had the little Ddeongbyeoli plushie hanging from it, because when he’d tried to take it off last night to save himself some embarrassment today, Yunhee had insisted the ‘cute pink bunny needs to stay on the bag, or everyone will think Daddy is boring’. It was a convincing enough argument, so Hongjoong had reluctantly left it there.
“Daddy’s work!?” Yunhee asked, eyes lighting up.
“One point for Yunhee!” Hongjoong replied, slipping his bag over his shoulder as he stepped out of the car and shut the door behind him. He opened Yunhee’s door, unbuckling her and helping her out onto the ground. “Got your pencils?”
Yunhee nodded enthusiastically, swinging her bright pink and blue backpack over her shoulders, as Hongjoong closed the door and locked the car, taking one of Yunhee’s hands as they started their short walk to the office.
She skipped along beside him, singing something or another that Hongjoong vaguely recognised, until they got to the front door, and Hongjoong swiped them inside, and she reached up at him with grabby hands.
He picked her up, resting her on his hip as he made his way towards the elevator, nodding with a smile toward the receptionist.
“Hi Yunhee,” she said, waving towards her. Yunhee waved back with a grin.
“Do you wanna press the button?” Hongjoong asked, bending down a bit so Yunhee could press the up button. The elevator rumbled as it descended down, doors opening with their usual creak. Hongjoong stepped inside, pressing the button for the 5th floor, taking a deep breath to emotionally prepare himself to see Seonghwa as the doors closed.
“Hongjoong!”
Hongjoong’s eyes darted towards the noise, to see Seonghwa running across the entrance hall toward the elevator. Speak of the devil. As if on instinct his hand found the open doors button, clicking it with far more aggression than necessary until the doors stopped in their path and slid back open.
Seonghwa stepped in with a huff and an audible sigh of relief as the doors closed behind him, and as he met Hongjoong’s eyes Hongjoong felt the familiar heat creeping into his cheeks.
“Thank you,” Seonghwa huffed out. “I thought I was going to be late.”
Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. “It’s only like 8:45,” Hongjoong replied.
“8:47,” Yunhee said, and in that moment Seonghwa seemed to realise there was someone else in the elevator as it jolted beneath them and they started their ascent.
“And who might you be?” Seonghwa asked, expression softening in a way so endearing it almost made Hongjoong melt.
“I’m Yunhee!” Yunhee said. “Are you Daddy’s new friend?”
Hongjoong flushed a little harder, as Seonghwa’s eyes darted to him for a moment, shining with something joyful. So what if he’d mentioned to Yunhee that there was a new person at work. And so what maybe he’d rambled about him a bit. And maybe he’d called Wooyoung and spent at least an hour recounting every single thing that had happened yesterday in excruciating detail while Yunhee had sat at the kitchen table drawing and listening in on their conversation. She was six, she was curious, she asked questions, and sometimes the easiest way to explain things was that he made a new friend at work.
“Something like that,” Seonghwa replied. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a day off school so Daddy’s bringing me here. I’m excited to see Yunho. He’s also friends with Daddy.”
“I hope you’re going to let Yunho get all his work done,” Seonghwa said, as the elevator jolted to a stop and the doors slid open on the 5th floor. They stepped out into the hallway, starting towards the main office. “Yunho is a very busy man.”
“I will,” Yunhee said, grinning cheekily. “I promise. What’s your name?”
“I’m Seonghwa,” Seonghwa replied.
“You’re very pretty Mr Seonghwa,” Yunhee replied. “I like your hair.”
Seonghwa grinned, as Yunhee turned back to Hongjoong. “Isn’t he so pretty, Daddy?” she asked, and Hongjoong was sure the red in his cheeks was visible by now.
“Yes he is,” Hongjoong mumbled, looking at the floor, unable to meet Seonghwa’s eyes.
“You look like a tomato,” Yunhee said, squishing Hongjoong’s cheeks, and Hongjoong kind of wanted to dig himself into the floor and die.
He was saved when the glass door in front of them burst open and Yunho darted through, grinning to his eyes, immediately grabbing Yunhee from Hongjoong’s hold and spinning her around as she giggled loudly.
“Hi Yunhee!” he exclaimed, eventually settling her on his hip as Yunhee hugged him tightly. “How are you?”
“I’m good Yunho,” she replied, barely able to keep her giggles of joy in. “Can I draw your doggy today?”
“Absolutely,” he replied, pushing his glasses back up his nose where they’d slipped down. “How about we go and start that now, huh?”
“Yes!” Yunhee replied, almost squealing with excitement as Yunho pushed open the door, holding it absently as Hongjoong and Seonghwa slipped through, before he crossed over to his desk, leaving the two of them standing there in his wake.
“He’s stolen my daughter,” Hongjoong deadpanned. “Again.”
“This happens often, I’m guessing?” Seonghwa asked, and as Hongjoong turned to look at him, he could see the laughter in Seonghwa’s eyes. His pretty pretty eyes.
“You have no idea,” Hongjoong replied, trying to keep his cool, as it suddenly registered to him once again that he was literally standing next to his idol and they were maybe sort of acquaintances or something.
“I hope you don’t mind me saying, but she’s absolutely adorable,” Seonghwa said, starting toward their desks, his hand brushing Hongjoong’s elbow lightly, a barely there feeling, but enough to remind Hongjoong he was at work and had work to do, and enough to send his mind reeling for a moment until he fell into step beside Seonghwa.
“Thank you,” Hongjoong replied, a smile creeping onto his lips.
“She has your eyes,” Seonghwa added, as they reached their desks and he pulled out his chair. Hongjoong definitely flushed at that. What had Seonghwa been doing in the past 24 hours since they’d met to be noticing Hongjoong’s eyes. “And your nose, as well,” Seonghwa added, glancing toward Yunhee and Yunho again. “It's cute.”
Hongjoong really needed Wooyoung to stop gatekeeping the nearest cliff locations because what?!
“Thanks,” Hongjoong mumbled, flustered and heart stammering as he pulled out his own chair and sat down, the partition breaking their view of each other. Probably for the best, as Hongjoong pulled out his phone to send a quick text to Wooyoung.
Me:
Update i didn’t hallucinate the entirety of yesterday
He’s very much still here and very much still stunning and very much still sending me insane
And guess what
Yunhee’s here
With yunho
And without you
:P
Woo:
Yayy you didn’t spend an entire day on drugs!!
And yayy you’re gonna be besties with your idol!!!
Also youre evil
Bring yunhee over
To my house
Please
I miss her
My favourite little chaos gremlin
Ill fight yunho
If yunho and i fight it out in the boxing rink can the winner have custody of yunhee when you die?
Me:
As if you’d win wooyoung
Woo:
I bite remember
Me:
And yunho has almost 15 cm on you
Woo:
I
Bite
Me:
You’re not making a very compelling argument
Woo:
Dammit
I will fight yunho with the power of love, friendship and happiness
Is that better??
Me:
I’ll think about it
Woo:
Yayy!!!
Now go work
make money
Make purse
Me:
Yessir o7
BYEEE
Hongjoong rolled his eyes at Wooyoung’s antics as he slipped his phone in his bag and turned on his computer. Midway through reading his most recent email, Yunhee appeared beside him with Yunho’s phone, a picture of his golden retriever on the screen, looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Need paper.”
“Please?” Hongjoong prompted.
“Daddy I need paper please, so I can draw Yunho’s doggy,” Yunhee replied, and Seonghwa was so right in saying she had Hongjoong’s eyes and nose.
“Absolutely Yunhee,” Hongjoong replied with a grin. “I’ll go get you some paper.”
He turned off the screen so she wouldn’t be tempted, and crossed over to the printer to grab a few sheets of paper, finding her pushing a spare chair from the wall up to Seonghwa’s desk upon his return.
“What’s happening here?” Hongjoong asked, eyebrow raised.
“Your desk is too messy,” Yunhee replied. “I’m sitting with Mr Seonghwa.”
“As long as Seonghwa is okay with it?” Hongjoong replied tentatively, catching Seonghwa’s eye. “He has work to do too.”
Seonghwa nodded with a smile. “Fine with me,” he mouthed, and Hongjoong gave him a nod with a small smile.
“Okay, here’s your paper,” he said, placing the paper in front of her.
“Thank you Daddy,” she replied.
“Now, are you gonna be the winner of the quiet game?” Hongjoong asked, crouching down to meet her eye to eye. “Winner gets a lollipop when we walk back to the car.”
Yunhee’s eyes widened in excitement, as she nodded enthusiastically, zipping her hand over her lips, before she pushed Hongjoong away with a muffled giggle.
Hongjoong met Seonghwa’s eyes again, and he couldn’t place the look in them but it had his insides turning to mush as he sat back down at his own desk, turning the screen back on to get on with his work.
By 1pm Yunhee had given up on the quiet game, completed a ridiculous amount of drawings, and was now pulling at Hongjoong’s arm, begging for lunch. She kept her voice fairly low, at least, which Hongjoong was grateful for.
Hongjoong clicked the submit button on the document he’d spent the last two hours on, collapsing back in his seat as he let out a sigh of relief.
“Please Daddy~” Yunhee whispered. “I’m so hungry my stomach is eating itself.”
“Sorry Yunhee, I just needed to finish that one last thing,” Hongjoong replied quietly. “It’s done now though. What do you want?”
She seemed to think for a moment, as Hongjoong picked her up and sat her in his lap.
“Hmmmm… can we go down the food street?” she asked. “I’ll decide when we get there.”
Hongjoong nodded. He would do anything for some fried chicken right now.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said. Lunch break time it was. He lifted her onto his hip as he stood up, grabbing his phone and his wallet and slipping them into his pocket.
Seonghwa looked up at him, curiosity in his eyes.
Yunhee gasped. “Can Mr Seonghwa come with us,” she said, eyes wide and begging as they bore into Hongjoong’s.
“Where you going?” Seonghwa asked.
“To get some food,” Hongjoong replied. “Time for our lunch break. There’s heaps of takeaway places a block away if you wanna come with.”
Seonghwa’s eyes lit up. “Yes please,” he grinned, and Hongjoong hadn’t expected something as simple as Seonghwa wanting to join him on his lunch break to make his stomach backflip like it did, but then again he had been obsessed with Seonghwa for almost a decade, and his brain and his body were still adjusting to the fact that he was right there.
He clicked around quickly, saving whatever it was he was working on before he turned off his computer and grabbed his phone, slipping it into his pocket and standing up to meet Hongjoong and Yunhee.
And yeah, Hongjoong knew Seonghwa was taller than him. Hongjoong wasn’t exactly huge himself. It wasn’t a particularly hard feat for someone to be taller than him. But with how close Seonghwa ended up to him when he rose from his chair, it really put their height difference into perspective.
He wasn’t as tall as Yunho, but… well he was tall. And Hongjoong was an absolute sucker for tall men. There was a reason he’d had a little crush on Yunho when they’d first met in high school.
Seonghwa stepped back quickly, as Hongjoong adjusted Yunhee on his hip so he was holding her more comfortably.
“Shall we?” Seonghwa asked, gesturing toward the door. Hongjoong nodded, as they fell into step beside each other. As soon as they exited the main office into the hallway toward the elevator, the door falling shut behind them with a click, Yunhee started talking.
“Mr Seonghwa, have you watched Bluey?” she asked, eyes alight with excitement. “Do you like dogs? I love dogs but Daddy says we can’t get one. Mummy used to have a dog but she doesn’t any more. She gave him to my aunty, but aunty lives so far away so I never get to see him any more.”
She pouted, as they stepped into the elevator, Seonghwa pressing the button for the ground floor. It jolted beneath them and they started their descent.
“Maybe we can go visit your aunty during the holidays,” Hongjoong suggested, and Yunhee turned to him with a grin.
“Can we really? Please Daddy please please please~”
“I’ll try and make it happen honey,” he replied as they stepped out of the elevator.
“Yay!” Yunhee exclaimed, before turning her attention back towards Seonghwa. “So do you like dogs?”
Seonghwa nodded. “I love dogs. I especially liked your drawing of Yunho’s dog, it was so pretty.” Yunhee grinned.
“You can have it if you want,” she said, and as they made their way out the front door she slipped down Hongjoong’s hip, landing on the path with jump, before grabbing one of Hongjoong’s hands and one of Seonghwa’s hands and dragging them both down the street.
Hongjoong found his eyes catching Seonghwa’s for a brief moment, joy laced through them, as she rambled on to Seonghwa about anything she could think of as they made their way down the block.
Once they reached the street, Yunhee quietened down a bit, analysing her options as the three of them walked along at six year old pace through the lunchtime crowd.
“So,” Seonghwa started, diverting Hongjoong’s attention away from the shops they passed. “Are you married?”
And Hongjoong didn’t know why he hadn’t expected this conversation, at least at some point, but he hadn’t. It’s not that it was a particularly awkward or nasty situation, it just wasn’t his favourite topic to discuss.
“Divorced,” Hongjoong replied after a panicked moment of hesitation. “Her mum and I married pretty young, and after she was born we realised we just didn’t suit each other anymore. Both wanted different things,” he explained. “Got divorced when she was two. Jihye travels a lot for work, so it suited our arrangement better for me to have primary custody of Yunhee. Jihye still comes and visits when she’s in Seoul though.”
Seonghwa nodded, humming thoughtfully, but before he could respond Yunhee stopped them in their tracks, before pulling them with more strength than one would expect of a six year old into a sushi shop.
“Can I please get the salmon sushi,” Yunhee said as she pulled Hongjoong and Seonghwa up to the counter.
“Of course sweetie,” the girl behind the register said, putting it into the system. Hongjoong pulled out his wallet as the girl grabbed the sushi for Yunhee, handing over the container to her. Yunhee let go of both their hands to grab the sushi eagerly. Hongjoong tapped his card, and only when the girl didn’t ask if he wanted his receipt did he look up to see her staring with wide eyes at Seonghwa, who hadn’t even noticed while he looked at the display of sushi himself.
The girl turned to Hongjoong, her expression of shock no different to what Hongjoong’s probably was yesterday.
“Is that-” she started, voice barely a whisper. Hongjoong nodded.
Then she looked between Seonghwa and Yunhee and Hongjoong, and her eyes widened somehow further.
“You guys aren’t…” she made a vague gesture with her hands, “are you?”
It was Hongjoong’s turn to look at her wide eyed, face probably a deep shade of crimson. Hongjoong shook his head. “No he’s… my coworker,” he replied quietly.
She nodded, just as Seonghwa turned to her.
“Can I get the crispy chicken please?” he asked, and she nodded, a jittery combination of excitement and panic as she grabbed the sushi and handed it over to him, putting his price into the register. Seonghwa paid, and just as he was turning to leave, she seemed to buck up the courage to do what she wanted to do.
“Wait, Seonghwa.” Seonghwa turned back to her with a soft smile on his face, and Hongjoong could see the recognition of the situation wash over him in the span of less than a second. “I’m a huge fan, and… and I was wondering if I could get a photo with you or something.”
Her voice came out quiet at the end, and Hongjoong knew the feeling all too well.
Yunhee looked up at Hongjoong in confusion, glancing between Seonghwa, the girl, and Hongjoong, as Seonghwa leaned across the register while the girl took a selfie.
“Daddy is Mr Seonghwa famous?”
“A little bit,” Seonghwa said, lightly ruffling Yunhee’s hair as the three of them trailed out of the shop.
Yunhee gasped.
“Daddy you’re friends with a famous person?”
“Something like that,” Hongjoong replied, feeling Seonghwa’s eyes on him.
“You getting something to eat?” Seonghwa asked. Hongjoong nodded, pointing behind them.
“Fried chicken.”
Seonghwa’s eyes lit up.
And Yunhee’s eyes lit up even brighter as they approached the chicken shop and Yunhee spotted a cart selling tanghulu.
“Daddy can we get the fruit skewers? Please please please please please?” She looked up at Hongjoong with bright eyes.
Hongjoong glanced at the chicken shop. The line wasn’t huge, but it was long enough. And their lunch breaks weren’t the longest. Seonghwa seemed to pick up on his dilemma, taking one of Yunhee’s hands.
“I can get it for her if you wanna get your lunch,” Seonghwa said. Hongjoong would have refused. He should have refused. But Seonghwa was looking at him with those big round boba eyes and they were so much more effective in real life and Hongjoong had always been weak for them, and yeah. He stood no chance.
“Are you sure?” Hongjoong asked.
“Yeah,” Seonghwa replied. “It’s not very expensive, and I feel like I owe you for the stress I’ve put you under the past two days or something.”
Hongjoong damn near melted. “Okay then,” he replied softly. “Thank you.”
He slipped into the chicken store as Yunhee dragged Seonghwa over to the tanghulu cart, Seonghwa leaning down to gossip with her as they lined up.
He watched from the corner of his eye, slightly nervous with the lunch rush crowd, but by the time he’d placed his order they were rushing back over to him, Yunhee holding two big tanghulu sticks with Seonghwa trailing behind her, both their sushi and another stick of tanghulu in hand.
“Wow, those look delicious,” Hongjoong said, as Yunhee came to a stop in front of him.
“We got one for you!” she exclaimed, holding one out towards him.
“Let me get a photo of you with them first,” Hongjoong said, stepping back as he pulled out his phone. Yunhee grinned into the camera, holding up the tanghulu, and not a moment later Seonghwa was leaning down behind her to photobomb, giving her bunny ears accompanied with the cutest grin on a man Hongjoong had ever seen.
“Let me see, let me see,” she exclaimed, jumping over to look at Hongjoong’s phone as he crouched down and pulled up the photos. She giggled when she saw the one with Seonghwa. “Do a selfie,” she said, “with all of us. Please~”
Hongjoong chuckled, switching back to the camera, pointing it around to face them as Yunhee leaned into Hongjoong’s shoulder and Seonghwa crouched down on her other side. Yunhee held the tanghulu up with a grin so large it turned her eyes to crescents, as Hongjoong gave her bunny ears and snapped a few photos.
And as he lowered his phone, he realised for a split second that oh, there was a hand on his back, and oh, it definitely wasn’t Yunhee’s.
He tried not to react as he stood back up and Seonghwa’s hand fell away, Yunhee holding up one of the tanghulu for Hongjoong. He took it with a grin, biting into it. It was delicious. He caught Seonghwa looking at him, mouthing him a quick “thank you,” as Seonghwa grinned, biting into his own tanghulu.
Hongjoong had so much to tell Wooyoung.
Me:
[Sent a photo]
[Sent a photo]
Proof incase you had any doubts :P
He’s real and im going insane
Woo:
Holy shit he really is real
And the hair
Ohmygod
Stunning im so jealous you get to hang out with him
And stop those are such cute photos wtf
Yunhee looks so happy im gonna cry
Never thought mr hongjoong would fold and buy her tanghulu
Me:
Seonghwa bought it actually…
Woo:
STOP
HES ALREADY DOTING ON UR DAUGHTER??
YOU MET YESTERDAY
STOP THIS IS SO CUTE IM GONNA CRY
Me:
He was kinda obsessed w her actually
Its really fucking cute
A bit of a natural w kids if i say so myself
And yunhee’s obsessed as well
She calls him mr seonghwa
Its ADORABLE
Woo:
SO
CUTE
IM ACTUALLY GONNA CRY
Me:
I KNOW
Okay okay okay
On another note
You know how im like usually oblivious as shit
So like
There is a small chance
I think he might maybe potentially possibly be flirting with me
Maybe
Woo:
:O
ELABORATE
NOW
Me:
Full transparency this is probably me being delusional
Cause
You know
Ive been obsessed with him for almost a decade
But
You know
Anyway
Its mostly been little things
But obviously cause he is who he is ive been like hyperaware of every single interaction we’ve had so far
But like
The whole first interaction we had yesterday
Was just
Idek how to describe it
But he was just so nice about the whole situation and he seems to want to be friends with me or sthn idk
And yesterday also i made him a cup of tea when i was getting myself a coffee and when he tasted it he said it was perfect
perfect
And then he said goodbye to ME specifically, when i left to go pick up yunhee and he was just so SMILEY like AHH
And then this morning i had to stop the elevator from closing on him
And then when he saw yunhee he like
IMMEDIATELY started talking to her
Like
He didn’t even hesitate a moment and he was already talking with her
And he didn’t deny it when she asked if he was my friend
And then when she got kidnapped by yunho he said she had my eyes and my nose and that its CUTE
CUTE
HE INDIRECTLY CALLED ME CUTE
And then he let yunhee sit at his desk with him all day
And he immediately agreed to get lunch w me and yunhee
And he bought yunhee the tanghulu
And when we were getting that second photo i sent, HIS HAND WAS ON MY BACK
WOO
SEONGHWAS HAND WAS ON MY BACK
And OHMYGOD there is SO MUCH EYE CONTACT
I think ive made more eye contact with him in the past two days that i usually do with everyone i talk to in a week
Its insane
Like actually insane
Maybe im overthinking all of this
I probably am ngl
Like
I dont even know if he’s queer or not
He could be straight
But
AHHH
Woo:
Look i may be biased but that sounds incredibly like he might be flirting with you
Like
HE INDIRECTLY CALLED YOU CUTE
HE PUT HIS HAND ON YOUR BACK
THATS INSANE FOR SOMEONE YOU MET YESTERDAY
Me:
You think so?
FR?
Im not hallucinating??
Woo:
Look, if YOU are noticing it then he’s DEFINITELY flirting, is all i have to say
Me:
Ouch
But
Also thank you for supporting my delusions
Much appreciated
Also yunhee says hi
She wants a photo of your cat
To draw
Woo:
One sec
[Sent a photo]
Me:
Perfect ty
My phone is now about to be taken off me so byeeeeee
Love youuuu
Woo:
Byee joongggggg
Love you toooooo
Three and a half weeks later and Hongjoong was finally able to function mostly normally around Seonghwa.
It was still weird, being sort of maybe acquaintances but sort of maybe friends with his literal idol, but he was adjusting and he was coping and he was spamming Wooyoung with texts every single evening and he was making it work.
Seonghwa had Yunhee’s drawing on his desk, pinned up with a few photos. Some of his family, some of Ateez, one of a few of his other friends.
It was infuriatingly adorable.
He’d also joined Hongjoong for almost every one of his lunch breaks. Sometimes with Yunho, or Minji or Haneul or one of their other coworkers, or sometimes just the two of them, but they always went back to the same street and more often than not Seonghwa would buy him tanghulu or a coffee, and Hongjoong was starting to feel bad, but it also made his insides all mushy so he he resisted the urge to say anything.
They’d learnt a lot about each other on their lunch breaks. Hongjoong had told Seonghwa about how his dream was to be a music producer or a fashion designer one day, but how he didn’t really have time to explore those endeavours much with having a full time job and being a single parent. Seonghwa had told Hongjoong how one of his childhood dreams before he joined the music industry was to open a bakery. Hongjoong thought it was incredibly fitting.
Hongjoong heard the music before he saw the dancers as they made their way through the busy Friday lunch rush crowd, trying to decide what to eat.
He perked up, recognising the song instantly, one his favourite Ateez songs, and as he glanced at Seonghwa, Seonghwa’s eyes were glistening with excitement.
And then Seonghwa grabbed Hongjoong’s hand and he was dragging him stumbling through the crowd towards the source of the music. Hongjoong almost ran into Seonghwa’s back as Seonghwa came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the gathering crowd, watching a group of dancers perform. They were all in their coordinated outfits, moving with each other like clockwork, until one of them noticed Seonghwa watching with a huge smile on his face and almost stumbled over her own feet.
Then the other four noticed, and suddenly one of them was beckoning Seonghwa forward, and after a moment's hesitation and a nudge from Hongjoong, Seonghwa’s hand slipped out of Hongjoong’s and he slid into the group seamlessly as they continued the choreography, the dancers slightly shaky with excitement and Seonghwa with a huge grin on his face.
Hongjoong pulled out his phone to film, watching in awe at the way Seonghwa fit into the formations with ease despite being an additional person to the normal choreography, the way his body moved, graceful and powerful at the same time, the way he kept catching Hongjoong’s eye, biting his lip, slipping easily into the energy of the song and the choreography.
When the music came to a close, Seonghwa fell comfortably into the ending pose, gaze burning, fully in character, meeting Hongjoong’s gaze again in a way that burned right through Hongjoong’s soul, making his stomach flip and turning his entire body to jelly.
And then his expression broke and the dancers turned to him, and they were all grinning and giggling and shaking in the way Hongjoong had been almost a month ago, and Hongjoong stopped his video to let them have their moment.
He spotted a noodle shop nearby, one that they’d both been eyeing the last few days, and ducked inside away from the noise and the crowd and the excitement, ordering two boxes of noodles, making a guess at what he thought Seonghwa would like.
When he stepped back outside five minutes later, most of the crowd had dispersed, but Seonghwa still had a solid little group gathered around him, including the dancers, as he leaned in for selfies and signed tshirts.
He seemed to almost sense Hongjoong’s approach, looking up and meeting Hongjoong’s gaze with a grin, as Hongjoong leaned against a bench a few metres back, watching from a distance, Seonghwa completely in his element.
Hongjoong pulled his box of noodles out of the bag, nibbling away at them as slowly, slowly the crowd around Seonghwa dispersed, and after taking his last couple of selfies, Seonghwa crossed over to Hongjoong, his face absolutely glowing.
“That was so fun,” Seonghwa breathed, coming to a stop almost toe to toe with Hongjoong.
“You looked amazing out there,” Hongjoong replied, and he was sure his cheeks were tinged pink, but he wasn’t sure he cared at the moment. “You really are made for the stage.”
“You really think so?”
Hongjoong nodded. “Absolutely. Also I got your noodles.”
Seonghwa’s eyes glimmered, as Hongjoong held up the bag to him.
“You didn’t have to,” Seonghwa replied, but took the bag from him with a grin. “But thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Hongjoong replied, matching Seonghwa’s smile easily as he pushed himself off the bench and grabbed Seonghwa’s elbow as he started walking, Seonghwa falling into step beside him. “But now we’ve gotta head back to the office.”
An hour or two later, Seonghwa returned from his quick trip to the break room with Hongjoong’s mug filled to the brim with perfectly tasting coffee. Despite not being a coffee drinker, Seonghwa seemed to very quickly work out how to make Hongjoong’s coffee the way he liked it.
He placed it down on Hongjoong’s desk, before returning to his own, and Hongjoong took a long, appreciative sip of it, feeling the energy return to his brain. Before he could turn back to his screen, something slid across his desk, and he turned to see Seonghwa sticking his head around the side of the partition with a grin.
Hongjoong looked down to see Seonghwa’s phone had come to a stop in front of him. A new contact was open, ‘Hongjoongie’ in the name box, the cursor blinking at him eagerly from the phone number box. Hongjoong flushed.
Tentatively, he picked up Seonghwa’s phone, typing his phone number in and saving the contact, heat creeping further up his cheeks as he handed Seonghwa’s phone back to him and their fingers brushed. Seonghwa darted back to his side of the partition, and Hongjoong didn’t think his cheeks could get any warmer when a text came through on his own phone.
Unknown:
Hiiiii hongjoongieeee
Me:
Hi Seonghwaa
Seonghwa:
How is the coffee??
I think i finally got it right
Me:
It’s perfect thank you seonghwa
Seonghwa:
◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜
Yay!
would you pretty please be able to send me that video you got at lunch?
Me:
Of course, one moment
[Sent a video]
Seonghwa:
Thank you so muchhh
⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
Me:
youre welcome
Now, back to work >:(
Seonghwa:
(￣^￣ )ゞ yes sir
Hongjoong put his phone back down, turning back to his screen, barely able to focus on the task in front of him. He. Had. His. Idol’s. Number.
And from the singular brief conversation they’d had Hongjoong had already discovered that Seonghwa was an endearingly cute texter and it was going to destroy him.
By the time Seonghwa waved him goodbye as Hongjoong slipped out of the office to go pick up Yunhee from school, he could already tell this was the end of his dwindling sanity.
Me:
Mr seonghwa!!
Seonghwa:
Hongjoongie?
Me:
it’s yunhee!!
your so silly mr seonghwa
will you come to the akwarium on next weekend
daddy is taking me to the akwarium
with wooyoung and yunho
i want you to come two
can you come?
we can look at all the fishies togehter
Seonghwa:
Can you get your dad to ask me himself?
So i know all the details are right and that he’s okay with me being there?
If you give him his phone we can check right now
Me:
but daddy is busy
hes making his music
he doesnt like when i distract him from his music
Seonghwa:
I don’t think he’ll mind this time
Promise
Me:
you dance so pretty mr seonghwa
daddy thinks your pretty too
i heard him talkingon the phone to wooyoung before
he thinks your SO pretty
i think your so pretty too
Seonghwa:
Thank you yunhee
But can you give the phone to Hongjoong pretty please?
Read 7:09 pm
“So, the aquarium I hear?” Seonghwa said, spinning on his chair as Hongjoong passed by him too early on a Monday morning, a week after Seonghwa had gotten Hongjoong’s number. Hongjoong stopped.
How? What?
“Huh?”
“Yunhee took your phone last night and started texting me,” Seonghwa said, a mischievous sparkle in his eye. “She wants me to come to the aquarium with you next weekend.”
“I- oh my god I didn’t even tell her about it, how did she know? It was supposed to be a surprise.”
Hongjoong wanted to cry a little inside, but at least by the sounds of it she was excited about it. Then something clicked.
“Oh my god she probably overheard me talking to Wooyoung,” he mumbled, setting his bag down, the Ddeongbyeoli on it taunting him. Then the heat crept back up his cheeks. Surely she hadn’t heard the part where he’d spent ten straight minutes ranting to Wooyoung about how pretty Seonghwa was.
He pulled out his phone in panic, and he could feel Seonghwa’s eyes on him as he pulled up their text thread. His eyes scanned the messages, and when his eyes found the last few that Yunhee had sent he wanted to dig himself into a hole and die. He knew the blush on his cheeks was visible, he felt like he was on fire.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “She knows better than to snoop through my phone.”
Seonghwa let out a small laugh, reaching out to grab Hongjoong’s hand in what he probably thought was a comforting way but just sent Hongjoong’s traitorous heart spiralling even further. “Don’t worry about it, it was incredibly cute of her.”
“It’s those eyes,” Hongjoong mumbled, “she can get away with anything.”
And Seonghwa was looking at him with his own huge boba eyes and Hongjoong was so weak for them, he couldn’t have stopped the words from tumbling out of his mouth if he tried.
“Would you wanna come to the aquarium with us? We’re going on Saturday, then I was going to have the guys over for dinner. You’d be more than welcome at both.”
He bit his tongue hard as he realised what had just fallen from his mouth, but he didn’t even get a chance to regret his words as Seonghwa’s eyes lit up.
“I’d love to come,” he replied. Hongjoong melted.
“I’ll… I’ll text you the details then,” Hongjoong stumbled out. “We can pick you up or we can meet you there or whatever is easiest. Let me know.”
“I will,” Seonghwa replied.
Before Hongjoong could form a response, Yunho appeared behind Seonghwa, looking between them both with an eyebrow raised, before he turned to Hongjoong.
“Plans for Saturday still going ahead?” he asked. Hongjoong nodded.
“Seonghwa is coming now as well,” Hongjoong said, as Seonghwa gave Yunho a grin. “And Yunhee knows. She overheard me on call with Wooyoung last night.”
“Noo~ it was supposed to be a surprise~”
“Yeah…” Hongjoong mumbled. “I need to be a little more cautious with what I say when she’s around. She hears everything.”
Seonghwa laughed a little, and Hongjoong blushed a little further, beginning to regret having called Wooyoung last night at all, but Seonghwa wasn’t acting weird about what Yunhee had relayed from Hongjoong’s apparently not so private conversation, so he took that as a win.
The weekend rolled around quickly, and before Hongjoong knew what was happening Seonghwa was knocking on his front door as Hongjoong pulled it open and beckoned him inside.
Hongjoong was disheveled, and he flushed in embarrassment as Seonghwa’s eyes darted over his appearance.
“Sorry, we’re running a little behind schedule,” Hongjoong mumbled. “Yunhee couldn’t decide what to wear and threw a bit of a fit. But we’re mostly sorted now. I think.”
“No stress Hongjoongie,” Seonghwa replied, and Hongjoong’s stomach squirmed at the nickname. “Do you want a hand with anything?”
“It's fine, I've got it,” Hongjoong replied, but Seonghwa could clearly read his voice because he raised an eyebrow.
“Are you sure? Even if you just want me to look after Yunhee while you finish getting ready or something?”
“I-” Hongjoong sighed. “Yeah, that would be great honestly. Thank you.”
Seonghwa placed a comforting hand on Hongjoong's shoulder that had Hongjoong's heart reeling. “My pleasure,” Seonghwa replied.
“Yunhee~” Hongjoong called, letting Seonghwa further into the house. “Guess who's here?”
Yunhee appeared almost immediately, sticking her head through a doorway, eyes widening in delight.
“Mr Seonghwa!” she exclaimed, running forward and jumping into his arms, Seonghwa stumbling back a step as he only just managed to catch her.
“Hi Yunhee~” Seonghwa grinned, spinning her around and lifting her to his hip, as if he'd done this a thousand times. It warmed something in Hongjoong's heart, something deep.
“Yunhee,” Hongjoong said, gaining her attention for a moment as she looked away from Seonghwa. “Do you wanna show Seonghwa your drawings so I can finish getting ready?”
Yunhee nodded, dropping to the floor and grabbing Seonghwa’s hand, dragging him to her playroom with a grin.
And for a moment Hongjoong could breathe.
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, mind reeling with everything he needed to do to finish getting ready, before he decided to start with finishing getting dressed. He'd thrown on the jeans he knew he wanted to wear but he hadn't had a chance to decide on the top half of his outfit before Yunhee had gotten into her mood, and Seonghwa had arrived just after Hongjoong had managed to get Yunhee ready, his own readiness entirely neglected.
But as he stood in front of his wardrobe Hongjoong was filled with the distinct feeling that this felt like a date. It wasn't, he knew it wasn't. This was Hongjoong hanging out with his daughter and his friends, on a friendly, platonic trip to the aquarium. This was not a date, and as much as Hongjoong liked to think that all Seonghwa had been doing the past month could be interpreted as flirting, he did not know if Seonghwa was even into men in the first place, and he knew he was probably overthinking everything and it was just Seonghwa being friendly.
But he still wanted to look nice, and Seonghwa had made an effort with his outfit so Hongjoong would too. He pulled out a simple white short sleeve button up, with little frills on the cuffs, and dug out the knitted fish vest that Yunho had bought him that he thought he'd worn maybe once three years ago. It seemed fitting for the day, and matched the rest of the outfit surprisingly well, especially when he added a little bit of jewellery.
After he decided on a jacket he darted to the bathroom, brushing his teeth and combing his hair and splashing his face, trying to calm every chaotic, excited thought that bounced through his mind.
After a few deep breaths he stepped out, grabbing his bag with the little Ddeongbyeoli, and putting what he needed for the day in it, before making his way to Yunhee’s playroom and leaning his hip against the doorway, if nothing else to save his legs from turning to jelly and giving out beneath him at the sight of Seonghwa being all cute and domestic with his daughter.
He was sitting on the floor, Yunhee had a whole bunch of her drawings spread out around him, and was pointing at them and explaining them and showing them off.
“You guys ready?” Hongjoong asked, catching their attention, as Seonghwa turned to look up at him. Yunhee leapt over her drawings, running past Hongjoong towards the door to put her shoes on. “I’m guessing that’s a yes.”
Seonghwa chuckled, reaching up his hands to Hongjoong.
“Help me up Hongjoongie, I’m old,” Seonghwa grinned. Hongjoong rolled his eyes with a little laugh, grabbing Seonghwa’s hands and pulling him up. Hongjoong forgot sometimes how strong he was after carrying Yunhee around all the time, now being one of those times apparently as Seonghwa stumbled to his feet and almost sent them both tumbling over the other way. Hongjoong gulped when he realised one of Seonghwa’s hands had found his waist to stabilise himself, and when he met Seonghwa’s eyes, he realised just how close they were.
“Hurry up!” Yunhee yelled from the front door. “I wanna see the fishies!”
Hongjoong coughed, stepping back slightly, Seonghwa’s hand slipping from his waist, allowing him to finally breathe again.
“Let’s- let’s go,” Hongjoong said, hoping his voice didn’t sound as shaky as it felt, as he pulled Seonghwa into the hallway, their other hands still joined until he let go to pull on his shoes.
The traffic was surprisingly manageable for a Saturday, and Hongjoong managed to get them a park only a few blocks away from the aquarium. Seonghwa sitting in his passenger seat, talking to him about anything and everything between calling out directions, and fiddling with the music (Seonghwa apparently hated Hongjoong being sane and decided to play exclusively Ateez songs, singing along to his own lines with his perfect voice), was not a picture Hongjoong ever expected to have burned into his mind, but he didn’t think he’d ever be able to function properly again now that it had happened.
Once they pulled into the park, Hongjoong slipped his bag over his shoulder and got Yunhee out of the back seat, locking the car as Seonghwa came around to meet them on the footpath. Yunhee held tightly onto Hongjoong’s hand, tugging slightly in the direction of the aquarium, but before Hongjoong could even take a step to follow her, Seonghwa had come to a stop in front of him, and was reaching out to fix Hongjoong’s collar. His fingers brushed lightly against Hongjoong’s neck, sending a shiver through his body and heat to his cheeks, as he refused to look Seonghwa in the eye.
And then Seonghwa stepped back, and before either of them could say anything, Hongjoong heard Wooyoung’s delighted voice calling out Yunhee’s name and he turned to see Wooyoung and Yunho weaving their way past other pedestrians towards them.
Yunhee’s hand immediately slipped out of Hongjoong’s as she ran off to meet Wooyoung, leaping into his arms as he spun her around, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she giggled with delight.
“Hi Joong, hi Seonghwa!” Yunho called as they approached, and Wooyoung snapped his head toward them, jaw dropping as his eyes landed on Seonghwa. Hongjoong realised at that moment that he may have forgotten to mention to Wooyoung that Seonghwa was coming with. Wooyoung’s eyes darted to Hongjoong’s, an expression halfway between panic and excitement on his face, before they returned to Seonghwa and Seonghwa finally noticed that Wooyoung was staring at him.
A soft smile crept onto his face, as he met Hongjoong’s eyes again and then Wooyoung’s, and then Yunho coughed, glancing between the three of them.
“I feel like I’m missing something,” Yunho said.
“Only that you’re friends with like, the coolest kpop idol ever,” Wooyoung said, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice.
“I mean, ex idol, but…” Seonghwa trailed off, Yunho’s eyes widening in surprise.
“You- you’re a- huh? Since when?”
“Since 2018,” Wooyoung supplied, his voice shaking slightly. “This is what happens when you’re boring and don’t listen to the music Hongjoong and I send you.”
Seonghwa gasped dramatically, putting a hand to his chest. “Yunho, how could you~?”
Yunho’s mind appeared to go blank for a moment, probably processing everything, before he suddenly turned on Hongjoong. “Oh my god that’s why you were acting like such a loser when I introduced you to Seonghwa.”
Hongjoong blushed. “Hey I wasn’t- I thought I managed to- I kept my cool pretty well,” he stammered out. “Especially given the circumstances.”
“You made a valiant effort, that’s for sure,” Seonghwa replied and even though he couldn’t meet Seonghwa’s eyes he could hear the grin in his voice.
“I thought it was cause you thought he was pretty or something. Oh my god I can’t believe I’ve gone this entire time not knowing this, frankly, kind of significant piece of information. Everything makes sense now,” Yunho said, dragging his hands down his face.
“I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it,” Seonghwa said. “I didn’t really wanna draw attention to myself or anything, especially cause I’m tryna live a normal life now.”
“No, that’s completely understandable,” Yunho replied. “I just can’t believe I didn’t clock any of that.”
Wooyoung giggled, and Hongjoong couldn’t help a small laugh either, finally catching Seonghwa’s gaze for a moment, a sparkle in his eyes.
“You guys are boring, can we go look at the fishies please~” Yunhee whined, and Hongjoong suddenly remembered what they were here for.
“Good idea Yunhee,” Hongjoong said, starting toward the aquarium, Wooyoung falling into step beside him and Seonghwa and Yunho chattering behind them.
“You didn’t tell me Seonghwa was coming,” Wooyoung hissed, leaning close to Hongjoong as he tossed a glance backwards. “I need time to emotionally prepare for this kind of thing.”
“I’m sorry~” Hongjoong replied. “It happened unexpectedly and I forgot~. Yunhee was the one to ask him in the first place as well. She stole my phone and texted Seonghwa on it.”
Hongjoong felt himself flushing again as he remembered what else she’d said. “It was… it was something to deal with, I’ll say that much.”
“You’re a little gremlin aren’t you,” Wooyoung said, squishing Yunhee’s cheeks as she giggled in delight.
“Well hey,” Hongjoong said, “Now you can ask for that autograph yourself.”
“True,” Wooyoung replied, that giddy excitement still in his voice as he leaned in close to Hongjoong again. “I can’t believe I’m actually going to be hanging with Park Seonghwa.”
“Imagine how I’ve felt the past month,” Hongjoong mumbled back. “I’m actually going insane, it's not even funny.”
“I know, I’ve been living vicariously through all your messages,” Wooyoung replied. “I think I would have imploded by now, you really are one of god’s strongest soldiers.”
Hongjoong grinned.
“Wait, is he coming to dinner as well?” Wooyoung asked. Hongjoong nodded.
“Yeah. The whole day will be all five of us.”
Wooyoung grinned. “Hell yes. So what are we having for dinner, Mr Cook?”
“You’ll have to wait and see,” Hongjoong replied.
“I made cupcakes for dessert,” Yunhee supplied. “Actually Daddy helped me make the cupcakes but I decorated them all by myself!”
“Wow, I bet they’re delicious!” Wooyoung said, as they rounded the corner to the aquarium, sliding into the end of the fortunately not too long line.
“They are,” Yunhee grinned.
“What fish are you looking forward to the most, Yunhee?” Seonghwa asked, as he and Yunho came up behind them. Seonghwa settled beside Hongjoong, close enough that the backs of their hands brushed, sending little sparks all the way to Hongjoong’s heart.
“The sharks!” Yunhee grinned. “And the sting rays!”
“You’re so brave,” Seonghwa replied. “Sharks are so scary~”
“They’re so cute!” Yunhee replied.
“When I see the sharks I’m going to have to hide behind Hongjoongie,” Seonghwa said, grabbing Hongjoong’s bicep with both hands and hunching his shoulders in faux terror. Hongjoong flushed. “Hopefully he’ll stop them from eating me.”
Yunhee giggled as they moved up the line, one of Seonghwa’s hands falling away from Hongjoong’s arm as Yunhee started talking about her other favourite fish, the other hand slipping down Hongjoong’s arm into his own hand, lacing their fingers together and holding softly.
Hongjoong’s heart was racing. He was pretty sure it was about to beat out of his chest. He wasn’t even sure they’d make it to the front of the line before he collapsed in a heap and died on the concrete. Seonghwa was holding his hand.
Somehow he did survive to the front of the line, as they purchased their tickets one by one and made their way inside, taking a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, before Yunhee slipped out of Wooyoung’s hold to the ground and grabbed him and Yunho and pulled them to the first exhibit.
Hongjoong almost passed out when Seonghwa slid their hands together again, as they trailed behind the other three, and Hongjoong so desperately wanted to ask Seonghwa why he was holding his hand, but Seonghwa didn’t say anything about it or act otherwise any different so Hongjoong held his tongue and turned his eyes to the the tank full of little orange fish darting around.
They made their way past the first few exhibits slowly, stopping to get a few photos as the fish darted around, talking quietly to each other as Yunhee oohed and aahed and dropped all the little facts she knew to Yunho and Wooyoung as they held her hands. Hongjoong’s heart was racing the entire time, most of his thoughts completely turned to mush. All he could think about was how pretty Seonghwa looked as the water ripples and colours danced over his face.
Yunhee appeared in front of them suddenly, grabbing Seonghwa’s hand and dragging the two of them along to the next exhibit, pointing inside.
“Look! An octopus!”
“Where is it?” Hongjoong asked, crouching down to her level to try and see where she was looking.
“Inside the pipe,” she replied. “Look, it’s all camouflaged.”
Hongjoong looked a little closer, looking where Yunhee was pointing, until finally he could see it.
“Oh~,” Hongjoong said, “I see it now. You’ve got good eyes, sweetie. Can you see any more in there or is it just the one?”
“There’s one by that big rock,” Seonghwa said, having crouched down as well. “Yunhee can you see it?”
Yunhee shook her head. Seonghwa’s hand slipped out of Hongjoong’s, guiding Yunhee to stand in front of him so he could point it out better. “Under that ledge, right there.”
Yunhee’s eyes widened.
“I see it! It’s so pretty!”
“It sure is,” Seonghwa replied.
“Can I take a photo on your phone?” she asked, puppy eyes in full effect, and before Hongjoong could even pull out his own phone to give to Yunhee, Seonghwa’s phone was in her hands and she was pointing it at the octopus, taking slightly blurry photos of it, before she ran off with it to the next exhibit.
“I’ll get that back eventually, right?” Seonghwa asked, laughter in his eyes as they both stood up again.
“No promises,” Hongjoong replied. “I still can’t find the earbuds I let her borrow once. She took the phone and the earbuds and only gave back the phone.”
“Oh no,” Seonghwa replied, looking longingly in the direction Yunhee had gone. “There goes all my money then.”
Hongjoong chuckled. “I guess I’ll just have to treat you then.”
“Something like that,” Seonghwa smiled, grabbing Hongjoong’s hand again as he pulled him along to the next exhibit.
A few exhibits later they found themselves in front of a vast wall of moon jellies, glowing softly in the dimness and casting a blue glow across their faces.
“Gimme your phone,” Seonghwa said, and without a second thought Hongjoong pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to him, watching as Seonghwa stepped back, hand slipping out of his again. “Smile!”
Hongjoong lined himself up in front of the jellies, grinning as he held up a peace sign. A few moments later Seonghwa moved to stand next to him, holding out the phone for a selfie, wrapping his other arm around Hongjoong’s shoulders and pulling him close, Hongjoong’s heart racing at the movement. Hongjoong smiled into the camera as Seonghwa took a few photos, his stomach dropping when Seonghwa pressed his lips to Hongjoong’s cheek for a photo. And then a second later they were gone and he was leaning his head on Hongjoong’s shoulder and Hongjoong was seconds away from either melting into a pile of goo on the floor or exploding.
“Your turn,” Hongjoong said, voice shaking slightly when Seonghwa lowered Hongjoong’s phone. He handed it back, and Hongjoong was starting to think Seonghwa’s smile was permanent because he was always smiling around him and it had Hongjoong giddy and flustered like he was a teenager again.
Hongjoong stepped back, flipping the camera back around as Seonghwa posed in front of the jellies, the perfect backdrop. He did a few smiling and with peace signs like Hongjoong, but when Hongjoong lowered his phone and Seonghwa turned to look back at the pretty jellyfish floating around, Hongjoong couldn’t stop himself from taking a few candids as well.
Something had Hongjoong feeling bold as he stepped back up to Seonghwa and slipped his hand into his, and he was glad the only reaction he received was a soft squeeze of his hand in return.
About 40 minutes later they finally caught up with Yunhee, Wooyoung and Yunho again at the end of the section, Yunhee having dragged Wooyoung and Yunho through at the chaotic pace of a six year old who would stare at one exhibit for minutes at a time and rush past the next.
Upon seeing them Yunhee rushed over to them, looking up at Seonghwa with wide eyes.
“Seonghwa can I pretty please have a piggy back, Yunho and Wooyoung are mean and won’t give me one.”
“We went to the gym this morning,” Wooyoung defended. “Both of us are already in pain.”
Seonghwa laughed, crouching down so Yunhee could climb onto his back, hugging her arms over his shoulders as he held her legs on top of his hips.
Hongjoong immediately pulled out his phone to get a photo, both of them grinning, as the four of them fell into step towards the next section of the aquarium.
“Look!” Yunhee exclaimed. “Sting ray!” Seonghwa picked up pace, Yunho following, Hongjoong and Wooyoung falling into step behind them.
The look Wooyoung met Hongjoong with had him almost shaking in his boots.
“Hongjoong, I’m like 97% sure he’s in love with you,” Wooyoung said quietly, as they approached the stingray exhibit. Hongjoong’s eyes widened.
“We can’t just assume he’s gay though,” Hongjoong replied, voice shaking a little. “Like I know it feels like he’s flirting with me a lot but heaps of straight people fake flirt with their friends. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
“There’s a difference between fake flirting and actual flirting, Hongjoong,” Wooyoung replied. “I know you, and I know you want to doubt this because ‘it’s probably not real’ or you don’t feel like you deserve this, or you feel like you need to focus all your energy on Yunhee, but you’re allowed to want this. And you’re allowed to have this if I’m right. Which I’m pretty sure I am.”
If they weren’t in public Hongjoong might have let a few tears slip. But they were in public and Seonghwa and Yunho and Yunhee weren’t far away, so Hongjoong just nodded instead.
“Okay,” he whispered, voice quivering a little, and Wooyoung took his hand, squeezing lightly. He couldn’t help but notice that the way Wooyoung held his hand felt different to the way Seonghwa did, and part of him really hoped Wooyoung was right.
“Now let's go look at these fish,” Wooyoung said, a comforting smile slipping onto his face, as he gave Hongjoong a nudge back toward Yunho, Seonghwa and Yunhee.
“Daddy look at that one,” Yunhee said as they approached, pointing towards a particularly large ray as it swam across their view.
“Woah, that's a big one,” Hongjoong said, reaching up to brush away some of Yunhee's hair from where it had fallen in front of her eyes. “Do you wanna know what I saw on the map that's just around the corner?”
“What?” Yunhee asked excitedly.
Hongjoong leaned in closer, so that only Yunhee and Seonghwa would be able to hear him. “Sharks.”
Yunhee gasped.
“Seonghwa sharks now please please please please,” she exclaimed.
Seonghwa chuckled. “Sharks it is,” he said, starting forward as Hongjoong followed just behind them. They wove their way through the crowd, turning around the corner, coming face to face with the huge floor to ceiling shark tank. A muffled squeal escaped Yunhee as she looked up at it in awe.
Huge kelp plants filled the corners of the tank, corals and rocks scattered across the bottom as rays and fish, lemon sharks and carpenter sharks, and even a turtle swam through the space.
“Seonghwa can I pretty please go on your shoulders?” Hongjoong heard Yunhee whisper, and a moment later he was bending down again, Yunhee clambering onto his shoulders as he lifted her back up so she could see better. One of Seonghwa's hands held Yunhee's legs in front of him, and the other found Hongjoong’s hand again, lacing their fingers together and holding tightly, as they watched the sharks in awe.
After another couple of hours and a stop for lunch at the aquarium’s cafe, they found themselves in the final section of the aquarium, looking at heaps of seals and a rescue walrus, and a variety of different polar climate fish. Yunhee was dragging Yunho and Wooyoung around again, eyes following the seals with excitement as they darted around and chased the food that was dropped in from above as a staff member up the front narrated the feeding demonstration.
The air was cooler here, unsurprisingly because it was the polar section, but unfortunately for Hongjoong’s sanity, that meant Seonghwa was huddled closer to him, holding his bicep like he had in line this morning, pressed into Hongjoong’s side. They stayed like that as they made their way from tank to tank, talking quietly to each other, taking photos of the fish and the occasional selfie, and playing paparazzi for Yunho, Wooyoung and Yunhee.
“Do they like each other?” Seonghwa murmured as they spotted the trio again, Yunhee on Wooyoung’s back, apparently having given in to her antics, Yunho getting a photo of them in front of a tank of little silver fish.
“Huh?” Hongjoong asked, having been only half paying attention.
“Yunho and Wooyoung,” Seonghwa said quietly. “Do they like each other?”
Hongjoong’s brain finally registered what Seonghwa had asked, and he turned to him in surprise.
“Like… romantically?”
“Yeah. They seem really close and I feel like there’s this… energy between them,” Seonghwa murmured. “I don’t know how else to really explain it.”
“I’ve… never asked them before,” Hongjoong replied, as they continued onward, but as they watched from their short distance, he supposed he could kind of see where Seonghwa was coming from. “All three of us have been friends since high school, so I know they love each other very deeply. Whether it’s like that, I’m not sure, but I suppose I can see how you see that.”
Seonghwa hummed, as they turned the corner into what Hongjoong was pretty sure was the final exhibit. The penguins. He watched with a smile as Yunhee dashed forward, leaving Yunho and Wooyoung trailing behind her, her hands against the glass as she watched the penguins.
And as they drew closer, Hongjoong realised they’d chosen the perfect time of year to visit the aquarium, because amongst all the adult penguins, sitting on their feet and cuddling up in their feathers, was a whole lot of penguin chicks.
“Daddy, look there’s babies!” Yunhee squeaked. “They’re so cute! Can you get a photo please please please?”
“Of course sweetie,” Hongjoong replied, pulling out his phone and crouching slightly to get a good angle, as Yunhee grinned into the camera, a whole bunch of penguins behind her.
A moment later he was handing his phone to Yunhee so she could look at the photos and take her own photos of the penguins, and when he returned to his full height he found Seonghwa looking at him with a soft smile.
They started walking slowly along the length of the enclosure, Seonghwa still clinging to him as they looked at all the penguins.
“Did you know penguins can be gay?” Seonghwa said, as they came to a stop in front of a particularly large huddle of them.
Hongjoong had to do a double take.
“Huh?”
“Penguins can be gay,” Seonghwa repeated, and he was looking at Hongjoong in a way that had Hongjoong thinking Wooyoung might be right. “They adopt the eggs abandoned by other penguin couples and raise them as their own. There’s quite a few zoos around the world with gay penguins. It’s really cute.”
“And you know this why?” Hongjoong asked, but he couldn’t help the smile creeping onto his lips.
“Because I’m gay-” Hongjoong’s heart stopped, “-and Yeosang told me when I came out to the band as his way of showing support.”
“Me too,” Hongjoong replied, and he was pretty sure a thousand tonnes of weight had just been lifted off his chest. “Well I’m technically bi, but… yeah. Me too.”
“I had my suspicions,” Seonghwa replied, cocking his head to the side.
“What, cause of how I walk? Didn’t take you as one to stereotype,” Hongjoong replied with faux annoyance.
“That and the little pride flag on your desk.”
Hongjoong’s mouth opened. And closed. And opened again.
“Yeah that’ll do it,” he replied, flushing a little with embarrassment. He’d completely forgotten that was on his desk. It had a tendency to blend in with all the other clutter and decorations. “I forget that’s there sometimes.”
“Daddy can we go to the gift shop?” Yunhee said, appearing suddenly in front of them in that way she had a tendency to do. He glanced back to see Wooyoung and Yunho crossing over to them.
“I don’t see why not,” Hongjoong replied, taking one of Yunhee’s hands in his spare one, and catching Wooyoung giving him the stare as he eyed the way Seonghwa was still clinging to Hongjoong.
Yunhee all but dragged them towards the gift shop, immediately disappearing into the plushie section.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Seonghwa said, letting go of Hongjoong’s arm. “I wanna get something.”
Hongjoong nodded, finding a spot near the registers with Yunho and Wooyoung, who immediately turned on him.
“That looked incredibly gay,” Wooyoung said.
“Huh?” Yunho asked, looking between the two of them.
“Joong and Seonghwa are in love with each other but are apparently too in denial to do something about it, get with the program Yunho,” Wooyoung replied.
“Oh, oh, nope yep got it, got it,” Yunho said, and Hongjoong found himself blushing in embarrassment for what must’ve been the millionth time today.
“What was happening just there?” Wooyoung asked.
“He…” Hongjoong glanced around, seeing Seonghwa far away enough on the other side of the store. “He told me he’s gay. He was saying something about penguins being gay and then he segued into him being gay. And I told him I’m bi.”
Wooyoung grinned. “I knew it, I told you this would work out.”
Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like he asked me out, he just told me he’s gay. There’s a difference, Wooyoung. But… but I do have a feeling you might be right. I really hope you’re right.”
Yunhee came running up to them then with a giant lemon shark plushie held between her arms, grabbing Hongjoong’s hand and dragging him to the registers before Wooyoung even had a chance to reply.
The drive home was filled almost entirely with Yunhee rambling non stop about the aquarium. Seonghwa was asking her questions between giving Hongjoong directions and soon enough they arrived back home, Yunho and Wooyoung already pulled up out the front.
They stepped out of Wooyoung’s car when Hongjoong pulled up, running over to get Yunhee out of the backseat before Hongjoong could even get out of the car himself, and barely a moment later all five of them were slipping through the front door and inside.
“So, what’s for dinner Mr Cook?” Wooyoung asked, as they made their way into the living room.
“We made dumplings!” Yunhee said.
“And I was gonna make jajangmyeon or tteokbokki to go with them, whatever everyone prefers,” Hongjoong added, collapsing on the couch, finding Seonghwa sitting next to him barely a moment later, Yunho and Wooyoung falling onto the floor with Yunhee, looking up at Hongjoong.
“I’m happy with either,” Wooyoung said. He raised an eyebrow, “Or both if you’re feeling ambitious.”
“I second that,” Yunho replied.
“We can help you cook if you want,” Seonghwa suggested, and Hongjoong was surprised to see he almost seemed… nervous. A stark contrast to how he’d been in every other interaction they’d had over the past month.
“As long as Yunho stays at least a metre from the stove at all times,” Wooyoung replied with a laugh, side eyeing Yunho, who put a hand to his chest in mock offence.
“I’d say something but you’re an annoyingly good cook Wooyoung, so I can’t really insult you,” Yunho replied.
Wooyoung, unsurprisingly, launched at Yunho’s shoulder and bit him.
Seonghwa let out a surprised laugh, turning to meet Hongjoong’s eyes.
“This is normal, don’t worry,” Hongjoong replied. He pushed up a sleeve, pointing to a little spot on his bicep. “He actually drew blood once, I’ve never forgiven him for it.”
“Still deserved it,” Wooyoung replied, turning toward the TV and throwing a raised eyebrow back at Hongjoong. “It’s too early to start dinner yet, surely we play a few rounds of Mario Kart and show Seonghwa how terrible you are at it?”
“Wow,” Hongjoong replied. “Trying to ruin my reputation here are we?”
“Always,” Yunho replied, already standing up to grab the controllers as if Hongjoong ever had a choice in the matter.
Hongjoong lost count of how many rounds they played, but by the time they put the controllers down to start on dinner, his reputation had been utterly destroyed, having placed last in every single game, including against Yunhee. Hongjoong didn’t know where she got her Mario Kart skills from, but it most certainly wasn’t him.
But now they were in the kitchen, Hongjoong and Yunho chopping up the meat and vegetables for the jajangmyeon while Seonghwa and Wooyoung were cooking at the stove, most of Wooyoung’s nervous energy about meeting and hanging out with Seonghwa having dissipated during them all ganging up against Hongjoong in Mario Kart, leaving him yapping Seonghwa’s ear off like he was any of their other friends, and Seonghwa smiling fondly as he listened.
Yunhee had set out their plates and bowls at the coffee table in the living room, and was now sitting on a stool at the bench, watching Yunho and Hongjoong while she doodled on some spare paper. Unsurprisingly, it was mostly fish.
“Veggies incoming,” Hongjoong said, picking up the chopping board he was working on as he finished cutting the last piece of cucumber, manoeuvring around Yunho over to the stove. “Which one?”
“This one,” Seonghwa said, pointing to the wok, as Hongjoong scraped the veggies into it. He leaned over everything cooking on the stove, taking a deep breath through his nose, nodding in approval as he met Seonghwa’s eyes.
“Smells delicious,” Hongjoong said.
“Of course it does,” Seonghwa replied, bumping Hongjoong’s hip with his own. “Wooyoung and I made it, it’s bound to be delicious.”
“Hey, Joong and I are helping plenty,” Yunho defended. “It’s not my fault you won’t let me near the stove.”
“Last time someone let you near a stove you burnt pasta,” Wooyoung shot back. “Pasta.”
“It was a crappy stove,” Yunho mumbled, as Hongjoong returned to his spot next to him to continue with the veggie cutting.
20 minutes later they were sitting around the coffee table, scooping food into their bowls and filling their stomachs with a delicious home cooked meal. Seonghwa’s knee bumped against Hongjoong’s, and their hands brushed as they passed bowls and plates between each other, leaving Hongjoong feeling warm and giddy inside.
Yunhee’s rambles had moved from fish to other animals, all of them listening intently as she explained the differences between all the types of big cats in the best way a six year old could.
Once they’d finished eating Hongjoong gathered up as many of the dishes as he could carry, slipping out of the living room and into the kitchen to start washing up. He could hear Wooyoung and Yunho squabbling over the TV remote and then a few moments later a song from one of Yunho’s favourite artists coming on. Hongjoong found himself swaying slightly to the music, humming along with the tune as he scrubbed at a plate.
He didn’t hear Seonghwa enter and almost jumped out of his skin in surprise when Seonghwa appeared beside him with the rest of the dishes, placing them down on the pile.
“Oh my god, you scared me,” Hongjoong exclaimed, Seonghwa letting out a laugh at Hongjoong’s expression.
“Didn’t mean to,” Seonghwa replied, grabbing the tea towel as he moved to Hongjoong’s other side. “Let me give you a hand.”
“You don’t have to,” Hongjoong replied. “You’re a guest, you don’t need to help me with the dishes. You guys did more than you needed to by helping with dinner.”
“Hongjoong,” Seonghwa was looking him dead in the eye. “Let me help. I want to help.”
“I…” Hongjoong started, and Seonghwa was close, really close. And he was looking at him with those boba eyes again and when had Hongjoong ever been able to say no to them? “Okay. The plates go in that cupboard.”
Seonghwa grinned, picking up one of the clean plates and drying it off, putting it in its spot like he’d been in Hongjoong’s kitchen a thousand times. He hummed along to the music, waltzing around the kitchen while he dried plates and bowls and cutlery like he belonged there.
Then one of Ateez’s songs came on from the living room, and Seonghwa turned on Hongjoong with a cunning look in his eye, putting away the bowl he was holding and crossing over to Hongjoong.
“Dance with me Joong,” Seonghwa said, reaching out to grab one of Hongjoong’s hands, the new nickname doing terrible things to Hongjoong’s heart.
“I don’t know the choreography,” Hongjoong replied, but Seonghwa was already pulling him away from the sink, drying his hands with the tea towel before he tossed it on the bench.
“No choreography,” Seonghwa replied, taking both Hongjoong’s hands in his own. “Just feel the music. I know you understand music. You just need to feel it.”
Hongjoong nodded, as if he ever had a choice in the matter, as Seonghwa spun him around and Hongjoong landed in his arms, both of them moving with the music, with the notes, somehow both on time and not, Seonghwa singing along to the lyrics and looking at Hongjoong with those eyes again. Hongjoong found himself finding their rhythm, moving as one with Seonghwa as they spun each other around, and if Hongjoong had a list of his favourite memories ever, this had just found a place in the top ten.
As the ending notes faded out, Hongjoong found himself in Seonghwa’s arms. They were looking at each other, grins on both their faces, flushed and hearts racing.
“Wait,” Seonghwa said, “I’ve got something for you.”
He stepped back, and Hongjoong almost mourned the loss of Seonghwa pressed up against him, as he crossed over to where he’d left his bag on the end of the bench. He opened it, rifling through it for a moment before he pulled something out that Hongjoong couldn’t see from this angle. And then he was back in front of Hongjoong, telling him to close his eyes and hold out his hands, so Hongjoong complied and squeezed his eyes shut, and something soft and fluffy was placed in his hands.
“You can open your eyes now,” Seonghwa said, voice low and soft. Hongjoong opened his eyes. In his hands sat a little penguin plushie on a keyring. Seonghwa was holding an identical matching one in his own hands.
Hongjoong’s heart stopped.
“Did… did you get these at the aquarium?” Hongjoong asked, his voice shaky, and Seonghwa nodded.
“Matching. Just for you and me.”
“I’m going to be honest this feels a lot like a love confession,” Hongjoong said, voice coming out barely louder than a whisper.
A soft, sweet smile found its way to Seonghwa’s lips. Hongjoong could hear the music coming from the living room, but it was deafened by the sound of his heart in his ears.
“That means I’m doing it right then,” Seonghwa replied, and Hongjoong’s heart skipped a beat, stomach flipping. Hongjoong shivered as one of Seonghwa’s hands found his jaw, but he leaned into the touch, meeting Seonghwa’s gaze.
“I’d really like to kiss you right now, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong whispered, before he could even think about stopping himself.
Without a second’s hesitation, Seonghwa’s lips met his. They were soft and gentle against Hongjoong’s, Seonghwa’s thumb caressing his cheek as Hongjoong’s eyes fluttered closed, melting into Seonghwa, into his touch, into his lips, the little penguin clutched like a lifeline between their chests.
Seonghwa pulled away far too soon, but he didn’t step back, instead stepping closer, pressing kisses to Hongjoong’s nose, his cheeks, his forehead, turning Hongjoong every shade of crimson under the sun as Hongjoong wrapped his arms around Seonghwa’s waist, pulling him closer, as Seonghwa combed his fingers lightly through Hongjoong’s hair, and everything about the moment was absolutely perfect.
Hongjoong pressed his lips to Seonghwa’s again, a little harder this time, relishing in the way Seonghwa melted into him, moving their lips slowly and sweetly together. Hongjoong only pulled away when he heard a small gasp cut through the bubble he found himself in, then the pattering of small feet, and then a muffled, “Daddy and Seonghwa are kissing!”
Their gazes met, both of them bursting into a fit of giggles, Seonghwa pressing a kiss to Hongjoong’s hair as Yunho and Wooyoung raced into the room. But Hongjoong was too in love and too full of bliss to even think about pulling away from Seonghwa, instead falling further into his embrace as Yunho and Wooyoung high fived from the doorway.
Later that evening, after they’d had dessert and Hongjoong had put Yunhee to bed, the four of them found themselves curled up together on a couch far too small for four people, a TV show Hongjoong had long since stopped paying attention to playing softly in the background. But Hongjoong couldn’t care less. He had Seonghwa wrapped up in his arms, pressing soft kisses to his cheek in a way he would never have dreamed possible just over a month ago.
“I was thinking,” Wooyoung said, lowering the TV volume a little further. “If you two wanted to go on a date at some point this week, or next week or whenever suits you,” he eyed Hongjoong, “then Yunho and I would be more than happy to look after Yunhee for a night.”
“She may or may not have mentioned at the aquarium that she wants to have a sleepover with my dog,” Yunho chuckled. “So, two birds with one stone.”
Hongjoong rolled his eyes with a small laugh, turning back to Seonghwa.
“I would like to go on a date at some point,” Seonghwa said. “Just the two of us.”
Hongjoong nodded. “I’d like that too. Maybe we can go look at the gay penguins again.”
“The cherry blossoms should be out in the next week or two as well,” Seonghwa said.
“Perfect,” he turned back to Wooyoung, “I think we can make something work. I doubt Yunhee will have any complaints.”
Wooyoung and Yunho turned to each other with matching shit eating grins, and Hongjoong was already worried about how much sugar they were going to feed her, but he didn’t get long to think about it because Seonghwa was grabbing his cheek and turning him back towards him, meeting his lips again and washing away every worry Hongjoong had ever had.
A month later Seonghwa posted on Instagram for what was the first time in almost a year. The first photo was a candid of Seonghwa at the aquarium looking at a wall of blue glowing moon jellies. The second was a selfie of him, three other men and a young girl with a star over her face in front of a seal enclosure, Seonghwa clinging onto one of their arms like he never wanted to let him go. The third was a huddle of penguins with baby penguins huddled up on their feet. The fourth was another candid, from further away this time, of Seonghwa and the man he’d been clinging to, the girl on Seonghwa’s shoulders, all three silhouetted against the aquarium’s shark exhibit, the two men holding hands. The fifth was a selfie of Seonghwa and the same man with the moon jellies behind them, Seonghwa’s lips pressed to the man’s cheek, a soft pink blush undeniable on both their faces. The sixth, a selfie of Seonghwa and the same man, cherry blossoms behind them as they held up matching penguin plushie keyrings. The seventh, another selfie similar to the last, but without the penguins and this time with their lips pressed softly against each other’s, eyes closed, both grinning into the kiss. The eighth, the penguin plushies on a cluttered office desk, sitting either side of a pen cup filled with a variety of mismatched pens, and a little pride flag. The ninth, a selfie of Seonghwa, the man and the girl, a star over her face again, all holding up tanghulu with wide grins on their faces. The tenth, a video this time, of Seonghwa in his element, dancing with a group of street dancers to one of his own songs, surprise and excitement on the dancers’ faces, and joy on Seonghwa’s, a spark in his eyes every single time he met the gaze of the person behind the camera.
And the caption: “Did you know penguins can be gay?” - Yeosang
Unsurprisingly, the comments went wild.