ATEEZ ONE-SHOTS |BXB|

F|Our First|Minhwa

Note, yes this the second part to
-> A/M|Our Last|Seongjoong

⊰᯽⊱┈──╌❊ - ❊╌──┈⊰᯽⊱

His tear-drenched face shimmered under the streetlight as he looked up to the high apartment complex building. The light breeze made him shiver; his lips already started to turn their color to faint purple.

He didn't know - actually, he did know why this was the first place his feet carried him to. This was not only the only door he could knock at but also the only place he felt safe. And still, he couldn't move from his place. He couldn't get himself to ring the bell, to look him in the face in his current state. But he had nowhere to go.

What had happened still seemed so surreal to him but the pain it had left in his chest was surely the most real he had felt in so long.

Oh how much he had loved Hongjoong. He still did, and Seonghwa was sure that it wouldn't change, maybe never. The man was deep in his heart and engraved in his mind, there was no way to ever forget or move on. No matter how he had treated him, he knew Hongjoong had been sorry. They had spent too much time for him to not know. And now, now that he had left him, he felt like he had just ripped out a part of himself. He had betrayed him, he knew that he did care, and he had left him still.

How could he look into Mingi's face with these thoughts on his mind?

How could he dare to show up at this hour, crying about his former partner to the man that liked him?

"I'm the same monster as he is"

~

"Thank you, Mrs. Seo! Have a good night," Mingi said and waved at the woman behind the counter of the 24h shop. As he stepped out in the cold night, a cool breeze hit his face; his cheeks tinted a faint rosé. He took a deep breath and turned on his way home.

When he couldn't sleep, it was hot chocolate that brought him back to bed again. Unfortunately, he had run out of chocolate powder, and after many unsuccessful tries of sleeping, he had decided to take the walk to the 24h shop. He used to work there as a student, back in high school. The owner, Mrs. Seo had been very supportive of him and used to either give him a bonus every other month or just scratched his shift so he could study. But his school career didn't last long, he hadn't passed the university entry-exam and was job-hopping since. He had his current job for around three years, and he wouldn't want to have it another way.

Because in the end, he had met Seonghwa through it.

Mingi had seen the changes in the relationship of his elder. It was no lie, he was sure Hongjoong cared, had at some point for sure. In the beginning, they would never separate for longer than five minutes. Hongjoong had always showered Seonghwa with whatever he desired. But over the years, as the name Kim got bigger and more known to the people, it became rare to see the couple together. Mingi explained it to himself as 'protection' first, but he soon saw the hurt in his elder.

In his eyes, Hongjoong didn't deserve any of the devotion Seonghwa gave to everything that included him. And so did he, he didn't deserve it either. But he had done the same mistake as the handsome elder.

"I fell in love, huh?"

There was a certain bitterness to the words rolling over his lips. He was head over heels for him, and yet he knew that Seonghwa was unavailable. Even if he had ended the relationship, the elder wouldn't be able to look forward any time soon; he was too deep and emotionally involved. And Mingi was okay with that. He could wait, he could wait a couple of years longer. It was a cruel one-sided love. "I'm just like him..." he sighed as he turned into the street of his apartment building. Now that he realized that he was waiting for Seonghwa just as pathetically as the elder had been waiting for Hongjoong, he understood. It was cruel that he understood and was content with waiting for someone that wouldn't come. Seonghwa loved Hongjoong, if he hadn't, he wouldn't have stayed that long. And in the end, he came to love him and his rare laughs and giggles, his sincerity and devotion. He loved the gentleness and his delicate mannerisms.