Their King Ateez x Hongjoong

8

Hongjoong's POV

I later awoke in a completely dark room. Very little light came in from the large window in the room. I sat up on the bed and soon walked around the room.

I felt the walls and found a light switch. I turned on the bedroom lights, my eyes burning from the change in brightness. I gasped seeing Taeyong in the bed. He was still sleeping, or I think he is.

"Turn off the lights and go back to sleep, Hongjoong," Taeyong said as he covered his eyes with a pillow.

"Why are you in bed with me?" I asked. Taeyong removed the pillow and laughed.

"You're in my bed, Hongjoong, not the other way around," taeyong smiled. I sighed and looked toward the bedroom door.

"Will you let me call Seonghwa one last time so I can say goodbye to him and the guys?" I asked softly. Taeyong sighed and grabbed his phone from the nightstand beside him.

"Here, but I get to sit in on the call, okay?" Taeyong handed me the phone. I dialed Seonghwa's number and sighed.

"Hello? How did you get this number?" Seonghwa asked coldly. I smiled softly hearing his voice.

"Babe, it's me. I'm calling from Taeyong's phone to say I love you and I'm sorry it had to be like this, but I know you need Mingi more than you need me, so just know it wasn't Mingi's fault. I went with Taeyong on my own will so he'd be safe. Please, forgive me, babe," I begged.

"Baby, why would you go with Taeyong? Why didn't you try to run away and be free?" Seonghwa asked. I sighed.

"I didn't want them to hurt Mingi because I didn't comply. Don't look for me, okay? Don't risk your lives to save me. I'll be fine, okay? I love you, Seonghwa. Please respect my wish for you to not find me. Make sure Mingi knows it's not his fault I am with Taeyong. Wait, can I talk to him? Please?" I asked.

"Here, Mingi. Hongjoong wants to talk to you," Seonghwa said. I heard as the phone was passed to Mingi.

"Joongie! Why would you go to Neo City? They're not kind people!" Mingi exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not tied up at all, and I'm allowed to say goodbye to you, so they must not be too bad like you say. I'll be fine, I always am. Please, please, know that this wasn't your fault. I am the one who asked you for a date. I'm the one who chose to go instead of running away. This wasn't your fault, okay?" I spoke on the phone. I heard as Mingi sniffled.

"Are you crying? Min, it wasn't your fault by any means, okay? Please be strong. Put me on speaker. I love you guys, okay? Although I was only there for a day, you guys became the family I never had. Thank you," I said and hung up the phone.

"Family you never had? What happened to your family?" Taeyong asked. I sighed again.

   "My birth family put me up for adoption when I was a baby and I never got adopted. I never really had much of a family, but Ateez became my family in such a short amount of time, it's kind of crazy actually..." I mumbled. Taeyong looked at me sadly and nodded.

   "Well, you can soon consider Neo City as your family, Hongjoong. We will do our best to keep you safe and happy," Taeyong smiled. I shook my head.

   "You don't want to make me happy at all, Taeyong. You took me away from my boyfriend, my friends, and my future boyfriend. They've made me so happy in just one night that I'm unsure you guys will be able to top," I said and turned back off the lights.

   I crawled back into bed and felt as Taeyong gently rubbed my back.

   "Okay. If after one month you have no feelings for any of the twenty three of us, I'll let you go back to Seonghwa. Does that sound alright?" Taeyong asked. I nodded before realizing he couldn't see it.

  "Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you, Taeyong, I really appreciate it," I smiled and soon fell asleep.

  
   The next morning, I awoke slowly. Taeyong was still beside me, just going through his phone. I took this as my chance to actually look at him.

   He was handsome to say the least. His fire red hair was beautiful, as was the scar in his eyebrow causing a split to form in the hairs. His lips were full and pink. His eyes were chocolate brown and sparkly.

   "Are you getting a good enough look or should I turn to face you?" Taeyong teased me. I blushed and rolled away from him.

   "Hey, I didn't say you couldn't look. It's fine by me, Hongjoong," Taeyong smiled and gently rolled me onto my back.

   "You said there are twenty three of you guys last night. Will I get to meet them soon?" I asked. Taeyong nodded and stood up.

   "You seem about Mark's size, so I'll ask him to lend you some clothes to change into," Taeyong claimed and texted on his phone.

   Soon, a shorter male entered the room with some jeans and a t shirt. I thanked him and asked where a bathroom was.

   "There's one behind that door," Taeyong responded. I nodded and shut and locked the door behind me.

   I quickly changed clothes and tossed my dirty clothes in the laundry basket.

   "Okay, let's go meet the others," Taeyong smiled and took my hand.