You Rock My Heart

Had he really been alone?

Hongjoong woke up to a rustling sound near his head.

"Jongho if you're coming to scare me awake again I will murder you," he grunted half awake.

The crinkling continued and Hongjoong whipped around ready to fight only to come face to face with a squirrel.

"AGGH!" he screamed stumbling backwards. "What the—"

The squirrel that had been looking for spare jalapeño chips was frightened at his outburst and took off into the forest. Hongjoong blinked his eyes a few times, trying to figure out what was going on. Finally it came to him; he was still in the park! And he had fallen asleep there? But that meant that Seonghwa—he quickly looked to his side but to his dismay he found nothing but blankets. So Seonghwa had gone home and he had just fallen asleep here on his own like an absolute creep? Seonghwa could never find out! What kind of crazy person just falls asleep in the forest? He grabbed his scalp to push his hair back as he stressed over the events of last night only to find his hair sticking to him due to the static.

"What the—"

As he pulled his hands back he saw that he was still wearing Seonghwa's mittens. His confusion paused for a moment as he remembered Seonghwa's cute little flapping but quickly returned when he realized how late he was going to be. Scrambling, he found his phone in his bag and checked the time. Work ended in less than two hours! He had missed almost the whole practice! He threw on his boots and quickly shoved the blankets into his bag and took off dashing back to the studio.

———

"I'm so sorry I'm so late!" yelled Hongjoong as he slammed through the door to the studio. He leaned over gasping for breath, having forgotten how long the run back would be.

"It's okay, you had us worried though. Where were you? It's not like you to be late?" responded Jongho with a concerned expression.

"Well, not five hours late," remarked Yeosang, remembering many practices spent waiting around for Hongjoong.

"I—uh—it's too embarrassing. But I'm here now! So let's get rolling!"

"We already ran through all of the songs without you, sorry. If there's a specific one you want to work on we have time but not enough to go over everything," said San feeling a little bad for starting without their leader.

"To be fair, you're five hours late," added Yeosang, not quite ready to let it go just yet.

"Again, I'm sorry. That's totally fine I only had a few notes to go over so it'll be a smooth practice."

They all knew he was lying since he carried an overflowing three ring binder of notes at all times but they let him pretend they were fooled and finished out practice following his lead. As much as he wanted to focus on what was left of his practice, Hongjoong had a resurfacing thought that kept bothering him.

He could've sworn he remembered Seonghwa lying next to him under the blankets. Could he really have left before they'd fallen asleep? Had he really been alone?