Ateez Roommates - Seongjoong

RA Meeting - 2

The meeting was honestly a lot more fun than Seonghwa had expected and he even made a few more friends.

He had sat by his friends Hyunwoo and Kihyun at the start but they'd all met other RA's as they rotated around the room as a group.

The first were Taeyong and Yuta, who were pretty chill. Then their friend Johnny came over and Seonghwa was taken aback by his strange comments. He was definitely funny but mostly a bit odd.

They moved on to another group where they met Seungcheol and Jeonghan. They were juniors like Hyunwoo and Kihyun and had requested to be on the same floor as they'd randomly matched as RA's the year before. Seonghwa knew that wouldn't be the case for him.

The last group they talked to was Jinyoung and Jackson. Seonghwa and Kihyun got along really well with Jinyoung and Hyunwoo and Jackson knew each other from the fencing team. They decided to invite the two out for lunch with them after the meeting and they agreed.

When it was over, Seonghwa glanced around to see where Hongjoong was, his mind deciding whether or not he should invite him along. It might seem weird and it would also probably be ten times more awkward. So Seonghwa decided against it.

Kihyun put a hand on his back and beckoned him forward.

"We're thinking of heading to the cafe by North Hall if you're cool with that?"

"Ooh yes that sounds heavenly," Seonghwa smiled and the five of them headed out.

The cafe was one Seonghwa had been to a few times last semester to study. It was pretty cute inside with pastel colors and string lights. They had a boba bar as well as a vast selection of miniature pastries to chose from.

They made it inside and everyone ordered, taking a seat over by the windows. There were only two big tables as most were booths or doubles, so they sat at one of them.

Seonghwa let his seniors sit first before taking a seat on the end. It was odd to hang out with only upperclassmen but he didn't have a lot of friends in his grade anyways. He was just grateful to be invited.

"Medium strawberry coconut milk tea with tapioca pearls!" the cashier called and Seonghwa stood up to grab his drink. As he approached the beverage he bowed slightly at the cashier before reaching for the drink. But just as he was about to grab it a small hand pulled it away and he turned in confusion.

The culprit was none other than Kim Hongjoong.

"Oh—is this yours?" Hongjoong asked pushing it over to Seonghwa.

"Oh no, it's probably yours," laughed Seonghwa pushing it back.

"I just ordered and I thought it was kind of quick so it's probably actually yours," smiled Hongjoong pushing it back again.

Seonghwa gave a forced smile and grabbed it, bowing slightly as he speed-walked back to his table. That was so awkward! He face-palmed a few times before reaching the table. Why was he even here? Of all the restaurants on campus?

He groaned as he sat down and Kihyun gave him a look.

"Do you see who's here?" Seonghwa grumbled and Kihyun took a peek.

"Shit what are the chances?" Kihyun groaned with him.

"He ordered the same drink as me so we had an awkward 'you take it!' 'No you take it!' before I just grabbed it and walked away," he whined putting his head in his hands.

"That's the worst," chimed in Kihyun giving him a reassuring pat on the back.

"I just wanted my boba," Seonghwa sighed, finally taking a sip. The drink was definitely worth the hassle and he exhaled happily.

The rest of the table got their drinks and then as the food was being called out, one of the guys that was with Hongjoong caught Jinyoung's eye and waved, walking over.

"Hey Junior!" the man smiled and Jinyoung gave a very strained smile in return. Jackson looked at him funny and whispered, "Junior?"

Jinyoung looked like he wanted to disappear on the spot. The rest of Hongjoong's group started walking over as Seonghwa heard his sandwich called out so he took the oportunity to avoid them all by grabbing his lunch.

He bowed again to the cashier who's face signaled that something was wrong and he sighed, looking to his right. There was Hongjoong again.

"Seriously," Seonghwa groaned.

"Sorry," Hongjoong said, but couldn't really think of a reason why he was apologizing.

Seonghwa grabbed the sandwich and began walking over when he heard the same sandwich called again and a "thank you" behind him. He quickened his pace, knowing the group was probably still by the table and Hongjoong would have to follow. When he got back though his place had been taken by the guy who called Jinyoung "Junior" so he sat in one of the two left over seats at the second large table.

"Hey mate! I'm Chris! Seonghwa, right?" said a very Australian man next to him.

He forced a smile and shook the extended hand.

"That's me," he said.

"I'm Hongjoong's roomie from last year. I had space in my room since they didn't have doubles on my floor and RA's get their own room so he was able to take the extra bed."

Seonghwa gulped. So this guy probably heard about every single bad thing he ever said or did to Hongjoong. He seemed friendly enough but Seonghwa shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh wow, that was very nice of you! I'm glad he found a better match," Seonghwa said with an attempt at a smile.

"Oh yeah, no biggie! If you two hadn't ended up rooming together he probably wouldn't have been one of my bestest friends so I'm just happy things worked out the way they did!" smiled Chris giving Seonghwa a hearty pat on the back which made him flinch.

"Chris, you do not have to talk to him," groaned Hongjoong from behind Seonghwa as he sat down in the seat next to him.

Seonghwa looked over at him surprised that he was sitting so close.

"What? It was the only seat left," sneered Hongjoong, digging into his food.

Seonghwa felt his cheeks redden just a smidge as embarrassment washed over him. Of course he wasn't sitting by him by choice!

Just then Seonghwa looked up as Jinyoung calmly stated, "I need to use the restroom," and promptly left the cafe.

Everyone sat in silence for a few minutes before Jackson spoke up.

"Did he just leave?"

"Damn it he didn't even pay yet," groaned Kihyun who now had to scrape up a few extra dollars to cover it.

They all laughed but Kihyun was not amused. Hyunwoo gave him a playful squeeze on the arm which seemed to lighten his irritation a little.

Finally they had all finished eating and everyone said their goodbyes before heading back to their dorms.

Seonghwa looked over at Hongjoong awkwardly before asking, "Do you just want to walk back together?"

Hongjoong shrugged.

"I guess. Makes sense."

They stood up and headed back towards the dorm and didn't talk the whole way.