Ateez Roommates - Seongjoong

One for the road

The mall was closer than he thought so he arrived a bit early. He texted Jay B to see where he wanted to meet inside and was told to go to the food court, so he made his way over.

As he walked in he looked around trying to remember what Jaebeom (forgot that's what I wanted him to be called lol) looked like until he saw an enthusiastic wave from the Sbarro line.

"Hongjoong! Over here!"

Hongjoong smiled and quickened his pace, walking over. He was trying to figure out if the other two were here as he had no clue what they looked like.

"Hi! Is that your...?"

"Oh no they're not here yet. I was going to grab food before you all got here but you were early so I figured I could use an extra hand or two," Jaebeom smiled.

Hongjoong felt a little embarrassed but smiled and got in next to him.

The line moved pretty quickly and soon they were up next.

"Hi, can we get 2 breadsticks?"

Hongjoong turned to him in surprise.

"Is that enough?"

"You know what, make it three."

Hongjoong stared at him in confusion. Jaebeom turned back.

"One for the road," he smiled and walked to the end of the counter.

Hongjoong followed, still not understanding.

"Wait, are you expecting us to share breadsticks as a meal?"

"Share? No these are just for me. I didn't know you wanted anything. You should've told me," he shrugged.

"If you were only planning on getting two breadsticks why did you say you might need a hand?"

"Might. It seems that I won't need your help after all."

Hongjoong just shook his head in confusion. This guy was seriously odd. Why did he agree to hang out with him again? He didn't even know him! Or anyone else here!

They called out the breadsticks and Jaebeom grabbed them, placing the third inside his backpack. Hongjoong didn't even question it. He was too busy regretting being early.

Although he wasn't that early. Where were the other two? He watched Jaebeom consume over half of a breadstick in one bite and felt his lips curl in disgust. He was really regretting his decision.

"Jaebeom-ah! We're here!"

Hongjoong looked to the sound as Jaebeom waved.

And his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.

The man who had called out was pretty "sexy"—as Jaebeom had put it—and wore a very business casual outfit.

The man behind him, was Park Seonghwa.

Hongjoong felt his cheeks flaming in embarrassment and turned to Jaebeom to try to make an excuse to leave.

"Hey, I'm sorry I just realized I have this meeting tonight—"

"Why the sudden rush? You told me this time would work! There's no backing out now."

"It's just—"

Hongjoong sighed. Maybe the truth would get him a bit of sympathy.

"I know him. He's on my floor."

"Well then you're already acquainted! Perfect! Why don't we all sit here together and chat? Or actually—how about you two sit over there and we'll sit over here to give you some privacy."

Before Hongjoong could even say anything Jaebeom shoved him into a chair and pushed it in, walking over to greet his boyfriend.

"Hey Junior," he smiled, giving the man a kiss on the cheek.

"I told you to stop calling me that," groaned the other, walking past him.

"Sorry, Junior," smiled Jaebeom and he sat with him at the other table, leaving Seonghwa standing in front of Hongjoong.

"Hi," managed Hongjoong.

"Hey."

They sat in silence before Seonghwa attempted to break the ice.

"So this is really awkward. I swear I had no idea it would be you or I wouldn't have come."

Hongjoong felt a bit hurt by his words but knew he would've said the exact same thing.

"Yeah. Same," he laughed.

They sat in silence a bit longer before Hongjoong tried to remedy it.

"You know what? This is so weird, I'll just head back to the dorm—or we could walk together if you don't want to stay? Or if you wanted to hang out with them that's fine too—"

"Well now that I'm here..." Seonghwa smiled, taking a seat in front of Hongjoong.

Hongjoong gulped. He made an attempt to scoot backwards but Seonghwa hooked his ankles around the chair legs. Hongjoong laughed uncomfortably and scooted forward.

"I guess we can talk now then?" said Seonghwa with a grin.

"Well we did decide on tonight already, we might as well stick to our original plan," Hongjoong mustered. His heart was racing at the feeling of Seonghwa's calves against his own.

"We've got time now."

Hongjoong tried to think of a way out. He barely even had the strength to chat later that night! He needed to prepare a little speech or something before trying to share his feelings! Then a thought struck him.

"How about we forget about everything and just treat today like a chance to make peace? As friends? Then we can talk later tonight. But for now, I just want to get to know you better. For RA purposes," he grinned, glad he added the last part.

Seonghwa seemed surprised but didn't show it.

"Alright. Deal."

And so the topic was dropped. That is, until later that night. Which Hongjoong was greatly dreading. But he decided he could use the current situation to his advantage.

First of all, he would test Seonghwa to see how easily he could make him angry. If they argued within the two or three hours at the mall, that was definitely a no-go.

Secondly, he wanted to try to get a feel for how Seonghwa felt about him. Seonghwa was impossible to read, but he figured if he pushed it by working little tricks in here and there, he would have a chance. Of course, if it was a definite no, Hongjoong would not bring up his feelings later. He really didn't need to ruin the already unstable dynamic on their floor.

Finally, he really just wanted to get to know Seonghwa, as odd as it seemed. He felt so different from the Seonghwa he'd roomed with freshmen year and he owed it to him to give him a chance to be friends. Especially since he hadn't really done that so far.

Not to mention his potential crush.

He still hadn't figured out what his feelings were—if he even had them. He knew he got butterflies whenever Seonghwa was too close and also whenever he wore black skinny jeans or cut-offs—or when he brushed his hair back with just one hand while he was talking to you—

Hongjoong stopped himself. He had forgotten Seonghwa was right in front of him, staring at him.

It felt way too weird to think about those kinds of things when he was sitting right there.

But now that he was looking at him, he did notice his black fingernails and the chain necklace that dangled above his sharp collarbone. Not to mention his deep v-neck black sweater that hung off his right shoulder.

Oh God, he was doing it again.

He obviously had those kind of feelings. But did he really even know Seonghwa well enough to say he liked him? He was hardly the same person from a year ago. He would have to see how the day went. It would decide whether or not he would truly come forward.

It would decide whether or not he would ask Park Seonghwa out.