Ateez Roommates - Seongjoong

Study Night Set-Up

They met back up with Jinyoung who said he only had one more place he wanted to go to so they followed him to Starbucks.

Jaebeom ordered first and got a black coffee, which Jinyoung rolled his eyes at. Jinyoung proceeded to get a Frappuccino which he ended up giving to Jaebeom once he decided the black coffee was too bitter.

Seonghwa got an iced americano with six pumps of syrup (which Hongjoong thought was excessive but which he also found adorable) and Hongjoong got himself a plain latte.

They split up into pairs again and sat at tables while the sipped their drinks.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong sat by the window and drank in silence for a while. Seonghwa decided to break the silence.

"So, what were you thinking for tonight?"

Hongjoong turned, looking a bit startled.

"I don't know, I guess we'll meet in one of our rooms and just...talk?"

Seonghwa laughed.

"I meant the study night. But we can meet in my room. To talk."

"Oh, of course! Duh!" Hongjoong laughed. "Study night, right. I was thinking we could set up a few different stations, have the quiet room in your room, for anyone who needs silence, then have group stuff running in my room. And maybe set out some snacks and fun drinks in the lounge—alcohol-free of course," Hongjoong smiled.

"That's pretty much what I was thinking. And we can hop between rooms if we want, to make sure everyone's doing good and be there if they want to ask us questions."

"Yeah, sounds good. I can pick up some snacks on my walk back, if you want."

"Your walk back? I have a car. I'll drive you."

At the mention of the car, both of them froze. That was a very touchy subject.

"Oh, you don't have to, I'll be okay. I made it here after all," Hongjoong laughed awkwardly.

"You know what? How about you just walk back and I can grab some stuff. It'll be faster and easier," Seonghwa smiled, both of them realizing the car was dangerous when occupied by the two of them.

"Really? Okay that works then. Let me give you some cash so we can split it," said Hongjoong digging in his pocket.

Seonghwa put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Hongjoong. Money is not a question. It's just snacks."

"Just take it so I feel like I'm contributing," sighed Hongjoong, and Seonghwa reluctantly took it.

They wrapped up the evening and Jinyoung ended up offering to take Hongjoong back in his car so Seonghwa was relieved. He didn't like making him walk when he could easily give him a ride but it felt too awkward. They weren't ready to readdress the incident quite yet.

That's what tonight was for.

Seonghwa got in his car and stopped by the grocery store to pick up food and drinks. As he waited to checkout he glanced down at Hongjoong's fifty dollar bill in his hand.

To Seonghwa, this was nothing. But he knew Hongjoong was struggling just to afford college and fifty dollars was way too much to spend on anyone but himself.

He tucked the cash back in his pocket pulling out his card.

After he picked everything up, he drove back to the dorm and saw Hongjoong about to enter the building.

"Hongjoong!" Seonghwa called out his window and he turned around in confusion. They made eye contact and Hongjoong waved, walking over.

"Can you help me carry this up? I had to take a cart to get it to my car," Seonghwa smiled and Hongjoong nodded, grabbing as many bags as he could.

Seonghwa grabbed the rest and shut the trunk, following Hongjoong up the stairs.

They set the bags down in the lounge and laid out snacks, beverages, plates and utensils for everyone to share.

Then they each went their separate ways to make sure their rooms were tidy enough for company.

Hongjoong had surprised himself this term as his floor was almost entirely visible. He wasn't always a slob, just when he was really really busy. But he had learned that a clean space helped him destress a bit so keeping it neat was beneficial, even if it meant more work for him.

He placed a few pillows around the room to give people a place to sit and returned to the lounge to see if anyone was early.

Seonghwa was there as well, and he had changed into a comfy sweatshirt and jeans. Hongjoong realized he was still dressed up and embarrassed, ran back to his room and threw on the first sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants he could find.

When he came back Seonghwa was already chatting with the freshmen and Hongjoong joined in, letting them know what the plan was for the night.

The freshmen nodded and split up, dispersing themselves between the two rooms.

Just before Hongjoong went back to his room Seonghwa grabbed his hand and placed a wad of cash in it.

"This is the change."

Hongjoong looked down to see the same fifty he had given to Seonghwa before and tried to complain but he was already gone. He grumbled and put it back in his pocket, heading to his dorm room.