Sweet Rejection | seongjoong

Thirty-One

"How could he do that?!" Hongjoong gasps in disbelief as he and Seonghwa are sitting in his room. "Hwa, I'm really scared. I don't care what he does to me, but I don't want him to hurt my family!" He repeatedly shakes his head. "I-I already have to live with the fear of losing my brother due to his heart condition and you're trying to tell me your father tried hurting him?!"

"Joongie, calm down please." Seonghwa cups his face. "I'll seriously think of a way, okay? I've had enough! I won't let him get away with any of this. Do you trust me?" He asks him and Hongjoong just nods with a worried look on his face. "For now it's better if Hongseok gets homeschooled with Seongyoon. Is that okay?"

"I'm sure my mom will agree if Hongseok asks her." He nods. "And he and your brother seem like really good friends now so I'm sure he'll be okay with it."

"Okay, good."

"But how can we stop this, Hwa? There's no proof and I doubt the police would do anything about something like this."

"Hongjoong... you might get really shocked, but I'm going to tell you why I was so scared of him all these years. It's something I never told anyone because I was afraid no one would believe me and then my father would do the same thing to me."

"What is it?"

"Wh-when I was only five... I saw something." Seonghwa looks down. "I-I clearly still remember everything that happened that night. I remember it clearly and have nightmares every night."

"Hwa... what?"

"H-he killed someone." He says and Hongjoong's eyes widen in shock. "I heard him having an argument with a woman. Until this day, I honestly don't know who she was... but I still remember how he pushed her out the window and made it seem like she did it herself. He lied to the police and told them she had been stalking him and did that because he didn't love her back. Up until now, I haven't been able to find any proof. I don't know what to do, Joong. I'm scared he'll harm more people before I'm able to get him locked up. I-I'm scared."

"It's okay, it's okay." Hongjoong pulls him in for a hug and rubs his back, not knowing what to say. What Seonghwa just told him is so serious and he's really shocked.

"If something bad happens to anyone else, it'll be my fault for not saying anything sooner."

"No, don't say that! It's not like you can just go to the police and tell them what happened over 17 years ago. They probably wouldn't believe you either, especially since your father is putting up a fake act of being a kindhearted CEO."

"You're right." Seonghwa looks down.

"I'll help you think of something, Hwa. Okay? You're not alone anymore."

"Thanks, Joong." A few tears roll down Seonghwa's cheeks but he quickly wipes them away. "You've seen me cry so much, but I'll seriously stop. I won't cry anymore. I'll use that energy to bring my father down. He deserves to be locked up."

"You're right." Hongjoong nods and leans in to kiss his cheek. "But stop thinking about that for now, okay? It'll just make you feel worse."

"Okay." Seonghwa just nods. "I'm sorry we can't even go to our secret spot anymore. My father found out about that since he was tracking my phone." He sighs.

"It's fine. We can just find another secret spot." Hongjoong tries to cheer him up. He hates seeing Seonghwa like this. He wants him to be nothing but happy. "And remember that I'm always here for you, okay? You've gone through so much and you've stayed strong. I'm so proud of you, Hwa." Hongjoong wraps his arms around him and rests his head on his shoulder.

"Really?" Seonghwa looks at him and gives him a small smile. "Thanks for that. Sometimes I feel so useless for not telling anyone what I saw that night."

"You were only a little boy back then... And obviously as you grew up, you became more and more scared and didn't think anyone would believe you. It's understandable so please don't blame yourself. I'll help you get your father locked up, I promise. I don't want you to be scared or feel unsafe anymore."

"You really understand me, Hongjoong." Seonghwa smiles at him. "I'm so glad I met you. In the past, I would've never thought there'd come a day where I'd yell at my father or anything like that... But that's something I started doing when I met you, because I don't want him to hurt you or anyone else I love."

Hongjoong just gives him a small smile and they both look into each other's eyes for a while, before they both start leaning in slowly. Seonghwa leans in all the way and connects their lips, then cups Hongjoong's cheek.

Hongjoong feels himself slowly laying back down on the bed and Seonghwa gets on top of him as they continue their kiss.

Hongjoong feels Seonghwa's hands go to the hem of his shirt and thoughts quickly rush into his mind. He didn't think he and Seonghwa would be doing this anytime soon. He's never done this before and isn't sure if he's ready or not.

Before Seonghwa can take his shirt off, he stops himself and looks down at Hongjoong who feels his face heat up. "Do you want to?"

Hongjoong stays quiet, not being able to say anything. He's embarrassed to tell him he's never done this before and that he's probably still not ready.

"I'm going to take that as a no." Seonghwa kisses the top of his head before getting off of him.

"I-I'm sorry." Hongjoong feels the need to apologize and he sits up. He had only had one boyfriend other than Seonghwa in the past and they broke up because Hongjoong wasn't ready to do it.

Hongjoong hates thinking about him and sometimes likes to believe he's been single all his life, not wanting to be reminded of his ex-boyfriend.

"No, baby, why are you apologizing?" Seonghwa frowns as Hongjoong feels tears rolling down his cheek. "And don't cry. I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry for going too fast."

"I-I don't want you to stop liking me because of this." He looks down.

"Please don't say that, Hongjoong," Seonghwa takes his hands. "I'm with you because I love you and I have no problem in waiting until you're ready. Please don't ever pressure yourself into doing something if you're not ready yet. And in the future, don't lie to me about being ready if you're not, okay? I'll get really mad. I want you to be one hundred percent ready, okay?"

"Okay." Hongjoong nods and smiles. Seonghwa's so understanding.