Ateez Roommates - Seongjoong

It's my dad

It was nearly 4 am and Hongjoong felt himself succumbing to his sleep deprivation.

Ever since he had found her name he was scouring social media to try to find her. He'd been at it for a week now, with no luck.

He was starting to think it might be hopeless.

But he kept searching.

There were a lot more Jee Haewon's than he had thought and it seemed like none of them were Seonghwa's mother.

As he was about to call it a night, he got a knock on his door and jumped at the sound. Usually he was the only one awake at this time.

Cautiously, he moved towards the door and peeked through the peephole and saw Seonghwa, of all people, standing there in his pajamas.

He opened it, very confused.

"Seonghwa? What are you doing up?"

Seonghwa didn't answer but instead grabbed the front of Hongjoong's sweatshirt, pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss. Hongjoong was startled to say the least.

But he wasn't mad, that's for sure.

They kissed madly, both desperate for each other's touch. They hadn't made contact like this since the car incident and it had been far too long.

Seonghwa pushed Hongjoong into the room and shut the door behind them. As their lips met and released, over and over again, Hongjoong finally started to feel like something was off.

He pulled away a little bit Seonghwa filled the space quickly, his hands grabbing tightly to Hongjoong's ass. As much as he enjoyed it, Hongjoong wanted to check on Seonghwa before things went any further.

"Seonghwa," he finally breathed, pulling back further this time.

Seonghwa tried to reach for him but Hongjoong held his hands in his own and looked into his eyes.

They were puffy from crying.

"Seonghwa..." he sighed, feeling his heart break at the sadness on Seonghwa's face.

"It's fine, I'm okay. All I need is you."

He tried again to reach for Hongjoong but Hongjoong just pulled him into a hug, grabbing his thin frame tightly.

Seonghwa froze for a moment before completely melting. He cried into Hongjoong's shoulder, and Hongjoong held him steady.

He let him cry until he was ready to let go.

Seonghwa started pulling back and muttered an apology, heading towards the door. Hongjoong grabbed his wrist and Seonghwa looked back.

"Seonghwa, you can talk to me about it. Remember, you're not fighting alone anymore."

Seonghwa tried to turn towards the door again but Hongjoong held firm.

"Seonghwa. Please. You can't just come to my room, try to make out with me, break down and leave. Talk to me."

Seonghwa looked down at Hongjoong's hand.

"I didn't know where else to go and you felt like my only answer."

"What happened?"

"It's nothing, I just needed a distraction."

Hongjoong flinched. A distraction? Was that all he was?

"You toyed around with my heart because you needed a distraction?"

"Well—no I didn't mean it like that—"

"I'm not just one of your thousands of possessions. You can't just rent me out when it's convenient. If you want me you have to put in work, you can't just kiss me and leave like nothing happened!"

"No Hongjoong I didn't mean it like that—I'm just tired—"

Hongjoong scoffed, knowing damn well he was way more tired than Seonghwa. He'd been up every night searching for his mom. Except he couldn't tell him so he had no way of knowing.

"Being tired doesn't excuse you coming in here in the middle of the night and playing with my feelings for your own personal needs. I'm a human being for God's sake—"

"It's my dad."

Hongjoong felt guilt wash over him. He had sensed that from the start but his anger had overpowered his worry. He calmed down and pulled Seonghwa closer again. They sat down on his bed and he waited for Seonghwa to open up.

"I got a B on my last Economics test and he told me if I got another one that my little brother would pay the price. And it's a really hard exam and I'm not ready for it and I've been studying like crazy all week and I'm just not retaining any of it!" Seonghwa started to tear up again and Hongjoong put his hand on Seonghwa's, rubbing the back of it. So Seonghwa really was tired.

"That's awful, Seonghwa. You shouldn't have to face that kind of pressure."

"Well I do. And my brother's safety is at risk all because I can't fucking understand this chapter!"

"Hey, hey it's okay. Come here," Hongjoong pulled Seonghwa to him and held him again, but he didn't shed any tears. He just let Hongjoong rub his back softly.

"How can I help?" Hongjoong asked and Seonghwa laughed shaking his head.

"You can't."

"Try me."

"The test is tomorrow morning and I still don't understand what I'm doing."

"Then let me study with you. But first, you need to get some sleep."

"I can't afford sleep," Seonghwa laughed but Hongjoong didn't.

"I understand that you're pressed for time but you're going to fry your brain if you keep powering through. It needs to be well-rested to retain information. So come here, just lay with me."

Seonghwa wanted to resist but his eyes were already half closed. His body was desperate for sleep. Hongjoong pulled him down to a sleeping position, wrapping his arms around his front from behind. They laid intertwined until Seonghwa was sound asleep.

Hongjoong couldn't bring himself to fall asleep, worried about Seonghwa. He had to stay awake so that someone could wake him up and make sure he was alright when he did.

He eased out of the bed and tucked Seonghwa under his blankets. He paused a moment, looking down at the sweet face. He looked so peaceful without the world dragging him down. Hongjoong wiped a tear from his eye and went back to his computer.

If he found Seonghwa's mother, he could end everything. He could fix it. He had to find her. He could save Seonghwa.