Secrets

Who's got you so smiley today?

Seonghwa sat at his desk excitedly, waiting for his coworkers to arrive. Something about the lack of pressure had changed him. He was free to speak with anyone and speak almost freely.

Clearly he couldn't actually reveal his identity. But he didn't have to overthink every action.

"Who's got you so smiley today?"

Seonghwa turned to see Hongjoong eyeing him with a raised eyebrow. Seonghwa hadn't realized he'd been beaming but couldn't stop when he tried. He decided to play into his excitement.

"You," he grinned.

Hongjoong's face turned bright red and he froze in place. Seonghwa laughed and turned back to his desk.

"Woah woah woah you can not just say you and then go about your day! That was uncalled for!"

"What? I can't be excited to see my friend?" Seonghwa liked how the word felt on his tongue. But Hongjoong seemed to flinch at it.

"You certainly can. And should. But I can't have you flirting with me before I've had my third cup of coffee!"

"Third!? Then I'll have to wait so long," Seonghwa pouted and to his amusement, Hongjoong's cheeks flushed again.

"Aish—I've already had two I just need to fill up my mug. I'll be back. Don't you dare open your mouth until every last drop is gone."

He tried to pat his cheeks with his hands to cool them down but it didn't work and Seonghwa had to stifle a laugh as he marched to the coffee machine still glowing red.

As soon as he returned Seonghwa smiled at him and Hongjoong raised a finger.

"Uh-uh. Don't even look at me."

Seonghwa rolled his eyes and started on his work for the day. Something about the creative projects had started to grow on him over the past few weeks.

He hadn't ever seen himself as a creative person but with Hongjoong's help he'd started to be more confident in his work and found that others really liked it.

As he worked he glanced over every few minutes to check on how much coffee Hongjoong had left. He planned to talk as soon as he gulped down the last sip. It would be his revenge for being silenced.

At first Hongjoong nearly chugged the coffee but as he noticed Seonghwa looking at him, he started to move annoyingly slow. He would take less than half a sip at a time, maintaining direct eye contact the entire time.

By the time he had only a sip left, the coffee was surely cold. Seonghwa almost felt a bit annoyed. He liked their friendly banter but he'd been forced to work almost all morning without talking. And today was his first day of forming a true friendship.

He started to feel the mild uneasiness he'd felt the past few weeks. It wasn't easy to shake. After all, his only ever impression of Hongjoong was 'spy.' It was all he was ever allowed to see him as.

Yet now, he was supposed to just transition to friend?

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice when Hongjoong finished the last sip or how Hongjoong was staring at him, waiting for his first words.

"Hellooooooo? Earth to Hwaseong?"

Seonghwa turned at the name. It almost felt like a cute nickname at this point.

But he couldn't shake the uneasiness. He decided since he'd missed his original chance at revenge, he would change his plan.

If Hongjoong wanted him to talk after being silenced all day, he would just stay silent.

He stared at Hongjoong for a few seconds before turning back to his computer.

Hongjoong was not happy.

"Wha—that's it?!"

Seonghwa didn't respond, continuing to type.

"Hwaseong—look, I'm sorry! I won't make you stop talking ever again! And I'm sorry for taking so long to finish my coffee! It was equally as painful for you as for me. The last few drinks were really gross."

Seonghwa kept his eyes focused on the screen. He secretly checked the time and was surprised to find that there were only five minutes left of work. The day had gone rather quickly.

Maybe he should just ignore Hongjoong every day.

"Hwaaaaa!"

Seonghwa finally turned, startled by the shortened version of his name. Hongjoong gave him puppy dog eyes.

"Please talk to me! I'm sorry!"

Seonghwa glanced at his clock as the minute hand hit 12 and stood, packing up his briefcase.

"Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—"

"Okay fine! If it'll get you to stop whining."

Hongjoong smiled and Seonghwa couldn't help but smile back. It was so cute it was contagious.

"I'm sorry."

"You should be. I was so bored today."

"Awww I entertain you??"

"Do you want me to stop talking again?"

"No!! Sorry! It's habit!"

Seonghwa looked down at Hongjoong who was even smaller than him than usual, sitting in his chair. He smiled.

"Oh. My. God. I've been quiet for so long but I can't do it anymore. I thought at some point you would notice me but clearly you're too in love with each other to even notice me."

Seonghwa and Hongjoong spun to see San standing up from his desk. They honestly had forgotten he was there. To be fair, he'd been much quieter than usual. But Seonghwa still felt horrible.

"San—I'm sorry—"

He turned to Hongjoong for support but he had something else on his mind.

"We are NOT in love with each other that is absolutely preposterous! You can't just make assumptions like that—"

He continued but it was mostly incoherent stammering. Seonghwa sighed and turned back to San. Clearly Hongjoong was focusing on the wrong part of San's complaint.

After all, there was no way San actually thought they could be romantically involved. They were hardly even friends.

"We're sorry San. How about we make it up to you and we all go out for dinner tonight?"

San pouted a little longer before responding.

"Fine. Let's make it a double date. I'll bring Wooyoung."

Seonghwa scoffed but agreed to the deal while Hongjoong seemed frozen in place.

"Alright then. See you at 7."