You Rock My World

Took you long enough

"So, are you ready to go meet people?" Seonghwa asked as he made a quick pass by the mirror to make sure he was presentable.

"Why don't you guys go ahead? I need to catch up on some songwriting. I had planned on getting some done on the bus but I must have fallen asleep."

Seonghwa popped his head back into the bedroom.

"You're going to hole up in here on our first day?"

"Well I didn't want to but I'm really behind and I can feel a little stroke of inspiration coming on...besides I'll meet everyone later at dinner."

"I feel bad leaving you here alone."

Seonghwa made his way over to sit next to Hongjoong.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine! It's me who's letting you down. I'm sorry, I just really need to get this song worked out. If I get done early I'll text you and meet up with you guys, okay?"

Seonghwa looked down at his feet.

He didn't like it, but he wanted to respect Hongjoong's wishes. He knew they had different styles of getting stuff done and he knew that even though Hongjoong's wasn't necessarily a refined method, it worked for him.

Sometimes it was almost annoying how he could
create a masterpiece just sitting on the subway. He was just struck with inspiration and he let it decide his fate.

But Seonghwa knew it was only the first night. They had plenty of time to get to know everyone and Hongjoong was right.

"Okay. I'll see you later then," Seonghwa smiled and gave him a short kiss on the cheek.

Then he stood and headed towards the door.

He wasn't sure where he'd be meeting everyone and suddenly realized he'd just be wandering alone but he was determined to meet people. So he walked out into the hallway, only to be startled by two people standing right outside his door.

"Took you long enough."

Wooyoung and San had waited for him. If he'd known he would have gotten ready a little faster...but he was still grateful.

"Before you ask, San insisted. So thank him."

"He's lying. He suggested it first."

Seonghwa smiled as Wooyoung turned to San and gave him an angry smack on the arm.

"Thank you guys. I'm ready now so let's go walk around."

"Wait, what about Hongjoong?" Wooyoung asked.

"Let me guess, he's working on a song?" San asked and Seonghwa nodded.

"He said he was struck by inspiration."

"Sounds about right," San sighed and the three began their mission to make some new friends.

It didn't take long to bump into people. After all, JYP is a big company.

It was just as they'd rounded the corner that they saw two boys walking towards them, one with his arm wrapped over the other's shoulder. As soon as they made eye contact, a flash of fear moved through their eyes and they quickly separated.

"Oh—hi, are you guys from Ateez?"

Seonghwa was surprised to hear a hint of an Australian accent from the one who'd spoken.

"Yeah, I'm Wooyoung, that's San, and that's Seonghwa. And you are...?"

"I'm Felix, this is Changbin. We're from—"

"Stray Kids, right?" Seonghwa smiled and the two seemed surprised.

"Yeah, how did you know? I didn't think we were very popular," Felix smiled bashfully.

"Oh—I did a little research before coming. I'm one of the leaders of Ateez so I guess I just wanted to make a good impression," Seonghwa said, equally shy.

"It's nice to meet you guys," San smiled, trying to save the conversation.

"Yeah, you too," smiled Changbin, speaking up for the first time.

He still seemed a bit shaken from their first encounter. Seonghwa wasn't sure why. Perhaps they were dating in secret? If so, Seonghwa thought it was pretty cute. And he understood.

Having the entire group know about your relationship had not been very fun so far. Especially when they walk in on you...

"Well, I guess we'd better get to practice," Felix smiled and Seonghwa realized they were probably heading somewhere.

"Of course, thank you for taking the time to say hi. I hope we'll all see each other at dinner!" he smiled back and the two continued down the hallway.

Seonghwa caught their whisper as they passed.

"What was that about? Why'd you pull away so fast?"

"I don't know—I didn't know who was coming around the corner!"

"You made it so much more awkward!"

Seonghwa laughed to himself and the three continued down the hallway, hoping to bump into a few more people before dinner. They figured they wouldn't as they were apparently supposed to be in practice, but they figured it couldn't hurt to try.