the one that got away | seongjoong (✓)

• III •

hongjoong woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and an aching heart. whatever happened last night hadn't made him feel any better, if anything, it made him feel worse. he sighed and rolled over, seeing water, some aspirin, and a note from yunho.

had dance practice @ 9. hope you're feeling okay!
- yuyu

hongjoong smiled small seeing this and sat up, quickly taking the aspirin and walking over to the desk, sitting down and staring at his phone. a few texts from the group chat between him, yunho and mingi, a text from jongho letting the older know he had landed safely and was looking forward to seeing him, and a single text from one choi san, whom hongjoong had secretly been in touch with since the younger left to spend a few months abroad with his foreign girlfriend.

san had begged hongjoong to keep their correspondences a secret, as he didn't want anyone to worry about him. things were difficult for the younger, he didn't enjoy being overseas in the slightest. now, if he was with his friends, or even just wooyoung, he would have been having a much better time, but he felt quite lonely, things being so different where he was staying.

san
hyung i need to come home

hongjoong
hey, what's wrong?

san
i need to break up with her

i can't do this anymore

hongjoong
why don't you just tell her
that you want to come back
here???

san
i miss woo

i feel like i don't love ella
anymore :/

i can't stop thinking about him

hongjoong
ahh i see

once you've broken up with
her and you've found a flight
home, call me, okay? i'll
pay for your flight back here

san
hyung, i haven't seen you in
person in almost a year, i
can't let you pay for my
flight :(

hongjoong
i'll pick you up from the airport

i'm paying.

san
okay fine :/

are you sure you'll be able
to pick me up??? i don't want
anyone else to know that i'm
coming back

hongjoong
i'll be able to

oh, and the sasaeng i told you
about got locked up, i don't have
anyone following me anymore

san
okay. i'm going to go pack
my things and i'll call you later

hongjoong
sounds good. talk to you soon :)

hongjoong put down his phone and sighed, chewing his lip slightly as he thought about how special san and wooyoung's relationship had always been. they were never formally together, which always surprised the lot, as they were always close, and extremely flirty. he felt a bit jealous of their relationship, how things had stayed good no matter how much time had passed.

soon, hongjoong decided to get up and get himself some breakfast, heading down a block to the nearest starbucks. he got himself some coffee and a breakfast sandwich, then went back to the hotel, wanting to get some more rest before he had to go to the studio later in the day.

he ate slowly, still a bit nauseous from the night prior, then climbed back into bed and laid down, sighing and curling up, his phone beside him in case san or anyone else called. before he knew it, tears were flowing down his cheeks, no real reason behind them. he missed when he felt whole, when he was happy. sure, being an idol was great and all, but he missed the time before he became one, when he had his other half.

"joong! wanna come for lunch with us?" yunho called from outside the door.

hongjoong stayed quiet, trying to calm himself down. things had been so messy recently, he didn't know what to do anymore.

"n-no... n-no t-thank you..."

outside, yunho frowned when he heard how distraught the older sounded, then gently turned the doorknob, discovering it was unlocked. he opened the door and ran over to the bed, wrapped his arms around hongjoong and pulling the boy into his chest. mingi followed yunho inside, then stood to the side for a bit until he was sure that he wouldn't make hongjoong uncomfortable.

"hyung, what's wrong?" mingi asked softly.

"e-everything..."

yunho frowned and started to play with the boy's hair, then looking up at mingi.

"wanna talk about it?"

hongjoong shrugged, not sure if he did or not, but willing to give it a shot.

"tell me something. one small thing that's bothering you. it can be anything, okay?"

"i-i f-feel like the s-sasaeng is going to e-escape..."

mingi frowned, shaking his head before hugging hongjoong tightly, pulling him from yunho's arms.

"joongie... no. you're safe, bub," yunho insisted.

"b-but—"

"you know, next time you feel like someone's stalking you... you can't wait until they try to attack you to tell someone. you need to stay safe, hyung."

"i-i'd f-feel safe i-if—"

"you don't need him to feel safe," mingi interjected. "oh, and you should've gone up to him when you saw him last. he was sad you didn't."

"h-he knows?"

"i may or may not have seen him recently and accidentally told him that you saw him downtown."

"m-min! w-what the fuck?!"

"ahh, he's back," yunho smiled. "good one, min."

"um... it's true. i-i accidentally told him, jongho was pissed that i did."

"when was this?!" yunho asked.

"yesterday..." mingi mumbled.

yunho and hongjoong both slapped the younger, scolding him for not telling them. the boy just laughed, shrugging a bit. hongjoong sighed, leaning against yunho again, then his phone rang and he jumped up, knowing it had to be san. he ran to the bathroom, leaving yunho and mingi confused, staring at each other.

"well... that was weird."

___________
qotd; thoughts on the turbulence mv???