the one that got away | seongjoong (✓)

• XXXIV •

time seemed to go by quickly for everyone, and it had been nearly a month now since their first reunion as eight. they had gotten together once a week since then, usually on a saturday after everyone was out of work.

yeosang and jongho had finally made things official, which was great news for everyone. seonghwa hadn't seen yeosang this happy in so long, seeing him smile felt rewarding to the older. yunho and mingi were taking things slowly, but were beginning to act a lot more coupley as the days went on. wooyoung and san weren't official yet either, as the two had gone out one night and wooyoung told the older he wasn't ready for anything serious yet. san respected this, understanding that they wouldn't be able to have a good relationship if only one of them was ready.

and seonghwa and hongjoong? they were bulletproof. they had gotten into a healthy routine with one another that gave them the perfect amount of time both apart and together, and it only strengthened their relationship.

today was a day where seonghwa had opened at the cafe, chuu and eric coming in early as well. eric had gotten a lot more comfortable with things, and seonghwa found that the boy seemed a lot more comfortable working with chuu or yeojin rather than one of the boys (likely due to how long the two had been there). he also did better if seonghwa was there, although he still did his best no matter who was there.

"alright, eric, you go ahead and take your break. chuu, hun, you're up next."

the two nodded, eric taking off his apron and leaving the building to get himself some lunch.

"so, how have things been going?" seonghwa asked.

"with?"

"oh, anything. i only work with you once a week now since you mostly do afternoons, i haven't gotten to catch up lately!"

"oh! well... i started hanging out with this girl from my class a-and... i really like her! i don't really know if i'm a lesbian or maybe bi or something, but i do know i like her. and school's been going well! the semester's ending soon."

"wow, that's great! and it's okay to not know how to label yourself, labels are kind of silly anyways!"

"i was talking with eric about this a few days ago actually... he likes someone, and he's been struggling to figure out his sexuality too. but hearing you say this now, i think that might really help him. thank you."

"ah, anything to help you guys."

"how's hongjoong?"

"oh, back to me, huh?" seonghwa laughed. "he's good. really good. i'm sure you remember when he first started coming a few months ago, he always looked really anxious and panicky?"

chuu nodded, remembering the fragile state the boy was in.

"he's doing a lot better now. he's finally getting the help he needed to deal with some of the bad things that have come along with his fame, and i couldn't be more proud. he's lighter, happier... and his smile lights up my world."

"that's really awesome... he deserves to be happy. especially since he makes everyone around him so happy."

it was seonghwa's turn to nod, smiling at nothing as he did.

"i—"

the two were cut off by a customer coming in, chuu quickly going to take care of the woman.

seonghwa smiled contently as he watched their interaction, happy that he had made his dreams come true and that he had hongjoong by his side. hongjoong had always been his number one supporter, and now that he had him back, seonghwa was living his high school dreams to the fullest extent.