Sweet Rejection | seongjoong

Forty-One

~ Days Later ~

"Why hasn't Seonghwa come around lately?" Hongseok asks Hongjoong. "And why can't I go to school? Is it because his dad is bad?"

"How did you know that?" Hongjoong asks him.

"Seongyoon told me. His dad hits him and doesn't care about him. He told me Seonghwa took him to live with him since he was scared he'd get even more hurt."

"A lot of things have been happening, Hongseok." Hongjoong puts his hands on his shoulders. "Things that maybe you wouldn't understand, but I also don't want you to know. So please just ignore this whole situation, okay? I know it might be boring for you that you can't go to school or anything, but if it makes you feel better, we can go to Yeosang's house later so you can see Seongyoon, okay?"

"Can we go now?" Hongseok frowns. "I'm so bored."

"Okay, but I'd have to call Yeosang first." He tells him. "Maybe he doesn't want any visitors right now."

"Because he's sad?" Hongseok frowns. "I want to give him a big hug."

"I'll call him." Hongjoong takes his phone out and calls Yeosang, but San ends up picking up the phone. "San?"

"Hey, Hongjoong. Yeosang's in the shower right now. Is something wrong?"

"I was wondering if me and Hongseok could come over. Do you think Yeosang would be okay with it? He hasn't been answering his phone these days. I'm not sure if he'd want us to go."

"Yeah, of course. Come over. I'm sure that will be great for him. He's not fully better yet, but I think a visit from his best friend would be good for him."

"Okay then. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay." San hangs up and Yeosang comes out of the bathroom. "Hongjoong called. He's coming over." He tells him.

"Oh, okay." Yeosang just nods and sits down on his bed.

San moves closer to him and takes his hands. "Let's go visit Mingi later, okay?" He tells him and Yeosang nods as a small smile forms on his lips. San wraps his arms around him and places a kiss on his forehead.

"Thanks for always being there for me." Yeosang finally says. "You're right. I'm not sure how I would've been if I would've been alone through all this." He tells him. "But I feel better because you were always there for me."

"Well, I'm your... friend... so of course I'll always be there for you." San tells him nervously. Yeosang just nods and San notices a sad look on his face. "I know we're just friends... but you already know how I feel about you." San tells him. "So if you feel like that about me too, I'll wait until you're ready to be with me. And if you don't feel the same way, I'll still be there by your side. I'm not going anywhere."

"San, I-"

"I know... I'm aware this isn't the best time to confess. I know there's so many things going on right now and-"

"I like you too." Yeosang tells him, making San's face heat up. "I thought you knew this already." He looks down at their hands. "I just didn't want to be your second option because I knew you liked Hongjoong. But then again, I can relate to your feelings. I know what it's like to like someone for a long time but then end up falling for someone else really quickly. That's exactly what happened to me, so I believe you and know how you feel. I can see you don't like Hongjoong anymore, so I want to be with you."

"R-really?"

Instead of saying anything, Yeosang leans in and presses his lips against his. San's eyes widen as he can't believe what's happening.

But when he's finally about to kiss back, Yeosang pulls away. "Thank you." Yeosang tells him. "For being there  for me in these hard times."

San just looks at him, not being able to get rid of the shocked expression on his face.

"San..." Yeosang starts. "I love you."

-

When Hongjoong gets to Yeosang's house, he knocks on the door several times, but there's no answer.

"Are they not home anymore?" Hongseok asks him.

"I'm sure they are. I called them. They knew we were coming." Hongjoong tells him and keeps knocking.

The door finally opens and Hongjoong immediately gasps when he sees Seonghwa. "What happened?!" He asks, worriedly when he sees the bruises on his face. "Hongseok, go with Seongyoon, okay?"

Hongseok runs into the house and Hongjoong pulls Seonghwa out the door. "What happened? You were fine just yesterday and now you have bruises all over your face!"

"I tried finding evidence against... my father." Seonghwa tells him. "His bodyguards saw me."

"You can't just put yourself at risk like this!" Hongjoong yells at him. "I'm afraid he'll hurt you even if you're his son! Don't put yourself at risk like this!"

"So what am I supposed to do, Hongjoong? You tell me to do something and then when I do, you tell me not to. What should I do? I can't just sit here and watch people around me get hurt."

"If you're going to do something like that... at least ask for my help so you're not alone. I'm your boyfriend." He tells him. "And I've been thinking a lot these days and honestly... that is my biggest fear."

"What?"

"Losing you."