↱REPUTATION↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽

셋째

The next time around Hongjoong was luckier.

He happened to run into Seonghwa just four days after the last party, after the trio had sat in the backyard all night with a blunt shared between them until Seonghwa decided he was going to go get a drink and dance.

Hongjoong had watched him walk back into the house with bloodshot eyes that lingered for a moment too long.

Jongho saw Seonghwa first as the two of them walked across campus from the library.

He loudly called out Seonghwa's name, waved his arm wildly even though he had already gotten Seonghwa's attention.

Seonghwa parted from the group he was talking to with a sheepish smile and jogged over to Hongjoong and Jongho.

Hongjoong eyed him carefully, from the sleeves of his cardigan that were too long to the way his hair was pushed back and exposed his forehead.

He was endearingly cute but insanely attractive at the same time.

It dumbfounded Hongjoong as to how the boy could possibly pull off both looks at once.

"What's up?" Seonghwa greeted them with a small jerk of his chin, "You guys wanna smoke?"

Jongho groaned, "Fuck, I've got a shift at the radio station to go to. Maybe some other time?"

Seonghwa nodded in acknowledgement then directed his attention to Hongjoong.

"What about you?"

"What?"

Seonghwa chuckled a little and his smile showed the sheer amusement he held, "Do you want to go smoke?"

Hongjoong shrugged, "Sure."

They parted ways with Jongho and Hongjoong followed Seonghwa back to his dorm.

They were mostly quiet on their walk but the silence didn't feel awkward or stuffy like Hongjoong normally felt when he was left alone with someone he barely knew.

On the contrary, Hongjoong felt comfortable in the silence.

He didn't feel an insufferable need to fill it.

Behind them the sun dipped low in the sky, which started to cast the sky in soft hues of orange and pink.

A flock of birds broke the silence when they flew overhead in the opposite direction the pair was walking in.

They passed by other students on the way back to their own dorms, or perhaps to the courtyard or the library.

At this hour, late in the evening just before the sun was going to set, the campus buzzed with life.

Seonghwa lived in a dorm with three other roommates.

There were two bedrooms with a shared bathroom on each end of the dorm, with a shared kitchen and living space.

Hongjoong knew other people that lived in the same building and every time he stepped foot into one of the dorm rooms he was secretly thankful that his only roommate was Mingi.