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Chapter 4

"The two bodies that were discovered at an abandoned amusement park late afternoon on April 28 have been identified as 28-year-old Lee Byung-ho who had been reported missing just over two months ago by family and friends. His death has been filed as a suicide.

The second body was of 3-year-old Kim Siwoo who had disappeared nearly 2 years ago. The child was last seen by her parents and the day she disappeared was captured on surveillance cameras outside of a small shopping centre in Seoul. Autopsies showed that her death was a homicide and the murderer is possibly still out there."

Hongjoong was sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket as he stared blankly at the T.V with tears rolling down his face. The screen showed images of the two deceased. Those poor families. They lost a loved one, a daughter, a son, a cousin, a friend...

The parents of Siwoo were shown on screen and the mother was crying while the father looked like he tried holding in his tears but failed. Hongjoong's heart clenched at the sad sight and more tears escaped.

"We were hoping that our little girl would still be alive, we were hoping that she would come home. We believed that she was kidnapped and nothing could be done... we dearly miss our beautiful Siwoo. Whoever you are that took our daughter and murdered her, you are a monster!"

The mother sobbed and her husband pulled her into a hug to try to calm her down, but she was so distraught.

Hongjoong squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips together to stop them from trembling. A soft cry forced its way out of his mouth and he buried his face in the soft fabric of the blanket.

He didn't notice Seonghwa sit down next to him until a hand was gently placed on his back and rubbed soothingly. Hongjoong leaned into Seonghwa's side and the older wrapped his arms around him.

———

Laying in bed that night, Hongjoong couldn't stop thinking about the news. Every time he'd close his eyes, the image of the little girl, Siwoo, would pop up in his mind and it made him sad. Then the image of her body in the freezer briefly showed up in his mind but pushed the thought away.

He felt uneasy being in his room alone so Hongjoong tossed the blankets off and got out of bed, making his way to Seeonghwa's bedroom.

Pushing the door open, he noticed his roommate was already asleep and he quietly moved over to climb under the covers. He shuffled closer and curled himself into Seonghwa, his head resting on the back.

A few minutes passed, Hongjoong was just listening to the other's light snores and a small smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

Seonghwa moved away and Hongjoong was startled when he rolled over, his arm going over his waist. His other went under the pillow that his head was resting on.

Hongjoong's heart was beating fast and he moved his hands up to rest on the other male's chest. He could feel the soft beating of his heart. Seonghwa's lips grazed over his forehead and he let out a long exhale through his nose. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Hongjoong relaxed and closed his eyes, his heart slowly calming down.

It was nice being close to Seonghwa. He was good at comforting and his hugs were cozy, warm. He felt like home. He felt like the perfect boy—

Hongjoong's face heated up and he was probably as red as a tomato right now. Jeez, what was he thinking? Seonghwa as his boyfriend? That sounded... quite lovely, actually.

He used to have a little crush on Seonghwa a few years ago when they had been friends for nearly a year but his feelings went away when they moved in together. Was the crush coming back? He hoped not because he knew Seonghwa didn't like him like that. Was he even bi? Or gay? Or pansexual? Hongjoong never asked him about his sexuality 'cause they never got into deep talks about one another a lot. The topic never came up in conversations and Hongjoong thought it would be weird if he suddenly just asked Seonghwa about his sexuality.