Ateez Present

Chapter 7

Hongjoong remained sitting where he was with Seonghwa cuddled up in his arms for a while, even after Minho and Jisung left. Neither of them said anything, Hongjoong just continued to run his fingers through Seonghwa's hair. Finally, after a while, Hongjoong spoke up.

"How bad are you hurt," he asked quietly.

"Bruises, I'll live," Seonghwa said.

"Did you get stabbed at all," Hongjoong asked him. Seonghwa shook his head slowly before resting it back down against Hongjoong. He can't quite tell how Hongjoong is feeling right now, if he's angry with him but his body is sore and Hongjoong is the only comfort he has at the moment. Hongjoong sighed and paused his hand movements.

"Why did you do it," Hongjoong asked quietly. Seonghwa was quiet for a few seconds, just breathing deeply through the pain before he spoke up.

"They were going to try to cripple you and you were alone," Seonghwa replied.

"Yeah, I know, Minho already said that but why did you do it? Why did you protect me," Hongjoong asked in annoyance.

"Why do you hate me," Seonghwa asked instead. Hongjoong frowned and sighed.

"As I keep telling everyone, I don't hate you," Hongjoong said.

"Oh yeah, you definitely hate me," Seonghwa said with a light chuckle. Hongjoong frowned and glanced down at the boy in his arms. Seonghwa's face was still bloodied but his eyes were open and looking up at him.

"I don't, hate you. I've never hated you. I just, I find it hard to trust people, especially around my boys," Hongjoong said quietly.

"I understand," Seonghwa said with a hum. Hongjoong's mouth dropped open in shock and Seonghwa grinned to himself. He made the Captain speechless.

"J-Just like that. You don't care at all how I've treated you," Hongjoong said.

"Captain, I spent close to three years locked up and being beaten. You're an asshole, but it's not going to kill me," Seonghwa said with a shrug. He regretted that immediately as it jostled his ribs and a slight pain shot through his body. He groaned and clenched his eyes closed, waiting until the pain passed. Hongjoong noticed it immediately and he frowned worriedly.

"You ok," he asked.

"So is this all it takes? I take a beating for you and you like me now," Seonghwa asked with a chuckle.

"I wouldn't go that far Park. But you did just technically save me and that's enough to earn my trust," Hongjoong said quietly. Seonghwa opened his eyes again and he smiled. Gaining his trust is good, it means he's less likely to be kicked from the ship. Seonghwa wants to stay with the boys, they've shown him more kindness than he expected, and he doesn't know what he would do if he was just dropped off somewhere.

"Yay, the Captain won't throw me overboard anymore," Seonghwa joked.

"I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure I saved you from falling overboard earlier," Hongjoong said.

"Yeah, but you were still thinking about throwing me over anyway. How many times a day do you dream of doing that," Seonghwa asked.

"At least three," Hongjoong said with a nod. He glanced up and looked around, noticing that the sun was almost down. Crap, he's breaking his own rules.

"I need to get you back to the ship. The sun is almost down and once it's down, the streets get more dangerous," Hongjoong said worriedly.

"Are you ok to move," he asked.

"Y-Yeah. It's gonna hurt a little and I'll probably make noises of pain but it's fine," Seonghwa said. Hongjoong nodded and slowly stood up, bringing Seonghwa up with him. Seonghwa groaned, but didn't protest, allowing Hongjoong to help get him stable on his feet.