Dark Skies || Seongjoong

The Dream

On a sunny afternoon, Seonghwa is sitting in a local cafe sipping coffee when his eyes find the thief again. He remembers the name, Hongjoong.

Hongjoong is chatting with someone Seonghwa can't see. But he can see the face he wants to see: his pretty lips, eyes, the innocence in them. He is laughing inaudibly at something. His eyes squint while laughing so loud.

He hoped to see him again, but it seemed impossible. Should he introduce himself? But what would he say? Would Hongjoong want to talk after he caught him stealing? Would he even remember Seonghwa?

Seonghwa can't help but stare at everything the boy is doing: running his hands through his blue hair. It suits him. Seonghwa feels lost in the other's eyes and smiles subconsciously.

"Seonghwa," he hears someone call. He turns around and finds no one there.

"Seonghwa," he hears a voice again.

"Seonghwa," he hears again. Seonghwa opens his eyes, startled. He finds Yunho leaning on him and shaking his arms.

It was a dream.

"Wake up and leave for your room. I need to leave for work," says Yunho while dressing up.

Seonghwa gets up sleepy and stretches himself.

"By the way, why were you smiling so much while sleeping?" asks Yunho, smirking. He suddenly remembers what he saw in his dream, and a slight blush appears on his cheeks. However, a sudden realization hits Seonghwa, and the blush on his face disappears. That dream ends here, and as Yunho said, he will not meet Hongjoong again. Yunho watches his face change curiously.

"Is something wrong?" asks Yunho seriously.

"No, nothing. See you later," says Seonghwa and leaves Yunho's room.

Seonghwa walks in the hallway towards his room when he meets his mother.

"Hi, sweetie. I just came here to let you know that we will have an important meeting in an hour in the main hall. You should join."

"Ok, mom. I will be there," says Seonghwa and hurries back to his room to get ready.

He gets ready a bit before time, so he decides to reach early. He enters the hall to find Dae-Jung, his older brother, sitting there working on a document that seems to be important.

"Hey, Hyung. I hope I'm not disturbing," Seonghwa says, sitting next to his brother.

"Of course not. I wanted to talk to you anyways," says Dae-Jung, putting the document aside to focus his attention on Seonghwa.

"I heard you got grounded for a week," he says, hoping for Seonghwa to tell him the story.

"Oh yeah. It doesn't matter, though. It's not like I got out anyways, so being grounded isn't any different," says Seonghwa, scoffing.

"Have you been sneaking out for long? Did you go out to meet someone?" asks Dae-Jung, raising an eyebrow.

"You can't tell dad or mom. I have been doing that for a while. It's not Yunho's fault. He just did what I asked. Also, no, I haven't been going to meet anyone. We go, enjoy our time out there and come back." says Seonghwa, making sure Yunho isn't the one who gets blamed.

"It's fine. I know how it feels to stay alone all day, but you know dad is strict with rules. I wouldn't ask you to stop, but don't get caught again," says Dae-Jung, leaving Seonghwa speechless. Dae-Jung has always been a good brother to him. He always felt at ease talking to him, but this was a surprise. Maybe Dae-Jung understood this too well because of his personal experiences. Life as a prince has always been harder for Dae-Jung as he is older. While Seonghwa has the freedom to choose and not get involved in every matter of the kingdom, meet his friends whenever he feels like and even selects his friends for that matter, Dae-Jung however, never had the choice. The issues of the kingdom were his own before he even knew, he made friends for the benefit of the kingdom and did not have the time to meet them often.

A faint smile appears on Seonghwa's face. It felt happy to be understood by his brother. He has always been his support.

"I did meet someone yesterday," says Seonghwa, a slight blush on his face. Dae-Jung raises his eyebrow in curiosity. Seonghwa knows that he will have to give details now.

"It's nothing special. I just saw someone. We didn't talk. I will never see him again anyways," Seonghwa says, regretful.

"So it's a guy?" says Dae-Jung immediately. Seonghwa's eyes widen, realizing what he just said.

What if Dae-Jung hates him because of this? What if he tells mom and dad? What if Seonghwa is punished for even thinking about a guy?

"Is he cute?" says Dae-Jung, smiling while looking at Seonghwa.

Seonghwa stares at him for a second in disbelief. When he realizes he's safe, a long sigh leaves his mouth.

"He is," Seonghwa giggles.

"Don't lose hope yet. You might meet him when you sneak out again," Dae-Jung says, trying to cheer Seonghwa up. Seonghwa nods.

Their talk is interrupted by the King and the Queen entering the hall. The hall gets filled with important people who were invited.

"Today, we have gathered everyone to announce that Dae-Jung will be crowned in a month," the king says. It is evident from the faces in the hall that no one saw it coming. Everyone seems to be surprised, including Dae-Jung.

"Did you not know about this?" whispers Seonghwa in Dae-Jung's ears.

"No, I did not. I thought it won't happen until the next year," Dae-Jung whispers back.

"Dae-Jung has shown excellence in handling the matters of the kingdom. I will be here to supervise him, but I would like him to have the official command now," says the King, a proud smile on his face. Dae-Jung smiles back.

"We will begin the preparations right away. The crowning ceremony is the most auspicious occasion in the kingdom. I want to supervise the entire event closely. I hope no one has any concerns," says the Queen. Everyone bows down as the King and the Queen leave.

"Congratulations hyung. Finally, the time is here. You are going to do great," says Seonghwa, hugging his brother.

Seonghwa helps his mom look into the themes for the ceremony for the rest of the day. It is tiring, but Seonghwa has always enjoyed planning and handling events with his mom. When he's done for the day, he goes to Yunho's room.

He enters to see Yunho lying on the bed staring at the ceiling.

"Are you done for the day," he asks Yunho, lying down beside him.

"Yeah, just did," replies Yunho.

"You haven't given me an answer," says Yunho. Seonghwa turns his face toward him.

"Why were you smiling while sleeping? Seems like someone got some action in his dream," Yunho asks, a wide smirk covering his face.

"No, of course not," Seonghwa says, almost screaming, making Yunho burst into laughter.

"It's just..." Seonghwa starts speaking but stops. Yunho rolls on his side of the bed, waiting for Seonghwa to answer.

"Should we go out tomorrow morning?" Seonghwa says, making Yunho lose his balance and fall on his face.

"Morning? We shouldn't be going out at night, and you want to go in the morning?" Yunho says, not believing what he just heard.

"I have a plan. I just need to make sure I can get you out too," says Seonghwa.

"I hope you remember that we are grounded," says Yunho, still in disbelief. He doesn't understand what is going on in Seonghwa's head.

"Yeah, I remember. Let me give it a try," says Seonghwa as he gets up and leaves for his room.

A/N:

I have been feeling too unmotivated to update for a while. Here it is though.

Also we got Cyberpunk choreography!! It's so good and unexpected pls. I loved it and also lowkey screamed my lungs out. 

Thank you for reading this *cries* 

I will be introducing other Ateez members super soon so please be patient. Next chapter coming super soon. 

Do comment to let me know what you think about it. Please vote :))