Tomorrow's sun awaits us | Seongjoong

Life moving in

The door unlocks.
As Seonghwa steps aside, Hongjoong gets a chance to look around.
First thing the man notices about the apartment is its size. Even some ballrooms can't compete with that.
He resists the urge to look at his reflection that the tall mirror on the wall offers and turns at the variety of coats that are hanging on the opposite wall in the small hallway. The man wants to comment on the identical clothes in different colours but refrains from doing so.

Hongjoong is not sure how to talk now, after he has balled his eyes out and there probably is still snot under his nose. Instead he takes a step further in Seonghwa's apartment while the man locks the door.
A table with four chairs stands pushed in the left corner as a long wooden surface takes up half of the wall, which is a lot of space. Next to the white coloured cabinets he notices a fridge.
His eyes scan further to land on a television somehow attached on the wall with a couch opposite of it.

He has never seen such a wide screen. The model in his old apartment was smaller in size, had buttons below and stood on a low cabinet.
The man's brown eyes now stop at the last thing on the big room, which has been divided into a dining area and living room.

Windows or to be more specific, the view.

He makes his way past the couch and stops by a long table, looking outside.
The wall is made entirely out of glass, showing clear sight of the houses below the apartment complex. It feels like he is in another world as the street lights are somewhere below him and the light in the apartment differs from the light outside.
Hongjoong looks down at the table full of papers.
Messy is not in his vocabulary as he stares at the catastrophe in front of him.

Soon his wide eyes change to a more inspecting look.
"Ah." Seonghwa lets out somewhere far away.
Communication in this room probably is shouting in order to hear or be heard.
"I'm sorry for the disorder my work table is in."
"Are you in construction work by any chance?" the black haired one's head tilts slightly as he takes in the many drawings of buildings in different stages of finishing.

"I worked as an architect, hopefully I will restart soon after the celebrations are over."
"Oh. That's..." he wants to compliment the other but his eyes scan the wide room once again.
"That explains the big apartment."
Seonghwa chuckles, the sound louder as the male stops by the table.

"It was actually a lot of small rooms before I chose to break down most of the walls and make one of them into a window."
"So you projected your home too?"
"I sure did."
The fondness in his eyes doesn't slip past Hongjoong's watchful gaze. He stares at the man a few feet away from him and his works until Seonghwa lifts his head up from the designs.
"We should probably go to rest since it's very late now. I made sure to eat all of the food before enlisting so it doesn't go to waste, therefore I have nothing to offer to you tonight except a shower and some old clothes. Would you like to go shopping with me tomorrow?"

Questions about where to get money, work, his own place, all the documents and even to make a decision, will he stay in Katedrilte or move back to Mosavika after the reforms are over, flood Hongjoong's head.
"I think it's fine." his answer comes out as dry.
Seonghwa nods.
"Then come, let's change you out of the old shirt."
The male visibly grimaces at how the other sounds like a mother about to change a newborn's diapers and warning him about it beforehand.

He is sure the situation or rather the feeling has happened before.
Hongjoong turns to the right wall, paying more attention to the two doors and picture frames between them. He can see dark shapes of furniture on the other side of the glass doors to the left.
"What is that room?"
The apartment's owner glances at him over his shoulder.
"Oh, balcony. It has a nice view too, you will see it better in the morning."
An eyebrow raises up.

He silently follows Seonghwa to the second door next to the entrance to the balcony. Right in front of him stands a neatly made bed with a wardrobe. The only window shows the dark furniture outside from a different angle.
"This is my bedroom and here's the bathroom. The layout is a bit inconvenient but I hope we will manage." the black haired man says, showing the door to the right.
So every time Hongjoong wishes to take a leak he will have to walk through Seonghwa's bedroom to do it.

Sweet.

"Please tell me your walls are soundproof..."
"Well...to a certain extent?"
A chuckle leaves the man's mouth as he sees the male's lips form a thin line.
"I will bring you some clothes, wait a bit."
Hongjoong walks to the bathroom as the other goes to his closet.
First thing he sees is a mirror to his left, same as in the hallway.
A small thought about a third mirror's presence in Seonghwa's bedroom crosses his mind but he gets rid of it to look at the rest of the room.
Most of the stuff is pushed in the right wall, a drawer with an open shower behind it and a white box with a toilet seat opposite of them.

He turns his head back as he hears the male coming closer.
"What is that box behind the toilet?" he asks, taking the offered clothes.
"Uhm, a washing machine?"
"Like, for cloth washing?"
"Yes, we actually have quite a few new inventions over this year and the last one. Our scientists and engineers don't sleep." Seonghwa laughs.
Hongjoong nods his head and waits until the male steps back to close the bathroom door. His fingers fastly turn the lock.
His curiosity is piqued yet the need to shower after so long overpowers it.

He undresses after putting the clothes on top of the drawer.
One thing makes him glad, the mirror is far from the shower to see his frame. It's basically wounds over wounds and bones anyways.
With a high pitched squeak he retreats from the shower head. It started sprinkling water even before he turned it on.
"It's automatic." a voice on the other side of the door says.
Hongjoong feels his chest tingle with embarrassment since the man heard the surprised sound that left him.

How can it even be automatic?

The male steps under the water, turning the temperature warm. The water warms his body and makes the nerves loosen up but after some time he changes to cold water. He enjoys the refreshing feeling pouring down at him.
The angle he is standing in is not comfortable, his neck hurts from how far he has angled his head but he can't risk the bandage over his right eye to get wet. Shivers run down his spine and it's not caused by the shower.
Hongjoong steps back from the water in hopes it will stop since it's automatic. To his surprise, it does. Small droplets hit the tiled floor until it all goes down the drain and the water is cut down.

The male grabs the first towel he sees and dries himself before looking at the offered clothes.
A pair of baggy grey pants and a black shirt. He feels like a child as the shirt reaches near his knees and the pants need to be held so they don't fall down. He tucks the shirt under his pants and makes his way out of the bathroom, unlocking the door.
"How was the shower?" Seonghwa asks as soon as he has closed the door.
He is sitting on his bed, letting his eyes travel up and down his frame. Hongjoong finds the action to be quite daring.

"It felt refreshing yet odd to use."
"You will get used to our technologies in no time."
The man only nods, both hands on the waistband to push the pants back up.
Seonghwa gets up with a pile of his own clothes in hand and makes his way to the bathroom. Hongjoong steps aside to let him pass yet he stops in front of him.
Putting the clothes under one armpit, the man takes the two cords in front of his grey pants. The other can only stand still as a stone and watch as the katen's fingers tie a bow in front of him.

The pants tighten around his waist.

"Better?"
"Yeah."
The level of endearment the man expresses makes the male feel like choking.
"You can sleep on the couch in the living room. I will take a shower too but no need to wait for me. Rest."
Hongjoong silently nods and turns to exit his bedroom.
"Hongjoong."
The male turns back around.
"Yes, Seonghwa?"
"Good night."
He stares in the male's eyes for a while, noticing how he is waiting for his answer.
"Good night." leaves his lips, making Seonghwa smile.

The male goes to the couch as the water starts running again. He notices the couch has somehow changed shape. The backrest has been pushed down, making the grey furniture more like a bed.
He didn't want to smile, he really didn't.
Turning the lights off, he moved under the blanket, which was placed on top of the couch.

Snuggling into the blanket, Hongjoong let his mouth morph into a smile.