↱PINK↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽

𓇢𓆸༘

𖡼𖤣𖥧𖡼𓋼𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊

As soon as Seonghwa entered his apartment, a flyer was shoved in his face.

"Agh-! What the?!" Seonghwa ripped the paper out of the offender's hands.

"Read it." San snickered.

Annoyed, Seonghwa did as he was told.

"The Raven Claw presents the back to school showcase for performers who are currently students," He read. "The best performer of the night will win $300. San, what is this?"

"The Raven Claw is the nightclub where all the underground rappers in Seoul attend to showcase their skills. The competitions take place in the basement." He explained. "The owner of the Raven Claw was a former underground rapper, so he hosts these competitions for free. Most of the time they're casual events, but they have official showcases like this a few times a year. I'm gonna take part in it, of course. And... so is Hongjoong."

Seonghwa gasped. "Oh, wow! I wanna go see both of you! Can anyone come?"

"Yup." San replied. "And, I want you and Yeosang to come. The only people who know about these competitions are underground rappers and performers anyway, so it's not like everyone knows. Since we're friends, you'll be welcome."

"Awesome! When is this showcase?" Seonghwa asked excitedly.

"This Friday night at 11pm. It's gonna be so fucking awesome. Hongjoong sent me a sample of the rap he composed, and it's so fire. Hopefully Yeosang will like the club enough to participate next time."

Seonghwa gave San an evil grin. "Wow, you are not ashamed about wanting to spend more time with Yeosang."

"Don't be ridiculous. He likes to sing, right? So why not?" San reasoned defensively.

"San, if Yeosang liked watching paint dry, you'd find some way to join him."

"Quiet, hyung."

Seonghwa giggled at San not even denying the accusation. "Is there a dress code I should be aware of?"

San rolled his eyes. "Wear whatever the fuck you want. No one there will care."

"That's not it." Seonghwa countered. "I kinda wanna surprise Hongjoong. I don't wanna stand out too much, or he'll see me from a mile away."

San smirked. "Oh, I see. In that case, try to wear some black. Do you even have any dark colors in that unicorn palace you call a closet?"

"Ha ha." Seonghwa spat. "In high school, before I settled on a style I liked, I experimented with other types of pastel fashion. Pastel goth was one of them. I didn't really like it, but I still have some clothes from that time in my life that were too cute to let collect dust or give away. I'll put something edgy together."

San raised an eyebrow. "You? Edgy? In what lifetime?"

"In due time, my friend." Seonghwa patted San's head. "You'll see this Friday."

__

Seonghwa didn't see much of Hongjoong outside of class.

The creative writing class only meets twice a week, so he didn't get to see the other again until Thursday.

Hongjoong arrived ten minutes late that day.

He managed to slip in without too many students noticing.

He sat in his seat next to Seonghwa.

The blond pushed his notebook towards him with the ten minutes worth of notes he missed.

Giving him a grateful smile, Hongjoong scribbled the notes down as the lecture continued.

Seonghwa frowned slightly at the dark circles under his eyes.

School only started three days ago.

Why was he already so worn out?

When Seonghwa confronted Hongjoong about it after class, the ravenette simply laughed.

"The thing about music majors is, we never really sleep once we get started on a project." Hongjoong explained as he hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder. "You'll see that up close when San gets an assignment that includes composing. He will stay up all night."

Seonghwa shook his head, still concerned. "You two still need to get some sleep. Especially you, Hongjoong. I'm assuming you have the maximum of five classes this semester, right? You can't afford to stay up. You'll get sick."

"You really are like a parent, aren't you?" Hongjoong teased. "Lecturing me about my health."

"That's what happens when my friends make irresponsible decisions." Seonghwa countered. "Is this project you're working on for a class?"

Hongjoong bit his lip.

Then, Seonghwa figured it out.

Hongjoong was working on the rap he would be performing at the back to school showcase.

"Never mind, you don't have to tell me." Seonghwa retracted. "Just... make sure you're resting yourself, okay?"

Hongjoong visibly relaxed. "Okay. I gotta go. Maybe we can talk again this weekend? Yeosang wants to have a Mario Kart tournament."

Yeosang is well aware that Mario Kart is Seonghwa's weakness.

Well, that and Animal Crossing.

He probably set Hongjoong up to ask so he wouldn't say no.

That cunning jerk!

"That's fine. But we're having it in my apartment. The RAs here are usually a little more lenient than the ones at the University Hall."

Hongjoong cocked his head to the side. "Why would the RAs need to be more lenient?"

Seonghwa gave Hongjoong a pitiful look.

"You poor soul. Whenever Yeosang and I play Mario Kart, it's a fucking bloodbath. We rarely play that game because of it."

Hongjoong looked worried. "Uh... okay?"

"But don't worry, you'll be fine!" Seonghwa called over his shoulder as the two parted ways. "I'll see you Friday- er, I mean this weekend!"

Seonghwa mentally slapped himself for almost ruining Friday night's surprise.

He scurried away before Hongjoong could get suspicious.