Emotionless |seongjoong|

*5*

Hongjoong:

I had some hopes that everything would be the same at uni. Yet, I didn't expect everyone to know and talk about it. They made such a fuse about me dating someone. It was troublesome. I had barely walked into the lecture hall when my friends started to talk about it. I tried to shut them down at first, but it was pointless. They continued. Ah, so exhausting. It was only the second day of dating Seonghwa, and I felt so tired. If being in a relationship was that tiring, then I wanted to put an end to it. Probably, that would be for the best.

"Our boy is all grown up now!" Woo cheered.

"He is already dating!" Yunho joined him.

"If he buys me fried chicken, I'll approve of him," Yeosang joined.

Of course, they were behaving like a bunch of children. In that case, I could redirect their conversation away from me. And I had something I could use for that purpose. Wooyoung's new crush. Woo's obsession with that guy from the sports department was my secret weapon. And I plan to use it now.

"Hey, Wooyoung-ah, how's it going with that guy? Was his name Choi San?" I said, forcing some interest into my words.

"It's going nowhere!" He complained. "I can't get to him because of his stupid fan club," Woo rolled his eyes.

"That's because you only watch him from afar," Yeo commented, showing some frustration in his voice.

"That's because... because..." our friend started stuttering.

"Okay, we are going to help you," Yunho chirped. "Let's go to Choi San, and give Wooyoung a little push."

Ah, I've brought more troubles upon my head. Once Yunho had set his mind to something, he was unstoppable. I should have kept my mouth shut. Now, he wanted all of us to join and push Woo to that guy. That meant I had to stay at least an hour more at uni and socialize for that time. I just wanted to go home right away and recharge. Ah, another long day ahead of me. Just great! My life was such a mess recently. And it all started when I met him, Park Seonghwa. I thought about it during the rest of the lectures. The only solution that came to my mind was to break up with Seonghwa as soon as possible. After all, the sooner the better. Before could get too attached to me. That way, it wouldn't affect our group project as much. I just had to do it before going on a second date with him. Maybe I could meet him once I finished with Wooyoung's case.

...

I had never expected to meet Seonghwa at Choi San's practice. He was there, watching the taekwondo practice. Soon, he noticed us and waved at us. His eyes fixated on me. Woo went to him first, and they exchanged a couple of words before Seonghwa's attention came to me. Hwa looked at me with a bright smile and those dreamy eyes. Just as a puppy. Looking at him made my stomach sick. But I had to act normal in front of everyone. So I smiled back at him and went to say hello. Once I was close enough, he hugged me tight. I patted his shoulder, signalling him to let go of me. There were too many people around us. Seonghwa quickly got my hint. Then we sat down and chatted some. I learned that Seonghwa and that guy, Choi San, were old friends. Hwa also told me that they had been roommates before. To be honest, I didn't care even a bit about that. But I had to keep up my facade. So, I pretended to be interested in what he was saying. I wanted to dump him. But not to get on the wrong side. My grade would suffer if that happened.

...

That taekwondo practice was way too long. I wanted to go home, but Yunho insisted everyone be there for Wooyoung, and Seonghwa wanted me to stay longer too. He was holding my hand, unwilling to let go of me. I couldn't leave peacefully. And I just wanted to return home. Being here with all of them was so tiring. Staying around people was tiring.

Luckily, Choi San's practice ended, and he came by us. He headed towards Seonghwa and me, but Wooyoung stood in front of him. That guy was clueless about what my friend wanted from him. We watched them. Wooyoung was desperately trying to flirt and ask San out. Yet, he was failing. To his rescue, San got the hint and took the lead. He was the better flirt among them. Soon, they asked each other out, and all got settled. My friend was speechless to San's bold flirt. But once done, San turned our way. He came to us. Having a fake smile of kindness. I could recognize the fakeness from far away. After all, I was a fake too. And I could feel the danger.

San reached out his hand, introducing himself. The moment I took his hand, he pulled me closer. I could feel his breath on my skin and the smell of his sweat. The sense of danger got stronger. I knew what was following. He was about to threaten me.

"If you hurt my best friend, I'll bring hell to you," he whispered to me.

After that, the boy returned to his fake smile and politeness. That guy was twisted. Far more than me. He was something different. And no one else had noticed it. They were chatting normally. Soon, we decided to go our separate ways. Yet, Seonghwa stopped me one more time. He asked me out, and I had to refuse. I felt way too tired. Even if it meant that I could break up with him today, I didn't have the energy to do it. So I headed straight home.

Seonghwa:

I felt sad when Hongjoong told me he was leaving. I wanted to spend more time with him, but it couldn't be helped when he was busy. In the end, I left with my bestie. Well, that way, we could gossip some. San wanted to hear all about my date with Hongjoong. His brother, Jongho, wanted to hear about it too. We picked up Jongho from his part-time job on our way to their apartment.

Once in their apartment, I helped Jongho prepare some food while Sannie was taking a shower. He was the type who would take a second shower after practice. We were used to it and waited for him to come out of the shower. At least, he was quick and soon enough, he joined us.

"Now, tell us everything!" said San, who was wearing only his towel.

I took a big sip of my coffee, and opened up about my experience with Hongjoong. I explained everything from the night, I asked him out, to our adorable date. Every single detail has been mentioned, and nothing got saved. Well, maybe the way, we woke up half-naked was kept away from them. But I knew how they could react if they knew. It would be dangerous for Hongjoong. Cause both Choi brothers were overly protective.

"So he agreed just like that?" San raised his brows.

"Yes...," I responded.

"And you didn't think that is suspicious?" Jongho added.

"Why? Just because he accepted my confession right away? I don't think there's anything wrong with it," I responded.

"Okay, okay," San stepped back.

We spoke for a bit more on that topic before moving from it. We started talking about San and Woo's upcoming date. I had the feeling that those two would make a good couple. Just like me and Joongie. Ah, I wanted to see him right away. Even hearing his voice would have been enough for me. Maybe I could call him when I went home. Yeah, I could call him later.