Mingled Round 🍭 ateez slash challenge [⏯]

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bottom!Seonghwa
Top!Hongjoong

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Seonghwa cursed whoever was throwing stones at his window with pebbles every day.

Sometimes he would be reading a book, studying, watching TV, or doing any activity when all of it would be disturbed by a small tapping sound on his second-floor window.

But every time he opened the window to see who the culprit was, he never found anyone outside.

Probably just mischievous kids, he thought.

He shouldn't have cared about the actions of those people. But every time someone threw a stone at his window, his curiosity was always piqued.

Let me tell you straight away, Kim Hongjoong is the culprit.

Seonghwa didn't know who Hongjoong was. But Hongjoong knew Park Seonghwa. The beautiful creature who one morning peeked out of the window just to pick a flower that extended towards his window. He smiled, very sweetly. Smiling at something that brightened his sunny day. Something that made him happy.

And at that moment, by chance, Hongjoong happened to be walking to his parents' garden, located somewhat far from his house on the outskirts of town. By chance, he saw the scene where Seonghwa smiled at the flowers up there.

Hongjoong never believed that happiness was contagious. But now he believed since he felt happy when he saw Seonghwa smile. Truly an extraordinary influence. So the next day when he passed by Seonghwa's house, with a little hope of seeing that beautiful figure again, he was disappointed because Seonghwa didn't do the same thing as the day before.

So Hongjoong brainstormed. He found pebbles around, then threw them high at Seonghwa's window, hoping the man would show up.

And it worked. Although this time, the expression Seonghwa showed was confusion, not the smile that Hongjoong hoped for.

But it didn't matter. Just seeing Seonghwa's face was enough to make Hongjoong feel at ease, regardless of his facial expression. And from that angle, Seonghwa should have seen Hongjoong. But no, Hongjoong could hide well in his spot.

And Hongjoong did the same thing the next day. And Seonghwa responded the same way. Until the incident repeated itself every day. Like a life scenario that both of them had memorized. At different times. So Seonghwa couldn't predict when the disturbance would happen again, disrupting his daily activities in the room.

And somehow, coincidentally, every time Hongjoong threw a stone, Seonghwa was always in his room. So Hongjoong could always see Seonghwa opening the window to find out who had disturbed him.

One winter day with heavy snowfall, Hongjoong didn't find pebbles around Seonghwa's house. All the stones were covered with snow, and Hongjoong had to dig deep to find them. So he formed a snowball the size of his fist and threw it hard at Seonghwa's window.

But what surprised him was that the snowball didn't hit the window. Instead, it flew into Seonghwa's room.

"Argh! Mom!"

Hongjoong could hear a shout.

Seonghwa didn't close his window.

He didn't know why Seonghwa did that in weather that could kill everyone. Maybe he was cleaning? Who knows.

Hongjoong widened his round eyes, making them look even bigger. How could he not realize that Seonghwa didn't close his window?

Well, maybe because he was used to it. So he didn't feel the need to double-check the position of the window.

He didn't know what to do now. Clearly, he felt very guilty. But he was too cowardly to come and apologize.

Since then, Seonghwa never showed his face at the window. No matter how many times Hongjoong threw things, maybe he wasn't in his room. Hongjoong thought. So the timing might not be right.

But three days had passed, and Seonghwa never reappeared. So Hongjoong was worried now.

And finally, he gathered the courage to knock on Seonghwa's door. He told Seonghwa's mother that he came to apologize. Also, to find out about Seonghwa's condition.

The woman allowed Hongjoong to meet Seonghwa in his bedroom.

Because it turned out that the man lay weak and helpless due to a fever. Because the cold snowball hit him directly in the ear area. It was very cold and painful. Hongjoong could imagine how cold it was. Which made his guilt grow even bigger.

"So, you're the one disturbing me all this time?!"

Hongjoong would not take back his words about liking Seonghwa's facial expressions in any way. Even angry and upset like now, Hongjoong still liked it. Even more so. Like a cliche sentence from a man who likes to use pick-up lines on his partner, for Hongjoong, Seonghwa looked even prettier with that angry face.

But, of course, he wouldn't say it. At least not now. Maybe later when they're more familiar. He didn't know where that confidence came from. Because he had a feeling that someone like Seonghwa wouldn't hate him just because he made a small mistake. Seonghwa's angry reaction wouldn't last long. That's what he thought.

They introduced themselves indirectly. Hongjoong was the first to introduce himself. Seonghwa, still a bit upset, told his name. Hongjoong apologized. It was difficult for Seonghwa to forgive, but he saw in Hongjoong's eyes sincerity and honest guilt. That Hongjoong really regretted it. And he greatly appreciated Hongjoong's courage to come and apologize. Not everyone could do that. So in the end, Seonghwa forgave him.

As a replacement for his guilt and thanks for Seonghwa's forgiveness, Hongjoong promised several beautiful flower stems that he had picked from his mother's flower garden some time ago before the snow fell and covered the city. It was a tempting offer. Even with or without a bribe, Seonghwa would still forgive him. It's just that Seonghwa also wanted to see how big Hongjoong regretted it.

But on the other hand, maybe Hongjoong didn't regret throwing a snowball at Seonghwa's window. Because if he didn't do it, he might never have come to Seonghwa's house to apologize, meet, and get to know each other.

"Well, I don't regret it."