𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 | Seongjoong/Ateez ff

Chapter Thirty

HORRAYYY. Sorry for the delay, my phone went bzzzz and I couldn't even turn it on yey.
but yeah.

_____________

June came and with that the heat really started.

Of course the days had become hotter and hotter during may, but now it was becoming increasingly obvious how hot this summer would be, and Seonghwa was definitely suffering from it even in his white tank top and knee-short jeans. And he was nervous.

Now, it wasn't really a "oh my god I'm going to die" type of nervous, more like a "are you sure this is right" type of nervous, but Hongjoong had reassured him multiple times that he didn't have to worry, that it was completely fine for him to tag along, and that Wooyoung would be there too, so now he was walking under the burning sun by his boyfriend's side, heading to an apartment he had never been to before.

You might be wondering why was Seonghwa so nervous; The answer is easy.

Yeosang had invited the group to his birthday party and of course Hongjoong was included, and Seonghwa didn't even think much of it until his boyfriend had come to him smiling, almost beaming with excitement, telling him that Yeosang had extended the invite to him too.

The problem is, Seonghwa did not know Yeosang. He had picked up on the fact that it was the one with long bleached hair, but apart from that he didn't know absolutely anything about him.

When he had argued that he didn't know what to get as a present and it would have been best if Hongjoong went alone he had received a pout and a "You don't have to get him anything, and if you really want to your baked goods are heavenly," Said by a Hongjoong that had just experienced one of his muffins recipes the evening prior.

So he had taken a deep breath, forced his boyfriend to a cuddle up session with a Star Wars marathon (the fucker spent more time at Seonghwa's apartment than his own), and sucked it up.

He had ended up baking a cake for good measures that morning, making sure that it was something everyone would like with a conversation (more similar to an interrogation really) with Hongjoong that morning, and when he looked up from the box in his hands he found that they were already in front of Yeosang's apartment building.

He looked to the side at Hongjoong who flashed him a reassuring smile, took a deep breath, and stepped inside. All the way up the stairs his nerves only got worse and by the time they reached the door his hands were shaking so bad he started to get worried the cake would slip from his hold and splatter all over the hallway's floor. He felt eternally grateful when Hongjoong took the box from his hands after knocking on the door, even if having something to focus on (not drop the cake) had actually been helping him keep his thoughts in check.

The door opened not long after and Seonghwa felt himself relaxing - even if only slightly - when it was Yunho the one to greet them with a wide smile. Yunho, Mingi, and Wooyoung - and of course Hongjoong - were the only ones Seonghwa could say he knew; He was not familiar with Yeosang or Jongho, or even San despite having talked to him a couple of times, so Yunho being the one to answer the door was actually a breath of fresh air.

When Yunho stepped aside to let them in, Seonghwa hesitantly followed Hongjoong inside and they both made their way through the apartment to the strangely empty living room.

"You're kinda the first ones here. Yeosang had a date with Jongho and everyone else is late," Yunho spoke from behind them, following them. He took the cake from Hongjoong and disappeared for a moment in the kitchen to set it down and then came back. Hongjoong was already sprawled on the couch while Seonghwa sat hesitantly down beside him. Yunho sat down on Seonghwa's left.