IN THE MIST | seongjoong

14

Hongjoong couldn't sleep once again. Three nights, he had been restless. For three nights, he could not even catch a wink of sleep. This night had been no different.

It had been three days since the Hollows and three days since he's handed the necklace to Wooyoung. Perhaps the wearing off effects of the necklace were causing him this lack of sleep.

But it was more likely that nagging feeling in his gut. That awful twist within every time he thought of the siren and how hurt he had seemed those short days ago. He had yet to speak with Seonghwa though earlier in the night he had spoken with Yeosang about Seonghwa and his state so that he might know what to say to the siren when he apologized.

This stupid feeling was eating at him and it wasn't letting him fall asleep. Haunting him as much or even more than he had thought Seonghwa's song had—than the curve of his lips, his high cheekbones, and sharp eyes.

"Gods." Hongjoong clicks his tongue, annoyed that he was without sleep again, his mind drifting to thoughts and faces—a face—that it shouldn't. This time though, he kicks over his furs and sits up on his bed. If he was going to have another sleepless night, he wasn't going to sit in his bed staring at the ceiling.

He got out of bed grabbing a light fur coat as he stepped out of his quarters and out into the deck. The night was growing chilly now that they were heading north to the Trader's Isle to gather food and supplies before traveling to the Neveah sea where Hongjoong had thought the Seireness Pearl may be held.

Stepping out on the deck, the last thing he had expected to see was Seonghwa stepping out as well. His eyes grew wide when he saw Seonghwa, the siren's eyes shut as if enjoying the soft breeze in the air. The moon casts a soft glow on Seonghwa, making him appear more ethereal than before. His skin had grown tan from the days in the sun but he seems pale, just as perturbed by insomnia as he was. He looked so peaceful, completely undisturbed by the cruel world around him and merely basking in the quiet peace offerings it offers to him in return for the hell he has suffered.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep that made Hongjoong stare as his brain went haywire.

"Seonghwa." The siren's name slips from his lips before he knows it and the siren's eyes fly open, widening as he stares at Hongjoong. The siren's idyllic demeanor falls, face hardening and walls going up. Hongjoong's jaw clenches, lips tugging into the faintest frown. He expects the siren to ignore him and then back to his cabin, but the siren doesn't and instead stares back.

"Hongjoong." Seonghwa voices, the name sounding foreign on his tongue. Hongjoong had expected the siren to run off so he doesn't know what to say next, now that the siren stands before him.

"We find ourselves back out here alone again." Hongjoong says, lips tugging upwards and he regrets the casual words almost immediately as Seonghwa's demeanor changes entirely, scowling as he turns on his heel, returning to his cabin.

Hongjoong is quick to reach out, smile dropping as he takes Seonghwa's wrist and spins him back around. The siren quickly shakes off Hongjoong's hold but he remains still before him.

"I'm sorry." Hongjoong says, an apology for both his callous words and actions. Seonghwa stares.

"'Sorry?'" Seonghwa repeats before he scoffs, "Is the word meant to be a bandage for your injury?"

Hongjoong's lips tug into a frown, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Yet you did." Seonghwa responds easily and Hongjoong can see the emotions swirling within Seonghwa's eyes. Hurt. Sadness. Anger.

"Yeosang told you why I did it." Hongjoong pushes. He had thought maybe Yeosang's words had swayed Seonghwa a bit, that maybe Seonghwa could understand why he had to use the necklace. But given the way Seonghwa stares at him, he's afraid Yeosang's words had done nothing.