ᴀᴅᴅɪᴄᴛᴇᴅ

【22】

ok... so everything was supposed to be great. but now a total disaster, how the actual fuck did he end up in this situation.

he didn't mean to hurt his feeling... he doesn't even know why seonghwa made a big deal about his asking a few questions.

though to hongjoong it was a few mindless— minor questions. to their friend group it wasn't. it was a barge of stupid questions, that made seonghwa even question there relationship.

he never meant to be this way.

he didn't want to seem like he was being controlling or be crazy obsessive type— or that's what he kept telling himself.

he told himself that constantly, as if repeating it would somehow make it true. he didn't want to be the one who overanalyzed every conversation, every glance, every unread text. but no matter how hard he tried, the thoughts crept in, slow and insidious, like vines twisting around his ribs, making it hard to breathe.

seonghwa was good to him. better than he probably deserved. he was the kind of boyfriend who remembered and learned how to make hongjoong's favorite coffee just because. the kind who remembered the little details, who made ethan laugh even when he didn't want to.

he was so sweet, he always found a way to prove his point in a positive light. he never cursed unless he was really mad(which was very rare). he was kind and doesn't have a mean or nonchalant bone in his body. not to mention his angelic face and he always let hongjoong dress him and asks him for fashion advice, there was no visible flaws in seonghwa.

but seonghwa was also very easy to like. too easy. he was a literal walking magnet, being able to pull people towards him like it's natural and people love it... they love him. and that scared hongjoong more than anything.

it started small.

hwa would be texting someone, and joong would catch a glimpse of a name he didn't recognize.

"who's that?" he'd ask, trying to sound casual.

"just a friend from school ," seonghwa would reply, not looking up.

hongjoong would nod, forcing a smile. but his mind wouldn't let it go. friend from school. okay. but why was he smiling at his phone? was it really just a friend?

then there were the nights seonghwa was out late, and hongjoong thoughts spiraled into places he hated. he told himself it wasn't fair to doubt seonghwa —not when seonghwa had never given him a real reason to. but trust wasn't something hongjoong handed over easily. it had to be earned, and even then, it felt fragile, like glass that could shatter with the wrong move. or a thin rope that could literally break in a few seconds.

tonight, the weight of it all finally cracked open.

seonghwa had been out late again, helping yunho and wooyoung with something—again. hongjoong had spent the last three hours pacing his apartment, checking his phone too many times, fighting off the thoughts clawing at his mind.

it wasn't about yunho and woo. hongjoong knew that. but it was about how easy it was for seonghwa to put everyone else before him. how easy it was for him to forget ethan was waiting.

so when seonghwa finally walked in, looking exhausted but oblivious, hongjoong couldn't hold it in anymore.

"where were you?" his voice was too sharp and cold.