Colors ♡ Kim Hongjoong

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 19

Date: November 25

The next morning, I packed my backpack and got ready to leave for Hongjoong's house. I wasn't sure how this was going to go. I had never met his family before, not even his brother. I remembered Bumjoong from a few years ago, but I had never interacted with him. I found myself worrying that I would make a fool of myself in front of them all.

Hongjoong had written his address on a sticky note which was now crumpled in my hands. I had just shoved it into my backpack after leaving the library. It didn't take long to get to his house, and thankfully the weather was nice. The sun was out and shining, and the air was cold and stale. I was just glad there wasn't any wind.

As I got closer to the address, my heart beat faster. I had only ever gone to Wooyoung's house — no one else's. I wasn't used to visiting friends or hanging out at someone else's house. Hongjoong wasn't even a friend and that's what made me even more nervous. What were his parents like? Would it be awkward? Would I even feel comfortable coming over again tomorrow?

I paused at the entrance, knocking hesitantly.

A moment later, the door opened and a woman greeted me. She had a sweet face and a kind smile as she opened the door further and invited me inside.

"You must be Kang Yeona," she said gleefully, "I'm Hongjoong's mom. He told me you had a big project together."

Chuckling shyly, I nodded, "Yes, that's right."

"Hongjoong, your friend is here!" his mother called. I bit the inside of my lip. He had told his family that I was his friend.

Footsteps came from the other side of the house and Hongjoong came into view. I don't know if I had expected him to wear his school uniform or not, but seeing him wear comfy and casual clothes was a little foreign. His hair was slightly wet and disheveled as if he had taken a shower earlier, and he wore a black t-shirt and sweatpants.

"Hey, Yeona," he smiled, giving me a small wave. "Would you like anything to drink? I was just going to make some warm tea since it's chilly out today."

His mother lingered, grinning between us and I could feel my cheeks flushing.

"Sure, that would be nice," I replied and followed him into the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, I watched as he prepared the tea.

"My mom always looks forward to meeting my friends," he spoke softly, "So you'll have to excuse her. She might check in on us quite a bit just to make sure you're comfortable."

Shrugging, I responded, "My mom is similar. You saw how she was when you first visited."

"She's sweet. I like her," he reflected fondly. After a few moments of silence, he peered over at me, "I also like your dad. He seems really intelligent."

"He is," I grinned, turning myself to face him more. "When he was in high school he won nearly every single math and science competition. He was also a pitcher on the baseball team."

Hongjoong suddenly laughed, "My dad was a catcher."

After chatting for a few minutes, the tea was finally ready and he led me down the hallway and to his room. He politely left the door cracked open.

"I cleared the desk off for you, but I also have a chair if that would be more comfortable," he offered, motioning to each. "I don't mind."

I watched as he sat on his bed crosslegged and pulled his laptop onto his lap. His folder lay next to him open with pages of notes scattered about. I set my things down at his desk, subtly observing his room. His electric guitar hung on the wall near his bed. It was so well polished that it seemed to shine.

Taking a seat, I set up my work area and we began to establish a game plan for the day. I was going to research some websites and online resources that would be helpful and send them his way so he could use them as he wrote. We were both determined to finish the project this weekend. We didn't have to turn it in until Friday, but I was already tired of it. The entire assignment made my brain hurt.

"Dinner will be ready soon," Hongjoong's mother peeked her head inside the room. "How are things coming along?"

Hongjoong stretched, "As long as we're closer to completion, then I'm not complaining."

I silently agreed, although I felt my exhaustion was a bit more evident. I simply gave her a weak smile and thumbs up, which she found funny. Once we were left alone, we both rose to our feet. I would probably leave after dinner but I was content with the work we had gotten done. We could have at least most of it finished tomorrow and tweak it throughout the rest of the week.

"Thanks for agreeing to work on it together this weekend," he suddenly said, "It's just a lot easier to do these kinds of things in person."

"Of course," I smiled, before catching myself. I hadn't realized how comfortable I had become around him in the span of a couple hours. I was forgetting how much I disliked him. I nearly laughed at myself. If I had known a month ago that I would be where I was now, I would have been ticked off.

We both washed up for dinner before finding our places. I sat between Hongjoong and his mother. This was the first time I was ever meeting his father and seeing Bumjoong since his graduation. He looked older than I remembered, but was still so similar to Hongjoong. They were a close copy and paste.

"It's nice to meet you, Yeona," Hongjoong's father greeted. "Hongjoong told us we would be having a guest and I was surprised it was someone we hadn't met before. We've met all of Hongjoong's friends."

My cheeks flushed.

"I remember you before I graduated," Bumjoong suddenly said, "You and your cousin are the ones with drones and robots, right?"

"Yes, that's us," I confirmed, laughing a little.

"Yeona is one of the smartest people I know," Hongjoong explained to his parents, "She and her cousin build such cool technology and gadgets. She programs miniature robots and can control them from her phone."

I was...one of the smartest people he knew? Touched, I observed as he reenacted the other night when I had startled him with my robot while playing video games. He was so excited to talk about them...and me. I felt like I was his friend and he was bragging about me. Bumjoong was laughing and his parents looked like they were starstruck by my robot building skills.

Hongjoong was not as annoying as I had always thought him to be. In many ways, though parts of me hated to admit it, we were similar.