Stoneheart || Seongsang ATEEZ

33; apology

The Monday after the party, lunch was awkward for Yeosang and Seonghwa. Both of them just stared down at their food, silently eating. Nobody worried about Seonghwa; that behaviour was normal for him. But Yeosang made them wonder. He was usually quiet, but not that quiet. "Yeo? You alright?", Hongjoong asked him, causing the silent male to look up and blush vigorously. "I-I'm f-fine", he stuttered. And after a glance at Seonghwa on the other side of the table he returned to his food.

"Did something happen between you two?", San, who had noticed Yeosang's glance at Seonghwa, asked curiously. "No?", both of them said simultaneously. Another awkward glance was shared between the two, before they turned their attention to the food again with flushed cheeks. The other three boys exchanged some knowing looks and decided to let the two be.

When Yeosang finally had the chance to leave the cafeteria he was greeted with a sight that made him wish he would have stayed back there with his friends. Mingi and Jongho were stood before him and he had nowhere to go. He stepped back, his back hitting the wall. "Please don't hurt me", he whimpered closing his eyes in fear. But the pain he feared didn't happen. Instead, he felt a soft touch on his arm, jolting away from it. "We don't want to hurt you anymore", Jongho spoke softly. Yeosang looked up. He checked Jongho's eyes for any signs of insincerity, but all he could find was gentleness and regret. He loosened up slightly and carefully brought his eyes up to meet Mingi's. Again he found no trace of the anger and the dangerous sparkle the taller's eyes usually held.

"Can we talk to you for a moment?", Mingi's voice sounded as gentle as Yeosang had ever heard it. He nodded hesitantly and followed the two outside to a bench in a calm corner. He hoped this wasn't a trap and Jaeyeol and Namgu wouldn't jump out of the bushes to beat him up any second. He looked around nervously trying to catch any sign of danger before it was too late. But there was no danger this time. The three young men sat down on the bench engulfed in silence. Mingi sighed: "First of all I want to apologize. I know what I have done is not something that could ever be forgiven, but I hope you can at least accept my apology. I fucked up. I have reasons, but none of them excuse what I have done. I will explain everything to you if you let me, but will you please accept my apology?"

Yeosang looked at him in shock. Song Mingi was apologizing to him? What the fuck had happened? Did it maybe have anything to do with Yunho? "I don't know if I can", he said softly, "but I will let you explain. I will listen to everything."

Mingi told him the whole story from the very beginning. Everything he had told Jongho and Yunho as well. The sound of the bell interrupted him, but going to class wasn't an option in that moment. They skipped their next lesson and Mingi finished his whole story. "Jongho was just pulled into that whole mess. He really never wanted to do anything to you. I know you can't forgive me, but please at least forgive him." "I do. And I do accept your apology also." Yeosang knew that the decision was stupid, but he couldn't help it. He always saw the good in people. In his eyes everyone deserved a second chance. "But please stay far away from me for now. I might be able to give you a second chance at some point, but definitely not now. Also, may I say? Yunho deserves better than you."

Mingi nodded. "I know, I'm trying to better myself. Also, thank you. I won't bother you anymore. And I will make sure Jaeyeol and Namgu won't bother you either."

~~~~~
A/N: You might have noticed that I edited all the earlier chapters, removed most of the A/Ns etc.
The reason for that is that I entered the wattys 2019 with this book.
I have no idea how it's gonna go and I don't think any of the judges will even read my story, but you never know... wish me luck...

Also: I have only two pre-written chapters left and I might not be able to write the next weeks. Which means updates are probably gonna be irregular for a while now. I apologise for that in advance.

I have a lot of stress regarding my studies and work lately and my mental health isn't anywhere near where I want it. I don't have anyone to vent to either, because it's all my own fault anyway... and in general everything is a bit too much for me right now.

So please don't expect too much from me for now.

Thanks for listening to my rant... Sorry for wasting your time and sorry for writing (or rather not writing) this story.