aurora: in full bloom | hongjoong - ateez [hiatus]

⇢ ch. 11

You find yourself slowly coming out of your dark hole with the help of Hongjoong.

Being open and honest with him has helped you tremendously. You're grateful that you've come to terms with having him as an outlet to help you get through your rough times.

He's proven to be a great friend of yours. You consider him to be one of your friends. He's pretty much the only one you've got at the moment, or that's how it feels like.

You surprise yourself by considering him a friend. You're unsure if he feels the same way as you.

But you know deep down that your feelings for him are growing stronger as well.

Him being there for you has made you have deeper feelings for him.

↞-↠

Throughout this time period, Hongjoong's feelings for you have only grown stronger.

You being raw and open with him has helped him get to know you better. He starts to believe that you are becoming friends, but is unsure.

He wasn't expecting to see himself in this position. He wasn't expecting to fall madly in love with you. He wasn't expecting to become friends with you. And he sure as hell wasn't expecting to be a source of comfort for you.

Not that being a source of comfort is bad. He just wasn't expecting to become close with you.

Because of all of this, he's found even more inspiration for music. Hongjoong spends so much more time composing and producing.

He also wasn't expecting to spend so much time working on this project with you. That's the thing that surprised him. He didn't realize it would take this long to negotiate with other companies.

Hongjoong reminds himself that it's all a learning process. He doesn't mind that he's been able to spend so much time with you.

The universe has its wicked ways of bringing people together.

↞-↠

Sometime during your stump, Hongjoong requests to see you in his office once again.

You're nervous, but not as nervous as you once were.

"[Y/N], I need to go overseas again, to negotiate another deal. I would like you to come along."

"Are you sure you need me to tag along?" You hesitate.

"I think this trip will help you. It will be a change of pace. You won't need to do anything. It can help you clear your mind. I'm sure you're incredibly stressed by work and your personal life. You can get away from your life here in Korea and see a different scenery," Hongjoong's voice is soothing.

As he talks, you find yourself agreeing. Maybe this is what you need. You need a distraction from your everyday life.

You find it to be difficult to focus in an environment where you're bound to run into Seonghwa.

You have passed by him on a couple of accounts. You both politely nod and smile at each other, nothing more. You wonder how he's doing.

"Okay...fine, I'll go," you reluctantly agree.

↞-↠

This time, you and Hongjoong make a trip to New York City. You've never been, so you are excited to see a different part of the United States, the world.