Cliché, Isn't It? <Kim Hongjoong X Song Mingi>

Two - Hongjoong

   As children, Hongjoong and Mingi's parents had been work partners. Even with the seemingly big 4-year age gap between them, they were almost inseparable.

Best friends, both boys were. They clicked instantly as expected, since their personalities balanced each other out.

"Ma! Can Joongie stay over please?" Mingi would often beg, pleading with his mother to let Hongjoong stay the night even though both had school the next day.

"I promise we'll go to bed on time," he'd shout.

In all honesty, Hongjoong adored his younger friend. Even if Mingi shot up past him once he hit 8th grade, Hongjoong didn't let his tallness give him any advantage.

And of course, Hongjoong was more prioritized with school in 12th grade. He didn't have much more time to spend with his beloved friend. Especially, when Hongjoong met Seonghwa.

Park Seonghwa was also a senior, so he quickly grew close with Hongjoong. Mingi had friends of his own, Hongjoong had thought, he won't miss him too much.

Hongjoong sighed and grabbed his water bottle.

He tried not to think about how he vanished without a word. He couldn't possibly tell Mingi after he failed at being his best friend. What a coward, Hongjoong told himself.

He couldn't even face his best friend.

"Mr. Kim? Would you like to help me grade my papers?" Hongjoong looked up to greet Ms. Jung, who had walked into his room. "Sorry, Ms. Jung," Hongjoong says, bowing as he stands.

"But I've got to leave now. I can help you another time, maybe." He said politely. "Ah, okay. See you tomorrow!" She said, locking eyes with him and slightly pushing her arms into her chest.

Hongjoong bowed again, then gathered his belongings and left. He made sure to lock the door behind him.

☆彡

   The third time the same nightmare woke Hongjoong up, he grabbed his coat and briskly walked out the door. He barely had time to think about where his feet were taking him. Soon, he was in front of the cemetery.

He walked into the entrance slowly, making his way to the back corner. Once he was standing still in front of his destination, the first tear slid down his face.

"Mother," Hongjoong breathed, reaching out a shaky hand to touch the cold surface of the gravestone. Another tear fell as the boy tried hard to stay strong for his beloved mother.

This day next month marked the 5th year without her. "I can't sleep," Hongjoong whispered, letting his eyes slide closed. "I can't stop thinking about you."

"Seeing the boy you adored the most has brought back my memories. I want to patch it up with Mingi, but I can't find a way to tell him." Hongjoong explained.

Now sitting on his knees, Hongjoong laid his head over the top of his mother's grave. "He's still so pretty... And I can tell he has the same beautiful personality underneath his new bad persona." He whispered.

Hongjoong refused to let the coward inside of him let his best friend drift away even farther. "It's hard without your assistance. I'm sure Mingi would listen to you in a heartbeat."

A pained chuckle escaped Hongjoong's lips. His ears were almost numb from the cold, his fingertips red as well. "He really liked you, Ma. You were so good to him."

Hongjoong's tears made his rosy cheeks cold, so he wiped at them with his fingertips. He tried to smile a bit. "I can bring you something. Would you like some daffodils? I'll find some in the nearby store,"

Hongjoong stood up slowly, slipping his hands under his arms in an attempt to warm them. "I hope you don't mind they won't be real. I remember seeing them in the window."

Hongjoong left swiftly to walk about a block away. He opened the door to the store, and sighed at the feeling of warmth. He walked to the display window and spotted the flowers again.

"Excuse me?" Hongjoong tapped the counter a couple times. The open sign was on, and so were the lights. He figured the employee must be in the back.

"Sorry! Be there in a second," a voice called, muffled, from behind the "Employees Only" door. Hongjoong waited for a bit and, before long, a tall man pushed through the door.

But not just any tall man. The tall man that Hongjoong had only so previously spoken to his mother about. "Oh— Mingi." Hongjoong said. He certainly didn't expect this.

But wait! Of course it had to be this way!! What do you expect, this is supposed to be really really cliché. Who else would Answer Hongjoong's late night problems?

So, being deathly afraid of the existence of cliché scenarios, Hongjoong did.... absolutely nothing. "Hongjoong? What are you doing here so late?" Mingi had asked the apparently statue-like man.

After a couple tension-filled seconds of silence, Hongjoong finally managed to snap out of his attempt-of-avoiding-cliché-situations trance. (Which didn't work, because duh)

"I just need the flowers out of the display window," Hongjoong said. He spoke rather softly. Mingi walked around the counter and to the front of the store. "Like these?"

Hongjoong nodded so Mingi took them down off of the shelf. "So why are you here? You didn't answer me before." He said, handing the fake daffodils over to Hongjoong.

"I'm.. visiting somebody," Hongjoong said, ultimately kind of making up some half-true statement of why he's out so late. "But it's really cold out. Do they live far from here?" Mingi asked.

"Uh," Hongjoong panicked for a second, subconsciously chewing at his chapped lips, "no, not really. I only walked a block to get here."

Mingi looked at him again, but very discreetly, as he tried to read the expression on his old friend's face. "Okay then. Don't freeze yourself, Joong." Mingi chuckled lightly.

Hongjoong didn't even comprehend the small (and brief) smile that formed on his face at the old nickname. "Okay... have a good night Mingi." Hongjoong said quietly, taking his newly bought flowers and moving towards the door.

Once he got outside, Hongjoong held the flowers close and sprinted back to his mother's grave. "I love you, Mom." He set the flowers on her grave and closed his eyes in silent prayer.

He looked up once more and stayed quiet a few seconds. "If you want me to, I can get Mingi to come visit you too." He said. More tears welled up in his eyes.

"He-," Hongjoong's shoulders shook as he let his tears fall, "He doesn't even know about this yet... I'm so sorry for not telling him." He cried more and more, feeling only a little better with each passing minute.

"I promise that I'll tell him. I can— I can gain his trust back. Then he'll get to say goodbye to you." Hongjoong's voice cracked with emotion as he shakily spoke to his mother's grave.

"I love him, Ma," Hongjoong wiped his face. "Even if we walk in the darkness. Even if we are on a blocked road. I'll remember what I said. I'll hold his hand always."

"It is our promise."
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Two - End 🌸

Okay, so I've actually gotten a bit off of my path as you can tell. I'm not thinking this book will be as long as I first expected it to be... but I will try to make it longer anyways. I might be exploring more than just the professor/student cliché as well :) I'm working on the next chapter, so it'll probably come out in like a week or so. I'm kinda bad with procrastinating... So ya, I hope this was enjoyable 💫

Word Count: 1289
Published: 01/20/2020

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