Black Cat //Ateez

°18°

Seonghwa was quietly serving the plates with food, while Hongjoong, Jongho and San were sitting peaceful around the table.

As much as Hongjoong offered to help Seonghwa, the witch simply told him to sit down. And Hongjoong did as he was told, maybe a little scared right now of the witch.

Seonghwa finished and sat down, seeing the brothers looking at him, while not moving.

"You can start eating if you want" He said smiling, not understanding their behaviour.

San was the first to make a move, immediately eating his soup. It was delicious. Slowly the two older brothers started eating.

Seonghwa watched how stiff they were, as if there was something wrong.

"So, I guess you wanted to tell me something" The witch said, wanting to break the ice among them. He knew that, what they wanted to discuss was their stay here.

"Yeah, we wanted to tell you" Hongjoong said hesitantly, placing his spoon next to his bowl.

Seonghwa stayed silent, waiting patiently for the other to speak.

"Look, we really appreciate the fact that you, maybe, didn't want to leave us alone. But we can't stay here. Maybe your intentions weren't bad, but we can't accept that"

"Joongie.." San whined hearing that, bouncing on his chair.

"San" The older said warningly, and the little quieted down.

"But it's not because we don't like you or anything. We just don't want to burden you" Jongho said frantically. He was confused himself. He didn't know what he wanted.

"And what if I said that you're definitely not a burden? That I wanted you to stay here with me?"

"Why would you want that? Aren't you fine by yourself?" Jongho asked, puzzled by what the witch was saying.

"You'll be surprised by how lonely it is sometimes"

"You're right Mr Hwa. It's really lonely" San said, ignoring his brother. He really wanted to stay here with Seonghwa.

Seonghwa smiled at that, and patted San's head lightly. He could sence and see how much San wanted to stay in his house. But he didn't know what Hongjoong and Jongho wanted.

Hongjoong wanted the best for his brothers and that meant taking them back to his house.

"Are you uncomfortable here?"

"No, no it's not that.." Jongho was quick to answer to this. That wasn't the case.

"I mean, you lived your life, we lived our life. How come you wanted us to be here with you?" The younger continued, his head tilting towards Seonghwa.

"Because Jongho, to be honest, I didn't like the life I was living. I happened to get to know Hongjoong over a strange incident, and then I met you. And I wanted to know you more" Seonghwa said. He knew, he knew very well that his actions were rushed. But be just couldn't stay away from them and that was the first thing he came to his mind.

San was restless on his seat, tapping his small hands on Hongjoong. He  wanted to change their mind. He couldn't understand what was the problem.

"Joongie, Jongie please" He whined again and again, begging his brothers to say yes.

Hongjoong watched his siblings, and he didn't know what to do. Should he say yes? Should he say no? He wasn't able to choose.

"What if.." He started, after some thinking.
"What if we stay here for a week, and then we can decide if we want to stay here or not. What do you think?" He asked, and started again looking at each person in the room.

There were of course mixed expressions. Seonghwa was happy with the negotiation, a small smile on his face. San was the most excited, giggling and screaming. And Jongho, he kinda liked the idea. That way it could be easier to understand what he wanted.

Everyone seemed content with Hongjoongs proposal. They didn't have any objections, so they settled down.

~~~~~

The four of them seemed to be getting along pretty well. Living in the same house all together, it wasn't as troublesome as they thought it would be. If anything, everyone was having a great time.

San was delighted to spent a week with Seonghwa, seeing that his liking towards him was getting bigger and bigger. San was seeing in Seonghwa, maybe a third brother. Or maybe a parent that he never got to experience well. The witch made sure to treat them with the best way possible. He made sure that whatever they wanted was what they would get. He didn't deprive them of anything. And San loved that about Seonghwa. He loved that there was another person besides his brothers, who would take care of him.

Jongho felt the same as San. His liking towards Seonghwa was becoming bigger and bigger. He was a little wary and skeptical at first, but as he got to know Seonghwa more, he didn't seem like a bad person. He was sure that Hongjoong had told him about his illness, because Seonghwa would always made him some sort of drink, that helped him. Always. Whenever he was in pain, Seonghwa was by his side, offering to help him. And Jongho did see a difference in his health. He was becoming better and better.

As for Hongjoong, he definitely didn't want to leave. It was like he had a magnet and he was attached to Seonghwa. He didn't want to leave him. As much as he tried to say to himself that it would be OK, and that it would be better to be away from him, he knew that this wasn't true. He liked Seonghwa. And too much for his own good. He wanted to be close to Seonghwa, the way the witch was treating them, made his heart melt. The way Seonghwa would help his brothers, the way he would do anything and everything they asked, that told Hongjoong that the witch wanted for them to stay with him. Or else, he didn't have a reason to be so kind or put up with them.

Hongjoong would say yes at the end of the week. There was no reason to say no, and he was sure that his brothers also wanted to stay here. He could see it.

He had yet to discuss with Seonghwa about his wish, but the witch was available any time he wanted. And he wanted to talk to him about that. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to talk about their feelings as well. Because Hongjoong needed answers.