| Antidote | Poison 2nd Book |

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟜

The next morning, Hongjoong sat at the large marble island in the middle of the kitchen, scrolling through his phone in one hand with a half-full coffee cup in his other hand. The air was filled with the pittering of coffee brewing into the pot in front of him, an aromatic bitterness engulfing his nose. It was the second pot of the morning.

He still hadn't even made an attempt to talk to Seonghwa after the day before. The more he thought about it, the more it made him sick to his stomach. He couldn't even begin to understand why Seonghwa would have any kind of business with the man.

The sound of footsteps tapping against the tile floor behind him made his gaze lift from his phone to the countertop. When they ceased, Hongjoong sat in silence, waiting for whoever it was to say something.

"Joongie..." A smooth, deep voice called from behind him. Hongjoong let out a subtle sigh, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Seonghwa, I only just woke up half an hour ago, I'm not in the mood right now." He replied with a disinterested tone in his voice, resting his chin upon the palm of his hand.

"Will you please look at me then? I didn't come to argue with you or make you upset. I come to you as your husband, your best friend, and your protector. I just want to talk to you. You know I hate making you upset, and I hate it, even more, when you stay mad at me." Seonghwa's tone softened a bit more, a slight frown forming upon his face.

Hongjoong chewed on the inside of his lip for a while. Finally, he set his phone and coffee down with a soft clatter, kicking the leg of the stool to spin around and face Seonghwa.

Seonghwa looked a bit rough as it seemed he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Hongjoong locked him out of their bedroom so he had been forced to sleep on the couch in his office. His hair was an absolute mess and there was evidence of dark circles beneath his eyes.

"What do you want?" Hongjoong huffed out as he ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"I want to sincerely apologize-"

"Apology accepted. Let's move on." Hongjoong cut him off with sarcasm in his voice, crossing his arms over his chest.

Seonghwa blinked a few times, now unsure of what to even do or say at that moment. "Hongjoong-"

Hongjoong pushed off of the stool and stood directly in front of the taller male, squinting his eyes. "You think you can just apologize after something like that and expect me to act like everything is okay? How DARE you even think bringing that man INTO OUR HOME was a smart decision. I understand it's been a long time since what happened, but I can guarantee that man has not yet forgotten it was I that BRUTALLY killed his son." A brewing sense of anger was forming in his gut as he laid into Seonghwa. "Seeing him brought me back to that place, seeing my hands covered in blood, the fear that ran through my veins, and the months of hell that followed. So fuck your apology, Seonghwa."

Seonghwa got down onto his knees and grabbed ahold of Hongjoong's hands, pressing his hands against his forehead. "I'm on my knees, Hongjoong. Please, just let me explain the whole situation. Let me fix this, let me put everything right. I'll tell you anything you want to know, I'll do anything you want me to, just listen to me. Please... Just listen to me." He couldn't help but plead, the heavy weight in his chest was causing his heart to ache.

Hongjoong looked around the room for a second, shaking his head with a scoff before he looked down at Seonghwa. "Fine. You have five minutes to give me a valid explanation and not a second more." He said as he pulled his hands away. "You look like a fool on your knees like that. Stand up."

Seonghwa licked at his bottom lip slightly as he stood back to his feet, looking down into Hongjoong's eyes. "First, I do admit bringing him here was a stupid and careless thing to do. I'm more than aware of that. Second, I only met with him because he wanted to discuss a possible deal of working with my company, promising to bring my business into places that we've not reached yet. I already told him it wasn't likely that we would ever do business, but when he called yesterday morning, he was already in the area, and I had no choice but to accept a meeting with him. I'm not going to be any kind of business with him, none at all, and I made that very clear. I wasn't thinking, Hongjoong. I admit it was completely inconsiderate considering the past."