end of the day | seongjoong

chapter seventy three

"mom, you have to get hongjoong out of his room. seonghwa is going to be here at seven thirty and it's already five past seven, if joongie doesn't leave soon our whole plan will be ruined!" jongho exclaimed for the tenth time that night, running up to his mom who was stressing by herself in the living room.

"jongho, you don't think i know that already? i've tried and tried and tried, but he just doesn't want to go out tonight! he's been crying for the past hour, he's really just not in the mood to see his friends." she said as he pulled at her hair. jongho sighed out loud and looked around the room aimlessly, trying to come up with a good enough excuse to get hongjoong out of the house.

"why don't you bribe him or something? tell him you'll get him a new toy or something?" jongho suggested and his mother perked up at the idea.

"that's actually not half bad, he might say yes to that. come with me, maybe he'll feel more obligated to go if you tell him it's a good idea." ms. kim waved her son on and they both made their way up the stairs, walking straight over to hongjoong's room once they got there.

once they reached hongjoong's bedroom door, they could already hear the loud sobs coming from the other side. both of their hearts broke at the sound of the young boy hurting so bad. jongho was the first to make a move, knocking lightly on the door to not startle hongjoong.

hongjoong heard the knock and immediately stopped crying, lifting his head out of his hands and looking over to the bedroom door. he quickly wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, standing up from his bed and opening the door for whoever was on the other side.

"what do you guys want?" hongjoong asked, sounding a bit irritated when his mother and brother greeted him with a wave.

"is it ok if we come in?" jongho asked kindly. hongjoong originally hesitated, but eventually moved to the side and allowed his family members to enter his bedroom. both jongho and his mother took a seat on hongjoong's bed as hongjoong closed his bedroom door shut, walking over and sitting in between the two of them on the bed.

"so, wooyoungie texted me again and asked if you could please go over to his house. him and yeosang are already there, waiting for your arrival. they want to have a special plushie playdate." ms. kim said, slightly lying as she spoke. she hadn't gotten another text from wooyoung, but the part about the special plushie playdate wasn't a lie.

"i know, and i miss them, but i don't know. my heart is hurting." hongjoong mumbled as he held onto his chest.

"babe, i know you're hurting. trust me, i've dealt with heartbreak many times. but what you're doing right now isn't going to make you feel better. ignoring your friends and cowering in your room will only make things worse for you. you have to go out, have some fun, otherwise you'll go insane. come on, if you go i'll buy you a brand new plushie. you can pick whichever toy you want! does that sound like a deal?" jongho asked, speaking from the heart in the beginning of his speech in hopes to help his brother feel better. hongjoong's eyes lit up at the sound of a new toy in play.

"and besides, you're going to wooyoung's house. you have to be home by nine thirty anyway because of his bedtime. it's almost seven thirty now, you won't even have to be out that late." hongjoong's mother added on and hongjoong finally gave in.

"ok, fine. only because that means i'll get to spend time with jongie and get a new plushie soon!" hongjoong cheered with a smile on his face, leaning over and giving his brother a big hug. jongho accepted the hug, rubbing circles on his back as he did so.

"perfect. maybe we'll even invite wooyoung and yeosang to go with us, i miss sangie a lot." jongho admitted and hongjoong giggled, his mother cooing at how adorable jongho sounded, "come on hongjoong, let's go now. i'll drive you to wooyoung's." jongho stood up and held a hand out for hongjoong to grab onto which he gladly accepted.