Empire | ATEEZ

006

I was surprised to see Seonghwa the next morning, standing outside of my apartment complex with his head raised to the clear skies as the sun bathed his handsome features in golden light, leaning against his motorcycle only to turn to me as I came to a halt in front of him.

"Prince Charming and his white horse," he proudly stated, gesturing at the enormous vehicle only to furrow his brows and glance back at me with a sheepish smile, "If you close your eyes and try to imagine it, that is," he chuckled.

"You didn't have to," I mumbled, accepting the helmet as he handed it to me and making my way over to the back of the motorcycle. "Oh but I want to," Seonghwa said, ruffling my hair before carefully placing the helmet over my head, "Hopefully, if I just work hard enough, I'll be able to raise your standards so much that you won't need both of us."

"Both of us?" I asked, my voice coming out muffled through the helmet. He got onto the motorcycle and glanced back at me as he said, "Me and Chan. I'm not that fond of sharing," before revving the engine and speeding down the street.

〄

"Don't worry about them, princess," Seonghwa mumbled as we made our way into the school, stares and wide eyes clinging to our backs as we navigated the busy halls and oceans of students inside.

"Easy for you to say," I whispered, keeping my head low in an attempt to hide the blush on my face, "With that handsome face of yours."

"You think I'm handsome?" he asked, raising his voice enough for the people around us to hear which made my eyes widen, "No!" I quickly exclaimed, "Just your face but your attitude really ruins it all."

"You don't mean that," he hummed, opening the door to the auditorium for me, our first class of the day being another lecture which I had had to convince Seonghwa to come to in the first place, the man whining and pouting about it, since I remembered how he had skipped the last one we had shared.

I was about to say something smart, something bold, right back at him only to freeze as I turned around and saw all of the students scattered across the endless rows making up the space turn to stare as the doors behind us opened and Hongjoong stepped in followed by the others.

"You sure were out of the door quickly this morning," Mingi laughed as he walked over to stand next to Seonghwa, playfully nudging his shoulder only to raise his hands in mock surrender as Wooyoung sent him a look.

I didn't mind them, though, remembering how Yunho had told me to ignore them as I turned back and found Chan and the others further down rows of seats, raising my hand in a wave only to halt as the smile on my face melted away at the look on his face, usually so bright and lively, following his eyes to see him glaring at Seonghwa who returned the favor.

Jeongin got off his chair, apparently not minding either of the two as he offered me a smile, "Nari! Come sit with us," the look on his face immediately bringing back the smile on mine as I made a move to head down the steps only to halt as Seonghwa grabbed my hand, entwining our fingers.

My eyes widened in mixed surprise and panic as I whipped my head back around to stare up at him, not noticing how Chan took a step forward at the sight, glaring daggers at the blond as I let a shaky breath leave my lips.

"Seonghwa-" I hissed, "What?" he mused, feigning innocence as he offered me a smile and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze that made me blush.

"You can also sit with us if you want," he said, gently tugging at my hand as he led me over to one of the back rows, all of Chan's friends staring after us.

I was so embarrassed, but the feeling quickly turned into excitement as San poked my shoulder and leaned in close, whispering a promise of coffee which immediately made my eyes widen as I quickly pushed Seonghwa into one of the seats before turning back to him with a smile, "Well, why didn't you just start with that?"