Stardust || seongjoong

9. Answered questions

At the punctual stroke of three in the afternoon, there is a knock at the door.

Wooyoung opens it to reveal, as usual, a celestial looking Seonghwa. "Is Hongjoong ready?" he asks. Hongjoong wheels up to the front door saying that, indeed, he is.

Hongjoong is more than ready, because today, he is getting answers.

Seonghwa waits outside while Hongjoong heads to the side door so he can use the wheelchair ramp. He has a slight trouble steering down the ramp, but Seonghwa waits patiently, and once Hongjoong arrives to the sidewalk, they start walking in silence toward the park.

A very sweet breeze follows them, a breeze that wasn't there earlier, which balances out the heat of the sun.

Hongjoong looks down to see Seonghwa isn't wearing shoes; he should be especially careful not to run over his toes.

"How has your day been going so far?" Seonghwa asks.

"Eh, just the usual," Hongjoong answers honestly, "boring. Except, actually, Woo and San are being weird."

Seonghwa laughs lightly, "weird how?"

"I'm not sure... but I guess we'll see."

With that, they arrive to the park. Hongjoong can't drive on the grass, so he continues to roll along the sidewalk as Seonghwa walks next to him on the grass, the grass which seems to adore the man.

They stroll until happening upon a bench where Seonghwa can sit and Hongjoong has ample room to park next to him; Hongjoong reaches up with a crumpled hand to flip off the power on his chair.

"So," Seonghwa starts, "what did you want to talk about."

"You said you hate lies, right?" Hongjoong questions, starting slowly.

And Seonghwa nods. "I will never lie, nor will I tolerate them."

"So you won't lie to me?"

Seonghwa knows where this is going, and after over a month of little hints here and there, he is more than ready for Hongjoong to understand. Especially when Hongjoong said his usual is boring, Seonghwa knows that now is the time.

Time for some fun.

Fun for Hongjoong, he told himself, but perhaps it is for Seonghwa as well.

"No, I won't lie to you," he answers.

So Hongjoong takes a breath, and levels his voice: "what are you?"

"Oh," Seonghwa lets out a surprised laugh, "getting right into it?"

As Seonghwa looks to the other's small, sculpted face, Hongjoong seems trusting and skeptical and hopeful and determined and nervous all at once.

It has been a very long time since Seonghwa has revealed his past to anyone; it is never necessary. He has Yeosang and Sol and a few others who roam the galaxy, so why would he need humans?

"How much do you want to know?" Seonghwa asks.

Hongjoong thinks he's ready, so: "everything," he says.

Seonghwa smiles, challenging Hongjoong, in a way, to see how much can can handle. "I was born in the twelfth century, during the Goryeo dynasty. But I don't know much about the history at all, because I didn't grow up on earth."

Hongjoong sighs, half rolling his eyes, "Seonghwa... come on. You're telling me you're an alien?" He asks in annoyance.

"No, I'm human," he smiles, "just a different kind."