~Chapter Eight~

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Dinner was set at the dining table and Hongjoong was sent to collect the boys from upstairs. He knocked on Seonghwa's bedroom door and eventually, the door opened up. Seonghwa looked down at him, expecting him to say something. "Dinner's ready." he said softly, his eyes taking sudden interest in tracing the laces on his boots.

Hongjoong walked back downstairs and not long later he was joined by Seonghwa and Yeosang. Hongjoong finished setting the table and began walking back towards his room when Seonghwa and Yeosang took their seats. "Where are you going, Hongjoong?" Rowoon called out. Hongjoong turned around, eyes wide. "Aren't you going to eat?" Rowoon asked as he placed a third plate of food on the table.

At this, Seonghwa's eyes shot up and flickered between Hongjoong and Rowoon, "Why would he eat with us?"

"Why not? It's the CEO's wishes after all."

Yeosang and Seonghwa watched as Hongjoong let out a defeated sigh and joined them at the table, sitting across from Seonghwa and next to Yeosang. He could feel their eyes watching as he slouched his shoulders. He suddenly felt very small. He then heard silverware against the plates and looked up slightly to see Seonghwa eating his well prepared steak. Rowoon soon walked back into the dining room. "Excuse me Mr Park, you're father called."

Seonghwa lifted an eyebrow as he looked up to meet Rowoon. "He wants to meet with you and Mr Kang to discuss moving the engagement forward." Seonghwa and Yeosang exchanged glances. Seonghwa sighed as he placed down his fork and knife.

"Schedule a meeting with him. We'll discuss this tomorrow." Rowoon nodded and bowed before leaving the room. Seonghwa let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Hongjoong took his plate and began walking to the kitchen. "Hey, you." Seonghwa's voice was stern. Hongjoong looked back over his shoulder and saw Seonghwa looking at him with hooded eyes. "Get us another glass of wine."

Hongjoong rolled his eyes and walked to the cabinet of alcohol.





Later that night, Seonghwa and Yeosang came running down the stairs, surprising Rowoon and Hongjoong who were conversing in the kitchen. The giggling stopped and Seonghwa looked at them with a serious, blank expression. "Um, Yeosang's leaving now. I'll walk him to the door."

Rowoon bowed at Yeosang as he did the same. "Thank you for dinner. And have a good night." Yeosang smiled and followed Seonghwa to the door. Hongjoong retreated back to his room and not long later, he heard footsteps in the hallway outside. He creaked the door open and saw Seonghwa pacing the hallway, his eyebrows furrowed and his hands balled into fists.

"Is there something wrong?" Hongjoong asked softly as he stepped out into the hallway. Seonghwa turned and glared at him. Seonghwa kept walking towards the shorter until he was cornered against the wall. Seonghwa leaned down close to Hongjoong. "Know your place in this house. Just because my father let you live here, doesn't give you the right to come into my personal life."

Hongjoong gulped as he looked away from the faller's eyes. Hongjoong felt so small and intimidated just by the mere presence of Seonghwa. And being this close to him, Hongjoong realised just how attractive the older was. And even though his eyes were sharp and narrowed, Hongjoong could still see the way they sparkled in the light. Seonghwa then took a step back and looked Hongjoong up and down one more time before returning to his room.

Throughout the night, Seonghwa's words kept eating at him. Was he overstaying his welcome? Was he overstepping his boundaries?

The next morning, Seonghwa was acting colder than usual. Hongjoong guessed it had something to do with the meeting with his father. And of course, Rowoon said that he had to go with him because he was "too busy" to accompany him. So Hongjoong got ready, putting on his best clothes he had reformed himself. You could say the ride to the city was one of the most awkward things Hongjoong had ever experienced. They sat in complete silence as Seonghwa drove them to the company. Hongjoong couldn't help but turn and look at Seonghwa every now and then and admire how good he looked in his all black suit.

They eventually pulled up to a tall building in the middle of the city, cars rushing by in a hurry. Seonghwa parked his black Mercedes in the underground parking lot behind the building and they ascended the stairs to the main lobby. Seonghwa tugged on his blazer, straightening out the material and touched up his hair a bit before they entered the lobby. People sped past them in a crazy blur. Hongjoong was immediately overwhelmed with the amount of people.

As they walked through, Seonghwa greeted many people, bowing his head slightly with a half hearted smile. Hongjoong closely followed behind him but remembered to keep his distance. They took the elevator to the top floor in silence as Hongjoong played with his fingers nervously. When the door opened, Hongjoong followed Seonghwa down the hallway where at the end, stood Yeosang with his arms crossed at his chest, leaning on the wall next to the set of double doors. He wore a simple suit and a beige coat draped around his shoulders. He pushed off the wall and glared at Hongjoong as they approached. "Took you long enough."

"Sorry." Seonghwa muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Yeosang then looked over at Hongjoong, looking him up and down. Hongjoong bowed his head slightly in respect as Seonghwa stated, "Rowoon sent him with me since he wasn't able to come with me."

Yeosang then extended his hand out in front of Hongjoong. "I guess we'll be seeing more of each other. Kang Yeosang." Hongjoong took Yeosang's hand in his and gently shook it with another head bow.

"Kim Hongjoong."

"It's nice to meet you Hongjoong. I can only imagine how horrible it must be living with this one." Yeosang chuckled softly as he retracted his hand and stuffed it in his coat pocket. Seonghwa then scoffed as he playfully hit Yeosang in the shoulder. Yeosang's expression straightened as he cocked his head in the direction of the office. Seonghwa nodded and followed Yeosang into the office. Before shutting the door, Seonghwa looked back at Hongjoong who seemed to be looking lost. He scoffed softly before saying, "You can stay out here, if you need something go downstairs. Don't come in." He said slightly harshly before shutting the door behind him.

Hongjoong rolled his eyes before sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the giant wooden doors. He could hear the conversation inside perfectly. And he couldn't help but be a little curious. He brought his ear up to the wood and listened.

"Good morning sir." Hongjoong heard Yeosang's muffled voice speaking first.

"Good morning father. You wanted to talk to us?" Seonghwa's voice was stern and expressionless. He clearly wasn't happy to see his father.

"Yes I did. Take a seat boys. Mr Kang I've spoken to your mother in regards to moving on with the engagement and they're more than happy." Hongjoong recognized the voice of the CEO. Except, his voice held some form of emotion Hongjoong wasn't sure what it was.

"Father... Do we have to-?"

"Seonghwa, you will not interfere with this engagement. It was already set for you to marry into a family that would benefit us. I just wanted to tell you the wedding is in two months. After that, our two companies will merge. A public statement will be released later today."

Hongjoong heard Seonghwa sigh on the other side. He couldn't help but feel bad for Seonghwa. He didn't want this, he was forced into it. Hongjoong didn't realise he was zoning out until the doors flew open and Hongjoong jumped onto his feet. Seonghwa stormed out of the room, his face as angry as ever and a worried Yeosang following after him. "Seonghwa! Seongwha stop!" Yeosang called out and grabbed his wrist before he could walk away further. Seonghwa spun around and shoved Yeosang.

"No Yeosang! I'm done! I don't want this!"

"Seonghwa, we can't do anything about it.."

"If you don't want to do anything about it, fine, but I don't want my life to be wasted like this." Seonghwa exclaimed as he strutted off towards the elevators, Hongjoong quickly ran to catch up to him but was stopped as Yeosang grabbed a hold of his wrist and spun him around. He leaned in close to Hongjoong's ear. "Stay away from Seonghwa." he whispered before turning around and walking in the other direction.



Omg hi, finally posted lol sorry for keeping y'all waiting this chapter took me literally a month to write... I'll try updating more often but my exam block is starting soon.. anyway next chapter might include some *cough*smut*cough* and Hongjoong is finally going to college!!

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