If Without You | ATEEZ - Seongsang

Chapter Four

Seonghwa waits for Hongjoong to leave before going into the main room to find Yeosang.

"Yeosang..." he calls out, smiling as he looks around for his light. The moonlight is shining through the large glass windows, so it's not that difficult to move around. Seonghwa has had a lot of experience dealing with darkness.

Yeosang is sitting on the ground of one of the isles, looking through a few books he's found.

Seonghwa finds Yeosang's light and goes to him, finding him in the children's aisle, "Looking at the picture books?"

Yeosang looks up at Seonghwa. He looks so tall standing there while Yeosang is sitting on the ground. Yeosang nods, "Yes, actually. I remember seeing a few of these in the shop windows when I was younger. I always wanted to know what was in them," he explains, hoping he doesn't sound silly.

Seonghwa kneels down to sit with Yeosang, "I had some of these. My mother would always bring me a book home every week if she could. That's how I acquired all of those that are in my house," he yawns, leaning his head against Yeosang's shoulder as they both look at the book.

Yeosang's body stills as Seonghwa lays his head on him, feeling his loud heart beating more prominently.

"What do you think of your surprise, Yeosang?" Seonghwa asks, looking up at him, the flame of the lantern lighting up his face.

Yeosang can't help but smile as he looks down at him, "I truly cannot believe you got us in here, Hwa. I do feel a little on edge though, I'm worried about getting caught."

Seonghwa laughs, "Don't worry, silly. It's a huge library, no one will notice us. Hongjoong sometimes is in here at night fixing things up anyway, so even if someone did see us — they would think it was just him," he boops Yeosang on the nose.

Yeosang feels his cheeks heat up as Seonghwa taps his nose, "Okay, okay... I'll calm down and enjoy our time here. Thank you so much, Seonghwa. Really," he puts his book down and wraps his arms around Seonghwa, giving him a meaningful hug.

Seonghwa is surprised but Yeosang's sudden actions but gently wraps his arms around Yeosang's small body, feeling his incredible warmth.

"There's no need to thank me. Even though I did lose our bet, I would've tried to get us in here anyway," Seonghwa lifts his hand and rubs the back of Yeosang's head, "It's nice to see you smiling so genuinely. I saw how your face lit up when we first got here."

Yeosang loosens his grip on Seonghwa, putting a small bit of distance between them so they're now staring into each other's eyes.

"I couldn't help it. I told you how I've always wanted to come here..." Yeosang shyly shifts his eyes away from Seonghwa, "I'm glad that you're the one here with me."

Seonghwa's eyes soften as he sees Yeosang looking away, feeling the tension between them. He moves his hand from behind Yeosang's head to the side of his face, willing him to look back to Seonghwa, "I'm glad too, Yeosang," he replies in a whisper.