| Poison | 🔞 | SeongJoong |

Chapter 21

(A/N: this chapter is going to be REALLY long. sorry!)

It had been about two weeks since Hongjoong finally called off the intimacy between the two. As Hongjoong said, they kept their relationship strictly professional. Once he was able to find a place of his own, he would leave Seonghwa's home for good, and things between them would settle down. Neither one showed just how devastating it was to them, there were still a lot of feelings there, but Hongjoong didn't listen to the attempts that Seonghwa made to fix things.

Normally, Hongjoong would give in and they would work on things, but the sense of betrayal hanging heavy on his heart was too great to forgive. He would forever respect Seonghwa and do anything that was asked of him, but Seonghwa wasn't available the way he needed him. There was no room for intimacy, only professionalism.

One morning while Hongjoong was still asleep in his own bed, he could hear the vibrations of his phone going off on the nightstand next to him. With his eyes only half-open, he rolled over in bed and grabbed the phone in his hand. He didn't recognize the number on the screen, but he decided that he would answer it anyway.

"Mm... Hello?" His voice was a bit raspy in a tired manner.

"Did I wake you?" A familiar smooth, deep voice sounded on the other line.

Hongjoong frowned slightly as he sat up in bed, recognizing who it was almost immediately. "Mr. Kang? How did you-"

"I got your contact information from Mr. Jung, I hope that's alright."

"Um... Yes, that's alright. Is there something that I can help you with? Is there something in the contract we need to go over?" Hongjoong replied, running a hand through his white hair.

"Actually, I'm not calling about business..."

Hongjoong raised his brows a bit and blinked. "Uh... Well, then what can I help you with, sir?"

"I enjoyed having drinks with you a couple of weeks ago, I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner at my home tonight."

Hongjoong was shocked by the man's proposal, he hesitated on an answer because he had no idea what he would say to that.

"I mean, if you're not interested..."

"No! It's not that I'm not interested, I just didn't expect something like this." Hongjoong swallowed hard, lowering his voice just in case Seonghwa was nearby to hear the conversation. "Who else is going to be there?"

"Just you and I..."

Hongjoong bit on his lip in thought, contemplating whether or not he should accept or not. After a small moment of silence, he let out a small sigh. "Alright, I'll join you for dinner tonight. What time should I come by?"

"Don't worry about finding your way here, I'll send a car to pick you up around seven o'clock. After all, I do know where you're staying." The man chuckled softly on the other end.

"I-I... Alright. 7 o'clock then, I'll be ready." 

"I'll see you tonight, Hongjoong. I look forward to it..." The other male said softly before hanging up the phone.

Hongjoong dropped his phone into his lap, biting on the inside of his cheek as he thought about what he had just agreed to. If Seonghwa found out, it wasn't going to be pretty, and he didn't want to hurt him anymore.

It's just dinner, Hongjoong... Nothing more than that. You aren't doing anything wrong. Hongjoong tried to reassure himself with his thoughts. A part of him knew that even if it was something more, he had the freedom to do so, but at the same time, his first thought was about Seonghwa, how he would feel about it.