Sweet Rejection | seongjoong

Nine

"Ugh, I'm so tired." Hongjoong sits down on a bench nearby.

He had to work all day. First, he had to work at his moms jewelry stand and then after that, he had to work in his part time job at the convenience store.

He looks around and doesn't see anyone nearby. It's already late at night so most people are probably asleep in their homes by now.

Just as he's about to make his way home, his eyes widen when he sees Seonghwa walking his way.

"What is he doing here?!" He whisper yells, looking around for a place to hide.

But he freezes and stays in the same place.

"Yeosang?" Seonghwa asks and walks up to him. A big smile forms on his lips when he notices it really is him. "What are you doing around here?"

"Oh... I-" Hongjoong starts, trying to make something up. "I just met up with a friend who lives nearby."

"Really? Me too." Seonghwa smiles. "I see you're wearing more casual clothes today."

"Yeah... There's no point in wearing fancy clothes all the time, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." He nods. "I was just pointing it out because you look cute."

Hongjoong looks away from him, not wanting him to notice he's blushing.

"But were you waiting for someone? You were just standing here." Seonghwa tells him.

"Oh, I was waiting for the bu-" Hongjoong mentally facepalms himself. "I mean... I was waiting for another friend of mine, but he just texted me saying he couldn't make it." He lies.

"Really? Where did you two plan to go?"

"Just to walk around." Hongjoong lies. "Well, I'll get going. It's getting late."

"Wait, I'll take you home. Your house is kind of far."

'My house is like ten minutes away.' Hongjoong mentally sighs. He better not insist on taking him home or he'll have to walk all the way home from Yeosang's house.

Seonghwa smiles when he notices he's still wearing the necklace he bought him.

"I know it's already late, but do you want to go somewhere with me?"

"Where?"

"Just to walk around." Seonghwa tells him. "Since your friend couldn't make it, would you mind if I took his place for tonight instead?"

Hongjoong's really tired since he had a really busy day today, but he still finds himself saying yes.

"Great!" Seonghwa smiles at him. "But I actually didn't bring my car, so would you mind if we take the bus?"

"No, not at all." Hongjoong shakes his head and gives him a small smile.

Once they're in the bus, Hongjoong realizes something.

"Wait... but you said we're just going to walk around, so where are we going?"

"To the beach. It has such a beautiful view at this time."

-

As soon as Yeosang gets home, he walks into his room and is startled when he sees Mingi's there.

"You startled me!" Yeosang touches his chest as his heart beats fast.

"Where were you? I had to lie to dad and tell him you were asleep already." Mingi tells him. "When will you stop doing this, Yeo? It's already past midnight."

"Sorry... I didn't realize." He sighs.

"It's been years, Yeo. But why does it feel like you still haven't moved on."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I know you're like this because of your ex-boyfriend. Dad thinks getting you married to someone will make you less immature, but what he doesn't know is that the reason you're being like this is because of your ex."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Yeosang repeatedly shakes his head. "It has nothing to do with him."

"Stop lying... Because I clearly know that the reason you go out and do things that might get you in trouble is so you won't stay home and have time to think about him."

Yeosang sighs and sits down on his bed as he looks down. "Why does it have to be so hard, Min? It's been years but it feels so recent... The pain I still feel feels so recent."

"But you have to accept it's been so long, Yeo. He probably moved on by now so why are you still like this? You'll most likely never see him again since you met him overseas."

"Yeah, I know that. And I know it's been so long, but it still hurts. It hurts that we couldn't be together because I had no money back then." He sighs. "It makes me sad that if we would've met now instead, we would've been able to be together... But you know what hurts the most? That he gave up on us like that just because I wasn't rich like him."

"Exactly, Yeo. He gave up on you. So stop thinking about him and wasting your tears on him. I've noticed you still cry over him."

"Well, you caught me." Yeosang sighs. "I knows he's the son of a famous CEO, but for some reason, I haven't heard of him in years. You know we barely talked about our families so it's not like I can search his dad up on the internet and try to find him."

"You know I'm always here for you if you want to talk. You're my brother after all." Mingi gives him a small smile. "But the reason I was in your room in the first place was because of something else."

"What?"

"Dad told me you went on the date yesterday."

"Well yeah, you knew I was going." Yeosang just nods and looks away. He hates lying, but it's not like he's going to admit it wasn't him who went on that date.

Ever since he and his ex broke up, it's been so hard for him to go on dates. He always tries his hardest to get rejected by all his dates because he has hope that he and his ex will meet again.

He has hope that they could be together again.

But since his father always forces him to go on all those dates, what other choice does he have? Getting rejected by them is all he can do, but he does admit it's starting to get boring going on dates with guys he knows he'll never have feelings for.

"I just wanted to ask you something." Mingi tells him. "This new guy you went on a date with yesterday... did you like him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you're going on another date with him. You usually never go on more than one date with the same guy after... you know... after you and your ex broke up."

'Kim Hongjoong...' Yeosang thinks to himself and sighs.

"But anyway... our dad and his dad were talking and it seems like they're already thinking of getting you two engaged. So if you don't really like him, you must stop this or you'll have to marry him."