seonghwa laid on his bed, relaxing after a long day of school that wednesday. he was absolutely exhausted and couldn't wait to finally take a much needed nap. he put his phone down on his nightstand, laid his head on his pillow, and closed his eyes.

after only a few minutes of attempting to fall asleep, seonghwa heard his phone buzz. he grunted loudly, but immediately shot his body up to see who was texting him.

it could be my joongie... i need to see what he needs.

when he read the contact name, he frowned slightly, but nonetheless began responding to his friend.

jongho
hey bro, sorry to text you so last minute but can you come by and stay with joong for a bit?

seonghwa looked down at his phone with furrowed eyebrows. he didn't understand why jongho was texting him when hongjoong could've texted him himself, so he wanted to ask jongho what was up.

seonghwa
i mean yeah of course, but why didn't he just text me? i feel like everyone kinda knows we're a thing now lol

jongho
i know i know let me explain
so pretty much my mom got called last minute to go into work, but i already planned on going to ryujin's house tonight. hongjoong has a project due tomorrow that he was planning on finishing with my mom tonight, but obviously now that she isn't home she can't help him with it. i told joong to ask you to come and help him, but he said he's embarrassed of himself, saying that you might call him stupid for not knowing how to do the work. i tried to tell him you'd never do that but he refuses to believe me. he said he'll just call wooyoung and go to his, but i know deep down he wants you to come over. so can you?

seonghwa frowned when he read the message from his friend.

he seriously thinks i'd call him stupid? i mean, he has the right to think that... i've called him worse in the past... but i wouldn't do that now.

seonghwa
of course i can! i don't know why he's embarrassed with himself, but i'll talk to him when i get there. i'll leave right now

jongho
just so you know, he'll probably be very upset when he sees you... so don't take it to heart. he doesn't know i texted you, he thinks i texted wooyoung's mom

seonghwa
i got it. see you in a few minutes

seonghwa stood up from his bed quickly, grabbed his wallet and keys, and headed out of his house, excited to see his favorite person... even if he was the last person hongjoong wanted to see right now.

----

"are you sure you called woo's mommy? why didn't you just let me do it? you know i have her phone number." hongjoong ran up to jongho and asked the older to make sure he didn't call seonghwa.

"yeah, totally..." jongho trailed off a bit, hoping the younger wouldn't catch on to his lie.

"yay! thank you jongie, i'll wait on the couch for you to get ready and drive me over." hongjoong smiled and waddled over to the couch. jongho was very grateful that the boy believed him.

seonghwa
just left my house

jongho read the text from seonghwa and put his phone in his pocket. he knew hongjoong might be mad at him at first for lying, but at the end of the day, he knew his brother wanted seonghwa to be there with him.

"so joongie, what's the project about?" jongho walked into the living room and sat beside hongjoong as he stared down at a sheet of paper, trying to make some conversation with hongjoong before he had to leave.

"we have to write two poems about something we like. it can be a thing, a person... literally whatever you like. but it's really hard! i can't think of any good rhymes or anything. one needs to be a regular short poem and one needs to be a haiku." hongjoong frowned down at the paper and rubbed his head intensely. he's been trying for days to think of a poem good enough to submit, but he's failed miserably each and every time.

"well, at least you'll be able to get some help tonight, my love." jongho weakly smiled at the younger who nodded his head in response.

suddenly, the doorbell rang. hongjoong looked at his brother, confused as to who could be at the door.

"who's there jongie?" hongjoong asked his brother and jongho didn't answer, standing up and walking towards the door instead.

jongho opened the front door and was met with seonghwa. he smiled at the older, leaning in for a hug.

"he's in the living room, he'll probably be a little upset that you're here. be extra nice." jongho whispered and seonghwa nodded his head.

"of course, anything for my baby." seonghwa responded and jongho smiled at his reply, leading the boy into the living room.

when hongjoong looked up and saw seonghwa standing next to his brother, he stood up and crossed his arms in annoyance. he frowned, looking very upset with his brother for lying to him.

"jongie! i told you to call wooyoung's mommy, not seongie!" hongjoong screamed out and jongho ran over to the smaller boy, putting his hands up defensively before he explained himself.

"i know i did, but listen to me! i know you didn't actually want to go to wooyoung's house and that you wanted seonghwa here instead. i promise babe, he would never make fun of you for being confused! he's here to help you with the project, don't be mean to him!" jongho instructed his brother who just rolled his eyes and took a seat on the couch. jongho walked over to seonghwa after his conversation with hongjoong to talk to him.

"i feel bad, he's really upset." seonghwa turned around and mumbled to jongho so hongjoong wouldn't hear.

"he'll be ok once you guys start. if you help him out, he'll get over it." jongho reassured the older and seonghwa nodded his head.

jongho leaned over to a side table next to the front door to grab his wallet and keys, also putting on his shoes so he could go to ryujin's.

"ok, i'm heading out. i'll see you guys in a bit." jongho waved goodbye and walked out of the house, leaving seonghwa alone with a very angry hongjoong.

"angel, why don't you want me to help you?" seonghwa asked as he walked over to the younger and took a seat next to him on the couch. hongjoong continued crossing his arms, scooting a bit further from seonghwa when he took a seat so close to him.

"because." hongjoong simply stated through gritted teeth, acting a bit bratty.

"joongie, 'because' isn't an answer. tell me, i'm here for you." seonghwa put a hand on the boy's thigh, hongjoong looking off towards the television as he did so.

hongjoong kept his mouth shut as he looked off. seonghwa tried to get his attention by squeezing his thigh, leaning forward to attempt to grab the younger's hand, and even tried to kiss his cheek... but hongjoong resisted all of it.

"honey, please talk to me. why don't you want me to help you?" seonghwa begged the younger, letting go of his thigh to give the boy more space. hongjoong eventually sighed and turned his body towards the older once again, looking down at his lap in embarrassment.

"because... i don't want you to make fun of me." hongjoong mumbled, almost too quiet for seonghwa to hear.

"because i'd make fun of you? hongjoong, you know that's not true." seonghwa reassured the younger as tears started building up in his eyes.

"you say that now, but you used to make fun of me all the time... i don't want things to go back to the way they used to be." hongjoong looked up into the older's eyes, tears threatening to fall from his own.

after hearing what hongjoong had to say, seonghwa's heart broke into a million pieces. he knew how mean he used to be, how terrible he was to hongjoong for no reason.

because of how i used to act, hongjoong feels like he can't trust me...

"oh my god, hongjoong. i'm so so so sorry for how i used to act." seonghwa apologized as he grabbed onto the younger's hands, "i would never make fun of you if you asked me to help you with your homework. forget the old me, that wasn't the real me. i like you for you, i mean it. please understand that."

seonghwa wiped hongjoong's lone tear that was falling down his cheek, making hongjoong blush. he smiled at the older, believing the words that came out of seonghwa's mouth.

"i'm sorry for thinking like that, seongie. it's just that sometimes i'm embarrassed of my differences..." hongjoong trailed off and seonghwa immediately stopped him from talking any further.

"hongjoong, you should never be embarrassed of your differences. your differences make you hongjoong, your differences make you special... they make you the boy i've grown to like so much. please, never be embarrassed of them. there's nothing to be embarrassed of." seonghwa smiled and leaned in, planting a short but sweet kiss on the younger's lips.

"thank you seongie." hongjoong blushed once again before turning to face the paper's spread out on the coffee table.

"ok hun, tell me. what's the project about?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong began explaining.

"i have to write two poems about things i like, but i can't decide what i want to write about! one has to be a regular rhyming poem and one has to be a haiku. i can't think of good rhymes, and for the haiku i can't remember what a syllable is." hongjoong shook his head in frustration as he spoke with venom in his voice.

"well, let's start with the regular poem. how long does it have to be?" seonghwa asked as he picked up the sheet of paper with the directions, reading them for himself as hongjoong answered.

"it needs to be five stanzas long, the fifth stanza needs to be a repeat of the first one." hongjoong explained and seonghwa nodded his head.

"well i have a good idea, why don't you write about your love for strawberries? that's a big part of you." seonghwa suggested and hongjoong smiled widely, loving the idea seonghwa gave him.

"perfect! but what should the first stanza be? it needs to introduce the poem topic." hongjoong asked, looking down at the blank sheet of paper in thought.

"hmmm..." seonghwa began thinking out loud, "how about something simple, like 'oh how i love eating strawberries'? then we can think of something that rhymes with 'strawberries'." seonghwa said and hongjoong began writing the line down.

"well what rhymes with strawberries?" hongjoong asked.

"well, you can write other fruits such as cherries, blueberries, blackber--"

"ew! i hate blackberries so much! they're so gross." hongjoong made a disgusted face and seonghwa ran with it.

"perfect! so you can write this... 'oh how i love eating strawberries, they are so much better than blackberries.'"

"i love it!" hongjoong giggled and wrote the words down on his piece of paper.

"what ways do you like eating strawberries? like, do you like eating them in cakes? in pies?" seonghwa asked.

"well, i love them all different ways! in pies, cakes, plain... i just love strawberries!" hongjoong giggled and seonghwa cooed at how adorable the younger was acting.

"ok... how about 'whether plain, in a cake, or a pie, i will eat strawberries until the day i die?" seonghwa suggested and hongjoong loved the idea, his eyes lighting up as the older spoke.

"yes! it rhymes and it's very true!" hongjoong smiled and wrote down seonghwa's words.

seonghwa continued thinking of what else hongjoong could say about strawberries, "when do you like eating strawberries? like what time of year is your favorite?"

"summertime is the best time for strawberries! it's so much fun to eat in the sun!" hongjoong spoke, catching onto the rhyme he just spoke, "wait, 'fun' and 'sun' rhyme..."

"true!" seonghwa exclaimed, kissing hongjoong on the cheek, proud of the younger's realization.

"how about 'strawberries are so fun, i love eating them in the sun'?" hongjoong said and seonghwa thought about it, coming up with more detail for the stanza.

"how about this, 'strawberries are so tart and fun, i love eating them in the blistering hot sun'?"

"i love it! but what does 'blistering' mean?" hongjoong asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"it's a word that emphasizes how hot the sun is, it's pretty much saying that it's so hot it can give you blisters." seonghwa immediately regretted speaking when he saw hongjoong's face turn to one of worry, "it's a figure of speech, hun. you won't actually get blisters, don't worry!"

hongjoong giggled and covered his mouth with his sweater paws, "oh ok!"

"we're almost done now, one more sentence. what else do you like to do when eating strawberries?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong put his finger to his chin in thought.

"hmmm..." he trailed off, "i love sharing my strawberries with my plushies! we eat them together, it makes me so happy!"

"that's true!" seonghwa exclaimed, "ok wait, i think i have an idea."

"what is it?" hongjoong aksed.

"ok, so 'toy and 'joy' rhyme. you can say something like 'i love eating strawberries when i'm playing with my toys, everytime i see one, i jump for joy'." seonghwa suggested and hongjoong immediately wrote it down.

"oh wow, we already finished it! i just need to rewrite the first stanza and then i'm done!" hongjoong copied the opening stanza and smiled widely at the finished product.

oh how i love eating strawberries,
they are so much better than blackberries.

whether plain, in a cake, or a pie,
i will eat strawberries until the day i die.

strawberries are so tart and fun,
i love eating them in the blistering hot sun.

i love eating strawberries when i'm playing with my toys,
everytime i see one, i jump with joy.

oh how i love eating strawberries,
they are so much better than blackberries.

"thank you so much seongie! you're the bestest ever!" hongjoong hugged seonghwa tightly in an attempt to thank him for all his help.

"anything for my beautiful baby boy." seonghwa kissed the younger on the cheek and looked down at the paper once again, "but now we have to write the haiku."

"yeah... so, what's a syllable?" hongjoong looked up at seonghwa with doe eyes. seonghwa cooed at how adorable the younger looked, his heart bursting out of his chest.

"you're so fricken cute, joongie! syllables are the pronunciation of vowel sounds. for example, hongjoong is two syllables, you hear it? hong-joong." seonghwa emphasized the syllables in the younger's name and hongjoong smiled widely.

"oh yeah! now i remember." hongjoong giggled, "ok, so the haiku needs to have five syllables in the first sentence, seven in the second, and five in the third. what should it be about?" hongjoong asked the older and seonghwa shrugged his shoulders.

"it can be about whatever you want, honey. i suggested strawberries for the first poem, you pick for the second. do you want to do a princess? your plushies?" seonghwa spoke and hongjoong looked down at the paper, shaking his head.

"no..." he trailed off, "i think i want to do a real person."

"who? your mommy? jongho? yeosang or wooyoung?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong shook his head once again, smiling to himself.

"i think i have the perfect person in mind. but i won't tell you yet, it's a secret!" hongjoong giggled and seonghwa put his hands up defensively.

"ok captain!" seonghwa chuckled and sat back in his seat, letting hongjoong think on his own.

hongjoong thought hard, but it was quite impossible for him to come up with any ideas on his own. even though seonghwa explained what a syllable was to him, he was still having a hard time grasping the concept.

"i'm sorry seongie, can you explain syllables again?" hongjoong asked as he looked up from his paper and into seonghwa's eyes.

"of course, anything for you. a syllable is the pronunciation of vowels. like i said, hong-joong... your name has two syllables. an easy way to be able to tell how many syllables a word has is to figure out how many times you have to drop your chin to say the word. like for hongjoong, your chin drops twice." seonghwa pointed to his chin as he spoke, showing the syllables to 'hongjoong'.

"ok... so the word 'pretty' has two syllables?" hongjoong asked and seonghwa smiled widely.

"yes, exactly! pretty has two syllables." seonghwa patted the younger on the back and hongjoong wrote a few words down.

"ok, i think i have line one done. now for line two..." hongjoong looked up in thought for a sentence that would have seven syllables, "beautiful has... three syllables?"

"yes! you're learning, i'm so proud of you!" seonghwa clapped his hands and hongjoong jumped up and down in his seat.

"yay! line two is... done!" hongjoong finished writing and smiled at seonghwa.

"will you let me know who you're writing about now?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong immediately shook his head no, bringing the paper closer to his chest to protect it from seonghwa's wondering eyes.

"no! it's a secret. you can't know until i finish!" hongjoong firmly stated, furrowing his eyebrows at the older. seonghwa chuckled and sat back once again, letting hongjoong do his thing.

hongjoong took a while to write the last sentence in the haiku. he wanted it to be perfect, he needed it to be perfect for his person.

wait, my person... that's a good idea, hongjoong thought. his eyes lit up, mind running wild. he picked up his pen and began writing vigorously, smiling at the final product in front of him.

"i did it! it's finished!" hongjoong exclaimed, lifting his paper in the air and smiling widely.

"yay! i knew you could do it, joongie." seonghwa praised the younger, "ok, so let me hear it."

"i don't want to read it out loud! you can read it yourself, but don't make fun of me if it's bad!" hongjoong giggled and handed the paper over to seonghwa who began reading it to himself.

my seongie
by: kim hongjoong

dark hair, pretty eyes
the most beautiful i've seen
my one true person

seonghwa began violently blushing after reading the lines hongjoong wrote on his paper. he smiled widely after each word, his heart fluttering intensely.

"joongie, this was absolutely beautiful. thank you so much for writing about me, i love it so much!" seonghwa leaned down and planted a loving kiss on the younger's lips, holding the kiss out for a bit longer than he did before.

when they pulled apart, hongjoong covered his face in embarrassment, "really, you like it that much?"

"i don't just like it, i love it. thank you baby, you really are my one true person." seonghwa spoke honestly, bringing the younger into a bone crushing hug.

"you're welcome." hongjoong replied and pulled away, standing up from the couch and jumping in his spot, "but after all this strawberry talk, i'm dying to eat one. let's go to the kitchen!" hongjoong grabbed seonghwa's hand and dragged the boy's body into the kitchen, giggling and smiling the whole entire way there.

this chapter is literally over 3000 words i—

also kinda awkward, i wrote this chapter before hongjoong dyed his hair blue... so i had to change his hate for blueberries to blackberries. he can't hate himself!!!

-vic