"do you really have to leave me with seongie again tonight? i wanna play with you!" hongjoong begged as he pulled on jongho's arm, trying to convince the older to stay with him.

"i'm sorry joongie, but i can't tonight. i'm going on a date, you know how much i like ryujin." jongho explained, feeling slightly bad for leaving his younger brother once again.

"but hyung!" hongjoong screamed and stomped his foot.

"hongjoong, no! i can't stay with you tonight, i'm sorry. we can hang out tomorrow, i promise. how about a tea party?" jongho asked and the younger's eyes went wide.

"yes! a tea party! ok, that sounds like fun!" hongjoong smiled at the thought of hanging out with his brother.

"ok, perfect. again, i'm sorry, but i have to go out tonight. seonghwa is on his way." jongho apologized as he walked towards his room to grab his wallet and jacket.

on his way back to hongjoong, the doorbell rang. before he could answer it, hongjoong opened the door. "hi seonghwa!" the boy beamed a smile at the older.

"hey hongjoong." seonghwa tried to muster up a smile, not wanting to show his true emotions with jongho staring at him.

"perfect timing. i'm heading out now. hongjoong, be good. i shouldn't be out later than midnight." jongho informed seonghwa who gave the boy a thumbs up. "ok, i'll see you guys later."

"bye jongie!" hongjoong called out as the boy left the house, waving his hand high in the air.

"ok, this is going to be just like last time. i'm going to sit my ass down in the same spot and i don't plan on helping you with anything, so i hope you remember how to melt ice cream." seonghwa said as he sat down, fixing his leather jacket.

hongjoong turned his head to the older and got a good look at him before replying. a smile grew on his face as he admired seonghwa's beautiful yet unique features. he didn't understand how he could always look so effortless cool. as hongjoong was staring, seonghwa ran his fingers through his jet black hair, making his breathe hitch.

before he could stare any further, hongjoong asked, "aren't you hot? why are you keeping your jacket on?"

"because i want to? what kind of question is that. don't you have a sweater on right now?" seonghwa furrowed his brows, making hongjoong glance down and look at his choice of clothing.

"you have a point..." hongjoong mumbled and crossed his arms.

"i know." seonghwa rolled his eyes.

hongjoong grabbed the fluffy blanket next to him and hid under it. seonghwa made him nervous. he couldn't help it, and he wasn't really sure why the boy has this effect on him.

of course hongjoong realized the older was making fun of him, but this typically didn't bother him. hongjoong was used to being made fun of. he dealt with bullies his whole life, so this wasn't new to him. he learned to never let the name calling and laughs affect him, but seonghwa's comments hit different for whatever reason.

"are you dead?" seonghwa tapped the smaller boy under the covers, startling him. he quickly poked his head out from under the covers, fixing his messy hair.

"no i'm not dead! i was just... talking to my plushie." hongjoong lied a bit, not wanting to tell seonghwa that he was getting lost in thought about him.

"fucking weirdo." seonghwa whispered, thankfully too quiet for hongjoong to hear, as he walked back to his seat.

hongjoong didn't know what to do with seonghwa. he didn't want to bother the boy, but then again he always gets bored easily.

the blonde then remembered that his mother baked him a strawberry shortcake earlier that morning for him to snack on while she was gone. hongjoong really wanted the cake, but knew he couldn't have it. in order to get the cake, he needed someone to cut him a slice.

the only way he could get a piece would be if seonghwa cut him one, but he was scared to ask the older. hongjoong knew that seonghwa didn't want to help him, he even specifically said he wouldn't today.

hongjoong tried to distract himself from the thought of the delicious cake sitting patiently, waiting to be eaten in the kitchen. he turned on mulan, but it didn't work. he tried playing with the dolphin plushie that he was holding, but that also didn't help. he even tried to text his best friends, but neither of them answered him.

eventually, the boy couldn't hold the temptation anymore. "hyung, can you please do something for me?" hongjoong blurted out, not even fully processing what he was saying.

"didn't i tell you i wasn't helping you today?" seonghwa scoffed.

"but please! mommy made me cake, and i'm not allowed to cut it. i want a piece!" hongjoong bounced up and down, begging the older boy to help him.

"why aren't you allowed to cut it?" seonghwa asked, confused.

"mommy said i'm not allowed to use a knife yet." hongjoong frowned and looked down into his lap, snuggling further into his stuffed animal.

"you're literally sixteen years old, i don't understand why you can't cut a fucking piece of cake for yourself." seonghwa rolled his eyes and began to stand up.

hongjoong's eyes lit up. "are you gonna get me cake?" hongjoong asked, hopeful.

"yeah, but you better bring your ass in there with me. also, im taking a piece for myself." seonghwa pointed at himself and hongjoong quickly got up, nodding his head and following the older into the kitchen.

"so, where do you keep your knives?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong pointed to a drawer that contained all the utensils.

"grab two forks, i'll get plates!" hongjoong exclaimed, running to the cabinet that contained the dishes.

hongjoong waddled his way to the counter that held the strawberry shortcake. he bounced up and down, excited to eat his favorite type of cake.

"kid, calm down. you're giving me a headache. it's just cake." seonghwa put his hand out, hoping the boy would stop bouncing, which he eventually did.

"sorry, i'm just really excited. mommy makes the best strawberry shortcake!" hongjoong smiled widely as seonghwa began cutting. "one big piece for me please!"

seonghwa put a rather large piece of cake on a plate for the small boy and an average size on his own plate. as seonghwa began walking back to the living room, hongjoong stopped the boy.

"seonghwa, mommy says we can't eat on the couch!" he called out to the older boy who turned around slowly, rolling his eyes.

"so now i have to sit at the table with you? great." seonghwa scoffed as he put his cake down and began eating, making zero eye contact with the younger.

"so, how was your day?" hongjoong asked, trying to start a real conversation with his brother's friend.

"don't talk to me." seonghwa coldy stated as he put another piece of cake into his mouth.

"oh..." hongjoong mumbled, frowning as he took a bite.

seonghwa rolled his eyes, feeling slightly bad for being so rude. "whatever, it was fine i guess. i didn't do anything until i got here."

hongjoong perked up at the sound of the other boy's voice, grinning widely. "oh, nice. i played with my toys all day, my friends couldn't hang out because yeosang had speech therapy today and wooyoung was with his grandma."

"that's great." seonghwa answered, uninterested.

"yeah. and i wanted to play with jongie today, but he had to go out with ryujin again!" hongjoong cried out.

"so sorry to hear that." seonghwa looked towards the living room as he took another bite of the shortcake.

hongjoong just nodded his head after hearing seonghwa's response, quickly stuffing his face with the delicious cake his mother made for him. hongjoong finished his cake rather quickly, finishing his large slice well before seonghwa could finish his smaller one.

"wow you eat really slow! my cake was double the size of yours and you're not even done yet!" hongjoong giggled.

"well i'm not a pig like you." seonghwa laughed at the younger.

"meanie! i'm not a pig." hongjoong crossed his arms.

"talk to me once you wipe the frosting off your nose." seonghwa pointed at the boy's tiny nose, making hongjoong quickly grab his napkin and wipe his face.

——

"jongie! you're back!" hongjoong smiled as his older brother walked into the house. he was happy to see his brother, but also felt a bit sad that seonghwa had to leave. he pushed the thought to the back of his head as he ran up to jongho.

"hi joong, hey hwa." jongho waved at both boys in the living room and seonghwa quickly got up. "joongie, go to bed now. it's very late." jongho told his younger brother who nodded his head in agreement, yawning as he walked up the stairs.

"goodnight jongie, goodnight seonghwa!" he called out before entering his room, both his brother and babysitter waving goodnight to him.

"really dude, one in the morning?" seonghwa crossed his arms, annoyed.

"what did you expect? her parents aren't coming back until the early morning, i wanted to get my time's worth." jongho winked at seonghwa and he shook his head. "but here, its one hundred and twenty dollars, since you had to stay an extra hour."

"you're the best, ho." seonghwa said and gave his friend a hug. "i better head out before my mom starts worrying. i'll see you monday." seonghwa waved as he walked out the front door towards his car.

"bye hwa, see you then." jongho called out to his friend as he walked into his car and drove off.

ok i hate writing mean seonghwa... i can't wait until he's finally nice!!! ugh let me cry.

but let's talk about the most important topic in the whole entire world right now...

HAPPY MFKING BIRTHDAY TO THE KING!!!! KANG YEOSANG

the absolute most beautiful and precious baby boy on the planet. yeosang, you deserve the entire world. i hope you have the most incredible day ever!!!! i love you🧚‍♀️😇

ok that is all. goodbye! have a great day🥳

-vic