[continuation from Chapter 3]

The two didn't say a word to each other for the longest time as Seonghwa tended to the wounds on Hongjoong's wrists. Once he cleaned the wounds completely, Seonghwa got up from the side of the tub momentarily to grab a first aid kit from beneath the sink in the bathroom, and quickly returned to Hongjoong's side.

"I..." Seonghwa hesitated as he opened the kit, grabbing a thing of peroxide to disinfect the wounds and sutures. "I really am sorry.  I don't know what else to say other than that. I'm so, so sorry." His voice sounded sincere as he apologized, which was something Seonghwa never did.

Hongjoong just stared at him with a blank expression on his face. He didn't know how to feel about the blonde-haired male's apology, he had mixed feelings.

When Hongjoong didn't reply, Seonghwa just decided to leave it alone. Seonghwa unscrewed the bottle of peroxide, grabbing one of Hongjoong's wrists gently.

"This is going to hurt a lot... I'm sorry." Seonghwa said before pouring the liquid directly into the wound.

Hongjoong immediately winced, jerking a bit from the burning sensation. He let out a whine of pain, biting on his bottom lip hard.

Seonghwa could feel his chest clench at the red-haired male's cries of pain, but he didn't falter. He then took the sutures that he prepared, hesitating slightly before he began to stitch up the first wound.

Hongjoong tried not to move as his wrists were being stitched, but the feeling of the needle piercing and threading through his skin was horrible. He arched his back in the tub, crying out pathetically.

"I'm sorry..." Seonghwa said with a tone full of regret as he finished stitching up the one wrist.

Seonghwa then proceeded to do the same thing to the other wrist. By this time, Hongjoong was in tears, sobs of pain escaping from him.

Once Seonghwa was finished, he himself almost teared up from hearing the sobs from the smaller male, but he managed to keep his composure.

Hongjoong began to calm down once he was finished, swallowing hard as his wrists throbbed. He held them close to his chest, just staring down into the now pinkish colored water.

"Please... Clean up. I'll be waiting outside with some clean clothes for you..." Seonghwa said in a soft tone, unable to look at Hongjoong as he stood up, soon exiting the bathroom.

Hongjoong looked up as he watched the taller male walk out of the bathroom. He was trying to gather all the thoughts in his head, his feelings were so mixed in this situation. Seonghwa had locked him up in a fit of rage, then proceeded to show remorse and tend to his wounds, it was a complete 180.

After a moment, Hongjoong drained the dirty water in the tub, soon filing it back up with clean water. He then began to clean himself up, being extremely mindful of the fresh stitches in his wrists.

Once he was finished, he drained the water again, grabbing a white towel from the metal rack beside the tub as he stepped onto a wool bathroom mat. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he slowly came out of the bathroom, where he saw Seonghwa sitting upon his bed with a pair of clothes sitting beside him.

The taller male was hunched over, his head resting in his hands as he gripped two fists full of his blonde hair tightly. As Hongjoong approached, that's when he heard soft sniffles coming from Seonghwa. Hongjoong was taken back by this discovery, the other male truly seemed regretful of the whole situation.

Seonghwa noticed that Hongjoong had come out of the bathroom, lifting his head to look at him as he wiped a few tears away from his face with the sleeves of his shirt. He was quick to compose himself, clearing his throat as he stood up.

"Oh... Good, you're finished." Seonghwa said as he quickly put on a smile, then gestured to the clothes beside him. "They may be a bit bigger on you than they are me, but you can wear these. I'll leave you to get dressed." He said before heading towards the door.

Hongjoong had opened his mouth to say something, but Seonghwa had already left the room. He let out a soft sigh, walking over to the clothes on the bed. Dropping the towel to the floor, he didn't waste any time to slip on the clothes he had been lent. The clothes were only a tiny bit bigger, but the fit was still decent enough.

Once he was fully dressed, Hongjoong slowly came out of the room, looking around before laying eyes on Seonghwa leaning against the wall near the bedroom doorway.

Hongjoong walked up to him, looking up at the taller male. "Has anyone ever seen you cry like that?" For some reason, that was the first question out of his mouth.

"W-What?" Seonghwa furrowed his brows slightly as he looked down at the smaller male. He was taken back by this sudden question.

"You were crying... I didn't know that someone who is supposedly narcissistic and insensitive had the emotional capacity to cry." Hongjoong said in a soft tone.

"I..." Seonghwa began to protest but stopped himself.

"If you feel bad about what you've done, why did you do it to me in the first place?" Hongjoong asked curiously, trying to figure this complicated man out.

"All I intended to do was lock you up until morning and I was going to let you go. I didn't know it was going to be this bad." Seonghwa replied, reaching out of his hands as he gently grabbed one of Hongjoong's wrists gently to inspect the stitches. "I never wanted to hurt you like this... I hate what I've done to you."

Hongjoong blinked as he watched the taller male inspect his wrists caringly. Seonghwa was never known to become this soft with anyone, and it genuinely confused Hongjoong.

"While what you did was extremely out of line... I can kind of understand why you did what you did. I said something stupid that made you feel threatened, and if I were you I would've done the same thing." Hongjoong tilted his head slightly.

Seonghwa looked back up at him, seeming a bit confused with Hongjoong's understanding. "Does that mean you forgive me?"

Hongjoong hesitated for a moment, then slightly nodded his head. "I shouldn't, but yes, I forgive you." He said with a gentle smile.

This caused Seonghwa to smile as well. Seonghwa suddenly pulled Hongjoong by his hand, wrapping his arms around him as the taller male embraced him in a warm hug.

Hongjoong was shocked by the sudden hug, but he didn't resist in the slightest. He got a strange feeling in his chest, almost as if he were safe there in Seonghwa's arms like that. This made him all the more confused.

After a moment, Seonghwa finally let go of him, rubbing Hongjoong's shoulder a bit. "I'm sure you're probably hungry, and incredibly hungover from last night. Allow me to cook for you?"

"Cook for me? You... The man loaded with multimillions is offering to cook ME food. Don't you have staff for that?" Hongjoong said with a slight laugh.

Seonghwa rolled his eyes playfully. "I don't have staff for every little thing. I'll have you know, I prepare my own food. Fewer chances of getting poisoned by some backstabbing staff." He said with a shrug as he grinned.

"Hmm... Very good point." Hongjoong nodded in understanding. "But, alright, I guess I could go for some food."

"Wonderful. Follow me please." Seonghwa said as he began to walk down the hall towards the kitchen.

Hongjoong followed closely behind him, brushing some of his damp hair away from his face. Once they got to the kitchen, Hongjoong was once again baffled by the decor in place.

The countertops were made from black and white marble. The cabinets were a black modern style with white doors, and all the appliances seemed to be new, top-of-the-line items. An island stood in the middle of it all lined with the same black stools that were in the parlor.

"Seriously. How are you not broke?" Hongjoong teased as he followed behind Seonghwa, sitting on one of the stools as the taller male rounded the island.

Seonghwa didn't even answer that question, seeming to dodge it. He just gave a subtle shrug with a smile.

Hongjoong squinted his eyes a little bit but decided not to say anything more.

After about thirty minutes, Seonghwa had prepared eggs, sausage, and a side of pancakes for Hongjoong. He quickly plated the food on a white ceramic plate, setting it gently in front of the smaller male with some utensils. Seonghwa also gave him a glass of water as well.

Hongjoong's stomach growled as he smelled the food in front of him. It all looked amazing. Before he even considered digging in, he looked up at Seonghwa curiously.

"Why didn't you make any for yourself?" He asked as he took a drink of water.

"Ah... I can't. Due to my strict diet, I only have protein shakes in the mornings." Seonghwa replied as he made his way to the fridge, pulling out a bottle filled with what looked like a homemade protein shake. It was a nasty green color.

Hongjoong made a weird face in disgust. "What the hell is in that?"

Seonghwa walked over to the stool next to Hongjoong, sitting down in one of the stools next to him.

"It has avocado, spinach, protein powder, almond milk, and a raw egg," Seonghwa explained, taking a drink from it as he even seemed to make a disgusted face from the taste.

"Okay, no." Hongjoong shook his head, taking his fork and sticking it into a piece of sausage. "Open wide." He said as he held the sausage close to Seonghwa's mouth.

"No. I can't, as I said I'm on a strict diet. I can't-" As Seonghwa had been talking, Hongjoong found the perfect window to shove the sausage into his mouth.

"Alcohol isn't apart of your diet but you still drink anyway. Just eat it." Hongjoong said with a grin, the popped a sausage into his own mouth as well.

Seonghwa hesitated with the sausage in his mouth for a moment, then sighed out as he began to chew. It'd been so long since he could just enjoy food like that, it tasted fantastic.

"I really should knock your head against this counter for that," Seonghwa said with a slight smile, shaking his head as he swallowed.

"Do it. Add to the list of fucked up things you've already put me through." Hongjoong raised a brow as he now sat facing him.

"I..." Seonghwa blinked as he was taken back by this sudden remark.

"Relax, I'm just giving you a hard time," Hongjoong said as he began cutting up the eggs on the plate.

Hongjoong scooped up some of the eggs on the fork, holding it out to Seonghwa with a hand underneath to prevent any egg from falling into the floor. Without hesitation, Seonghwa accepted the bite, giving a subtle smile.

Hongjoong continued to share his food with Seonghwa, feeding him as if the taller male were a child until all the food was gone.

"See? A little cheat in a diet doesn't hurt." Hongjoong smiled at Seonghwa before he hopped down from the stool.

The red-haired male gathered his dishes and took them to the sink. As he began washing them, Seonghwa immediately got up from the stool and rushed over.

"No, don't do that..." Seonghwa said as he took over the dishes from Hongjoong. "You shouldn't have to do your own dishes in my home."

Hongjoong blinked a bit confused but stepped away from the sink with a nod. "Alright, if you say so."

Seonghwa quickly finished up the dishes, then dried them off before putting them back into the places he'd gotten them from. He then returned to Hongjoong, standing in front of him with his hands folded at his waist.

"I've been thinking about something ever since..." Seonghwa seemed to pause as he looked down at Hongjoong's wrists.

Hongjoong quickly realized what the taller male was looking at, and immediately put his hands behind his back. "What is it?" He questioned curiously.

"I've been thinking that maybe the whole agreement we have isn't going to work out..." Seonghwa said as he looked up to the smaller male's face. "I wish to nullify our agreement."

Hongjoong's eyes widened a bit as he took a step back. "W-What? Hang on..."

"No, not like that." Seonghwa sighed out, rubbing his forehead. "I simply just mean I  don't want you to work for me anymore."

Hongjoong seemed to relax a bit, taking a step toward Seonghwa again. "Wait, why? I thought you valued my work."

"I do, I just..." Seonghwa looked at the ground as he leaned against the counter. "I don't want to hurt you again. If I lost my temper with you like that again, I could do so much worse, and I don't want that to happen."

"But what if I don't want to stop working for you?" Hongjoong frowned slightly. "You're just going to back away like that?"

Seonghwa looked at him completely confused. "You still want to work for me after what I did to you?"

"I believe you're misunderstood. I believe there's someone meaningful deep inside that thuggish facade you display for everyone else." Hongjoong sounded determined as he got closer, looking up at the taller male. "You need someone to understand you, and so far I believe I'm the only person that has even begun to understand you. Let me keep working for you, please."

Seonghwa was taken back by what the smaller male said to him. He didn't know what to think. After all, he'd done, Hongjoong was still persistent in working for him.

"I..." Seonghwa hesitated before letting out a sigh. "Fine... I'll allow you to keep working for me."

Hearing this made Hongjoong smile warmly. "Thank you. I promise I won't let you down."

"I really hope you don't," Seonghwa said in a soft tone.

Seonghwa reached up a hand slowly, touching the soft skin of Hongjoong's cheek gently. Hongjoong froze for a moment, wondering what the hell Seonghwa was doing, but he didn't feel compelled to pull away.

The taller male seemed to inspect every little detail upon Hongjoong's face as his thumb caressed his cheek, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly.

"W-What are y-you doing?" Hongjoong stuttered slightly, feeling his cheeks flush with heat.

"Do you trust me? With every bit of your being, do you trust me?" Seonghwa questioned in a soft voice.

"I..." Hongjoong hesitated briefly, feeling his heart pick begin to race. "Strangely, yes, I trust you..."

"Good." That's all Seonghwa said in response.

The taller male then began to lean his face down towards Hongjoong's slowly. Hongjoong could've moved away, but he seemed frozen in place. Seonghwa paused for a moment as his lips had just barely grazed Hongjoong's lips, looking deep into the smaller male's eyes. Hongjoong's cheeks were almost a crimson color as he could feel the breath of Seonghwa against his lips. Seonghwa gave a subtle smile, then looked down at his lips before he connected their lips together.

Hongjoong had never kissed the same sex, he hadn't ever kissed anyone for that matter. He'd never been in a relationship before because he didn't care for them.

For someone who vowed that he wasn't interested in the same sex, he willingly kissed Seonghwa back. A weird feeling in his chest seemed to spark. He took in a deep breath of slight excitement as the kiss lingered. At this point, regardless of what Seonghwa had done to him, or would do to him, he was completely under this man's spell.

When Seonghwa finally broke the kiss, Hongjoong almost whined in disappointment that the kiss ended.

"You're so adorable like this..." Seonghwa cooed as his hand traveled to Hongjoong's lips, gently grazing the male's bottom lip with his fingers.

Hongjoong just stared up at him almost as if he were under some trance. Seonghwa was intoxicatingly charismatic, so it was easy to see how Hongjoong was quick to submit to the taller male.

"I look forward to working with you from now on..." Seonghwa whispered softly as he had leaned down to Hongjoong's ear. "And I hope that's for a VERY long time..."

****THE STORY WILL CONTINUE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. THANK YOU FOR READING****