hongjoong was a mess. his hair was dishevelled, he hadn't showered in two days, and he wore the same old shirt and pants the day he came to the hospital for yechan's therapy appointment. the only thing he had done was brush his teeth and spray half a bottle of perfume on his body.  regardless, the only thing that mattered to him was that yechan was okay. he was recovering well, and he had come out of surgery healthy. he was feeding yechan some bland seaweed soup and rice, nothing too heavy for his stomach. 

"daddy, i don't like," yechan commented, a pout forming on his lips as he refused to take another sip of the warm greenish soup that did not look appetizing. 

"even i don't like this, my love. but you need to drink this to get better, you want to get better right? you'll get to meet uncle sangie again! and even your friend! right? now come on, one more sip baby-- and look, you're almost done!" hongjoong said as the little one nodded. the male coaxed yechan into finishing the entire bowl of soup and placed a soft kiss against his chubby cheek when he did. 

"can i meet gyu?" yechan asked, his eyes lighting up like a puppy as his head tilted

"who's that?"

"my friend!! i love gyu, she don't say bad things about me! she so nice, daddy!! she also like drawing with me, she like drawing her daddies!! she say, uncle sangie one daddy, she have other daddy too but he not here," the little boy said, his hands flailing in excitement. god, hongjoong could cry hearing that he made another new friend at school. yechan's eyes always sparkled like the stars in the night sky when talking about his friend so lovingly. the little details he remembered about his friend, was adorable to know. 

"yes love, you can meet her in a few days. i'll talk to her father alright, and then we can meet in our house, how does that sound?" hongjoong suggested before he stuffed the rest of the rice from yechan's bowl into his mouth. his son's eyes lit up with excitement as he did a little dance in his place with his hands while humming a random tune hongjoong had never heard. it was endearing to watch-- he loved when yechan was happy. 

"daddy-- uncle sannie!!" the little one screamed when he saw san pop his head through the curtain of his double room. he tried to squirm away from the iv attached to the back of his hand to go and hug his uncle sannie, he had missed him so much! how dare he not come and meet yechan after his surgery?

"hey, no getting up! he will come and hug you here! and no screaming, we are in a hospital, baby," his father stopped him as an aggressive pout formed on his face. 

"i missed you my baby!" san squealed as he approached the little one with his arms open, pulling him into a tight hug once close enough. yechan giggled into san's chest, a wide smile tugged across his lips. 

the pair spent a good ten minutes bonding and hugging, damn did yechan miss san. he loved san more than words could express, and the male could say the same. he had watched yechan grow, into the adorable little boy he was. 

once yechan fell into a deep slumber against san's shoulder, he turned to the other male in the room and grimaced at the mess he was.

"and you, hongjoong, how are you? you look like ass."

"thanks, i know. i'm fine, i think," hongjoong said as he playfully rolled his eyes. 

"you should go home and shower, there's too much of a strong smell of perfume from you," san commented yet again as he gently rubbed yechan's back.

"no-- what if the doctor needs to see me? what if yechan needs anything? i cant leave."

oh did san know this act very well. hongjoong was always overly concerned for his son-- and it was valid, but the male knew better than that. the redhead needed some time to himself after all the stress he went through, he deserved a hot shower and new clothes. 

"joongie, i'm here for him. don't worry, you deserve to take care of yourself too. i've turned on the geyser at your place, you take a shower and come back. also, get something from the cafe nearby, you deserve to take care of yourself. i'm taking care of him, he will be fine. he likes spending time with me anyways so it shouldn't be much of an issue. now go, i'll stay," san assured, his eyes gleaming with assurance. 

what did hongjoong do in his past life to deserve such an amazing? maybe he saved the world or something, because gaining a friend like choi san was like getting gifted twenty five diamonds-. no-- scratch that, san was worth more than diamonds, better than diamonds. 

hongjoong nodded after getting up to leave, kissing yechan's forehead before walking out the room, a grateful smile plastered on his face. it was almost ten in the night-- the hospital was relatively quiet, the only being the sound of his shoes clacking against the pristine white floor echoing through the hallway. the male felt bad for skipping his shifts at the restaurant even though he was being paid, mingi was such an amazing person. he understood hongjoong so well, told him that it was okay for him to take leave for such reasons-- he knew the male was genuine. 

hongjoong was so grateful for the people in his life, he was the luckiest man ever to have a beautiful son like yechan. sure, it was indeed difficult to raise him, but what was parenthood without difficulty? absolutely nothing. 

his mind was elsewhere and he didn't focus on where he was going when he felt the impact of something hard against his face, clutching his nose in pain when he heard a groan from above.

ah yes, people would call it destiny or cliche, as a matter of fact. there stood seonghwa, with widened eyes.

"oh my god, im so sorry! i wasn't seeing where i was walking! are you okay?" hongjoong frantically apologized

"yes im okay, don't worry. i was just heading to yechan's room actually," he replied, a shade of red tinting his face.

hongjoong, now embarrassed, looked down and started fidgeting with the two rings on his right hand.

a silence. the pair just stood in the middle of the hallway.

why did seonghwa look so beautiful under the hospital lights? the lights were dimmed, an orange light illuminating the hallways. the older male's eyes sparkled under the light, a glow that hongjoong couldn't explain in words. his tummy fluttured with butterflies.

"alright, i think i'll get going now--"

"no! wait!" hongjoong stopped the male

why was he so stupid? he didn't even have anything to say.

"uh yechan is sleeping right now, only san is there. it's better if you come tomorrow."

seonghwa simply chuckled and hongjoong felt like an idiot.

"no dummy, i was going to meet you, not yechan. i know he's recovering, so i'll let him heal slowly," the male replied, his cheeks and ears turning a darker shade of red under the lights.

"oh."

that was before seonghwa turned away and brisk walked into the abyss, hongjoong felt giddy. he desperately wanted to kiss the man, god he was smitten.

there was something deep within hongjoong that flipped a million times the moment he laid eyes on seonghwa, a feeling he exactly could point out-- and it was this crazy little thing called love.