seonghwa doesn't know what he's doing here. what possessed him to make an appearance. well, the obvious answer is that he needed to shake hands, smile & stay on good terms with the head of the prince empire. after all, it was good for business⸺his father certainly held mr. prince in high regards, so of course he wanted his son to show up as a representative of the lee conglomerate. to celebrate mr. prince's son in finally settling down⸺just as seonghwa would be.
but, the reality of the matter was that seonghwa was still a selfish, selfish man. he wanted to see the new person eric had finally gotten engaged to. ( so soon after seonghwa had left him. what did they have that he didn't? they didn't know eric like he did. ) even if he knows he has no right to be bitter about it. their [ … ] connection, starting off so antagonistic & mean-spirited had shifted into something more real. too real. too soft & tender, toeing the line between sexual attraction & love. something seonghwa couldn't comprehend happening, because who could possibly love him, with the baggage he carried deep within his soul? so he broke it off, pushed eric so far away, locked him out of his heart & ran away. their relationship crashed & burned after that. he hasn't spoken to him in weeks.
only to find out through internet articles that eric prince had gotten engaged to someone from another highly influential family. it hurt. it hurt more than anything, that eric had moved on so quickly. even when he was the one that pushed him away. seonghwa didn't know what to do with himself, & the moment his father had brought up the notion of going on a blind date with his business friend's oldest child, he took to it without hesitation. the date going off without a hitch, their fathers meeting & discussing the idea of an enagement. of a wedding.
it was easy enough to parade minchae around in public & at events. they were beautiful, soft around the features, suiting his own & they were incredibly kind & witty. they were perfect. but they weren't eric. he wanted eric. he wanted the man who looked as if he came out of a fairybook itself, tall, handsome, with the prettiest eyes. who was equally witty, knew how to take control over a situation. who knew how to handle seonghwa even at his worst. who was willing to handle all of his baggage & flaws if only seonghwa was willing to let him in.
he & minchae made their rounds. spoke with a few people, but after awhile he had to excuse himself under the murmured excuse of needing to use the restroom, hurrying out of the main room⸺only to run right into the man of the hour himself. eric. it was just his fucking luck.
the air around them tense, it was hard for seonghwa to even look him in his eyes as his throat felt just about to close up. he hates the way that eric looks at him⸺the way he speaks to him in such a scathing, callous tone. as if they were nothing to each other. ( and that was the truth, wasn't it? they weren't lovers. certainly not friends. )
“i didn't want to be here.” he begins with a hiss, trying to make himself sound just as flippant, as harsh as eric's vocals are. “unfortunately for you, mr. prince, my brother is useless when it comes to these events. my father knows we've worked closely together, it's only right he sends me in his stead to give both of our congratulations. this wasn't me trying to … slight you." seonghwa tries to school in his expression, but his bottom lip trembles, his hands shake & he's quick to ball them into fists to get them to stop.
he looks up finally⸺just to see that eric's has done the same. he's trying and failing to stay strong, because seonghwa knows how he looks when he's truly upset. he's studied his face long enough when they were together to notice the difference. it makes his chest ache. it makes his shoulders slump, hesitating for a moment before he takes a single step closer.
“you don't mean that.” seonghwa whispers, tone soft & almost pleading for it to be true. “you don't.” his fingers twitch⸺he wants so desperately to cup eric's face & hold him close, wiping away his tears. he doesn't. he can't bring himself to bridge that gap. so he says instead, softly, “i don't like your fiancé. they aren't good enough for you.”