Chapter Text
He meets San in his second year.
Seonghwa doesn’t have the same anxious feeling he had the year prior while walking towards the great hall, he has his friends, Minho, and Hongjoong with him and his green robes fit a bit better now that he’s grown taller over the summer.
“Look that’s San!” Hongjoong said as the group of first years walked into the hall
“He’s your cousin, right?” Minho asked
“Yeah, he’s super nervous about the sorting, thinks my uncle is going to kill him if he doesn’t end up in Slytherin”
San did look a little constipated, he was at the very end of the row of students, adorning a nervous smile as he whispered something to a girl by his side
“Weren’t you scared about that too last year?” Seonghwa said taking his eyes away from the boy and directing his gaze to his Ravenclaw friend
“It’s different though” He said as he stand up from the table “My parents didn’t freak out as much because my mom was supposed to be put in Ravenclaw but asked the sorting hat to put her in Slytherin, so she kind of understood and talked to my dad about it but San’s parents are .. well they’re way worse than mine when it comes to tradition, believe me”
“Anyways I’m off to my table before McGonagall come and get me by the throat, see you guys later”
As Hongjoong walked away and the ceremony started Seonghwa kept his glaze on San. He did feel bad about the boy and coming from a pureblood family who had also been in Slytherin for generations himself he knew how it was scary the thought of being the one to change ruining his family name. So, by the time San’s name was called and the smiling boy approaches his table after the hat had shouted a loud Slytherin, Seonghwa let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
And that’s how it all begins. The fall of Park Seonghwa.
Towards the year Seonghwa learned a few important things about San
Firstly, and most important: San was very friendly and impossible to dislike. By the middle of the term he was friends with what seems like the whole castle, from the older Slytherin students to the elves in the kitchen and even the dreaded potions teacher, the boy had a charm Seonghwa hadn’t seen anywhere before and everywhere he went he pulled people in like a magnet and made it impossible for anyone to ignore him.
That did, unfortunately, included Seonghwa but he liked to think he was fairly good at keeping it cool unlike Minho for instance who had absolutely given up and adopted the boy under his wings like some sort of father (“Older brother! Come on I’m too young to be a parent Hwa”) figure.
So now instead of Seonghwa, Minho, and Hongjoong, it was San, Seonghwa Minho and Hongjoong. Which it was cool, San was nice and funny and his laugh wasn’t as loud and annoying as Hongjoong so Seonghwa was okay with the addition to his friend group, besides, it wasn’t like San was with them 24/7, they saw each other mostly at mealtimes or late at night in the Slytherin common room where Seonghwa liked to sit by the fire with his cat Lucky and San couldn’t sleep.
This brings Seonghwa to the second most important thing he learned about San that year. San was really, really, really clingy. Seonghwa noticed at first with Hongjoong, how San would lay his head on his shoulder whenever he wanted something that was on Hongjoong’s plate at breakfast or how he would always find a way to hug the older at any given time. And even though Hongjoong would complain about it he would always catch the older smiling fondling at San afterward so he figured it was just a family thing.
But oh how Seonghwa was wrong.
As time passed and San became more and more comfortable with them it was clear that it wasn’t just a family thing and San was always ready to hug and drape himself all over everyone all the time.
“Stoooop Sannie please I need to finish this essay” The scene was a common one now and Seonghwa didn’t need to lift his eyes over his own essay on care of magical creatures to know that San was trying to get Minho to pay attention to him by laying on his lap or peppering his cheek with kisses
“But Hyung! you promise you were going to show me the secret passage on the fifth floor today” San’s voice echoed the common room and Seonghwa finally took a look at the pair.
It was kissing today
“Okay okay you win go get your wand and we can go there” There was a loud cheering sound coming from san who immediately jumped to his feet running towards the stairs making Seonghwa let out a laugh
“Stop laughing prick you know I can’t say no to him”
Seonghwa would argue that nobody could really say no to Choi San but that would be a useless observation, especially now with Minho’s frowned face disappearing almost immediately after San’s return to the room.
“Later Seonghwa Hyung! “San shouted as he hooked himself to Minho’s arm and left the common room with a smile so big Seonghwa thought it for sure must be hurting
“Later San”
He guessed it wasn’t as bad to have the kid around after all.
The next year is when things start to change. While he and San had become good friends the year prior it was only by his third year that Seonghwa really got to know the other boy and at some point, Seonghwa was comfortable enough to say San had become one of his best friends.
The thing is, being best friends with San meant a lot of things change.
San was the type that liked to skip class and prank other kids for fun, and although the bright smiling kid he met a year prior was still there he could now see the hint of mischief San carried around with every bat of an eyelash.
Seonghwa, on the other hand, liked to spend his hours in the library trying to get his grades up enough to become a prefect someday. And yes, maybe he does hex a few annoying Gryffindors once in a while but nobody needed to know that. The point is while both of them seemed to be the opposite of each other, somehow, they just worked.
“Stop pouting San I’ve told you a million times already I’m not helping you sneak out of the castle” They were sitting at the library at their weekly study hangout session, who were suggested by Seonghwa once midterms were approaching (“You need to study San there’s only so much you can get away with it “ “You sound exactly like my mom right now Hwa, I can actually see it you know, the grey hair would really suit you, don’t know about the dress tho” “Just shut up and start reading”)
“Come on Hwa! This is so unfair Minho and Hongjoong are going too why do I have to be the only one to stay behind” The boy slumped in his seat crossing his arms over his chest.
Seonghwa let out a sigh resting his pen against the table knowing he wouldn’t be able to get any progress in his Arithmancy essay anytime soon
“You know only Third years get to go to Hogsmead San, it’s not like we’re purposely leaving you behind” He saw the boy sigh comically and turn his face away from him in clear gesture of displeasure
“Just say you don’t want me around Hwa, I get it you hate me that’s cool just another day being backstabbed by the people I trusted the most”
God what a drama queen
“Come on stop that you know that doesn’t work with me” San was still ignoring him pretending to be incredibly interested in the nearby bookshelf “Okay then I guess I’ll just have to go to the kitchen alone today” He watched as San’s lips tremble “ It’s really a shame now that I don’t have anyone to share my world-famous hot chocolate with since the friend I usually take with me doesn’t like me anymore”
“Well” he said standing up “I guess I can always ask Hongjoong to join me” He watches with a smile as San jumped to his feet grabbing Seonghwa by the arm
“NO”
“Oh, you’re talking now?”
“You’re an evil evil man Seonghwa. Just shut up and let’s go get my hot chocolate”
Having San as a best friend is easy, comfortable and nice so it doesn’t come as a surprise when Seonghwa starts to fall for him.
Seonghwa has always been very objective with things, and it was only natural that he would find himself attracted to the younger boy. San was a good looking, nice and charming boy who liked to cuddle late at night on Seonghwa’s -too tiny- bed and gave him kisses whenever he was feeling particularly happy (which happened a lot).
Seonghwa didn’t have to think very much about their relationship to notice his feelings went way beyond the platonic best friend kind.
And it didn’t come as a surprise to his friends either, and Seonghwa would be lying if he thought San didn’t know as well.
But nothing really changed, Seonghwa knew he wasn’t going to act on his feelings way before getting confronted by them and San didn’t show signs of acknowledgment of them either, so things carried on the same, they were still San and Seonghwa best friends against the world, but now Seonghwa would occasionally have to police himself to stop looking at a particular part of San like his lips or his arms or legs. It was fine really
That was until his Fourth year when San went and got himself a crush.
His name was Jung Wooyoung, a third-year Hufflepuff who was on San’s Muggle Studies class. His hair was platinum blonde and when Seonghwa saw him for the first time he wondered if dying hair like that was allowed by the norms of the school. But of course, San wouldn’t care if Wooyoung was breaking major school rules since all that seemed to matter was how pretty he was and how nice he was by helping san in class and how his eyes had a goldish soulmate type of glow or whatever San was rambling about it.
He tried to ignore it; he really did. San always went through phases like this when he became obsessed with something, like the time he decided to wear only gray, or the time he could only talk about quidditch or the time he started to wear an actual dog collar every day (Seonghwa still has nightmares about that), so naturally he thought this weird Wooyoung phase would go away eventually, just like any other of San’s previous hyper fixations.
He was wrong, as per usual. Not only it didn’t go away but now Wooyoung was an active part of his friend group which made Seonghwa’s blood boil.
He knew he was being rather irrational, and yeah the fact that he was in love with San did make things a little blurry, but the kid really got to Seonghwa’s nerves. So much so that he actually took time to compile a list of reasons why Jung Wooyoung was the most annoying person ever, as follow:
- He’s loud all the time – for some unknown reason he’s incapable of speaking properly and in more than one occasion he has made San and Seonghwa get kicked out of the library because of his inability to shut up
- Extremely Clingy – Even more than San – which is saying a lot –
- Thinks Seonghwa is his friend when he’s not – one of the side effects of being always with San. He would never forget the day Wooyoung saw him going to his potions class and had the courage to say hi to him, right there in the middle of the hallway. The absolute audacity…
- Doesn’t need to study to get good grades – I mean does this one need an explanation? Such a dick.
- Does this one stupid face all the time – the one when his mouth is kind of open and his eyes get like super big (usually comes with the most annoying sound Seonghwa has ever heard in his entire life – re: a giggle- )
- He’s the actual devil – Seonghwa once saw him eating a whole plate of plain raisins. Nothing else, just raisins. I mean can you believe this? Pretty sure that’s like illegal.
- San’s in love with him
The last one is a given really.
It gets worse as time passes and by the time Christmas is coming around and San can’t stop talking about what kind of gift he’s getting Wooyoung, Seonghwa wants to die.
To be fair it wasn’t just San, his parents had sent him an owl a week before Christmas warning him to stay in Hogwarts for the holidays because they would be busy with a work trip, which honestly shouldn’t be a huge deal but as it turns out Wooyoung was also staying behind that year.
“My parents are visiting South America for their second honeymoon so I thought it would be good to leave them be” he had told Seonghwa over breakfast the day after the train left “None of my housemates stayed, so I guess is just you and me Hyung!” Seonghwa looked at the boy in front of him smiling like an absolute buffoon and sighed. It was going to be a long couple of weeks.
In a way he was right, it was, in fact, a very long couple of weeks, mainly because the snow was so strong that made it impossible for the Hogwarts Express to leave and therefore Christmas holidays were extended by a whole other week; And, as much as he hates to admit being stuck inside the castle with Wooyoung wasn’t as bad as he made it out to be.
Truth is being forced to spend time with Wooyoung without San around made Seonghwa understand a little bit why San liked him so much. And he absolutely hated it.
He hated to admit that Wooyoung was actually nice and would constantly do little things that made Seonghwa head spin; Like how he started to wait for him outside the Slytherin common room every morning so they could walk together to the great hall even though the Hufflepuff common room was not in any form close to the dungeons.
The first time it happened Seonghwa was confused and annoyed to see the boy by the corridor when he left the Slytherin common room, but Wooyoung had smiled and shrugged saying he was just passing by and they should just go together; The second time Wooyoung said he got lost on his way because of the moving stairs, and the day after that he just happened to have a sleepwalking problem that made him -completely dressed and with perfectly styled hair may he add- wander off into the dungeons; So, after the fourth time Seonghwa just stopped asking.
It was weird, Seonghwa didn’t talk much but Wooyoung didn’t seem to mind, rambling about everything and nothing during breakfast or telling very detailed stories about muggle celebrities being caught doing illegal things or cheating on each other while Seonghwa tried to read in the library. He would usually ignore him or threat to hex him if he didn’t shut up and let him read his book in peace, but Wooyoung never seem too fazed about it, always giving him a smile and giving him a few minutes of quiet before erupting about how Seonghwa was such a weird aries whatever that was supposed to mean.
Thing is, Wooyoung was persistent, and after the first week trying to get away from the boy Seonghwa just gave up. He was insanely bored, he had finished his assignments days ago and as much as he didn’t like to admit at some point during the second week Wooyoung’s stories were the highlight of his days. Not that he would ever admit to that.
His days were now filled with Wooyoung and if he was being honest, by the time the holidays were over and the students came back Seonghwa was a little sad he wouldn’t have the boy to himself only.
So it was a surprise when the morning after all the students had returned, Seonghwa exited the common room to see Wooyoung standing by the wall casting tiny lights out of his wand, waiting for him just like he’s been doing the past few weeks, and the contrast between the yellow on his robes, the slight red tint on his face and the green light coming from above him made Seonghwa dizzy. So when Wooyoung finally noticed him and grinned in recognition making his cheeks puff up and his eyes go tiny, Seonghwa knew he was fucked.
In three weeks, he somehow managed to fall in love with Jung Wooyoung and San was going to kill him.