Chapter Text
He didn’t mean for it to get this bad.
His hands are scrubbed raw, the skin peeling, his nails dull and dry. His knuckles are bruised, and his fingers burn from the chilling water. He can’t hide this.
What has he done?
—
Hongjoong knows he’s a messy person. Don’t get him wrong, he’s very keen on his hygiene–he has a five-step face care routine that he’s recently perfected and a very thorough manicure process–but he doesn’t care much about where he puts his belongings.
Well, he does care, his mess is organized to him, but to his members, his room looks a little crazy. He is self-aware that he tends to prioritize his work items and studio over his room.
He knows his keys are buried under some paperwork and that his striped scarf drapes down from his desk chair next to his favorite hoodie and that his new loafers are in the dark orange shoebox next to the bow flats he secretly borrowed from a magazine shoot stored in the light orange box in the middle of the room.
He knows that his bed is undone and that it looks messy to others but it’s that way because he prefers it to be since the loose bedding is easier to mold around him than stiff, prim-proper, tucked-under-the-mattress sheets.
Seonghwa would scold him for the clutter, and when they were roommates, Seonghwa would always organize his side of the room as well, and Hongjoong didn’t really mind, was grateful really that his best friend would take on the responsibility to disinfect and mop and broom the entire room. Seonghwa enjoyed it, too, so Hongjoong let him do as he pleased.
Now, though they’re no longer rooming together, Hongjoong makes sure to clean his room routinely every one or two weeks (depending on his schedules), but he is always certain to work around the piles that he’s made.
When brooming the floor, he always picks up the entire pile, cleans the spot and places the pile back. This process follows for his desk and closet and the rest of the bedroom. If he really, really has the time, then he might actually work through the pile (though the question of free time is subjective).
But otherwise, this is the process that has worked the best so far despite the complaints from his dormmates Wooyoung and Jongho about how he’s making it harder for himself–and again don’t get him wrong, he always makes sure that the piles stay clean and bug- and bacteria-free. The thought of pests makes him nauseous, so he does tidy up everything every now and then. But his room’s natural state seems to be chaos as the principle of entropy dictates so his piles always seem to gradually creep up.
As long as he’s clean and his laundry’s washed and his nails are sparkling, he’s content.
—
What he’s not happy about, is his very unnecessary, early morning company meeting at seven AM. This means he has to be up at 6 AM when the Sun has barely risen and the birds are yet to croak their morning wake-up calls.
He fucking hates this.
He turns off his alarm and drags himself to the bathroom to begin his morning routine.
Brush front, back, sides, inner cheek, tongue. Rinse mouth, floss, rinse again with mouthwash.
Scrub neck, shoulders, chest, back, hips, legs, feet. Scrub under nails, back of ears, between toes, behind knees, his knuckles. Okay, time to get dressed. Wash face: cleanser, toner, spot correct, moisturize, sunscreen.
He steps out of the bathroom and heads back to his room to grab his phone. Shit. He’s only got five minutes before his manager arrives to take him to the company. He grabs his hoodie, struggling to put it on while also holding his laptop bag, and runs out the door, not before stopping to hastily pick up a protein bar from the kitchen. He’ll just have to get some food later.
“Just woke up?” his manager chuckles once he’s outside, peering at Hongjoong’s half-ready state with his orange tufts of hair sticking up from his toweling and hoodie only half on. But at least he showered well and he’s awake enough.
“Ha, ha… let’s go before I fall asleep standing,” he retorts.
He settles in the back and finally has a moment of peace. Huh. He didn’t remember seeing Wooyoung or Jongho before he left. They must still be sleeping. None of the other members had any schedules that day, so they were free to do as they pleased. Many of them usually take the time to sleep in. But he bets at least half of them were up already to go to some crazy amusement park or early morning helicopter ride or something else he can’t even think of ever doing. Those thrill-seekers, he shakes his head in fond exasperation.
—
Once in the KQ building, he finds room 16C. He peers in and gauges that a lot of the executives and employees had already arrived. Just in time. He grabs an empty chair by the window and opens his phone to review the meeting details once more before it starts.
“Did you hear what happened to Mira and Beomseok? They called out of work this week,” he overhears from one of the employees beside him.
“Yeah, apparently Beomseok found bedbugs in his apartment sometime over the weekend. It’s no secret that he’s dating Mira, and this morning she found some at her place. They’re both taking off to deep clean.”
Hongjoong freezes, his mind racing. Bedbugs? He didn’t like the sound of that. He doesn’t work closely with either of them. He doesn’t even think he’s seen them anytime last week. But one person contacts a second person, who contacts another, who brushes past a fourth and a fifth in the hallway, and suddenly the whole building burns down.
He’ll probably be fine, but he’ll shower and wash his clothes as soon as he’s home instead of staying back at the studio like he usually does. It’ll be no big deal. But he should’ve just eaten instead of spending all that time in the bathroom if he’d known he’d have to shower again. Damn, the power of retrospect strikes again.
The sound of the projector alerts him to the start of the meeting. He’ll have to worry about the bugs later.
—
He taps in the key code to let himself into the dorm. Wooyoung, who’s lounging on the sofa watching some new film, immediately jumps up to greet him. “Hyung! You’re home surprisingly early. Did the studio kick you out? Bet it’s tired of seeing your face.” He walks over closer, hands wide open, ready to give a hug.
“NO, wait, don’t get near me.” Hongjoong takes a step back, hands in-front of him defensively.
Wooyoung scrunches his face in confusion, head tilted to the side. “Hyung, what’s wrong?” He takes a step closer.
“Some staff members were talking about bed bugs spreading, and although I don’t think I’ve even seen the staff who’ve been having issues this past week, I still would prefer to shower and wash up before touching anything.”
Wooyoung hums in understanding.
“Oh, can you grab me a spare plastic bag from under the kitchen sink? I’m gonna keep my clothes in there before I wash them.”
Wooyoung agrees to the task and heads over to the kitchen.
Hongjoong removes his shoes and work bag and inspects them before deeming them safe. He then cautiously makes his way to the bathroom stepping only on the hardwood flooring and, avoiding any furniture or carpeting.
He steps into the bathtub fully dressed and slowly peels off his clothes one by one, stopping to also check for any hidden pests before depositing the items into the bag Wooyoung brought. All clear. He showers and gets dressed again. Then, brings his previous laundry to be washed.
Guess I’ll just work from home today. No point in going back to the company. He settles down with his laptop and opens his new track.