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apollos-son · 4 years

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✎ ❝Won't You Stay By My Side?❞

Rating ; 13+

Pairing ; eventual poly ot8 ateez

Genre ; fluff, slight angst?

Tags ; painter Yeosang au, old au, nothing but sweet romance, poly ot8

Summery ; Kang Yeosang is a painter from the big city who recently moved away to a little port town very far away from any place he knew. With a determination to paint the scenic views, Yeosang hastily tries to settle in but finds that he can't get much work done because there happens to be some... distractions around the little town that seem to grab his attention in ways that other things couldn't.

I know this is unlikely but I do ask that you do not copy my work under any circumstances. Do not repost, translate or use my work without permission. Thanks :)

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Chapter 2 ⇢ ❝I Think That You're Charming.❞

Come Thursday Morning, Yeosang had been staying in Clearbrook Port for a day. He hadn't gotten much sleep that prior night with all of the thoughts bouncing around in his head. He hadn't painted a portrait in a while, and he was nervous at the idea of painting that gorgeous man from the day before.

Just the thought of him stumbling around his words before Hongjoong made him cringe, but it didn't seem as though Hongjoong's father was going to take no for an answer. That was evident in the fact that the older man hadn't given Yeosang a chance to reply when he had asked. Begrudgingly, despite his nervousness, Yeosang collected his things and he popped them in the smaller of the two cases he had brought with him, which was now sitting under the stairs that lead to the bedroom on the highest shelf.

It was as soon as he walked out of his front door that he was met with a loud shriek. The loud noise caused him to squeak and look up and there, before him, was a male with a cute, wide smile. He was considerably small, but he held a plate with a small sponge cake on it. "Kang Yeosang, right?" The male asked, his voice smooth. "Yes, t-that's me," he confirmed, which somehow caused the other boy's smile to widen "Jung Wooyoung! I would've greeted you yesterday, but the bakery gets quite hectic in the morning when people want to buy fresh bread," the new boy, Wooyoung, admitted. "but I baked this cake for you to celebrate your arrival!"

The cake looked rich in colour and it had three layers. Between each one there seemed to be a thick, redish substance, probably jam, that made Yeosang's mouth water slightly. The painter bowed deeply and smiled "ah, thank you so much! I really appreciate it!"

After a sweet chat in front of Yeosang's home, the younger of the two had offered to show the painter the way to Hongjoong's humble home. "How did you know about that?" Yeosang queried. "Mingi-ah told me! He and Jongho-ssi stopped by the bakery after you left!" he squeaked. Yeosang looked at him blankly for a moment before nodding, "Ah, you're the baker!" Yeosang realised, his eyes sparkling. The comment caused Wooyoung to burst into bright, bubbly laughter. "W-What are you laughing at?" The painter stuttered. "Nothing you're just... Hehehe.. You're just so cute!!"

That comment was stuck in Yeosang's head as they strolled up the stone walkway leading to the large house on the hill. Him? Cute?? That wasn't the first time a male from this small town had complimented him in such a manner. A manner that was almost natural and sweet. The thought came to a halt, a soft tap to his arm bringing him back to reality. "This is it, Mayor Kim's house. Yeah, it's on the bigger side which does cause some people in the town to get vexed but,, I try not to think about it!!" Wooyoung concluded with a nod. "Good luck! Don't faint or anything! I know if I had to paint Kim Hongjoong I would," the young baker swooned.

It was odd to Yeosang that Wooyoung had such an interest in the handsome man, calling him beautiful and admiring him. He had seen pretty girls in the town too... so why wouldn't Wooyoung pay attention to them? He would need a spouse eventually... and liking men wasn't really a viable option. Not even in a little town like this.

Yeosang heaved a soft sigh as he watched the smaller male skip away happily. He gave the door a gentle knock and it soon opened. The house was very beautiful. It was built in the same style of the other houses, yet it was bigger and somehow much more... ravishing. The doors had engraved golden patterns and the frames of the windows did too, to match. Yeosang's attention was brought to the door once more when a woman cleared her throat. She was in maid-like attire and had a rather impatient look about her. "Welcome to Master Kim's humble abode, may I help you sir?" she asked in a bored tone, her head cocking to the side to feign interest.

"I'm here because the Mayor requested my services?" Yeosang said and the maid's look hardened. "N-Not like that!! H-He asked me to paint his son's portrait..." The young painter stuttered and the maid's eyes widened to the size of golf balls. "Kang Yeosang..?! Ah, my apologies, sir. This way, sir," she stammered as she turned on her heel to lead Yeosang down the entrance hall. There were many paintings already decorating the hall, and the walls that they hung from had more beautiful designs etched into their wooden surfaces.

They had come to a halt and the maid pointed down the eastern hall. "The two larger doors at the end lead into Master Hongjoong's quarters, he will most likely be in there, sir," she said politely. Yeosang nodded his head "right.. thank you," he hummed as he carefully walked down the wide corridor. There seemed to be a skylight in the center of the corridor, where it met the two doors the maid spoke of.

He took the deepest of breaths, and knocked very lightly on the door. No reply came. He then tried again, louder this time, but still no reply. He decided that he would just have to enter with caution.

When Yeosang entered through the carefully etched wooden doors, he could've sworn that his eyes were deceiving him. Kim Hongjoong, that same sweet male who had greeted the young painter so warmly, had his back against one of the chocolate coloured desks, the buttons of his shirt mostly loose apart from the bottom ones, a taller man who was in much more formal attire kissed him smoothly, passionately. The kiss looked to be slow and full of love. Yeosang thought that he should be terrified, that he's watching the Mayor's son casually make-out with a random man he hasn't seen before but the worst part was, he wasn't terrified nor was he worried. Watching the two men kiss made his heart swell.

His lips pressed into a thin line as a deep scarlet colour came over his face and the tips of his ears. He didn't know what to say.. what was he supposed to say?? An 'Oh hey, Mister Hongjoong, I'm here to paint you now and by the way, I'll make sure not to mention your make out session to anybody,' seemed inappropriate. Very inappropriate. So he stood still, fiddling with the case he had brought with him.

It was the taller man that noticed him first, and he pulled away from Hongjoong's lips causing said boy to whine. "S-Seonghwa what are you-" the small male started "you have company, sir," Seonghwa said softly and he offered Yeosang a smile. "Mister Kang was it? We should have managed our time better, Mister Kim," he chuckled. "Don't 'Mister Kim' me," Hongjoong huffed as he stood up, buttoning up his expensive-looking shirt flusteredly. "Yeosang.. I'm sorry you had to uh... witness that," Hongjoong sighed. "O-Oh no!" Yeosang squeaked "it's o-okay! I wasn't expecting it is all..."

The smile that was brought to Hongjoong's face after Yeosang spoke was breathtaking. "So you enjoyed it?" he asked teasingly, which caused Yeosang to whine quietly. "Sir, don't tease the poor boy," the taller man.. Seonghwa said with a smile. His smile was pretty too. And his eyes sparkled prettily. Yeosang found himself lost in them quickly. Hongjoong laughed gently, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, which brought Yeosang back to reality. "Alright, alright. You're here for my portrait, yes? Well, my father wanted the background to be of the manor but... I think the nearby flower field would be the perfect place for a portrait... wouldn't you agree Yeosang?" The male's pretty eyes had turned to glance at Yeosang again, and the painter didn't know how to respond without stuttering, so he gave a slow nod instead. Hongjoong smiled again, and oh wow was that smile gorgeous. "Come along then, we should get started soon so you have time to work,"

Yeosang's eyes sparkled as he looked around. This was the flower field, filled with so many different wild flowers. He couldn't stop looking at the scenery, luscious green grass with colourful buds of life scattered around.

He didn't realise, however, that Hongjoong stood beside him with the most endearing of smiles on his face, gazing at Yeosang's awestruck nature. He couldn't believe that yet another beautiful man, among the other six he admired, was before him. Yeosang's features looked perfect to him, like a statue. A wonderful piece of art. Hongjoong almost felt as though he should be the one painting Yeosang. Granted, he wasn't the most talented artist. So perhaps it was better off the other way around.

Yeosang had gotten acquainted with Seonghwa briefly, and had learnt that Seonghwa was Hongjoong's personal assistant, which didn't seem necessary to him and also caused him to wonder how rich the Mayor could possibly be. He didn't complain really though, because he couldn't deny that the man was incredibly attractive. He also had already developed a habit of making Yeosang incredibly flustered.

Hongjoong had brought a stool out with him, bless his little soul, not for himself, but for Yeosang to be seated on. Hongjoong had the idea of being seated in the tall grass on a small hill that housed an old oak tree. "Are you sure you're okay with this? We can always return to the manor if you don't think you'd be able to-" Yeosang shook his head and smiled, cutting the elder male off "t-that won't be necessary, sir, I'm confident I can capture the beauty of both you and the scenery," he said, confidence in his voice but shyness evident in his body language. His firm confirmation made Hongjoong smile widely, his eyes becoming little crescents as he did so. "Well, alright, as long as you're okay with it,"

Within the next ten minutes, Yeosang had his easel and canvas ready and Hongjoong had sat down, rather gracefully may Yeosang add, in the grass. It was perfect, the way that the grass didn't cover his body entirely but almost encased him. The oak tree was close by, casting over some shade that met with the afternoon sun's bright shining light in an almost seamless way. Seonghwa stood at Yeosang's side, not too close yet not too far; it was far enough to give Yeosang space.

Quietly, the painter took his paintbrush and stared at Hongjoong for a while, measuring the male up with his surroundings. His left eye had fluttered closed so he could perfectly measure the scale of the scenery. From Hongjoong's perspective, it did give the impression of a wink and the thought of that alone made Hongjoong's cheeks bloom in a soft red. The painter had noticed the rosy hue, but he didn't speak, he only thought how beautiful the rosiness made Hongjoong look. Was this man always this attractive? His smile was beautiful, his flusteredness was cute and his personality was refreshing from the chatting that they had done whilst Yeosang was preparing. "I need you to hold that pose... y-you can, right?" Yeosang asked with a small tilt of his head.

There was a part of him that scolded the way his heart swelled when Hongjoong sent him a small nod and a wink. He couldn't fall in love with a man... it.. it wasn't right, was it? Even the way Seonghwa looked at him made his heart ache, and when he saw them kissing..

Then his mind went to Mingi, to Wooyoung too and he thought about how much worse it would be if he fell for the men in this town. Now that would cause all sorts of problems. He sighed very softly, which caused Hongjoong to give him a concerned gaze "are you okay, Yeosang?" he asked politely. "Y-Yes! I'm alright! Just,, thinking," he stammered with a little smile.

He felt his face heat up at Hongjoong's reassurance that he could talk to him if he needed too ("I know as the Mayor's son, I seem big and bad but I'm not, I promise!") and he lightly cursed under his breath because he was falling in love, wasn't he? Or at the very least in deep like, if that was even a thing. His head stayed busy with thoughts as his paintbrush glided across the canvas.

It was Saturday morning, and Yeosang was up early and panicking. Usually, he wouldn't wake up this early just to panic, but today was important. Yesterday, Hongjoong had offered for Yeosang to join him and Seonghwa for a small picnic beside the flower field's river, to take a break from the painting that the younger had been doing. He had also mentioned that he invited a few more guests along which made Yeosang even more petrified because he barely knew anybody in the little town. He knew Mingi, he knew Wooyoung and he had briefly met Jongho on his first day. He had also met the town's apothecary-in-training Yunho when he had cut himself when returning home on Thursday evening.

'Yeosang held the wound on his arm firmly, hissing a little bit at the pain. He had cut himself on his easel when he was packing it away, but didn't want to worry Hongjoong or Seonghwa so he covered it up. He was still thinking about Hongjoong... those sweet smiles and those soft words of reassurance. So much so, that he walked straight into a tall man. "A-Ah! I'm so sorry!!" Yeosang quickly apologized and gazed up at the tall man. He had round, golden-rimmed glasses sitting on his nose and he wore the cutest of smiles. "Aha, no, no. I should be sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm Jeong Yunho, by the way," the tall man said bashfully as he helped Yeosang back up to his feet. Yunho took a good look at Yeosang's arm and gasped "oh gosh.. look at that, you're hurt. Come this way, I'm an apothecary! I can bandage it up for you!" Yunho chirped.'

Yeosang smiled fondly at the memory and stared at his bandaged arm. He then shook his head as his mind flickered back to the matter at hand, he had to get ready! Well, now that he glanced at the clock.. he would end up being two hours early if he changed and left now. Yeosang bit his thumb nail softly, so he didn't damage it, and ultimately decided that he was going to have a long shower to make sure he didn't smell bad.

He came out of the shower about thirty minutes later looking all wrinkled and pruney. He sighed, looking down at his hands "well at least I smell good," he hummed as he stepped out of the petite bathroom. He prepared his clothes prior to getting in the shower, so he was already well prepared. A soft shirt with a jacket, tweed trousers, his favorite boots and a beret. Staring into the mirror, he watched as his reflection stared back, copying his motion of flattening down the crinkles in his shirt. He wasn't trying to "doll up" or whatever the expression was, but he certainly wanted to look good. He wasn't sure whether Hongjoong had invited him as a date or just as a friendly outing.

Wait... who was he kidding? He shouldn't- he couldn't- be with a man, could he? Seonghwa and Hongjoong seemed to do it just fine, but Yeosang was unsure as to whether they were an item or just "friends-who-kiss" and he was meaning to ask but he didn't know how to go about it.

All of the worrying he was doing caused him to nearly be late, when he stared at the clock and gasped, he couldn't have tried to rush out of his house sooner. When he got to his front door though, he was surprised to see Yunho standing there "o-oh! Hyung!" Yeosang said in surprise. "Y-You startled me.." Yunho smiled nervously, his ears turning pink. "Ah.. I'm sorry, Yeosang, I came by to check that your arm was okay,," he admitted and Yeosang stared at him for a moment or two. What a sweetheart, he thought. "And I also came by to ask if you wanted to accompany me to the flower fields? I heard that Hongjoong invited you too," Yeosang smiled at Yunho, all too enraptured by his beauty. When he processed what the other had said he squeaked. "Huh..? Wait, wait- he invited you too? Do you know of the people he invited?" Yeosang asked him nervously and Yunho chuckled, nodding slowly. "I'm sure you know a few of them, Wooyoung... Mingi.. Jongho too?" The tall medic inquired in an amused tone, tilting his head.

Yeosang's jaw hung open for a few moments "I had no idea," he mumbled. "Well, we've been doing it for a couple of weeks now, we'd go and have a picnic by the river and Hongjoong-ah wanted to invite you, so he did and here I am to accompany you on the way up there," Yunho concluded and smiled. "C'mon, if we're quick there will still be some food left for us," he giggled and tugged on Yeosang's uninjured arm, leading the painter away.

When Yunho and Yeosang arrived by the river, the small painter's eyes widened comically. Yunho hadn't lied to him. Wooyoung was sat on the pretty little picnic blanket and was talking to a male at his side, Jongho and Mingi were chatting and Seonghwa and Hongjoong sat on the grass, hand-in-hand. He noticed that a straw hat was perched on Hongjoong's head. He was just so... cute. Hongjoong turned to smile at Yeosang widely. "Ah! Yeosang, you're here! I hope you don't mind the extra company," Hongjoong giggled sheepishly.

"Nice to see you too, hyung," Yunho joked playfully and the elder male gasped "oh! Is that Yunnie? I didn't see you there before~" he teased. Yunho snorted softly and took a seat on the blanket. "Oh! Oh!! Yeosang! Sit down!! You need to try the macarons I made!" Wooyoung squealed excitedly.

Yeosang's smile was wide, this was one of the sweetest get-togethers he had been a part of. All of the boys looked pretty, he learned that the boy with black and white hair was called San. It was a very... pleasant afternoon of them just enjoying eachother's company. But Yeosang couldn't help but notice small things like the way that Hongjoong and Seonghwa held hands, or the way that Mingi rubbed San's lower back or even the way that Jongho's hand rested on Yunho's knee for just a little bit too long. He saw it all, and he was sure the others knew he saw it as well.

He munched the sandwich Wooyoung had given him quietly, before he couldn't stop himself from speaking anymore. "W-What is going on here exactly? Are you.. together? Just friends? Because you're all acting... odd.. like you're all in a relationship but, that can't be right, can it? Men aren't supposed to date other men," Yeosang started, words flowing out of his mouth before he could register what they were, and he swallowed thickly. He did not mean to word it like that. Everybody was dead silent at that point, and all eyes were on Yeosang. Some glaring, some disappointed, but all of them were somewhat cold. That made him feel small, that made him feel fragile.

He didn't know what to say now.

#ateez #ot8 #kang yeosang #kim hongjoong #park seonghwa #choi san #choi jongho #song mingi #jung wooyoung #jeong yunho #painter yeosang au #:>

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