Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Most of the time, when liquid was dumped over Hyunjin’s head, it was typically all in good fun. To, say, sober him up or wash remnants of bad decisions away.

Tonight was no different, and the cup of beer poured over his head was done in a fun-loving way that had Hyunjin’s hair drenched, clinging to his face and splashing his shoulders, making the muscular joints glisten under the strobing lights.

Hyunjin shook his head to get the excess beer out of his hair and laughed as he sprayed the surrounding people, shoving the random guy behind him who had been the launcher of the beer. The guy went teetering backwards, but he was laughing as he clumsily stumbled off, just managing to keep himself upright in his drunken state.

Hyunjin’s hand came up and pushed his wine red hair off his forehead before blowing a hard line of smoke from his lungs, his cigarette hanging from his lips and miraculously remaining untouched by the previous beer attack.

“Fuck this,” he swore, his voice slurring slightly, before picking up a ping pong ball and bouncing it off the table before him, landing the orange thing in the last remaining red cup at the end.

The group of people he barely knew around him went into an uproar of cheers as the cup was passed over to him, he took out his cigarette and tipped his head back to down the entire thing in one go. The taste wasn’t pleasant, but it went down without a problem, just like the others he had lost count of. Some of it spilled over the edges of his mouth and down the front of the muscle tee he was wearing, but no matter. It all comes out in the wash anyway.

The bass of the music thudded through the entire house, the abandoned cups surrounding the massive speakers - some guys from a neighbouring frat had brought them - shaking with the volume and boosted bass of some mind-numbing song no one knew but everyone liked.

“Hyunjin!” a familiar voice yelled over the screaming and music, making Hyunjin straighten up and look around like some kind of hammered meerkat.

His sights eventually landed on the blond tufts of Chan’s hair, the platinum stands reflecting the flashing lights around them as the older beckoned him forwards.

“Excuse et moi,” Hyunjin said in depressing French to the people around him, patting a few shoulders as he pushed through the throng of people to get to Chan, his cigarette back in his mouth. When he finally reached the blond, he found he was already being glared at.

“ What? ” Hyunjin demanded, looking down and over himself as if trying to figure out what Chan was disapproving of this time.

“You reek,” Chan commented, arms crossed.

“Well, beer was just dumped over my head,” Hyunjin defended. “Not a choice.”

Chan raised an eyebrow with a sigh before steering the taller over to the couch where a few others sat, squashed together.

One of their hands reached out - Hyunjin didn’t quite catch who’s - and grabbed him around the wrist, pulling him down to sit in the middle of the couch, the worst place to sit, in Hyunjin’s humble opinion. It was where the two cushions met, and it always resulted in one or both halves of your ass sliding down and hitting the hard frame of the couch.

“You’re sticky,” Seungmin commented when Hyunjin sat down beside him.

“I’m aware,” Hyunjin responded, taking an inhale of his cigarette.

“You’re gonna die at 30 if you keep smoking these things,” Chan said, reaching over and plucking the cigarette from between Hyunjin’s lips and dropping it to the floor, stomping it out.

“Gee, thanks,” Hyunjin grumbled, watching forlornly at the smouldering ashes of what could have once been. “That was mine, but do whatever.”

“Stop sulking and pay attention to us,” Changbin sighed, draping his arm over Hyunjin’s shoulders before quickly changing his mind and taking it back. “Wow, you are sticky.”

“I did mention it,” Seungmin said to the silvery-blue haired man.

“Chan, pass me that,” Hyunjin said dramatically, gesturing to a random cup sitting on the couch armrest.

“That’s so gross,” Chan groaned, but passed it over to Hyunjinn, who gave it a smell to make sure it wasn’t poison before knocking it back in one go.

“God, that tastes like someone pissed in it,” Hyunjin groaned, throwing the cup away, only for it to be crushed by the horde’s feet.

Changbin giggled like a creaking door beside him, almost spilling his own drink. “Oh, God, I just remembered I have an assignment due tomorrow morning.”

“Then go do it?” Chan said, taking a mouthful of his drink.

“Nah,” Changbin said, sliding down his seat, still giggling.

“You’re gonna fail that class, you know,” Hyunjin laughed.

“And I shall do so with flying colours,” Changbin responded, when had Hyunjin laughing so hard his eyes started watering.

It wasn’t even that funny.

It was probably just the alcohol talking.

“How’s that guy, by the way?” Seungmin asked once Changbin and Hyunjin had stopped giggling like mad men.

Hyunjin blinked watery eyes at him. “Who?”

“That guy you saw the other night, god, what was his name?” Seungmin said, scratching his dark hair as he closed one eye in an attempt to recall. “Juwon, was it?”

Hyunjin snorted, rolling his eyes. “That guy? I’d rather not talk about him.”

“What, was he bad?” Chan asked.

Hyunjin leaned into Changbin’s side, giggling. “Like you wouldn’t believe .”

“Oh god,” Changbin sighed. “What did he do?”

“When he moaned,” Hyunjin said, trying to keep his face straight. “He sounded like a squeaky toy,” Hyunjin’s voice heaved off into heavy breaths of laughter just after he finished talking. “An- and he tried so hard but it was just so bad .”

“Brutal,” Chan hummed, grunting under his breath when someone bumped into him.

“Have you ever had a good hook up?” Seungmin asked.

Hyunjin shrugged. “There has been the occasional diamond in the rough.”

“So why don’t you just stick around with them?”

“Because he’s scared of feelings,” a voice said from the left, and Hyunjin looked up only to grimace.

“Oh, fuck off, Minjun,” Hyunjin huffed, tipping his head back and hitting it against the couch backrest.

“No harm, no harm,” Minjun snickered. “We’re all brothers, let’s act like it.”

“We don’t care if you’re a frat brother, we don’t like you,” Changbin said.

“Cold,” Seungmin nodded. “But true.”

“Charming as always, you four,” Hakkun sighed from beside Minjun. “Hyunjin, I’m surprised you’ve made it this long.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Hyunjin demanded, glaring up at the shorter of the two boys harassing them.

“It means you’d usually be getting laid by now,” Minjun shrugged, pushing back his dyed orange hair.

“Wow, means a lot to hear you say that,” Hyunjin grumbled, reaching over and taking Seungmin’s drink for himself.

“Rude,” Seungmin mumbled.

“But I’m being social in other ways.” Hyunjin smiled tightly. “And unfortunately I don’t care if you dislike the fact I get laid.”

“Maybe they’re jealous,” Changbin snickered, the pastel-blue haired man chuckling at his own joke.

“I’m not jealous of commitment issues,” Minjun said, crossing his arms.

Hyunjin tipped back his head and finished Seungmin’s drink. “You can fuck off now.”

“Hey, man, we’re just trying to bond with some fellow frat brothers, no harm done,” Hakkun said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “You sure are a jackass when you’re drunk, though.”

“No, I’m usually very nice,” Hyunjin snapped at him. “I just don’t like you .”

Minjun dipped his head as the two began backing off. “At least you’ve got a pretty face,” he commented under his breath.

“‘Bout all he’s got, the dumb asshole,” Hakkun mumbled, which made Chan stand up abruptly.

Hyunjin felt like everything in him deflated. He didn’t let it physically show on his face, but a nerve was just struck.

“Alright, that’s enough. Beat it, cunts,” Chan snapped at the two, which effectively got them to scamper off into the writhing crowd.

“Ouch, Chan out here with the bite ,” Changbin commented.

“Those guys are assholes,” Chan sighed as he sat back down, lacing his fingers together. “Someone needs to put them in their place every once in a while.”

Hyunjin abruptly stood up. “I reckon I’m gonna turn in for the night.”

“So soon?” Seungmin asked, glancing down to check the face of his watch. “It’s barely 1:30.”

“Yeah, I’m tired,” Hyunjin said, feigning a yawn.

“Well, goodnight then,” Chan said with a nod, waving Hyunjin off.

Hyunjin nodded to them before shoving through the sweaty, dancing bodies of drunk young adults, the flashing lights and booming bass suddenly giving him a headache.

“Hey, Hyunjin. You okay?” a voice asked, but Hyunjin just shoved past whoever it was. It only registered that it was Minho when he saw the curling ends of purple hair he shoved past, but by then it was too late.

He would apologise tomorrow.

He climbed the stairs two and three at a time, kicking away abandoned red cups and shoving past making out couples as he climbed them.

When he opened the door to his room, he growled under his breath to find a girl in a red dress and a guy laying on his bed, grinding against each other and making breathy moaning sounds.

Pathetic, clothes aren’t even off, Hyunjin thought to himself before he cleared his throat abruptly.

“Get the fuck out,” Hyunjin snapped, stepping to the side so the doorway was free.

The two looked up at him in shock before practically tripping over each other to scramble out of the room. Hyunjin slammed the door with gusto behind them, the blue tac holding the bottom of his Chicago Bulls poster becoming unstuck in the process and making the poster flutter up before slowly sinking back to touch the door again.

The music was slightly quieter now, muffled by the walls and his door, which he locked.

Hyunjin pulled a cigarette from the open pack on his dresser and flicked open his lighter, lighting the end of the cigarette as he moved out to the balcony. Chan didn’t like it when people smoked upstairs because it stank out every room on that side of the house, so one of the first rules he had decided on when he became the fraternity president was if you want to smoke in your room, do it on the balcony.

So Hyunjin pocketed his lighter and stepped out onto his balcony, shutting the glass doors behind him.

He took a deep inhale of the fresh cigarette and let the smoke out with a deep sigh, the smoke trailing up and away in the slight night breeze, mixing with the music behind him and the stars twinkling above.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Minho resisted from smacking his forehead down on his computer keyboard. His lights were off and the small lamp on his desk was the only thing lighting his bad posture and misery.

It wasn’t like these photos were bad , per se, but they just weren’t right . 

The bass of the music was booming behind his bedroom door and god, he wanted to go join the party, but he couldn’t until this stupid editing was done.

He stared at the tree and bench that sat on his laptop screen. He flicked to the next one which was just a tree. The next was a pond, the next a field.

He groaned.

Boring, boring, boring, boring. It was all boring .

There wasn’t a single photo he had taken for this assignment that really spoke to him. It was all sameish and it felt like watching paint dry as he edited colours and sharpened tiny blurs. 

He pushed his hair back. It had been getting too long lately, it was starting to brush the tops of his shoulders and hang low into his eyes. He needed to cut the purple mop soon, or that would be just one other thing that annoyed him on a day to day basis.

He would get around to it. Maybe he would get Chan to cut it for him.

Minho jumped when the door to his room swung open aggressively and in staggered a girl in a red dress and guy right behind her, basically devouring her face.

Minho shook his head before speaking up. “Nope, not in here! Get out!”

The two looked a little shocked to see Minho there, but quickly apologised and hurried out, shutting the door behind him.

“Fucking idiots,” Minho muttered under his breath as he turned back to his laptop. He really needed to start locking his doors when parties were going on.

He needed a drink so bad.

Minho sighed, leaning back in his chair as his stupid mouse started to lag. He managed to get it up to the top for the drop down, and found his laptop was about to die. He panicked for a moment before he pulled the white charger over, effectively knocking over a pot of pens and pushing some sticky notes off his desk, and plugged in his laptop.

He took this as a sign it was time to stop. The photos were looking fine anyway, no amount of editing could ever make them interesting, so Minho just shut his laptop.

He stood up with a groan and cracked his back with a yawn. He had been sitting for too long.

Tucking his chair in, Minho rolled his neck before starting towards the door. He opened it to face the thumping base of the music, and he could see the writhing body of people below from his door, but his feet stopped just before stepping over the threshold.

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself, stepping back inside and shutting the door.

He hurried back over to this desk and picked up the pens and sticky notes that had been rather unceremoniously dumped off the desktop. He stood the pencil pot back up in its spot before flipping all the pens in his hand up the right way, then placed them back in their pot. He realigned the sticky notes, including the ones that had been nudged but not toppled to the floor, and stood up to check it from above. He nodded at the rainbow line of pink, orange, yellow, green and finally blue sticky notes, quickly adjusting the blue one. He used his knee to push in his chair, straightened out his laptop and readjusted the lamp. He quickly smoothed the charger cable out before giving the desk another once over. He nodded in satisfaction before clicking off his lamp and making his way back to the door.

He slipped through, sure to lock it as he went, and took a deep breath of the hair that smelt of beer and sweat. Home, sweet home.

He wandered down the stairs, greeting people as he went. He felt much better now, knowing there wasn’t a mess in his room.

It wasn’t like he needed everything to be neat and tidy and perfectly lined up, he just preferred to have his things organised. And being tidy meant there was no jobs to get back to in his room when he finally had enough of the party. 

Then in the morning, he would join Chan in making the house spotless and clean, try to force Changbin to help, berate Seungmin for just sitting there and not helping, and remind Hyunjin that no, being hungover is not an excuse to be lazy. He was usually hung over himself when he cleaned the house, but that was always just a motivator to get it done sooner. When you’re done, you get panadol. That was his mantra.

Minho made it to the bottom of the stairs and looked around over the sea of bodies in an attempt to find his friends. He finally managed to locate them, sitting on their couch. He winced at the dark stain he could already see forming, but made his way over. He spotted Hyunjin walking towards him and raised a hand to greet him. “Hey, Hyunjin.” He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw the sour expression on Hyunjin’s face. “You okay?”

Hyunjin just shoved past him, making Minho turn and watch him storm up the stairs, and Minho just shrugged.

He was probably drunk.

Which was exactly what Minho needed to be. He picked up the closest drink and knocked it back.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

The vibrating on Minho’s wrist awoke him in a way that was both kind and gentle and cruel and aggressive.

He groaned slightly as he forced his eyes open and closed his mouth, the dryness uncomfortable. The sun was barely up outside, just a few odd smatterings of purple and pink to signify the sunrise and Minho turned off his 5:30 am alarm.

He swung himself to sit up and rubbed his eyes with a groan. He sat there for a moment, letting his hair stay a mess as his feet hit the messy ground. His hands found the edge of the couch where he must have passed out and he blinked, looking around at the state of the living room. There were red cups strewn all about the floor, remnants of food and crumbs and spilled drinks were all over the floorboards and carpet, and there were items of clothes in odd places.

Minho had a headache, but forced himself to stand up, running a hand through his hair to straighten it out a little. He scanned the faces of the people around him. There weren’t too many, and most of them were his frat brothers. To those who weren’t, he gently nudged them until they stirred and he, for lack of a better term, kicked them out despite protests. He also managed to herd the other guys back to their rooms, where they passed back out.

Once the stragglers were gone and the house was ready to be cleaned, Minho climbed the stairs, grimacing at the state of the carpet, before knocking on Chan’s door. “Chan?” he whispered.

“Come in.”

Minho pushed the door open to find Chan already up and getting dressed. 

“Morning.”

“How bad is it?” Chan asked, picking up a shirt and tugging it over his head.

Minho shrugged. “Not as bad as it has been. There were about five people left, and I got them out and most of the brothers back to their rooms.”

“Alright, thanks. Let’s go get this done with, then,” Chan said, following Minho out of his room. 

For the next hour, Chan and Minho used the silence and quiet of dawn to clean. Vinegar mixtures were poured on drink stains on the carpet and couch, crumbs were swept up, sills were mopped up, cups were collected, and clothes were picked up and folded for when people eventually came back to pick them up.

“I don’t understand how people can be so messy,” Chan muttered as he picked up a stomped sandwich and put it in his rubbish bag.

“They just don’t care that we have to clean it later,” Minho responded as he vacuumed up the remaining crumbs.

“Why do we still throw these things?” Chan asked.

“They’re fun,” Minho answered, making Chan nod.

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Dude, vacuums at 6 in the morning?” a voice from the stairs asked groggily.

“Put a pillow over your head,” Minho suggested.

Seungmin waved a hand. “I need some medicine.”

“It’s in your webster pack,” Minho said.

Seungmin rolled his eyes as he walked over to the kitchen, finding his webster stuck to the wall. “I still don’t believe you made us all webster packs and put them in alphabetical order.”

“Do you want the medicine or not?”

Seungmin didn’t respond as Minho continued to vacuum the carpet.

Gradually, people started trickling down the stairs, most from the frat, some not. They migrated to the kitchen and took panadol from their websters, having some form of breakfast and flopping down in the living room. A few, like Yunho and Niki, their youngest, did their parts in helping Chan and Minho straighten out the house.

“Alright, we’re gonna have to love you and leave you,” Chan sighed, patting Niki’s hair as he passed him once the house was as clean as they were going to get it.

“Where are you going?” Changbin asked from where he sat with a bowl of cereal on the couch.

“Basketball,” Minho said, following Chan towards the stairs. “Finish cleaning up, would you? Take out the rubbish.”

Changbin mumbled some form of response before they were completely out of earshot, but Minho didn’t bother trying to hear what he said.

“Will you-” Chan began as they reached the landing and Minho waved his hand.

“Already on it,” he said, trying to shove open Hyunjin’s door.

All the doors looked the same, thick wooden things painted an off white, but they had been granted permission to have name tags on them so things wouldn’t be mixed up.

Minho grunted when he found the door was locked. “Chan, key.”

Chan was already throwing the necklace with the master key to the house at him as he entered his own room.

Sliding in the key and twisting, Minho opened Hyunjin’s door to find it depressingly dark inside. He marched across the room and yanked Hyunjin’s curtains open. “Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!”

Hyunjin made an awkward squawk from his bed before the telltale thud of the tall boy falling out of his bed sounded. “So cruel,” he said feebly from the floor.

“Yep, that’s me, get up,” Minho said, pulling open Hyunjin’s drawers. “God, is it impossible for you to organise your clothes into separate drawers?”

“I can dress myself, you know,” Hyunjin groaned as he sat up, a tangle of sheets.

“Yeah, well, we need to be out the door in the next 10 minutes and you’re clearly hung over, which Coach will not appreciate, so I’m trying to help,” Minho responded, throwing Hyunjin’s training uniform in his bag that had his shoes, water bottle and joint tape for emergencies. “Get up.”

Hyunjin nodded, waving a hand as he stood up, catching the shirt Minho threw at him and quickly changing it.

“Alright, let’s go,” Minho said, throwing the bag in Hyunjin’s direction and walking out the door in time to catch his own bag that Chan dropped into his hand.

The three thundered down the stairs, waving to the others as they slipped on their slides and left for the gym.

Hyunjin rubbed his eyes with a yawn as the three walked through the large campus.

“Did you even wash the beer out of your hair last night?” Chan asked as they walked the long path that stretched away from the line of frat houses and into the grounds. Grass stayed neatly trimmed and tall trees had scattered the area longer than the buildings had been standing. The path widened the further they got to accommodate the usual flow of students, though it was barely a trickle at this time of day.

Hyunjin shrugged with a sniff. “Nah. I’ll shower after practice.”

Chan grumbled something that sounded like a protest but didn’t say anything.

The trio finally made it past the massive, almost gothic looking structures of the library and main halls, through a few hallways, and out towards the giant gym. Silverbridge University’s athletics complex consisted of the gym, the track that surrounded a massive oval used for outdoor sports like cricket and soccer, and the aquatic centre equipped with an olympic sized swimming pool and diving boards. 

As Minho shouldered open the glass door to the gymnasium, the smell of rubber hit them. They hurried forward past the massive trophy display cases and through another set of swinging doors onto the actual court. The gymnasium had two courts that could be spaces for basketball, volleyball or netball with bleachers that folded out to cover one of those courts and create a mini arena. Down the far end of the gym were two doors, one leading to change rooms and the other leading to a new, large extension room of weights and fitness equipment open to anyone to use.

The smacking sound of basketballs hitting the polished wooden floors entered their ears as they saw three others on their team already warming up.

“ You three go get changed and start warming up! ” A voice boomed from the side of the room. 

“Yes, Coach!” the three called back, hurrying towards the change rooms.

“ RUN! ” he bellowed, and the three quickly bolted.

They changed quickly and got on their shoes before running towards the built in shed to grab a ball each.

Coach Bongwa stood at the side lines, watching the six warm up. He was an older guy with greying hair and a stern expression, though it could melt into comforting expressions when he needed them.

“What were you three doing last night?” the tall blond asked.

“We had a party,” Minho explained, dribbling his ball a few times.

“No wonder you look like shit,” he snickered, landing a basket.

“Johnny,” Taemin said, his voice sounding a little like a warning.

“Sorry.”

“You’d better just get your shit together or Coach’ll beat your asses,” the black-haired man said as he sank a lay-up.

“Great, extra suicide runs,” Hyunjin said sarcastically. “Thanks for the encouragement, Bam.”

Bambam shrugged. “Just saying, be prepared.”

“Well, Hoshi and Jaehyun aren’t here yet, so hopefully they’ll get the shit for being late,” Minho said, taking a step back behind the three point line before shooting his ball. He tutted when the ball hit the ring and bounced in.

“Why do you have to beat yourself up about that, Min,” Bambam asked, catching the rebound for him before throwing it back to him.

Minho made a face as he caught it and shuffled back into position. “It hit the rim.”

“Oh, good heavens, you’ll be kicked from the team,” Johnny said sarcastically.

“Everyone needs a warm up shot, give me a minute,” Minho snapped at him, realigning his shot.

“Such a perfectionist,” Taemin sighed, shaking his head.

Minho rolled his eyes and threw the ball at the hoop again. This time, the ball swished through the ring, barely even touching the net. “And buckets,” Minho said, shuffling his hands together as if brushing off dust.

The doors slammed open as Hoshi and Jaehyun burst through them, already in their training gear and sweating like they had run there.

“You two!” Bongwa yelled, pointing at them. “You’re late!”

“Sorry, Coach,” Hoshi huffed, dropping his bag down by the sidelines. 

“And you wore your shoes outside?! ” Bongwa hollered.

The other six on the court winced when they looked down and found that yes, Hoshi and Jaehyun had indeed worn their court shoes to training.

Minho rubbed his eyes, knowing what this would mean.

“Alright!” Bongwa yelled, blowing his whistle. “Ten suicides, the lot of you! Go!”

“Oh, fuck me dead,” Chan groaned in English, his Australian accent thick and frustrated.

“Come on, ladies!” Bongwa roared. “Let’s. Get. Going!”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Unlike basketball trainings, basketball games were a school-wide event. Every other person on campus would try to pack into the gym during home games, and those who didn’t get seats would watch the game live through the university’s website.

The entire school and beyond knew about the reputation of Silverbridge University’s basketball team, the Silverback Gators, who held two Championship titles over the past three years. 

Not only were the games fast paced and exciting, the crowd egged on by the talented cheer squad, and not only could they get violently competitive, but the basketball team housed the schools closest thing to a bag of eye-candy it would ever get. The line up consisted of players who were renowned for individual talents that made them popular amongst the crowd for various reasons. 

Number 03, Bang Chan; as the host of most fraternity parties, Chan was automatically popular, not to mention he was Australian and had an accent to his Korean that had people screaming.

Number 11, Kwon Hoshi; he was the oldest member of the team and was known to speak three languages, making him pretty popular with the ladies on campus.

Number 25, Lee Minho; he could sink flawless 3-pointers from over a metre behind the three-point line.

Number 37, Jeong Jaehyun; being born on Valentine’s Day was enough to accidentally convince people he was terribly romantic.

Number 42, Bambam; similar to Chan, he was from Thailand, which gave him an air of exotic mystery about him, regardless of the fact there wasn’t any.

Number 69, Suh Johnny; wildly inappropriate, relatively obvious by his jersey number, which made him a favourite through his humour.

Number 79, Lee Taemin; the maknae of the basketball team bought him fans almost the second he stepped onto the court.

And of course, number 04, Hwang Hyunjin, an all-time crowd favourite and Team Captain.

Hyunjin had been sure never to drink before basketball games. He was their MVP and proud of it, so he was always sure to stay in his best shape before a game.

A flawless lay-up with an assist from Chan had the crowd going up in cheers, the cheer squad at the end of the court shaking their pom-poms wildly.

The score was currently 24-88, so the Silverback Gators were mostly just having fun at this point. Trying out new shots and strategies, showing off a little.

Well, a ‘little’ was probably an understatement. Hyunjin had been more absorbed with flirting with the crowd than the actual game, which he had convinced himself early in the second quarter that he could play with his eyes closed. But who could blame him? The crowd loved it, and putting on the charm that made him so popular was easy to do. 

So why not do it? Why not have a little fun? And who knew? Maybe he would get laid after this.

Hyunjin scoffed to himself as he jumped to intercept a sad excuse of a pass and drove back to the basket, scoring a reverse lay-up with practiced east.

Of course he was getting laid.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“If your face says one more word,” Jisung threated as he swung open his dorm room door, “I will chop off your tongue.”

“Hey,” Jeongin responded, hands up in mock surrender, huffing his middle-parted black hair out of his eyes. “I never said it was your fault Jihoon missed the lift, but I’m just saying that you need to watch your feet! You almost killed me! Like a little bug!” He demonstrated by stamping his foot on the floor. “Skwoosh!”

Jisung scoffed, setting his bag down on his bed as he started packing his small backpack. “Okay, sure. But maybe it was your fault that you were in my way.”

Jeongin flopped back against his bed with a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me again .”

“It’s not like I don’t want to spend a riveting night watching anime with you,” Jisung sighed as he slung his bag over his shoulder, already prepared to leave again, “but Naruto doesn’t pay the bills. Work does.”

Jeongin sighed again, dramatically pulling his laptop over to him. “Fine! Go earn money or whatever, I don’t care. I’ll just keep watching One Piece all by my lonesome.”

“You’ll never catch up to me, you know,” Jisung said, picking up his keys and stuffing them in his denim jacket’s pocket.

“Fuck you!” Jeongin called after him as Jisung closed the door behind him.

He sighed slightly as he clomped down the hallway, his black lace-up boots making more noise than he probably would have liked.

It didn’t take him long to get downstairs and off campus, hail a bus, and be on his merry way.

The bus-ride took a solid 20 minutes, so Jisung plugged in his headphones under his fluffy brown hair that had started to tickle the base of his neck.

He watched the city go past outside, the lights casting shadows of pinks and greens and reds and blues as he passed them. He tapped along to the music streaming from his headphones, his latest project. It wasn’t perfect and had a few kinks he still needed to iron out, but it was coming along rather nicely so far. He grimaced at the high notes he was still trying to hit properly and had put in a stand in track for that section. He really needed to fix that.

It wasn’t like he wanted music to be his life, though. Music was a hobby and he was working on a degree in economics just because he would have been kicked out of his family if he had refused to go to university. But he was only going to do that for as long as he needed to. He would make his dreams reality before he actually had to go out into the world and actually do anything with his degree. If he had to do that, he would probably fall over and never move again, because how fucking boring .

It was dark by the time he got off the bus; it always was when he went to work.

He took the side door in, which led backstage and into the dressing rooms, away from the loud music.

He slumped down in his chair before his mirror, putting his bag down. He looked at himself in the mirror for a long while before sighing and pulled off his jacket, careful not to knock any of the pins off, pulling out his change of work clothes. The dressing room had about 5 or 6 other workers in it, either on break or just touching up makeup.

“Hey, Han,” a voice came from behind him just as Jisung pulled his shirt over his head. He turned and flashed a half-smile.

“Hey, Dino,” he greeted, folding up his shirt and toeing off his boots. “Crowded tonight?”

“Nah, not really,” Dino said with a yawn. “A few randos, but it’s a weeknight.”

Jisung nodded as he changed his jeans for tight leather pants and put his boots back on. “Well, as can be expected.”

Dino nodded, sitting down at his vanity to take off his earrings as Jisung started doing up the belt-like collar around his neck. “Yeah, but you should do fine. All the regulars are here, so…”

Jisung hummed, leaning over and taking some dark eyeshadow from Dino’s table. He messily smeared some on, partially because it was for the look, but mostly because he just didn’t care. He did the same with a dark red lipstick, but let the edges smudge a little. He grunted, annoyed, as he moved the chain attached to the collar over his shoulder. He kicked Dino’s chair leg. “Glitter me.”

Dino clambered around his table for a minute before picking up the bottle of spray on glitter and giving Jisung a spray, head to toe, as he spun around.

“Thank you,” Jisung said before tugging on the tiny black waistcoat over his shoulders. “Looking good?”

“Looking good,” Dino nodded. “Go on.”

Jisung waved him goodbye before making himself known to his boss, who gave him the thumbs up.

Jisung wouldn’t necessarily say he was proud of his work, but he wasn’t ashamed of it. He did what he could with the talents he had, and if that meant pole dancing in a gay strip club, then that was what he would do. It didn’t pay brilliantly, and a lot of the time it was men in their mid to late 40s that he performed for, but the exercise was great, he was more flexible than he ever thought he could be, he got to wear fun outfits, and at least he was on stage . That’s what he told himself.

He wanted so badly to be seen. He wanted the world to know who he was. He wanted his face to be all over billboards and magazines and be on the screens in Times Square and the studios of famed photographers.

He wanted to be seen.

But not like this. Not some faceless stripper with some nice abs with glitter on them.

But still he came anyway, still got up on the pole every other evening, still danced for strangers. It got him money, it got him exercise, and he was still, technically, out there.

Or, his ass was.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

The sky was a clear blue hue with only a few clouds dotting it. The trees rustled pleasantly and cast a welcome shade upon the group sitting on the picnic bench below its branches.

“If I were a dinosaur,” Changbin mused, head hung back to stare up at the sky through the leaves of the tree, “I would be a stegosaurus.”

“Why,” Minho asked.

“Because stegosauruses-”

“No, why do you think we care what kind of dinosaur you would be?”

Hyunjin snickered under his breath, puffing out a cloud of smoke. “Brutal.”

“Aren’t you meant to be at a lecture?” Chan asked, poking Hyunjin’s shoulder from where he sat behind him on the actual table top.

Hyunjin shrugged casually, tapping his cigarette to make the burnt away end fall to the ground. “Yeah, but who cares? Art’s impossible to fail.”

“Okay, that’s not exactly true…” Seungmin said behind him, chewing on the end of a strawberry. “Art can actually be pretty tough if you don’t understand the theory side-”

“Seungmin, with all due respect, shut the fuck up,” Hyunjin smiled.

Seungmin ducked his head in a nod. “Yes sir.”

Hyunjin sighed, leaning back against Chan’s legs as Chan picked a leaf out of Hyunjin’s wine-coloured hair. Hyunjin raised his cigarette back to his lips as his dark eyes glanced up to look around the grounds, flooded with a light sprinkling of students.

He suddenly choked on the smoke and coughed violently, leaning forward to try and fix it.

“Good,” Chan said behind him. “Those things kill you.”

“No,” Hyunjin said, smacking Chan’s knee. He nodded forward. “ Look. ”

Not too far away, walking along one of the light beige paths in the direction of the library, was what Hyunjin could only describe as God’s only true gift to this earth.

He was short of stature and petite, ripped baggy jeans hung off his hips, a dark red flannel sat on his arms over a tight black singlet, and he carried a beige tote bag over his shoulder. Honey blond hair fell in layered waves around his face and brushed the tops of his shoulders, and even though he was several metres away, he was stunning.

“Who is he?” Hyunjin demanded. “And why haven’t I seen him before?”

Changbin leaned off his seat to try and see better. “No idea. Never seen him before.”

Seungmin squinted at the guy, tilting his head. “Oh, wait a minute. I think I know who that is.”

Hyunjin smacked Seungmin’s thigh just above the knee. “Tell me.”

“Um, ow,” Seungmin said, but rolled his eyes. “But I’m pretty sure his name’s Felix. He’s doing English Literature, I think, and just moved over here from Australia.”

“Australians all let us rejoice,” Chan sang. “Finally, a fellow island man.”

Hyunjin dropped his cigarette in the dirt and stomped it out, popping a stick of gum in his mouth from his pocket. “Felix, huh?”

“Uh oh,” Changbin snickered, running a hand through his powder blue hair. “Hyunjin’s got his eyes on someone.”

“Shut up,” Hyunjin snapped, though his eyes never left this ‘Felix’ guy walking towards the campus 5 storey library, even as he stood up from the bench. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“And where are you going?” Minho asked, watching as Hyunjin combed a hand through his hair.

“I,” Hyunjin said, “am going to turn on the charm.”

And just like that, Hyunjin was off towards the library, his friends watching him go.

“Poor Felix,” Changbin sighed, large arms crossed.

“You can say that again,” Chan agreed with a nod. “The poor boy doesn’t stand a chance.”

Chapter Text

The Sydney International Airport had that lingering smell airports always did, of stale air that tried to be masked by fried food. There was the smell of fancy perfume stores that had about a million swatches out on display that resulted in the entire shop and the air surrounding it smelling not nice and fresh like perfume was supposed to do, but headache and nose-beed inducing. A few luxury stores like Gucci and Vercace were scattered about, their signs lit up and their security guards wearing expressions that told anyone who wasn’t wearing designer clothes that they were expecting you to steal from them. Several Maccas and Hungry Jack’s were squeezed into small corners and instead of filling the airport with mouth watering aromas of chips and a good Whopper, made the airport make one more nauseous than they usually already felt.

Felix turned and sent one last wave to the group of four that waited on the other side of security. His mum, dad and two sisters waved back.

Then he turned and wandered down the airport towards his terminal. His little suitcase trundled along the shiny floor behind him as he walked.

Felix gave a half-assed attempt at some window shopping with no real intention to buy anything, but most of the security guards gave him looks that made him feel too poor to even glance at the stores, so he quickly moved on.

He passed a Muffin Break as he walked, and shockingly, the air didn’t smell too bad. He checked his watch and shrugged. He had time.

He waited in line for about 10 minutes, taking his time looking over the muffins they had to select, each still clearly in the pan they were baked in. He settled on the triple-choc muffin because it looked the biggest. Felix flinched when he paid $8 for the muffin and let his jaw drop when he walked away and saw that he had been played. The actual body of the muffin in the patty pan easily fit in his fist and had his fingers overlapping; only the top was big. Like a fucking mushroom or some shit.

“Fuck me dead,” Felix muttered to himself. But he had already paid for the stupid muffin, so he just continued walking and ate the fucking thing.

It wasn’t even that good.

It tasted like sawdust, actually. But he was stubborn and refused to waste eight whole fucking dollars, so he choked it down just as he arrived at his terminal.

With another glance at his watch, Felix sat down off to the side, clicked down the handle of his suitcase and pulled out his phone.

Thankfully, the plane started boarding just as Felix wasted his last life on Homescapes because he spent all his fucking turns trying to get that stupid bomb and stupid rainbow ball next to each other and didn’t fucking notice he had used them all and made the same fucking mistake 5 consecutive times.

He handed the dude his boarding pass and all that legal shit before grabbing some headphones from the bin and heading down to get on the plane.

He managed to get a window seat when he booked his flight and he was glad. He hated being bothered when he was on a plane and it was early in the morning, so he would have to deal with entertaining himself for 11 fucking hours until they landed in Seoul at 5:30, which would give him probably enough daylight to get to his dorm at school and not be robbed or something.

His stomach dropped like it always did when the plane finally began jetting down the runway after a safety demonstration he mostly ignored and an almost inaudible ‘thank you for flying with QANTAS’ from the captain. He tried to appreciate his phone’s wifi before he had to turn on aeroplane mode, because he wouldn’t be getting any of that while they flew over the ocean.

So Felix flicked through the plane’s movies before settling on Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course . It looked kind of bad and like he wouldn’t have to pay too much attention, and he liked Steve Irwin, so he just let his mind wander as his eyes watched the screen.

His mind eventually drifted to the pamphlet in his bag with the words ‘Silverbridge University’ along the top and a big photo of the school’s expansive grounds under that.

Sure, Felix could have stayed in Sydney to study English Literature, it would have been both easier and cheaper. But Felix had grown bored with his life where he was. High school had been all well and good, and his gap year had been fine, but he had been bored . He wanted to experience new things, experience the culture of a new place. And hell, he was literally from a Korean background, so why not choose Seoul? And why not choose Seoul’s biggest university to spend the next several years at? He might meet new people, see new things and places.

It excited him.

And on top of that, he had truly worked his ass off to learn Korean once he got the letter back telling him he had been accepted, and now, even though he had an accent when he spoke, he was fluent and could read pretty well.

Of course, he would need a job or he would starve and die, so he had been considering a barista or a tutor in English. Maybe both. Probably both.

Felix sighed and zoned back in to find the movie had somehow involved a crocodile swallowing some top-secret government equipment (or something) and now Steve Irwin and his wife and dog were trying to do… something. 

He had no idea what was going on.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

When the plane touched down, Felix felt like his back was going to stay in its current position forever.

It cracked painfully when he bent down in his seat to get his shoes back on and again when he finally stood up.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered, cracking his neck before picking up his suitcase that had been small enough for overhead storage and began the tiny penguin steps of getting off the plane.

He finally got off and realised that oh shit, he needed to actually get to the university, and this had to be the one thing he didn’t consider organising.

It was official. He was going to die within the first hour of arrival.

Somehow managing to find a bus, Felix got on and used his phone’s map to know when to get off. He watched out the window as the bus pulled out and began trundling along.

Honestly, Seoul wasn’t too different from Sydney. The only real difference was how clean everything seemed to be.

Neon signs flashed as the bus passed, people bustled about, and all the trees on the streets seemed to be very nicely kept.

When the bus finally stopped right outside the gates of Silverbridge University, Felix quickly grabbed his things and climbed off the bus. He was the only one doing so.

Felix quickly pulled the pamphlet containing the map to the school and turned it a couple of times to try and figure out where he was. Once he figured it out, he pulled his suitcase onto the grounds and began his search for the admin building, where he had been instructed to go.

It took him a minute to find it, but when he did, he hurried over, hoping it wasn’t too late in the day for people to still be there. Luckily for him, he was in time for a lady to greet him and check him in. True, he had accidentally answered her first question in English, but after that, there were no problems.

“If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your dorm,” the lady said, and Felix nodded with a thank you, quickly following after her.

“You already have a map, so you should be able to find your way around pretty easily,” she said as he led him out of the admin building and across the campus. “And if you ever get lost, you can always ask someone for directions, everyone here is very kind.”

“I’m sure they are,” Felix said with a smile.

After a bit more walking, the lady led Felix into a large building and up a flight of stairs. She followed a hallway until she came to a door.

“This will be your dorm room,” she said, pushing open the door but not stepping inside. “You’re free to decorate it as you like, but don’t use sticky tape on the walls.”

Felix stepped inside to find what was basically just a bedroom. There was a bed, a dresser, carpet covering the floor, a window on the far wall, and a desk tucked into the corner. Simple enough. Felix could work with this.

“Okay, thank you,” Felix smiled with a nod.

“Just let me know if you need anything,” the lady smiled before she stepped back and walked away, back down the hall.

Felix closed his door and looked around.

“Okay, Lee,” he muttered to himself. “You’ve got this.”

Felix spent the next hour or so doing housekeeping. He upended his suitcase and unpacked his clothes into the dresser before taking his laptop and small, decorative items from his backpack and laying out his desk. He draped a big, soft blanket with grey patterns of large palm leaves on it over his bed, which gave the white sheets a less ‘mental ward’ look, and he placed a few photo frames of his family on the top of his relatively empty dresser.

He sent a quick text home letting them know he had arrived and settled in well and safely before he put away his suitcase and flopped down into his chair at his desk, opening his laptop. He sent off his resume to several different coffee shops around the place before he let himself flop down onto his new bed and let out a long sigh. The bed was comfy enough.

He stretched for a moment before kicking off his shoes.

Classes started tomorrow.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix’s favourite place in the entire university was soon discovered when he first laid eyes on the library.

It was the biggest library he had ever seen and by far the most beautiful. The outside was old and somewhat gothic, with ivy climbing up the sides and big, stained glass windows.

Five storeys up, the library’s shelves were long and tall and had a few tables scattered around.

Felix immediately started spending every spare moment he had in that library.

He would occasionally read a novel for fun, some in Korean, most in English -  he was an English Literature student, after all - but he spent most of his time there studying topics they covered in his English Lit lectures. He found he lost track of time if he found a book discussing the theories and depth behind the classics and would often get kicked out when the library needed to close.

Felix hadn’t made all that many friends so far. He hadn’t gotten an opportunity to. It wasn’t that he was rude or anti-social, but he just found he went from class to class to the library to yet another class. Like he didn’t have time to socialize. It was on his mental to-do list.

Felix stepped out of the lecture hall after just receiving an assignment, and he was glad to find he got to go to the library as a result.

He wandered down the beige paths towards the library and quickly took the steps up and inside.

He went up a couple of levels and found the first shelf he desired.

Felix’s eyes scanned the bookshelves, his brows furrowed slightly. He had made a list of books he needed on the way over, so he was walking up and down the shelves, going between different letters to find them. It was impractical, but he hadn’t thought that far ahead as to alphabetically arrange his list.

Felix had his phone open to reference the titles on his list and had just put the fifth book in his bag when he jumped a little upon hearing a voice a little ways away.

“You’ve been pacing that shelf non stop for the past 10 minutes. Should I be concerned?”

Felix looked up to find a boy standing at the end of the bookshelf, hands in his pockets and ankles casually crossed. His hair was a wine red and was cut shaggily just over his eyes but short in the back, and he wore a tight black singlet tucked into baggy black jeans, his jaw moving like he was chewing gum. And god, his face . He was beautiful .

Felix’s eyes involuntarily gave the guy a once over, head to toe. His mouth twitched up in a slight smile. “Hi.”

“Hey,” the guy said, pushing off the shelf to walk closer. As he got closer, Felix found himself looking up at the guy, the beautiful boy much taller than him, Felix’s eyes at about his shoulder. “So… pacing these shelves for the fun of it?”

Felix huffed out a soft laugh, though he tried to busy himself with looking for the next book on his list. “No, I have a list of books I need.”

“What accent is that?” the guy asked, tilting his head a little.

“Australian,” Felix answered, unconsciously fiddling with the hem of his flannel.

“Hm, I like it,” the tall boy smiled, his face tilting in a half-smile that had Felix gently resting his hand on the shelf to steady himself because that smile was knee-buckling.

Felix ducked his head slightly in a nod, but mostly to hide his blush. “Um, thanks.”

“I’m Hwang Hyunjin,” the boy smiled.

“Lee Felix,” Felix responded, automatically extending his hand.

Hyunjin laughed softly and shook it, do be it a little unpracticed.

Felix’s skin prickled when their skin touched, but he laughed nervously when they let go, shaking his head and looking back at the shelf, though he wasn’t really looking at the books in front of him. “Sorry, I forgot you don’t really do that here.”

Hyunjin shrugged. “Nah, it’s okay. One of my frat brothers is Australian, too.”

“Oh, cool. Is he nice?” Felix asked. His eyes caught on the book that was next on his list and he reached up to grab it. He pursed his lips when he saw how high it was and he lifted on his toes to try and get it. His fingers barely brushed the bottom of the spine.

Hyunjin’s hand suddenly was above his, his arm easily reaching up and pulling the book off the shelf. He held the book up for Felix, looking down at him through his hair. “Yeah, he’s nice.”

Felix swallowed hard and gently took the book from Hyunjin’s hand. “Um, thanks.”

Hyunjin tutted as his eyes looked over Felix’s body, then his face. “You’re too pretty to be doing something as tiring as collecting books.”

Felix’s face went up in flames. His mouth opened to say something, but he was speechless. Eventually he let out a nervous, breathy laugh. “Oh, I don’t know about that.”

“Well, I do,” Hyunjin said, holding out his hands. “Give me the bag and the list and I’ll get the rest of them for you.”

Felix blinked up at him. “Are you… are you sure? I’m okay to do it myself-”

“When you look like a princess, you deserve to be treated like one. Come on,” Hyunjin said, wiggling his fingers for Felix to hand him the bag and phone.

Felix pursed his lips before slowly sliding the bag off his shoulder and passing it, along with his phone, over to Hyunjin. “Okay… um, thank you.”

“Not a problem,” Hyunjin said as he scrolled through the remaining books on the list and went about finding them.

“Well, you’re very kind to help me,” Felix said, playing with one of his nails.

“It’s part of my charm,” Hyunjin smiled, sending a wink Felix’s way, making him blush harder. “So, how long have you been here? Your Korean is very good.”

“Oh, not too long,” Felix answered. “But I’ve been speaking bits and pieces of Korean at home my whole life, and I started learning it properly when I knew I would be moving, so…”

“Well, I hope you’ve settled in okay,” Hyunjin said, sliding another couple of books into the bag.

“I have, thanks,” Felix smiled. “I got a single dorm room.”

Hyunjin nodded. “Talk about luxury living. I live with fourteen 12 year old boys trapped in uni student bodies.”

“What frat are you in?” Felix asked. 

“Kappa Alpha, house 3,” Hyunjin responded, putting another book in Felix’s bag. “You should come by sometime. We throw pretty great parties.”

Felix slowly nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Alright, that’s everything,” Hyunjin said, patting the bag. “Do you need help carrying it out?”

Felix laughed, shaking his head. “Oh, no, thank you. I’m going to stay up here, look through them for a bit.”

Hyunjin hummed. “You’ve got a pretty laugh.”

Felix raised his eyebrows. “Sorry?”

“Oh, well, most of the time, people around here cover their mouths to laugh,” Hyunjin explained. “I’m glad you don’t.”

Felix hadn’t thought he could get any redder, but clearly, he could. “Oh, uh… thank you.”

“Okay, I’ll bring your bag to a table for you,” Hyunjin said, but when Felix opened his mouth to protest, Hyunjin held up a hand. “It’s heavy. I insist.”

Felix slowly nodded. “Alright. Just this table here, though.”

“Your wish is my command,” Hyunjin said, taking a few steps to the round white table Felix had pointed out and placed the bag down. He held up Felix’s phone. “On the condition that you text me.”

Blinking, Felix saw that at some point, Hyunjin must have put in a new contact for himself. And he must have sent a text to himself, too. It read ‘hey handsome’.

As he took his phone back, Felix slowly nodded, looking back up at Hyunjin. “Yeah, okay. Sure.”

Hyunjin grinned and pulled his own phone out, adding the text number to his contacts. He held it up to show Felix the new contact.

Princess 🎀

Felix blushed again . This was getting ridiculous, but Felix was eating it up . 

“It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Felix,” Hyunjin smiled, “but unfortunately, I have a lecture I need to get to.”

“Oh, what are you studying?” Felix asked.

“Visual Arts,” Hyunjin nodded. “And you’re doing… English Literature, right?”

Felix raised his eyebrows. “And how do you know that?”

“I have my sources,” Hyunjin smirked, putting his hands back in his pockets.

Felix tilted his head slightly. “You already knew who I was, didn’t you?”

Hyunjin winked.

“Alright, smart guy,” Felix laughed, waving a hand. “Go to your lecture, don’t be late on my account.”

“I would be late to save the world if you were my reason,” Hyunjin smiled, catching Felix’s hand and gently prompting him to spin.

Felix laughed, bright red again, but let Hyunjin spin him in a little circle. When he stopped, Hyunjin brought his hand up and kissed his knuckles. “See you around, princess.”

And then he was strolling off, leaving Felix in a state of absolute shock and jelly legs.

Once Hyunjin was fully gone, Felix let himself breath out a shaky breath, crumbling into a chair.

“Oh my god,” he whispered, running a hand through his hair. He buried his face in his hands then and let himself giggle into his palms.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Jisung leaned his elbows on the table he sat at with Jeongin. They were in the library, supposed to be studying, but something else had taken their interest.

A few shelves away was Hwang Hyunjin, charmingly speaking to a small blond boy, who was seemingly eating up the attention.

Jisung sighed. “Jeez, do you think he knows who he’s talking to?”

Jeongin shook his head. “Not a chance.”

Jisung and Jeongin both grimaced when Hyunjin held out his hands and somehow came into possession of both the blond’s tote bag and phone.

“Poor little guy,” Jisung sighed as the blond clearly blushed and laughed at whatever Hyunjin was saying to him. “I feel kind of bad for him, don’t you?” 

Jeongin agreed as the two clearly exchanged contacts.

They sat for a moment and hissed in what could only have been described as pity when Hyunjin spun the blond around and kissed his hand.

“Do you reckon we should help him out?” Jeongin asked as the blond watched Hyunjin go and sat down, giggling into his hands. “It would be the nice thing to do, wouldn’t it?” 

Jisung nodded. “Alright, let’s do it.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“Pst!”

Felix glanced up from where he had taken to staring at Hyunjin’s contact in his phone.

“Psst!”

Felix turned around in his chair and found another table with two boys sitting at it. One had foxy eyes and dark, middle parted hair, while the other had round cheeks and fluffy dark brown hair that fell nicely around his face.

“Um, hi?” He said.

The one with fluffy hair waved him over. “Could you come here for a moment?”

Felix furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Um, why?”

“Just…” The guy with foxy eyes sighed. “We need to talk to you. We’re not going to bite, we promise.”

Felix hesitated for a moment before slowly standing up and walking a few steps over to their table. “Can I help you?”

“You may want to sit down for this,” the fluffy haired boy said, gesturing across from them.

Felix sat.

“Hi, I’m Han Jisung, this is Yang Jeongin,” the boy with fluffy hair said, gesturing to himself then the boy beside him.

“Lee Felix,” Felix responded, ducking his head in a bow this time. The other two did the same.

“So,” Jisung said, placing interlocked fingers on the table, “that was Hwang Hyunjin you were talking to, right?”

Felix took a deep breath. “Um, yeah.” The two glanced at each other, and Felix was suddenly a little anxious. “What, why?”

Jeongin sighed, mimicking Jisung’s pose. “We hate to be the ones to tell you this… but we’re just trying to help you out.”

“What is it…?” Felix asked nervously.

“You’re new here, right?” Jisung asked, to which Felix nodded. “Okay, well, see, there are a few things you should probably know.”

Felix was seriously worried now. “Okay…”

“Hyunjin is… how do I put this? Not the kind of guy you want to get attached to,” Jisung said.

Felix tilted his head. “How come?”

“He’s not the person you think he is.”

A blush was creeping up Felix’s neck as he looked down at the table and played with the hair tie on his wrist. “Well I don’t know about that. He was… I don’t know, really kind and funny. Maybe you just don’t know him very well.”

“Oh no,” Jeongin said, shaking his head. “We know exactly who he is.”

“And who is he, then?” Felix asked, leaning back in his chair.

“He’s a popular, arrogant prick who parties all night, skips lectures and smokes a pack a day,” Jeongin said bluntly.

“What?” Felix asked. “A pack a day? ”

“Well, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but you know what I mean,” Jeongin said.

Felix bit his lip for a moment. “Well, bad habits can be changed… right?”

Jisung sighed. “Not with this guy. Do you want to know why he was really over there flirting with you?”

“I don’t know,” Felix shrugged. 

“Because he wants to fuck you,” Jisung said.

Felix paused. “I’m sorry, what?”

The two across from him nodded before Jisung spoke again. “Yeah, it’s true. Unfortunately, Hwang Hyunjin is not only popular, he’s very popular. I think he’s made his rounds with at least half the guys at school by now, and he’s pretty notorious for fucking and fleeing. It’s rare to get a second go.”

Felix’s mouth hung open. “ Really? ”

The two nodded.

Felix crossed his arms. “How can I know you’re not lying?”

“Ask anyone at school, they’ll tell you the exact same thing,” Jeongin nodded. “Maybe less about him being a prick because he’s so popular and we seem to be the only people who see it, but… he sleeps around. And he’s pretty public about it.”

“We’re sorry to say you’re probably just another quick fuck to him,” Jisung said.

“Well how do I know I’m not… different?” Felix asked, feeling silly for asking but needing to know.

Jisung sighed gently. “Because no one ever is. All that Prince Charming ‘let me help you with that’ stuff he did? Same shit pulled on poor Innie a few years back before he turned him down. He moved on pretty quickly when he did. Though most of the time, he doesn’t even have to do all the flirting. Most people around here would just sleep with him if he offered them the chance.”

Felix looked between the two boys before him. He didn’t want to believe what they had just told him, he didn’t want to believe that the charming, handsome boy who had just flirted him down to a pulp was just there because he wanted to fuck him. Felix opened his mouth once more, but Jeongin was already holding up his phone, a website open on it.

“There’s even a website that someone made where you can make an account and talk about your experience with him,” he said.

Felix’s jaw dropped as he looked at the phone. “That seems a little far-fetched. What are we, characters in a teenage romance drama?”

Jeongin turned his phone back around and cleared his throat. “‘He was so so so so SO great, he touched me amazingly in all the right-’”

“Okay, okay,” Felix said, cutting him off quickly. “Okay, I get it.”

The two boys across from him looked at him with what was probably pity.

“So…” Felix looked at them again. “I was really nothing more than a booty call to him? And all that stuff… was just so that I would sleep with him?”

The two nodded solemnly.

Felix felt his face reddening again, but not because he was upset. He was embarrassed and felt humiliated for falling for something with such empty intentions. 

Of course Hyunjin seemed too good to be true. 

Because he was .

He laughed in disbelief. “That son of a bitch.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Minho’s finger pressed down on the button of his camera, snapping a photo of the fucking water fountain.

He lowered his camera and looked down at it with a frown, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“What the fuck is that?” he muttered to himself before slinging the camera back over his shoulder. “Bullshit.”

Minho groaned, looking around. After his last assignment, which he had gotten a good grade on, his lecturer had called him into her office. She had said that his photos were great and they could be seen that way by someone, and his written portion was well written. She couldn’t find a single thing to mark him down on.

“But they lack emotion,” she had said, her fingers laced together. “You can’t just take a few good photos of trees and say that’s it. To be a photographer, you need to love what you photograph. Like, really love and admire it. Or else it just looks… flat.”

And after that, she told Minho to go and find what he loved to photograph. She told him she would not be accepting anything he gave her until he was able to come to her and tell her that this was what he loved to photograph. Whatever ‘this’ was.

Minho groaned as he decided the fountain was not the spot for him. He glanced around and noticed the sun was slowly starting to set.

“Fuck,” he muttered. He had been out here all afternoon and nothing had fucking come of his little venture to find what he loved to photograph.

He considered going back home, but he realised that would just result in sitting in his room feeling sorry for himself, so he decided that he would try one last place before he called it a day. Maybe he would come across a tree stump he found interesting. So, he headed down to the park of the university, where there was a little pond and plenty of trees.

The pink and orange light was illuminating the entire sky and swept across the grass and trees. As Minho walked he found himself looking up, and found a lucky shot. The sky was a dark blue, not quite navy, and the large clouds had turned a vibrant coral colour; the telephone lines and pole were bathed in light to look almost red and positioned just right, so Minho snatched his opportunity. He snapped a couple of photos which he liked well enough before continuing on.

He came to a shuffling stop at a random spot where the grass section was large and the massive clump of trees was lit up by the sunset. Maybe this would give him a shot.

Minho brought the camera up to his eye, looking to try and move the camera around slightly to try and get a good spot. He zoomed a couple of times, adjusted the focus. He could have done this in his sleep.

He came from nowhere.

First, Minho had an empty shot of some terribly boring trees and grass, then his frame was filled with a head of dark hair. Then the head of hair turned, a look of gentle surprise on his face before he smiled sheepishly and held up a hand, as if to say hello and sorry at the same time.

Minho’s hands, in surprise, clenched up, and in the process the boy started walking away, Minho got a photo. It surprised him a little and he looked up from his camera.

“Sorry!” the boy called as he quickly hurried off, Minho watching him go.

Minho watched him walk off for a long time.

When he was out of eyesight, Minho looked down at his camera and flicked to the photos he had just been taking. He flicked to the one had had taken by accident.

His jaw dropped. 

Holy shit balls.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Jisung’s keys jingled with keychains of anime characters and pride flags as he unlocked his door.

He kicked off his boots and entered the dorm to find Jeongin sitting on his bed and chatting with none other than the naïve little boy they saved earlier, Felix.

“Well hello?” Jisung said, chucking his keys on his painfully messy desk. Sorry, not messy - disastrously organised.

“I picked up a stray,” Jeongin announced happily.

“Hey,” Felix smiled, waving his hand.

“Hello again,” Jisung greeted, sitting across from them on his own bed. “Where did you come from?”

“We ran into each other after lectures, so I invited him back to socialize,” Jeongin explained. “He was just telling me about Australia.”

“Oh, you’re from there?” Jisung asked, to which Felix nodded.

“Yeah, Sydney.”

“Cool,” Jisung said with a nod.

“And he just got a job down at that really cute corner coffee shop down the road,” Jeongin said, as if he was bragging on Felix’s behalf.

Jisung hummed, nodding slightly, but his eyes were focused on one random spot on his knee.

Jeongin squinted at him. “Okay, I’ll put you out of your misery. What happened?”

Jisung looked up and raised his hands like he was being falsely accused. “Woah, woah, woah. What makes you think anything is going on?”

“Your cheeks are red.”

“I could have been running,” Jisung defended.

“Yeah, no,” Jeongin said. “Felix, back me up.”

Felix nodded, pointing at Jeongin. “He’s right. Wrong type of red cheeks.”

Jisung scowled for a second before his face broke into a smile. “ Okay, something might have happened.”

“Well, don’t make us wait to hear it!” Jeongin demanded.

Jisung pursed his lips for a moment before he giddily dropped onto his back, clapping his hands. “Oh my god, you guys, he was so cute.”

Jeongin and Felix said a taunting ‘ooooo’ almost in unison.

“I was just walking and I accidentally got in front of his camera shot, and I said sorry and ran away, but I saw a glimpse of his face and guys, I’m in love. ”

“Do you know who he is?” Felix asked.

Jisung rolled to the side to look at them properly. “He looked familiar, but I don’t think I could tell you who it was just from the glance I got.”

“Would you know him if you saw him?” Jeongin asked.

Jisung nodded, propping himself up on his elbow. “100%.”

“Well, keep an eye out, then,” Jeongin said.

Felix nodded. “Get your man.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Minho sat at his desk again. This time, he had his socked feet pulled up on his chair and stared at the photo he had gotten by mistake. It was unedited so far, and yet… everything about it had Minho absolutely mesmerised.

He would have never taken a photo like this on purpose. All his usual photos were crisp, perfectly lined up and completely focused. But this one… this one was slightly tilted.

The light was bright, rich orange and the nature in the background had somehow picked up in a purple hue, the closest tree sagging down slightly and picked up a more pink colour. 

But then, in front of it all, was this boy.  

He had his hand reached out, slightly blurred in the camera, and he had a slightly awkward smile on his face. The orange sunlight washed over his face, making his dark, fluffy hair glow deep gold, and his eyes sparkled with the reflection of the sun. He wasn’t quite up straight, Minho’s surprise had made the camera tilt slightly to the left, but it only made it better. Something about the way his cheeks rounded slightly with the smile, how his eyes crinkled a little, how his eyebrows were slightly raised in surprise, and how his cheeks dipped with soft dimples. Something about how it was hard to see most of the colourful pins poked into the front of his black jacket, but there was a green alien. And the pixel dinosaur from the No Wifi game. And a cartoon bunny with the words ‘Do Crime’ under it. And a felt worm with googly eyes and the word ‘Arson’ under it. And a fried egg and a few bottle caps. And a circle with the words ‘I ❤ HOT NERDS’. And a gay pride flag. 

Something about all of that had Minho unable to look away.

“My god,” Minho whispered to himself, covering his mouth slightly. This was the best photo he had taken in months.

“Hey, Minho, have you seen my phone?” Chan asked, Minho’s door opening as he said so.

Minho automatically slammed his laptop shut. He didn’t know why, but something about showing someone this photo so soon felt… exposing. 

Chan furrowed his eyebrows, squinting at Minho suspiciously. “Are you watching porn?”

Minho scoffed. “No.”

Chan squinted. “You sure?”

Minho automatically stood up, gesturing to himself. “Do I look hard to you??”

Chan glanced down before shrugging. “I mean… I guess not.”

“ You guess not? ” Minho repeated, squinting his eyes.

“Well,” Chan shrugged again, vaguely gesturing, “there’s kinda an outline-”

“Okay, you can stop looking at my dick now,” Minho said, sitting back down.

Chan rolled his eyes. “What are you looking at?”

“Just a photo I took,” Minho said, waving a hand. “It’s not that important.”

“Well, show me,” Chan said, walking over to the desk to stand next to Minho’s chair.

“I haven’t really edited it or anything…” Minho mumbled.

“So?” Chan tapped the desk. “Show me.”

Minho hesitated for a moment before he opened his laptop back up and scanned his fingerprint to open it. The photo showed right up.

Chan hummed. “Wow, this is actually really good, but I didn’t think you photographed people. Who is that?”

Minho shrugged, shaking his head. “I usually don’t, and I actually have no idea. I was doing landscape shots when he walked into my shot. I accidentally took a photo, but it ended up turning out really well.”

“Yeah, it did,” Chan nodded, leaning down to take a closer look. “Wow, this was really an accident?”

“Yeah, if you can believe it,” Minho responded.

Chan raised his eyebrows as he stood up straighter. “Well, what are you going to do?”

Minho spun a little on his chair to look up at Chan. “What do you mean?”

“Well, this is the first time I’ve seen you happy, like actually happy , with a photo you’ve taken in… well, as long as I can remember, really,” Chan explained. “I think you should try and find out who this guy is.”

“You think?”

“I do. If an accident caused that , then I can’t even begin to imagine what you could do if you actually asked him to sit down and pose for you,” Chan said.

“You don’t think he would find that a little creepy?” Minho asked. “I just track this guy down and say ‘hey, I stalked you because I took a photo of you and now I want you to sit down and let me take more’?”

“Well, anything sounds creepy when you say it like that, ” Chan chuckled. “You know what I mean.”

Minho hummed. Deep down, he knew Chan was right. 

He needed to find this guy again. Because he was fairly sure that, in his quest to find a muse, his muse came to him, bathed in sunlight and armed with an awkward charm that had Minho unable to look away.

Chapter Text

“Well what’s got you in such a good mood?” San asked with a yawn as he plopped down beside Hyunjin on the couch.

“I have a feeling I’ve got a good chance with a cute new guy on campus,” Hyunjin said casually.

“Oh really?”

“Yep,” Hyunjin said, popping the ‘p’. “Felix. His ass is mine. ”

“Yeah, for one night before you get bored,” Changbin said in passing.

Hyunjin ignored him. “But I’m pretty confident. We exchanged contacts, so I’m expecting him to text me pretty soon.”

“Why don’t you just text him first?” Wooyoung asked, taking a seat on Hyunjin’s other side.

Hyunjin tipped his head back and let out a humourless laugh. “Oh, young grasshoppers, you have no idea how this works.”

“Educate us, then,” San said, making it sound almost like a challenge.

“I have to wait for him to text me first because he needs to come to me,” Hyunjin explained. “If I went around texting every guy I wanted to fuck, I would look like a total asshole who jumps from one guy to another.”

“But you do that,” Wooyoung pointed out.

Hyunjin waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah, I know that, but other people shouldn’t. As long as it looks like the boys come to me , then I look like a guy who’s just really popular. You get it now?”

San closed one eye. “Hm, not really.”

Hyunjin sighed, shrugging. “Then I suppose you never will. But trust. He’s gonna text me.”

It was funny, though. Because Felix never did.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

The aroma of brewing coffee and the sound of steam turning on and off filled the air as the late afternoon sun washed the entire shop in yellow light. The sunlight at this time of day made the plants around the shop flourish, and made the place’s lights almost unnecessary. 

The floorboards creaked on occasion, though it was happening much more often now that the unexpected flow of people had started.

Felix quickly snapped the lids on two take away orders and called them, handing them over and bidding the customers a good afternoon. 

He took a breath before trading spots with Jake at the register and taking a couple more orders.

Today had been the busiest day he had ever worked at Honeybee Café, seemingly with every order completed, there were only three to take its place. It was stressful and had Felix running around like a mad man to try and get not only a few orders placed, but taking orders from tables, working the coffee machine, and going back and forth between the small kitchen and the tables, dropping off food.

It was stressful, but he didn’t mind. It took his mind off assignments and the studying he had to do, so it was a good distraction. And plus, he was getting paid pretty well, all things considered.

Felix watched a couple leave, and he quickly swapped cash register duty with another worker and hurried over with a cloth, wiping down the table as someone else already took the coffee mugs away.

He finished wiping it free of crumbs, and straightened the table number and jars of sugars as he tucked a free piece of his hair behind his ear. The front of his hair didn’t tie up into the small ponytail he had tied it into, so behind the ears had to work. He stood up and turned, keen to get back to doing other jobs around the place, but almost ran smack bang into a tall figure standing behind him, and he automatically stepped back to avoid a collision, only to hit the side of his thigh on the sharp corner on the table he had just cleaned up.

“Son of a cunt,” Felix muttered in English, hand automatically going to hold his leg where he was sure a bruise was going to form. He wanted to yell at whoever almost killed him, but he was at work and he wasn’t allowed to yell at customers. “Sorry,” he said instead.

“It’s okay, princess,” a very familiar voice said. “I don’t mind.”

Felix looked up and immediately let go of his leg when he got the first glimpse of the wine-purple hair of Hwang Hyunjin. “Oh.”

“How’s it going, princess?” Hyunjin asked, a soft smirk on his lips.

Felix just sighed and stepped around the taller to head back to the coffee machine where poor Jake was clearly getting overwhelmed with all the orders coming through.

Felix slid back through and to stand behind the coffee machine, checking some of the take away orders and getting them started. Unfortunately, Hyunjin followed him.

“Nice gig you’ve got going here,” he said.

Felix sighed, clicking the button that ground the coffee up. “How did you find out where I work?”

Hyunjin hummed. “I know people.”

Felix briefly raised his eyebrows with an exasperated sigh. “Great.”

“Now, I hate to bring it up,” Hyunjin hummed, glancing about the store, probably to try and seem less interested. “ But. I have noticed that you have not texted me yet.”

Felix rolled his eyes. The nerve of this guy. “Been busy.”

“Gee, you’re not seeming very talkative today,” Hyunjin said. “You okay?”

“You can cut the crap, Hyunjin,” Felix snapped, aggressively changing the pressure on the steam valve.

Hyunjin raised his eyebrows. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t act like you care,” Felix responded, clanging the coffee machine loudly by accident and grunting under his breath in annoyance.

“Of course I care, princess, what makes you think I don’t?”

“Don’t call me that,” Felix demanded, glancing up at Hyunjin, unimpressed, before going back to the coffees he was making. “Why don’t you fuck off and find someone else to charm.”

Hyunjin tutted, only making Felix angrier.

“What happened, princess?” Hyunjin asked, his tone innocent and his eyes anything but. “I thought you found me charming.”

Felix rolled his eyes with a scoff. “Yeah, before I found out all you want to do is fuck me.”

“And who told you such a lie?” Hyunjin questioned, a small smirk making his lips twitch up and Felix’s blood boil.

Felix sent a withering glare Hyunjin’s way. “I fucking hate you.”

“Such harsh words from such a pretty face,” Hyunjin hummed.

“Great, thanks for telling me.”

Hyunjin only stood there and watched Felix’s hands move as he made the coffees, and it made Felix want to scream as he placed the finished coffees down on the bench.

“Okay, I don’t know if I have to be any clearer,” Felix said, clicking the lids of the coffee cups on and passing them to Jake to call. He lent his hands on the counter. “But I have no interest in sleeping with you.”

“Not even a little bit?” Hyunjin asked with a smirk, making Felix shake his head. “Not even the tiniest bit of interest?”

Felix glared at him again. “ No. Now, I would appreciate it if you left, I’m very busy right now.”

Hyunjin hummed, stepping back a little. “Alright, fine. I’ll see you around, then.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Felix said after him. 

“Sure, princess,” Hyunjin said as he turned and walked away.

Felix glared at the back of his head. “What a little fucker.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

When Hyunjin stepped down the step and out onto the street, he felt like he had been punched in the face.

He had never been turned down so blatantly in his life. Never. There had been the odd occasion when someone turned him away because they had partners already or they simply had no interest and politely said no. He had never been told to fuck off before. Never ever.

He glanced back inside before he began down the footpath. For normal people, this would put people off. Make them steer clear and give up in their attempt.

But Hyunjin was no normal person, and Felix’s blatant rejection did the exact opposite.

It only made him want him more. And that was when it became official. Lee Felix was Hwang Hyunjin’s new mission.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“Are you sure you don’t know him?” Minho asked, waving his phone for extra emphasis.

Jinjin shrugged. “Sorry, bro.”

Minho grunted under his breath as Jinjin wandered off someplace else, looking down at his phone screen. He had exported the photo of the boy in the sunset to it and was now asking his frat brothers if they had any idea who he was. Somehow, no one had the slightest clue who he was.

“You okay?” Chan asked as he passed him. He must have been standing in the middle of the room like some kind of idiot.

Minho bobbed his head a little. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Still no luck with Sunset Boy?” Chan sighed.

“I wish you wouldn’t call him that,” Minho grumbled. “He has a name.”

“And I’m sure to start calling him that when you find it out.”

“Find what out?” 

Minho glanced up to find Hyunjin, nosey as ever, standing before them.

“Do you know this guy?” Minho asked, holding up his phone.

Hyunjin squinted at the screen, studying the boy closely before shaking his head. “Nope, never seen him before.”

“God, how is he able to stay so invisible that even Hyunjin doesn’t know him?” Minho sighed.

“Why? Do you like him?” Hyunjin asked, sliding his hands into his pockets.

Minho sighed, rolling his eyes. “I’m just trying to find him. I haven’t been able to focus on anything since, and I don’t think I’ll be able to until I know who he is.”

“Not stalkerish at all,” Hyunjin mumbled. “No wonder you’ve been off your game.”

“Hyunjin,” Chan said, almost warningly.

“Sorry, sorry,” Hyunjin said, raising his hands up a little as Minho looked solemnly down at his phone. Hyunjin placed his hand on Minho’s shoulder. “Look, mate. I don’t know him. But that doesn’t mean nobody else does. You could keep looking around hopelessly, or , you could ask people like me and Chan to keep an eye out for him.”

Minho glanced between the two before him. “Wait, you would do that for me?”

Chan nodded with a smile. “Of course we would.”

“That way, you can know you’ve got extra sets of eyes looking for him,” Hyunjin said. “And you can focus back on important things. Like not missing your shots at basketball. Yes?”

Minho nodded. “Okay. Thanks, guys. Really.”

“Great.” Hyunjin gave him an awkward thumbs up before twisting him around with the hand that was still on his shoulder and pushed him towards the door at the same time as smacking Minho’s ass. “Now go to the gym and practice your shots or something. Run a few laps.”

Minho grunted and rolled his eyes as he made his way to the door, glaring back at the two behind him. Hyunjin pulled out a cigarette and lighter, beginning to light it. Chan smacked him upside the head.

“Go smoke outside,” Chan demanded.

“You let me smoke inside when we have parties,” Hyunjin complained.

“Well this isn’t a party, is it?” Chan said sarcastically and shoved Hyunjin towards the door. “Out.”

Minho rolled his eyes as Hyunjin complained some more behind him.

Fuck going to practice, Minho thought. He needed someplace quiet to just relax. The past few days had been far too stressful for his taste, and he just needed to sit down. Maybe read for a bit.

With that last thought, Minho decided the library was as good a place as any to relax and read in a quiet place.

He wandered up the paths, over the grass, humming as he went. Casually hopping up the steps, Minho took a few floors up to find a random spot that wasn’t too busy.

He got to the fourth floor and found it almost completely silent and empty.

Good, he thought. Less causes for possible headaches.

Minho turned and wandered down one of the halls of books, looking over them absently. He hadn’t thought so far ahead as to consider what he might want to read. Maybe something he knew nothing about. He followed the shelves for a bit before he came to a random non-fiction section. He began randomly looking over the books that sat on the shelf at about his eye level.

He grunted, pushing purple strands from his face. This length was getting stupid. It wasn’t actually too long on the back, and was cut rather short, but the front. God, the front was close to poking his eye out any chance it fucking got, and he was close to tearing it out with his bare hands. But that would hurt like shit, so he just calmly pushed it back, his vision finally rid of the deep purple colour.

His eyes landed on a thick book, the spine reading Bingo: A Complete Guide to the History of a Truly Riveting Game. Minho hummed, pulling the book off the shelf to examine the cover. He hummed to himself. It sounded boring, but that was exactly what his brain needed right now. He glanced up to have a last look over the other options, though he wasn’t really intending to get anything else, and his eyes glazed over a look through the shelf. 

On the other side, reading the back of a book thoughtfully, was a familiar puff of long brown hair, biting a soft lower lip. Minho’s eyes instinctively looked down to his book but automatically looked right back up when his brain registered it. But there was no one there. Minho immediately walked to the closest end of the shelf and looked down the aisle. Still no one.

“What the fuck?” Minho whispered to himself, hurrying down it and glancing down the next aisle, too. Still, no one. He groaned to himself. “Fuck.”

Minho sighed and made his way over to a seat near a window and flicked open the book about fucking bingo. He was sure he had seen him. 

Minho shook his head and opened the book on his lap. He must be going crazy.

And yet, little did he know that if he had just stayed in his original aisle for one moment longer, Sunset Boy would have walked right into him.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Jisung yawned as he walked to the gym, adjusting the strap of his bag. Jeongin wandered along beside him, but neither felt particularly chatty. Fair enough, it was 8 in the morning, and on Mondays, 8 am was cheerleading practice. On Thursdays, it was in the evening after classes had wrapped up, but it was a Monday, so here they were, their breaths fogging the early morning slightly as they walked. Regardless of the early hour, Jisung must have had a pensive look on his face, because Jeongin piped up.

“You okay?” Jeongin queried. 

Jisung shrugged. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

“You seem a bit… far away,” Jeongin admitted.

Jisung shrugged again. “I’m fine.”

“Ji, I’ve known you since high school,” Jeongin sighed. “Just tell me.”

“You’ll make fun of me.”

“I will not,” Jeongin said, sounding rather offended. “I’m a great listener.”

“If you must know, I’m just… thinking,” Jisung said.

“About…?”

“The boy with the camera.”

Jeongin, as predicted, tipped his head back and cackled. “Oh my god, you’re so down bad!”

“I fucking told you you’d make fun of me,” Jisung complained, crossing his arms and glaring at the ground as they continued to walk.

“Does little Jisung have a crush?” Jeongin teased. “Does he have a crush on a stranger he doesn’t know?”

Jisung shoved Jeongin in the arm as the gym came into view. “I fucking hate you, you know that?”

Jeongin waved a hand, still giggling, but calmed down a little. “Yeah, I know.” When Jisung didn’t make any move to accept his ‘apology’, Jeongin elbowed him in the arm. “Hey, don’t be mad. He had purple hair, right? If I spot anyone with purple hair, I’ll be sure to harass him for you, okay?”

Jisung let his arms flop down with a sigh. “Okay.”

“See?” Jeongin asked as they walked through the gym doors, the figures of the basketball team packing up from training moving behind the frosted glass of the second set of doors. “You can’t stay mad at me.”

Jisung sighed. “No, I suppose I can’t.”

They shouldered through the doors and walked along the bleachers to sit with the rest of the cheer squad, who waited for the basketball players to get rid of the balls from the court.

“I reckon the best place for you to look would be around the arts building,” Jeongin said as they sat down, dropping their bags beside their feet. “If he had a camera, then he might be a photography student. I say we have a poke around there during our next break. When is that, 1?”

“I think so,” Jisung nodded, looking down to the court below, and his heart stopped.

Below, gathering up some spare basketballs and chatting with a blond guy as they did so, was a boy. And his hair was purple.

Jisung wasn’t even hearing Jeongin talking anymore. The boy below straightened up, and Jisung could have melted off his seat. 

It was him. It was the boy with the camera.

“…Then maybe some dumplings after- Jisung, are you listening to me?”

Jisung turned and blinked at Jeongin. “What?”

“I just gave you our plan for how we’re going to find this mystery man of yours, and you’re not even fucking listening!” Jeongin grumbled.

Jisung waved a hand. “No need.” He pointed down at the court. “That’s him.”

Jeongin immediately looked down at the court and gasped dramatically. “Oh my god, really??”

Jisung nodded. “I’m sure, it’s him!”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Jeongin demanded. “Go talk to him!”

“What the fuck am I supposed to say?” Jisung demanded right back. 

“I don’t know, something funny?”

“I know I pretend to be, but I’m not fucking funny!” Jisung snapped. “I can’t just walk up to him so randomly, that’s creepy!”

“What, so you’re just going to sit here and pretend you don’t know who he is?” Jeongin asked in disbelief.

Jisung just watched the purple haired boy put the basketballs away.

“Oh my god,” Jeongin said. “You are.”

Jisung sighed, leaning back on the bleacher behind him. “Yeah.”

“You are really going to stay sitting up here while the man of your dreams is right down there, not talk to him, and let him get away?” Jeongin asked, sounding pretty disappointed.

Jisung crossed his arms. “Yeah.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“At least I know he’s on the basketball team now,” Jisung said, trying to defend himself.

“Yeah, fantastic. But please, do let me know when you speak to him for the first time. I’ll be in the hospital waiting to die of old age. ”

Jisung sighed and watched as the man of his dreams, as Jeongin had christened him, changed his shoes and left with the rest of the team.

He needed a plan of attack. Or he would pass out with anxiety the moment number 25 of the basketball team looked at him.

Chapter Text

Hyunjin was on his 4th cigarette of the night and he wasn’t about to stop there. This one was running low, his night was barely halfway done, and he was already pissed.

He coughed violently as he finished off the cigarette and instantly went for another.  There were people everywhere and he honestly couldn’t tell which way was up. Smoke filled the air from a couple dozen other smokers around, the smell of sweat and booze floated with it, and it created a haze of foggy lights and booming music that had Hyunjin tipping another drink down.

He tried to make his way through the crowd to get to maybe the kitchen, but he didn’t get very far, because there was suddenly some guy up in his space, and Hyunjin was too out of it, too full of alcohol and smoke, to even hope to tell who it was. 

“You busy?” the guy asked, voice clearly lowered to try and sound more sexy as his hand started trailing up Hyunjin’s torso. It didn’t work.

“Yep,” Hyunjin said, basically shoving the guy away to continue on his path.

When Hyunjin finally made it to the kitchen, where it was much less crowded, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was quieter here.

“I never thought I would see it,” a voice said off to Hyunjin’s left.

He turned his head and immediately rolled his eyes when he saw it was Minjun, smugly leaning against a counter top.

“See what?” Hyunjin demanded.

“You reject someone,” Minjun elaborated. “I have never seen you turn down the opportunity for a quick fuck.”

Hyunjin batted a hand. “Whatever.”

“Why did you do it?” Minjun asked.

“I wasn’t interested.”

“Sounds unlike you.”

“You don’t even know me,” Hyunjin snapped, moving over to a bowl of what had probably stopped being punch hours ago.

“I know you like to fuck,” Minjun said as Hyunjin picked up a cup to fill. 

“What does it have to do with you?” Hyunjin demanded as he began filling the cup.

“I’m nosey.”

“Clearly.”

“Just tell me.”

Hyunjin sighed, rolling his eyes. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m off the market for now, while I go for a specific guy.”

“Oh, do tell me more,” Minjun said.

Hyunjin took a sip of his drink - it was in fact, no longer punch - and rolled his eyes. “Fuck you.”

Minjun smirked as he wandered off. “Not by you!”

Hyunjin grumbled under his breath. “Cuntwad.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Jisung took a deep breath, and that was what told Felix he was about to say something stupid.

“I have tea.”

Felix looked up from the notes he had been writing and raised his eyebrows slightly. “Do I want to know?”

“One hundred percent,” Jisung nodded.

“Is it that baby platypuses are called puggles, because I just found out and I want to cry,” Jeongin said, pointing down at the book on the table before him.

“No,” Jisung responded, leaning forward. “I just found out that Hyunjin has been refusing to sleep with anyone.”

Felix’s eyebrow raised higher. “What?” Why were they talking about him?

Jisung nodded like he couldn’t believe it either. “Yep. Hwang Hyunjin is officially off the market. And you’ll never guess: it’s not even because he’s dating someone.”

“Then why?” Jeongin asked, tearing his eyes away from the puggle images.

“Apparently, he’s got his sights set on someone,” Jisung responded, and Felix’s heart basically dropped to his stomach.

“Who?” Felix demanded.

“Don’t know,” Jisung said with a shrug.

Jeongin grimaced. “Uh oh.” He looked at Felix. “Lock your doors, baby boy.”

Felix shook his head. “It could be anyone.”

“He’s been after you for ages, Lix,” Jisung said. “If it was you, I would not be surprised.”

“It hasn’t been ages,” Felix said, though he was just kidding himself. Of course it was him. But hopefully, this would blow over, and who knows? It might not even be him. 

Jeongin and Jisung hummed at each other.

“Look, can we just go?” Felix asked, closing the book he was noting from.

The other two agreed, and they started packing up their things to leave the library.

They went down the stairs from the second floor and pushed through the heavy doors out into the campus.

It was as they were leaving that a ‘hello’ interrupted them.

Felix glanced over and almost gave up on everything when he saw it was Hyunjin.

“Oh, don’t look so disappointed to see me, princess,” Hyunjin smirked, pushing off the wall he had been leaning against.

“I’ve told you not to call me that.”

“And that’s our queue to leave,” Jisung said, only for Felix to grab the back of his shirt as he and Jeongin started to leave.

“You’re going fucking no where,” Felix hissed. When he was sure his friends were staying put, he glared up at Hyunjin. “Do you need something?”

“You look nice today,” Hyunjin commented, making Felix roll his eyes.

“Do you never give up?” Felix demanded.

“Not really, no,” Hyunjin responded. “Give me one night, just one, and you’ll regret waiting so long.”

Felix rolled his eyes again and turned, beginning down the steps, Jisung and Jeongin quickly hurrying after him. He scoffed. “I regret giving you hope.”

Felix heard a slight shuffle, and without turning back around, he called back, “you’d better not fucking follow me!”

Felix continued walking, but heard no footsteps following him and the others, so he decided he was safe.

“Still think this mystery guy could be anyone?” Jeongin asked, only making Felix groan into his hands.

“I’m so fucked, aren’t I?” Felix sighed.

“No, you’re not,” Jisung joked. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

Felix elbowed him.

Meanwhile, back on the second to top step where he had been brutally stopped, Hyunjin watched Felix walk off with the other two. He could feel his cheeks heating up in frustration. 

He grumbled under his breath before walking off in the opposite direction. As he left, there was something itching the back of his mind… like there was something about that situation he should have remembered, besides Felix’s shiny lips and perfect fucking ass. Hyunjin tried to think of what it was. Did one of Felix’s friends look familiar? Maybe. Yeah, the one with longer brown hair. He was definitely kind of familiar. But how Hyunjin knew him, he couldn’t even imagine. He shrugged and walked off. He had probably fucked him at some point. How else did he know everyone?

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Minho gave an unbothered stretch of his arms as the basketball swished through the basket, hardly even touching the net.

He flicked his hair back, the sweat making the ends stick to his face a little.

The scrimmage game had been going on for at least half the training that night, and Minho had been working like crazy to do his best. Not that he didn’t usually try, but now that he knew he had friends also looking out for Sunset Boy (and yes, he had picked up the name a little), he had more mental capacity to focus on more important things. Like lining up perfect shots and actually fucking making them.

A blow of the whistle from Coach Bongwa told everyone that it was the end of training and they had to clear out, or else the cheer squad would launch full-blown attacks on them and pop their basketballs. Yes, that happened once, a long time ago when they wouldn’t leave.

“So, any luck?” Minho asked Chan and Hyunjin as the group began packing up.

“Sorry mate,” Chan shrugged. “Haven’t seen him.”

Hyunjin picked up a ball and began spinning it on his finger. “No, sorry man.”

Minho sighed, and all three of them jumped when Coach Bongwa yelled in their direction.

“HWANG, YOU PUT THAT BALL DOWN THIS INSTANT UNLESS YOU WANT TO RUN LAPS OF THE OVAL UNTIL YOU PASS OUT!”

“Sorry, Coach!” Hyunjin called back, immediately grabbing the ball and holding it still.

“AS YOU SHOULD BE, NOW GET OUT OF HERE, YOU ALL STINK AND ARE STINKING UP OUR EXPENSIVE GYM!”

They rolled their eyes as Bongwa turned to yell at Johnny and Bambam.

“Come on, let’s go,” Chan said, nudging  Minho and Hyunjin.

Minho gave his back a crack before nodding and glancing over to the door when he heard it open - habit.

He froze when he laid eyes on who came through the door. Dressed in green pants with silver stripes down the side and the singlet top of the same colours and that was cropped enough to show his lower stomach, the word ‘GATORS’ across the chest, was Sunset Boy.

Minho basically slapped Hyunjin.

“Fuck, what? ”

“It’s him,” Minho said, tugging Chan’s sleeve, too. “It’s Sunset Boy.”

Chan looked over. “Oh, shit, really?”

Minho nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Ooh, that’s who he is,” Hyunjin said thoughtfully. “I thought he looked familiar.”

“What?” Minho asked, not sounding impressed.

“Well, I saw him yesterday, with Felix,” Hyunjin shrugged. “I thought he looked familiar, but I just figured I had slept with him at some point.”

“ Have you?! ” Minho demanded.

Hyunjin shook his head frantically. “No,” he said. “I swear, ” he added when Minho gave him a pointed look.

Minho hummed.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Chan asked, shoving Minho’s shoulder forward slightly. “Go talk to him.”

“Like this?” Minho asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m all sweaty and gross.”

“Yes, and it’s a colossal improvement,” Hyunjin commented.

“You know I’m still older than you, right?” Minho asked, squinting at Hyunjin, acting offended.

“Sue me.”

“So you’re really not going to talk to him?” Chan asked as he swung the basketball board back against the wall.

Minho shook his head. “Not today.”

“WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING IN HERE?!” Coach Bongwa hollered at them suddenly. “GET YOUR ASSES OUT!”

The three hurried away.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

When Jisung entered the gym for cheer practice and immediately searched for Minho, he died and ascended to heaven when he realised that Minho was already looking at him.

When they made eye contact, Minho looked away immediately, and Jisung wanted to become a puddle.

“Jeongin, he looked at me,” Jisung panicked, pulling on his friend’s sleeve.

“Good job,” Jeongin sighed. So he was still salty about Jisung’s refusal to listen to his advice.

“Am I looking snatched?” Jisung asked, looking down at where his cheer uniform showed off his stomach. “Or do I look like some kind of Jarjar Binks long lost relative?”

“You look fine,” Jeongin said as they made their way to the bleachers.

Jisung hummed, rubbing a hand over his stomach.

“You know what you should do?” Jeongin said as they sat down to wait for their coach to arrive.

“Tell me.”

“Purposefully fuck up a stunt so he might come and do CPR on you,” Jeongin said.

Jisung just hit him in response.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Hyunjin slammed the door open, storming inside and almost trampling Niki in his anger.

“Hyunjin, it was just a game, you don’t have to be so-” Hyunjin cut Chan off.

“Yes, I do,” Hyunjin snapped. “I was distracted and it’s my fault we lost.”

“Hyunjin, no,” Minho tried, but it was no use. Hyunjin had already kicked off his shoes and stormed up the stairs to hide away in his room.

Hyunjin sighed heavily as he lent his weight against the door. He needed to get his shit together.

He hadn’t meant to snap at the others, but his frustrations at himself had escaped and he had taken it out on his team, which wasn’t fair on them. But God, his head had really just been in the clouds so much for the past few days, it was driving him crazy.

He straightened up and pushed off the door, grabbing the box of cigarettes on his dresser and his lighter.

He moved to his small balcony and pushed the doors open. The flame of the lighter was small and bright in the darkness of night, the orange flame illuminating the drawings along the sides of the lighter Hyunjin had done. The end of his cigarette burned bright and Hyunjin flicked his lighter closed. The first inhale of smoke was relaxing enough and he blew lazy rings into the air.

“Are you entering your emo phase?” a voice behind him asked.

Hyunjin glanced over his shoulder to find Seungmin shutting the balcony door behind him. “Hey, Min.”

Seungmin casually leant against the rail beside Hyunjin, mirroring his pose.

“So… are you here for a visit, or just passing through the scenic route?” Hyunjin asked when Seungmin had been standing there for a solid minute without saying anything.

“I think you need to stop bottling your feelings,” Seungmin explained.

“Chan told you to say that, didn’t he?”

Seungmin nodded, unapologetically. “Yeah.”

“Thanks for the concern, but I’m fine,” Hyunjin said, blowing some more smoke rings.

“You don’t look it,” Seungmin observed. “It’s because of that Felix guy, isn’t it?”

Hyunjin sighed, running a hand through his hair while keeping his elbow on the railing. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yes.”

“God, Min, I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Hyunjin said. “I don’t know why he’s getting to me so much.”

“He still won’t sleep with you?” Seungmin asked.

“It’s usually so easy, ” Hyunjin continued. “Most of the time, I just snap my fingers and boom, they’re in my bed, but not with this guy. He just keeps turning me down, and I don’t know why I can’t just move on from it.”

“Because you’re usually so good at getting what you want that now that you can’t get what you want, you’re worried you don’t have anything going for you?” Seungmin asked casually, as if he hadn’t just ripped open Hyunjin’s soul and laid it bare before them.

Hyunjin blinked at him after blowing out some smoke. “Why did you have to choose psychology to major in?”

Seungmin chuckled, nudging Hyunjin with his elbow. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about your undeniable imposter syndrome.”

Hyunjin sighed out an intake of smoke. “Thanks.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“I need more money,” Felix announced, staring down at his phone where his band balance showed a pretty sad number.

“Get another job,” Jeongin responded as they walked.

“But what?” Felix asked, scratching his neck. “I already work at the café, what would I have time for?”

“Tutoring could be an option,” a shock of English said.

Felix turned his head to find a boy with platinum blond hair suddenly walking beside them.

“Oh, hey, Chan,” Jeongin said absently from where he had busied himself with his phone.

“Hey, Jeongin,” the ‘Chan’ guy said in Korean, before looking back at Felix and switching to English again. “You’re from Australia, right? Me, too. I’m Chan.”

Felix smiled a little, accepting the first handshake he had really had since arrival (and no, Hyunjin didn’t count). “Yeah. Yeah, I’m from Sydney. Lee Felix.”

“No way, me too,” Chan said, smiling. 

“Really?” Felix asked, a little shocked.

Chan nodded. “Yeah. Sorry to interrupt like this, but I heard you were looking for a second job? Knowing fluent English is really helpful around here, and the university’s always looking for English tutors. It’s what I did when I first came here.”

“That actually sounds great,” Felix responded. It was a relief to be speaking in English again after such a long time of only Korean. “I’ll go to… admin to sign up?”

Chan nodded. “Yep.” He popped the ‘p’.

“What a coincidence.”

Felix looked up and just groaned when he saw it was Hyunjin again. “Fuck me dead.”

Jeongin didn’t even stop walking, too engrossed in whatever was on his phone to bother waiting when Felix stopped in front of Hyunjin because he was in the way.

“Morning, princess,” Hyunjin smiled. “I see you’ve met Chan.”

Felix looked over at Chan, who made a face before whispering “just give me a buzz at the frat house if you need anything, okay?” in English before slipping away. 

Felix watched him leave, almost forlornly, before looking back at Hyunjin. “Okay, are you hard of fucking hearing?” Felix snapped.

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow.

“I’m. Not. Interested. In. Sleeping. With you,” Felix said, punctuating the end of each word as if to hope it would come across better.

“Oh, princess, everyone’s at least a little interested,” Hyunjin said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lighter and cigarette. “Don’t pretend you aren’t.”

“Trust me, I’m not,” Felix responded, looking in disgust as Hyunjin popped the cigarette between his lips and sheltered the flame of his lighter from the wind as he lit it.

Hyunjin took an inhale of smoke as he pocketed the lighter again. He raised an eyebrow when he found Felix looking at him, disgusted.

“You’re disgusting,” Felix said, crossing his arms as Hyunjin blew the smoke from his lungs out to the side.

“Damn, what’s your problem?” Hyunjin asked, putting the cigarette back in his mouth.

“Besides you always bothering me?”

“Naturally.”

Felix rolled his eyes, gesturing to the cigarette. “That.”

Hyunjin pulled the cigarette from his mouth to look at it. “What about it?”

“If you had no chance before, that only made your chances even worse,” Felix said. 

Hyunjin scoffed slightly, taking a drag as if just to prove some point he hadn’t made yet. “Some people find smoking hot.”

Felix crossed his arms. “Well, I’m sorry I don’t really see inhaling cancer smoke as impressive.” Felix stepped back and around the taller. “We’re done here.”

Hyunjin turned, but didn’t follow him. Felix was glad. All that smoke had given him a headache.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Minho’s little basket of books was perfectly stacked. It wasn’t his turn to return the library books for the frat, but whatever. They needed to go back, and Jaemin had been too lazy to bother, so Minho just decided to go himself.

He lazily yet neatly placed each book in the return box, before also returning the basket.

He glanced around before he got ready to leave, and something caught his eye.

In the back corner, a large book on the table but scrolling on his phone anyway, was Sunset Boy.

Oh, I should go talk to him.

Minho blinked. He really should. He glanced around to make certain not enough people were there to witness this if it went terribly wrong, and when he deemed it was safe, Minho walked over to the boy before he could second guess himself.

He gently knocked on the table. “Excuse me?” he said quietly.

Sunset Boy looked up, his expression emotionless until his eyes landed on Minho’s face. Then, he started turning red.

“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you,” Minho said, realising he probably should have thought of what to say before he started talking. “But do you know how this place organises their shelves?”

Fucking brilliant plan, Minho, Minho thought to himself. Idiot.

“Um, I’m pretty sure it’s alphabetical,” Sunset Boy said quietly.

Minho hummed, apparently now needing to go along with this. “Yeah, but it’s still so confusing with all the different shelves and floors…” He trailed off. This was not going well. He sighed and tentatively took the chair opposite to Sunset Boy. “I’m Minho.”

Sunset Boy smiled softly, cheeks still pink, before he bowed slightly, his phone screen turned off. “I’m… Jisung. Han Jisung.”

Han Jisung.

“You don’t mind if I sit here?” Minho asked.

Jisung quickly shook his head. “No, no, not at all.”

There was a silence for a moment, and Minho wanted to hit his head on the table. Luckily, Jisung broke it soon enough.

“So, you’re struggling to find stuff in here?” Jisung asked.

Minho nodded. “I don’t come in here often.” Liar. “I don’t need to study much.”

“Oh, what’s your major?” Jisung asked, tentatively closing the cover of the book he had open.

“Photography,” Minho nodded. “But I’m just looking for something to read.”

“Um, well, if you want, I can show you how to use the computers here to look up where books are,” Jisung said, somewhat shyly. “I-if you want.”

Minho almost cooed at the stutter. Thankfully he didn’t, or he would have ended his own life right there on the spot. He just nodded. “If it’s not a hassle.” He didn’t fucking need help finding books. He knew how this library sorted things like the back of his own hand. But if Jisung was going to offer help, then Minho was an idiot if he didn’t take it. 

“Not at all,” Jisung said, standing. “I wasn’t really studying anyway.” He chuckled, though it sounded pretty nervous.

Minho reciprocated Jisung’s chuckle.

“Just this way, there’s a computer here,” Jisung said, gesturing to the side and for Minho to follow him.

Minho quickly hurried after him and came to find Jisung wiggling the mouse of a computer on a high table to get the screen to light up.

“So, uh, this is the search engine we use,” Jisung said, gesturing to the computer screen. Minho shuffled closer to get a good, fascinated look. “Then up here, you just type in whatever book you want.” Jisung typed in a random book title, and different results showed up.

At the proximity they were at, Minho inhaled and immediately got the smell of… strawberry?

Minho had to steady his breathing a little so he didn’t make some kind of weird sound.

He smells like fucking strawberries. What kind of person just smells like strawberries ? And is that… caramel? Fuck. So Jisung apparently just casually smells like that.

“And then once you find the book you want,” Jisung said, his eyes firmly glued to the computer screen, as if scared to look away, “just click on it, and you can see the shelf number and what floor it’s on.” Jisung pointed to the row of information.

Minho hummed with a nod. “Right. That’s a lot easier than alphabetical.”

“Right?” Jisung nodded.

There was another silence.

“Um, by the way…” Jisung said, almost shyly, breaking the awkwardness. “I, um… I like your hair.”

Chapter Text

Minho shouldered open the door to his lecturer’s office.

“Minho, nice to see you,” she smiled. “Can I help you?”

“No,” Minho said, but placed a photo down on her desk, its orange hues enhanced slightly and shadows deepened a little.

“What’s this?” she asked, picking it up to examine it.

Minho licked his lips. “What I love to photograph.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

A casual walk around campus was better than going to a lecture in Hyunjin’s opinion. His course was boring right now anyway, and if he was caught by staff, he could just say he was on his way.

He had almost reluctantly lit a cigarette and gradually puffed on it as he walked, but for some reason, it wasn’t hitting the same. It made him feel… he didn’t know. Dirty? It was dumb. Nevertheless, he finished the cigarette before stomping it out as he walked past one of the few single storey buildings on campus. It was pretty squat and really old, the windows  running along the top half of the walls. Hyunjin wandered along, peering inside as he went. He paused when he caught a glimpse of sandy blond hair and realised Felix was sitting at one of the tables, opposite to someone.

Hyunjin stopped in his tracks and looked through to see what he was doing. INside, Felix leant across the table to point out a couple of things on the pages in front of the boy he was talking to, then his face broke out into a smile as the two of them laughed at something.

Hyunjin found himself biting his tongue between his molar teeth for no particular reason and took a breath. He glanced up and saw there were other pairs at other tables. Was this… tutoring?

Hyunjin huffed to himself and rolled his eyes, moving on. He continued walking and tried not to think about how easily Felix had smiled at the other boy. Why did he never smile at Hyunjin like that anymore?

Hyunjin grunted and reached into his pocket, about to pull out a cigarette and his lighter before he stopped. His hand traced the cigarette box before he pulled his hand away and jogged over to some random kid walking along. He tapped his shoulder.

“Hey, mate, you got any gum?” Hyunjin asked, holding out a hand. The kid looked a little scared at first before nodding and handing over a stick of it.

“Cheers,” Hyunjin muttered before hurrying off towards his frat house again.

Just for good measure, as he popped the gum in his mouth, he threw his cigarette box in a bin as he passed.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

As it turns out, quitting smoking was more painful for Hyunjin than he had expected.

He grumpily sat back against the couch, arms crossed and leg tapping. It hadn’t even been a full 48 hours and he was already struggling.

“You good, Hyunjin?” Changbin asked as he sat down next to the purple-haired boy. “You look exhausted.”

Hyunjin just grunted.

“Chatty, aren’t we?” Changbin snickered.

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Hyunjin snapped, but immediately regretted it. He sighed. “Sorry, Binnie.”

“It’s fine… what’s the matter with you?” Changbin questioned.

Hyunjin sighed, automatically reaching into his pocket to get out a cigarette to smoke while he talked about the woes of quitting smoking, but only growled under his breath when he remembered he didn’t have any there. “I’m trying to quit smoking.”

Changbin clapped him on the back. “That’s great, man. Really.”

“Fuck, do you have any gum?” Hyunjin asked hopefully, his leg still tapping.

Changbin shook his head. “No, sorry.”

Hyunjin swore under his breath.

“I do,” Chan said as he passed, holding it out.

Hyunjin hastily grabbed it and unwrapped it, popping it in his mouth and chewing. It was grape flavoured or something, and fucking gross, but anything was better than nothing to take his mind off the cigarette he wanted so badly.

Chan raised an eyebrow. “You good?”

“He’s trying to quit the old huff and puff,” Changbin answered for him.

Chan hummed with a nod. “Good. Those things kill you.”

Hyunjin grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Whatever.”

Chan was about to start walking again before he stopped and looked at Hyunjin thoughtfully. “You’re quitting because of Felix, aren’t you?”

Hyunjin averted his gaze, staying silent.

Changbin gasped smacking Hyunjin’s arm

“Oh my god,” Chan said. “You totally are.”

“Yeah, well so what if I am?” Hyunjin snapped in response. “I’m quitting, who cares why, you nosey fuckers?”

Changbin made a face, like he was the one who had just spoken and was scared to see Chan’s response.

Chan crossed his arms and Hyunjin immediately shrunk back. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s what I thought,” Chan said. “I don’t care if the nicotine withdrawal is making you grumpy, you will not speak to anyone with that kind of rudeness, do you understand?”

Hyunjin looked at his lap. “Yes.”

“Good,” Chan said, and continued off to wherever he was going.

Hyunjin sighed, relaxing back slightly. He wanted a cigarette so bad.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Changbin enjoyed cheerleading. It was pretty fun and was a good use for all the time in the gym he put in. He was often used as a base and helped with tosses and jumps, which he didn’t mind.

However, as a member of Kappa Alpha and a cheerleader, he found he had some very mixed friends. He had the friends on the cheer team, and he had the friends in his fraternity. And currently, as the last quarter of the game he was at wrapped up, CHangbin found himself watching two of his friends, one from each side, waving at each other.

He side eyed Jisung before looking over at Minho. He leaned over after Jisung had put his hand back down. “Um, what was that?”

Jisung looked at him, eyes wide like he had been caught committing a crime. “Oh, uh, nothing. I was just saying hi.”

A shot was scored for the Gators and the cheer squad raised their hands and shook the pom poms or just clapped.

Jisung winced as he lowered his arms.

“You okay?” Changbin asked.

Jisung shrugged, massaging his right pectoral muscle. “Yeah, I just got a bit hurt at work, nothing important.”

“Have you told your boss?” Changbin asked. “What did you do to yourself?”

Jisung waved a hand, averting his eyes back to the court. “Just… lifted a box funny.”

“Where do you work?” Changbin questioned, a little concerned but the idea that Jisung could get hurt by lifting something as simple as a box. Jisung was a pretty strong guy.

“A place with boxes, obviously,” Jisung said shortly. He cleared his throat. “Sorry.”

Changbin shrugged. “It’s fine. Just make sure to take it easy, okay?”

Jisung nodded with a faint smile.

The final buzzer sounded, and the cheer squad did a few celebratory jumps for the Gators win. Nothing big, just a casual win that was basically guaranteed from the start.

Changbin stretched as people started leaving and the teams finished up.

“Hey, I was thinking,” Jisung said, nudging Changbin in the side as they packed up. “Do you reckon we need another flyer?”

Changbin glanced around at their squad. He shrugged. “Um, maybe.”

“Well, I was thinking while we did our routine,” Jisung continued. “I think we need another one. Only having two makes all our routines look a little incomplete, if you ask me.”

“Do you have someone in mind?” Changbin asked.

Jisung nodded as they zipped up their bags. “Yeah, I think so. You think I should ask him?”

Changbin hummed for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah, I reckon.”

“Excuse me?”

Changbin glanced over his shoulder and found Minho standing behind them. He turned back to sorting out his bag. “Oh, hey, Minho.”

Jisung waved, somewhat awkwardly. “Uh, hey. Nice win.”

Minho dipped his head in a nod. “Thanks. Hey, listen, I was wondering if you two want to come get a coffee or something.”

Changbin straightened back up and raised an eyebrow as he looked at Minho again. “You want to get coffee?”

Minho shrugged. “Yeah, why not?”

Changbin shrugged back. “Yeah, sure. Jisung, you in?”

Jisung slowly nodded after a moment. “Um, yeah, sure.”

“Cool, let’s go,” Minho prompted, nodding over to the door.

Jisung slung his bag over his shoulder and followed Minho out as Changbin hurriedly got his shit together and trailed after them.

On the walk to the small café off campus, Changbin found himself struggling to contribute to the conversation. It had been awkward at first, but once Minho and Jisung found a common topic of interest, which just so happened to be cats (God, why did it always have to be cats?), Changbin had almost nothing helpful to contribute.

Jisung’s initial awkwardness slowly wore off and Minho made him laugh easily, and Changbin just watched the whole thing, not entirely sure if Minho had really wanted him there in the first place. 

The cafe they ultimately ended up at was small but warm inside, and the three found a small table in the back corner, where Changbin only continued being the ‘listener’. He almost felt rude for being there, even though he was invited, and kind of felt like he was intruding on some kind of date.

Anyone with a brain would have assumed it was a date, with the way Minho looked at Jisung as the brunet recounted the snapping of one of his guitar strings.

Changbin sat beside Jisung and watched as the two somehow easily escaped into their own little bubble of a world, filled with laughter and trading of information; it was odd, considering Changbin hadn’t even been aware they knew each other. Now, Changbin would not be one to say he was a perfect people-reader. But as he watched Jisung and Minho laugh, genuinely and unfiltered, he knew.

He was the third wheel on an unofficial date.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix had to roll his eyes when he was simply trying to walk to a lecture and Hyunjin showed up.

Felix had been having a pleasant morning, after a (rather unhealthy but delicious) breakfast of Nutella on a croissant and some washed, fresh berries, a refreshing and unhurried skin care routine and a cute outfit of a tight black singlet and long, denim shorts, he picked up his tote bag, filled with class notes and his laptop, and began on his way. The morning air was cool, but was filled with promises of a warm afternoon, and he appreciated the sound of soft bird call. Of course, it was no kookaburra, but the little magpies found in Seoul were pleasant enough. And yet Hyunjin still found a way to ruin it for him.

“Good morning, princess,” Hyunjin said, immediately making Felix walk a little faster. “Hope you don’t mind if I walk you to your lecture.”

“I don’t need you to walk me,” Felix snapped.

“How’ve you been?” Hyunjin asked casually, hands in his pockets as he trailed after Felix like some sort of lost dog.

“Do you ever actually go to classes?” Felix asked as he turned into a building and began up some stairs.

“I go to the odd lecture every now and then,” Hyunjin responded, following him up the steps. “But only when I feel like it.”

“What, is art too easy for you to bother, or are you just too dumb?” Felix asked. It was mean, but he was fed up with this guy.

“Don’t call me dumb,” Hyunjin hissed.

“You’re yet to prove to me that you’re anything else,” Felix said, exasperated.

Felix sighed as he continued around a corner and up more steps. “Stop staring at my ass.”

Hyunjin cleared his throat behind him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Felix immediately whirled around, glaring down at Hyunjin, who was caught off guard and very clearly staring at Felix’s midsection, though he tried to save himself by averting his eyes. Felix just scoffed, annoyed, and turned, going back to climbing the stairs.

“I don’t know how you can blame me,” Hyunjin whined, hurrying up a few steps at a time to catch up to him again. “You have a nice ass.”

“You’re a pervert,” Felix commented.

“Seriously, what’s your routine to make it that round-”

“Hyunjin, leave me alone,” Felix sighed, turning another twist to climb more steps, heading for his floor - finally.

“I think you’ve been kind of unfair to me,” Hyunjin said, still behind him. “You decide that you’re not even going to give me a chance just because of a few people telling you I don’t have an interest in dating you. You don’t even know me.”

Felix stepped up onto the landing and turned again, staring Hyunjin down, who was a few steps below. “ I’m being unfair? I’ll tell you what.” Felix placed his palms together, pointed his fingers at Hyunjin. “If you can tell me right now, to my face, and entirely honestly, that you actually want to pursue a relationship with me, and not just fuck me, then throw me to the side like all the others before me, then sure. You can take me out to a café or restaurant or a movie, and I won’t object. I’ll give you a chance.”

Hyunjin just blinked up at him, lips parted slightly like he was confused.

Felix crossed his arms. “Go on. Honestly tell me that you’re not pursuing me just so you can fuck me once then bugger off and never speak to me again.”

Felix glared down at Hyunjin, and once a few seconds passed of Hyunjin’s stunned silence, Felix made an annoyed sound before spinning on his heel and walking towards the lecture hall door.

“Hey now, it wasn’t fair to spring that on me so suddenly with no warning,” Hyunjin said quickly, climbing the last few stairs to try and catch him again. He called out when Felix pulled the lecture hall door open. “I’ve quit smoking, you know!”

Felix looked over his shoulder at him, a dark glare in his eyes. “Yipee, congratulations to you.” Then he stepped through the door, muttering an English ‘asshole’ as he disappeared into the lecture hall.

Hyunjin was left standing at the top of the stairs like an idiot, eyes still on the now closed door. He considered going after him, but he just sighed and decided it wasn’t fucking worth it.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“So, Lix,” Jisung said casually from where he was splayed on Felix’s bed.

“Yes.”

“Have you ever considered extra curricular activities?” Jisung questioned.

“Not really,” Felix said.

“Great, because we need another member for our cheerleading squad,” Jisung said.

Felix raised an eyebrow at him with a laugh. “You’re not serious.”

“Dead serious,” Jisung said. “We need another flyer, and you’re small and light. You’d be perfect to get chucked around.”

Felix chuckled, though there wasn’t much humour behind it. “Oh, Jisung, not a chance.”

“But Felixxxx,” Jisung whined. “Just imagine yourself in the uniform! You would look so good in the cropped shirt and, oh my god, if you wore the skirt?” Jisung pretended to cry. “You would break hearts, Lix.”

“Jisung,” Felix said. “I don’t care if you think I would look cute in a skirt or not. I don’t want to break my neck getting chucked in the air.”

“I wouldn’t drop you,” Jisung said proudly.

“For the last time,” Felix said. “I am not joining your cheerleading squad, and that’s final. ”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“I cannot believe you got me to do this shit,” Felix sighed, tugging at the hem of the cropped shirt he wore, ‘GATORS’ lettered loud and proud across his chest.

“In case you didn’t notice, I’m an incredibly persuasive person,” Jisung said with a bright smile swishing the bottom of the skirt he had managed to get Felix into.

“I gathered,” Felix sighed, the sound of light chatter around them echoing in the gym.

“Come on, don’t be sour,” Jeongin said, gently nudging Felix in the side. “Come and meet everyone.”

Felix reluctantly followed his friends over to the group that had gathered and was introduced to everyone as their new flyer.

Everyone was very nice, and their coach was a kind lady known as Kat, who was very excited to have a new flyer on the squad.

And as it turned out, the training was not as bad as Felix had expected. He had to show off his flexibility first, and he demonstrated his ability to do a back-flip. From there, it was just a matter of warming him up to the idea of being thrown around and the more general combinations of cartwheels and walkovers.

It was more fun than he had expected it to be.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

The campus café was mediocre at best. It was pretty big, but neither the food or the coffee was great. Regardless, the students went there because it was cheap and a good place to hang out with friends or study.

Minho liked it because they had cookies in the shape of cats. He liked cats.

He ordered one to take away, and was about to leave when he caught a glimpse of a familiar, round face sitting alone in a booth.

Jisung had a book and a notebook before him, plus a strawberry milkshake that he was sipping from.

Minho checked his watch, realised he had time to spare, and wandered over. He tapped on the table top.

Jisung glanced up and his neutral expression morphed into a smile. “Oh, hi.”

“Want some company?” Minho asked. After their outing after the basketball game a few days ago (where Minho admittedly used Changbin a little to spend more time around Jisung, though they were cool after Minho bought him a protein bar), Minho had found himself desperately wanting to talk to Jisung more. It was kind of odd, but he really liked spending time with Jisung, and he had found they would exchange a few words of ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’ after Minho’s basketball training and before Jisung’s cheer practice.

Jisung nodded, gesturing to the seat opposite him in the booth. “Sure. What brings you here?”

“To the café? Cat-shaped cookies,” Minho said, holding up the little white bag that contained, you guessed it, his cat-shaped cookie. “To this seat? I like the ambience of this exact spot. I have no interest in speaking to you, I just like the chair.”

Jisung let out a soft laugh, shaking his head softly. “You know you’re a bad liar, right?”

Minho nodded as he unbagged his cat cookie. “Yes, fully aware. What are you working on?”

Jisung shrugged, promptly closing his notes and book. “Just boring study stuff. Honestly, I was looking for an excuse to take a break.”

“Oh, so I’m just an excuse?” Minho asked teasingly, pretending to be hurt.

Jisung laughed, moving his milkshake to be more directly in front of him. He took a sip. “No, I like hanging around you. You’re funny.”

Minho smiled softly, pretending not to notice the redness creeping up Jisung’s cheeks and neck. “Yeah, I like hanging around you, too.” He quickly cleared his throat because he felt awkward instantly. “So, um, what are you studying?”

“Boring shit I don’t want to do but do anyway because I need to go to university,” Jisung sighed. “How about you? How’s your photography going?”

Minho hummed as he bit off the cat’s head. “Alright. I was looking for a subject for ages and was really struggling.”

“Oh, did you find one?”

Minho basically felt his eyes soften as he looked over Jisung’s face as he took another sip of his milkshake through his red straw. He had on that jacket again, the one with all the pins on it. He liked looking at the pins. He hoped one day Jisung might let him look at each one individually. “Yeah, I did.”

“Well, you should show me some of your photography some time,” Jisung said with a nod. “I’d bet it’s really good.”

Minho chuckled softly. “It’s alright.”

“Do you like photographing landscapes or people more?” Jisung asked.

Minho bit off the cat’s tail with a hum. “I used to only do inanimate objects, but… now I think I quite like photographing people.”

“Well, next time you want to experience the ambiance of that spot, tell me,” Jisung said with a nod. “And bring your photos. I want to see them.”

Minho smiled a little crookedly. “Yeah, okay. I will.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“Do not be nervous,” Jisung said, squeezing Felix’s shoulder comfortingly. “It’s just a casual home game, and you’re only doing a few flips during the halftime ‘show’. And the rest of the time, just act like you care when the team scores. Nothing complex.”

Felix hummed and nodded as they walked into the gym that was slowly filling up with spectators. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll be fine. Everything will be-”

Felix, without even thinking, automatically ducked down behind the side of the bleachers.

“God, what is it?” Jisung asked, tilting his head to watch as Felix peaked over the bleachers towards the court.

“You are the worst friend to ever exist,” Felix said, looking back at Jisung with a glare. “You never told me I would be cheering for a team with Hyunjin on it!”

Jisung shrugged. “Well, what did you expect? Golf? This is the only basketball team our school has.”

“Well I don’t know,” Felix grumbled, still hidden behind the bleachers. “I thought we would be cheering for Gridiron or something and walking through the gym was a short cut.”

Jisung made a face. “What in the ever loving fuck is Gridiron?”

Felix looked at him like he was stupid. “You know. Gridiron. The one with the ball and big shoulder pads? Gridiron football?”

Jisung chuckled slightly. “You mean just football?”

“No, I mean Gridiron. Footie and Gridiron are not the same sport,” Felix stated, making Jisung roll his eyes and grab Felix’s arm.

“Look, I don’t care that you Australians have weird names for sports, but we are here to cheer for basketball, ” Jisung said, pulling Felix over to their spot.

Felix groaned loudly but decided that ignoring Hyunjin’s presence entirely would be the best way to handle this.

The game started eventually with an easily won tip-off, and Felix just did what he came to do. Cheer when the Gators did a good job. 

It was about 3 minutes in when Felix and Hyunjin accidentally made eye contact. Up until that point, Felix had been fairly sure that Hyunjin hadn’t known he was there. But the moment their eyes met, Hyunjin was almost hit in the face by the ball because he apparently stopped paying attention to the game. Felix just grunted and rolled his eyes. Then, for the rest of the game, Hyunjin seemed to be acting extra douche-y, just for the sake of it, making fancy shots and acting more arrogant than Felix had ever seen him.

During the halftime routine, Felix could tell Hyunjin wasn’t hearing a word his coach was saying to him. He just had his eyes glued to Felix, and not his face, just his body (which he had to admit, did look great in the skirt and crop top). Felix basically felt him undressing him with his eyes.

Wait, what the fuck? Why the hell was Felix even paying any attention to what Hyunjin was doing? Stupid.

Felix almost cried in relief when the game was finally over and he could leave.

“Going back to your dorm now?” Jisung asked as they started packing up after the game was over.

Felix hummed with a nod. “Yeah, I’ve got some stuff I need to get prepped to go for tutoring tomorrow morning. Just some flashcards, but I’ve been putting them off. You?”

“I gotta go to work,” Jisung sighed with a shrug.

Felix tilted his head a little. “Oh, yeah? Where do you work again?”

Jisung glanced to the side. “Uh. A… market?”

“You don’t sound too sure,” Felix joked, making Jisung shrug.

“Yeah, well,” Jisung sighed, picking up his bag. “I don’t really like it, but it’s work and I get money for it, so…”

“I get that,” Felix said. “And by the way… I’m sorry for getting mad at you before. I should have known it would be for basketball.”

Jisung waved a hand. “Don’t be silly, you had no way of knowing, and I should have told you.”

Felix smiled at him. “Don’t worry, we’re good. Now off you go, don’t be late for work.”

Jisung offered a half-smile. “Okay, Lix, see you.” 

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Off to the side, Hyunjin watched as Felix spoke with Jisung. He knew he wanted to go and talk to him. He did. And he almost did. He was about to go over and say something about how good Felix’s ass looks in that skirt, or how nice his waist is accentuated by the crop top, or maybe tease him about joining the cheer team to be closer to him, regardless of the fact he knew that wasn’t true. 

But something stopped him.

As he overheard Felix telling Jisung about tutoring materials and the thought of joining tutoring just to get closer to Felix crossed his mind, Hyunjin stopped in his tracks.

He just watched Felix talk for a moment before he sighed and spun on his heel to walk back to the frat house with his brothers. 

What was he even doing at this point? Seriously? He was following this boy around because he wanted to fuck him. But maybe… maybe he finally kind of got it. Felix was really not interested. And who cares if he wasn’t? That reflected more on him than it did on Hyunjin, anyway, and it wasn’t like Hyunjin hadn’t tried. But did that say something about Hyunjin’s ability to pull whoever he wanted? Probably. But did Hyunjin care? Not at all. Maybe it was time to just give it up.

“You okay, Hyunjin?” Chan asked, snapping Hyunjin out of his thoughts.

Hyunjin glanced up and found he was already in the living room. When he got there? Who fucking knew?

“Um, yeah,” Hyunjin nodded. “Just a little out of it, I think. I’m tired.”

Chan nodded. “Well, go have a shower then laze around a bit, We’ll watch a movie or something. Minho, you in?”

Minho hummed, waving a hand. “Nah, I think I might have a quick shower then head out.”

“Where you off to?” San asked as he passed.

“I was thinking the gay strip club downtown. I really just need to relax, I’m exhausted,” Minho said with a shrug. “Anyone want to come?”

San shook his head. “Nah. I’ve got my own little gay stripper right here. Actually, that reminds me.” He made his way to the stairs and yelled towards one of the bathrooms. “WOOYOUNG, ARE YOU DONE YET? WE’RE GONNA MISS OUR RESERVATION!”

“ALMOST, JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE!” Wooyoung called back.

Hyunjin waved Minho off as he left, then climbed the stairs to shower. He wanted a cigarette so bad.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Jisung was used to the flashing lights of the strip club by now.

Tonight, he was already a little sore from cheerleading earlier, and his right underarm was still sore from when he had done a few too many shoulder mounts at work a few days ago. But regardless, the club had a fair few people around, so he had to just do his job.

Tonight was one of the rare nights he would actually do a strip. It mostly just involved taking off his shirt and shorts while swinging around his pole for they prying eyes of random guys, so he was mostly just able to imagine he was alone in his room just fucking around.

That was until he was in the process of sliding his shirt off his arms that he spotted a familiar, sharp-featured face in the crowd and almost slipped off the pole. He was surprised Minho was there, of course, but the only thing Jisung could think was please don’t see me, please don’t see me, please don’t see me. But this was a strip club, and he was on a raised platform. Minho saw him. But Jisung had to pretend that he had no idea that Minho was there and just finish his set.

It was agony and he had never been more embarrassed in his life.

But finally it was over and Jisung could put his clothes back on and get off stage.

He was about to run back to the change rooms to hope he could dig a hole and die at the bottom of it when he found Minho in his way.

He laughed, extremely awkwardly. “Uh… hey.”

Minho blinked at him, seemingly in a state of mild shock. “Hi.”

Jisung pursed his lips, clasping his hands together. “So, uh… what brings you here?”

Minho tilted his head. “Do you… want to sit down?”

Jisung laughed, again nervously and awkwardly. “Uh…”

“Please,” Minho asked, and Jisung just deflated.

“Yeah, sure,” Jisung sighed and followed Minho to a table off the side.

They sat opposite each other for a solid while as Jisung just stared at the table, on the verge of tears.

“Jisung, are you okay?” Minho asked, tilting his head a little to try and look at him in the eye.

Jisung bit his lower lip to stop it from trembling and looked to the side to make sure his tears didn’t spill. “I’m fine.”

“Jisung,” Minho said, placing one of his hands on the table and leaning forward. “Jisung, look at me.”

Jisung reluctantly looked up, glitter dusted eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

“Please don’t think I’m about to judge you.”

Jisung blinked, surprised. “You… you’re not?”

Minho gently shook his head. “No. I just… Jisung, why do you work here?”

With a sigh, Jisung hid his face in his hands. “God, this is so embarrassing. I really hoped you wouldn’t find out. Please don’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t… And I don’t see it as anything to really be ashamed of,” Minho said, running his fingers through the back of his hair. “It’s… It’s work, and all uni students need money, so… I guess I just want to know why you chose here. ”

Jisung stayed a little quiet, peeking at Minho through his fingers.

Minho quickly stumbled to try and save himself. “Um, but I get it if we’re not really, like, at that level of information yet, like, if we’re not, like, close enough for that, or, like, you don’t feel comfortable telling me, or, like-”

“No, it’s not that,” Jisung cut him off, picking at his sleeve when he brought his hands away from his face. “It’s only… God, it’s stupid. But, for as long as I can remember… I’ve wanted to perform. I wanted to be a dancer or an actor or a model, or even an idol if that’s what it took. Anything to get me on a stage. I wanted people to see my face and feel something. To look at my face and know me as someone who has actually made a difference. But, it’s a hard industry to make it in, and… well, I guess this was my best shot into it. I took this job because at least I’m on stage, though it isn’t really my ideal idea of a stage.” He laughed humourlessly, looking away. “I don’t know, it’s dumb.”

Minho quickly shook his head. “No, no, I don’t think it’s dumb. Really. I think it’s a valid thing, I really do.”

Jisung blinked at him. “Really?”

Minho nodded. “Yeah. And you know what? As a photographer… I think you would make a great model. Just for the record.”

Jisung blushed, but he hoped Minho would only think it was a trick of the light off the glitter on his face. “Um… Well, thanks. It means a lot to hear that. I think you would make a nice model, too.”

Minho laughed. “Do you now?”

Jisung nodded. “Yeah. Your facial features would work well. And your hair. Your hair is really nice, too. It compliments your face at that length.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

When Minho arrived back home, he was a little stunned. He had ended up chatting with Jisung for almost another hour before Jisung was called back to work, and Minho had decided to leave to spare Jisung a little dignity. Not that he thought Jisung’s work was undignifying or anything! He just didn’t want Jisung to feel awkward about it, and he felt wrong watching him work… it was much better for everyone involved if he just went home.

“Hey, how was it?” Chan asked from where he and Hyunjin sat on the couch, Joshua, Jinjin and Seonghoon also scattered about and watching the end of the movie that played on the TV.

Minho hummed absently. “Fine.”

“Didja get a lap dance?” Jinjin asked sneakily.

Minho only shook his head.

Chan made a sound of exclamation as the credits rolled. “Oh, by the way, before I forget. Minho, do you want me to do your hair now, before I forget and you have to deal with the front being too long for another month?”

Minho furrowed his eyebrows at the ground before he slowly shook his head. “You know what? I think I’m okay.”

“Really?” Chan asked, surprised.

Minho nodded, eyes still on the ground. “Yeah. I think… I think I’m gonna leave it like this for a while.”

Chan gave him a confused look, but shrugged. “Alright, if that’s what you want.”

Beside him Hyunjin tipped his head back and hummed.

“What?” Chan asked.

Hyunjin waved a hand. “Oh, nothing. Just had a thought.”

Chan hummed suspiciously. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

Minho stretched dramatically. “I think I’m gonna turn in for tonight.”

The five around the TV waved.

“Alright, goodnight,” Sunghoon said.

Minho nodded to himself, even as he climbed the stairs up to his room and no one could see him. “‘Night.”

Chapter Text

Hyunjin would have to say he was notorious for making bad choices. He had collected an array of them, like the one time he belly-flopped off the top of a building into a pool and broke three of his ribs.

However, this bad choice was not a bad choice at all in his opinion. Yes, people were very surprised when he rocked up to the next frat party, his head shaved and coloured blond, but his hair was down the sink upstairs and the blond was just for fun. He found himself continuously forgetting that he had impulsively shaved it off, so he often caught himself going to run his hand through it, only to find there was nothing to run his hand through. It had caused a big fuss, and a lot of people ran their hands over his head to feel the spiky texture, but he didn’t mind. It felt kind of nice.

In fact, that’s what was happening right now. He had a pair of hands running over his head, making his scalp feel funny when the hair was pushed in certain directions. Then again, he wasn’t really paying much attention to how his scalp felt, because he had some boy pressed up against a wall and had his tongue in his mouth.

There were people everywhere and he didn’t know this kid’s name. He honestly didn’t really care. Hyunjin was honestly just here so that he could prove to himself that he hadn’t lost his touch just because Felix didn’t want to sleep with him. Felix’s choice didn’t mean Hyunjin was losing his thing. He was very capable of fucking whoever he wanted, and he was going to prove it with this guy he was making out with.

“Well this is sad,” a voice from the side said, making Hyunjin sigh and pull away from the boy to see who was actually interrupting him right now.

“Fuck off, Minjun, I’m busy,” Hyunjin snapped.

“Clearly,” Minjun snickered, arms crossed.

Hyunjin sighed and straightened up, glaring at the ceiling before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and nodding for the boy to go. He quickly scurried off.

“What do you want?” Hyunjin demanded, leaning his shoulder against the wall, arms crossed.

“Nothing much,” Minjun said with a sniff. “It’s just sad to see you’ve lost your touch.”

“Excuse me?” Hyunjin snapped.

“You clearly gave up on that other guy you wanted to fuck,” Minjun commented. “You’ve lost your touch.”

“Did you not just see me with that other guy?” Hyunjin demanded.

“I did, but he wasn’t the one you were going after, was he?” Minjun smiled, though he didn’t seem overjoyed.

“I haven’t lost my touch,” Hyunjin snapped.

“If you say so,” Minjun shrugged. 

“I do say so,” said Hyunjin. “In fact, I could totally get Felix to sleep with me if I wanted to.”

Minjun raised an eyebrow. “Could you now?”

Hyunjin nodded, moving to run his fingers through his hair before remembering it wasn’t there and just rubbed his palm over the short hair instead. “I could.”

“Are you willing to bet on that?”

Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

“Are you willing to bet, ” Minjun asked again. “If you can’t get this Felix guy to fuck you in say… 3 months, you owe me money.”

Hyunjin bit the inside of his cheek before he nodded. “Fine, how much?”

“180 thousand won,” Minjun said, as if he had been considering the details all night before he even came and spoke to Hyunjin.

Hyunjin eyed Minjun suspiciously. “Why are you willing to bet 180 thousand won just to see if I can get someone to fuck me?”

Minjun shrugged innocently. “Why not? And in case you didn’t notice, I don’t like you, and seeing you be proven wrong and me right? I couldn’t pass that up.”

Hyunjin pushed off the wall to stand up straight and held out his hand. “You’re so fucking on.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“Felix,” Hyunjin said, in what he was fairly certain was a smooth way.

Felix didn’t even look up from his novel but rolled his eyes. He stopped humming to the song he was listening to through his headphones, too. Hyunjin moved Felix’s tote bag over to the side before taking a seat on the bench beside him. Felix grunted, apparently annoyed, and tried to shuffle away from Hyunjin a little, though the way his legs were curled up made it harder.

“What are you reading?” Hyunjin asked, leaning over a little to try and read the title.

“And what does that matter to you?” Felix snapped, not looking up from the pages or removing his white wire headphones.

Hyunjin hummed when he read the title. “Clash of Kings, and wasn’t it only a few days ago I saw the first book in your bag. Impressive.”

“I don’t care that you find my ability to read books quickly impressive,” Felix responded.

“Why don’t you just watch the TV show?” Hyunjin asked.

Felix sighed. “Because I like to read, Hyunjin, and I prefer to read books before I watch the movies or TV shows.”

“Who knew?” Hyunjin mused. He reached over and picked up Felix’s phone, clicking open the lock screen. “Whatcha listening to?” He looked over the lock screen, to find a cute cartoon chick and what looked like a ferret floating on a pool of pretty green water together. Felix had a few random notifications, and the Spotify pop up showed Felix was listening to Feel by Robbie Williams.

Felix grunted, reaching over and plucking the phone from Hyunjin’s hands. “Don’t touch my stuff.”

“You like Robbie Williams?” Hyunjin scoffed.

“And so what if I do?” Felix snapped.

“He was a tosser, you know,” Hyunjin said, making Felix grunt under his breath.

“That’s rich, coming from you. And yeah, maybe he made some poor choices when he was younger, but he went through a lot and he’s a good person now,” Felix snapped. “And he happens to be my favourite artist, so why don’t you fuck off with your opinions.”

Hyunjin raised his eyebrows. “Okay, sor-ry.”

“Do you need something, or are you just here to insult my reading choices and music taste-” Felix started, keeping one of his fingers on his page as he closed the book and looked up at Hyunjin but stopped. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly. “You changed your hair.”

“Thank you for noticing, princess,” Hyunjin smiled, running his palm over it. “Like it?”

Felix looked at him for a moment before looking away, back to his book. “No.”

“You might like it more if you feel it,” Hyunjin suggested. “It’s fuzzy like a kiwi fruit.”

“I’m not going to rub your head to see if you feel like a kiwi fruit, Hyunjin,” Felix sighed, turning a page.

Hyunjin hummed, leaning back on the bench backrest. “That’s a shame. It’s therapeutic.”

“I’m sure it is,” Felix said with a sigh before turning the volume all the way up on his phone to the point Hyunjin could hear a muffled sound of a song - he didn’t know if it was the same or different, he didn’t listen to Robbie Williams, like at all, and never really had. But regardless, Hyunjin could tell the conversation was over. And he respected that, so he got up, waved at Felix, and left. Being annoying like before would not work at all. Hyunjin needed a plan of attack, and he certainly had one. He began making his way to admin. He had a sudden urge to be tutored in English.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Over the past few weeks, Jisung and Minho had been chatting regularly. Not only did they say brief hello’s in the gym between their trainings and before and after basketball games, but they had exchanged contact information and had been texting almost every night.

It was on a sunny afternoon that Jisung received the text:

Cat Daddy: meet me at the campus café immediately im having a crisis

Jisung smiled as he re-read the message for the millionth time. Yes, he had named Minho Cat Daddy on his phone, but it was just for fun and as a joke. Mostly.

Jeongin and Felix had relentlessly teased him for it, but he just ignored them and accused them of being jealous.

Jisung pushed open the door, the small bell above him chiming to signal his entrance, and the smell of cheap coffee hit him immediately.

He soon found Minho sitting in the same booth they sat at a little while ago, in the same spot.

“Hey, Minho,” Jisung smiled as he slid into the seat opposite him. He looked down at the table and smiled when he found a little cat cookie on a plate before him. “Did you get me this?”

“In fact I did,” Minho nodded. 

“Thank you,” Jisung smiled, feeling his cheeks heat up heavily. “Um, let me just grab some notes to pay you back.”

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it,” Minho said, waving a hand. “It was really cheap and I don’t mind.”

Jisung was about to argue, but Minho gave him a look that made Jisung understand this wasn’t debatable.

“So, uh, what’s up?” Jisung asked, taking a bite of the cat cookie.

“I just got a new assignment,” Minho explained. “And, uh, well, I can’t think of anything to photograph.”

Jisung chuckled a little under his breath, then he realised Minho was being serious. “Oh, shit, really?”

“I was hoping you might have some ideas.”

Jisung hummed as he munched on his cookie. “Mm, well, you like photographing people, right? Why not just go and ask one of your friends?”

Minho hummed, like he was not really on board with that idea.

“Or you could do candid stuff?” Jisung suggested. “I really like looking at stuff like that.”

Minho hummed again, nodding. “Yeah, that sounds good, actually. How do you come up with this kind of stuff?”

Jisung shrugged, a shy smile on his face. “I don’t know. I just think of the kinds of photos I like looking at.”

Minho nodded, but what Jisung didn’t know was that Minho had been waiting and hoping for Jisung to volunteer to be photographed.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix tapped the desk as he got lost in his thoughts. He tapped his pen as he waited for Robb, the kid he was tutoring, to show up. His thoughts drifted back to the cheer practice he had attended the night before.

“Alright, gang, I’ve got some great news,” Kat had announced. “In about 3 months from now, the championship games will be on, and the Gators officially have a spot! We’re going to have to step up our game, so there will be actual, difficult routines happening!”

Felix sighed to himself. He found that he was actually kind of looking forward to learning the routines.

He cleared his throat when he heard the chair opposite him be pulled out and looked up, only for his jaw to drop.

“Why the long face, princess?” Hyunjin asked as he took a seat.

Felix shook his head. “Nope, get out of here.”

“But you’re my tutor,” Hyunjin said, as if sad.

“No, I sure as hell am not,” Felix hissed. “Where’s Robb?”

“Off with some other tutor, I’d imagine,” Hyunjin said casually. “I got us swapped.”

Felix buried his face in his hands. “You’re actually joking right now, right?”

“Nope,” Hyunjin said. “Now let’s get down to business, alright? Teach away.”

Felix ran his hand over his face, stopping to cover his mouth. “You’re seriously going to sit there and make me teach you English?”

Hyunjin nodded. “Yep. What’s first?”

Felix took a long breath “Okay, if I agree to do this, you have to take this seriously. I don’t want to see you fucking around and trying to flirt with me the whole time, or I’m out of here, got it?”

“Loud and clear,” Hyunjin said, lacing his fingers together and placing them on the table.

“Okay, fine,” Felix said reluctantly and dug around in his bag before pulling out a few pages or paper. He looked Hyunjin over as he set them down. “Where’s your stuff?”

“My… stuff?” Hyunjin asked.

“My god,” Felix muttered in English before pulling a pen from his bag and sliding it across the table to Hyunjin. “Next time, show up with stationary and paper, got it?”

Hyunjin nodded, picking up the pen. “Yep.”

“Okay, first I need to know how well you understand English,” Felix said with a sigh, pushing one of the pieces of paper over to Hyunjin. “Read this, then I’ll ask you progressively harder comprehension questions until you get the answers wrong, and we’ll go from there.”

All things considered, Hyunjin took this thing seriously. He read through the page and answered the questions Felix asked him. It surprised Felix a little and he was actually quite shocked when Hyunjin got many of the questions right.

“Well,” Felix said, clearing his throat. “You actually did pretty well with that.”

Hyunjin smiled, running his hand over his head. “Thanks, princess.”

Felix sighed, rolling his eyes. “I might actually get you to write me an essay in English on a topic of your choice so I can see your application, too. I’d like that done by the next time we have a session, okay?”

Hyunjin nodded. “Sure.”

“Do you happen to have your laptop, or did you not bring that either?” Felix asked.

“I actually do have that,” Hyunjin nodded, reaching into the bag he brought and pulling it out.

“Alright, well, you get started on that essay now, I’m going to do some reading,” Felix said, pulling out A Storm of Swords, which he had just started reading that morning.

There was a few minutes of silence between them as Hyunjin clicked away on his laptop and Felix read, but then Felix started getting a weird feeling in his stomach. Without looking up, he addressed Hyunjin. “And the essay can’t have anything to do with my ass.”

Hyunjin scoffed like Felix was stupid to think that, but Felix almost instantly heard a lot of backspacing.

Felix rolled his eyes. 

──·☽𖥸☾·──

It was later that night that Felix got an email from the handle ‘[email protected]’ and Felix knew it was Hyunjin. He tapped open the email to find a document attached and the subject line reading ‘Aren’t you impressed I got it done so fast, princess? Don’t worry, though. I’m never this fast in the sheets. I’d have you begging to finish 😉’, which only made Felix groan to himself. Choosing to ignore the comment, Felix decided to print the document out. Marking would be easier with something physical rather than online.

Felix sighed as he picked up the printing - all 7 pages of it - and sat down at his desk, picking up a red pen to mark the thing by hand.

Felix rubbed his eyes and groaned when he read the title. He very nearly crumpled it up and threw it out the window.

Mario, the Idea vs. Mario, the Man

Felix sighed again, blinking before clicking open his pen. He would give Hyunjin the benefit of the doubt this one singular time. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

Everyone knows Mario is cool as fuck.

Okay, Felix was stupid to think this would be anything more than a joke. He crossed out ‘cool as fuck’ and wrote a scribbled ‘ terrible opening ’ above it before continuing to read.

But who knows what he’s thinking? Who knows why he crushes turtles?

Felix rolled his eyes, underlining ‘why he crushes turtles’. ‘ To save the princess? Also gross ’ is what he noted beside it.

And why do we think of him as fondly as we do the mythical (nonexistent?) Dr Pepper?

Felix groaned as he circled ‘Dr Pepper’ and wrote three very obvious question marks above it. What the fuck was Hyunjin even doing, spending his time and wasting Felix’s like this? Dr Pepper? Really??

Perchance.

Felix was close to throwing this paper out the window and snapping his pen in half, and he was only 5 sentences in. He crossed out ‘perchance’ and wrote ‘ you can’t just say “perchance” ’ beside it.

With an exasperated sigh, he continued reading.

I believe it was Kant who said “Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play.”

Felix crossed out ‘I believe’, confused as to where Hyunjin could possibly go with this stupid fucking essay.

Mario exhibits experience by crushing turts-

Felix aggressively underlined those last two words, writing ‘ stop ’ under it.

-all day, but he exhibits theory by stating “Let’s-a go!” Keep it up, baby!

Felix squinted at this fucking disaster of an essay. He circled the last sentence a couple of times before writing several large question marks beside it.

“What is going on?” he muttered to himself before he continued reading.

When Mario leaves his place of safety to stomp a turty-

Felix scribbled out ‘stomp a turty’.

-he knows that he may Die.

Felix crossed out the incorrect capital letter used and wrote a confused ‘ ok? ’ under it.

And yet, for a man who can purchase lives with money, a life becomes a mere store of value. 

Felix sighed.

A tax that can be paid for, much as a rich man feels any law with a fine is a price.

“What the fuck is this guy talking about?” Felix asked himself as his leg jiggled, bothered.

We think of Mario as a hero, but he is simply a one percenter-

Felix circled the last three words before writing ‘ why are we saying this ’ above it.

-of a more privileged variety. A lifekind.

Felix furrowed his eyebrows as he circled ‘the lifekind’ and wrote ‘ what ’ beside it.

Perchance.

Felix grunted and angrily slashed out ‘perchance’, wrote a massive ‘ F ’ on the top of the page for ‘ fuck off’ , before finally throwing his pen down, refusing to read another word of this bullshit.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Over the past few weeks, cheer practice went really well. It was only when the news was placed on Felix that his mood turned from pretty happy to dark as a storm.

As it turns out, everyone had been notified that a promotional video for the championship game would be being filmed. Now, that is all well and good, until Felix realised that the cheer team and the basketball team would be partaking in it. And when Felix discovered he had been paired with Hyunjin for some stunts, he almost left the room. But Felix had no room for arguments, because he had to run to get to tutoring straight after cheer practice.

He was a little out of breath when he finally rocked up and took a heavy seat across from Hyunjin, who was looking smug as ever.

“Hey, partner,” Hyunjin said, a shit-eatting grin across his face.

Felix scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Don’t be sour,” Hyunjin smiled as Felix finally caught his breath and began pulling out his papers. “We were just paired because our size difference works for the lifts, that’s all.”

Felix rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Whatever. What we really need to talk about right now is this monstrosity of an essay.”

Hyunjin looked down at the paper, the big red ‘ F ’ on it and all the corrections and looked up at Felix. “What about it?”

“What the fuck was this?” Felix demanded, jabbing his pen at it. “I didn’t even mark the whole thing because of what a waste of time it was.”

Hyunjin shrugged. “Was it wrong?”

Felix opened his mouth, and automatic ‘yes’ on his lips before he stopped. “What?”

“I said, was it wrong? ” Hyunjin asked. “You asked for an essay to see how I applied my English. I gave you an essay in English.”

Felix didn’t know what to say for a moment. “I… Well, yeah, I guess so.”

“See?” Hyunjin said, pulling the essay over to look at Felix’s marks. “I was fluent plenty.”

Felix pursed his lips as Hyunjin began giggling at Felix’s notes. “If you’re so good at English already, why are you taking this tutoring course?”

Hyunjin was on the table laughing, and waved the papers at Felix. “Just so I can annoy you with this bullshit.”

The longer Hyunjin laughed at the paper, the more Felix found the corners of his mouth twitching up. And soon enough, he was laughing with Hyunjin because god, the essay was so fucking shit. He didn’t even care that he was laughing with Hyunjin right now. It honestly just felt nice to laugh with him after so long of just being bothered.

“You know,” Hyunjin hummed when they were both still laughing but he was calm enough to talk. “I still think you’re pretty when you laugh.”

Felix didn’t want to admit it made him blush.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix sat with Jeongin and Jisung at the end of the basketball court to watch the scrimmage wrapping up. Felix was only there because Jisung wanted to watch the game ‘from the perspective of the hoop’ and didn’t want to do it alone. So, here he was, watching as the basketball team violently tried to wrestle each other for a ball.

Felix didn’t get it, and he was pretty sure he never would, but he was okay with that. He didn’t need to understand that kind of dude brain. The kind that scampered after a ball filled with air like a dog.

Felix also didn’t feel safe sitting in the space needed to watch the game ‘from the perspective of the hoop’, because any time the ball was shot or the group came sprinting towards the ring, Felix was convinced he was going to get hit. And when he finally was ‘hit’, it wasn’t by the ball.

It was by Hyunjin.

Hyunjin must have been going for a lay up when Bambam slammed into him from the side and sent the two of them tumbling across the floor. And Hyunjin, by pure accident and because the universe hated Felix, was delivered right at Felix’s feet, head hitting his crossed legs.

“Fuck, are you okay?” Felix asked, looking down at Hyunjin, who looked remarkably joyful for someone who had just stacked it so hard. “That looked like it hurt.”

“I am wonderful, thank you,” Hyunjin grinned up at him.

Felix’s stomach dropped when he realised when he had just asked.

“You were worried, you like me, you wanted to know if I was okay, ” Hyunjin sang teasingly in English, lifting a hand and poking Felix in the nose, to which Felix pulled back from.

“I am not worried about you, ” Felix said, swatting Hyunjin’s hand away. “Any person would ask you that after you just slid halfway across the floor.”

But Hyunjin wouldn’t stop grinning like a dork. “And yet you still asked me, even though you apparently hate me, you like me, you wanna hug me, you wanna kiss me, you like me.” He was still singing his words in English like some idiot.

“You’re an idiot.”

“HWANG GET OFF THE FLOOR!”

Hyunjin’s face dropped into one of panic and immediately got up to his knees. He leaned towards Felix a little, pointing at him. “You are not getting out of this, I hope you know.” Then, he scrambled to stand up. “COACH THAT WAS A FOUL, EVERYONE SAW IT! HE TRIED TO KILL ME!”

“I DID NOT!” Bambam hollered back.

“YOU DID TOO!”

“Did he just hit you with a Hyunjin-ified line from Miss Congeniality?” Jeongin asked.

Felix’s eyebrow furrowed slightly as he watched Hyunjin wail to the coach about fairness and ‘bias against blond buzzes’. “I think he did.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix’s lecture hall was a nice place. Tall ceilings made for good acoustics, and the rows of seats made viewing easy.

“Okay, I know everyone is very busy with their current assignments and what not, but I hope you all can be a part of a very special tradition this school has,” Ms Jung said as the clock hit 5 minutes to the end of the lesson. “There is the annual Literature Carnival happening next Friday, and I would love it if you could organise some stalls. All money goes to help educate kids in 3rd world countries, so I hope as many of you pitch in as you can.”

The cogs in Felix’s mind started clicking as he began packing up his things. Maybe putting up a stall could be fun.

As they were dismissed, Felix considered going back to his dorm room, but it was dark and pitiful there, so the campus café would have to do until he had to go to work in about an hour.

He meandered down to it to find it relatively empty and took a spot at a table against a wall and ordered a little basket of chips. They were salty and so hot he almost burnt the roof of his mouth, but he didn’t mind. They were so good, he had been craving something salty all day.

As he slowly munched on the chips, he pulled out his notepad to waste time with jotting down ideas for his stall. Maybe he should do translated copies of English classics. 

He hummed, liking that idea before he started noting down possible titles.

He was in peace for about 2 minutes before he heard the bell on the door chime and before he knew it, a familiar voice was heard.

“Hello, gorgeous. ”

Felix sighed when he heard Hyunjin sit down opposite him. “Hi.”

“How are you?” Hyunjin asked.

“I’m fine,” Felix responded.

“Well, I must be making some kind of progress,” Hyunjin mused. “You never answer my questions.”

“Can I help you? I’m busy,” Felix responded, but not as harshly as he might usually respond as he looked up at Hyunjin.

“Is it a crime to enjoy your company?” Hyunjin asked innocently, tilting his head.

“I’m usually mean and bitter towards you,” Felix pointed out.

“Yet your beautiful face and cute size make all that okay,” Hyunjin teased, making Felix roll his eyes. 

Felix flicked his eyes up to glare at Hyunjin when the blond reached over and was clearly going for the extra long and extra salty chip Felix had been saving for last. Hyunjin made a face like he was caught doing something wrong (which he was), but continued moving for the chip. 

“Hey, no, I was saving that one the whole time,” Felix whined when Hyunjin’s fingertips were about to brush the chip. “Take a different one.”

Hyunjin shrugged, like he was content that he was at least allowed to have a chip, and moved his hand to get a different one. He popped it in his mouth, let out a “wow, these are good,” before nodding at Felix’s notes. “Whatcha workin’ on?”

“There’s a literature carnival next week and I’m holding a stall,” Felix responded. “I’m going to sell translated classics and all the money goes to charity.”

Hyunjin hummed, leaning over the table a little to read when Felix was writing. “Oh, can you put aside an English copy of Little Women for me?”

Felix raised an eyebrow at him. “ You want to read Little Women?”

Hyunjin shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I saw the movie and burst into tears, I’m sure the book will be just as good.”

Felix hummed, a little surprised.

“You look surprised,” Hyunjin commented.

“Oh, well, I guess I just didn’t really take you as one to be interested in stuff like this,” Felix said with a shrug.

Hyunjin shook his head. “Yeah, well. I really do enjoy those kinds of movies and books. I always have.”

Felix pursed his lips and nodded. “I guess I just never pegged you as someone who would like all those kinds of classics. I just sort of thought you were some kind of pretty boy jock who only ever went to parties and drank. And honestly, I didn’t think this kind of thing was… up your alley.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hyunjin asked, suddenly seeming somewhat defensive. Felix didn’t notice the tonal shift.

Felix shrugged. “I guess… well, you’re doing visual arts… I guess I just thought you almost failed high school and did the only option at uni you had left.”

Hyunjin scoffed, actually seeming a little offended by Felix’s words. “Well, sorry to break it to you princess, but I’m more than just my looks, alright? I’m not just some brute with no personality or intelligence. I’m doing visual arts because I like art, not because I’m dumb, got it?”

Felix raised his hands with his wrists in defence. He was surprised by Hyunjin’s reaction - had honestly been expecting Hyunjin to call him out for calling him pretty. “Okay, okay, sorry. I didn’t know I struck a nerve.”

Hyunjin shook his head, but he didn’t deny it, but then he laughed under his breath. “Okay, this conversation is getting too deep for me, thanks. It’s your turn now,” Hyunjin said, tapping the table and switching his mood right back up. “Tell me something about you.”

Felix raised an eyebrow.

“Come on, it’s only fair,” Hyunjin complained. 

“Do I have to?”

“You just made me grumpy, now make me happy again with your wonderful voice.”

Felix sighed but looked upwards, thinking. He hummed when he thought of something good. “Okay, here’s one. I have a fear of big flightless birds.”

Hyunjin didn’t say anything for a moment before he laughed softly. “A fear of big… flightless… birds. Even penguins?”

Felix considered it for a moment before he shook his head. “No, penguins are okay… but anything like ostriches or cassowaries, oh, and emus! Emus are the worst. I hate any kind of bird like that.”

“May I ask why? ” Hyunjin asked, a smile on his face.

Felix chuckled at the memory. “Well, I went to a national park once, back in Australia. And there was this one fucking emu that just followed me around all the time, wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone even when I tried to get away from it. Then I went down the hill, and on one side, there was this kind of a forest of gum trees. I got to the little lake at the bottom and I hear rustling in the gum trees, and in the shadows, I suddenly see a group of like, three or four emus running down the hill through the trees, apparently just for fucking fun, but I was scared shitless because once they got to the bottom, they just stood there and stared at me.”

Hyunjin laughed, tilting his head. “And how old were you?”

Felix cleared his throat, muttering an inaudible number.

“Sorry, how old?”

“15,” Felix mumbled, which just made Hyunjin laugh harder. “But hey, in my defence, I’ve also had an irrational fear of being hunted by velociraptors since I watched Jurassic World, and emus have feet a lot like velociraptors!”

Hyunjin only laughed harder, hitting the table a couple of times. “My god. ”

“That was a deeply traumatizing thing for me to admittedly talk about, you know!” Felix said, though he was laughing lightly. “You are the worst!” 

Hyunjin nodded. “I know.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Minho was frustrated.

He had called Jisung to the café a few days ago to hope that Jisung would volunteer to get photographed because Minho felt too shy to ask him. But now that he hadn’t, Minho’s lecturer was now nagging him about getting more photos of who Minho ‘loved to photograph’, and Minho was in a pickle.

So what does one do when in a pickle such as this?

Just grow a pair and ask Jisung? Find something else to photograph? Express feelings?

God no.

Show up at the strip club you know he works at.

Minho was in fact sat at a booth table by himself at the back, and watched Jisung do some form of dance routine around a pole to the song Mamushi by Megan Thee Stallion.

It was kind of mesmerising, seeing him majestically twirl and climb the pole in a tiny little skirt, heels, and a tiny shirt that was hardly even there. He had such control over every movement he made that Minho was finding it difficult to take his eyes off him. And the best part? He didn’t have to.

The routine was over much too soon in Minho’s opinion and the moment Jisung left stage behind the curtain to the back, Minho suddenly found he had no interest in watching the new guy get up on stage.

He looked away and busied himself with picking at his nail. He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Jisung leaning over the red leather of the booth, still dressed up from his performance and had the most beautiful glittery makeup on.

Minho wished he could photograph him right at this second.

“I’m starting to think you’re stalking me,” Jisung teased.

“I wouldn’t do something like that,” Minho laughed.

Jisung hummed like he didn’t really buy it before walking over to sit opposite Minho. “Then why have you shown up here again? Like the smell of cheap food, sweat and glitter?”

“Not particularly, but I did want to see you,” Minho admitted.

“Me?” Jisung laughed. Somehow, he seemed more confident while he was sitting across from Minho at that moment. Like he knew exactly who he was and how beautiful he looked. “Why didn’t you just find me at school?”

Minho hummed with a shrug. 

“That’s not really an answer,” Jisung laughed.

“Do you do private shows?”

Jisung’s face paused in an expression of a mix of shock and dumbfoundedness. It was cute.

“Well?” Minho kicked him lightly under the table. “Do you?”

Jisung seemed to snap out of it a little and slowly nodded. “Um, yes.”

“Will you do one for me?”

Jisung seemed to fight the urge to let his face drop back into that expression from before. He cracked a smile. “Aw, do you want me to strip for you? AT least buy me dinner first.”

Minho rolled his eyes with a smile.

“But sure,” Jisung said with a nod. “But you don’t get a freebie just because you’re my friend. Got it?”

“I’m not broke, you know,” Minho responded. “And you’re at work. Expecting a free one would be like asking for a free book if you worked at a bookshop.”

“Interesting analogy, but actually very accurate,” Jisung responded before standing up. “Come on.”

Minho was honestly not expecting Jisung to be so willing, but he didn’t complain, and got up to follow Jisung. 

“Where are we going?” Minho asked as he followed Jisung.

“VIP lounge?” Jisung said, as if it were obvious.

“This place has a VIP lounge?” Minho asked, trying to keep the conversation light to distract them both from what he had just asked for.

“It’s pretty shit, but yeah,” Jisung responded.

As it turns out, the VIP lounge was just a section that was roped off from the rest and empty.

“Pretty sad VIP lounge, am I right?” Jisung sighed as he gestured for Minho to sit down on one of the couches.

Minh hummed as he did so. “It’s not too bad.”

Jisung blinked at Minho. “So… what is it exactly that you want?”

“There are different kinds?”

“Of course,” Jisung said.

“Well, I have this much cash,” Minho said, holding out a stack from his pocket.

Jisung flicked through it before dividing it up. He held up the first stack. “This will give you a normal dance-” he added to the pile, “-this will get you a dance like the one I just did-” added to the pile “-this much will get you a strip-” he added the final amount to the pile “-and this will get you a lap dance with spare for a tip.”

Minho nodded. “Enjoy the tip, then.”

He wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the lights, but Minho swore he saw Jisung blush before slowly nodding and tucking the money into his pocket.

He took a step closer. “You’re sure about this?”

“I just paid you, didn’t I?” Minho said.

“Well yeah,” Jisung shrugged. “But like. We’re friends. This isn’t weird to you?”

Minho shook his head. “To you?”

Jisung also shook his head, taking another step closer. “No, it’s my job.”

Nodding, Minho shrugged. “Then what’s the problem?”

Hands suddenly ran up Minho’s legs and pushed his thighs apart slightly. “There isn’t one,” Jisung responded.

Minho was suddenly questioning his life choices when Jisung climbed onto his lap to straddle him and gently move his hips.

“I’m flattered that you’re blushing already,” Jisung teased as his hands came to rest on Minho’s shoulders as his hips moved on his lap in time to the music echoing around them.

“‘m not,” Minho said bluntly, only making Jisung smile teasingly.

“You’re bad at hiding how flustered you are,” Jisung said, making Minho inhale sharply.

It was pretty clear Jisung knew what he was doing by the way he moved his hips on Minho’s lap, but stayed only on his thighs, never venturing higher. And for some reason, the thought that Jisung had done this with other people, made Minho oddly irritated.

As the song playing ended after Minho had been subjected to an awful lot of rolling of hips and teasing hands, Jisung slipped off him to sit beside him.

“Worth your money?” Jisung teased, though Minho could hear a hint of earnestness in his voice.

“Every cent,” Minho responded, his voice equally light, though he really did mean it. He was just glad he had a big hoodie on, because he wasn’t certain he had been getting a boner, but it was certainly better safe than sorry.

Jisung smiled as he lent his elbow on the back of the couch, resting his head on his palm. He sighed. “My wrist hurts.”

“Why?” Minho asked.

“Doing spins can hurt sometimes,” Jisung admitted. “I was being lazy and I didn’t do one right. Now it’ll hurt for a couple of days.”

“I usually put ice on my injuries, have you ever thought of that?” Minho suggested.

Jisung hummed. “Huh. Jeongin always put heat packs on it but it never helped. Maybe I should try ice.”

Minho laughed, nodding. “Try ice.”

Jisung nodded, averting his eyes slightly to apparently zone out while staring at a spot on the floor.

Minho just watched him, how his makeup glittered in the lights, his his face was just so fucking perfect.

“Would you model for me?” Minho asked.

Jisung looked up at him. “You want me to model for you?” he asked quietly after a moment.

“I do,” Minho said.

It barely took a moment for Jisung to respond. 

“Of course I will.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Hyunjin hummed as he sat cross legged on the couch, his headphones connected to his phone and his phone in his hand.

He currently had Spotify open and was staring at the playlist that was open called ‘Robbie Williams: The Basics’. He leg tapped as he stared at the play button.

He didn’t really want to admit that Felix’s influence, despite not trying to, had given Hyunjin an odd interest in looking into Robbie Williams’ music since that day he had seen him listening to it. It was stupid. Hyunjin clicked his phone off.

Hyunjin then scoffed to himself before opening his phone again and scrolling the playlist. Who cares who influenced him into listening to an artist? He was allowed to listen to music if he fucking felt like it.

When he finally found the title Hyunjin took a breath. Then, he clicked on Feel, ignoring the fact he was only doing this because Felix liked it.

Chapter Text

As far as courtyard festivals went, this one was going very well in Felix’s opinion.

People pranced about, flitting between stalls and chattering noisily.

Felix himself had a little stall set up under a four posted shade with a few stacks of both translated and untranslated classics, and had sold a lot of them so far.

And despite himself, Felix had, in fact, put aside a copy of Little Women, placing it just behind the other copies, and he didn’t like to admit that he had been waiting for Hyunjin to come by and pick it up. He told himself it was so that the copy would just be gone and no one else would take it. If they did and Hyunjin came by and there was nothing left, he probably wouldn’t live it down for a while to come.

He hummed a little to himself as he placed the few notes he had just gotten from a purchase into the money box. The girl who had just bought a translated copy of Emma thanked him and was off, and Felix lent his hands on the folding table now that he didn’t have anyone to attend to. He poked his head out to glance down both directions. Maybe he was looking for Hyunjin. But just so this dumb copy of Little Women would be off his hands.

“Looking for someone, princess?”

Felix immediately turned his head to find Hyunjin standing directly to the side of his table, arms crossed and looking smug.

Felix rolled his eyes. “No.”

“It sure did look like it,” Hyunjin said.

“Yeah, well…” Felix grumbled and held up Little Women . “Just buy it and go?”

Hyunjin raised his eyebrows as he reached into the back pocket of his jeans to pull out his wallet. “Okay, princess, no need to get antsy.”

Felix and Hyunjin exchanged the book and a few notes, and when Felix looked up from where he was putting the money away, Hyunjin was gone. 

Felix made a slightly horrified face to himself when he found himself wondering why Hyunjin didn’t stick around and kind of wishing he had.

“Fucking stupid, ” Felix muttered under his breath as he turned back to have some water from the bottle he had brought along.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he found Hyunjin sitting in the fold-out camping chair Felix had brought, Little Women open in his hand and his feet up on an empty box the books had come in.

“Jesus fucking Christ, what the fuck?” Felix swore in English, leaning his hands on his knees as he tried to help his heart calm down from the stress.

“Oh, sorry, did I scare you?” Hyunjinn asked, but he was smiling like he knew exactly what he had done.

“When did you get back there??” Felix demanded, switching back to Korean.

“You know, you’re very unobservant,” Hyunjin mused, looking away from Little Women and up at Felix.

“What are you doing?” Felix sighed, his hands on his hips.

Hyunjin shrugged, loosely flapping the pages of his new book. “Reading?”

Felix opened his mouth to protest, but closed it. There was really no point to argue. He waved a hand in Hyunjin’s direction. “Fine. Just don’t make a fuss about it, sit quietly and don’t be loud or annoying.”

“Deal,” Hyunjinn said with a wink, that made Felix roll his eyes and turn around back to face outward.

As the day went on, the festival continued. Just as he had been asked, Hyunjin stayed quiet in the back, simply sitting there and the only sound he made was the occasional shuffle when he flipped a page.

Something about it made Felix want to turn around and watch him read. It might have sounded kind of weird, but it wasn’t like that. It was just that he never saw Hyunjin in a calm kind of way, so seeing him just sitting and reading would feel… he didn’t know. Off, yet so right at the same time.

He didn’t let himself look.

Wouldn’t let himself look.

As the sun began to descend through the sky and the last of Felix’s books had been sold, Hyunjin clapped his hands.

Felix glanced over his shoulder at him, flicking away some of the blond strands in his eyes. “What?”

“You’re sold out,” Hyunjin commented, closing Little Women (which he had gotten through very little of) and standing up. “This deserves some celebration.”

“What are you talking about?” Felix asked as he watched Hyunjin pull out his phone.

“I’m talking about maybe some basketball?” Hyunjin asked, typing something into his phone.

Felix shook his head. “Not a chance.”

“Well, do you want to watch, then?” Hyunjin asked as he walked over to get out under the table.

“Why would I want to-”

“FELIX.”

Felix looked up to find Jisung waving at him wildly.

“Jisung?”

“Wanna come watch some basketball?” Jisung asked, not really close enough to talk at a normal volume and was kind of yelling.

Felix glanced at Hyunjin and glared.

“Hey, that was probably Minho,” Hyunjin said defensively. “Not me.”

Felix sighed and rolled his eyes, but he slowly nodded, looking back at Jisung. “Okay, fine!” He looked at Hyunjin and pointed. “But I’m not going too far, okay? I don’t want to leave all this stuff for too long.”

Hyunjin nodded, already beginning on his way. “Sure, princess. The court is just around the side here.”

Felix sighed again, but knelt down to climb under the table before him and stood back up to follow Hyunjin and Jisung.

The outdoor basketball court was only big enough for a three point line to fit in, but Hyunjin declared that was all he needed to ‘smoke these losers’. And by ‘these losers’, he meant his entire basketball team that had rocked up to do some out of hours practice.

“Miss lots, okay?” Felix called after Hyunjin as the blond walked into the court. “It’ll impress me more!”

Hyunjin sent a wink his way, and Felix just rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day when Jisung nudged him with his elbow.

“Don’t you dare, Jisung,” Felix said. “You can’t say anything.” He nodded at Minho.

Jisung all but pushed Felix over.

On the court, Chan passed the ball to Hyunjin before Hyunjin passed it back to him and the scrimmage began.

There was an awful lot of yelling and such, and Felix would admit that some of the shots the teams managed to pull off were rather impressive - but only if Hyunjin wasn’t the one to get the shots in.

It was getting late and everyone seemed tired after about 40 minutes of chaotic, umpire-less scrimmage.

Hyunjin caught the ball at the three point line and pointed at Felix.

“This one’s for you, princess!” He called before lining up the shot and sending the ball flying through the air.

Felix laughed gently to himself when the ball missed the hoop entirely.

Hyunjin didn’t seem to care that he missed, because all he was looking at was Felix. 

“I see you smiling!” He called.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“You do know I don’t want your help,” Felix sighed, arms crossed as Hyunjin fiddled with a string on the little tent.

“Yes, well,” Hyunjin hummed. “You’re so small and petite it made me sad watching you stand on a chair to reach this.”

“I am not that small,” Felix responded from where he stood under the middle of the tent, where it was completely empty now. The folding table and chair and boxes had been cleared out and now all that was left to take down was the tent, and Felix had been managing just fine until Hyunjin and his Prince Charming complex came along and decided to do it himself.

“Okay, princess.”

“Be careful with that, okay?” Felix said, watching as Hyunjin started undoing the string. “That’s the last string, and if you just let it go, the whole thing is gonna-”

Hyunjin let go of the string.

The entire top of the tent suddenly fell and Felix swore when it landed over him.

“Are you serious, right now? Do you ever listen to me when I speak?” Felix asked, now only seeing the white inside of the shade around him.

“Hey, I’m stuck under here, too, no need to attack me,” Hyunjin said from somewhere. 

“I will knife you.”

“Just try to find the edge and we can fold it up.”

Felix sighed but started walking in a direction, bowing his head slightly to let the plastic shade slide over him as he moved.

“Where-” Felix started before he almost ran head first into Hyunjin. He bumped into him a little and looked up at the taller, now that the shade was on Hyunjin’s head, less Felix’s. “What are you doing wandering around under here?”

Hyunjin smiled at him mischievously. “Well, I found you, didn’t I?”

“Once again, I was fine to help myself,” Felix said.

Hyunjin tilted his head, a smile still on his face. “But I’m so helpful.”

“Sure you are.”

Hyunjin pursed his lips a little. “Hey, there’s a frat party happening next week. You should come.”

“Not a chance,” Felix responded without really thinking about his response.

Hyunjin tutted. “Come on, at least give it some thought.”

Felix sighed, waving his hand. “Fine, fine. I’ll think about it. Now come on, let’s get out. It’s hot under here.”

“Probably because I’m-”

“No.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“Hey, Jisung,” Minho said, tapping Jisung’s shoulder.

Jisung turned and smiled as he picked up his bag. “Hey, Minho.”

“You busy?” Minho asked as the last few people finished mingling around the gym.

Jisung shook his head. “No. Why?”

“Wanna get a smoothie at Genna’s or something?” Minho asked.

Slinging his bag higher up his shoulder, Jisung nodded, a small smile making his cheeks rounder than usual. “Yeah, sure.”

“Cool,” Minho smiled, and nodded to the door. The two began walking out from the gym and to the left, heading for the little 24 hour store called Genna’s that sold smoothies from a half-broken machine. They were good anyway, and always had a very home made feel about them.

“So,” Jisung said as they sat at the little bar stools. “What prompted you to invite me here?”

“Is it wrong to just want to be around you because I like your company?” Minho asked with a smile and tip of his head.

“Well I suppose not…” Jisung said as he looked over the smoothie menu. “But I’m not so sure.”

Minho tutted, shaking his head. “You underestimate your likeability.”

“I’m sure I do.”

They placed their orders, Jisung ordering a strawberry smoothie, while Minho went for something closer to orange juice.

“So,” Minho said once the two had plowed through about half of each of their drinks over meaningless banter. “You busy Thursday night next week?”

Jisung smiled teasingly. “Jeez, at least buy me dinner first.”

“There’s a party at my frat, open invite,” Minho explained, sipping his drink. “You should swing by.”

Jisung nodded. “Yeah, I would like that.”

Minho nodded back, smiling to himself slightly as he took another sip of his juice. “Great.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

“Wasn’t that fun, princess?” Hyunjin asked with a large smile on his face.

Felix scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Sure it was.”

“Hey, I didn’t drop you, okay? Give me some credit,” Hyunjin said, hands in his pockets.

Felix grumbled under his breath and didn’t respond.

Practicing for the promotional video for the big game went better than Felix had expected. Luckily for everyone involved, the basketball players weren’t actually required to throw anyone around, and thanks to some promised editing from a couple of computer engineering students, it should turn out smoothly once they eventually got around to filming. But despite this fact, Felix had been very vocal to Hyunjin about ‘killing him if he was dropped’. But everything went smooth sailing and now Felix just had to put up with Hyunjin’s gloating until they arrived back at the tutoring building.

When they entered, Felix told Hyunjin to go to their usual table to get a head start on the English practice he had gotten while Felix signed them in.

Felix had had to get creative with what he gave Hyunjin to do during their tutoring sessions, because now that he knew Hyunjin was almost fluent in English, he had nothing to teach. And yet, Hyunjin still rocked up, still paid, so Felix had to give him something to occupy his time with, or all he would do was talk his ears off. So Felix had been giving him comprehension questions on Little Women and treating it like Hyunjin was going to get an essay question on it later. Because he was.

Felix sat down across from Hyunjin after signing them in and looked over at him, finding Hyunjin already scribbling down notes, Little Women open beside him, glancing between all the pages.

Felix, now, actually let himself look at Hyunjin when he wasn’t being a tremendous pain in his ass.

He actually looked like he was concentrating hard and actually trying to do whatever he was doing well. 

Felix actually let himself look.

His eyes followed Hyunjin’s face, the short spikes of hair that didn’t hide a single feature, not the dark, slightly furrowed eyebrows, the soft curve of his eye before it changed sharply in the corners and were accentuated by the little mole under his left eye. No part of the sharp cheekbones or nose were shielded like they used to be. His plush lower lip bitten slightly in concentration. His posture under his red shirt was bad, but that was what Felix knew as ‘artist posture’, a feature of most artists that put lots of time into their work. He was putting most of his weight on his elbows, which pushed his shoulders up to his ears, and the pencil held in a very specific way; gripped between his thumb and forefinger to rest on the first knuckle of his middle finger. It was a pretty good pencil grip.

“You don’t need to watch me so intently,” Hyunjin commented, somewhat distantly, not looking up from his notes. His eyes glanced over at Little Women again without moving his head before looking back down at his page or writing. “I’m not going to suddenly stand up and scream or something.”

Felix cleared his throat and quickly looked away. “Yeah, well… you were probably a difficult child.”

Hyunjin looked up at Felix and gave him a mock-dirty look just as Felix’s phone buzzed.

Felix pulled it from his pocket, glad to have the interruption, and found a text from Jisung.

Jisung, King of the Swamp: will you come to a frat party with me on thursday next week PLEASE

Felix raised an eyebrow.

Felix, Queen of the Swamp: um, not a chance?

Jisung, King of the Swamp: PLEASE POOKIE BEAR

Felix, Queen of the Swamp: no

Jisung, King of the Swamp: XCOME ONNNNN

Jisung, King of the Swamp: MINHO INVITED ME AND I DONT WANNA GO ALONEEEEEE

Felix sighed, rubbing his left temple as he watched the screen fill with more distressed pleas from Jisung.

Felix, Queen of the Swamp: OKAY FINE STOP NAGGING ME

Jisung, King of the Swamp: HUZZAH HUZZAH

Jisung, King of the Swamp: THANK YOU

Felix, Queen of the Swamp: you owe me

Jisung, King of the Swamp: OF COURSEEE 💚🩷💚🩷

Felix sighed, clicking off his phone to look back at Hyunjin, who hadn’t moved since a minute ago. Felix shook his head, pulling out A Feast for Crows and unfolding the doggy-ear in his page.

“You did not just un-doggy-ear a page,” Hyunjin said.

Felix looked up at him. “What?”

“You abuse your books??” Hyunjin asked, lowering his voice a little as if he didn’t want people hearing such a scandal.

Felix shrugged. “So what if I do? They’re my books.”

He was pretty sure he saw Hyunjin’s eye twitch a little, but then Hyunjin tucked his head back down and Felix went back to his book. 

He made sure to doggy-ear his page extra large at the end of the session when he was sure Hyunjin was watching.

Chapter Text

Felix very nearly jumped out of his skin when Jisung barged into his room.

“Jesus Christ, Jisung, what are you doing?” Felix demanded fearfully.

Jisung held up a bundle of clothes and dumped them down, placing his hands on his hips. “We are going to get ready together.”

Felix glanced sideways. “Get ready for what?”

Jisung looked at Felix like he was having a stroke. “Get ready for what? Felix be serious!”

A blink from Felix told Jisung that he really did have no clue what he was on about. “My God, you’re useless. That frat party Minho invited me to and that you’re coming to?”

Felix nodded. “Oooh, right. Sorry, forgot for a second.”

“Yeah, clearly,” Jisung said, as if heavily disappointed. “But I forgive you. Now, what are you going to wear?”

Felix looked down at himself, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. “I dunno, this?”

Jisung looked like he was going to have a breakdown. “I am almost ashamed to have you as my friend. Fucking appaling. Get up, you clearly need my god-like guidance.”

Felix groaned slightly but hauled himself up off his bed. “Don’t you have Jeongin to boss around or something?”

“Nah, he said he’s not coming, little shit,” Jisung sighed. “Tragic, really. Now come on, get your ass up and get into something more reasonable.”

Felix sighed but swung himself off the bed and stood up to look through his cupboard as Jisung started changing.

“Okay, how’s this?” Felix asked once he changed.

Jisung looked his friend up and down like he couldn’t believe he allowed himself to be associated with the likes of him. “Felix, you look like you’re about to go to a job interview.”

Felix adjusted the cuff of his shirt. “I think I look nice.”

Jisung made a sound like he was in pain. “Yeah, if you were, I don’t know, trying to convince the CEO of Veldora fucking Mode to invest in your startup. You’re going to a frat party, Felix. You need to look hot.”

Felix frowned at himself in the mirror of his closet. His black button-up was fitted slightly, sleeves rolled up neatly to his elbows, and he had changed into his nicest jeans - dark-wash, no rips, not baggy. It was clean, put together. He didn't look like he’d just crawled out of Shrek's swamp, which was how Jisung seemed to think frat parties required people to look.

“I do look hot,” Felix argued.

Jisung sighed and flopped onto Felix’s bed, dramatically staring at the ceiling. “Felix, you look... respectable. I need you to look like you’re a little bit of a bad decision. Just a little.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “I am not dressing like you.”

“Babe, I pull,” Jisung said, propping himself up on one elbow. “I was invited to this frat party by the love of my life, so I think you could take a page from my book. Who are you trying to impress, anyway?”

“No one.” Too fast. Too defensive. Jisung’s eyebrows lifted.

“Oh, well that was suspicious,” Jisung said gleefully. “Who is it? Who are we trying to slut you up for?”

Felix scowled. “We are not slutting me up for anyone.”

Jisung hopped off the bed and beelined for Felix’s closet. “I hear a name that rhymes with Funjin.”

Felix’s face heated. “You’re literally delusional.”

Jisung pulled out a tighter black top. “Just try this on. Humour me.”

“I am not-”

“Felix,” Jisung said, grabbing Felix’s shoulders and looking directly into his soul. “I promise you, if you walk into that party looking like you teach night school, Hyunjin will not even glance at you.”

“I don’t care if Hyunjin glances at me.”

Jisung smirked. “Then wear the shirt.”

Felix snatched it out of his hands. 

Ten minutes later, after he had shuffled into the clothes Jisung had all but committed Satanic sacrifice to get him in, Felix was staring at himself in the mirror, wondering how exactly he had let Jisung get away with this. The black top clung to his waist and arms and fell off his shoulders in a way that was... not terrible, exactly. It was cropped just enough to hint at his midriff when he moved. Paired with tight black leather pants that hugged his legs and ass in all the right places, he looked-

Well. He looked like he was asking for attention.

Jisung, beside him, had fully committed to the look with a sheer mesh top, glittering subtly under the light, and leather shorts that barely covered anything. His eyeliner was already sharp enough to kill a man. Which was probably what he was going for.

Felix swallowed. “This is ridiculous.”

“This is iconic, ” Jisung corrected, dragging Felix down into a chair. “Now hold still.”

Felix attempted to jerk away, but Jisung had the grip of a man with an agenda and a purpose in life. “What are you-”

“A little eyeliner won’t kill you,” Jisung said, already applying it with an alarming level of precision. “Just enough to make your eyes pop.”

Felix sighed dramatically, but let it happen. It wasn’t like he cared how he looked. He was just... trying something new. Not for anyone in particular. Definitely not for Hyunjin, who he hoped would leave him alone even when he did show up. Hyunjin wasn’t even on his mind, actually. At all. He was dressing up because it was fun, and Jisung was pushy, and it had nothing to do with the way Hyunjin always seemed to have his stupid, lazy gaze lingering on people who looked like this.

Nope. No correlation whatsoever.

“You’re making that face,” Jisung muttered, his facial expression not moving from one of which was highly concentrating.

“What face?”

“The face that says, ‘I’m totally not thinking about Hyunjin right now, no sir, absolutely not.’”

Felix scowled. “I hate you.”

“I know, baby,” Jisung cooed, dusting a little shimmer onto Felix’s cheekbones. “And you look hot as fuck. Now let’s go make some people cry.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix was going to fucking kill Jisung.

Not immediately.

Not in cold blood.

No, he would wait. Bide his time. Lure Jisung into a false sense of security and then, one cold, winters night, he would fucking strangle him then stab his dead body 43780 times just for good measure.

Because Jisung had dragged him here - insisted he dress up, practically shoved him out the door - and then the second they stepped inside, Jisung had vanished into the sweaty, drunken crowd, leaving Felix alone. In a frat house. Where he knew nobody. Except, of course, for Hyunjin, who Felix was currently pretending did not exist. And he did kind of know Chan and Changbin, but he had no clue where to find them.

The party was exactly what Felix had expected: too many people packed into a house that was definitely not built to hold them, music loud enough to vibrate through his ribs, the air thick with alcohol, perfume, and the unmistakable scent of weed and cigarette smoke. There were people everywhere - pressed together on couches, taking shots in the kitchen, playing beer pong in the corner.

Felix hovered awkwardly by the drink table, clutching an untouched cup of something neon blue. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it smelled vaguely of regret and poor choices.

He wasn’t sure why he was still here. He could leave. Go home, curl up in bed, and spend the rest of the night reading in peace. But there was a stubborn part of him that didn’t want to let Jisung win. Jisung had spent too long trying to drag him out of his little dorm room, and Felix would be damned if he let him call this a failure.

So, with a bracing breath, he took a sip.

It was fucking disgusting.

He coughed, scrunching his nose, but forced himself to take another sip anyway. And then another. The taste didn’t get better, but the burn in his throat did start to feel pleasantly warm, loosening something in his chest. He let himself drift toward the edges of the party, lingering in the kitchen as he nursed his drink, watching people with idle interest.

And then, slowly, his shoulders started to relax.

Jisung had been right about one thing - Felix did look good tonight. More than one person had looked at him as they passed, their gazes lingering, appreciative. It was… nice. To be noticed. To feel a little more confident. A little more alive.

By the time he finished his drink, he was feeling warm all over, a little lighter on his feet. And when someone grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the living room where people were dancing, he let them.

The music was good. The bass thumped beneath his feet, a steady, intoxicating rhythm. Felix let himself move with it, hips swaying, hands lifting, letting the energy of the party swallow him whole. He let himself laugh when someone spun him, let his head fall back as the music pulsed through him. He wasn’t a particularly good dancer, but he didn’t care. He was having fun. For the first time tonight, he was actually having fun. He wasn't actually dancing with anyone, but that didn't matter.

And then, across the room, Hyunjin saw him.

Hyunjin had been lounging on one of the worn-out couches, an arm slung over the back, talking lazily with a few of his frat brothers. He wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation, barely half-listening as he swirled his drink in one hand. He wasn’t even sure why he had come out of his room tonight. He had invited Felix but gotten no response. So he supposed he had only started drinking tonight so he could wallow in self pity.

But then he looked up, and Felix was there, and suddenly, the whole night changed.

Felix looked-

Fucking hell.

Hyunjin’s mouth went dry.

Felix was moving like sin, all lazy sways and easy smiles, his cropped top rising every time he lifted his arms, his hips swaying with a smooth, thoughtless grace. His freckles glowed golden under the dim, shifting lights, his lips parted just slightly as he let the music take him.

And Hyunjin could not fucking look away.

Felix was usually so reserved, so composed, always a little distant, a little guarded. But this - this was something else entirely. This was Felix letting go. This was Felix lost in the moment, lost in the music, and it was mesmerizing.

“Dude, you’re staring,” someone muttered beside him.

And Hyunjin didn’t even pretend to deny it.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix stepped outside, the heavy bass of the party still reverberating through the walls of the frat house. He had been in there for what felt like hours by now and the cool night air hit his skin, a welcome contrast to the humid chaos inside. He wasn't drunk, but felt warm all over. One drink had been plenty enough for him. He exhaled, rolling his shoulders before his gaze landed on a familiar figure sitting alone on the back steps. 

Hyunjin.

Felix hesitated for a moment before thinking, fuck it, we ball, and walked over. He stopped a few feet away, crossing his arms. "I'm surprised you're not smoking."

Hyunjin looked up, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, well. I was serious when I told you I quit."

Felix raised a brow, tilting his head slightly. "Didn't think you'd actually follow through."

Hyunjin scoffed, leaning back on his elbows. "Wow. No faith in me?" He shook his head, amusement flickering in his expression. "It’s been months, princess."

Felix rolled his eyes, but he found himself sitting down beside him anyway. They sat in comfortable silence for a beat, the muffled music filling the space between them. Felix absentmindedly picked at a thread on his sleeve before glancing over.

"I didn't think you'd be out here alone."

Hyunjin hummed, gaze lifting to the sky speckled with stars. "Needed a break. It's too fucking loud in there."

Felix snorted. "Agreed. Jisung ditched me for Minho the second we walked in."

Hyunjin chuckled, shaking his head. "Sounds about right."

The night air wrapped around them, the sounds of the party fading into the background. Felix could feel the warmth of Hyunjin's presence beside him, and when he turned his head, he realized just how close they were sitting. His breath hitched slightly, eyes flickering down to Hyunjin's lips before he quickly looked away.

Hyunjin noticed. Felix could tell from the way his smirk deepened, from the way his fingers drummed lightly against the step between them.

"You look really nice, by the way," Hyunjin commented, his eyes clearly now on Felix's lips.

Felix licked them, somewhat nervously. "Thanks."

Felix’s heart pounded against his ribs. It would be so easy. The way Hyunjin was watching him, the way their knees brushed.

He felt himself leaning over.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Jisung had barely stepped into the party when he felt a firm hand wrap around his wrist, pulling him to a stop. He turned to find Minho eyeing him with an expression that was entirely too pleased with itself. Before Jisung could open his mouth, Minho twirled him once, taking in his outfit with an exaggerated nod of approval.

"Damn," Minho said, low and appreciative, "you look distractingly good."

Jisung snorted, though his ears felt suspiciously warm. "I try."

Minho grinned, his fingers tightening briefly around Jisung’s wrist before he tugged him further inside, away from poor Felix who hadn't even noticed Jisung was gone. "C’mon, you’re dancing with me."

Jisung was sure Felix was quick to forgive.

The floor was packed with bodies moving to the heavy bass, but Minho carved out a space for them, sliding seamlessly into the rhythm. Jisung let himself go, matching Minho’s movements, grinning when Minho did something ridiculous, spinning him around and pulling him back in.

They danced for what felt like forever, caught up in the music and each other. Minho leaned over to him, lips parting like he was about to say something, but before the words could leave his mouth, a chaotic force crashed into them from the side.

Jeongin and Seungmin, tangled together, barely spared them a glance as they collided into Minho’s shoulder. Jisung barely managed to stay upright as Jeongin, looking disheveled and more than a little drunk, turned to face him.

"Fuck, Jeongin," Jisung huffed, trying to steady himself. "I thought you couldn’t come tonight."

Jeongin, his face already half-buried in Seungmin’s shoulder, groaned. "Please shut up, bro. I wanna get laid."

Jisung barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "Godspeed, I guess."

Minho smirked, stepping back slightly. "I’m getting drinks. Don’t disappear on me."

Jisung nodded, still grinning as Minho slipped away into the crowd. But his smile faltered when he caught sight of Minho through the kitchen doorway. Someone - tall, attractive, and far too close - was pressing in against Minho’s side, whispering something in his ear. Jisung waited for Minho to brush them off, to pull away, but instead, Minho simply laughed at whatever was said, looking far too comfortable with the attention.

Something unpleasant curled in Jisung’s stomach. He swallowed hard, watching for a second longer before deciding he’d seen enough. Without another thought, he turned and pushed through the crowd in search of Felix.

He found Felix outside, on the back steps, sitting way too close to Hyunjin. The air between them was thick with something unspoken, and Jisung felt his stomach drop when he saw the way Felix was looking at him, eyes flickering down to Hyunjin’s lips before darting back up. They were close. Too close, especially considering Felix's claimed hatred towards Hyunjin. They were leaning.

Jisung cleared his throat, and Felix practically jumped away from Hyunjin like he’d been caught committing a crime.

"Uh," Felix stammered, suddenly looking more panicked than Jisung had ever seen him, "Jisung! Hi - uh-"

Jisung didn’t have the patience for this. "Um, can we go?" His voice was quieter than usual, strained, and Felix seemed to notice.

Felix hesitated, glancing at Hyunjin before nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, let’s go."

Without another word, Jisung turned on his heel, Felix scrambling to follow. 

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Hyunjin stayed on the porch steps, staring out into the darkened yard, his fingers drumming idly against his knee. The distant thump of the party inside barely registered, drowned out by the frustration buzzing in his head. Felix had been right there. His lips had been so close, his breath warm against Hyunjin’s skin, and for a moment - just a moment - Hyunjin had thought Felix was actually going to kiss him.

And then Jisung had shown up, pulling Felix away like some divine intervention sent to punish him for all his past sins.

Hyunjin exhaled sharply, running a hand over his spiky hair. He had been so fucking close.

It was only then that the memory of the bet resurfaced, creeping back into his mind like an afterthought. Minjun’s smug face, the cocky tone in which he had proposed it.

Hyunjin really had laughed then, never one to turn down a challenge, and accepted without a second thought. It had been a game, something lighthearted to pass the time when he was already frustrated with getting nowhere with Felix. But tonight, sitting here on the steps with the ghost of Felix’s near-kiss lingering on his lips, he realized something:

The bet hadn’t even crossed his mind when he leaned in.

He hadn’t thought about winning, about proving himself, about collecting a few extra bucks and bragging rights.

He had just wanted to kiss Felix.

Wanted it in a way that had nothing to do with the bet and everything to do with the way Felix had looked tonight, the way he had smiled and laughed, the way his hands had lingered just a second too long when they touched.

Hyunjin groaned, letting his head fall back against the step behind him. He was so fucked.

The door creaked open behind him, and he barely had time to glance over before Minho stepped out, looking vaguely irritated.

“Have you seen Jisung?” Minho asked, crossing his arms.

Hyunjin hummed. “Yeah, he left with Felix a little while ago.”

Minho’s face flickered with something - disappointment? Frustration? It was hard to tell in the dim porch light. But whatever it was, he didn’t say anything about it. Just sighed and turned back toward the house.

“Right. Thanks,” Minho muttered before disappearing back inside.

Hyunjin barely spared it a second thought, too caught up in his own swirling mess of emotions. He didn't like them, but it didn't stop them from existing.

Felix had looked so fucking good tonight. The image of him, bathed in the dim party lights, moving to the music with his usual sharp grace, was seared into Hyunjin’s brain now. The soft glow of his skin, the flush on his cheeks, the way his eyes had softened just slightly when they met Hyunjin’s that one singular time across the room. He had been beautiful, and Hyunjin had wanted him in a way that scared him just a little.

Either way, he now had some prime jerk-off material.

He let out a low curse under his breath.

“Fucking Jisung,” he muttered, dragging his hands down his face.

If Jisung hadn’t shown up when he did, if he had just given them another minute, a few extra seconds, even, maybe - just maybe - Felix wouldn’t have pulled away. Maybe he would have leaned in just that little bit more. Maybe they would have finally closed the impossible distance that had been between them since the moment Hyunjin had set his sights on him.

And fuck, Hyunjin had wanted it to happen. More than anything in the world.

More than he wanted a cigarette right now.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

The walk back to their building was quiet, the kind of quiet that felt unnatural between them. Jisung shoved his hands into his shorts pockets, kicking at stray pebbles on the pavement while Felix kept his arms crossed, clutching at himself like it would stop the chill creeping up his spine. It wasn’t that cold, but he felt it anyway.

Jisung exhaled sharply through his nose. “Sorry for cockblocking you back there, Felix.”

Felix snorted before he could stop himself. He turned his head, catching the sheepish look on Jisung’s face before shaking his own. “Nah, it’s fine,” he muttered. “It’s probably for the best anyway.”

He said it like it was obvious, but as soon as the words left his mouth, his brain decided to launch into a full spiral about what had just happened. Or, more accurately, what had almost happened.

He had almost kissed Hyunjin.

The realisation hit him like a train, slamming into him with the force of the pounding music they’d left behind at the party. He could still see it - the way Hyunjin had looked at him, the dim glow of the porch light catching the edges of his short blond hair, the shadows playing against the sharp cut of his jawline. The slight part of his lips, the anticipation in his eyes.

And then Felix had gotten up and bolted.

He exhaled harshly, gripping at the fabric of his shirt. He could still feel the warmth of Hyunjin’s presence beside him, the way the air had felt charged between them. He had been so close, so incredibly close. Maybe he had saved himself from making a mistake. That was the better way to look at it, right?

Yeah. He was glad he didn’t kiss Hyunjin.

He repeated it to himself over and over, but it didn’t quite stick. Because if he was so glad about it, why did he still feel the ghost of Hyunjin’s fingertips resting on his knee? Why did he feel so hollow, like he’d left something important behind on those steps?

It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen Hyunjin flirting with him before. The guy had made it his mission to get under Felix’s skin, to break down his walls. And Felix had held strong - mostly. But tonight had felt different. It had felt real. It had felt like Hyunjin wasn’t just playing a game anymore.

And that scared the hell out of him.

Felix swallowed, tightening his grip on himself. No. It didn’t matter. It was better this way. If he had kissed Hyunjin, what then? What would that have meant? Would it have been just another win for Hyunjin, another notch in his belt, another joke for him to laugh about later? Felix wasn’t going to be someone’s conquest. He refused.

So, really. He should be thanking Jisung for interrupting. Right?

“Felix?” Jisung’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He blinked, realising they were already at the entrance of their building. Jisung was looking at him with an odd expression, something between curiosity and concern. “You good?”

Felix forced a smile. “Yeah.”

Jisung didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push it. Instead, he just nodded, reaching for the door handle. Felix let out a breath and followed him inside, the warmth of the building enveloping them.

He was glad he didn’t kiss Hyunjin.

So why did it feel like he’d made a mistake?

Chapter Text

Felix was not proud to admit that he was actively avoiding Hyunjin.

He didn’t want to admit that when he was on campus and saw a flash of that blond buzz cut he immediately ducked away from that direction and all but hid.

He didn’t want to admit that if he heard that distinctive laugh he would literally run away.

But he had been doing all this.

Because his emotions were making him feel funny and he didn’t like it, and it was all Hyunjin’s fault so the only obvious solution was to run away from Hyunjin.

Avoid Hyunjin, avoid uncomfortable feelings.

And it wasn’t like these feelings were suddenly flooding his brain with thoughts like ‘wow he needs to pound me’ or ‘yes, I want to date him’ or ‘he’s so dreamy how could I ever resist that?’ No. His mind wasn’t filled with fanboy-ish, teenage-like daydreams. It was more ‘I wonder what cologne he uses’ or ‘how long has he been playing basketball?’ And under all those thoughts, was a twisting in his chest, like Hyunjin had pulled out his heartstrings, wrapped them around a drill and flipped it on. Not to twist said heartstrings, but to jumble them. Knot them up until Felix couldn’t hope to untangle them alone.

And maybe he didn’t really want to untangle them. Because who knows what might lay at the centre of that ball of knots? What was Felix going to find when he pulled that one thread just right and unravelled the whole thing and revealed what it all meant?

He would rather not know.

So, for a week now, he had successfully avoided Hyunjin like he carried a plague and he had been quite happy curling up and away from the outside world to get lost in the land of Westeros and the stories of John Snow and Daenerys Targarian and Arya Stark and Cersei Lanister and Bran and Sansa and dragons. Their problems of war and hatred seemed to dwarf his problems in comparison to about the side of Tyrion Lanister. It made him feel less like he was terribly hard done by, though he already knew he wasn’t. While he read the Game of Thrones series, Felix felt at ease. He finished the series too soon for his taste. But just in time for him to return to the responsibilities of life.

“Felix?” Jisung asked quietly from the other side of the door, gently tapping on it with his knuckle. He sounded as deflated as Felix felt.

“Come in,” Felix responded, not looking away from his mirror, where he was looking at himself and smoothing out every single imperfection in his cheer uniform. Pale light filtered through Felix’s half-opened curtains, showing just a sliver of the grey day awaiting them.

The click of the door opening sounded and Felix’s eyes glanced over his shoulder through the mirror to find Jisung slowly shuffling in, also dressed in his cheer uniform.

“Hey, Lix,” Jisung said softly, wrapping his arms around Felix’s chest and arms from behind and leaning his head on Felix’s shoulder, looking at them both through the mirror. “Aren’t we a sight for sore eyes?”

Felix huffed what sounded like a laugh but didn’t hold a gram of humour. “You could say that.”

Jisung gently drummed his hands against Felix’s chest. “We don’t have to go, do we?”

Felix sighed, patting Jisung’s hands. “No, we should. We have filming today.”

Jisung sighed, gravity seemingly having an extreme effect on him today. “I suppose you’re right.”

Felix watched Jisung’s face through the mirror. It seemed droopy, like the weight of something invisibly heavy was dragging his usually happy expression down. Felix had never seen Jisung like this before.

“Is Jeongin coming?” Felix asked, tilting his head slightly.

Jisung sluggishly nodded. “Yeah, but he was too busy texting his new boyfriend to come with me to come get you. He said he’ll be ready to go when we go back past on the way out.”

Felix snorted lightly. “Wow.”

“I know, right?” Jisung sighed. “How dare he flaunt his new, healthy relationship in our faces as our love lives crumble?”

“My love life isn’t crumbling,” Felix said, patting Jisung’s hands once, twice, three times as a final prompt for him to move so they could get going.

“Okay, whatever you say.”

Jisung’s disinterest was scaring Felix a little.

“Come on,” Felix said, pulling Jisung’s hands off and spinning to face Jisung properly. “Let’s get going. Maybe a walk will do us good.”

Jisung nodded dully but followed Felix out of his dorm to collect Jeongin before they needed to go to cheer practice.

Jeongin, unlike the Terrible Two he walked beside, was beaming and joyful when he stepped out of his and Jisung’s dorm, apparently too giddy to read the room and understand that absolutely no one wanted to hear about his newfound sex and love life.

“And you guys, he’s funny and so smart and sarcastic. I love it, he’s so sweet,” Jeongin sighed dreamily.

“Whoopie doo dah for you, Gin,” Jisung sighed sarcastically as they made their way through campus to the gym.

Jeongin sighed dreamily. “Thanks.”

Jisung and Felix exchanged glances but decided to say nothing.

The gym was filled with film students setting up when they arrived. Big lights and several cameras were all directed at the centre of the basketball court, and a few cheerleaders and most of the basketball team milled about, waiting.

“Time to face the music, huh?” Jisung sighed as they started making their way over.

“It’s fine,” Felix said quietly as they drew nearer and he spotted the familiar buzzed blond hair. “Just go in, get it done, then we can leave and watch a movie together after. Okay?”

“You know me too well,” Jisung sighed, resting his head on Felix’s shoulder for a moment.

“Let’s warm up, okay?” 

Felix, Jeongin and Jisung settled down off to the side and far enough from the basketball team to avoid the potential for conversation with anyone unsavoury and began stretching their legs.

Eventually when all was finished and in order, everyone was called to their rehearsed places and Felix found himself standing in front of Hyunjin, though his back was still to him.

“Um, Felix-”

“Let’s just get this done, okay?” Felix said shortly.

Hyunjin sounded slightly offended. “Felix, are you-”

“Can you just shut up and listen to what I want for once?” Felix snapped, his hands on his hips and head turned slightly to look at the ground beside him, rather than Hyunjin. “Or is that too difficult?”

Felix sighed and looked straight forwards again when he heard nothing from Hyunjin in return. The poor thing seemed confused.

Good. He should suffer in silence.

He didn’t even do anything wrong.

Not this time, at least. Shut up.

Felix didn’t like the way his mind was going back and forth between two sides. It was like Jisung and Felix’s mother were yelling at each other in his head, contradicting each other. He didn’t like it much.

The overhead lights dimmed slightly to let the film students play with their equipment’s exposure settings.

“Alright, everyone, let’s get into positions for the first wide shot,” one of the film students called out, her clipboard in hand as she squinted at the rough storyboard.

Felix sighed, his hands still on his hips as he bent and unbent alternating legs, leaning his head back to look at the ceiling.

Behind him, Hyunjin still seemed a little confused. He wasn’t pushing it, though, just sending Felix the occasional glance as they waited for the camera crew to get their settings right.

Felix couldn’t say for certain, but he could feel the glances on his back.

Felix was hyper-aware of the fact that Hyunjin looked good. Unfairly good. The basketball team had been given the cheer team’s alternate uniforms, which for the guys meant a fitted, long-sleeved top and athletic pants instead of their usual jerseys. And Hyunjin? He wore it stupidly well.

Felix scowled at himself, shaking the thought away before it could take root.

“Alright, pair routines first. Basketball players, you’re standing behind your cheer partners, like we planned,” the director called, motioning for them to step into place. “We’ll do one round of movement without audio, then one with.”

Hyunjin turned to Felix, that usual easygoing smirk tugging at his lips. “Guess that means we’re up.” He was clearly trying to avoid waking some kind of monster that would bite his head off.

Felix didn’t look at him. “Yeah.”

Hyunjin blinked. “You, uh, wanna run through it real quick?”

“Not really, no,” Felix snapped.

“Everyone else is,” Hyunjin commented. “We shouldn’t be the ones who fuck it up when we actually film it.”

Felix let out a slow breath through his nose, then nodded once. If they were going to be filmed, they might as well not embarrass themselves. “Fine. Just don’t drop me.”

“I literally don’t have to throw you,” Hyunjin pointed out. “And I didn't drop you last time, remember? It's fine.”

Felix ignored him, setting his feet in position. Hyunjin sighed but followed along, stepping into proper place behind him. The routine wasn’t overly

complicated - just some choreographed movement to mimic a throw, followed by Felix landing in a final pose as Hyunjin steadied him. It was supposed to look effortless.

They ran through it once, and technically, it was fine. But Felix was stiff, movements too mechanical. The second time, Hyunjin caught his arm gently. “You’re tense.”

Felix yanked away. “I’m fine.”

Hyunjin’s brows furrowed slightly, but before he could say anything, the director called out, “Okay, first take! We’re rolling in three, two-”

Felix exhaled sharply, forcing himself to focus.

The first take went by without a hitch. Then the second. Then a third, just to get different angles. Felix kept his interactions with Hyunjin to a bare minimum, nodding when necessary, avoiding eye contact when possible.

After one particular take, Chan, who had been paired with Changbin, clapped Hyunjin on the shoulder. “Damn, you’re not even throwing him, and you still look like you’re about to pass out.”

Hyunjin scoffed. “He’s heavier than he looks.”

Felix shot him a glare. “Excuse me?”

Hyunjin blinked, looking caught off guard. “I didn’t mean-”

“Are you saying I’m heavy?” Felix challenged, folding his arms.

Hyunjin raised his hands in surrender, eyes widening slightly. “I meant your presence is heavy.”

“Oh, so now I’m emotionally draining?”

“Oh my god,” Hyunjin muttered under his breath, scrubbing a hand down his face. “That is not what I said.”

Changbin cackled from the side. “I don’t know, man, sounds like you just called Felix heavy and emotionally taxing.”

“Fuck off,” Hyunjin shot back, but there was no real heat to it. His attention shifted back to Felix, watching as Felix turned his back on him completely.

Felix wasn’t actually mad about the comment, but he let himself act like he was just for the sake of putting more distance between them. Because if he dropped the attitude, he might have to acknowledge that every time Hyunjin so much as looked at him, his stomach did something annoying.

And that was unacceptable.

“We good for another take?” the director called. “Just one more.”

Felix nodded sharply, still refusing to look at Hyunjin.

Hyunjin hesitated for a second, watching him, before sighing and getting back into position.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Jisung knew this was going to be awkward before he even arrived. He had been paired with Minho for the short film, which, fine, whatever, he could handle that. They were friends, no problems. It wasn't like Minho had done anything wrong. He had just... let someone else all up in his space at that party, which wasn't technically a crime, but it was enough to make Jisung feel like an idiot for catching feelings.

He needed to move on. He knew that. And moving on meant not letting himself get caught up in Minho's stupid, easy charm.

So he played it cool. Or at least, he tried to. He laughed when he was supposed to, smiled when the cameras were rolling, and made all the casual, natural movements needed for the choreography. But his responses to Minho were more muted than usual, his words softer, his jokes dialed back. He didn’t tease as much. Didn’t lean in when Minho made some offhand comment in his ear. Didn’t give him the satisfaction of his usual witty comebacks.

Minho noticed.

At first, he didn’t react much - just went about being his usual self, throwing in his playful remarks and flashing his easy smirk, like he always did. But when Jisung’s reactions stayed lukewarm, his expression started to shift. He didn’t outright ask what was wrong, but his little pauses, the way his eyes lingered on Jisung for a second longer than normal, said enough. He knew something was off.

“Alright, let’s take it from the top!” one of the film students called, adjusting their camera. “Minho, Jisung, you guys are up first.”

Jisung nodded, rolling his shoulders like he was just trying to shake off some exhaustion. He wasn’t actually tired, but it was a convenient excuse. “Let’s just get it over with,” he muttered under his breath.

Minho glanced at him sideways, brows furrowing just slightly. “What’s with you?”

“Nothing. Just tired.”

Minho hummed, clearly unconvinced. But he didn’t push it.

They got into position, the energy of the gym around them. Hyunjin and a rather unhappy-looking Felix were practicing off to the side, and the other cheer-basketball pairs were running their lines and moves. Jisung focused on the rhythm, the familiar motions of the routine. The part where Minho’s hands found his waist to lift him into the air was so natural, so practiced, that he shouldn’t have even thought about it.

But he did.

And that was exactly the problem.

Minho didn’t seem affected at all, though. His grip was steady, almost professional, and his gaze was sharp, focused on the stunt. They moved through the routine smoothly, Jisung locking into place where he needed to, forcing himself not to react to the feeling of Minho’s hands or the way Minho always caught him so effortlessly when they had just faked a toss.

Once their portion was done, the director called cut. Minho let go of Jisung’s waist and stepped back, stretching his arms over his head. “That wasn’t bad,” he said, flashing an easy grin. “Though I think you were a little stiff there, Jisung.”

Jisung huffed out a breath, forcing himself to grin back even though it felt strained. “Yeah, well. Tired, remember?”

Minho didn’t respond right away. He studied Jisung, his expression less playful now, more searching. “Right,” he said after a beat, voice lighter than his eyes. “Tired.”

Jisung could feel Minho’s gaze on him even as he turned to grab his water bottle. He pretended not to notice. Pretended this was all fine.

It wasn’t fine.

But Minho didn’t need to know that.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

They ran through the final take, and by the time the director called cut, Felix was practically vibrating with the need to leave. The moment they were dismissed, he turned on his heel, making a beeline for his bag.

He sat down beside it, untying the laces on his sneakers with more force than necessary, jaw clenched and brows furrowed. He could feel Jisung and Jeongin hovering nearby, exchanging glances like they were silently deciding who would be the one to push him over the edge first. He ignored them, hoping that if he acted busy enough, they'd just leave it alone. He had been the one to drag Jisung to the filming, and yet he was seemingly set to leave in a worse mood than Jisung had been when they arrived.

"Alright, spill," Jeongin finally said, dropping onto the bench beside Felix. "You've been walking around like someone kicked your puppy all afternoon. And don't say it's nothing, because it's obviously something."

Felix scoffed. "I'm fine. Just tired."

Jisung snorted. "Yeah? You’re ‘fine’? That’s funny, because I’ve never seen you more obviously not fine."

Felix shot him a glare. "Since when are you a therapist?"

"Since you started acting like you have a giant stick up your ass." Jisung folded his arms. "Come on, Lix. What’s going on? Is this about Hyunjin?"

Felix’s stomach twisted violently. He immediately shook his head. "No."

Jeongin hummed, unconvinced. "Mmm. That was fast. Almost too fast."

"Oh my god, shut up."

Jisung nudged Felix’s knee with his own - when did his mood get better? Seriously? "Seriously, Lix. If you like him, it’s okay."

"Like him?" Felix blanched, whipping his head toward Jisung so fast his neck nearly snapped. "What the hell are you talking about? I don’t like him."

Jisung and Jeongin exchanged looks again, this time with a silent but clear message: Oh, he’s in denial.

"Right," Jeongin drawled. "So that whole thing at the party didn’t affect you at all. And you being weird today has nothing to do with it."

Felix crossed his arms tightly, willing his face to remain neutral. "It doesn’t."

"Mhm. And the fact that you keep stealing glances at him when you think no one’s looking? What’s that about?"

Felix’s mouth opened, then closed. 

Fuck.

Okay. He could lie. Keep pretending. Or he could-

No. No, because if he admitted it out loud, that would make it real.

But hadn’t he already admitted it to himself? Some quiet part of him - the one he’d been trying to strangle for weeks - was whispering in his ear, mocking him.

You like him.

You like him.

You like him.

And that was the worst part. Because why? Why did he like Hyunjin? It made no sense. All Hyunjin had ever wanted was to get in his pants. That’s all this had ever been. That’s all it should have been.

And yet. 

Yet.

Felix exhaled sharply and rubbed a hand over his face. "I don’t-" He stopped, took another breath. "I don’t know. Okay? I don’t know."

Jeongin patted his shoulder. "Well, when you do know, just remember - it’s okay."

Felix wanted to scoff, to say no, it’s not , but before he could, a familiar voice called his name.

He looked up to see Hyunjin approaching, still in the damn cheer uniform, looking vaguely uncertain. Felix braced himself.

"Hey," Hyunjin said, scratching the back of his neck. "Uh… can I talk to you for a sec?"

Felix glanced at Jeongin and Jisung, who were absolutely not being subtle about their interest in the conversation. He sighed and stood. "Fine."

Hyunjin shifted on his feet. "I just… I wanted to say I’m sorry. About the party. If that’s why you’ve been avoiding me. We were both kinda tipsy, and I don’t want you to feel weird or uncomfortable because of it."

Felix blinked. He hadn’t expected that.

"I mean, I know I can be… persistent," Hyunjin continued, looking a little sheepish. "So if it makes you feel better, I’ll back off a bit. Be less... obnoxious about it."

Felix hesitated. "Um… thanks."

An awkward silence stretched between them. Hyunjin nodded and stepped back, as if about to leave, but Felix, for reasons he couldn’t even comprehend, reached out and lightly tapped Hyunjin’s forearm.

"By the way," he said, words leaving his mouth before he could second-guess them, "the cheer uniform looks good on you."

Then he turned and walked away.

Chapter Text

Hyunjin was sprawled across the old, overstuffed couch in the frat house living room, one arm draped dramatically over his face, the other clutching a half-empty beer bottle. The room smelled like a mixture of burnt popcorn and whatever cologne Changbin had sprayed way too much of earlier, but Hyunjin barely noticed. He was too busy sighing deeply and staring at the ceiling like it held the answers to his existential crisis.

"Dude, can you just spit it out?" Changbin groaned from where he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning back on his palms. "You’ve been sighing like a lovesick idiot for the past twenty minutes."

"I’m not a lovesick idiot," Hyunjin muttered, though even he wasn’t convinced.

"Yet here you are, being sick and an idiot over love," Seungmin pointed out, not looking up from flipping through his phone with a bored expression on his face.

"I’m not in love."

Chan, who was standing by the kitchen counter cutting vegetables for some late-night attempt at cooking, shot him a knowing look. "But it is different this time, though, isn't it?"

Hyunjin groaned, rubbing his hands down his face. "Yes! I don’t know why, but it is. Usually, I just-" He hesitated, glancing at Niki, who was sitting on the armchair off to the side, looking thoroughly confused about why he was even there. “What are you even doing here at 1 in the morning?”

Niki blinked, mid-bite of a bagel he’d somehow acquired. "I dunno."

"Fair enough," Hyunjin mumbled, sitting up and running a hand over his head. He looked at them, his closest frat brothers, and chewed on his lip. "Okay, look. You guys know how I usually am with people, right?"

"Unfortunately," Seungmin muttered.

"Wow, thanks," Hyunjin said flatly, then exhaled sharply. "I just - this time feels different."

Minho raised a brow. "Different how?"

"Like, I actually think I-" Hyunjin hesitated, shaking his head. "I mean, usually, people like me because of how I look, right? Like, it's always about that. They see me, they flirt, we fuck, they leave, whatever. But this time, I don’t think it’s like that."

Seungmin set his magazine down, finally paying attention. "You’re talking about Felix, aren’t you?"

Hyunjin didn’t answer, but he also didn’t deny it. Instead, he leaned back into the couch, staring at the ceiling. "He’s just… he’s kind, you know? But not in the fake, ‘I want something from you’ way. And I don’t think he cares about my looks like that. He barely even reacts when I try flirting with him. It’s kinda driving me insane."

"Kinda?" Minho snorted. "You’ve been brooding about him for months."

"It’s just… I don't know," Hyunjin sighed. He wasn’t sure how else to put it.

Chan studied him for a moment, then clapped his hands together. "Alright, vent session over. Everyone get in the kitchen. We’re making food."

"Wait, what?" Seungmin frowned. "Why?"

"Because Hyunjin is clearly having an identity crisis, and food solves everything," Chan said simply, already heading toward the kitchen.

"That logic makes zero sense," Changbin muttered, but he got up anyway.

Minho sighed, standing as well. "C’mon, Niki, you too."

"Why am I getting dragged into this?" Niki protested, but Minho just grabbed his sleeve and pulled him along.

Hyunjin stayed on the couch, watching as his friends disappeared into the kitchen. As much as he appreciated their support, he needed to clear his head. With a deep breath, he grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he landed on a name he hadn’t planned on ever texting.

Hyunjin: Bet’s off, Minjun.

There was no response. Not that he was expecting one. Minjun was a dick, but that didn’t matter. Hyunjin had already made up his mind. He didn’t want to play stupid games anymore. This wasn’t about winning a bet. He just… wanted Felix.

And that realization, while terrifying, also felt oddly freeing.

On impulse, he clicked on another contact and started typing.

Most Handsome: so do you sleep at this time or are you nocturnal like me

It wasn't clever, it wasn't funny, and it took a few minutes, but to his surprise, he actually got a response.

Princess 🎀: wow what an original conversation starter

Princess 🎀: truly riveting

Hyunjin snorted, rolling his eyes.

Most Handsome: I try my best

Most Handsome: what are you up to

Princess 🎀: trying to sleep obviously

Princess 🎀: what do you want hyunjin

Hyunjin paused, then smiled slightly.

Most Handsome: just felt like talking to you. That a crime?

Felix didn’t answer right away, and for a moment, Hyunjin thought he’d ended the conversation. But then-

Princess 🎀: youre so annoying

Hyunjin smiled, deciding to take that as a win.

They kept talking for a while, mostly small, sarcastic exchanges, but it was something. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Felix sent him a conversation ending text.

Princess 🎀: okay I have work tomorrow so im going to sleep now

A pause, then-

Princess 🎀: goodnight

Hyunjin stared at the message, an idea slowly forming in the back of his mind.

Most Handsome: goodnight princess

Most Handsome: sweet dream

He didn’t expect a response, and he didn’t get one, but that didn’t matter. Instead, he leaned back on the couch, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Felix had work tomorrow.

That was good to know.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Jisung arrived at the location five minutes early, hands stuffed into the pockets of his hoodie as he scanned the area. It was beautiful, he’d give Minho that much. The sun was beginning to dip toward the horizon, casting a golden glow over the rolling hills and scattered trees. The lake nearby reflected the soft hues of the sky, shimmering like glass. It was the perfect backdrop for a photoshoot.

Minho was already there, fiddling with his camera, his bag open with extra lenses and gear neatly arranged. When he looked up and saw Jisung, his face brightened with a familiar smile.

"You actually showed up."

Jisung shrugged, keeping his expression neutral. "I said I would."

Minho’s smile faltered slightly at the flat tone, but he didn’t comment on it. "Alright then, let’s get started. I was thinking we’d use the natural light before the sun gets too low. You cool with that?"

"Whatever works."

Minho gave him a look, clearly registering the distance in Jisung’s tone but choosing not to call it out. Instead, he motioned toward a patch of tall grass near the lake. "Go stand over there. Just relax, I’ll guide you through it."

Jisung followed the direction wordlessly, taking his place and waiting as Minho adjusted the camera settings. There was a time when Jisung would have been teasing him, making faces at the lens just to mess around, but today he stood stiffly, arms crossed, avoiding eye contact.

"Okay," Minho said, peering through the viewfinder. "Drop your arms. Try looking off to the side, like you’re lost in thought."

Jisung did as he was told, though the 'lost in thought' part wasn’t exactly an act. His mind was already spinning.

He shouldn’t have come. Seeing Minho like this, so effortlessly warm, was making it harder to shove his feelings into a box and bury them deep where they belonged.

Minho took a few shots, the camera clicking in steady intervals. "Tilt your chin up a little. Yeah, like that. You look great in photos, y’know."

Jisung scoffed under his breath. "Right."

Minho hesitated before lowering the camera slightly. "Are you okay?"

Jisung tensed, eyes flicking to Minho’s. His stomach twisted at the concern in his gaze, like Minho genuinely cared about the answer.

"I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with."

Minho pressed his lips together but nodded, lifting the camera again. He didn’t push, and Jisung was grateful for that.

The rest of the shoot continued in tense silence, Minho instructing, Jisung following. The golden light made everything look softer, almost dreamlike, but Jisung felt anything but light. Every time Minho spoke, every time he adjusted a shot with that same easy charm, it was another reminder of what Jisung was trying to forget.

After another twenty minutes, Minho finally lowered his camera and exhaled. "Okay, I think I've got everything I need. You did great. Really."

Jisung nodded, pulling his hoodie sleeves down over his hands. "Cool."

Minho studied him for a long moment, like he was debating whether to say something else. Then he smiled, softer this time. "You really do look amazing in these shots. You always photograph well, but today… you just look-" He cut himself off, shaking his head slightly, like he didn’t want to finish the thought.

Jisung felt his heart squeeze, but he forced himself to keep his guard up. He wasn’t going to let Minho’s words get to him. Not when he’d already spent the last few days convincing himself Minho didn’t see him that way. He also decided not to think about connecting the fact Minho expressed interest in candid photos and the fact Jisung had never modeled for him before.

"Thanks," he muttered, voice still edged with coolness but not as sharp as before.

Minho looked at him, considering. For a second, Jisung thought he might actually bring up the way he’d been acting, might push him to talk about whatever was bothering him. But instead, Minho just nodded.

"I’ll send you the photos later if you want them," he said lightly, gathering his equipment. "Thanks for coming, Jisung."

Jisung didn’t reply, just turned away and started walking back toward his car. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt almost disappointed that Minho hadn’t pressed him further. But maybe this was better. Maybe distance was exactly what he needed to get over whatever this was.

So why did it feel so fucking hard?

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix was tying his apron around his waist when his boss walked up to him, a sheepish look on her face. "Hey, Lix. Listen, I know you were meant to do a full shift today, but we're actually overstaffed, so if you wanna head out early, you're good to go."

Felix blinked. "Oh. Uh - are you sure? I don’t mind staying."

"No, no, it’s all good! You worked extra last week, remember? Go enjoy the rest of your day."

Felix hesitated for a moment before sighing and untying his apron. It wasn’t like he’d complain about getting an unexpected break. He grabbed his things, thanked his boss, and stepped outside. He was about to head straight home when a familiar voice called out.

"Oi, Felix!"

Felix turned, already bracing himself, and, sure enough, Hyunjin was lounging outside the cafe, hands shoved into his pockets. His smile was annoyingly charming. "Well, this is lucky. I was about to come in and bug you, but looks like the universe is on my side today."

Felix sighed, already feeling the urge to roll his eyes, though he was kind of smiling. "What happened to being less obnoxious, Hyunjin?"

"I lied. Walk with me."

"Why?"

Hyunjin shrugged. "So I don’t look like a loner."

Felix let out a short laugh at the ridiculous excuse. "You’re actually unbelievable."

"And yet, here you are, still talking to me. C’mon, just humour me."

Felix groaned, but when Hyunjin started walking, he found himself falling into step beside him. The day was nice, and he wasn’t in the mood to head straight home, anyway.

They walked in comfortable silence for a bit before Hyunjin cleared his throat, glancing at Felix almost sheepishly. "So, uh, I got us something."

Felix raised a brow. "What do you mean, us? "

Hyunjin pulled two movie tickets from his pocket and held them up. Felix squinted to read them, then his eyes went comically wide. "No fucking way."

Hyunjin smiled, slightly lopsidedly. "Surprise?"

"No fucking way, you got tickets to see Better Man?! Hyunjin!!"

Hyunjin barely had time to react before Felix threw himself at him, wrapping his arms around Hyunjin in pure, unfiltered excitement. "Holy shit, you’re actually the best!" Felix gushed, squeezing him tightly. "I’ve been wanting to watch this so fucking bad!"

Hyunjin stiffened. For a second, his brain short-circuited because - oh. Felix was hugging him. Tight. Pressed up against him, full of energy and warmth and-

"Okay, okay, breathe, Felix," Hyunjin said, forcing himself to chuckle through the internal panic as his hands gently brushed Felix’s back to reciprocate the hug. "Didn’t think you’d be this hyped."

Felix pulled back, beaming. "Hyunjin. You don’t understand how much I love Robbie Williams. How could you think I wouldn't be hyped?"

Hyunjin could only nod as Felix grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him toward the cinema.

The small theater had a cozy, indie vibe, with warm lighting and a distinct smell of buttered popcorn. Felix was practically vibrating as they got snacks, still gushing about the movie.

"I don’t think you get it, Hyunjin. This is, like, a once-in-a-lifetime thing. A Robbie Williams biopic with all his best songs? And Michael Gracey directed it? Only makes it better. I’m so ready for this."

Hyunjin just chuckled. "You know, you’re kinda cute when you’re excited."

Felix blinked at him before quickly looking away. "Oh, shut up."

They settled into their seats, Felix clutching his popcorn like it was the holy grail. The lights dimmed, and as soon as the opening music started, Felix was completely entranced.

Hyunjin hadn’t really known what to expect, but what he didn’t anticipate was how captivating Felix would be throughout the film.

He noticed it right away - Felix mouthing along to every song, eyes wide, completely lost in the story unfolding before him. He wasn’t singing aloud, just subtly moving his lips, whispering the lyrics under his breath. Hyunjin found himself watching Felix more than the actual movie, completely endeared by how immersed he was.

And then, not too long in, Hyunjin noticed familiar opening sounds of a song he just couldn’t quite recall the name of as Robbie slapped his hand on Gary’s shoulder, a shocked look on his face and Gary said “that’s me, I’m Gary.”

The moment the first few beats kicked in, Felix sat up straighter, eyes wide and sparkling with excitement. “Oh my fucking god, Hyunjin, it’s Rock DJ. ”

The doors on screen slammed open and the members of Take That burst onto the streets, Felix was basically buzzing with clearly awed ambience. When the scene played out in all its insane, over-the-top glory, Felix’s excitement was practically tangible. He pulled at Hyunjin's arm aggressively. "Holy shit, holy shit, this is amazing. "

Hyunjin just laughed, nodding. "Yeah, yeah, it’s pretty cool."

Felix turned back to the screen, fully enraptured, smiling ear to ear. Hyunjin felt something warm settle in his chest.

When the credits rolled, Felix practically leaped out of his seat (Hyunjin decided not to mention that he had seen Felix discreetly wiping his eyes during Angels ). 

"That was fucking incredible!" Felix gushed, walking out of the theater with way too much energy for someone who just sat for two hours. "Oh my god, that Rock DJ scene was EVERYTHING . I already loved that song, it was already my favourite, but now? Now it’s on a whole other level. It was so clearly from the Greatest Showman director, but my god, that was another level of cinematic genius. Did you notice the entire song was one camera shot? Like, there was no cutting between frames, it was all one long video? Genius. I'm going to have to come and rewatch it just so I can fanboy over that scene again. God, I already wish I could experience it for the first time again."

Hyunjin chuckled, watching him ramble on. Felix was practically bouncing as they walked down the street, still high off the movie. And Hyunjin, his personal thoughts were that he didn't know what a dark place Robbie Williams had been in when he was younger. It kind of put things into perspective.

Then, mid-sentence, Felix abruptly paused. His expression shifted to something more thoughtful. "Wait a minute."

Hyunjin raised a brow. "What?"

Felix narrowed his eyes slightly. "I didn’t think you even liked Robbie Williams. I thought you thought he was a, what was it? A tosser?"

Hyunjin shrugged. "Yeah, well... he grew on me."

Felix tilted his head, suspicious, but then shrugged, too caught up in his own happiness to think too hard about it. "Well, good. You finally have taste." They walked a bit further before Felix glanced at Hyunjin again. "Hey, let me pay you back for the ticket by the way."

Hyunjin scoffed. "No."

"But-"

"It’s my treat."

Felix hesitated, lips pressing together, but eventually, he sighed. "Fine. But next time, I’m paying."

Hyunjin smirked down at him. "Next time, huh?"

Felix groaned. "No, don’t make it weird."

Hyunjin just laughed, shoving his hands into his pockets as they continued walking. The night air was crisp, the city lights glowing around them. Felix was still humming Rock DJ under his breath, and Hyunjin couldn’t help but smile.

It had been worth 27500 won to get Xtreme Screen tickets with high quality sound.

Yeah.

It had been fucking worth it.

To see Felix happy, anything was worth it.

And that revelation hit him hard.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Minho sat cross-legged on his bed, half-heartedly flipping through a photography magazine he’d bought weeks ago but never got around to reading. The dim glow of his bedside lamp cast soft shadows across the room, catching on the slight disarray of his usually pristine space. His camera lay abandoned on his desk, the strap draped haphazardly over the edge, and a couple of sweaters he’d tried on earlier were strewn over his desk chair. Normally, the mess would bother him. Normally, he’d have gotten up at least twice by now to put everything back where it belonged, maybe even vacuumed while he was at it. But something about the slight chaos felt… okay. Familiar. A little warm, even.

Like Jisung.

Minho let out a quiet scoff at himself, dropping the magazine onto his lap. He knew exactly what was happening, but that didn’t mean he wanted to admit it. His fingers twitched with the urge to tidy up, but he shoved the feeling down and leaned back against his headboard instead, staring at the random clutter as if it held the answers he needed.

This was bad. He was down bad.

A month ago, his room looked completely different. Everything had been in place - his camera gear stored neatly, his books arranged alphabetically, even his sheets tucked in just right. And then he’d invited Jisung over one singular time. Literally just to talk for a bit before a lecture. And Jisung was a walking hurricane of energy, tossing his bag onto Minho’s bed without a second thought, kicking off his shoes without lining them up properly, curling up on the floor to scroll on his phone while Minho worked. At first, it had driven Minho crazy. But then, somehow, he’d stopped noticing. Or, well… he had noticed, but not in the way he thought he would.

He noticed how much emptier the room felt when Jisung wasn’t there.

So he’d started leaving little things ou - an extra hoodie draped over his desk chair because Jisung always complained about being cold, a half-full bottle of Jisung’s favorite soda he left behind on his bookshelf that he still hadn’t thrown away, his old pair of glasses lying next to his camera even though he usually put them in their case. None of it was intentional at first. But now, he was hyper-aware of it. His room wasn’t just his anymore. It was a quiet reminder of Jisung, everywhere he looked.

And now Jisung was being weird.

Distant.

Cold.

Minho sighed and tossed the magazine onto his nightstand. He hated this. He hated not knowing what was wrong, hated that Jisung wouldn’t just tell him. Because he knew - he knew - Jisung wasn’t just tired. That excuse was bullshit, and Minho wasn’t an idiot. He didn’t know what had changed between the party and now, but something had.

The worst part? Minho had finally decided.

Before the party, before any of this, he’d already realized it - he really, really fucking liked Jisung. Like, full-on, mind-consuming, heart-pounding, wants-to-see-him-every-second-of-the-day kind of like. And it had felt good, in a way. Scary, but good. He was finally okay with it, finally ready to just see where things went.

And now Jisung was pulling away.

Minho grabbed his phone from the nightstand, staring at the screen like it might give him answers his messy room couldn't. His fingers hovered over Jisung’s contact, debating. He could just text him. Ask what was wrong. But would Jisung even answer? Or would he just brush it off again?

He exhaled through his nose and locked his phone, tossing it onto his bed. If Jisung wanted space, Minho could give him space. He wasn’t going to force him to talk. As much as he wanted to fix whatever was going on, he liked to think he knew Jisung well enough to know that pushing wouldn’t help.

Still, it sucked. It sucked knowing that Jisung was upset and that he didn’t know why. It sucked knowing that he wanted to be the person Jisung talked to about things, but for some reason, he wasn’t.

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated groan, flopping onto his back. His hair had grown longer than he ever would have allowed it before he knew Jisung. It was tickling the tops of his shoulders at this point and the front was over his eyes and touching the tops of his cheekbones.

And all because Jisung had mentioned he liked his hair once or twice.

Minho groaned to himself again.

This was bad.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

When Felix pushed open the door to his solo dorm room, the last thing he expected to hear was full-on, gut-wrenching sobbing.

Jisung was curled up on Felix’s bed, clutching a pillow as if it was the only thing tethering him to this world, tears soaking the fabric. Jeongin sat beside him, rubbing slow, soothing circles on his back while murmuring soft reassurances. The whole room was thick with the weight of whatever had gone down, and Felix, standing in the doorway with his jacket still halfway off, felt like he’d just walked into a scene from some depressing indie film.

“Uh. What the hell is going on here?” Felix asked, carefully shutting the door behind him.

Jisung barely lifted his head, sniffling miserably. “Everything is terrible and I have no reason to live.”

“That’s… specific.” Felix glanced at Jeongin, who sighed.

“He’s having a breakdown over Minho,” Jeongin explained. “And I’m pretty sure if he cries any harder, he’s going to dehydrate and die right here in your bed.”

Felix blinked. “Okay, well, let’s not let that happen. Jisung, talk to me.”

Jisung groaned, rolling onto his back dramatically. “It’s bad, Lix. It’s so fucking bad.”

Felix dropped his bag onto his desk and kicked off his shoes before sitting cross-legged on the floor beside the bed. “Alright. Hit me with it.”

Jisung sniffled, rubbing furiously at his eyes. “I think I love him.”

Felix’s eyebrows shot up. “Minho?”

“No, the fucking Pope. YES, MINHO, ” Jisung wailed, throwing a pillow at him. “And I am so, so fucking devastated, Felix. This is - this is worse than when my Tamagotchi died in primary school a week after I let my suicidal hamster free in the living room and it ran straight to the fireplace and turned into Hammy Hamster flambé. I am on the floor. I am in the FUCKING GUTTER. ”

Felix caught the pillow, looking helplessly at Jeongin, who just shrugged, like, good luck, buddy, I've already tried everything known to man . “Alright, what happened?”

Jisung let out a choked noise, somewhere between a sob and a laugh. “Oh, you know. I went to that stupid photoshoot because I would feel bad if I bailed, and he was all happy to see me at first, but then I just - I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t act normal. So I was all distant and cold, and I think I was even kind of rude, and I could tell he was confused, and it was killing me, but like, what was I supposed to do??”

Felix frowned. “I mean, maybe… talk to him?”

“Oh, great idea, I’ll just go, ‘Hey, Minho, I think I’m in love with you and it makes me want to barf because I saw you with someone else at the frat party, so let’s pretend I don’t exist for a while and let me hibernate in my dorm, wrapped in blankets and drowning in my own tears, okay?’ Yeah, that’ll go over well.”

Felix sighed. “Jisung-”

“And then at the end,” Jisung continued dramatically, “he told me I looked amazing, and for a second, just a second, I felt like maybe he really saw me, you know? And I almost let my guard down because I stupidly thought that he might like me. But I didn’t, because I’m a coward and I suck and I should just go live in a cave forever.”

Jeongin patted his back. “We’ll come visit you.”

“AND NOW,” Jisung wailed. “IT’S BEEN TWO DAYS AND HE HASN’T EVEN TEXTED ME TO TRY AND SEE WHY I’M UPSET.”

“Jeez, I wonder why,” Jeongin mumbled under his breath.

Felix sighed. “Jisung, I get it. You’re hurt, and you’re scared, and you’re convinced this is all doomed, but maybe, just maybe , you should consider telling Minho how you feel instead of pushing him away and then crying about it.”

Jisung let out an exaggerated groan. “Why do you always have to be so fucking logical?”

Felix smiled empathetically. “It’s my charm.”

Jisung sniffled again and sat up, wiping his eyes. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he narrowed his gaze at Felix. “Wait a minute. Your shift ended, like, an hour ago and I've been crying on your stupid bed for the past hour waiting for you to come back so I could complain to you, too. Where the fuck were you?”

Felix stiffened. “…Nowhere.”

Jeongin immediately sat up straighter, intrigued. “Oh, that’s not suspicious at all.”

Jisung narrowed his puffy eyes. “Tell us. Right now.”

Felix rubbed the back of his neck. “I, uh… Hyunjin was there when my shift was cancelled and he got us tickets to see Better Man together... So we went to the movies.”

Silence.

Then Jeongin let out the most dramatic gasp Felix had ever heard. “Oh my god.”

Jisung’s jaw dropped, eyes still glossy. “You went on a date with Hyunjin?!”

Felix’s face burned like the fire Jisung’s hamster killed itself in. “It wasn’t a date!”

“Oh, you’re right, my bad,” Jeongin said, grinning. “You just went to the movies together, alone, after he bought you tickets as a surprise. Definitely not a date.”

Felix groaned. “It wasn’t! He just… he had the tickets, and it was nice, okay? I had fun.”

Jisung, eyes still red-rimmed, gaped at him. “You enjoyed yourself? Lee Felix, who has spent the past month acting like Hyunjin is the worst person alive, had fun with him?”

Felix folded his arms, grumbling. “He’s not as bad as I made him out to be.”

Jeongin and Jisung exchanged glances before Jeongin sing-songed, “Felix has a cru-ush.”

“Shut your mouth, so what if I do? It doesn’t matter.”

Jisung’s lip wobbled, suddenly remembering his own miserable love life. “This is so unfair. Your love life is great, Jeongin’s love life is great, and mine is lower than- lower than-”

“A C-grade Netflix adaptation of a Wattpad story?” Jeongin suggested.

Jisung nodded solemnly. “Exactly.”

Felix groaned, flopping backwards onto the floor. “You guys are the worst .”

Jisung wiped at his eyes again and sighed. “Yeah, well, at least you have a chance at something good. Me? I’m out here living in an emotional horror movie.”

“Jisung-”

Jisung rolled onto his back, tears still streaming down his face as he wailed. “MY LIFE IS SO UNFAIR, I'M STILL LEFT IN DESPAIRRRR.”

“Good lord, just fucking talk to him, Jisung,” Felix said.

Jisung rolled over again and wailed into Felix’s pillow again.

Felix grimaced. “You’re trading pillows with me, by the way.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Hyunjin lay draped across his bed, the soft hum of Robbie Williams’ voice filling his dimly lit room. He’d had the Better Man version of Rock DJ on high repeat for the past hour, the volume high enough that it drowned out the usual frat house noise outside his door from downstairs. He mumbled the words under his breath because yes, he did know them all now. From not even knowing the title to knowing all the words in under a week. Wow, Hyunjin. His phone was somewhere next to him, the screen dark, but he didn’t need to check. He knew what his top song was since that day at the movies. It wasn’t even a question anymore.

He threw a basketball up toward the ceiling, catching it each time it came down, his movements lazy, mechanical. He wasn’t really thinking about it - his mind was too preoccupied with Felix.

God, Felix.

It was getting embarrassing at this point, the way he couldn’t stop thinking about him. Hyunjin had thought attraction was supposed to be simple. See someone hot, feel like sleeping with them, usually sleep with them, move on. That was how it worked. That was how it always worked.

But this?

This was not simple.

This was fucking complicated.

He had every detail of Felix memorized - like some lovesick fucking idiot, just like Changbin had said. He could picture the exact shade of gold in his hair, the way the strands slightly curled at the ends, like they were just begging to be tugged. He could recall the exact moment Felix’s freckles deepened when he flushed, the way his lips pursed when he was trying so hard not to laugh at something stupid Hyunjin had said. Even the way he held his phone, two hands, thumbs moving fast across the screen, little furrow in his brows like whatever he was typing was the most important thing in the world.

Hyunjin exhaled sharply, his free hand covering his face like he could physically shove the thoughts away.

The worst part, the absolute most pathetic part, was how vividly he could still feel the hug from at least a week ago.

Felix had hugged him.

Hyunjin hadn’t even seen it coming. One second, he was holding out the tickets, waiting for Felix to do his usual unimpressed squint and maybe a sarcastic remark. But no - Felix had fucking beamed at him. That stupidly radiant, heart-stopping, pure sunshine beam. And then, before Hyunjin could even process what was happening, Felix was in his arms.

It wasn’t even a hesitant hug. Not one of those awkward, half-assed, one-arm things people did when they weren’t sure where they stood with someone. No, Felix had really hugged him, full-force, arms wrapping tight around his waist, face pressing against Hyunjin’s chest and squeezing like he was trying to make him pop.

And Hyunjin?

He had fucking frozen. Frozen.

A second too late, he had brought his hands up, barely brushing Felix’s back before Felix pulled away. It was brief - barely lasted two seconds, probably - but it had knocked Hyunjin completely off his axis. He could still remember the warmth of it, the way Felix fit against him, the scent of his shampoo - something light and fresh, citrusy, maybe.

He groaned, dragging his hands down his face. You’re pathetic, Hyunjin. Absolutely pathetic.

He had been in bed for an hour, doing nothing but throwing this basketball around, listening to Rock DJ (From Better Man: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on repeat and thinking about Felix. And not even in the usual way he thought about people he wanted to sleep with. Sure, Felix was hot - Hyunjin would be blind to think otherwise and his entire life up until recently had been about trying to get Felix to sleep with him - but it wasn’t just that. He wasn’t thinking about how Felix would be in bed or how to get him there.

He was thinking about the way Felix’s eyes sparkled when he got excited about something. The way he talked about books, about music, about literally anything he was passionate about. The way his lips curled at the corners when he was trying not to smile.

Hyunjin exhaled sharply, shaking his head at himself. You’re so fucked, man.

And then, right as he was about to launch the basketball up again, his brain took a sharp detour back to the hug. How Felix had squeezed him just a little before letting go. How he had stepped back with that smile still on his face, not even seeming to care that he had hugged him. How Hyunjin had stood there, completely fucking stunned, like an idiot.

The ball bounced off the ceiling.

Then it bounced off his face.

Hard.

" Fuck! "

Hyunjin flinched away to the side as he clutched his nose, the sting making his eyes water as the ball rolled off the bed and hit the floor with a dull thud. He squeezed his eyes shut for a minute until he felt his eyes stop watering. Then, he groaned, flopping back onto his back and glaring up at the ceiling like it was personally responsible for his current state of mind. There was a little dark smudge on it now. 

Great.

He was never listening to Robbie Williams again. Unfortunately, this was a lie. 

He was going to put the song on repeat until either his phone died or he did.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

The gym was quiet, the echo of bouncing basketballs and squeaking sneakers long gone. The only sound left was the rhythmic hum of the air conditioning and the faint buzz of the overhead lights. Minho had just finished packing up when he felt a presence behind him, something electric crawling up his spine before he even turned around. He knew that presence anywhere.

Jisung stood there, hands firmly planted on his hips, eyes sharp and burning with something Minho couldn’t quite tell what it was. He wasn’t touching him, but he may as well have been - Minho could feel the weight of his presence pressing him against the wall before Jisung even opened his mouth.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” Jisung demanded, voice slightly higher than usual. “What’s your deal?”

Minho blinked, playing dumb like it would save him. “I wasn’t.”

Jisung scoffed so hard it was almost a laugh. “Yeah? Well, you haven’t texted or called me all week. What the fuck??”

Minho hesitated. “I thought you were mad at me for something. I was giving you space. And you were avoiding me first.”

Jisung threw his hands up like Minho had just confessed to a war crime. “ SPACE?? You’re supposed to keep badgering me until I talk, idiot!”

Minho tilted his head. “That sounds… counterproductive.”

“Yeah, well, maybe if you weren’t so dense, then you would notice that I like it when you pay attention to me!”

Minho’s brain short-circuited for a second. His mouth opened, but nothing came out immediately. Then, slowly, carefully, he spoke. “Um… are you saying you… like me?”

Jisung froze, his glare intensifying like this was somehow Minho’s fault. “No! I mean - yes - ugh, are you dumb?? Obviously, I do!”

Minho’s lips twitched, but he bit back the smirk because he valued his life. “You’re yelling at me like this is bad news…?”

Jisung, still glaring, exhaled sharply. “Yeah, it is, because I fell for someone who is so dense he can’t tell I like him despite the flirting I've been doing and how I love going out places with him, and is fine to go getting up and personal with some random at a party, and god, you’re just so dense but I still like you anyway and-”

“Jisung.”

Jisung snapped his head up, still visibly fuming. “What?!”

Minho took a step forward, erasing the space between them, and without thinking much beyond how warm Jisung looked, how his lips were pink from biting them too much, how he was still scowling but his eyes weren’t nearly as angry as they clearly wanted to be, Minho kissed him.

For a second, Jisung went completely still, and Minho could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage like it was trying to escape. Then, after a moment that stretched just long enough to make Minho question everything, Jisung melted. The fire in him flickered, shifted, turned into something else as he softened against Minho’s lips. Minho pulled back just enough to get a look at him, and the sight was enough to make his knees weak.

“Uh oh,” Minho murmured, half amused, half breathless. “You’ve gone quiet. Should I be concerned?”

“Quiet?!” Jisung burst out, eyes wide and scandalized. “I just - very loudly - confessed my feelings to you and then you just go and do that? Ugh, you’re infuriating!” He shoved Minho’s shoulder but didn’t move away, his lips still parted like he hadn’t quite recovered yet. Jisung crossed his arms. “You’re just lucky you’re a good kisser, you jerk!”

“Lucky?” Minho leaned in, still smiling. “Does that mean I get another one? Or was that a one-off pity fest?”

Jisung’s expression twisted, something fond and frustrated all at once. “You’re unbelievable.” But he was already grabbing Minho by the collar, yanking him in like he was making a point, and kissing him fiercely - nothing soft or tentative this time. This was a confession in itself, heated and unapologetic, like he was trying to prove something to himself just as much as to Minho.

Minho let himself sink into it, let himself enjoy the way Jisung tasted faintly of mint gum and something sweeter underneath. When they finally broke apart, Minho blinked, taking in the way Jisung looked slightly dazed, lips redder than before.

“You know,” Minho started, licking his lips, “if I’d known how much fun it’d be to get you riled up, I would’ve confessed my feelings sooner.”

Jisung stared at him, then scoffed. “Your feelings?”

Minho raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? I thought you were waiting for me to make the first move.”

Jisung’s face morphed into something dramatic and betrayed. “You fucking idiot! You put me through so much stress when you liked me this whole time?! I hate you so much!”

Minho chuckled, tilting his head. “Hate me, huh? That’s funny. You were kissing me an awful lot for someone who hates me.”

Jisung groaned, dragging his hands down his face. “Shut up. You’re the worst.”

Minho leaned in again, voice a teasing whisper. “You gonna kiss the worst again, then?”

Jisung shot him a glare, but his lips twitched, and Minho knew he had him.

“Ugh, fine,” Jisung grumbled. “But only because you have a lot to make up for.”

And just like that, he was kissing him again, and Minho couldn’t help but think that yeah, he probably could get used to this.

Chapter Text

Hyunjin knew he should be focused. The Championship game was coming up fast, and Coach Bongwa had been kicking their asses harder than ever, drilling them on every play, every pass, every movement. But none of it was sticking in his brain. Not today. Not when Felix had walked into the gym twenty minutes before the end of practice, the way he always did, and completely derailed Hyunjin’s ability to function like a normal human being. Though that part was relatively new.

He looked the same as always - same fitted crop top, same pretty gladiator cheer skirt, same knee-high socks that shouldn’t be nearly as distracting as they were - but to Hyunjin, he looked beautiful. Not just hot, not just cute, but fucking beautiful, and that was a problem.

Because Hyunjin had lost track of the play, and now he was staring. Staring so obviously that he didn’t even notice the ball flying straight at him until it clocked him in the shoulder.

“Dude, the hell is wrong with you?”

Hyunjin blinked, shaking himself out of it. Johnny was looking at him like he’d grown a second head, arms crossed, expression equal parts exasperated and confused.

“My bad,” Hyunjin mumbled, shaking out his shoulder. He had half a second to brace himself before Coach Bongwa was screaming at him to get his head back in the game, and for the next few minutes, he tried - really tried - to focus. But every time he glanced toward the bleachers, Felix was still there, talking with a few of the other cheerleaders, tying his shoelace, laughing at something one of them said.

God.

It was hopeless.

“Seriously, what is going on with you?” Chan asked as they took a break, tossing him a water bottle. “You spaced out like, five times today. You never space out when it comes to basketball.”

Hyunjin caught it but didn’t drink, staring down at it like it had answers. “I dunno, man.”

Chan raised a brow. “Is it Felix?”

Hyunjin groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “Fuck, probably.”

“Probably?” Chan echoed. “Dude, you’re down so bad it’s actually painful to witness.”

Hyunjin leaned back against the bleachers and exhaled slowly. “I think I really like him.”

Chan stared at him for a long moment, like he was trying to process what he just heard. “Like, really like him?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin said, and it was the first time he’d admitted it out loud, the weight of it settling in his chest. “Like, really like him.”

Chan whistled, sitting down next to him. “And what about the bet?”

Hyunjin sighed. “Called it off.”

Chan blinked. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin said, running a hand over his hair. “Told Minjun it was off a few nights ago.”

Chan was still looking at him like he’d grown a third head. “You’re actually serious about him, huh?”

Hyunjin scoffed. “What gave it away? The fact that I can’t function when he’s in the room?”

Chan let out a laugh, shaking his head, platinum hair swaying. “Man, you’re fucked.”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin admitted, finally taking a sip of water. “I really fucking am.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Hyunjin had been staring at him for the past fifteen minutes.

Felix could feel it. The weight of his gaze burning through the screen of his laptop like he was willing it to disappear so he could be free to keep staring uninterrupted. It was distracting as fuck.

Felix let out a sharp exhale, tapping the edge of Hyunjin’s textbook with his pen. “Earth to Hyunjin. You gonna keep writing, or should I just print your degree for you now?”

Hyunjin startled slightly but didn’t even have the decency to look guilty. Instead, he leaned his chin onto his palm, smiling. “Depends. Will you sign it for me?”

Felix shot him a look. “No. But I will throw this pen at you.”

Hyunjin snorted but sat up properly in his chair, cracking his knuckles like he was about to go into battle. “Alright, alright. I’ll write. But you’ll regret this when my genius is unleashed.”

Felix rolled his eyes but hid his smile behind his laptop. Hyunjin could be the most infuriating person alive, but when he actually put effort into his work, he wasn’t half bad. If only he’d stop looking at Felix like he was more interesting than his entire academic career.

The room lapsed into silence after that, save for the sound of typing. Felix managed to get through another paragraph of his own work before curiosity got the better of him. He leaned over slightly, trying to get a glimpse of Hyunjin’s document, but the angle was all wrong.

“Let me see what you’ve got so far.”

Hyunjin hesitated, fingers hovering over the keyboard. “It’s not done yet.”

“Yeah, that’s usually how drafts work,” Felix deadpanned, holding out a hand. “Come on, don’t be a coward.”

With a dramatic sigh, Hyunjin turned his laptop around. “Prepare to have your mind blown.”

Felix skimmed the first few sentences, expecting to see a half-assed attempt at an introduction, maybe a few run-on sentences, definitely a couple of errors that he’d have to correct. Instead, what he got was…

Holy shit. This was good. Like, really good.

Hyunjin had taken the absurdly difficult essay prompt Felix had given him - something about the juxtaposition of autonomy and familial duty in Little Women - and actually fucking nailed it. His ideas were strong, his argument well-articulated, and his analysis of Jo March was some of the best Felix had read in a long time.

Felix blinked at the screen, scrolling back up to reread the first paragraph, wondering if maybe he’d underestimated Hyunjin a little too much. Or a lot.

“What the fuck,” Felix mumbled, still reading.

Hyunjin tensed like he was expecting to get hit. “...What?”

Felix looked up at him, eyes slightly wide. “This is really fucking good.”

Hyunjin blinked. “It is?”

“Yes!” Felix turned the laptop back to him, pointing at the screen. “Your argument about how Jo’s pursuit of independence is framed as a rebellion but is actually an act of love for her family? That’s brilliant. And your writing is-” Felix stopped himself short before he could say something that might actually inflate Hyunjin’s already insufferable ego.

But there was no stopping the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “This is, like, one of the best essays I’ve read in a long time. I would actually say you have the mind on you to transfer into the English Lit course-”

Felix cut himself off when he noticed something very, very interesting happening to Hyunjin’s face.

A slow, creeping flush had started from his neck, crawling up to the tips of his ears.

“Wait a second.” Felix leaned in, smiling. “Are you blushing?”

Hyunjin’s hands flew up to his face immediately, groaning, looking like he wished he still had hair to hide behind. “Shut up.”

“Oh my god, you are. That’s adorable.” Felix smirked, leaning his chin on his palm. “Who knew all it took to make Hyunjin blush was a little academic validation?”

“I hate you,” Hyunjin mumbled, voice muffled by his hands.

Felix laughed, nudging Hyunjin’s foot under the table. “Oh, so it's you hating me now? You don't hate me.”

Hyunjin peeked through his fingers, eyes still a little wide, still a little pink in the cheeks. He let out a defeated sigh. “Yeah. I don’t.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix had just flipped the sign to "CLOSED" and was wiping down the counters, the scent of espresso and caramel syrup lingering in the air. The cafe was quiet, save for the low hum of the fridge and the occasional squeak of his sneakers against the tile as he moved. His shift had been long, the kind that left his feet aching and his patience worn thin, but it was finally over. Just a few more things to clean, and he could go home, curl up in bed, and pass out until his early afternoon class.

Then came the sound of knocking against glass - loud and insistent.

Felix startled, whipping around to see Hyunjin pressed up against the window, his hands splayed against it, his mouth forming exaggerated words through the glass. He wore his basketball gear and had a bag hanging from his shoulder, and Felix couldn’t hear him, but he could make out the dramatic pout and the desperate plea in his wide eyes.

Felix sighed, resting the rag over his shoulder before walking over. He unlocked the door just enough to poke his head out. “We’re closed.”

Hyunjin groaned like he was in actual physical pain. “Felix, please.”

“No.”

“Come on, I’m starving. We had double practice, and I haven’t eaten since lunch. You wouldn’t let a man waste away, would you?”

Felix rolled his eyes, partially because of Hyunjin's complaints and partially because he noticed Hyunjin was wearing crocs with socks. “You’ll be fine. Go home and eat something.”

Hyunjin slumped against the doorframe, big and dramatic, like he was about to collapse from sheer hunger. “There’s no food at the fratttt.”

“Not my problem.”

Hyunjin lifted his head just enough to give him a mournful look. “Felix.”

Felix groaned, rubbing his face. “You’re the worst.”

Hyunjin perked up immediately. “That sounds like a yes.”

“No, it sounds like you’re annoying.” But Felix sighed and stepped back, opening the door just enough for Hyunjin to slip inside. “I was gonna throw out some of the leftover kinda stale pastries anyway. You can have those.”

Hyunjin clapped his hands together in prayer. “Felix, you’re an angel. A saint. The most generous princess I've ever had the pleasure of-”

“Shut up and sit down.”

Hyunjin smiled wide, bounding over to a stool by the counter while Felix moved to the back to grab the leftover food. He returned with a couple of pastries and set them down in front of Hyunjin, who immediately started scarfing them down, his bag now on the floor beside him.

For a moment, there was just silence, the kind that didn’t feel uncomfortable. Hyunjin was clearly starving, and Felix leaned against the counter, watching with vague amusement as he devoured a croissant like it was the first meal he’d had in days.

“You seriously need to eat better,” Felix muttered, breaking the silence.

Hyunjin let out a muffled sound of agreement, mouth full, then swallowed. “Yeah, yeah. I know. Practice went double length because of the Chamionships, and I had to stay back later to get yelled at. Coach was pissed about how distracted I was.”

Felix arched a brow. “Why were you distracted?”

Hyunjin hesitated for a split second before shrugging. “Dunno. Just… stuff.”

Felix hummed. “Uh-huh. You’re a terrible liar.”

“Yes, well...” Hyunjin shrugged.

“I'm also horrified with your choice of footwear.”

Hyunjin gasped dramatically. “Well excuse you, but this is basketball bro wear. You never wear your court shoes outside. It's a sin against the basketball gods.”

“You're such an idiot.”

Hyunjin made a face at him but didn’t push back. He picked at the pastry in his hand, shoulders slumping slightly, and though his voice came out joking, his body language was anything but. “You're not the first person to think that.”

Felix blinked. “What?”

“I was a joke,” Hyunjin responded, waving his hand as if wanting Felix to drop it.

“It didn’t bloody sound like one.”

Hyunjin shook his head. “No, nothing, just forget I said it. I shouldn't have said anything.”

“No,” Felix said, eyebrows furrowed. “Tell me.”

Hyunjin didn’t look at him. He just kept picking at his food, voice quieter now. “Well... people usually assume I’m an idiot. I hear it all the time. Just some pretty-faced jock who only got into uni because of basketball and is doing the easiest possible course because I'm too dumb to do anything else. I’ve had professors talk down to me like I can’t understand basic concepts. Had guys I fuck tell me it’s fine if I don’t ‘get things’ because I’m hot. Straight guys assume I’m too dumb to realize when they’re making fun of me. I’ve just… I’ve heard it so much that sometimes I wonder if it’s true.”

Felix stared at him, thrown completely off guard. Hyunjin wasn’t the kind of guy to talk about things like this. He was always so loud, so full of himself, so confident. To hear him say something like this-

Felix’s chest ached.

“Well,” Felix said after a moment, forcing his voice to stay light. “You are kind of an idiot.”

Hyunjin let out a laugh, short and breathy, like he’d been expecting that. But Felix wasn’t done.

“You’re an idiot in the way that, like, you make dumb jokes and do stupid things for fun, but you’re not actually stupid, Hyunjin. You’re not.” Felix leaned forward, propping his elbows on the counter. “You think I’d waste my time talking to an idiot? Tutoring an idiot? You’re a cocky asshole, but you wrote one of the best essays I’ve read in a while and you’re certainly not dumb.”

Hyunjin finally looked up at him, and there was something in his expression that Felix couldn’t quite place. Something raw, something that made Felix’s fingers twitch with the urge to rub them over Hyunjin's buzz cut to calm him down or something stupid like that.

He cleared his throat, straightening. “But you’re also an idiot for showing up after closing.”

Hyunjin grinned, the mood shifting instantly. “Yeah, but it worked, didn’t it?”

Felix scowled. “Get out.”

Hyunjin shoved the rest of the pastry in his mouth and stood, still grinning. He turned to leave, then hesitated by the door. “Hey, uh…” He scratched the back of his neck. “Thanks, princess.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Don’t make a habit of this.”

“No promises,” Hyunjin said, winking before slipping out the door.

Felix exhaled, staring after him for a long moment. Then he shook his head, muttering under his breath as he went back to cleaning.

“God, I'm so fucked.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Hyunjin hissed under his breath, shaking out his hand as he walked off the court. Blood smeared along his palm and fingers, seeping from a gash on the back of his hand where a sharp fingernail had caught him mid-play. It wasn’t anything serious, but it was messy, and his coach had barked at him to go deal with it before getting blood on the ball or freshly polished court. Hyunjin rolled his eyes but obeyed, pushing through the locker room doors in search of some bandages or at least something to wipe off the blood.

The first-aid kit was nowhere to be found. He scoured the shelves, checked a few lockers (as if someone had fucking taken it hostage), and even considered using the edge of his sweat-damp jersey before sighing.

Just as he was about to dig through another locker, the door creaked open, and Hyunjin, fully distracted, didn’t notice the shadow creeping up behind him until a voice loudly whispered, “ Rah. ”

“ FUCK- ” Hyunjin jumped so hard he nearly smacked his head on the shelf. His injured hand slammed against the metal, and he groaned, turning around to glare at the culprit and fully ready to throw hands.

Felix was standing there, arms crossed, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. “Oh, you are too easy. ”

Hyunjin clutched his chest dramatically, all the fire in him gone immediately. “What the hell, man? What are you even doing here?”

Felix rolled his eyes and held up a small pack of bandages. “Came to find you. You left a trail of blood like some tragic war hero, and I thought you might be struggling to find first-aid.”

Hyunjin blinked. “How did you even-”

“I asked around,” Felix said simply, stepping closer. “Now sit down.”

Hyunjin huffed but obeyed, dropping onto the nearest bench. “You’re bossy, y’know that?”

“And you’re careless,” Felix shot back, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his hand, a little aggressively. “You play basketball, not fucking gridiron. Why are you always getting hurt?”

Hyunjin made a face. “It’s called playing aggressively, and it’s a completely valid - ow, fuck-”

Felix was dabbing at the cut with a disinfectant wipe he’d seemingly pulled out of nowhere. His grip was firm, but his small hands were warm, and Hyunjin suddenly forgot what he’d been complaining about.

“You have to be more careful,” Felix said, shaking his head as he worked. “What would your team do without their star player and captain?”

“Find someone better,” Hyunjin muttered.

Felix scoffed. “You’re actually decent at this sport. Surprisingly.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Felix didn’t look up as he peeled the backing off the bandage. “Just saying, you act like a dumbass half the time, but you’re not bad when you actually focus.”

“Again, not really a compliment.”

Felix gave him a look before carefully pressing the bandage over the cut, smoothing it down with his fingertips. He hesitated for a second, then, before Hyunjin could react, he lifted Hyunjin’s hand slightly and pressed a quick, featherlight kiss to his knuckles.

Hyunjin’s brain stopped working.

The warmth of Felix’s lips was gone in an instant, but the ghost of the touch burned like a brand. Felix’s ears were visibly pink, but he acted like nothing had happened, patting where he had kissed before quickly shoving Hyunjin’s hand back toward him.

“There. All better.”

Then, before Hyunjin could even process what just happened, Felix stood up, turned on his heel and walked out like he hadn’t just completely short-circuited Hyunjin’s entire existence.

Hyunjin sat there, staring at the door. His hand still tingled. His pulse was loud in his ears.

What the actual fuck just happened?

His head tilted back against the wooden beam behind him, his body still frozen, his entire soul momentarily leaving his body.

Holy fucking shit.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Jisung had been staring at his closet for at least twenty minutes. Which was ridiculous because he wasn’t the kind of guy who normally stressed over what to wear, but this was technically a date. And dates required looking at least semi-presentable, right?

His phone buzzed on his bed, lighting up with a message from Minho:

Cat Daddy: You’re not gonna ghost me, right?

Jisung snorted, typing back quickly.

Cat Child: Nah, but if I show up looking ugly, pretend you don’t know me.

A second later, Minho responded.

Cat Daddy: So I’m eating alone?

Jisung groaned and flopped onto his bed, his face burning. This was fine. He was fine. He grabbed a decent hoodie, threw on some sneakers, and took one last deep breath before heading out.

They were meeting at a small, cozy restaurant Minho had picked. It was casual, not too fancy, but still felt like the kind of place people took their dates. When Jisung walked in, he spotted Minho already waiting at a table, scrolling through his phone.

The second Minho looked up and met his eyes, Jisung’s nerves did a full-on somersault. Why did he look so good ? This wasn’t fair.

Minho smirked as Jisung sat down. “Wow. You actually showed up. Impressive.”

Jisung rolled his eyes. “You’d be devastated if I didn’t.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Minho leaned back in his seat. “You nervous?”

Jisung almost choked on his own spit. “W-what? No.”

Minho raised an eyebrow. “Jisung.”

Jisung groaned and slumped in his chair. “Okay, maybe . A little.”

Minho’s smirk softened into something more genuine. “Good. Me too.”

Jisung blinked at him. “Wait. You’re nervous?”

“Duh.” Minho toyed with his water glass. “I mean, it’s not like I go on dates every other day.”

Jisung tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. “Could’ve fooled me. You always seem so… I don’t know, confident?”

Minho huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah, well, turns out liking someone kind of messes with that.”

Jisung swallowed, his heart doing something weird in his chest. “Oh.”

Minho cleared his throat and nudged the menu toward Jisung. “Anyway. Pick something. If we both pass out from nervousness, at least let’s do it after eating.”

Jisung snorted, but he felt lighter now. “Good call.”

They ordered, and luckily, the conversation flowed naturally. They bickered over dumb things, teased each other, and Jisung even got Minho to laugh a few times, which felt like an accomplishment in itself. And when their food arrived, Minho stole a chip off Jisung’s plate with a smug smile like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was just like always. The same fun, the same beautiful joy that came with it. But something way different because Jisung knew that this time, they both wanted to be there because they wanted to kiss each other at the end of it.

By the time they were finishing up, Jisung felt… good. Like, really good. And he could tell Minho felt the same, especially when he casually suggested, “Wanna go on a walk or something? Not ready for this to be over yet.”

Jisung barely managed to hide his grin. “Yeah. That sounds nice. But only if you kiss me after.”

"Fine with me."

And as they stepped outside, into the cool evening air, Jisung realized something: this might’ve been their first official date, but he really, really didn’t want it to be their last. And he knew it wouldn't be.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix was curled up on his bed, scrolling through his phone with one hand while absentmindedly holding a mug of tea with the other. The dorm was calm for once, just the occasional distant sound of the campus filtering through the window.

Then, his phone buzzed.

Most Handsome: tell me why my coach said i need to work on my footwork like bro do u want me to levitate

Felix huffed out a quiet laugh, shaking his head as his fingers automatically typed a reply.

Princess 🎀: Maybe if you actually listened during practice instead of staring at me the whole time

Most Handsome: bold of u to assume im NOT multitasking

Princess 🎀: im not even there?

Most Handsome: my eyes are on the game but my heart is with you

Felix rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched into a small smile as he stared at the messages, and he must have looked way too obvious, because across the room, Jisung let out a loud, scandalized gasp.

“Oh my God, ” Jisung said, shoving Jeongin’s arm so hard that the younger nearly choked on his water - why they were in Felix's dorm, he still didn't know; they had kind of become part of the decore, like a mushroom growing from the wall. “Did you see that? Did you see that?”

Jeongin, who had been minding his business until now, blinked. “See what?”

“Felix just smiled at his phone. And blushed. ” Jisung dramatically flopped sideways into Jeongin’s lap, clutching his chest. “ He’s in love. ”

Felix immediately schooled his expression into something neutral, locking his phone and glaring. “I did not blush, fuckface.”

“You so did,” Jeongin said, smiling now as he caught on to the moment, regardless of the fact he saw absolutely nothing. “What was that, a little secret boyfriend moment?”

Felix scoffed. “Oh, please. As if.”

“Then why are you acting so weird?” Jisung rolled over onto his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows. “Who were you texting, huh?”

“No one.”

Jisung made an exaggerated, thoughtful expression. “No one? Hmm. That’s so interesting, because no one just so happens to be Hyunjin, huh?”

Felix groaned, standing up before they could torment him further. “I hate both of you.”

Jeongin grinned. “No, you don’t. But you do love Hyunjin.”

Felix grabbed a pillow off the couch and threw it at him.

“I do not- ”

“Ohhh my God, he can’t even deny it properly,” Jisung cackled. “You’re so gone for him.”

Felix refused to dignify that with a response, rolling his eyes as he grabbed his jacket off the chair. “I’m going to work.”

“Oh yeah, how convenient,” Jeongin mused. “Right when we’re getting to the good part.”

Felix flipped him off on the way to the door, but it only made them laugh harder.

“Have fun smiling at your phone during your break!” Jisung called after him.

"You'd both better be gone by the time I get back."

Felix ignored them, shutting the door behind him. He exhaled slowly, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he made his way to the café.

Okay. Maybe they were right about one thing.

But like hell he was going to admit it.

Felix's shift went as usual. It was relatively quiet, but his feet still hurt at the end of it anyway.

He finished wiping down the last table, tossing the rag into the back sink before stretching his arms over his head with a tired groan. Jake, who had been working the shift with him had already left, after a quick exchange of goodbyes, and now the place was quiet save for the low hum of the refrigerator and the occasional creak of the old wooden floors. He locked the register, flipped the sign on the door to "CLOSED", and was about to grab his bag when-

A familiar face smushed up against the glass, hands cupped around his eyes like binoculars.

Felix startled slightly before exhaling a laugh, shaking his head as he walked to the door and unlocked it.

"Hyunjin, for fuck’s sake-"

"Felix, for fuck’s sake," Hyunjin mocked back instantly, pushing the door open. "Please. Food. Starving. Dying. I barely made it here."

Felix rolled his eyes. "Drama queen."

"Athlete."

"Barely."

Hyunjin gasped, offended. Felix only smiled before leading him inside, locking the door behind him. "Fine, fine. What do you want? Got some leftover stuff we were gonna toss out."

Hyunjin hummed, walking behind the counter to watch as Felix opened up a pastry case. Then, casually, he said, "Nah, I'm not actually hungry. I'm just here for you."

Felix’s hands stilled. He blinked once, then twice, before looking up at Hyunjin with a single raised brow. "That’s all you got? No grand excuse, no crocodile tears, just straight to the desperate part?"

Hyunjin clutched his chest like he’d been shot. "Princess, you wound me."

Felix rolled his eyes, but there was something warm curling at the edges of his chest. He shut the case, deciding he was too tired to entertain Hyunjin’s dramatics. "I’m closing up."

Hyunjin perked up. "Great. I'll walk you back to your dorm."

"I don't need you to walk me home."

Hyunjin smiled, leaning against the counter as Felix turned to finish putting things away. "Yeah, well. You can't stop me from following you back and only stopping right at your door so I know you aren't ambushed and rolled, which counts as walking you home."

"Not stalkerish at all," Felix teased, picking up his bag.

Hyunjin winked and followed him out.

The night air was crisp, the streets quiet aside from the occasional car rolling past or the distant laughter of students walking back from the bars. Felix shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket as they strolled side by side, Hyunjin walking close enough that their arms nearly brushed.

"You know," Hyunjin mused after a few minutes, "you look really nice tonight."

Felix snorted, looking down at himself - his wrinkled black work shirt, his slightly flour-dusted jeans, the scuffed sneakers on his feet. "I look like a sewer rat that just did a four-hour shift and barely made it out alive."

"Exactly," Hyunjin said. "Gorgeous."

Felix huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. "You’re trying too hard."

Hyunjin smirked. "Or maybe you’re making it harder than it has to be."

Felix glanced at him, eyes narrowing slightly before he let out a small, amused scoff. "Maybe."

When they arrived at Felix's dorm building, Felix expected Hyunjin to stop at the door and say goodbye, but Hyunjin must have meant it when he said he would be walked to the door, because Hyunjin followed him in and up the stairs.

They finally reached Felix’s dorm, the door looming in front of them. There was a moment of quiet, the easy rhythm of their conversation fading into something a little heavier, something just shy of awkward. Felix shifted on his feet, glancing up at Hyunjin before, with a small shrug, he said, "You wanna come inside or something?"

Hyunjin blinked. "Wait. Really?"

Felix shrugged again, pulling out his key. "Yeah. It’s a solo dorm, there’s plenty of floor space to sit, and I’ve got some drinks if you want one."

Hyunjin stared at him. Then, slowly, his lips stretched into a wide, smug smile. "Felix, you had me at ‘you wanna come in.’"

Felix rolled his eyes, but his smile lingered as he unlocked the door, stepping inside and leaving it open for Hyunjin to follow.

Chapter Text

Felix unlocked his dorm, praying to every higher power he didn’t believe in that Jisung and Jeongin weren’t inside. The last thing he needed was either of them clocking the situation before he’d even fully processed it himself. He pushed the door open cautiously, peeking in like he expected to find a bomb.

Empty.

He exhaled, stepping aside so Hyunjin could walk in, too. “You want a drink?” Felix asked, heading for the mini fridge under his desk as he heard the door close.

“I’d love one,” Hyunjin replied, sounding unnecessarily flirty about it as he rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie. Felix rolled his eyes and tossed him a bottle of soda, grabbing one for himself before sitting cross-legged on the floor. Hyunjin mirrored him, their knees almost touching. They both took an obligatory sip before setting the bottles aside and promptly forgetting about them.

“So,” Felix said, resting his arms over his knees. “Do you make a habit of harassing café workers after hours, or am I special?”

Hyunjin smiled. “Oh, you’re very special.”

Felix snorted. “That sounded sarcastic.”

“It wasn’t!” Hyunjin protests. “I genuinely meant it! You’re, like-” He gestured vaguely. “You’re fun to mess with. Most people get flustered, but you really verbally kick the shit out of me. I like that.”

Felix quirked a brow up. “You like getting bullied? Have I discovered a kink in you, Mr. Hwang?”

“I like the attention,” Hyunjin corrected shamelessly. “If you’re teasing me, that means you’re thinking about me.”

Felix choked on air. “Jesus, you’re so full of yourself.”

“Don’t act like you’re not thinking about me right now.”

Felix grabbed the nearest object - a stress ball from Jisung’s pile of random junk that he always managed to leave in Felix's dorm for 'special occasions' - and chucked it at Hyunjin’s head. It bounced off his forehead with a soft thump .

“Ow.” Hyunjin rubbed the spot, pouting. “Abuse.”

“Blatant truth,” Felix corrected, smirking.

They lapsed into easy conversation, bouncing from topic to topic with effortless momentum. Hyunjin told Felix about how the basketball team kept giving him shit for spacing out in practice lately. Felix told him about some awful customers from his last shift. Hyunjin took off his hoodie, revealing the green jersey he wore to train under, to dramatically reenact a guy on his team getting yelled at for missing an open shot, flailing his arms like a Muppet. Felix laughed so hard he nearly toppled sideways.

And before they knew it, it was late - so late that Felix had stopped checking the time, but he knew the digital clock on his desk was probably flashing something absurd like 1:30 am.

It didn’t matter. Not when he and Hyunjin were still sitting cross-legged on the floor of his dorm, faces aching from laughter, bodies loose and relaxed from hours of easy conversation.

Felix never could have imagined that he would be like this with Hyunjin.

Their so called drinks had been moved away to avoid them being knocked over, and were barely touched. Now, there was just laughter, the kind that made their stomachs hurt, that left Felix gasping for air while Hyunjin wiped tears from his eyes.

“Oh my god - no, but actually, why are you always so mean to me?” Hyunjin joked between breathless chuckles, grinning wide. “It’s, like, a personal mission at this point to tell me just what you think all the time, even when you think I'm being obnoxious and annoying.”

Felix scoffed, still catching his breath. He shook his head, still giggling slightly. “Oh, I don’t think that at all.”

The moment he said it, the air shifted. Hyunjin went still, his smile freezing just slightly before fading at the edges. He looked at Felix, really looked at him, his laughter slowly dying away.

Felix swallowed, suddenly hyper-aware of how close they were. Their knees touched, and in the dim glow of the desk lamp, he could see the way

Hyunjin’s lips parted just slightly, the faint rise and fall of his chest. His hair would have been tousled from the way he kept running his hands over it if it were longer, and the usual cocky glints in his eyes were nowhere to be found. He just looked… soft. Open.

Hyunjin’s fingers curled slightly against the carpet, and he hesitated, just for a breath, before leaning in. It wasn’t arrogant or teasing, not some calculated move that would score him some prize or something.

He just wanted to kiss the beautiful boy in front of him and he would be damned if he didn’t fucking try.

And Felix saw it all in his face - that quiet want, the barely-there hope, the certainty that Felix would probably pull away.

But he didn’t.

Instead, Felix met him halfway.

Their lips touched, and it was short - barely a second, barely anything at all. But it felt like everything.

Hyunjin’s lips were soft, warmer than Felix expected, and the moment their mouths met, his stomach flipped like he’d just dropped off the peak of a rollercoaster. There was no urgency, no rush - just the quiet, tentative press of mouths, like testing the weight of something delicate before fully holding it in your hands.

Then, just as quickly as it began, they pulled away from each other.

Silence settled between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Felix could still feel the ghost of Hyunjin’s lips against his own, and his heart was hammering in his chest, barely keeping up with the chaos of his thoughts.

Hyunjin’s eyes were wide, like he wasn’t entirely believing in the fact that had just happened, and his lips were slightly parted, like he wasn’t quite able to stop his jaw from dropping. He exhaled sharply, blinking like he was trying to process what just happened before, of course, he opened his mouth. “So, does this mean you finally admit I’m irresistible-”

Felix huffed out a sigh as he rolled his eyes, pushing his weight to get up on his knees and lean back over to Hyunjin. “Shut up.”

And then he kissed him again.

This time, Felix pressed into Hyunjin’s body, raising his hands up to hold the sides of his face and pull him closer, shuffling closer on his knees until he was as close as he could be without being in his lap.

Hyunjin hummed in slight surprise but that soon evaporated when his hand came up to hold Felix’s hip and add a slight squeeze that made Felix grunt slightly.

Hyunjin seemed to smirk into the kiss, which bothered Felix a little, so he swung his knees over until they were on either side of Hyunjin’s hips and sat himself down in his lap, letting his hands move so his arms could wrap around Hyunjin’s neck. He felt Hyunjin’s hand slide up to hold Felix’s jaw, his thumb brushing over the bone there as their lips seemed to move at the same time.

They moved together like they had been rehearsing it in their heads for the past month, and when their lips parted and their tongues made contact, Felix sighed, running a hand over Hyunjin’s hair, which did, in fact, feel a bit like a kiwi fruit. Felix felt Hyunjin’s hand that was once on his hip trail down a little to hold his thigh, gently beginning to massage the flesh through the denim covering it.

Felix let out a low, somewhat embarrassing sound when Hyunjin gently bit his lower lip and Felix angled his fingers slightly so his fingernails scraped along the base of Hyunjin’s neck, making the older hum, letting go of Felix’s lower lip and pressing their lips together again.

Felix tried to get closer to him by shuffling his hips, and yet it only resulted in him finding Hyunjin in a situation, the feeling of his partial hard on pretty obvious through his basketball shorts, hot and pressing against Felix’s thigh.

Felix pulled back at this point, blinking at Hyunjin, slightly shocked.

Hyunjin blinked at him, eyes half lidded and hazy, like the only thing on his mind was Felix. “What?”

Felix licked his bottom lip, his fingers still slowly dragging over Hyunjin’s hair. His eyes flicked downwards briefly, only to shoot straight back up when he actually saw Hyunjin’s erection through his shorts. His face heated up. “Uh…”

Hyunjin chuckled slightly, moving both his hands to hold Felix’s hips, shaking his head. “Don’t mind that, princess.”

Felix chewed on his lower lip. “Why not?”

“You know I think you’re gorgeous, so you can’t sit on my lap and make out with me without being prepared for the corresponding physical responses.”

“Was that a re-imagined Jurassic World quote?”

“Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Either way,” Hyunjin nodded down to his lap as he drummed his fingers against Felix’s leg, “you can ignore that.”

“Really?” Felix asked, shuffling forward a little and making Hyunjin inhale sharply. “How come?”

“I’m not going to make you do anything just because you make me horny, Felix,” Hyunjin responded, gently rubbing his hands up and down Felix’s clothed sides.

“Well…” Felix hummed, tracing the tips of his fingers over the back of Hyunjin’s shoulders and tilting his head. “What if you didn’t make me do anything? Say, what if I just… wanted to?”

Hyunjin’s face went blank for a second like his brain stopped working. After a moment, he finally spoke. “Wait, so you actually… you want to? ”

Felix shrugged. “I’m definitely not as experienced as you, ” Felix huffed out a laugh when Hyunjin pouted slightly and squeezed Felix’s hip, “but… yeah. I want to.” Felix tilted his head. “Assuming you do, too.”

“My god,” Hyunjin mumbled before pulling Felix forwards and closer by the hips and leaning up to push their mouths together, nipping at Felix’s lips and pressing their tongues together.

Felix leaned into it probably a little too much, pressing their bodies together and making Hyunjin exhale sharply into his mouth when their hips met. Then the momentum sent them toppling backwards, and Felix pulled back and let out a small shriek as he felt them tipping, and Hyunjin took most of the fall, the dull thud of his back hitting the floor echoing around the room.

“Oh, god, sorry,” Felix said, from where he was now sitting on Hyunjin, whose legs were bent at the knee, providing a nice backrest for Felix if he so desired it.

“I don’t care,” Hyunjin responded before moving his hand back up to Felix’s jaw, his fingertips tangling in Felix’s blond locks, and pulling him back down to him.

Felix could feel it. He could feel his cock kicking in his pants and he could feel it pushing into Hyunjin’s stomach - he couldn’t tell if Hyunjin had noticed yet.

But it was pretty clear that he had when Hyunjin’s hand left a squeeze on Felix’s ass, making Felix exclaim quietly into Hyunjin’s mouth. Almost uncertainly, Felix rocked his hips a little to try and get some friction to his cock that was being suffocated by his jeans.

“That’s it, baby,” Hyunjin mumbled against his mouth, hand pushing and pulling Felix’s hip, as if wanting him to keep going and wanting nothing more than to guide him.

“What, I’m not a princess anymore?” Felix asked, only to muffle a whine by pursing his lips as the strength of Hyunjin’s hand guiding the slow moves of his hips tightened slightly.

“Well, princesses behave,” Hyunjin responded, sighing under his breath when Felix’s ass made contact with his erection through his basketball shorts. “They have manners.”

“I have-” Felix’s fingers squeezed Hyunjin’s shoulders, bunching the fabric of his green basketball jersey. “I have fucking manners.”

“Oh, so grinding down on me while laying on top of me is manners? Please.” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at Felix, whose face was flushed a pretty pink that reminded him of red liquorice. His lips were parted and bitten red like a candy apple. Hyunjin was pretty sure he could get them as red as a Red Ripper, and he wasn’t about to doubt his skills now.

“What, you’re the one guiding me,” Felix responded, eyes scanning Hyunjin’s face. “I think you’re the one who’s trying to make me lose my manners.”

Hyunjin raised his eyebrows slightly. “Well, that wasn’t very polite, now was it? Accusing me of corrupting you when you kissed me first.”

“ You kissed me! ” Felix countered as Hyunjin’s spare hand found his hair again and began pulling him back.

“Pish posh.”

“Pish posh?” Felix asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You know. Pish posh. Same as tomato, tomahto, potato, potahto,” Hyunjin shrugged. “Does it matter? I think not.” 

“Well, if it doesn’t matter to you, for the record, you leaned first,” Felix said.

“And you met me halfway,” Hyunjin said, and leaned up to connect their lips again, but Felix placed his index finger on Hyunjin’s lips before they could meet.

“We should move off the floor, shouldn’t we?” Felix said, which made Hyunjin sigh but nod.

Felix quickly pushed off Hyunjin and stood, kicking off his shoes before shuffling backwards onto the bed behind him. Hyunjin followed soon after, his own shoes gone and moving right into Felix’s waiting arms, where he climbed over the blond beneath him, settled between his legs and kissed him again.

Felix let out content sighs into Hyunjin’s mouth, hands on either side of his neck as Hyunjin rolled his hips forward, making Felix whine slightly.

“Such pretty sounds,” Hyunjin mused when he finally pulled back to assess Felix’s bruise-bitten lips, shiny with saliva and red as a Red Ripper. The pad of his thumb brushed over Felix’s bottom lip before gently bushing through them and past Felix’s teeth to the second knuckle.

Felix squeaked in mild surprise before he let his lips close around the digit and brushed his tongue against it, gasping at the still slow thrusts of Hyunjin’s hips.

Felix’s throat let out a quiet sound when he felt Hyunjin’s thumb gently pressing down on his tongue, in time with the gradual thrusts of his hips against him. Hyunjin dipped his head down and began kissing down Felix’s neck, to then bite gently at the skin there. Felix lent his head backwards against the pillows to let Hyunjin have more space to kiss, and it just felt so nice, having Hyunjin’s thumb pressing on his tongue in time with his lazy thrusts against him, and those soft lips pressing their way down the column of his neck and occasionally being replaced by the shock of teeth pulling at the skin. All the sensations made Felix want to moan, but he didn’t really want to give Hyunjin that much satisfaction yet, so he just let himself make a low hum of approval instead.

“Come on, don’t be shy,” Hyunjin encouraged against his skin, and Felix heard himself abruptly moan around Hyunjin’s thumb, making Hyunjin smile against his neck. 

So much for waiting to give Hyunjin the satisfaction.

Slowly, Hyunjin’s mouth made its way back up to right where Felix wanted it, and replaced his thumb with his tongue and lips, and Felix let his arms loop around his neck again, letting out low hums into Hyunjin’s mouth with each roll of their hips together.

When Felix finally pulled back to breathe again, he basically crossed his heart and hoped to die on the fact he had never seen Hyunjin look so beautiful before. His half-lidded eyes were looking over every detail of Felix’s face like he was trying to commit it to memory, his irises were blown as wide as Felix had ever seen, and his cheeks were lightly dusted pink, his lips bitten and parted to let out shallow pants from the movements of his hips against Felix. Felix pressed his lips together, just taking in the sight of Hyunjin. He had done that to him. He was the reason Hyunjin was like this right now. It had him burying his face in Hyunjin’s shoulder because he was suddenly shy and acting like an inexperienced virgin teenager, moaning at the slightly rougher thrusts of Hyunjin’s hips when nothing but their shoes were off. How embarrassing.

“Feel nice, baby?” Hyunjin asked, and his voice was right in Felix’s ear, his breath warm and voice soothing as Felix mumbled unintelligible words into Hyunjin’s shoulder, broken apart by moans at the feeling of Hyunjin’s clothed cock against his ass.

“Y-yeah. S-so nice. Hyunjin. ” The warmth in his lower stomach was getting more obvious now, and he turned his head slightly to the left so his mouth was on Hyunjin’s neck this time, peppering kisses there between each moaned word.

He was gonna cum. This was fucking embarrassing. What was he, 16 years old? A fucking virgin? Fucking might have well been, because he was moaning and swearing under his breath against Hyunjin’s neck, and his grip was tightening on Hyunjin’s shirt, and he didn’t even have his clothes off.

And somehow, Hyunjin was able to tell, because he gradually slowed down his hips until they came to a stop and Felix’s creeping orgasm pulled back like a receding wave.

“Oh, come on,” Felix complained, letting his head fall back onto the pillow so he could look at Hyunjin, who was looking far too proud of himself.

“We don’t even have our shirts off,” Hyunjin commented, making Felix smack his arm.

“Who gives a fuck? I can go for more than one round, why would you do that?” Felix complained, only making Hyunjin laugh gently under his breath.

This fucking cunt.

“Oh, don’t hate me,” Hyunjin said teasingly. “This is just in my nature.”

Felix whined when Hyunjin adjusted himself between Felix’s legs and their erections brushed. 

“What is? Edging?”

Hyunjin shrugged by tilting his head and humming.

“You’re the worst.”

“But if you stop moaning, the fun’s over,” Hyunjin responded teasingly as he slowly began moving Felix’s arms from around his neck, the actions so slowly deliberate and his voice so capturing that Felix didn’t notice it had happened until Hyunjin was pinning Felix’s wrists to the mattress beside his head. “And who wants the fun to be over already?”

Hyunjin readjusted his grip on Felix, and Felix could see his forearm muscles flex in his peripheral vision as he did so, making the subtle veins along them shift under the skin.

Felix squirmed a little, annoyed, which only made Hyunjin laugh again.

Hyunjin drummed his fingers gently against Felix’s wrists, as if telling him to keep them in place before sliding his hands away to play with the hem of Felix’s shirt.

Please, please take it off, Felix found himself thinking, only to feel Hyunjin’s hands gently pull up the hem of said shirt until it rested around Felix’s middle, at about his sternum.

Then, Hyunjin gently wandered his fingers over the skin on Felix’s torso, like he wanted to memorise every dip and curve of his body, like he needed to feel it to be able to remember what it looked like. Under different circumstances, Felix would have found the feather-light touches ticklish, but right now? There were trails of fire etching into his skin in the wake of Hyunjin’s fingertips.

“Who knew?” Hyunjin hummed, gently pressing a kiss to the skin on the side of Felix’s stomach. “Your cheer uniform hides so much.”

Felix hummed, lips pursed so he wouldn’t moan at every single fucking thing Hyunjin did. This was fucking insane - who would have ever guessed that Hyunjin saying his usually annoying, obnoxious one-liners while he had Felix hard and pinned under him would cause Felix to become even more turned on. Context is important, apparently.

Then, without much warning, Hyunjin slid his hand up under Felix’s shirt and brushed his fingers over one of his sensitive nipples, making Felix whine loudly, shocked by the unexpected stimulation.

“You’re cute,” Hyunjin commented, beginning to gently massage the hard bud under Felix’s shirt as Felix wiggled a bit under him as Hyunjin watched on with a self-righteous smile on his lips.

Oh, you smug fuck, Felix thought.

“‘M not, ” Felix responded, only to curse at the teasing movements of Hyunjin’s hand.

“Oh, but you are,” Hyunjin said, a smirk on his plump lips and a glint in his eyes. “It’s cute how hard you’re trying to beat me.”

“Beat you?” Felix asked in confusion as he subconsciously lifted his torso up in search of more friction from Hyunjin’s hands. 

“At this little game we’re playing,” Hyunjin answered, pushing Felix’s shirt up further until it was rolled up to his collar bones. Felix whined at the cool air hitting his skin. “I can tell you want to win. You think there’s a way you can get me to break and you’re telling yourself I’m only making you this vocal because you want me to. But I can see through you, Felix.” Hyunjin’s eyes focused on Felix’s chest for a moment, his hand briefly moving to brush the skin on the centre of his chest. “Did you know you have a singular freckle, right here?” Then Hyunjin’s hand was back and Felix hissed when Hyunjin pressed his thumb over the other nipple this time and gently rotated his hand to twist it slightly. “Your legs are shaking, baby.”

Felix only just realised when Hyunjin pointed it out - his legs were shaking, only slightly, and hardly enough for it to be visible through the thick denim, but Hyunjin must have been able to feel it. 

“That’s just because - ah! ” Felix didn’t appreciate that Hyunjin chose that as the perfect time to thrust upwards again, cutting Felix off with his own pretty vocal moan. Felix glared at Hyunjin, but there was no bite behind it, and he felt all the blood that wasn’t in his dick flooding his cheeks.

“Your freckles also show better when you blush,” Hyunjin commented before he leaned down and licked a stripe over Felix’s right nipple, making the blond sob out a whine. “And so sensitive.”

“Fuck you,” Felix mumbled, but both parties knew he didn’t mean it.

“Shh, later, baby,” Hyunjin smirked, blowing cool air onto the saliva over Felix’s nipple, making the younger sigh shakily. Hyunjin’s hand gently traced down the left side of Felix’s body, dragging the shirt back down with it - despite Felix’s whiny complaints - until only a small sliver of Felix’s flat stomach was visible, and his hand kept going until it found the curve of his ass. “What a beautiful ass you have. So round.”

“What is this, Little Red Riding Hood? ” Felix asked sarcastically, but learnt for the umpteenth time that day that Hyunjin was pretty good at draining the bite from his words. This time, it was a squeeze of his ass that shut him up and replaced his words with a low, short hum.

“What were we just talking about manners?” Hyunjin asked. 

“That I need them?”

“Exactly,” Hyunjin said, rocking his hips forward again and making Felix squirm. “So, are you going to find them yourself, or am I going to have to fuck them into you?”

Well, life was fun while it lasted.

A little section in Felix’s brain apparently lit up at the prospect of manners being fucked into him, and he nodded. “Maybe you will.”

Hyunjin squinted at him, his eyes flicking over his face. Then, without a word, Hyunjin pulled back and slid off the bed to stand up.

Felix propped himself up on his elbows as he watched Hyunjin move to the door. “And where are you going?”

“Do you have lube in here?” Hyunjin demanded, and Felix felt his face flush a little.

“No, why would I?”

Hyunjin nodded once at him like it was obvious as he pulled the door open. “Exactly. At least try to find some manners while I go find some?”

Felix opened his mouth to ask where on God’s green Earth Hyunjin was going to find lube at 1:46 am, but the door closed behind the taller before he had the chance.

Felix flopped back down to lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, the fabric of his shirt rubbing against the hyper sensitive skin of his nipples, and somehow bunched around his ribs again.

He exhaled sharply, shifting his legs slightly, then stopped. Was he supposed to just... lay here? Like, was there an official protocol for moments like this? Should he be striking a pose? Making himself look effortlessly hot for when Hyunjin got back? He tried shifting to his side, propping his head up with his hand. No, that was stupid. He flopped onto his stomach. Nope, worse. Okay, back to staring at the ceiling like a corpse it was.

His mind wandered.

He wasn’t a virgin or anything, but his experience was minimal. A few drunken moments, a couple of fumbling encounters that barely counted. Nothing - nothing like this. Nothing that felt like it actually mattered.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, was basically a professional at this point. Like, Felix wouldn’t be surprised if he had Yelp reviews. Five stars. Highly recommend, very skilled, would fuck again. Felix cringed when he remembered that yes, actually, Hyunjin had a fan website. Probably best not to think about that.

He still felt weird just laying on his back like some horizontal ‘standing man’ emoji.

Felix covered his face with his hands, groaning. “God, I’m so fucking dumb.”

The door swung open.

“What?” Hyunjin’s voice was light, amused, and very much right there .

Felix nearly fell off the bed. “Jesus - could you knock?”

“Why?” Hyunjin asked with a teasing smirk.

Felix flipped him off, eyes covered with one hand.

“I see no manners were learnt while I was gone,” Hyunjin mused, closing and locking the door behind him.

“Geez, that sucks, doesn’t it?” Felix hummed, but his stupid mouth was clamped shut when he watched Hyunjin casually grab the back of his jersey at the neck and pull it easily over his head.

“You’re atrocious,” Hyunjin mused, placing the little bottle he had found (?) on Felix’s bedside before climbing back over him.

“Nice abs,” Felix noted.

“Cheers,” Hyunjin responded, his hand suddenly creeping back up Felix’s shirt to hold onto his waist. “Now… about those manners.”

“Still gonna have to fuck them into me,” Felix said, as if mournfully delivering bad news as he put his arms back around Hyunjin’s neck.

“Gee, what a shame,” Hyunjin said as he leaned back down and pressed his mouth back into Felix’s.

The slide of their lips this time was a little less rushed than before, like the two had both taken a moment each while they were apart to actually consider the fact that maybe for a moment they might just want to kiss each other. Yet, self control was something Hyunjin had little of and a thing Felix could use less of, and before they knew it, their kisses were getting faster and Hyunjin was pressing Felix down into the bed by placing more weight on him and Felix already felt teeth digging into his lip. Then was the wet slide of Hyunjin’s tongue over Felix’s lips and fuck, they were persuaded open with barely any objection on Felix’s part, and now Hyunjin’s tongue was twirling around his.

The taste of Hyunjin went straight to Felix’s dick, which he now remembered was hard and throbbing in his fucking jeans. Felix felt Hyunjin’s thigh pressing down on him, almost absentmindedly but in a way that felt strangely intentional, and Felix let himself breathe heavily into Hyunjin’s mouth, soft sounds coaxed from his throat with every small movement of Hyunjin’s thigh.

“God,” Hyunjin murmured quietly into Felix’s mouth, which only made Felix sigh. Felix unlooped one of his arms and pulled at the hem of his shirt.

“Please,” Felix mumbled, the word punctuated with a kiss before Hyunjin began kissing down his jaw. “Please get this off me.”

Hyunjin left a quick yet hard kiss on Felix’s mouth before lifting himself up enough to pull the shirt hem up and, with a little help from Felix, managed to pull it off.

“Fucking hell,” Hyunjin said lowly as he threw Felix’s shirt off to the side and lent back down to press his mouth down Felix’s neck, his hands finding their way to both of Felix’s nipples this time and making Felix’s back arch off the bed. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”

Felix could only moan in response and keened when Hyunjin’s mouth found itself at Felix’s collar bone, sucking the skin into his mouth and teasing his teeth along it. Felix had never known that part of his skin just below his clavicle was so sensitive, but it clearly was, and Hyunjin seemed to notice Felix’s breathless moans when he bit it, because he decided to keep his mouth moving along that section of Felix’s body, biting soon-to-be hickeys into the skin.

When the skin was red to Hyunjin’s liking, Hyunjin continued venturing down Felix’s torso, biting into the skin the whole way down and pretty clearly enjoying the sounds Felix was making.

Then Hyunjin pulled back and winced slightly, leaning back up to be closer to Felix’s level. “Fuck, I just realised you’re in jeans. ”

“Been that preoccupied?” Felix asked breathlessly, letting his hands rub over Hyunjin’s muscular upper arms.

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow quickly, a half-smirk on his face as his hand ran over Felix’s torso, over the slight shine of saliva over the spots where the skin was reddening into more clear spots, until it found the waistband of Felix’s jeans.

Felix swallowed as Hyunjin began undoing his jeans, and suddenly the ease in which Hyunjin was doing so made Felix pat his arms quickly.

“Hang on, hang on,” Felix said suddenly, making Hyunjin look up at him from where he had previously been focused on.

“You okay?” Hyunjin asked, his hand stilling.

“How do I know that this won’t be… like the others?” Felix asked quietly, his tone clearly a little uncertain.

Hyunjin tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“Like, how do I know that you aren’t gonna do this, then just… leave? ” Felix asked. “Because if you’re planning fuck me then fuck off… then I don’t want to do this.”

Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows, quickly shaking his head. “Felix, no. This is different because it’s you. The others all meant nothing. I like you.”

“You like me?” Felix asked, blinking at him. “Like, like like?”

Hyunjin huffed out a breathy laugh as he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I like like you, Felix.”

Felix suppressed a stupid smile from spreading across his face by biting his already bruised lips closed. Oh my god, he likes me too.  “Well that’s okay then.”

Hyunjin squinted at him. “Come on, you can’t just get me to tell you that then leave me hanging like an idiot.”

Felix laughed and pressed a quick kiss to Hyunjin’s lips. “Don’t worry, I like like you, too.”

Hyunjin smiled lopsidedly again before he easily finished undoing Felix’s jeans and again with Felix’s help, pulled them off.

Felix let out a heavy breath when the confines of his awful jeans were finally pulled off, and he was frankly surprised the amount of precum leaking from his cock and through his boxers hadn’t seeped onto his jeans. The outline of his hard cock was clear and obvious, and Felix would have been a little more embarrassed about it if he couldn’t see Hyunjin’s bulge through his shorts, too.

Felix was so caught up in his mind’s flowery description of cock that he hardly noticed when Hyunjin shuffled down until his lips brushed Felix’s inner upper thigh and Felix squeaked in surprise.

Felix’s eyes immediately shot down to look at Hyunjin. “Just what are you-” He was cut off when Hyunjin gently bit the plush meat of Felix’s thigh, his hand snaking up and coming to rest over his cock. Felix muffled a moan with the back of his hand when Hyunjin squeezed just enough but not enough at all. “ H-Hyunjin, ” Felix muttered breathlessly, and then he felt Hyunjin’s fingers beginning to slip under the waistband of Felix’s boxers, and suddenly they were off him and his cock was exposed to the cool air, but not for long enough to appreciate it, because Hyunjin had already gently taken it into his hand and Felix was pretty sure he was going to pass out if he didn’t die first.

“ Hyunjin! ” Felix said loudly at the same time Hyunjin breathed a low “ Fuck. ”

The hand previously covering his mouth reached up to cover his eyes as Hyunjin’s fingers danced over Felix’s length, lightly brushing the hyper-sensitive skin and making Felix whine with every movement, his head tilting backwards slightly.

“Pretty all over,” Hyunjin mumbled, almost to himself like an afterthought.

“Hyunjin, stop teasing me,” Felix all but whispered past his hand that had reclaimed its place over his mouth. 

“Are you really in a position to make demands?” Hyunjin asked, his fingertips still slowly running over Felix’s member and making him twitch slightly every few seconds.

“ Please, ” Felix begged, not giving a single fuck about how that might sound or look anymore, he just wanted Hyunjin to touch him properly.

Hyunjin let out a low, approving tsk. “Look at you, learning manners without needing to even see my cock.”

“No, I’ll still need that.”

“Evidently,” Hyunjin said before he leaned down, licked a strip from the base of Felix’s cock to the very tip and made Felix’s back arch and a moan tear from his throat, his legs instinctively bending at the knees.

“Fucking hell, Hyunjin,” Felix gasped, and he cried out when Hyunjin’s thick lips wrapped around the head of his cock and gave a slight suck. One of Felix’s hands automatically reached down to look for something to hold, like Hyunjin’s hair, only to find that there was nothing to hold onto, the buzzed hair too short to provide any grip. And unfortunately, Felix really fucking needed it when Hyunjin’s mouth slid down and took the entire thing in one go. Felix gasps and pants were accompanied with his attempt to find something like the sheets to hold, but they had fallen off the bed a long while ago. It was a little frustrating, but Felix’s mouth was letting out so many swear words that it didn’t seem to matter much.

“Sorry,” Hyunjin mumbled, causing his tongue to push Felix’s cock to the side of his mouth and into his cheek briefly as he apologised and making the younger sob out a groan. Somewhere, Felix managed to find Hyunjin’s hand, that had apparently reached up for Felix to hold, and squeezed it with all his might.

“God, I don’t care,” Felix managed to say as Hyunjin continued his movements, hollowing his cheeks around him slightly and making Felix’s eyes roll backwards already. Hyunjin’s free hand was gently grazing over the outside of Felix’s thigh, his nails gently scraping along the flesh and making each of Felix’s nerve endings feel like fireworks. The warm wetness of the inside of Hyunjin’s mouth and the way his tongue occasionally pressed against the bottom of his cock was making Felix almost delirious with pleasure and he moaned louder with every second that passed.

The movements of Hyunjin’s mouth had Felix’s hips twitching up to try and get in contact with more, more, more, but Hyunjin’s spare arm raised up to form a seatbelt-like brace over Felix’s hips that kept them effectively still.

“Hyunjin, please,” Felix moaned, his breaths quickening as he gripped Hyunjin’s hand with about all the strength he could muster, his moans growing higher pitched. “I want - fucking hell, please. ”

And with that, Hyunjin pulled off Felix’s cock with a wet pop and Felix’s hold on Hyunjin’s hand loosened enough to show the whitening finger marks left behind.

“See, those are the manners I’m talking about,” Hyunjin nodded, shifting so he was sitting properly between Felix’s legs again.

“ Hyunjin, ” Felix complained, though he did shut up when Hyunjin reached over for the lube.

“Saying please isn’t so hard, is it?” Hyunjin asked, almost cockily licking the saliva off his lower lip, the lube bottle now resting in his hand.

Hyunjin rolled the bottle between his hands, looking down at Felix, completely wrecked, beneath him, like he was contemplating whether or not to actually use it. The way Hyunjin’s eyes continuously caught on Felix’s panting, parted lips gave Felix a feeling Hyunjin wouldn’t mind using saliva at all. Oh, well. Another day.

“You know what?” Hyunjin hummed, still looking over Felix before he began flipping the bottle in his hand. “You know how to do this yourself, right?”

Felix’s cheeks flushed dark shades of red. “Um, y-yes.”

“Here,” Hyunjin said, stopping the throws of the bottle to hold the lid end and holding it out to Felix. “Do it yourself.”

Felix almost melted, looking up at Hyunjin looking down on him like that. “No, Hyunjin, please don’t make me do it myself, I just want to feel you do it, and my fingers are too short and-”

“Well they don’t have to be long,” Hyunjin said, tilting his head slightly, “do they?”

Felix pursed his lips.

“They just need to open you up enough for my cock to do the rest of the stretching. You do it fast enough and I’ll be able to get inside you a whole lot faster,” Hyunjin said, but when Felix still hesitated, his eyes darkened. “A princess with manners takes what he’s given and does as he’s told.”

Felix swallowed before quickly reaching out and taking the bottle from Hyunjin’s hand. Hyunjin smirked, seemingly proud of himself as he stood.

Felix flipped the cap open as Hyunjin slid off the bed to stand at the foot of it, and suddenly his boner was so much more obvious, the outline dark and obvious in his basketball shorts. Hyunjin nodded at him. “Go on.”

Felix poured a generous amount of the lube onto his fingers and rubbed it in a couple of times before he reached down and around in a rather awkwardly difficult way until he settled properly and felt the cold slick on his fingers on his hole. He muffled a moan.

Hyunjin’s eyes stayed glued to Felix the whole time. When the first finger slipped inside, Hyunjin was staring. Felix sighed, content enough at the feeling - it was a sort of warmth around his fingers, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t tried doing this himself before. It was one of his masturbation techniques, though he avoided it on a regular basis; it hurt his wrist and somehow his fingers could never reach far enough for anything to feel as good as he knew it could. But with Hyunjin watching him so intently, like he was some piece of art that he never wanted to take his eyes off, it was worth the wait. When a second finger joined, Hyunjin was still staring. When Felix managed a third without breaking his wrist and cried out because god, he could feel his fingers were close to where he wanted them but he couldn’t fucking reach, Hyunjin’s thumbs dipped under the waistband of his basketball shorts and pulled them down and off, which only made Felix’s back arch when his eyes landed on Hyunjin’s hard dick.

As Felix moaned, Hyunjin began sliding his hand over his own erection, which had clearly been a great source of grief until now, being confined in his shorts and briefs.

Felix had to say that when he had thought about Hyunjin’s dick in the past (and yes, he had thought about Hyunjin’s dick in the past), he had imagined it much like his own - a few good inches on it but nothing overly flashy. But apparently, Hyunjin liked using his dick for a reason, because it was bigger than Felix had imagined; of course it was. It was long and so fucking hard that he could see the way it leaned a little to the left and Felix sobbed out a moan.

“Hyunjin, please,” Felix whined, pulling his fingers out of himself and spreading his legs further apart. “I’m stretched enough now. Please fuck me. ”

Hyunjin tilted his head to the side with a smile before he climbed back over Felix, settling between his legs again. “Such wonderful manners.”

Felix panted as Hyunjin poured more lube onto his hand before coating his cock in it, making himself moan at the sensation and eyes roll back slightly before they slid closed.

“But unfortunately, not enough,” Hyunjin sighed as he opened his eyes again, looking back down at Felix. He leaned down and propped himself up on his forearms, which were on either side of Felix’s head before he spoke again. “Still need me to fuck them into you, I see.”

Then Felix felt it. The wet head of Hyunjin’s cock pressed against his entrance, and Felix couldn’t help but whine before he looped his arms around Hyunjin’s neck. The breathy sigh he let out was too gentle when he felt to tip of Hyunjin’s cock push into him slightly, not all the way yet, but he was partially inside him and Felix needed to bite something beside his own inner cheek, so he pulled Hyunjin down and bit the closest part of his throat, teeth sinking into the side of his neck with a moan.

Hyunjin let out a gasp at the feeling of Felix’s teeth biting into the skin of his neck, and continued pushing in, more slowly than Felix would have assumed he would go, and everything felt like warm water was being poured over him. Hyunjin’s quiet, heavy breaths beside Felix’s ear was hardly registered as he was consumed by the feeling that time had slowed to an almost stop and Hyunjin just seemed to keep going, kept stretching him where Felix’s fingers couldn’t reach. And when he finally bottomed out, his hips pressed against Felix’s ass, Felix let out a heavy breath, like he hadn’t been fully aware he had been holding it. Hyunjin let out a similar sound, dipping his head down to press a kiss to Felix’s shoulder.

“ Fuck, ” Hyunjin said breathily and shakily, his mouth barely hovering over Felix’s skin and his breath was barely warm but felt like fire spreading across Felix’s skin and Felix’s hands had fallen from around Hyunjin’s neck to grip his shoulders instead. “You’re so tight - fuck - basically a virgin.”

“Basically,” Felix mumbled back, his eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath, trying to adjust to the feeling of being full of Hyunjin.

After a moment, Felix’s legs, which had been pressed against Hyunjin’s hips hard until now, loosened their iron hold on the blond above him and Felix’s body gradually relaxed enough to silently tell Hyunjin that it was okay for him to move.

Hyunjin left one last chaste kiss against Felix’s shoulder before he shifted back, drawing out of Felix until only the head was left inside before he rolled his hips forward, more aggressively than he had pushed in the first time, and Felix let out a gasp before Hyunjin bit down on Felix’s shoulder with a groan.

Another thrust followed quickly after, and Felix stifled another moan as he felt Hyunjin slide in and out of him again and again. 

“Please, Hyunjin,” Felix mumbled, his nails gently pressing into the skin of Hyunjin’s muscular back. “Please.”

Hyunjin’s movements slowed slightly to easy rolls of his hips and looked down at Felix, lust-filled eyes half-lidded and looking down at him with a heady darkness in them. “Please what?”

“Harder,” Felix clarified breathlessly. “ Please, harder. ”

Hyunjin hummed shortly before he shifted his weight slightly and the next thrust had Felix crying out as he was pushed up the bed and his nails digging harder into Hyunjin’s back like it was all that was grounding him. Hyunjin grunted through pursed lips as he thrust up more aggressively, bumping Felix slightly up the bed with each movement. Felix could feel how hot his face was and he was sure he was bright red, but he didn’t care as his legs lent out further as if begging Hyunjin to take all he wanted as Felix grew more and more obsessed with the sound of their skin slapping together with each passing second. Felix glanced down and moaned past his teeth where they bit into his bottom lip at seeing the way he bounced up slightly every time Hyunjin fucked up into him and his own cock, painfully hard but the furthest from Felix’s mind, hitting his stomach with every bounce.

At some point, when Felix’s head is already angled up and his moans were breathy and quiet but so completely there, Hyunjin’s thrusts hit something that had Felix arch his back as he spasmed with a wave of pleasure and a loud scream of a moan rip form his throat.

“Fucking hell, Felix,” Hyunjin moaned, his mouth still near Felix’s ear when he spoke. “You sound so… fuck. ”

And with each pounding motion that had already been turning Felix’s world upside down and back to front, Hyunjin managed to just keep hitting that spot over and over and over and it had Felix’s legs shaking and his nails scratching down Hyunjin’s back, leaving angry red lines in the skin in their wake.

“Fuck, you’re so good,” Hyunjin growled, the next thrusts coming even harder, which Felix had not been entirely sure was possible, but hey, the more you know. The praise had Felix pressing his shaking thighs to Hyunjin’s sides and more moans tumbling from his lips.

“Please, Hyunjin,” Felix sobbed for what felt like the millionth time. Hell, he didn’t even know what he was begging for - maybe he just wanted Hyunjin. “Please, I’m so close.”

Hyunjin moans then, actually moans, as he presses his lips against Felix’s shoulder, his thrusts quickening. “Fuck, baby. Perfect.”

“ Please, ” Felix panted, and Hyunjin’s lips curved into a small smile against the skin of Felix’s shoulder, and Felix could feel it because every inch of his skin was on fire and all he could fucking feel was Hyunjin.

“Such perfect manners,” Hyunjin almost purred against his flesh. “Come on, princess. Show me how beautiful you are when you cum.”

Felix’s eyes rolled backwards as he felt his climax approaching like a bullet and it hit him, pushing him over the edge and he could suddenly feel Hyunjin’s rough hand - only, it wasn’t rough, but soft in that harsh way only an artist’s palm could be - on him and stroking him in time with his fast thrusts. And Felix came with a wrangled scream which he hardly managed to muffle in Hyunjin’s neck, his release covering Hyunjin’s hand and Felix’s own stomach, which was shaking along with his thighs as his back arched. However blunt, Felix’s nails left furious red lines down Hyunjin’s back as Felix just seemed to keep cumming, his high seeming lasting the longest it ever had - or maybe time had just slowed down again because Felix was apparently one of God’s favourites and was blessed with what felt like minutes of hot cum covering him to the feeling of Hyunjin’s cock thrusting in and out of him.

Hyunjin moaned upon hearing Felix and when Felix’s climax was finally over, he let go of Felix’s cock before beginning to move and fuck he was pulling out, why was he pulling out, and Felix quickly tightened his grip on Hyunjin everywhere. Then, so quietly he was hardly even sure if Hyunjin heard, he whispered, “inside me, Hyunjin. Inside.”

And Felix’s vision seemed to go black with holographic lines of white and magenta and red and green and he couldn’t tell if it was because he had squeezed his eyes shut or if it was because he heard Hyunjin moan loudly against him, biting down on the skin of his shoulder and a sudden pain shoot through him, the nerves in his shoulder screaming, but it didn’t fucking matter because he felt Hyunjin’s cock pulse inside him and then Hyunjin was using Felix to fuck himself through his high and Felix was seeing stars. He could feel Hyunjin filling him up and he could feel Hyunjin’s teeth bitten into his shoulder and he still felt Hyunjin fucking into him and it was all too much and so much that Felix suddenly felt himself cum again, an almost pained cry leaving his throat at the oversensitivity of a second and very unexpected orgasm crashing over him.

And then Hyunjin stilled and Felix’s eyes weren’t focusing and everything went quiet and Felix was on cloud fucking 9.

And so they lay there for a moment, trying to get their breathing in check and Felix trying to blink the remnants of his orgasms away.

When Felix’s vision finally returned to normal and his breathing calmed down, Felix took a heavy breath before sighing out a quiet “fucking hell.”

Hyunjin huffed a slight laugh as he managed to push himself up and off Felix, and he inhaled sharply upon looking at the spot on Felix’s left shoulder that he had bitten down.

“Oh my god,” Hyunjin whispered.

Felix hummed and turned his head to look, but when he couldn’t see much, he raised his hand and brushed his fingers along the skin. When he looked at them, he found them coming away bloody. It was about then when the pain receptors kicked in and the bloody bite mark on his shoulder started to fucking hurt.

“Shit, I am so sorry,” Hyunjin apologised, his hand hovering over the skin, but not touching it like he didn’t want to make it worse. “Are… are you okay?”

Felix shifted, propping himself up, trying to move his head around to get a better look. “I mean, you don’t have rabies or anything, right?”

Hyunjin huffed out a laugh and slipped out of Felix with a wince, pulling a few tissues off the nightstand. “No, I don’t have rabies. But I still don’t want that to get infected. I’ll patch it up after we’re no longer sticky.” He held out a few tissues. “Put pressure on it.”

Felix took the tissues and pressed them against the bite, his mind still floating a little as Hyunjin cleaned them up. When they were no longer sticky with cum, Hyunjin stood up and pulled on his basketball shorts again, then passed Felix his boxers that had been unceremoniously dumped on the floor earlier. Felix shuffled into them and pulled a hoodie off the floor, pulling it over his head. It smelt kind of nice, which was weird, considering it had probably been laying on his floor for a week.

“Well that’s not going to be very helpful for me,” Hyunjin sighed, holding a little bag he had pulled from his bigger bag.

“Calm down,” Felix said, pulling the neckline to the side to show the bite, which had stopped bleeding for the most part.

“Jesus Christ,” Hyunjin mumbled, shaking his head as he moved over and sat beside Felix, unzipping the little bag. He pulled out a little tube of some clear liquid and cracked it open. “This might sting a little.”

Felix nodded and watched as Hyunjin poured the liquid onto the bite, and he flinched a little at the sting. “Who carries around saline on a regular basis?”

“Chan makes us bring a first aid kit to our training and games since I fucked up my hand,” Hyunjin responded as Felix hissed at the sting. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Felix said as Hyunjin patted the area dry and pulled open a large square bandaid. “Who taught you to do this again?”

“Guess.”

“Chan?”

“Yep,” Hyunjin said, placing the bandaid down carefully, eyes entirely focused on his work. “Lived with the guy for one of the three years of medical school he’s torturing himself through, you pick up a few things.”

“Of course he’s doing medicine,” Felix said as Hyunjin pulled the neckline of his hoodie back over Felix’s shoulder.

“Of course.” Hyunjin sat there for a moment. “And hey. I really am sorry, I didn’t mean to bite you that hard.”

Felix huffed a laugh out and shuffled to lay back down. “I already said it’s okay.”

Hyunjin hummed in response, laying down beside Felix. “Well, if it starts hurting or the skin around it gets hot and red, tell me and I’ll get Chan to look at it. But it should be fine.”

Felix nodded.

They didn’t really say much for the next few minutes. It wasn’t exactly awkward, but it was definitely strange for Felix to wrap his head around. Felix didn’t really think Hyunjin would do this part - this whole post-thing where they just... hung out? The bite was a curveball, but he hadn’t expected Hyunjin to fix it up for him. It was nice.

Felix shifted, glancing at Hyunjin out of the corner of his eye. “You should probably get back to your frat house, right?” he asked, trying to sound casual. Normal. Not like he wanted Hyunjin to stay.

Hyunjin hummed, completely unfazed. “Well, you’re kinda in my hoodie, so that might make it hard.”

Felix blinked. Then looked down at himself. He tugged at the oversized hoodie, suddenly realizing why it had smelled so fucking nice. “Oh,” he said. “Huh. No wonder it’s too big.”

Hyunjin huffed out a laugh and rolled onto his side, propping his head up with one hand. “So?”

Felix narrowed his eyes. “So what?”

Hyunjin smirked. “Are you gonna give it back?”

Felix immediately curled his arms around himself protectively. “Nah. Belongs to me now.”

“Wow. Thief.”

Felix shrugged, unapologetic. “Finders keepers. And plus, I think there’s my blood on it now, so it’s automatically mine.”

Hyunjin snorted, then stretched, limbs long and lazy. He let out a sigh and flopped dramatically back onto the bed. “Guess I have to stay, then.”

Felix stared at him. “…Yeah. That tracks.”

Hyunjin shot him a grin, smug and pleased with himself, and Felix had to bite back a smile. He really was ridiculous.

But also, Felix didn’t really mind.

“Well. Okay then,” he nodded. “Guess you’re staying.”

“Guess I am.”

There was a moment of silence between them before Hyunjin piped up. “We’re gonna be so knackered tomorrow.”

Felix lifted his head slightly to check his clock and laughed, tilting his head to look over at Hyunjin. “3 am is nothing. I’m sure your parties are renowned for going on longer, and I’ve pulled all nighters to get essays and study finished.”

“Even when they have, I’m always wasted and my body hurts,” Hyunjin explained. “But I’m never focused on the lack of sleep because everything else hurts with a hangover. The only person who will be sore tomorrow is you.”

Felix smacked his arm gently. “Yeah, and it’s gonna be your fault.”

“Well, we have matching hickeys so everyone’s gonna know,” Hyunjin teased, poking Felix in the side, which Felix grabbed before he could go in for a second poke. “And plus, you now have a bite mark of my teeth in your shoulder.”

“Is that anything to brag about??” Felix demanded.

“Well, that shit’ll probably scar, so now you’re stuck with me,” Hyunjin teased, waving his hand and whimsically wiggling his hand. “ Forever. ”

They laid there for a little longer, Felix absentmindedly fidgeting with Hyunjin’s fingers, tracing the lines on his palm. It was quiet, the comfortable kind, until Felix yawned and felt the weight of everything start to settle.

Hyunjin shifted closer, wrapping an arm around Felix’s waist, pulling him in until they were snug against each other. Felix should’ve maybe overthought it a little, but he didn’t, just let his back melt into Hyunjin’s chest and let himself sink into the warmth of it all.

“Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite,” Hyunjin said in gentle English.

Felix lightly hit Hyunjin's forearm. “You're more likely to bite me in my sleep than a bed bug.”

“Night, Felix.”

“...Night, Hyunjin.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix barely had time to process how fast things had changed. One moment, he was just another student navigating his way through university, trying to ignore the campus heartbreaker and his incessant flirting. The next, he was waking up to warm arms slung lazily around his waist, pressing his nose into Hyunjin’s bare shoulder, inhaling the faint scent of cologne and sleep.

And now, somehow, they were this - Hyunjin walking beside him, their fingers loosely intertwined, an easy sway to their step like they had always been like this, like it was natural. Maybe it was.

“You know,” Hyunjin mused as they crossed the campus, “if you keep looking this cute, I might have to start carrying you to class so no one else gets to do it first.”

Felix snorted, rolling his eyes. “Oh yeah? What happens when your arms get tired? You’ll drop me on my ass?”

“I’d never drop you, my arms would never get tired,” Hyunjin said, utterly serious in a way that made Felix’s stomach flip. But then he grinned and nudged Felix’s side with his elbow. “But if they did, I’d just make Chan carry you instead. That guy can deadlift, like 190 kg, and he does it for fun.”

Felix groaned. “Please, as if I’d let Chan carry me anywhere.”

“Oh, so you’ll let me carry you?”

“That’s not what I said.”

Hyunjin hummed knowingly, swinging their joined hands before stopping outside Felix’s lecture hall. “I gotta say, I love this little routine of ours.”

Felix tilted his head. “What, me rolling my eyes at your terrible flirting?”

Hyunjin smiled. “That. And walking you to class. And-” He leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to Felix’s lips, something soft and lazy that made Felix’s brain briefly short-circuit. When they broke apart, Hyunjin was looking at him like he was something worth marveling at. “And that.”

Felix cleared his throat, trying to ignore the heat creeping up his neck. “You’re embarrassing.”

“You love it.”

Felix made a show of sighing, but his fingers squeezed around Hyunjin’s all the same. “Alright, off you go, before you make me late. And I'll know about it if you skip another lecture.”

Hyunjin kissed him again, quick and chaste, before finally pulling away with a wink. “See you after, princess.”

Felix watched him leave, his heart hammering just a little too fast in his chest. God, he was so fucked . But if this was what it felt like to be with Hyunjin, he thought he could get used to it.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix had been having a good day. A really good day, actually. The kind of day where the world seemed a little brighter, where his steps felt lighter, and where the lingering warmth of Hyunjin’s hands on his waist that morning still tingled against his skin. He hadn’t expected to feel this way. Not about Hyunjin. Not about anyone, really. But here he was, caught up in something that felt dangerously close to happiness.

That feeling shattered the second he overheard Hyunjin’s voice.

Felix hadn’t meant to eavesdrop - hadn’t even known Hyunjin was nearby - but as he turned the corner behind the old student union building, he caught sight of him. Hyunjin, standing with Minjun, one of the guys from the same frat but lived in a different house. Felix was about to call out to him, maybe surprise him with a dumb joke or some snarky comment, but then-

“So? Did you do it?” Minjun’s voice was casual, like they were discussing the weather. “You fucked him? Bet’s over now, right? You win?”

Felix stopped breathing.

“Yeah.”

The world went silent. Felix couldn’t hear anything past the blood rushing in his ears. His body locked up, completely frozen in place as the words repeated in his mind over and over and over again.

You fucked him. Bet’s over now. You win.

The ground beneath him might as well have disappeared. Just days ago, he had been in Hyunjin’s bed - had let himself be held, had let himself trust. He had believed Hyunjin, had let himself think - just for a second - that this was real. That Hyunjin wasn’t just some arrogant frat boy trying to get into his pants for fun. That he wasn’t a game.

But he was. And Hyunjin had won.

Felix turned before he could hear any more, before he could completely shatter into pieces right there in the open. He moved on autopilot, steps stiff and mechanical as he walked away, his stomach twisted into knots so tight he could barely breathe. His mind was blank and loud at the same time, a screaming mess of thoughts crashing into each other like a car wreck.

Hyunjin’s voice followed him, but Felix didn’t hear it.

What he didn’t know was that, back in that alley, Hyunjin was shaking his head.

“The bet was fucking stupid.” His voice was firm, irritation creeping in at the edges. “I texted you that it was off weeks ago.”

Minjun scoffed. “Well, I changed my number ages ago, so that’s news to me.”

Hyunjin exhaled sharply, jaw tight. “Doesn’t matter. You can fuck off with that shit. Don’t talk about Felix like he’s some fucking trophy. He’s more than that.”

Minjun raised an eyebrow, amused. “Damn. You really fell for him, huh?”

Hyunjin didn’t answer right away. “So what if I did? You don't really care.”

But Felix was already gone, and he hadn’t heard a single word of it.

Chapter Text

Hyunjin spotted Felix across the quad and grinned widely. "Good morning, gorgeous," he called, sauntering over like he hadn’t a care in the world. "How was your lecture? Blissfully boring, I would imagine?"

Felix stopped in his tracks. Just seeing Hyunjin made his stomach twist violently, an ugly knot of betrayal and heartbreak settling in his gut.

Felix’s fingers curled into fists at his sides. He felt sick. Because Hyunjin really had the audacity to come over to him and act like he hadn't done a thing. Like he hadn’t just ripped Felix’s heart straight out of his chest and stomped all over it like that one hot Recruiter guy from Squid Game did with those breads.

Those stupid fucking breads.

"Hey - what’s with the face?" Hyunjin asked, tilting his head. His usual confidence flickered for half a second, his easy smile dimming just slightly when Felix didn’t return it.

Felix didn’t say anything. He just looked at him. At the person he’d let in, the person he’d let kiss him, hold him, touch him - someone he’d let himself trust.

And for what? For some fucking bet?

Hyunjin stepped closer, his brows knitting together. "Hey, princess-"

"Don't call me that," Felix snapped, his voice shaking with barely contained fury.

Hyunjin froze. "Okay," he said cautiously. "What’s wrong?" He reached for Felix's arm, but Felix jerked away like he’d been burned before Hyunjin could even touch him. He was never going to let him touch him again.

"What’s wrong ?" Felix repeated, his voice rising. "Are you actually asking me that?"

Hyunjin’s confusion turned to something more wary, a flicker of concern in his dark eyes. "Felix, just - talk to me. What happened?"

"You fucking happened!" Felix's voice cracked. "You - this! I can't believe I was so fucking stupid. "

Hyunjin took a step back, visibly startled. "Felix, what the hell are you-"

"The bet, Hyunjin!" Felix screamed, the words tearing out of him before he could stop them. "I heard you. I heard you. I heard you tell Minjun that you fucking slept with me like it was just some - some fucking game! Just so you could get a quick buck!"

Hyunjin's entire body locked up. His lips parted, but nothing came out at first. The colour drained from his face. "Felix, wait-"

Felix shoved him, hard. "Don’t you dare try to explain it away, Hyunjin. Don’t you dare try to make me feel like I’m the one overreacting. I trusted you! I - God, I actually thought-"

His voice cracked again, and to his absolute fucking horror, hot tears spilled over before he could stop them. He furiously wiped at his face, hating himself for crying in front of him.

Hyunjin looked stricken, his own hands shaking as he tried to reach out again. "Felix, please , just listen-"

"No!" Felix shoved him off again, harder this time, sending Hyunjin stumbling back a step. "I let you in! I let you parade around with me and kiss me and fucking touch me-" He choked on his words, his whole body trembling with rage, heartbreak, betrayal . "And for what? Some stupid fucking bet? Was I just some dumbass challenge to you? Some prize to be won?"

"No!" Hyunjin finally found his voice, desperate and raw. "Felix, it wasn’t - fuck, it wasn’t like that. I swear to you. The bet was stupid , and I told Minjun it was off weeks ago!"

Felix let out a wet, bitter laugh. "Oh, that makes me feel so much better."

"I didn’t-" Hyunjin exhaled sharply, running a shaky hand over his hair. "I didn’t sleep with you because of the bet. That was real. You are real. I-"

"Shut up!" Felix cut him off, voice hoarse. "You don’t get to tell me what was real. Not when you lied to me. Not when you used me."

"I didn’t! " Hyunjin was yelling now too, his voice breaking. "I didn’t use you, Felix! Fuck , I-" He cut himself off, his throat working, and for the first time, Felix saw it: real fear in his eyes.

It didn’t matter. 

It didn’t change anything.

"You’re an idiot," Felix spat, voice shaking. "You're a fucking idiot."

Hyunjin flinched. It was small, almost imperceptible, but Felix saw it. And in that moment, he knew he'd cut deep.

Hyunjin wasn’t stupid. He hated when people called him that. He tried to play it off, pretending he didn’t care, but Felix knew better.

And it hurt Hyunjin more than he could admit that Felix was the one who said it.

"Felix..." Hyunjin’s voice was barely above a whisper now.

Felix turned away, aggressively wiping at his eyes, but the tears just kept coming, kept flowing down his face and making his entire body shake. He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't fucking breathe.

But before he could escape, footsteps rounded the corner.

"What's going on?" Jisung’s voice cut through the tension, sharp with concern. Felix stiffened as Jisung and Minho came into view, their hands intertwined and looking confused.

Jisung’s eyes darted between them before landing on Felix’s red, tear-streaked face and still slightly convulsing body. "Felix - Fuck, Felix, are you okay?"

Felix let out a sharp breath, quickly wiping at his face, though it didn’t help anything. "Yeah. I’m fucking fantastic."

Jisung's expression darkened, letting go of Minho's hand. He stepped closer, glancing warily at Hyunjin before looking back at Felix, placing a hand on his friend's shaking back.

Minho, meanwhile, crossed his arms, squinting his eyes at Hyunjin as Jisung rubbed Felix’s back.

" What did you do? " Minho snapped at Hyunjin, voice low as the sounds of Felix's breaths, shallow and hyperventilating filled the space.

"Come on," Jisung said softly, guiding Felix away. "Let’s go."

Felix didn't object, and Minho shot Hyunjin one last glare that said think about what you fucking did, before following them.

Hyunjin swallowed, his entire body taut, hands still shaking at his sides as he watched them leave.

But for the first time in a long time, he had no idea what to say.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix sat curled up on the tiny dorm bed, knees drawn to his chest, his face buried in his arms. His whole body shook with the force of his sobs, the sound muffled against the fabric of Jisung’s hoodie that Jeongin had tossed over him at some point. It smelled like cheap detergent and something vaguely fruity - maybe Jeongin’s shampoo. But at least it didn’t smell like Hyunjin.

He couldn’t be in his own room. Not now. Not when the walls still held the echoes of their moans and the sheets still felt like Hyunjin’s hands pressed into his flesh. He felt sick just thinking about it, and his shoulder was hurting so badly. He had looked at it, but it didn't look infected or anything. It just had a dull throbbing pain in it. So, Jisung had helped him to his own dorm, which Jeongin jumped up in worry.

Jeongin was now sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed, rubbing soothing circles on Felix’s calf while Jisung sat beside him, scrolling idly on his phone, though Felix knew he was only pretending to be casual about this. The slight furrow in his brow, the way he kept glancing over at Felix, meant he was more worried than he let on.

“I fucking hate him,” Felix choked out, voice hoarse from crying. “I hate him so much.”

Jeongin made a soft noise of sympathy and reached out, gently rubbing Felix’s shoulder. “Yeah, that makes sense,” he said. “He’s a fucking asshole.”

Felix sniffled hard and let out something between a sob and a laugh. “I just - I don’t get it. Why would he do that? Why would he act like he actually liked me if it was all just - just a fucking bet?” His voice cracked on the last word, and his whole body crumpled inward. “I was so fucking stupid.”

“Hey,” Jisung said sharply, setting his phone down and shifting closer. “You’re not stupid. Hyunjin’s the stupid one. He had something good, and he fucked it up.”

Felix didn’t answer, just hiccupped on another sob. He wanted to believe Jisung. He wanted to take all this burning, twisting hurt inside him and throw it at Hyunjin’s feet and never feel anything for him again. But there was something deep in his gut, an awful, traitorous ache, that wouldn’t let go. It whispered that maybe - maybe - he didn’t actually hate Hyunjin as much as he wished he did. And fuck, that made him want to scream.

“I should’ve known,” Felix mumbled into his arms. “He was too good at it. Too smooth. I should’ve fucking known.”

“Okay, no,” Jeongin said firmly, scooting closer until he could lean against Felix’s side. “You’re not the dumbass here, okay? He made you think it was real because it was real to you. That’s not your fault.”

Felix sniffed hard, his face hot and blotchy. “I can’t believe I let him touch me.” His voice was raw, and he clenched his fists in his lap. “I can’t believe I-” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I can’t even be in that fucking room.”

“Then don’t,” Jisung said simply. “You can crash here as long as you want. Hell, take my bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Felix let out a shaky breath. “Thanks.”

Jisung just shrugged, then hesitated before adding, “You know, if you don’t wanna go to the basketball game this weekend, you don’t have to. No one would blame you.”

Felix’s head snapped up, and he wiped at his wet red cheeks. “No.”

Jeongin and Jisung exchanged a look. “I mean,” Jeongin started carefully, “you don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”

Felix shook his head. “If I don’t go, he wins.” His voice was steadier now, but there was something almost manic in the way his fingers twisted into the sleeves of Jisung’s hoodie. “If I let him think he got to me, if I let him think he broke me, then he wins.”

Jisung exhaled through his nose. “Felix-”

“I have to go,” Felix repeated, jaw tight. “I have to look him in the eyes and make him think I don’t give a shit.”

Jeongin frowned. “That’s - kinda fucked up, dude.”

Felix let out a short, bitter laugh. “Yeah, well. So’s he.”

Jisung sighed, ruffling his own hair. “Alright. If that’s what you wanna do, we’ll be right there with you.”

Felix finally let himself breathe, the fire inside him still burning, but at least now he had something to fuel it. “Thanks,” he murmured. “Both of you.”

Jeongin squeezed his arm. “Always, man.”

Jisung smirked. “But if you cry at the game, we’re dragging you out of there.”

Felix groaned and shoved him, but there was no real force behind it.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Hyunjin slumped onto the worn-out couch in the frat house's living room, tossing a basketball between his hands like it was the only thing keeping his brain from overheating. Chan was sprawled in the armchair across from him, looking mildly concerned, while Changbin and Seungmin were on the other couch, deep in some stupid argument about whether milk or cereal should go in the bowl first. Minho, sitting on the farthest end of the room, was quiet. Too quiet.

"Dude, you're acting weird as shit," Chan finally said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "You've been sighing like an idiot for the last hour. What's up?"

Hyunjin grunted. "Nothing."

Changbin snorted. "Yeah, right. You look like someone kicked your puppy."

"Or like someone kicked you in the dick," Seungmin added helpfully.

Hyunjin groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. "Jesus Christ."

"Is this about Felix?" Minho asked, finally speaking up, and Hyunjin felt his whole body stiffen.

The room got weirdly quiet for half a second before Chan blinked. "Wait. Is it?"

Hyunjin let out a breath, tossing the basketball onto the floor and leaning back against the couch. "I don’t fucking know, man."

"Okay, first of all, that's a yes," Chan said, pointing at him. "Second, what happened? Did you guys fight?"

"Did he finally realize you're a dumbass?" Seungmin asked.

"Seungmin," Chan sighed.

"What? It's a fair question."

Minho exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Felix found out about the bet."

That shut everyone up.

Changbin blinked. "Wait, what?" He turned to Hyunjin. "You told him?"

"No, he overheard me talking to Minjun." Hyunjin ran a hand through his hair, gripping at the strands like he could physically pull himself out of this mess. "And I tried to explain, but he just - he lost it. He fucking lost it, man. He - fuck." He swallowed, pressing his knuckles to his mouth. "I've never seen him like that."

Minho leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "And you're only just now realizing you fucked up?"

Hyunjin shot him a glare, but it didn’t have much bite. "No, I realized it the second I saw his face."

Chan frowned. "Okay, but - it wasn't real, right? The bet? You called it off."

"Yeah. Yeah, I did. I texted Minjun, told him it was fucking stupid, that I wasn't doing it." He let out a humorless laugh. "But apparently, the asshole changed his number ages ago."

"So Felix still thinks it was a game to you," Changbin muttered.

Hyunjin stayed quiet.

"Fuck," Seungmin said, shaking his head. "No wonder he flipped."

Hyunjin rubbed his hands over his face again. "I don't know what to do."

"Do you actually like him?" Chan asked.

Hyunjin’s head snapped up. "What?"

Chan shrugged. "Do you like him? Because if this is just some guilt thing, or some pride thing-"

"No, I-" Hyunjin exhaled hard through his nose. "I like him, okay?"

"Like, like like him?" Changbin asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Jesus, we're not twelve." Hyunjin ignored that he and Felix had used that exact term.

"Dude, you need to be honest with yourself here," Chan said, pressing his hands together and pointing them at Hyunjin. "Do you like him, or do you-"

"I fucking love him."

The words left his mouth before he could stop them, and for a second, the entire room felt like it had sucked all the air out of itself. Hyunjin sat there, wide-eyed, feeling like he'd just been electrocuted. His heart was slamming against his ribs so hard it hurt.

"Well, there it is," Seungmin said, popping his gum.

Chan’s brows shot up. "Oh, shit."

Changbin let out a low whistle. "Damn."

Minho just looked unimpressed. "Took you long enough."

Hyunjin stared at his hands, his pulse roaring in his ears. It felt like something had clicked into place, like something had always been there and he just hadn't wanted to see it. But now, he couldn’t not see it. He loved Felix. He fucking loved him. And he had completely, royally, epically ruined everything.

"Well," Chan said, leaning back. "If you love him, then you'd better do something about it."

"Yeah, bro," Changbin agreed. "You can't just sit here like a sad little bitch."

"He has a point," Seungmin said.

"For once," Minho muttered.

Hyunjin groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "I don’t even know where to start."

"Start by apologizing," Minho said. "Like, actually apologizing. No deflecting, no joking, no bullshit. Just tell him you fucked up, and that you're sorry."

"And tell him you love him," Chan added.

Hyunjin swallowed. "What if - what if he doesn't-"

"Then you fucking deal with it," Seungmin said. "You fucked up. Now you fix it, or you take the L and throw yourself from the top of the frat house."

Hyunjin let out a long breath. His chest felt tight, his hands clammy. But beneath all the nerves and the fear, there was something else. Something steady. Something certain.

He loved Felix. And he was going to do whatever it took to fix this.

"Alright," he muttered, getting up from the couch. "I'm gonna fix this."

"Atta boy," Changbin said.

"Try not to make things worse," Minho muttered, but his voice was softer than usual.

Hyunjin nodded, jaw tight, and headed for the door. Time to get his shit together. But going and finding Felix would not help, he knew that. No, he needed something big. Something worthy to be written in a classic love story Felix loved so much.

Chapter Text

The bus rumbled down the highway, the low hum of conversation and occasional bursts of laughter filling the space. The cheer team occupied the front rows, bright and chatty, while the basketball team had taken over the back, sprawled across the seats like kings of the road. It was a long drive to the stadium - several hours of anticipation, nerves, and in Hyunjin’s case, absolute fucking misery.

Felix sat up front, sandwiched between Jisung and Jeongin. He looked relaxed, one leg pulled up onto his seat, scrolling through his phone like he didn’t have a single care in the world, a hoodie that Hyunjin didn't recognise as his or Felix's over his cheer uniform. Hyunjin knew better. The set of his shoulders was too tense, the flick of his thumb over the screen too sharp. He wasn’t relaxed. He was pissed.

And Hyunjin was the reason why.

He’d spent the past couple of days trying to figure out how to fix the absolute disaster he’d made of things, but Felix had ignored every single attempt at contact - texts, calls, even the pathetic, handwritten note Hyunjin had tried to slip into his bag before Jisung intercepted it with a glare that promised immediate violence. This bus ride was probably the longest stretch of time they’d be in the same place, and Hyunjin couldn’t waste it.

After what felt like hours of strategizing, Hyunjin finally pushed himself up from his seat and made his way to the front. He could feel the weight of his teammates’ eyes on him, but he ignored them. Felix was more important than their dumbass commentary.

Felix didn’t look up as Hyunjin stopped beside his seat, but Jisung and Jeongin did, their expressions shifting immediately into full-blown guard dog mode.

“Felix,” Hyunjin started, voice low. “Can we talk?”

Felix finally looked up, and Hyunjin felt the impact of his glare like a punch to the gut.

“Fuck off, would you?” Felix said, voice sharp and cold. “I don’t want to fucking talk to you.”

Hyunjin flinched. He knew Felix was angry, knew he deserved every ounce of it, but hearing that icy tone directed at him still hurt like hell.

Jisung shifted, his posture going from lazy to outright hostile in seconds. “Didn’t you hear him?” he said, voice deceptively casual. “Fuck off.”

Jeongin, usually the quietest one in the group, didn’t say a word - he just stared Hyunjin down like he was trying to set him on fire with his mind. It was a little unnerving, but it was that moment that Hyunjin knew Seungmin and Jeongin were made for each other.

Hyunjin swallowed hard, glancing back at Felix, hoping for something, anything - some tiny crack in the armor. There was nothing. Just cold indifference.

“Okay,” he mumbled, taking a step back. “I... I’ll go.”

He turned and made his way back to his seat, sliding down into it as his teammates tried (and failed) to pretend they hadn’t just witnessed his complete and utter humiliation.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

A while later, as the bus rolled through the long stretch of highway, Minho nudged Jisung’s side and muttered something under his breath. Jisung rolled his eyes but followed Minho towards the back, slipping into the tiny, cramped bus bathroom.

The second the door clicked shut, Minho had Jisung pressed up against it, lips crashing into his like he was dying of thirst and Jisung was the only thing that could quench it. Jisung kissed him back just as fiercely, fingers curling into Minho’s hoodie, pulling him closer.

It was hot, messy, and reckless - exactly the kind of thing that would get them into trouble.

After a few moments, Jisung pulled back, breathless. “Not here, Minho,” he said, voice hushed but firm. “You know that’s a stupid idea.”

Minho huffed, looking like a kicked puppy. “Come on, just a little longer?”

Jisung shoved at his chest lightly, smirking. “We make it to the stadium in one piece and you win this game first, then we’ll see.”

Minho sighed dramatically but let him go, fixing his shirt as Jisung cracked open the door, peering out to make sure no one was paying attention before they slipped back to their seats like nothing had happened.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

The Silverback Gators were out for blood. The massive stadium pulsed with energy, the air thick with the scent of sweat and stadium food. The green and silver uniforms of the team gleamed under the bright lights, the silver streaks catching every movement like flashes of lightning. Hyunjin adjusted his jersey, the number 04 stark against his back, and rolled his shoulders. He could hear the crowd roaring, could feel the bass of the music vibrating through the court, but none of it mattered.

What mattered was the boy on the sidelines, clad in the cheer team’s silver and green uniform, avoiding his gaze like the plague.

Felix hadn’t looked at him once. Not when he’d been announced in the starting lineup, not when he’d made a clean steal, not when he’d landed a layup so smooth even the opposing team had to nod in approval. Hyunjin wasn’t trying to be flashy tonight - not in the way he usually was. No showboating, no cocky smirks, just calculated plays, sharp passes, and relentless defense. He was playing with a point to prove.

And Felix was doing his damn best to ignore it.

The cheer squad moved like a well-oiled machine, Felix among them. Every time the Gators scored, the routine kicked in, and Felix played his part flawlessly. Hands in the air, sharp movements, high-energy chants. But his cheers were the same for Hyunjin as they were for anyone else. Just another name on the scoreboard. Just another guy in green and silver. Just another asshole.

By halftime, the Gators were leading by four. The cheer squad took the court for their big routine, and Felix threw himself into it, hyper-focused on the choreography and nothing else. The routine was tight, the crowd eating it up, the booming bass of a high-energy song - something pop-heavy, with a deep drop and catchy hook - fueling their movements. Felix flipped, landed, spun, and was caught by his partner effortlessly. He was in his element.

He was also trying his best to ignore the dull ache of the healing bite mark hidden beneath his uniform.

It burned when he twisted a certain way, a phantom reminder of Hyunjin’s mouth against his skin, of how that moment had felt. How he had felt. And god, he hated it.

When the buzzer rang for the second half, Felix hurried off the court, chest heaving, barely sparing a glance toward the Gators’ bench.

The last half of the game was brutal. The opposing team came back swinging, playing rough, throwing elbows, pushing the Gators to their limit. Hyunjin took a hit that sent him skidding across the polished floor, but he scrambled back up in seconds, jaw tight, fire in his eyes. He wasn’t going down easy.

Felix knew that look.

Felix hated that look.

The game came down to the last ten seconds. Gators up by one, the opposing team with possession. Then a bad pass, a steal, and suddenly, Hyunjin had the ball. He raced down the court, two defenders on his heels, time bleeding away. Three seconds.

Felix found himself on his feet with the rest of the cheer leaders.

Two seconds.

Hyunjin pulled up at the three-point line.

One second.

The ball soared through the air, spinning, spiraling, cutting through time itself before it kissed the rim and dropped clean through the net.

Buzzer beater.

The crowd exploded.

The Gators swarmed Hyunjin, shoving him, cheering, screaming. The arena rumbled with energy, the chant of Gators, Gators, Gators echoing in Felix’s bones. It was a hell of a shot. A perfect, clutch play under pressure.

Felix clenched his fists.

Because he was impressed. But more than that, he was annoyed. Annoyed that Hyunjin still had this hold on him. Annoyed that even now, when he was so pissed at him, when he was trying not to care-

He still felt something.

And he fucking hated it.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

The crowd was still going wild when Hyunjin stepped up to the microphone, trophy in hand, his Silverback Gators uniform clinging to his sweat-damp skin. The green and silver shimmered under the stadium lights, and his heart pounded - not from the game, but from what he was about to do.

“Yeah, uh,” Hyunjin started, rubbing his hand over his short, spiky hair. “Great victory. Well done, everyone. Amazing teamwork. Thanks Coach, you're great even though you're a bit mean. Go Gators. All that good stuff.”

There were a few scattered chuckles in the crowd, some claps and cheers, but most people were waiting for him to continue. The problem? He had absolutely nothing else to say. He had five whole minutes to fill, and about ten seconds in, he was already drawing a blank.

Shit.

His fingers tightened around the mic. “Um, I want to take this opportunity to say something more important to a boy I care a lot about.”

From the team standing behind him, Minho groaned audibly, stepping forward to hiss, “Dude, you’re not the main character, what the fuck are you doing? No one wants to hear your fucking confession, they're here for basketball, not 10 Things I fucking Hate About You!”

“Shut the fuck up,” Hyunjin said, swatting him away before scanning the bleachers. “Felix - yeah, I’m talking to you - can you come up here?”

There was an immediate reaction from the crowd. Murmurs, laughter, even a few dramatic ‘oooohs’ like they were in some high school romcom. Felix, meanwhile, went bright red, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, and immediately shrank in his seat.

Jisung and Jeongin looked at him, shrugging like it was his choice completely.

“Yeah, go on, mate,” Jeongin added, barely hiding his smile. “I know you know you want to.”

Felix shot them both a glare before standing stiffly, shoulders high like he was walking to his own execution. He shuffled up the stairs onto the stage but made sure to stop a good six feet away from Hyunjin, arms crossed, expression unimpressed. “This better not be some dumb joke, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin took a deep breath, gripping the mic tighter. “It’s not,” he promised, before turning back to the massive audience. “So, full disclosure, I did something really fucking stupid. Like, the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life. And if you know me, you know that’s saying a lot.”

A few people laughed, but Hyunjin was laser-focused on Felix, who stood there, eyes narrowed, lips pressed tight.

Hyunjin pressed on. “I made a bet. A bet that I could sleep with Felix in 3 months. Yeah, yeah, I know, real classy.” The murmurs in the crowd grew louder. “But the thing is, somewhere along the way, I stopped giving a shit about the bet, and I just started caring about him. But when he found out, it was too late, and he now refuses to talk to me, but must have come up here when I asked because he’s too kind for this world and is too good for me.”

He took a shaky breath, licking his lips. “Felix, I am an idiot. The biggest fucking idiot on the planet. And not just because of the bet - because I let something that stupid get in the way of something real. I hurt you, and I hate myself for it.”

Felix shifted on his feet, looking down, jaw clenched, clearly uncomfortable with all the eyes on them.

Hyunjin’s voice softened. “I know I don’t deserve you. But, Felix, I love you. And I’ll keep saying it until you know I mean it.” He exhaled. “And Lord, I’m doing all I can to be a better man.”

The crowd chattered quietly. Some people cheered. Others wolf-whistled. Jisung could be heard yelling, “That’s the cringiest shit I’ve ever heard!” while Jeongin clapped obnoxiously loud beside him.

Felix stood there, frozen in place, his mind racing to catch up with what had just happened. The crowd was watching with bated breath, the entire stadium hanging onto the tension like it was the final shot of the game all over again. Hyunjin had just put himself out there, fully and completely, in front of a crowd of thousands. And not only that, he had fucking quoted Robbie Williams.

For a moment, Felix considered just walking away, letting him stew in the embarrassment of his own fucking theatrics. But then Hyunjin was standing there, looking so fucking earnest and stupidly hopeful, and Felix could already hear Jisung and Jeongin whispering “oh my god, just go up there, don’t be that guy.” And, well.

Felix sighed, fond and exasperated in equal measure, before finally moving. He made his way over, slow and steady, because if he was gonna do this, he wasn’t gonna give Hyunjin the satisfaction of running into his arms or some bullshit.

Once he was close enough, he huffed out a breath and wrapped his arms around Hyunjin, letting his face drop against his shoulder. "You're a fucking idiot, and I hate you," he muttered into his ear.

Hyunjin, never one to let a moment be, leaned back slightly and tilted his head with a dramatic smirk. "The crowd’s looking nosy," he said, voice teasing but still with that little undercurrent of nervousness, that quiet hope Felix had seen in him the night they kissed the first time. He lifted the mic toward Felix’s mouth. "What was that?"

Felix rolled his eyes, but he knew there was no getting out of it now. He turned his head slightly so the mic would pick up his voice and repeated, "You're an idiot, I fucking hate you."

The crowd booed, half in jest, and Hyunjin pouted exaggeratedly like he was about to throw a tantrum. Felix let him suffer for exactly two seconds before sighing, shaking his head, and finishing, "But I really fucking love you, too."

And before Hyunjin could make a meal out of that, Felix reached up, curled his fingers in the front of his jersey, and yanked him down into a kiss. The crowd went absolutely feral, though it was probably mostly thanks to Jisung and Jeongin screaming bloody murder.

Hyunjin, for all his theatrics, melted into it immediately, arms locking around Felix’s waist like he wasn’t planning to let go any time soon. Cheers, whistles, and obnoxiously loud clapping filled the stadium, but Felix barely heard it. All he could focus on was the way Hyunjin was holding him like he was something to be cherished, the way his heartbeat was still racing from the nerves of the confession, the way he was completely, helplessly in love with this absolute idiot of a man.

Later, when they finally managed to get a moment alone, Hyunjin exhaled heavily and nudged their foreheads together. "Thank you for forgiving me."

Felix pulled back slightly, raising a brow. "I swear to god, if you fuck up again, I’m out."

Hyunjin nodded, deadly serious. "No more fuck-ups. Ever. From now on, you are always right and I am always wrong."

Felix snorted, shaking his head, because that was a fucking lie. Hyunjin was Hyunjin, which meant there were absolutely going to be fuck-ups. But the important thing was that he was trying.

Felix sighed, rolling his eyes but unable to stop the fondness from creeping in. "Idiot," he muttered before leaning in and kissing him again.

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Felix wiped down the last of the tables, the scent of coffee and warm pastries still lingering in the air despite the near-empty cafe. The late afternoon sunlight streamed through the large windows, casting a golden-orange glow over everything, making the place feel almost surreal. The bell above the door was locked, the chairs were stacked, and the espresso machine hummed quietly as it cooled down for the night.

Hyunjin, ever the helpful - if slightly distracting - presence, was behind the counter pretending to reorganize the syrup bottles but mostly just spinning and jiggling them around like he was auditioning for a bartending gig.

Felix sighed, shaking his head with amusement as he folded up the last damp rag and tossed it into the laundry bin. “You’re supposed to be helping, not playing.”

“I am helping,” Hyunjin said, turning to lean his elbows on the counter, watching Felix with a lazy grin. “Moral support is just as important as physical labor.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh, sure.”

Hyunjin didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he walked around the counter toward Felix, hands slipping easily into the pockets of his hoodie as he came to stand in front of him. Felix was wiping his hands on his apron when, without warning, Hyunjin grabbed his wrist and spun him around in a playful twirl.

Felix let out a surprised yelp, nearly tripping over his own feet. “What the-?”

Before he could fully process what was happening, Hyunjin caught him effortlessly, arms wrapping around his waist as he pulled him close. The fading sunlight hit just right, lighting up the soft smile on Hyunjin’s face before he leaned down and kissed him. It was slow and warm, like melted honey, like the way the sun felt on your skin after stepping out of the shade.

Felix sighed into the kiss, his arms instinctively looping around Hyunjin’s neck.

When they finally pulled away, Felix blinked up at him, still slightly breathless. “What was that for?”

Hyunjin shrugged, his hands still settled comfortably on Felix’s waist. “You looked too cute not to.”

Felix scoffed, playfully smacking his arm. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And yet, you love me anyway.”

“Unfortunately.”

Hyunjin laughed, pressing a kiss to Felix’s cheek. “Lucky me, then.”

Felix huffed, but his hands tightened in the fabric of Hyunjin’s hoodie as he hugged him. “Yeah, lucky you.”

──·☽𖥸☾·──

Minho’s room wasn’t usually this messy. This was definitely a new level of chaos - clothes draped over chairs, random objects scattered across his desk, and an unmistakable imprint of Jisung’s presence everywhere. But somehow, Minho found he didn’t really care.

Jisung was curled up next to him, one arm lazily slung over Minho’s stomach, tracing shapes on his skin with his fingertip, their previous orgasms making their minds float a little. The room was dim, the only light coming from the fading sun outside the window, casting a warm orange glow over everything. It made Jisung’s hair look golden, his sleepy smile somehow even softer. THough, he still looked far off.

“You okay, Ji?” Minho asked.

“Well, I was just thinking,” Jisung started, voice quiet but content. “I spent so much time hating that I wasn’t famous. That I was just some random guy stripping in a club, no one knowing my name outside of it. I think I just felt really invisible. But, I dunno… I think I’ve actually stopped caring about that.” He shifted a little, tilting his head to look at Minho properly. “Being seen by you is kinda enough for me.”

Minho let out a long sigh. “Well, I guess you won’t want to go to the modeling interview I set up for you then.”

Jisung blinked. “Wait - what?”

Minho stretched his arms above his head, feigning nonchalance. “Yeah. I know a lot of people. Showed a friend of mine some of your photos, which he showed his uncle, and he kind of offered us both jobs, me as your photographer and you as the model. It’s not anything permanent, and it's only really one shoot, but-”

Before he could even finish, Jisung launched himself onto Minho with a yelp, nearly knocking the wind out of him. “OH MY GOD, ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?”

Minho let out a choked laugh as Jisung scrambled off him, practically vibrating with excitement. He shot up from the bed, pacing back and forth as he started rambling at lightning speed, the sun bouncing off his bare torso. “Babe, are you kidding? Modeling? Me? I mean, I don’t even know how to pose - what if I fuck it up? No, no, wait, this is so cool, holy shit - wait, what kind of photos? Are they like for an advertisement or for clothes, or...?”

Minho, only half-listening at this point, reached over to grab his camera from the bedside table. The sunset outside was too perfect to just ignore, the deep orange melting into pinks and purples. He lifted the camera to take a shot, but just as he clicked the shutter, Jisung stepped into frame.

The flash of surprise on his face was brief before he broke into a goofy grin, raising a hand to wave like a little kid. Minho didn’t even hesitate - he took the picture.

Jisung spun around immediately. “Hey! Did you just take a picture of me?”

Minho smirked, lowering the camera. “Maybe.”

Jisung climbed back onto the bed, snatching at the camera to see, but Minho tossed it aside before he could grab it, pulling Jisung into his arms instead. Jisung laughed as he was tugged into Minho’s chest, his arms circling around Minho’s waist with ease.

And as he pulled Jisung into his arms and threw his camera to the side, the screen was filled with nothing but the boy in the sunset, the photo slightly crooked and the edges blurry, but that didn’t matter.

It was Jisung.

And Jisung was what he loved to photograph.