The English Teacher /Chanlix/

-Chapter 40-

The airport was a chaos of high noises, children's cries and luggages' wheels sliding on the ground, but Felix was smiling regardless, in fact he wouldn't have liked to be anywhere else. Sure, he would have liked to have Chan right next to him, but even that was bearable if he thought about what was going to come.

He was going home.

And not home as in his house in Seoul, no that was just a house, something he called home because he was living there. No, he was going home home. Home as in clear skies, big waves, sunny beaches, skateboards on the sidewalks, freckles popping out, old friends, relatives, cold ice creams, busking dances, late night swims in the ocean, beach parties, sunsets with the Opera House, hot winds from the desert, stargazing, grilled meat in the backyard and many many other little and big things that Felix loved in a way he couldn't even describe. In a way you could only love your true home.

He was finally going back to Sydney, Australia. To his big house in the outskirts of the city, to all the things listed before and on top of that he wasn't going alone, but with his family. There was also a certain someone who was going to tag along when he would have been there, but for now they weren't together. His original plan had been to go alone, he had started to develop it while doing some little jobs that summer and seeing that he was making quite enough money for everything he would have needed, but things had changed. Since they had moved to Korea, his family had never gone back to Australia, his parents' new works not allowing them to go back and actually spending some long and quality time due to the incoming and the granted vacation days, so Felix had thought that, if he had suggested them all to go back, his parents would have had to say no, but the answer had been unexpected. They had said yes and they had added that it was time for everyone to go back. So, Felix had been able to save the money he had stored for the trip and to go back with his family: talk about killing two birds with a stone.

As he fidgeted around, full of anticipation and excitement, he recalled the time when he had told Chan, back in October, even before informing his parents:

❏

As the fake fire crackled into the electric heater, they were huddled on the couch under a blanket, Felix lazily playing Genshin on the PlayStation and Chan fully focused on a book, as always.
«Channie?» the blond called out, killing some enemies in order to open a chest with pure muscle memory.
«Yeah?» the other replied, distracted.
«Umh it's not really like, something that's surely gonna happen, but I have this little plan...»
«Mmh?» Chan finally lifted his eyes from the book, or so Felix thought as he was still watching the screen «Tell me more?»
«I'm planning of going back to Sydney this winter break: the exams are at the end of November, so the only thing left to school after the break is graduation, which means I wouldn't have much to do at home, so since I've been feeling homesick lately and it's gonna be summer there, I thought I'd go back» he explained.
«Alone?»
«Every time I suggested to my parents a trip they always said no cuz we couldn't really afford to go, so I suppose this time is gonna be no different. I mean, I'll tell them, but only to let them know. I can afford only my expenses and I certainly cannot ask Jisung or Hyunjin or Seungmin to cover such expenses for themselves, so yeah, I'm going alone. I'm an adult though, so I beg you to not start with your speeches»
Chan giggled «No it's not that, it's just that, like, every winter on that period I-»

❏

Felix's mother interrupted his reminiscing, calling out for him to follow them through the check-in, to which the boy complied meekly. The check-in felt like hours, both to his overly-excited mind and his feet, but finally the family boarded. Since it was about midnight, once they settled on their seats, Felix had managed to get the window seat as he was the one who had suggested the trip in the first place, his mother gently nudged his head back on the cushion, urging him to get some sleep as a ten-hour flight was waiting for them. Although he felt full of energy, seeing his mother's gentle and soothing smile put him at ease and his eyes started to close almost naturally. The last thing he saw before drifting off to sleep, to which he replied with a sloppy and dark selfie, was Jisung's text, who wished him an amazing trip.