stood up by fate

일

   Felix looked at his watch, then looked at it again, checked his phone, and noted that there was still no sign of the girl who had asked him on a dinner date.
   He looked nice tonight, in a crisp maroon button up and dark slacks, his hair partially slicked back with just the right amount of gel. If anyone should be getting stood up tonight, it was his date.
   Although, maybe she was running a bit late and caught some of the 5 pm traffic on her way here. Felix wouldn't know, she hadn't texted and it was already nearing 5:30, half an hour past their intended meeting time.
   If he was being honest, Felix was pretty emotional. Loneliness was a feeling that left him empty and made the tears run- so he convinced himself that something big came up or that her watch was slow or something. Nope, he was not about to make a scene in this full-of-life restaurant, no way.
   Soon Felix's watch read 5:45, one minute closer to a potential emotional breakdown. His waiter held pity in his eyes, bringing a glass of water and a brush against his arm in sympathy. Felix couldn't tell if it was because of the way he got choked up when he said for the second time that he was still waiting for someone, or because of the sheer tears coating his eyes.
   He wasn't going to cry, no, he wasn't going to-
   "Hey babe, sorry I'm so late! Traffic was nuts and I lost track of time."
   Well, this certainly wasn't the date Felix had imagined.
   The boy now sitting in front of him was around his age, maybe a bit older. He had a big grin on his face, small dimples popping out, and curly blond hair to match his bright personality. Felix was so stunned by the change of events that he didn't notice the waiter asking for their drink orders.
   As soon as the waiter took their orders, the boy grew a bit shyer. He sheepishly glanced at Felix, guilt filling his beautiful brown eyes.
   "I'm sorry, I hope this isn't too awkward. I just saw you sitting alone from that store over there-" The boy motioned towards the window. "And felt kinda bad. Ah, I'm Chan by the way."
   Curse Felix's bisexuality.
   "Ah- yeah, it's uh, totally okay. Definitely. Yup."
   Chan gave a small chuckle and Felix relaxed more, recognizing that this stranger just wanted to help him out of an awkward conversation with an already sympathetic waiter and potential tears.
   Looking over the food, Felix started to regain his appetite and started nearly drooling over the thought of tteokbokki.
   "You know, this restaurant is really well known for their tteokbokki, not sure if this is a place you frequent often, uh-"
   "Ah, it's Felix."
   Chan's eyes widened and somehow his smile grew bigger.
   "I was going to say, it sounds like you have an accent. Can I ask where you're from?"
   Felix started to get excited, ready to talk to Chan all about his home.
   "Australia! I miss it so much, I only moved here about six months ago but it already feels like a lifetime."
   "You can't be serious. I'm from Australia too! I moved to Korea when I was pretty young, but I visit family there every once in a while."
   Maybe, Felix thought, this is fate.

   Felix and Chan hit it off great, making the former completely forget that he was stood up by his stupid date, who still hadn't gotten back to him. Whatever, he thought, Chan is so much more interesting.
   They bonded over being Australian, but also learned that they each have a similar taste in music and, coincidentally, boys.
   "I was pretty shocked when you showed up, I thought I must have been catfished again," Felix admitted after they had left the restaurant, agreeing to go to karaoke to end off their night together.
   "Again?" Chan exclaimed, turning to look at Felix.
   "Oh yes, again. I matched with this cute boy that said he was an underground rapper, but he turned out to be some 40-year-old guy with nothing better to do with his life."
   Felix shuddered and Chan laughed, the former's heart fluttering at the noise.
   Curse his bisexuality AND his tendency to fall hard and fast.
   "How did you even escape that one?"
   "Fake tears and a terrible excuse about my mom being in the hospital. I think the guy realized that it was a lie but didn't try to stop me, thank god, I was already halfway across town before he could."
   Chan found this hilarious until Felix hit his arm lightly, a small smile playing on his face.

   They finally arrived at the karaoke place, stepping into the LED-lit building. Chan decided to rent the room until midnight, which was more than okay with Felix, who was trying to get as much out of this as he could.
   There was alcohol, of course, so like any sane adults, the first thing they did was take a couple of shots to loosen up. Chan, (un)fortunately decided to take his leather jacket off, but the T-shirt underneath that showed his very toned arms were enough for Felix to lust over. Not that he was looking, of course.
   It was going to be a long night.
   Taking another shot, Felix offered to sing first. He contemplated singing well or singing for fun, and decided to show off first, positive that Chan wouldn't be expecting Felix to have such an angelic singing voice.
   At first, Felix couldn't tell if Chan was reacting to his singing at all. The room wasn't well lit and the music was loud enough to take over their senses. However, Felix did notice a slight glint in the boy's eyes and continued to sing his heart out. He ended with a smile, handing the mic off to Chan while panting. Singing was tiring work, after all.
   Felix didn't miss the way Chan's fingers brushed against his as he took the mic, fingers much longer than his own.
   Felix forgot that he gets horny when he's drunk.
Watching Chan sing wasn't helping his case, his low, melodic voice putting Felix in a trance-like state. This really wasn't good for his heart.

   It seemed like only seconds passed when it had really been an hour already. Felix took another shot before taking the competition up a notch, his next song being a hardcore rap.
   It was a mess, to say the least.
   Being slightly tipsy and not great at Korean meant that the boy was slurring every other word, mispronouncing others, and just straight up missing lyrics. Chan still cheered him on though, giving Felix the confidence he needed to finish.
   Turning around, Chan had an adorable little smile plastered on his face and god, when wasn't he smiling?
   "You have such a cute fucking smile, it's not even fair," Felix whined, angrily passing the mic to Chan. His mind only partially realized what he just said.
   "You think so?" Chan said, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips.
   This was the part Felix didn't have much experience in, actually talking about how he feels because really, he just met this guy a few hours ago.
   His heart, however, told him that Chan saved him from public humiliation, saved him when his heart was vulnerable and easily worked his way in with his dimples and curly blond hair.
   "It's not- not just your smile," Felix said shyly, playing with the ring on his finger. "You're cute in general."
   Felix's heart was beating so fast, not even sure if Chan was into guys, let alone HIM.
   He didn't have to wonder for long, soft lips pressing against his own.
   Felix opened his eyes wide before melting into the soft kiss, not full of lust but simply a fondness. He could feel Chan smile into the kiss and Felix let his fingers grip the blond locks sticking to his neck.
   It may not have been Felix's first kiss, but it was certainly the best.
   He almost whines when Chan pulled away from the kiss. He was out of breath, and Felix felt proud that he was the reason behind it.
   "You're pretty cute yourself, babe."