STRAIGHT | hyunin

amidst the garden of lies

seventy three

changbin positioned his car in a parking space near the entrance of the hospital, knowing that felix had been itching to get out of his car and run to jeongin. yet before the car could completely stop, felix had already stomped out, ready to bolt to jeongin's hospital room.

changbin ran to catch up to felix as he pulled the younger's arms. "lix, you need to slow down! you might trip!" chagbin softly scolded felix who already had bloodshot eyes.

"look, bin, i really need to be there now-! i just- i really need to see him and check if he's finally safe. he needs me, bin. he needs us-!" felix already had endless drops of tears flowing on his tear-stained cheeks and changbin could only look at him, worry engulfing him as he himself, too felt the need to cry his eyes out.

but changbin needed to stay strong.

for jeongin.

for the others.

for felix.

even if his insanity was slowly eating him up, leaving no space for his sane side.

changbin cupped felix's cheeks, a smile creeping up his face. "you're strong lix, you get me? jeongin isn't your bestfriend for nothing."

seo changbin. pathetic, to be straight up. chasing someone who's way too dense for his prideful trait. can't confess for his life, but still chooses to keep felix for himself, tell him he loves him, and do bullshit that mere friends can't do. he didn't know why, or what he was waiting for. a romanticist like him should be able to figure out things in a snap of a finger. hell, they wouldn't even have to go through struggles of having no label. but for felix, changbin was strangely so beautiful for him. even when people had doubted him, he believed in what he sees. beacause changbin has always been there for him, taking care of him, comforting him, loving him. changbin was full of patience, persistence, even consistency. because whatever he felt with felix, it stays. no matter how strange and weird felix was with his choices, how he acts. the blooming flower surrounded with fuzzy butterflies in his stomach never left, instead, it grows. changbin, a romaticist, leans on felix, and loves him with no end.

but romance was in no use now when everything had suddenly broken down to pieces.

——

"look at that guy, scary." nine year old seungmin had whispered to felix who only looked at him with a stank look. hah, seungmin and his judgy self. "leave him be."

seungmin only shrugged, "maybe he'd get along with jeongin..?" felix stared at him blankly as seungmin had referred to a boy who was always behind in class, quiet, not participative at all. he always tried to think as to what was going on inside that boy's head. in his emo phase... maybe?

felix only rolled his eyes at seungmin who still had a lot to say about the small quiet boy who wore black almost every day. "come one, minnie. leo might be waiting for us."

——

felix was breathing in and out as a way of calming himself. with his hand interlocked with changbin's, it brought a certain type of comfort and warmth all over him.

changbin couldn't help but glance at felix a hundred times. worry was all that he felt, for everyone. he was worried that felix might break down once another thought of jeongin's condition appears in his mind. worried that everyone would become blank about the whole situation as their emotions had been drained.