Strawberry Milk - Jeonglix

12

Felix hoped Jeongin would come to the park after church on Sunday, but he didn't. He tried to not be too disappointed, getting on with his biology revision and occasionally taking a break to practice a few skateboard tricks, but even so, he wished Jeongin could have been with him.

It was darker than usual. Felix was certain it was going to rain but before he could get home, the skies opened up. He didn't have his coat on him; it was almost summer so he assumed he didn't need it, but the British weather was never reliable. He had to run the whole way home, leaving him soaked and miserable.

Monday was the same, grey and gloomy. Felix walked through the park on his way home from college, later than usual due to trying to find Hyunjin so they could get the bus home together. It wasn't until much later he realised Hyunjin skipped his classes that day and he was all alone. He knew it was unlikely to see Jeongin as he walked through the park due to the rain, but he still hoped. All of the grass was soaked and the park equipment was too dangerous for any children to play on though. It was dead.

Tuesday and Wednesday were brighter than the previous days and even though Felix didn't usually go skating on those days, he went for an hour just to check if Jeongin was there. He wasn't and that was when Felix began to worry. He assumed the worst, thinking he'd scared Jeongin off by kissing him on the cheek. He regretted doing it. He should have known not to, especially when Jeongin was always so quiet and kept to himself. Maybe he'd had overstepped a boundary. With a gloomy look on his face, Felix skated home.

The next day was the same as every other Thursday. All three of Felix's friends joined him and usually, Jeongin would go to the park too, but not this week. While Chan, Hyunjin and Minho were all there, Jeongin was not. Everything was the same as it always was. Minho teased him, Felix sent him away with an eye-roll and Chan got defensive. It didn't feel the same without Jeongin being across the road though.

Friday was when Felix couldn't take the suspense anymore. Nearly a week had elapsed and he was getting too anxious to wait any longer. He was in the skatepark with his three friends again, standing on the platform on top of a half-pipe when Chan joined him. "What are you looking for?" He asked, seeing Felix was staring down the street.

"Can you come with me to Jeongin's?" Felix suddenly asked, turning on him with hopeful eyes.

Chan furrowed his brow, "why do I have to come with you?"

"Because I'm awkward and too scared to go alone?" Felix shrugged, "also he's probably not allowed visitors so we can pretend to be his study friends or something. You're better at talking if we have to do that."

"You need to start doing things yourself, Lix."

"Ok but Seungmin will be there. I saw the way you were looking at him the other day, you thought he was cute, didn't you?"

"I- what? No!" Chan tried to deny it but Felix saw right through him. He was so easy for Felix to read, the opposite of Jeongin. Chan sighed, "fine. I guess I'll come with you."

"Thank you, I love you!" Felix enthused, wrapping his arms around Chan in a quick hug before skating down the half-pipe. He was already off in the direction of Jeongin's house by the time Chan skated down.

"Hey, Lix and I are going somewhere. We'll be back in a bit, ok?" Chan said to Minho and Hyunjin who were sitting on the opposite side of the half-pipe. They'd done more smoking that skateboarding the entire time they were at the skatepark.

Minho raised a suggestive eyebrow, "Whatcha going to do?"

Chan rolled his eyes, "nothing like you're thinking. Just don't do anything stupid, ok?"