Dark to Baby: A Changjin Story

Chapter 33

"You got him?" Hyunjin made eye contact with Changbin.

"Of course. Go to sleep." Hyunjin reached out and grabbed the back of Changbin's head, guiding him to lean on the other two boys. Changbin gave him a sleepy thank you along with a yawn and quickly drifted off to dreamland.

Hyunjin kept his hand on Changbin's shoulder, while his other hand had a firm hold on Felix's legs. The younger boy had a content smile on his face as he breathed in Hyunjin's scent and leaned into him as much as possible. He didn't appear tired like usual. Maybe he had been anticipating this day as much as Hyunjin.

Felix tilted his chin up and gave Hyunjin a closed-lipped smile that scrunched up his nose and made his eyes tiny. Hyunjin took that opportunity to study Felix's face. There was foundation covering the skin on his face and all the way down to his shirt collar. It wasn't overly thick, or maybe Felix was just good at making it look natural. However, it did cover the bruises and scratches, and the blissful expression on the blond's face quelled Hyunjin's lingering feelings about his emotional health. He looked back to normal, even if that wasn't possible.

Hyunjin wanted to ask about his physical health at the least, but his thoughts never had the chance to be voiced as Felix broke the silence.

"I'm so happy to be out of that house!" Hyunjin stifled his laugh to avoid moving Changbin too much.

"You're cute." He booped the boy's nose and returned Felix's facial expression. "What are you gonna do now that you're out?"

"Get away from this grump." Felix lightly elbowed Changbin to prove his point.

"What's he been doing?"

"Not sleeping, obviously. He comes home for like twenty minutes, makes dinner, yells at me to take medicine and not move too much, and then runs to work. Then he gets back and does homework until 2 am or later. It's not healthy, Jinnie. I want to help, but if I try to, he yells at me and forces me to go away. I know he's trying to take care of me and he's worried, but I can boil pasta, I'm not incompatent."

"I know you're not, Lix. Like you said, he's just worried. You did get him to the bus on time last week."

"That's 'cause I pushed him out the door before he could make Minsoo's lunch. That probably made him more grumpy, but I don't care. She can survive with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a couple days." Hyunjin squeezed Felix's knee.

"I don't know. She might not survive without bunny carrots." Felix giggled and rested his head on Hyunjin's chest.

"I don't know how he managed to do that every morning. I watched him scramble around like a madman each morning simply trying to find a clean shirt, and I don't have a clue how there's still food in the refrigerator, let alone clean spoons. It's like magic."

"Or it's Changbin at 3 am, but magic definitely sounds better." Felix sighed.

"Are you sure you can't come over this week? I swear if you just came over to help me clean and get Minsoo to bed, things would be so much better. Changbin just gets mad at me if I do the dishes, but if you do them, he might accept it..." Felix's voice faded before it returned with a tinge of insecurity, "he's so stubborn, but I don't want to be a burden. He's done so much for me. Not to mention that I've made it harder on him by making him stay up with me a few nights. I'm not worth that."

Felix curled his body up more on Hyunjin's lap, and Hyunjin could tell he was beating himself up for Changbin's choice to overwork himself.

"Hey, Baby, don't say that. He does all those things because he cares for you. You're not a burden. We know you would do the same thing if it were one of us."

Hyunjin hadn't thought much before the words left his mouth, but they were the truth. Felix was extremely conscious of others' feelings. He could pick up on a change in mood from a single word spoken in a strange connotation or a flicker of something in the eyes. While he wasn't the most aware of large events and had a selective attention span, the details always stood out to him. Hyunjin didn't doubt that if he or Changbin seemed to remotely need help, Felix would be the first one to notice and volunteer. There was no question. No amount of love could compare to that of Lee Felix.

"I suppose, but I still want to help out." Hyunjin rubbed little circles on Felix's knee.

"I know, but the best way you can help is by taking care of yourself and getting better day by day, okay? If I get the chance, I'll come over, but I can't promise anything."

"Okay. Thanks, Jinnie."

"Jinjin, not Jinnie." The sleepy boy beside them mumbled in his sleep.

Hyunjin shook his head and smiled. The boy was stubborn even in his sleep, but he couldn't find it in himself to get mad about this one.

"I'll be there." He whispered.

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Happy Holidays, Everyone!

I hope you're having a great day!