°•○●Nine●○•°
hyunjin stood up, pushing his chair behind with his calves before walking to the door. he opened it to find wooyoung standing in front of him with a bag in his hand. he looked at hyunjin, his eyes a little cold. that was the first time he had given him that look: that look of spite. usually it would always be hopeful. well, after what hyunjin did he didn't expect him to be hopeful nor did he care about how he looked.
"what are you doing here?" he asked, an icy glare taking up his face.
"i just wanted to talk." wooyoung said with a small raise of his brow, in a brazen way.
"well i don't." hyunjin folded his arms against his chest, pinning his eyes on him with intimidation. "i think you should leave."
"i actually wanted to talk to felix." what? the two of them turned to look at felix who was staring at them, a little taken aback. well, this was embarrassing. hyunjin gave felix a look, as though hoping he would deny it.
"um sure." felix said, standing up. hyunjin's shoulders sagged in disappointment. he was this close to deny wooyoung himself but then he realized that was way too toxic and possessive. it was only going to make it all worse with felix. he had to learn to control himself.
he gritted his teeth and moved out of wooyoung's way, letting him inside. wooyoung walked inside and sat on the couch of the living room where now felix sat beside him. wooyoung was about to talk when he found hyunjin staring at him.
"can you give us some privacy?"
"no."
hyunjin crossed his arms against his chest from where he stood, glaring down at wooyoung.
"ignore him, wooyoung. i apologize on his behalf. would you like to drink something first?"
"just some water."
"sure." felix nodded, standing up. "let us talk in my room." he said, giving hyunjin a sharp look. "you wait in there." he said, pointing at his room close by. wooyoung stood up and walked inside. felix walked back to the kitchen to get him some water when hyunjin stormed toward him and grabbed his arm, making him face him.
"what are you doing?" he rasped in anger. he knew he was crossing the line but he was trying hard. felix flinched, pulling his arm away from hyunjin, his eyes flashing sheer disappointment and pain. oh no. "look," hyunjin closed his eyes for a split second, taking a deep breath. "why do you want to talk to him? i know i'm acting like a toxic boyfriend b—"
"you are."
ouch. well, he didn't deny that he was still his boyfriend though. that was a good thing, right?
"i'm sorry. i just-i just can't help it. you with...him-he just pisses me off so bad. i know i fucked up but i don't want you to get involved with him, alright? i only keep hurting you more. let me handle it myself."
felix looked at him, his eyes turning a little soft. "well, are you going to talk it out with him, then?"
"no." felix sighed, again with disappointment. "i mean, i will. but just not now."
"then let me do it now," felix said, his tone firm and sharp. "—clean your mess until you learn how to." he turned and walked away, into his room. he didn't close the door though. hyunjin was this close to barge in and pull that motherfucker out and throw him outside his apartment. but what felix said hit him very hard.
he really got to learn how to clean his own mess. oh, what would he do without felix? he turned around and walked to his room. that was the least he could do for felix.
"sorry about that." felix apologized for his tardiness as he walked inside his room, smiling at wooyoung.
"hyunjin?" he asked, smiling without life. he just nodded with guilt. honestly, felix felt bad for him.
he didn't know why. he didn't pick any sides but he just wished the two boys would really get along. the two of them were hurt and they take it out on each other. that was not how it worked. he could see it. he could see wooyoung was tired of running after hyunjin; he was tired of being the only one to try and make shit right between them.
"that's okay. i'm used to that." he chuckled humorlessly before receiving the glass bottle of water and drinking a little of it. "oh, this one looks pretty." he complimented, examining the bottle.
"thank you." felix smiled before receiving it back and placing it on his nightstand. "so, what is it?" he asked, sighing a little.
"mom just sent me to give you something so i thought i might as well ask how you are doing."
"why would your mom send me something?"
"um not my mom." wooyoung said shyly, a little embarrassed. "a-reum."
felix's heart warmed at that, a fond smile taking up his features. "you call her mom too?"
wooyoung looked at him, giving him a small nod. that was too...pure.
"that's cute." felix blurted out.
"shut up." wooyoung mumbled softly, making felix giggle. he opened his bag and pulled out what looked like a photo frame, neatly covered in butter paper. he gave it to felix and smiled at him. felix glanced at wooyoung before unwrapping it and taking it all off. he gasped as he stared at it. it was a water color painting.
"this is..." felix trailed off, a little speechless. it was a painting of two men kissing each other—one had long blond hair and the other had silver hair, fingers intertwined together.
"she said she apologize for the inaccuracy because she had no reference picture of you two. but later, she used the pictures of the party to study your face. if its not pretty, she said b—"
"you kidding? i love it!" felix exclaimed, eyes still staring at the painting. it was beautiful. so warm. "i had no idea she paints."
"just occasionally. she is a freelance artist."
felix turned to look at him, a little surprised. he had no idea areum had a passion for art. that was impressive. "but why give it to me? and not hyunjin?"
"i don't know about that." wooyoung shook his head. "but i do know that she knew what happened that night with hyunjin and...you know," he dropped his head in shame. "yeah. i don't know why she wanted to give it to you though."
felix smiled, touched. "tell her that i loved it and thank you for the gift." wooyoung nodded with a smile. a comfortable silence filled in as wooyoung contemplated how to carry the conversation while felix was still examining the painting.
"how is hyunjin?" he asked. felix turned to him with a smile.
"still a bitch." he answered, making the latter chuckle. "but he is improving, i can see that." wooyoung nodded at that with a smile. felix sighed. "can i ask you something?"
"sure."
"have you and hyunjin been the same since you were kids?"
wooyoung seemed to think about that for a while before shaking his head. "actually, no." he smiled, his eyes turning a little nostalgic. "when we were kids, mom and dad would leave to business trips a lot. areum took care of the two of us. we-we were just like any other three year old brothers."
felix's heart warmed at that. he looked at wooyoung with so much adoration. he just imagined baby wooyoung and hyunjin playing build the blocks while areum watched over them and it was so cute.
"but...um after we grew up a little, he had to be sent away to boarding school. i was left with areum and my parents. i think that changed everything. and ever since that, hyunjin literally closed himself off from me."
"he envied you." felix concluded.
"i guess so." wooyoung smiled. "as he grew up, it only got worse. i always try to make things better but end up fucking up and hurting him more. just like this time."
"don't be so hard on yourself. you both had it the worst." felix consoled, brushing his shoulder. wooyoung gave him a thoughtful smile. "it will be alright soon. trust me."
"you think?"
"of course. you did enough, just take a small break."
wooyoung stared at him for a moment, his eyes filled with some kind of hope. felix smiled.
"thank you again for this, felix." wooyoung said as he walked out of felix's room. hyunjin heard the two of them but forced himself to stare at the tedious program playing on the television. by the corner of his eyes he saw felix walking wooyoung out their door.
"i'll see you." felix said, making wooyoung nod. but before he could walk out, hyunjin called him.
"be ready tomorrow at 8." he said, his eyes still strained on the television. felix and wooyoung froze, their eyes a little wide. was he talking to wooyoung?
"me or him?" felix asked, waving his finger between the two of them.
"him." wooyoung's eyes widened more. he needed a moment to collect himself. did hyunjin just agree to meet with him?
"um sure." he croaked out. he looked at felix who just shrugged, a little surprised himself. with one glance at hyunjin, wooyoung walked out. felix closed the door and looked at hyunjin who still continued to watch the television. he strutted to his room and grabbed the painting, an immediate smile eliciting up his face. he climbed on his bed and removed the punk rock music poster he had hung above his headboard and replaced it with this painting.
"pretty." he clasped his hand to admire it for a quick minute before sighing and jumping down his bed. he wrapped himself with a scarf and threw a black jacket over his frame. he grabbed the crumpled butter papers and shit along with his wallet and phone. he walked to his kitchen and drank some water before turning to see the trash bin full, leaving no space for him to throw the butter papers away.
sighing, he walked back to the living room and grabbed his keys. he picked a pair of comfortable vans and walked back to sit on the sofa to wear them.
"throw the trash out." he instructed.
"hmm." hyunjin hummed.
"there's some left over spaghetti in the fridge. reheat it for lunch."
"okay."
felix stood up, sighing in satisfaction as he stared at his feet. he grabbed all the things he had got. "i'm off to work." he said and walked out, hearing a small 'bye' in return. he smiled a little at that.
hyunjin actually agreed to talk with wooyoung. that was an improvement. now he had stronger hopes that things would work out. it was indeed hard to handle hwang hyunjin but if you loved him, he would make sure he was worth it all. felix could see how much he was trying to change for him. it warmed his heart. he was so proud of him.
taking a deep breath with a smile, he walked to the trash chute. he opened it and threw the butter paper inside when something caught his eyes. he frowned as he stared at the letter that came along with it. felix carefully opened it.
dear felix,
i hope my gift reached you in good shape. i hope you liked it, dear. it is just a token of gratitude for loving my son and making him the happiest. you make him happy, felix. thank you for that. i would also like to apologize for the fuss hyunjin's father and his wife put you through. when i came to know about it i called hyunjin the next morning to ask if he was okay. he said he was with you and i was instantly relieved. i knew he would be okay if he was with you. and congratulations, dear. i thought you guys were just dating but when hyunjin said he loves you, i could possibly be the happiest in this whole world. thank you for loving my son for who he is.
areum
hyunjin was about to confess that he loved felix? he fucking loved felix? oh my god!
"oh fuck," bang chan mumbled as he stared at the letter areum had sent felix.
"i don't have a whole day, you know." a customer spat at felix who was getting his ice cream ready.
felix lifted his head as he forced out a fake smile. "i'm sorry, sir. but this takes time." he said, collecting the scoops of ice cream the customer had ordered.
"then move your ass, will you?" the guy snapped. felix glared at him. he hated people who treated employees like shit. the fucking disrespect.
"how about you take your ass out of my p—" jisung came to felix's aid, about to pop off when felix stopped him. he shook his head a little, asking jisung to hold it together. bang chan grabbed his arm and pulled him back to where the two of them were sitting. felix looked at the customer before finishing off his order quickly and handing it to him. the customer kissed his teeth, walking out of the parlor.
"you should've slapped that fucker." jisung rasped, shaking his head in disappointment.
"if i were to slap everyone who is being a dick to me, i'd lose count. i don't care nor do i have the energy to be angry on days like this."
bang chan looked at him with concern. "you are still thinking about this, aren't you?" he asked, waving the letter in his hand. felix sighed.
"aren't you happy that hyunjin loves you?" jisung asked, ushering him to sit down. felix looked around to see no stool left behind. so he just pouted and looked at chan. the older sighed with a roll of his eyes, pulling him onto his lap and wrapping his arms around him.
"you think he does?"
"of course, dude. i'm pretty sure he feels the same way too. what makes you think otherwise?"
"i don't know, honestly." felix sighed, leaning his head behind on chan's shoulder, tiredly.
"are you worried this is going too fast?" chan asked. felix shook his head.
"i don't actually think it's going too fast. we've known each other for years. i'm just disappointed as in why we hadn't done this before."
jisung smiled widely at him with a sense of jeer to the lines of his mouth.
"the sex did you good, huh?"
felix rose his head up to glare at him, wacking his forehead before dropping his head back down. "i'm just confused, you know?" he said. "i'm happy that he loves me, of course. but i'm going to wait. i don't want to rush it. he needs time and i'll give him that. whenever he wants to tell me. but until that i'm not going to do anything."
"that's for the best, lix." chan agreed. "besides, he also has the whole shit with wooyoung going on. i think its better you wait."
"true." jisung nodded. "let's not suffocate him more."
"can your cat, like, not hump my feet?" seungmin complained as he pried a very clingy dori and put it aside, only for it to attach itself back to his foot again. "seriously, why'd you bring your cats?"
"to cheer up our depressed friend, why else?" lee know said as a matter of fact as he cradled a ginger cat that purred on his chest, licking its paw.
it was—well, a...day for hyunjin. a meh day. despite a lot of shit that happened this morning the rest of it lagged a lot, making him bored off his ass. he spent the rest of the morning watching a hopeless romance while he finished a bag of potato chips.
"i'm not depressed." hyunjin snapped, biting into his ice cream sandwich. "i'm alright." he nodded. "i'm chill. in fact, i don't think i've ever been this chill in my life."
his three friends looked at him in dead silence, the sound of the bells around the cats' neck being the only noise to be heard
"you're shitting your pants." seungmin stated.
"what the fuck should i tell wooyoung tomorrow?" hyunjin whined, his exterior breaking. he looked so lost, looking between his friends for help. changbin sighed.
"just tell him what you feel, i guess." he sighed, lifting a cat and hugging it close as he laid on hyunjin's bed.
"but i don't know what i feel."
"dude, there's only so much we can do."
hyunjin groaned, slumping in his chair further as he finished the last of his ice-cream sandwich.
"take it easy, will you?" seungmin said from where he sat on the ground with his phone. "and personally, i will say, talk less."
"what do you mean?"
"you always talk a lot, hyunjin. you need to do a lot more listening. first listen to what he says."
everyone looked at seungmin, proud at how smart he was. hyunjin always knew that seungmin had answers to everything. he knew it wasn't true but that was how he saw the latter. he seemed to be such an intellectual. everything he said made sense.
"ain't he such a cutie?" changbin smiled fondly, looking at hyunjin playfully.
"wait till i get back with my boyfriend." hyunjin said sourly as he crossed his arms against his chest. ugh. he missed felix.
felix sighed tiredly, cracking his stiff neck as he walked inside the apartment. he froze upon hearing lee know's voice, added with some others. it didn't take much for felix to understand that hyunjin's friends had come over. he smiled, knowing hyunjin was not alone.
he tiredly trudged toward his room, his body sagging in exhaustion. work today was very draining; physically and mentally. for some reason a lot of customers decided to be assholes. and felix couldn't keep a solid head after reading that letter. like, it was all too much for him to think.
he was about to remove his scarf when he heard a small chime of a bell. he frowned. why was hyunjin ringing the kissing bell now? felix ignored that and removed his scarf, moving to take his jacket off. however, the bell just got louder and fiercer.
"for fuck's sake." felix cursed under his breath as he tried so hard to zone out the sound. what? he can't just act that way and demand for kisses before making up. so paying no heed to the annoying sounds of the bell, felix grabbed his towel and went inside his bathroom. he made sure his water was boiled hot, so hot to the point it could turn his skin into a blazing red.
he preferred hot showers like this for his sore muscles. call him a psychopath but to shower like this in winter was nothing but bliss. once he was done, he walked outside his bathroom, throwing over some comfortable shorts and hoodie. he was about to do his skin care routine for the night when he heard another bell sound.
"that is it." he groaned, slamming the small moisturizer container on his table before striding out his room and toward hyunjin's. how desperate could he be? oh my god. he pulled his door open, glaring straight at him, ignoring the looks his friends were giving him. hyunjin just rose his eyebrows in surprise, his eyes turning warm the moment they met with felix's.
"you are an annoying bitch, you know that?" felix rasped, his tone irked. he walked to where hyunjin sat on his bed and grabbed his face in his hands, tugging him forward before kissing his cheek so hard that hyunjin's head would've lolled to his side if it weren't for felix's hold on him. "there, happy? now will you stop ringing the bell? it's so fucking annoying!" he yapped, eyes pinning him down with an icy glare.
"actually..." hyunjin trailed, raising his hand. "it's the cats."
the what?
he turned to see what he was pointing at and there indeed was a cat. not just one, three in the room, all stout and cute with bells around their necks. bells—fucking hell!
felix blushed in embarrassment, prying his hands off hyunjin's face. the latter bit on his lower lip as he tried to suppress his smile. clownery moment in its finest.
"y'all and your cheek kisses, god!" changbin laughed in jeer. felix closed his eyes in pain. fuck me, he mumbled under his breath. and when he opened his eyes, hyunjin was smiling at him shyly with so much amusement. amusement, seriously? felix was dying of embarrassment here.
and felix yeeted himself out of the room without sparing a glance. he rushed to his room and locked the door behind, hitting his forehead with his palm. he placed his hand on his heart, as an attempt to calm his pounding heart but failed miserably.
"hwang hyunjin, i swear to god..." he groaned before screaming into his pillow.
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