Pairing: Changbin & Minho & Hyunjin & Felix
Genre: College AU
!!TW!! : mild angst, bullying, minor violence, minor injuries, this whole setup is cliché as hell but still pretty sweet overall, language, slurs
(requested by aydenhazel)
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Felix had always loved dressing up differently than his peers. He identified as a boy, but he never associated clothes with gender, finding it just as weird as associating colors or toys or even foods with someone's gender identity. As such, he never felt the need to follow society's unwritten rules regarding dress codes, and completely indulged in his love for wearing more "feminine" clothing.
His family had always been supportive, and so were his close friends. They always encouraged him to dress the way he liked and look the way he wanted to and simply enjoy what made him happy. His mom had bought him his first skirt, and his dad – albeit a little confused at first – bought him cute hairpins and headbands every Christmas, and his sisters constantly sent him links for different websites that sold more feminine shoe designs that had been adapted to a male body's proportions.
Unfortunately, with Felix being accepted in the college of his dream, he was forced to leave behind the family nest and the comfort and security it provided him. Moving to Seoul on his own wasn't easy and, while he knew enough Korean to get around, it was obvious to anyone that even if he looked like a native, he certainly wasn't one.
With his darker complexion, his freckled skin, his heavily accented and scarily deep voice, and his favored type of clothes, Felix undoubtedly stood out. And, though he'd grown used to being bullied for how he looked, he no longer had people to rely on or comfort him when those incidents happened, which made them that much harder to deal with.
On the outside, Felix tried to express strength and determination – he kept on dressing the way he liked because he refused to cave into some bullies' ignorance, and he had too great a pride to simply give up what he believed him. On the inside, however, Felix was fragile and hurting and incredibly alone, and he genuinely didn't know for how long he'd be able to stand it.
Barely a month into his freshman year and he was already the target of slurs, harassment, and cyberbullying. Most didn't want to associate with him by principle and simply ignored his very existence, but a few outright lashed out at him for being different and made it their life's mission to make his existence miserable.
They insulted him in class, shoved and tripped him in the hallways, posted cruel comments on his Instagram pictures. They came to his workplace and kept on harassing him until his employer (a kind old man who thankfully had no issue with the way Felix dressed) literally kicked them out. They cornered him on campus, stole his food money, runed his notebooks, and even vandalized the door of his room back in the dorms.
Felix had tried to go to a counselor to seek an intervention, of course, but the woman had merely scoffed and told him that he'd brought it upon himself and that if he wanted them to stop, then he should just dress normally – after that, Felix stopped seeking help entirely and simply decided to keep to himself.
He knew his parents were worried about him, and he knew they'd welcome him back with open arms if he ever decided to give up and return to Australia – but he didn't want to give up. He'd made it this far and giving up simply because things weren't going his way wasn't his style. No, he fully intended of finishing what he'd started, and that meant getting through college, even if it wasn't going to be easy.
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Felix could usually withstand any sort of bullying with his head held high but, as he watched the coke seep into the soft, slightly worn fabric of his favorite skirt (the first one his mother had bought for him), he couldn't help but lower his head in hopes the bullies wouldn't notice the tears brimming his eyes. And then, as if that wasn't enough, one of them reached out and grabbed the hairpin adorning his head, mercilessly ripping it off along with a few strands. Felix cried out in pain, belatedly realizing the bully now had his precious hairpin in his hands.
"Give- give it back!"
But when he tried to reach out for it, another of the three bullies punched him in the face, making him collapse to the floor. It was the first time any of them openly laid a hand on him and, as pain bloomed in the side of his face and the taste of blood filled his mouth, he couldn't hold his tears back any longer.
He could feel the eyes of the other students weighing on them, and it only added the bitter feeling of humiliation to the whole ordeal. Not only was he being openly bullied, but not a single person was even willing to step in and help him out. And now, his skirt was soaked and dirty, his face was already swelling, and his hairpin...
"Fucking faggot," spat the bully, throwing his broken pin on the floor. "Stop crying like a little bitch and start acting like a real fucking guy."
Felix could only sob harder, unable to even muster the strength to get up. He felt humiliated and hurt and absolutely exhausted and he simply wished he could curl up in his mother's arms again—
"Yah! What the fuck is wrong with you!?"
The unexpected shout made Felix's breathing hitch, and he lifted his head just in time to see a random guy suddenly step between him and the bullies – and then without warning, he punched the one who'd hit Felix before right in the face. The guy stumbled back with a shout, and Felix's miraculous savior shook his fist threateningly at the other two, who'd frozen in place.
"It's easy to hit someone when it's three of you against one – let's try to make it fair, hm? Come on, fucking punch me too if you dare!"
Felix was so dumbstruck by the fact that someone had actually dared to step in, he didn't even notice another person had crouched beside him until their hands tentatively met his shoulder. He startled violently, shooting a wide-eyed look at the guy beside him. He had a bit of an intimidating expression, but it quickly vanished as he smiled softly at him.
"Come on, up you go," he said gently, helping him back to his feet.
"Yeah, that's it! Just run away like fucking cowards!"
The shout made both of them glance back at the first guy, who was screaming after the three bullies, who'd apparently decided to scram. Satisfied, he turned around to face Felix and his friend, and Felix was a bit taken aback by how beautiful he was – long, dark hair framed his face, and he actually reminded Felix of a model.
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" he cooed, gently cradling Felix's injured cheek.
The freckled boy flinched. "I- I'm okay."
"Aish, they really did a number on you... Come on, let's get you out of here."
"W- wait!"
He quickly picked up his broken hairpin, gazing sadly at it before carefully tucking the two pieces away. He then allowed his two mysterious saviors to guide him outside, the weight of all of the other students' stares somehow lessened as he finally had people to carry the burden with him.
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The one who'd helped him up was named Changbin, and the one who'd punched Felix's bully was named Hyunjin. The two of them were dating, or so they'd said, and they'd apparently had to deal with their fair share of discrimination in the past – but Changbin was built like a tank, so his looks scared off most people, and Hyunjin's general popularity granted him some social protection, still.
Oh and, also, they had a third boyfriend named Minho who was apparently "the scariest guy on campus", with a deadly look that could seemingly chase everyone away – and they were now headed for the campus's library, where he was apparently waiting for his boyfriends, unaware that they'd picked up a stray along the way.
Felix was admittedly a bit worried, and he still didn't quite understand why these people were being so nice to him. Still, they looked like stubborn guys, and he didn't have the energy to fight them on their decision to drag him along, so he simply followed them.
"Minho-hyung!" Hyunjin was unabashedly loud, even in a library – thankfully, it was mostly empty at this time of the day, and the librarian didn't seem to care. "We're here!"
"You're so loud. What took you guys so long, anyway?"
Minho was incredibly handsome, much like his two boyfriends, yet still strikingly different – he almost reminded Felix of a sculpted statue he'd find in museums. He couldn't help but lower his head when Minho looked at him with a quirked eyebrow, feeling a tad too intimidated by the guy to dare meet his eyes.
"Who's that?"
"He's Felix, our new friend!" grinned Hyunjin, slinging an arm around Felix's shoulders. "We found Jaebum and his clique bullying him, so we decided to help!"
"Hyunjin punched Jaebum," added helpfully Changbin. "But he deserved it."
Minho sighed, shaking his head. "There's only so much my dad can do to cover up your messes, but I suppose it couldn't be helped." He then glanced at Felix again, his expression softening a bit. "Did they hit you?"
Felix nodded mutely, still looking down. Minho sighed heavily, and he pulled his backpack up on the table. He started rummaging through it and, a second later, he pulled out a small first-aid kit. Changbin gently guided Felix to sit next to Minho, and the older instantly got started with checking Felix's small wound without a word.
"Superficial injury, even if it probably hurts like a bitch," announced Minho after a few seconds. "Even after all this time, the jerk still can't throw a proper punch. Anyway, Felix, was it? You should just ice it once you get back to your dorm. Take some painkillers and, if the swelling isn't down by tomorrow morning, then go get it checked out at the hospital, just in case."
"O- okay. Thank you, Minho-ssi."
"Aw, you're so cute!" gasped Hyunjin, hugging Felix again. "There's no need to be so formal with him – or with any of us, really! You and I are the same age, right? So just call me by my first name! Or if you find me a cute nickname, that'd be nice too! And you can call the others 'hyung', they won't mind!"
Felix wasn't all that sure about that, but neither Minho nor Changbin protested. They did roll their eyes a bit, but they were seemingly too used to their boyfriend's extravagant personality to say anything about it.
"T- thank you then, for helping me," he mumbled out, fiddling with his thumbs. "You're- you're the first people to... do anything to help. I'm grateful."
"Have they been bullying you for long?" frowned Changbin.
"Since school started, yeah."
"Why didn't you go to a counselor for help?" replied Minho, curious.
Felix flinched. "I- I did. But she just told me... Well, she told that if I wanted them to stop bullying me, I should just... stop dressing like I do... or- or something like that..."
"That is unacceptable," hissed Hyunjin, his eyes suddenly blazing.
"Quite." Felix was surprised to find a similar glint in Minho's eyes. "Do you remember the name of the woman you talked to, Felix?"
"Minho's dad is the Dean of the school," informed helpfully Changbin. "If anyone can help, it's him."
The freckled boy paled a bit at that. "I- I don't want to cause trouble for anyone—"
"You're not causing trouble," assured Minho, his tone firm, but gentle. "You shouldn't have been discriminated like that. Her job is to help students, and for her to turn you away so cruelly is not only unprofessional, but also highly immoral. Who knows how many other students ended up needing help she refused providing?" He shook his head, taking Felix's hand to squeeze it gently. "No, it's not okay. If she can't do her job properly, then she needs to be punished for it. So please, tell me her name, Felix."
"... Miss Jung."
At that, Minho offered him a smile. "Thank you."
Feeling a tad overwhelmed, Felix felt tears brimming his eyes again. "Why- why are you so nice to me...?"
"Not everyone here's an idiot," replied simply Changbin, patting his shoulder. "Had we seen them bullying you before, we'd have helped out sooner. I'm sorry you had to endure that, Felix."
"And you don't need to worry about a thing anymore!" added cheerfully Hyunjin. "Now that we're friends, we'll definitely protect you!"
"I- I don't want to be a bother—"
"You won't be. We want to help," simply cut Minho.
"Oh, speaking of which!" Hyunjin's cheerfulness dimmed a bit. "Felix, that hairpin they broke earlier... it's precious to you, isn't it?"
"Ah, it's... It's a gift from my father. It's... really important to me."
"In that case, will you please trust me and give it to me?" Hyunjin clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture. "I swear I'll be careful with it!"
"What the idiot's forgetting to say is that he likes making jewelry and he can probably repair your hairpin," explained Changbin.
"Oh." Hesitantly, Felix pulled out the pieces of his hairpin. "You- you really mean it?"
Hyunjin accepted the pieces with the greatest care in the world, offering him another blinding smile. "I'll do what I can, promise!"
"And while he does that—" Minho suddenly got up, grabbing his bag. "—we're going to do something about your clothes. Changbin, you have that extra pair of sweatpants in your bag still, right?"
"Oh, yeah. Good idea. Come on, Felix – let's go get you changed into something a little more comfortable."
"W- what?"
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That day, Felix ended up returning to his dorm with his hair loose from the lack of hairpin, an ugly bruise blooming on the side of his jaw, wearing sweatpants that belonged to Changbin because his dirty skirt had been basically stolen by Minho (who'd decided to bring it to a special dry-cleaning place) and... sporting the widest smile he'd ever managed since he left Australia.
Hyunjin, Changbin, and Minho were incredibly nice. A bit odd, a tad overbearing, and very protective – but most of all, incredibly kind. Felix didn't know what kind of deity he had to thank for blessing his life with those three, but one thing was certain: with them by his side, he didn't have to be scared or alone anymore.
Maybe life in South Korea wouldn't be so bad, after all.
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A little bit of angst planned for PART 2, but nothing major, so no worries xD