"Wait! I just thought of something!" Joong halted his steps.
"What is it?" Seoho stopped a couple steps ahead of Joong
"That-that day supposedly when Hwa was poisoned, I ran into Felix in the hell hall. You know the hallway I almost always get lost in?"
"Yeahhh? What are you saying?"
"The time when I ran into him was close to that time and that's the next hallway we're about to enter." Pointing to the sign. "That means Felix was close to Hwa's classroom."
"So? We already established he was in the classroom. There's no surprise in that." Seoho made a confused look
"Hold on. Listen to this. He told me he had just finished tutoring a student. How can he tutor a student with less than 10-15 minutes? And had time beforehand to go to the cafeteria then to Hwa's classroom? Maybe that was just his alibi." Waving his finger in front of Seoho like he just found treasure.
Slowly Seoho's eyes grew big, thinking Joong could be right! "Let's check it out. Tutoring takes place in the library, private rooms. Let's go before it closes."
The two ran as fast as they could, reaching the library in 45 seconds and in regular time you would reach the library in 1 minute and a half .
"Oh hello Seoho and Joong. Did you run here? You guys look out of breath. You know I would let you guys in even if we're about to close, right? There's no need to hurry." The librarian smiled at them as she stacked the books in the corner of her desk.
"Actually we're trying to find someone for some questions. Do you know if Lee Felix tutors here?" Seoho asking the question.
"Oh yes, he does. Are you looking for a tutor or are you thinking of becoming a tutor?" Getting both sign up papers on the ready to go.
"Oh no no no. We're trying to find our tutor friend. We were wondering if he came to tutor someone two days ago around 12 PM.
Right before the librarian could answer, the door of a study room opened a crack, hearing a deep voice, "You did an amazing job today. Good job! You just need to remember to put 'ed' when an action is already done. Other than that you're getting so much better. Get home safe!" Door fully opened, revealing Felix.
"Oh look at that, perfect timing. Hey Felix, your friends were asking about you. They said they wanted to talk to you about something." Nudging Felix's arm as he put textbooks away.
"Oh hey guys. What a surprise to see you here. What are you up to?" Felix greeted them with his signature warm smile.
The two boys stood still not knowing what emotion to express at this point. Seoho leaned in close to Joong's ears, whispering, "What the fuck. Is this really happening?"
"I got this." Joong replied before putting a smile on his face. Turning his attention back to the person in front of them. "Hey Felix, I thought we missed you already. That's a relief cause um I wanted your opinion with something."
"I'm glad you found me then. Hey, why don't we head out here?" Felix tumbed towards the door. So the three of them started casually walking in the hall in silence. Felix being in the middle of Joong and Seoho, making them both awkward. Seoho was about to lose his marbles if this atmosphere kept up any longer. Thankfully they just exited the school, feeling the fresh breeze hit their skin. "What did you want my opinion for?"
"Why don't we head to a restaurant? I still owe you a thank you meal for helping me and my terrible sense of direction." Joong looping an arm around Felix.
"Aw no need Joong. I'm happy to help you, anytime."
"No. I insist. Joong was more forceful this time, not wanting Felix to ruin his plan.
"Uh ok sure." Putting an arm around Joong and Seoho
\\ At the Restaurant //
"Your meal will be over soon." The waiter gathered the menu from the three boys before walking back to assist other customers.
"Here this is my journalist book and I wanted you to take a look. I heard from a lot of people saying you're an amazing English tutor. I just wanted to see if I can improve my writing even better." Joong took out a black notebook attached with a pen from his backpack.
"Oh um sure. I guess I can take a look. There's no harm in doing so, is there?" Taking the notebook from Joong's hand. "Wow you have an amazing vocabulary. And the description words are impeccable. This is great." And as Felix concentrated on reading, Joong decided this was the perfect time.
"I wanted to thank you for buying food for my friend, Seonghwa. He enjoyed it very much." The moment Joong finishes his sentence, Felix froze, like he was frozen in time. He carefully looked up at Joong with his warm smile and cooly replied, "Oh it wasn't me. You must have been mistaken."
"But I saw you near Hwa's classroom. I thought you were the one that delivered the food. Wait but then weren't you late for tutoring?"
Felix chuckled with a slight smirk. "No, I only went to Hwa's classroom to find Changbin since he tags along with Hwa's boyfriend. But the teacher told me that he went to play basketball with Hwa's bf. So I left. That's when I went to the library." Before Felix could finish his explanation, the waiter came back with their food.
"Here you are, boys." Putting each dish in their rightful owner.
"Oh I totally forgot to tell you to switch the mozzarella cheese to swiss cheese. Totally my fault. I'm so sorry." Felix pointed at his sandwich.
"Yours is with swiss cheese. One of the cooks remembers your regular order when I told him your name."
"Oh that's fantastic. Thank you very much then." Doing a head bow to show his appreciation.
"Of course. Enjoy your meals." Walking away, back to the kitchen.
"Do you always order swiss cheese?" Joong asks, looking at Felix's sandwich like it's something suspicious.
"Yeah I don't fancy mozzarella cheese. Oh I forgot to mention, you were right, I did go buy a sandwich at school before heading to Hwa's classroom, but I made sure it was swiss cheese, not mozzarella. That's why I always get swiss cheese, no matter what. Funny because even if I buy it for my friends, I would sometimes forget and say switch mozzarella to swiss cheese. Then my friends would be mad afterwards. " Felix laughed at his silly past mistakes.
Joong and Seoho just nodded as they stared at the sandwich. Remembering what the grandma in the cafeteria had said that Felix ordered a sandwich with swiss cheese.
"Anyways, as I was saying, I went to the library after stopping by Hwa's classroom. To be honest, I did kinda lie to you Joong." Joong looked up mid way peeling the wrapper from his burrito. "Oh? What did you lie about?"
"Well here's the thing. I technically didn't tutor like I told you. I went over to meet one of my students because he agreed to lend me his Sailor Moon books." Looking away from Joong and Seoho afraid that he might get laughed at. "I really wanted to buy anime/manga books but I don't have money at this time. I always have to take care of my sick mother so yeah. Sorry I lied."
I mean, Joong and Seoho did laugh but not for that reason. They laughed because they felt like a total idiot for thinking Felix was behind this but in reality he was just scared that he was going to be made fun of for reading Sailor Moon. "Felix I swear we're not laughing at you. It-it's just not the answer we were expecting. You don't need to feel any shame whatsoever for reading what you like. Fuck the mean comments from people, ok? I'm sorry about your mother. I hope she gets well soon."
"Thanks guys. I really appreciate it." Taking a sip from his water.
"Thank you guys again for inviting me for a great meal. And making two more friends." Felix hugged Joong and Seoho one at a time. "Anyways, I have to go home now. See you later."
Joong and Seoho stood as they watched Felix walk further and further away. Instead of walking away from the restaurant too, they went back in. This time both were quiet, walking straight to a table in a corner, occupied by a man.
"What's your thought, Ravn?" The two boys sat in front of Ravn, back against the window.
"I think he's telling the truth. Though some actions were sketchy. Where's the recording?"
Reaching into his backpack, pulling out his black notebook along with the pen attached to the side. "Here it is. Didn't suspect a thing."
"Very good, both of you." Ravn looked up, giving them a second of his genuine smile then going back to his poker face in a blink of an eye. The pen made a clicking sound, revealing a secret slot where the memory chip is hidden. Ravn then slid that chip into a device connected to his phone then slid the notebook along with the pen across the table to Joong, "I have the information as backup. Keep it for research on San and everything else. Remember to report this weekend. Good job and keep it up. You both are dismissed." The two boys bowed before watching Ravn carry his duffle bag, headed out the door soon followed by Joong and Seoho.
CES: Luna by ONEUS!!!