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⇒ Haven Apartments
4:10pm
"I never thought that I'd get to this point but, I need relationship advice," Changbin forced a chuckle, clearing his throat. "Things have just been kind of rocky lately... And I don't know anybody else I can go to... I mean, you're the experts, right? Recently engaged and all..."
"Yeah, but what do you mean?" Seungmin asked and blushed as he played with the new, black, ear-length hair of his fiancé, sitting in between his legs on the floor. Smiling softly and growing a bit distracted when Hyunjin leaned back into his touch, before refocussing on the uneasy mutual on the wider sofa in front, he frowned at Changbin's somewhat muddled expression. "Something happened between you and Lix?"
"Okay so... I know I didn't tell you about this, but a few months ago... Lix met Kai's dad," Changbin started, switching his gaze between the black-haired male and the brunette behind him. And thinking nothing of the way that they suddenly looked more attentive to the discussion after the latter part of his line, he went on with the explanation that he had started, "And you know, I've been happy for them both, especially Kai... And I still wish to be there with him as long as I live, you know?"
"Yeah..." Hyunjin spoke that time, and the monotonous setting on his face, completely opposite to the more relaxed one that he was wearing just seconds before, was in no way in line with the look expected when such gifted hands were blessing his scalp; but then again, with a trained therapist for a lover, Hyunjin knew that he could get that anytime.
"Well... recently, he's been acting kind of... different," Changbin exhaled deeply as he slumped back in his seat, sighing, yet again, when his hand found his temples for a short rub. "He's gotten closer to the guy, and that's good, especially for Kai, and I know that. But our relationship has been so unstable lately... And I've been trying to avoid the topic for a while now, but on Felix's birthday..."
"He did something?" Hyunjin inquired sternly at the male's hesitation, his level of agitation surprising even the partner behind him since in between him and Seungmin, the latter was the one closest to Changbin. Settling down a bit when Seungmin massaged a specific part of his forehead, he sighed, stroking one of the younger's knees and waiting for Changbin to continue.
"So... I woke up earlier... to make breakfast and sneak his present... under his pillow... But when he woke up... he wasn't giving me any attention... Turns out he was preparing to go out with that same guy... and without Kai," he sighed, looking idly to the side. His chest felt heavy and, his throat felt like folding inwards anytime he'd pause in between sentences but, Changbin wasn't willing to cry; not in front of other people, or rather, not in front of somebody who was not his best friend.
But, again, he continued, voice a little lower that time, "But anyway... he went... but he promised to be home before dinner... because even though I couldn't take him out, I wanted to do something to make that day special... you know? He's an adult too, and of course, I respect that... But... Lix came back way after dinner time... I was so freaking happy while waiting... I dressed up... I cooked a lot of his favorite foods... and I just wanted to catch up with my boyfriend, you know?" He sniffled, the welling up of his eyes increasing too much to not let a teardrop escape.
"So, he had dinner with the man instead?" Seungmin pursed his lips sadly, feeling sorry for the stressed-out male before them. "That's- that's wrong... I'm sorry but... that is wrong..."
"Yes it fucking is, and you don't deserve that, Changbin," Hyunjin looked down, nipping at his lower lip in thought as he started to outline the speech that he planned on giving Chan sometime later in the day. "Have- have you two spoken about it already?"
"No... His birthday was on Sunday, and we both had work yesterday so we didn't talk in the morning... Everything was so tense. And, after work, I was so frustrated and tired of everything so I went to another one of my friend's houses... He calmed me down a lot, and then not long after, I went back home... But when I got there, neither Kai nor Felix was there. I saw a note saying that he went over to his best friend's, and that Kai's father would pick him up..." Changbin coughed, letting more tears slide down his cheeks and leaning forward with both elbows resting just before his knees.
"It just- I mean, I know it's his dad but... You know Lix is yet to put my name down in the daycare so I can pick up Kai on my own?" He looked up, sniffling, briefly locking eyes with both Seungmin and Hyunjin, respectively. "I can't pick Kai up unless they call Felix to double-check. And I guess it shouldn't bother me, but now...? I can't help but feel like... he trusts that man more than me...? I mean, I know I'm not Kai's biological father but, Lix and I have known each other for so long... Maybe I'm overreacting... It's his child... so I'm maybe overreacting."
"Bin," Hyunjin sighed, fiddling with the hem of his sweater and searching, mentally, for the right set of words to verbalize his thoughts, as he didn't think that making Changbin aware of the fact that he knew exactly who Kai's father was would be the wisest decision and, neither could he confront Felix right then and there as much as he wanted to, so Hyunjin felt really irritated, to say the least. "So, what do you want to do about it? He's clearly avoiding conversation... But you two need to talk..."
Letting out a tired chuckle, Chnagbin pointed in the couples' direction, "That's why I came to you two," he mirrored their small smiles, and he huffed a breath when they looked at each other kind of knowingly. "I don't know if you two have ever been in a similar situation, or if you know someone? I just need advice... please?"
"Well," Seungmin spoke up, anxiously playing with some strands of Hyunjin's hair and looking down. Sighing when his lover's reassuring touch met his instep, proving the assumption that the story that he was about to tell was most likely traumatic, or something along that line, Seungmin continued. "In my last relationship, my girlfriend was... Uhm... she was falling out of love for me? I think that's the best way to put it. She used to kind of... initiate quarrels and guilt-trip me... make me feel as if I was the cause? But in truth and in fact, she was just moving on and didn't know- was conflicted I guess," he pouted, a bit hurt at the recollection of how he was treated so poorly by someone that he loved.
But then, looking down at his fiancé, Seungmin smiled again, way more satisfied that time. "So yeah, she was not the one. I had to learn the hard way- Sometimes it's better to just let go. And what has to be will be, you know?" He blushed when Hyunjin pecked his exposed knee; but playfully cringed when Changbin audibly cooed in response. "Now, I'm not saying that Felix is like that but... As hard as it is to here... there is a possibility..."
"Hm," Changbin hummed, one side of his lips cracked up to its minimum whilst his eyes gazed down so blankly at the carpeted floor. His anxious fingers fidgeted above his thighs and, tears flowed down his cheeks like twin waterfalls although his expression remained somewhat unreadable. Changbin was in pain- a pain so overwhelming both mentally and emotionally that it started to manifest itself as an ache in his chest.
His heart felt like it was shaken, powerless, and the strength of that internal earthquake had to have left a crack. The efforts that he had brought forward into his relationship felt vague but, the love that he had developed seemed stagnant- like it did not plan on going anywhere. And sitting there, replaying the suggestion that Seungmin had included in the conclusion of his story over and over and over and over again, Changbin's heart received a second crack.
And it hurt way worse than the first; almost unbearable, so to avoid a third, he scoffed, wiping his face and becoming a little startled at the amount of water that his palms picked up.
"I- I don't even know that to say," he stuttered, voice low and throaty with mucus. "Thank you for the advice, I guess... I mean, I still- I'm still confused because I can't just let go so easily after all that I've built with Felix... I can't just- I can't just leave Kai and... I can't just... Uhm... We've been through so much together... We've done so much for each other and... Uhm... I don't know how- I don't know..."
Both standing to instead sit on either side of Changbin's shaky frame, Seungmin and Hyunjin brought a hand up to the man's back for a pattern of soothing, gentle rubs in hope to calm him down or, bring ease to at least some of his worries. But Changbin breaking down in a loud sob was enough to express just how much they were failing.
"Talk to him," Hyunjin mumbled near his ear, wishing that it would somehow halt the reduction in Changbin's optimism. "Talk to him, and then tell us how it goes, okay? But if things don't go like you want... Don't beat yourself up... okay?"
Sniffling, nodding, and accepting a piece of tissue that Seungmin went to collect for him, Changbin stood up, cheeks red with sorrow and embarrassment and, head hurting from not just his reminiscence of the possible future, but also the slight shame that he was feeling, and knew would only grow if he stayed over any longer.
"Thank you," he nodded, faking a tight smile. "Thanks for the advice and everything... And for comfort. I appreciate it... and I'll update you..."
"Anytime, Bin," Seungmin smiled, patting his dear friend's shoulder. "Take care, okay? And put yourself first, in a situation like this. Your feelings are important, just like his."
"Yeah... thank you..."
-
⇒ The View Apartments- Penthouse
6:30pm
"Oh," Chan grinned as he opened up the door of his penthouse, but that smile was quick to dim at his friend's blank face and, his head tilted to the side when Hyunjin only rolled his eyes at his comedic appearance; a slightly damp towel hung around his neck, still wet, half-bleached hair on his head, and a dye brush in his hand.
But ignoring his friend's discouraging look to make a lighthearted comment, he spoke again, "I was actually in the middle of dying my hair this color," he pointed at Hyunjin's head, frowning when the latter only scoffed and walked past him to enter. "Something wrong?"
"What did I tell you about leaving Felix's relationship alone?" Hyunjin asked pointedly, folding his arms against his chest and taking advantage of his and Chan's closeness to reproach him in such a harsh manner. "I'd never expect you to do something like that..."
"What're you talking about?" Chan crossed his own arms, rightfully offended. "Look, I know we're friends and all, but I don't like your approach. You can't just barge into my house," he pointed to his door, tone matching the unusual depth of Hyunjin's and, jaw clenching as he was already becoming annoyed, "and talk to me like this. Have some respect, Hyunjin."
Humbly nodding in the admission of his error, Hyunjin raised both hands in defense, mumbling a short apology before trodding over to the living room. "What I came to talk to you about is Felix's relationship."
Feeling his conscience burn already at just the black-haired male's introduction, Chan took a seat on the single sofa, careful to not lean his bleach-stained head back. "W-what does Felix's relationship have to do with me?" He asked, fiddling with his brush, uneasy.
"Don't pretend, Chan. I told you not to get in between them, yet you are," Hyunjin scoffed, face-palming. "Today, Changbin came over and cried because of issues in their relationship since you came along. You literally took Felix out for the entire day on his birthday? Plus dinner? Yes, maybe he didn't decline but, you should know better, Chan. He has his own family, and just because he doesn't say no to your outings and other stuff, it does not mean that you have to take advantage of that. Maybe he just doesn't know how to say no."
"Hm," Chan huffed out a breath, nodding, and absentmindedly leaning back in his seat, no longer worrying about the bleach smudging the leather surface of his sofa. "I'm not trying to mess with their relationship, Hyunjin. But Felix is his own person, and if he wants to go out with me... then why should anybody stop him?"
"Chan, are you hearing yourself right now? You have to take the initiative sometimes, you know." Hyunjin tensed up, the volume of his tone increasing as he grew genuinely irritated by his friend's ignorance. "You must not leave decisions up to everyone else! Don't you have morals, Chan? I know you do, but you have a problem with making your own decisions, and you know it. I mean, no offense but look at Amy. You dated her because of what someone else told you to do! Stop depending on other people to make the right decisions for you! Determine what is your own right decision and make it!"
Scoffing, Chan massaged his nose bridge, closing his eyes and fighting for a line to justify the truth that Hyunjin had laid out before him. But, sitting there with a head clouded by such inexcusable facts, Chan couldn't exactly find anything to defend himself so, he sighed, slowly flapping his eyes open before speaking.
"I get it," he sighed, swallowing the subtle hurt that that reality check shot at his throat. "I will- I'll cut down on it then... I'll be more considerate, okay? Kai is the one who is my son, so I'll focus more on him more." He pursed his lips, blinking back a few tears that were brewing in his eyes.
It irked him how unfair the entire situation was to his heart but, the selfishness that he admitted to displaying honestly felt even worse than his guilt and lack of courage combined.
But he did sort of admit to holding something deeper than platonic love for Felix, and that time when they almost kissed, Chan could have sworn that the freckled male's eyes held the exact same emotion that his had developed; the only difference being a translucent barrier of confusion and fear that he was dying to ask about whenever they'd have a non-awkward conversation again.
But, after all of Hyunjin's statements, Chan didn't want to dwell on that desired meeting anymore, so he sighed, humming when the younger spoke up again.
"Yeah, be more considerate. You don't have to break your friendship or change how you guys talk, especially because you both have Kai. But please, please think twice before proposing anything. And give him time with his boyfriend," Hyunjin pleaded, clasping his hands and thinning his lips tightly. "Now, again, sorry for barging in, but thank you for understanding. I really don't want Changbin hurt... He's done too much for Felix to be hurt like that..."
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[A/N]
1. What do you think about Felix adding Chan's name at Kai's daycare, but not doing so for Changbin?
2. Are you in agreement with Hyunjin's confrontation with Chan? Why or why not?
3. What do you think Chan is going to do about Felix, based on what Hyunjin told him?