Felix watched Seungmin speed down the road toward the stables in impatience. He was going to see Hyunjin. Their wedding was tomorrow. Felix couldn't believe it'd already been two months since he arrived in Wolford. He had a month to find Midnight, otherwise, he'd be engaged to Jisung as promised. He kept trying to think of who it could be but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't come up with someone who fit Midnight's description.
Perhaps that wasn't entirely true. He did have one person in mind. He refused to think about it longer than a second. There was no way Seo Changbin was the charming guy from the terrace. They had similarities. Midnight said he wasn't very well-liked in Wolford, and the same was for Changbin. Felix was comfortable beside them, even if Changbin was an annoyance. Even so, he refused to believe Changbin was Midnight.
His eyes set themselves on a coach that was approaching the Bang house. Felix stared curiously at it. Maybe it was Jisung. The second it came to a halt, the door popped open and a girl with long brown hair and a face of freckles stepped out. Felix's face broke out into a smile.
"Rachael!" he exclaimed. He ran over and tackled her in a hug.
She gave a surprised laugh and wrapped her arms tightly around her brother. "Felix, how are you?"
The said man pulled away enough to see her face. Rachael grabbed his face lightly and checked for any injuries. "I'm wonderful now that you're here. You always come at the perfect times," he said, hugging her tighter. He missed her so much. He missed all of them.
Rachael stroked his head with a sweet hum. "I missed you."
Felix helped grab her bag. It wasn't too big. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Your friend invited me to his wedding. He wanted to surprise you. I'm only staying for two days. I'll leave the morning after the ceremony."
Felix's lips fell into a pout. He had so much to show her. He couldn't possibly do it in a single day. "I'll help you to your room. Mister Bang and his family are out at the beach. Seungmin's preparing for the wedding. It'll just be us for a few hours."
Rachael chuckled at his excitement and followed him into the house. It didn't take her long to settle in and when she finished she found herself at the kitchen table with Felix. "There's so much to talk about. How are Olivia and Ma? What about you and your husband?" he grabbed her hand with a happy squeeze.
"All's well, I assure you. Almost nothing has changed except my status," she told him with a fond smile. He missed those looks. One only a sister could give him. "How about you? Your letters are lackluster. There must be something more going on that you aren't telling me about. You always hold back the important details!"
Felix rolled his eyes playfully. "A few things. I didn't know how to mention them."
Rachael fixed herself into a better posture and grabbed his hand back. "Spill. I want to know everything," she insisted.
Felix's smile wavered nervously. How would she take the change? "Well, I have someone after my hand," he whispered. Rachael tilted her head. She didn't understand. "In Wolford, same-gender couples are much more welcomed. There's a Lord. He says he fell in love at first sight."
Rachael took a second to process it. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "And how do you feel?" she asked
"He's too perfect for me. But there is this one man I met. I don't know his name or face. We met at a masquerade ball. I'm certain I'm in love with him. As absurd as it sounds."
"You have surely gotten your adventure, haven't you?"
"That's not even the extent of it!" Felix exclaimed. He leaned back in his chair and tugged his hands away from Rachael's. "I've even made an enemy. His name is Changbin. He's a despicable guy, truly. I've never disliked someone so much in my life. Every time I look at him there's this sprouting irritation inside my chest. I want to punch him. "
Rachael dropped her face into her hands with an intrigued expression written across it. "He pulled me into the creek just the other day. Granted, I shoved him first. That was on accident, though. And he's got the nastiest way of speaking to another. It's a riddle of rude comments and I've yet to hear him say one nice thing to me."
Felix shook his head as his arms crossed over his chest. "That man is the absolute worst."
"I'll have to meet him. No one messes with my little brother," she replied jokingly. A smile came back to Felix's face and they changed the topic to something happier. Their conversation felt never-ending. By the time they were done catching up, it was already dinner time. After that, everyone was heading to bed. They needed their energy for the bug celebration.
Felix could say without a doubt that he was happy for Seungmin when he saw him exchange vows with Hyunjin. A little jealous because it wasn't yet his time, but most of all he was ecstatic for his friend. The ceremony wasn't long. They had to be patient for only a short while. Perhaps it was because they were both so eager to get onto the next chapter of their life together. Whatever the reason, it flashed by in a blur, and then the after-party was in the act.
Felix stayed by the drinks for the most part. He was on the lookout for someone that fit Midnight's description. All he saw, however, was Changbin. Felix had been avoiding him since the day at his estate. He didn't know why. Or maybe he was ignoring it. Either way, he fought tooth and nail to never get anywhere near the man.
"You've barely moved from this spot."
Felix turned his attention away from the dance floor and toward Jisung who had taken the spot next to him. He offered a small smile. "Have I not?"
"Not at all," Jisung replied. His eyes held a flicker of worry in them. "Are you feeling alright?" Alright? No. He was conflicted. All those heavy emotions one felt in a heart-aching romance were catching up with him. "Is it that man? The one you are in love with?"
Felix's smile fell. "I can't find him," he confessed.
"Maybe I can help," Jisung said.
"Why would you help me? That makes no sense."
The Lord offered his hand. "I am in love with you, Felix. I want you to be happy. Whether it is with me or not, I have no control over that. In the end, it's up to you. I do have the ability to ask you for a dance, however. So, shall we?"
The joyous smile across his face made Felix feel a little less conflicted. He realized something at that moment. Something equally sad and satisfying. He wasn't in love with Jisung. The man was just a friend he could count on when it got tough. And he'd have to deliver that news to him, but he'd wait for another day and take his offer at a dance.
"It's been a while since we've done so," Felix said, placing his hand in Jisung's. The elder pulled him into the dancing crowd and spun him around with a chuckle. For a short while Felix was allowed to forget about everything that was stressing him out. He twirled around the floor with Seungmin, laughed with Jisung, and talked some with Hyunjin. Despite everything he'd said about Wolford, it felt like home. He didn't want to leave.
He had friends and a life outside of a boring farm. Although he still loved to read, he didn't have to sit around and imagine a fun scene. He was living them. With Seungmin. With Hyunjin and Jisung. His eyes scoured the room until they found a certain individual. As much as he hated to admit it, with Changbin as well. He found that he was the most exciting of them all.
He was a thrill. The ups and downs Felix encountered with Changbin were oddly enough one of the best things he had witnessed in Wolford. It kept him sane. He was allowed to be angry when he needed and he was entitled to be as imperfect as he wanted around him. Changbin accepted it. He let him be himself.
The man that deemed people less than cows had suddenly become the thing Felix valued above many. Weird how he found himself with that fact after two months of fighting each other every chance they met. Felix's brown eyes stopped on his sister who was having a conversation with the man. Would he ridicule her too? His mind deleted the positive thoughts quickly. He was tricking himself.
Changbin was a sly fox. He was always up to something. Those sentiments he felt were nothing but distractions from the truth. Felix excused himself from Hyunjin and made his way through the crowd with a huff. He hadn't thought Rachael would genuinely want to meet him. How had they ended up talking?
"Rachael," he called as he approached. His eyes sharpened on Changbin. His eyes turned to the younger slowly, a light smirk finding his lips as always. It made Felix's stomach boil with burning rage. "Changbin," he reluctantly added in greeting.
"Felix," Changbin replied. "What brings you over?"
"I have to make sure you aren't harassing my sister."
Changbin snorted in response. "Nonsense! We were just talking about Norbury and the farm. I was telling him about Olivia," Rachael intervened.
Felix's eyebrows creased. "I'm sure he has no interest in it as per usual."
"On the contrary. I am reasonably immersed in her stories," Changbin retorted. Felix glanced at his sister who was smiling kindly. Changbin was being weirdly nice. Was he genuinely interested or putting on an act? He didn't usually succumb to pressure in public. He always had an attitude from what Felix had seen.
"I see. As fun as that sounds, I've come to disrupt you. Rachael, care to dance with me?" Felix opened his hand for his sister. She started at it for a moment before scrunching her face up in protest.
"You know I have two left feet," she told him. Her rejection was unexpected. She loved dancing even if she was not the best. "Why not dance with Sir Seo?" she suggested.
Felix's eyes moved back to Changbin as he scoffed. "I doubt he's one for dancing, never mind with me."
Changbin's smirk grew slightly larger and he stuck out his hand. "Another assumption, Mister Lee. Believe it or not, I delight in the activity. Should we? Or are you afraid your skill won't match up with mine?"
Felix placed his hand in Changbin's with a scowl. He was challenging him. In front of his sister no less. How rude. He shouldn't expect anything more of Seo Changbin. "For your sake, I hope your toes stay away from mine."
Rachael snickered as her brother sent her a playful wink. Changbin led him to the floor after a few seconds. The next song began and Felix mentally cursed the pianist for the song they picked. A waltz song. He bit his bottom lip as Changbin lifted their hands slowly. His eyes trailed from Felix's fingers down his arm and then up until they found his eyes. He placed his other hand on the back of Felix's shoulder while the brunet fixed his own on top of the elder's.
There was something so intoxicating about the moment. They were so close together that it felt almost wrong to take a breath. Felix held it in as much as possible, only releasing the shortest of them when needed. "You know the waltz?" Changbin asked in surprise.
Felix rolled his eyes as he stepped backward in the rhythm of the song. Changbin followed him and they began a small box step. "One of the only dances I do know. All the others are for louder, quicker songs."
"The Waltz is notorious for being quite scandalous you know."
"Neither you nor I have ever cared about others' speculations. It's simply a dance," he countered.
Changbin's eyes searched Felix's for a moment. He didn't answer. It made the brunet anxious. The same feeling he had gotten at the creek. His body was overrun with that overbearing heat that he originally thought was anger. He realized though, as Changbin's usual sharp gaze softened at the sight of him, it was something entirely different. The opposite of vexation.
That kindling flame in his chest which whipped around and made his temperature rise was the feeling of infatuation. Perhaps even more than that, but Felix couldn't begin to comprehend it let alone admit it to himself. He was supposed to despise Changbin, not fall in love with him. And what about Midnight?
Felix's hand tightened on Changbin's unconsciously. He should run. The feeling he wanted to escape would chase him into oblivion, however, and leaving Changbin alone in a crowd would only cause a scene. He couldn't have that happen. Not at Seungmin's wedding. He'd talk. Talking was a good distraction. It kept him from thinking about Changbin's tender gaze and elegant dancing that forced them into such proximity.
"What do you want with my sister?" he questioned. The best way to deny himself of a strange sentiment was to block it out with an affront.
"Do you honestly think that lowly of me?" Changbin returned.
"I don't know what to think of you," Felix confessed involuntarily. His heart spoke for him.
Changbin's eyebrow quirked tauntingly. He seemed to enjoy that statement. "I was merely discussing Norbury with her. She seemed out of place."
"Why would you do that? It's very out of character for you. You are the type to ignore everyone and ditch a celebration. Yet you find my sister and meddle into my life like an invasive cockroach. You've no interest in trivial conversations such as my sisters and you certainly aren't one to go out of your way to comfort someone you've never met."
Changbin gave a brief sigh. He spun Felix around and then tugged him near. Far closer than needed. Their faces came a few inches away from one another and their chests barely kept a distance. Felix squeezed Changbin's shoulder out of shock. He was startled by the action. Even more so by the hint of endearment in Changbin's brown eyes.
"You truly are oblivious, Felix."
"Why? I hear that frequently these days. What am I so clueless to?" Felix asked.
Changbin's smirk appeared. "Why should I tell you? As for your sister, I've no interest in her in any other way than an acquaintance. I'm not out of my mind. I can see the ring on her hand. And as I've stated before, I feel nothing for women."
"I argue that you feel nothing for anyone at all."
"I disagree," Changbin said. It surprised Felix how quickly and assertively he rejected it. "I feel many things. Especially for you."
What did that mean? Felix's face burned from a flustered feeling. Why was he saying such things? "That's ridiculous."
"Isn't it?" Changbin was too easygoing that night. Why wasn't he picking a fight? The music came to an end but Felix had long lost himself in Changbin's gaze. The outside world had faded away, leaving him to scan the details of the other's handsome face. The silence ate away at him.
He could feel the loud thumps of his heart against his chest. He could hear the blood pumping through his ears, turning them red. The touch on his back and hand sent sparks shooting through his body. He found he was growing to like it. Even if it lasted a few seconds, Felix enjoyed the invigorating tension surrounding them and the intense gaze they shared. The affection and desire hidden behind a wall of insults suddenly became clear to him.
Their hands disconnected from each other as the world came back. They bowed politely in thanks for the dance. Although, when they stood, they stayed exactly where they were. It came crashing down on Felix at that moment.
He was in love with Changbin.
With his infuriating personality and his extensive vocabulary that consisted only of cruel remarks. Felix loved that he could be himself, both irate and joyous. He adored the heart-skipping sensations he got every time they bickered or stared a second too long. The accidental and reluctant yet purposeful touches drove him mad. He admitted that everything he thought was bitterness was truly just passion. How else did one explain why they got so heated?
Felix fed every fight. He stayed for every insult. He fought because it was another moment Changbin's attention was strictly on him. He cared greatly for how Changbin viewed him. He valued his opinion above all else despite denying it with as much effort as he had. Seo Changbin wasn't a bad guy. He was only flawed.
Perfectly imperfect.
He was the one who had bad days and an attitude. He was the opposite of Jisung. The type of guy people avoided when they picked up a book. And yet, Felix loved that about him. He treasured it and its uniqueness. In a crowd full of others, Changbin was the one his eyes found. All because he wasn't alike to anyone around. He was different.
Felix loved different; he was scared of it. He was intimidated to step out of the relationship they'd already defined themselves in. He was afraid to be more than enemies. Even more than that, he was afraid that his mind was playing tricks on him and that those endearing looks Changbin was sending him were nothing but his usual taunts. That they meant nothing and he would get his heart broken.
His heart-wrenching adventure had arrived. Felix had no clue how to deal with it.