A/N Helloooooo my lovelies! Merry Christmas! I apologize in advance for any typos contained here. I am away from home for the holidays and am having to type and edit on my phone and a tablet. Not so easy. As always, this is fiction and any resemblance to reality is coincidental. I cross post between Wattpad and AO3 but this is not posted anywhere else. Please alert me if you see it elsewhere. Kudos and comments are the fuel of my soul so if you like what I write, please let me know. If you want to be alerted when I update, follow me on twitter at _eyes_wideshut I hope you enjoy and I hope you have a safe and happy holiday no matter what you celebrate.
Chapter 26
"Are you comfortable Felix?" Nate the reporter asked as Hyunjin had finished fluffing the pillow behind his head and Changbin had offered him some water. Felix nodded at the man.
"Yes. I'm good. Thank you." He said politely. "So how does this work?"
"I am going to ask you guys some questions but mostly I want you to tell your story about how you came to connect and how it has affected all of you. If there is something that is off the record just let me know and I won't include those parts. Is there anything you want off the record now?"
"Um..." Felix bit his lip. "I would prefer not to talk about my family too much. They didn't ask for this and they are normal people. We also won't talk about other connections we may know of."
"We mostly want to allow people to get to know Felix some and show our fans how important he is to all of us so they will stop the hate against him." Hyunjin added. "He is getting so much hate because of what his ex did and he doesn't deserve it at all."
"Is the ex off the record?" Nate asked.
"No!" Changbin said immediately.
"Yes." Felix said at the same time. They had a silent conversation. "Ok I will talk about him a bit but not everything and when I think it is the end of what I will say, I will let you know."
"Then I think it is important to also take a few pictures so the public can also see the damage he caused physically. You can approve any pictures. Would that be acceptable?"
Felix looked around the hospital room and read the response in their eyes. "Yes that is ok."
Nate had them pose for a couple of pictures. One of just Felix; a few of the trio and a few of the whole group surrounding the trio. Pictures over, they took seats. Felix sitting up in the bed with Changbin and Hyunjin taking his hands. The interview began. Nate started slowly and really let them set the pace. As they settled into the story, they relaxed and spoke more openly. When they got too close to a subject they didn't want to discuss, Nate immediately backed off and dropped the subject. The interview went on for several hours. By the time Nate closed his notebook, Felix was wiped out.
He thanked them all for speaking with him. "I will finish the interview tonight and send it to you for approval. Once I get the ok, it will go live. I hope that it helps." He hesitated for a moment. "I know that you were trying to find another trio connected. I have researched it since your friend first connected me but I haven't found any. With your interview spreading though there is a chance any others will contact me and I will let you know if they do. If I can answer any questions for you, please don't hesitate to reach out." he added.
Everyone nodded and Changbin shook his hand as Hyunjin settled Felix back down to take a nap, wincing at the ribs protesting the movement. He drifted to sleep as the others discussed their plans. JYP asked Chan to make sure to have Felix get his medical records of the visit and have them sent or bring them to the doctors the company used so that Felix could be seen when he got to Seoul the next night.
They stayed with Felix but let him sleep the day away in between nurses and doctors coming to check on Felix. JYP had headed back to Korea. Vanessa and Mr. and Mrs. Lee had spent the day packing up Felix's apartment and arranging to deliver what was going with Felix to the airport to go with Felix and brought him a suitcase of clothes and toiletries so he could be cleaned up and dressed when he was released. They hugged Felix and gave him kisses and let him say his goodbyes to them and his sisters. They promised to come visit him very soon. The doctors had promised he would be released early the next morning so allow him to hopefully slip out.
Vanessa and Arny came by as well. They both hugged him gently. Vanessa giggling happily that he was feeling a bit better and was finally able to be with his connected. "I added you both to my approved contact list. Please don't lose touch." He whispered.
"Lix. You are family to us now. We will have to come visit you sometime and maybe come to some Stray Kids shows to hang out with you." Arny told him with a smile.
"Lixie! I don't want to say goodbye!" Vanessa pouted. "Text me all the time ok?"
"I promise." Felix told her with a smile. "You are my woman twin. We can't lose touch." She grinned and bounced happily. With a wink at Felix, Arny led her out.
Felix's phone with the new number dinged as Nate sent the article for approval. They all huddled to look at the pictures he had chosen. The color photos accentuated the bruises and damage to Felix's elfin face. He looked tiny and fragile in the hospital bed. It was a clear sympathy vote but an effective one. The one of the trio had Felix with his eyes closed with a look of happiness and peace on his face, both men holding his hands, Hyunjin kissing his head and Changin looking down at the two with a look of clear adoration. It showed a strong contrast between the security photos that made Felix look like he was pushing the relationship in relation to the truth of him being absolutely adored by these two men. The final had happy faces surrounding him as if he had always been there. They turned to the article.
~Today I had the opportunity to spend several hours with a great close knit group of guys who desperately want to set the record straight about some things. They consented to an interview with me because of my research on Stranger Connections. During this interview I hope to allow you a chance to get to know Felix the freckled elfin man with a surprisingly deep voice I have gotten to know and to learn the story about how he became involved with Stray Kids, an international K-Pop sensation whose fanbase is called STAY. We will discuss also how he came to be in the news regarding his connections and why they are wanting to set the record straight about who he is and what his relationship is with the talented group of guys. Allow me to take you on my journey getting to know them
September the 15th of 2000 the Lee family welcomed their second of three children and only son; Felix. Though his family is Korean they have lived in Sydney all his life. He grew up in a very average Australian family who are very close and very proud of their children. Felix, whose Korean name given by his grandfather is Yongbok, is outgoing, happy and this journalist can attest to his immediate kindness and innate goodness. He studied tae kwon do as a kid and became a third degree black belt and has competed and won several awards, but don't think he is a tough guy. It is readily apparent that Felix tends to wear his heart on his sleeve and loves to cuddle and be close to those he cares about.
Felix had gone to the mall to do some shopping, having no knowledge of a fan meet occurring at the same mall that day. As happens with connections, it hits on what seems like a random fashion to pairs who actually need each other in various ways. He and Hyunjin connected during that visit and spent a bit of time trying to figure out what was happening to them. Hyunjin admits he was reticent to keep a connection to Felix and looked avidly for a way to sever the connection because of his fear due to his career being in jeopardy if word of the connection were released. However, because the two kept it a secret; Hyunjin out of fear of betraying his bandmates who he calls his brothers and Felix out of fear of damaging the relationship he was in; they had an opportunity to truly see the wonder of what they were experiencing.
The two began to get to know each other in secret and learn about each of their worlds. "It was hard. I was so afraid of this voice in my head. I have so much of my life in front of the public that having my most private thoughts and feelings even down to how my stage clothes felt on me was so uncomfortable to me at first." Hyunjin told me. When I asked how he got past that feeling he explained how open and loving Felix is. "It's so hard to dislike someone who is so open and loving to everyone around him. Felix is the person who will welcome a stranger into his home and feed them and make them brownies and make them feel like the most important person in the world." He told me while Felix blushed at the compliments. "He refused to take advantage of our connection, even insisting on paying full price for merchandise." Which led me to ask if Felix was a fan of Stray Kids.
"I am now." Felix laughed at my question. "I had never really listened to K-Pop. I had heard of BTS but I had never listened to any group." The other members laughed and good naturedly picked on his lack of knowledge of their group. Felix took their teasing with smiles before continuing. "I started watching some of their videos, interviews and listening to their music to get to know them better. I heard and saw all these people from Hyunjin and I knew and felt how much Hyunjin loves them. It made me love them too but it was weird because I didn't know them so watching and listening to them helped me learn who they were." When I asked if he was a fan now, he didn't hesitate to agree that he definitely is.
We talked about how it was for Felix to be in a relationship and be connected to another person. "I had seriously begun to question my relationship with my ex. I had thought that was how relationships just were and that my parents were just lucky but I have some friends that have happy relationships. The more I heard and saw healthy relationships and the more I heard how Jinnie reacted to what my ex would say to me and the mean names he called me made me realize I didn't want to be with him anymore. I had realized I would rather be single than have someone be so mean. Then there was Jinnie..." Felix admitted he had begun to fall in love with Hyunjin. "His talent and passion for life was something I had never seen before. It was eye opening and made me realize how much more life had to offer." Once he was single and he and Hyunjin discussed things; they decided to have an in person visit and see what happened. Hyunjin told his brothers he was visiting a friend but refused to give details. Chan laughed about the texts Felix would send him daily so that he knew Hyunjin was ok and yet refused to tell him who he was. Apparently this was a joke perpetrated by Hyunjin with member Lee Know giving him a high five at the telling of it. They had already fallen in love but decided during that visit to give their relationship a real try. By the time Hyunjin went home to his group, he and Felix had found common ground together, though their connection still caused some noticeable changes that had the group scared of what was happening.
Eventually the group confronted Hyunjin about how distant he got at times. "We didn't know he was talking to Felix in his head at those times." Jeongin, the groups youngest member told me. I asked how that conversation went and there were many looks exchanged before Jisung laughed and teased Chan, the groups dynamic leader, about wanting to have Hyunjin committed before Felix video called and together they confirmed everything. The group who is more like a family insisted on meeting Felix as soon as possible. "He had to come." Seungmin the second youngest songbird added. "We had to meet the man that had connected to Hyunjin even if we didn't know much about connections." Though Lee Know is quick to tell me that Seungmin had started research mode as soon as he found out.
"That meeting was intense." Chan said with a pensive look on his face. They began to tell me about the group meeting Felix for the first time. Always a playful group, they had intentionally kept Hyunjin at JYP Entertainment, which they refer to as The Company, so they could meet Felix without him present. That meeting went fine until it was Changbin's turn. Changbin and Felix connected. The grimaces around the room let me know how explosive that connection was. Hyunjin admits he was frantic to get to Felix and Felix admits he wanted to leave. Luckily he got there and they got everything calmed down and the three talked during which point Changbin and Hyunjin connected as well. Both were shocked and later recollections of that time have all admitted that they each needed the connection. They began to work together to figure out what their needs were and how permanent this connection was.
When I asked point blank if this was a poly relationship, Felix blushed, Hyunjin nodded and Changbin gave a firm yes. "We know that we are supposed to appear single to our fans and we know that this connection will cause some problems with some of our fans. But we really want them to know that we needed him. We needed someone so loving and caring who loves even the parts of us we hide. He needed to understand how loving relationships can be and be protected and cared for. They settled into their new relationship.
I was curious about their connection from such a long distance which based on my research with other connections causes debilitating pain even in extreme caused leading to death at separations. They were quick to say that it wasn't bad at first just some minor headaches. However that changed when Changbin was added into the mix. It seems their connection actually settled into place at that time. The separation began to take a toll which Felix pulled onto himself rather than let the others suffer the effects. When it became urgent and Felix could no longer hide the amount of pain he was in, Changbin made plans to visit him which put in motion the current problems.
We changed gears a bit and talked about his career and relationship and friends. Felix was understandably reluctant to discuss his former relationship too much. He wanted to defend his ex but the others were quick to alert me to his abusive ex partner who was the one who leaked the hidden camera footage and article outing Felix. His jealousy over Felix started long before Hyunjin even entered the picture. While Felix was reluctant to go into details about the abuse he suffered, Felix is currently in the hospital recovering from multiple injuries from a vicious attack by the man who had been jealous of Changbin's visit. Both Hyunjin and Changbin had plenty to say about the man who attacked their connected, none of it redeeming. The pictures released to the press of Felix with his two connected were taken from a camera the man had hidden in Felix's apartment. The gentle freckled Aussie was understandably horrified by the revelation that his every move had been watched by his obsessive stalker ex even so long after their breakup.
Felix had ended their relationship months prior and before he ever started a relationship with either Stray Kid. His assailant did not like Hyunjin visiting and liked Changbin's visit even less. The dark rapper had just taken off for home when the man broke into Felix's apartment and brutally attacked him. For the group it was a horrifying moment. Hyunjin was with them and relaying the attack as it happened to the others while Chan was on the phone getting the police there. For Changbin it was worse. He was on a plane by himself, struggling to keep himself calm as he felt every second of the attack. The horror of that moment lingers in his eyes as we talk. Felix was knocked unconscious during the fight for his life, a moment that Hyunjin says was the most scary moment of his life.
"There is this constant hum in our bodies from each other. It's this ever present feeling of connection. But when Felix was knocked out, that connection was severed. There was just silence. It was terrifying. I thought he was dead." Hyunjin admitted to me. The group immediately jumped into action and got a turn around flight for Changbin and direct flights for the others to all race to Felix's side. The group all immediately looked at Seungmin when I asked how difficult this was to arrange. When I asked why all of them needed to come there were a lot of blank looks and shrugs. Lee Know, the group's enigmatic dance leader spoke up to simply say, "He is one of us now. Felix is the same as any of our brothers. We treat him the same. We love him the same." The others immediately agreed. The group calls Jisung and Felix the sunshine twins for their fun and loving personalities together and the whole group has an obviously special relationship with Felix. It is very clear that they adore him and nothing would have stopped them from getting to his side.
Felix is currently recovering from his attack. He has a bad concussion that left him unconscious for almost a day as well as many bruises and some broken ribs that will take time to heal but even now he is looking to the future and making plans to move to be closer to his connected. He is looking forward to getting to know the families of his group. Changbin excitedly has let me hear a snippet of Felix singing a few lines for a new song that this reporter can promise you will blow your socks off. Felix does not allow conversation to focus on his attacker beyond saying the man is now in jail and he plans to press any charges he can to ensure the man is never able to do this to anyone else. His devotion to the K-pop group and his determination to look positively to the future even while wincing in pain from his attack immediately inspires feelings of compassionate hope for his future. While the trio of connected are afraid because they know of no other trio they are hopeful that they will have a happy ending.
When I asked why this interview was so important to them Chan immediately spoke up. "Felix has been painted as this destructive and deceitful person but that is not the man that we know and adore." He told me, his tone conveying his seriousness. "Felix is literally a ray of sunshine. He is outgoing, loving, kind and doesn't know his own worth." Jisung, one of the main producers of the group added. "He is so not what that jerk said. We want everyone and especially STAY to know and adore Felix the way that we do." Seungmin summed it up when he closed our interview with "If STAY can just see him, they will love him too." The group treats Felix with a special gentleness that once you meet Felix, makes complete sense. They are moving Felix to Seoul with them and plan to have him on camera with them so the fans can get to know him but that will come as Felix heals from his injuries. This reporter has never met a more fun group of guys who can make even a hospital room feel like the most welcoming place to be. Just meeting the guys and seeing the love they have for what they do, each other, their fans and Felix makes me want to dive deep into their music. A baby STAY is the name for what I now am. I am happy to have been able to share this time with them. I wish Felix and all of Stray Kids a speedy recovery and best wishes for the future.~
The group sat around. They couldn't have asked for a better article to be written about them or the situation. "Do you think it will help?" Felix asked finally. Changbin kissed his forehead.
"Baby, absolutely." The man answered him. "He did it perfectly. Between this and the interviews we will do after you heal; it will do so much to swing the fans your way."
The group headed back to the hotel to allow Felix, his connected and his parents a chance to spend some time alone before he was released and immediately left for Korea. Felix could tell his parents were trying hard to accept his situation even though he knew they didn't really understand it. He knew the more they saw the silent conversations, the more they knew and understood. From Hyunjin fluffing his pillow just right and his immediate sigh of relief to the moment he winced and Changbin was out the door asking the nurse for his next dose of pain medicine before his parents could even ask what was wrong. All of that truly helped them to understand a little bit more each time they saw it what was happening and how this connection could truly make sure their son was not only loved and cared for but his every desire or need was seen to without him even having to ask.
They had already adored Hyunjin and now with Changbin, they could see how fiercely protective he was of Felix. They could see how he adored making Felix laugh although they imagined it was probably much more often when it wasn't actually hurting Felix to laugh. They fussed over Felix, angry at themselves for not noticing how bad things had gotten with Jacob. When they made another comment about their regret on that Changbin immediately stopped them. "Felix wouldn't have told you no matter how bad it got. He wouldn't have told anyone and didn't until Hyunjin kept thinking about how bad it was. Jacob had convinced Felix this was not only normal but that he deserved it. Because of that, Felix would never complain, why would he if it was his fault. That would just make you all mad at him too for his failure." The Lee's immediately went to disagree but Hyunjin held up his hand.
"We KNOW that you wouldn't have reacted like that. You KNOW you wouldn't have reacted like that. Felix was so deep, he DIDN'T know. He does now. That's what helped him to break free of Jacob. Hearing the condemnations I had toward Jacob. Seeing the loving and supportive relationships of Arny and Vanessa and me with my brothers and the two of you. Seeing that relationships in public and my thoughts about the in private part enabled him to know that his relationship wasn't the norm and he deserved better. Once he realized that, Jacob was out of the picture. He couldn't have told you back then, and it utterly destroys him to think he is hurting you now by having kept that from you then." Hyunjin finally said.
Their eyes flew to Felix who nodded his agreement and his parents immediately peppered him with kisses and gentle pats. "We can come visit, can't we?" Mrs. Lee asked.
"As often as you want." Changbin said with a smile. Mine and Hyunjin's parents need to meet Felix but after that, we would love to get all three sets together since the three of us are a couple to have our families together. But you are welcome to visit any time you want. We know this is difficult with the way this is happening and you having to learn all this and have your son move so far away all at the same time. We would never keep you away from Felix. We wanted to do this much slower but the last month or so have taught us we can't wait."
Felix's parent's nodded. They planned sending Felix's belongings and had brought several must have items and clothes for Felix to take with him. They commented teasingly that maybe he didn't need his pillow with Changbin's face on it since he would have the real thing. Felix blushed and his connected laughed at the memory of Changbin getting that for him.
By the time Felix boarded the plane with his connected and his extended family he knew he was making the right decision. He had been released early to beat as much of the reporter crowds as he could. Minho filmed one of his lives of them getting on the plane. He focused a lot on Felix being wheeled to the plane in his wheelchair and being carried inside by Changbin who was being oh so careful of his injuries. Felix didn't really understand why Minho kept talking about him and focusing the camera on him. {H- He is making sure to show that you are fully accepted as one of us. He knows people will be looking for any mention of you and by keeping you in the frame and showing not only us taking care of you but also the way the others are even babying you just shows without saying anything that you are one of us.} Felix thought that made a lot of sense and smiled at the other man in gratitude. The next phase of his life was about to begin, but for the first time, Felix was truly excited for what was to come.