Step Twenty Six: Give him a fake message! Send, "hey, are you
I stop reading.
I'm with Changbin, now. There's no reason to continue with this book; it's done. I've done it. It's been—what—almost four days? And I'm still reading this book?
I close the cover, placing my book into a box that was previously filled with socks. "Down ya go," I mumble, saying good-bye to How To Get A Boyfriend 101.
Changbin's arms snake around my waist, turning me around to face him. "Something up, Felix?"
I smile softly. "Nope," I reassure him. "Just thanking my past self for saving whatever city gave me good enough karma for this relationship to be possible."
"Aww, shut up. We both know I'm the lucky one here."
My lips quirk, my eyes narrowing in a playful, suspicious way. "Wait, you think you're the lucky one?"
"Am I not?"
"No, you aren't. I'm the lucky one." I shove Changbin's shoulder gently. "Look at me, Changbin. I. Am. The. Lucky. One."
He leans in to give me a quick kiss before mentioning that I should try organizing my boxes a little.
Organizing...
Blech.
I have about an hour until school starts, and, after that, I have a big decision to make. Should I stay or should I go? Do I continue living with Changbin, or do I go back to my still-unsold apartment? At the moment, I'm leaning toward one option. I think it's the one I'll go with, obviously. Otherwise I wouldn't be leaning toward it. And, although I'm leaning in this option's direction, I have my doubts.
Stupid, stupid brain. Get ready for your life to hit you like a bus hits Minho's cats.
No, no, no busses. Minho's cats are fine; I think. Nothing to worry about. Just the daily—
"Hey, snap out of it. You have organizing to do," Changbin reminds me, poking his head back into the room.
"Yeah, yeah..."
>>><><<<
"So, Minho, you asked him out on stage, without knowing where you'd go if he said yes?"
I'm trying to understand how Minho was thinking yesterday. He and Jisung make a good couple, in my opinion, but they can't seem to agree on a first date.
"I thought we'd figure it out together, if he would even accept me." Minho's shoulders slump as he places his books on top of his desk.
"Even a fool knows that you always need to have a plan," I scold him. Me. Scolding Minho. It barely makes sense in my head. "Finding dates isn't as easy as it may seem."
Minho drags a finger through the soil on our desk, the soil in which our sunflower seeds can be found. They're on the verge of emerging, just days away from growing into the beautiful, familiar flowers.
Helianthus. I shudder; it's such a scary-sounding name—if mispronounced—for something so beautiful. But, if pronounced correctly, it sounds melodic. Like it's healing me, healing my soul. My wallet steps onto the line. It wants to be healed, too.
"Also, Minho, it might make you feel better to know that Changbin and I haven't gone on official 'dates'"—I make air quotes with my fingers—"before. We've just been hanging out as usual, with more... y'know."
Minho smirks at his textbook and pats me on the shoulder. Something clicks in his mind—I can see, in his eyes, the moment it happens—and he decides to turn the conversation on a full 180.
"Say, Felix, what's happening tomorrow?" Minho asks, sly.
He knows about me moving? Didn't we agree not to tell Minho? I cough. "What? What's tomorrow?"
"Well, do you know what the date is?"
"I thought you and Jisung didn't have any dates" tumbles out of my mouth before I can help it. At Minho's shocked expression, I hastily apologize.
He shakes his head, his shocked expression melting into one of appreciative humor. "No, that was good; you're on the road to being a sassy queen like Seungmin and I. Anyway, Felix, today is February thirteenth."
"How do you know that?" I glance down at my watch, which reads the time and date. And the most recent text message I've received.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday, February 13
09:58:46
Text from:
hanttps://wow.jeogiyojisung.com
bruhhhh the two of us are having lunch together to to talk about your living arrangements 🤩
don't argue
be at chipotle at like 12:30 ish
mwah 💋😘
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay, yeah, it's the thirteenth. So?" I raise an eyebrow. "Are you excited that it's almost Friday? Because same, dude. This has been a really long, action-packed week."
"Tell me about it." Minho sighs, defeated. What is tomorrow? I wrack my brain. The nearest birthday that I can think of off the top of my head is Hyunjin's, which is in over a month. I can't be celebrating any anniversaries, nor are there any major holidays that come to mind.
The bell rings, signaling the end of the third period. This is a strange college, indeed. It's structured more like a high school than anything else, but the scheduling is actually quite nice.
I tough out the next couple of classes—my 10:00 class, English, which I share with Seungmin; my 11:00 class, math, in which I'm alone. At noon, I am released and have half an hour to wander about until my lunch with Jisung.
Someone grabs my wrist and pulls me into a small room before my brain catches up to the situation, and I immediately throw the palm of my hand against their cheek in a loud, resounding slap.
Changbin's hands fly to his face as he sputters, curse words spewing out of his mouth.
I also curse, immediately reaching out to see if he's okay. "Changbin, holy—"
"My fault," he interrupts. "Shouldn't have snuck up on you like that." Personally, I couldn't agree more. "Sorry."
"It's okay; don't do it again, though. Got it?"
"Yes."
I stand up and put my hands on my hips, careful not to hit my head against a shelf. The Janitor's closet. It doesn't get much more basic than this. "What was so important that you had to abduct me for?"
"I, uh," Changbin trails off, looking at his feet. "I'm not sure. Just missed you."
The hard glint in my eyes softens as I glance at my watch. 12:07. "I have to be somewhere in twenty-three minutes, Changbin."
Changbin and eye make I contact.
"I can work with twenty-three minutes," he says, his voice dangerously low as he begins standing up.
I grin. "Do your worst."
>>><><<<
"Woah, Felix, looks like someone got into a fight with the wrong people. Either that, or Changbin and you—"
"How about you don't finish that sentence, Han Jisung? How about no?"
"But seriously, dude. You—"
"Shut up."
"Changbin—"
"Jisung, need I show you the photo album in my phone, labeled 'Jisung Blackmail'?"
That gets him to become very quiet, very quickly. "No," he murmurs. "Need thou not."
"That's what I thought."
Jisung and I walk into Chipotle, and I run a hand through my hair. It's not that bad, right? All we did was have a mild tickle fight. The mop I fell on didn't...
Honestly, it's easier to let Jisung believe that Changbin and I did something else. I don't want to have to explain why I allowed him to tickle me after passing out last time.
"Hey, aren't you that Sushi girl who forced Felix to do a bunch of poetry improvisation?" Jisung says, greeting Sunhi, the cashier.
I elbow him in the ribs, flashing a polite smile at Sunhi. "Ji, her name is Sunhi. Not Sushi. That's just rude."
"I must've mistyped—uh, I mean, misheard—it," Jisung shrugs, smiling apologetically at her.
"Nah, that's fine. Felix, what brings you here today? More debt? Didn't you pay it off? And who's this?"
I wink at her before launching into my natural state of being.
"I need to decide
Where to live because of some
Arrangements I've made.
"This is Han Jisung,
My friend, and Minho's boyfriend.
It's a recent thing.
"I'll place my order,
Unless that is not okay?
I shall begin, now.
"For myself, I'll have
The kids' quesadillas, please.
Not really kids, though.
"I just needed the
Extra syllable, but now
This is quite awkward."
Sunhi giggles and grins, "Of course! And for you, Minho's boyfriend?"
Jisung takes the same thing as I took, and, once we acquire the stuff and pay for it, we sit down at a window table. Jisung snorts. "She's nice."
"She really is, Jisung."
Jisung snaps his fingers, an idea coming into his mind. "We should totally set her up with Seungminnie! They'd get along so well."
"You're kidding, right?" I ask, incredulous. "As if Hyunjin would allow that."
"Why does Hyunjin care?" Jisung seems genuinely curious, despite our talking about this before.
I groan. "Because, Jisung, how would you feel if we set Sunhi up with Minho?"
"Oh, oh. Yeah, I forgot for a moment. Okay, back to what we came here to talk about. You."
Jisung folds his hands, looking like a true interviewer as he picks a speck of invisible lint off his hoodie.
"Where are you going to wake up tomorrow?"
The question could have been worded better, in my own, personal opinion. "In a bed?"
"And where is this bed?"
"A room?"
"And where is this room?"
"A house? An apartment?"
"Which is it?"
I go pale. "I... I don't know."
Jisung places his hand over mine, his gaze softening as my breathing quickens. I've managed to go a week without panicking over the situation, thanks to how helpful he and Changbin were in deciding to do a trial. But it's time, now, and I don't know what to do. Somehow, I become even paler as something occurs to me. I am Future Felix. Thank you, Past Felix, for torturing me so.
"Let's make a pro and con list, Lix. Okay?" He rubs my hand gently, grounding me. "Just like Jim Halpert."
I snort in spite of myself. "I'll get paper out of my bag," I offer as he gets a pen out. Jisung is quick to stop me, trading my loose leaf for printer paper. Printer paper that he randomly had with him, because... that's normal.
"Why don't we not speak to each other as we make this? Just bounce off each other, writing one thing at a time," Jisung suggests, using a thick sharpie to make categories. I watch, silent, waiting for him to realize my agreement. He glances up and sees my poorly hidden smile. "Okay, I'm taking that as a yes. You go first. I'll write in cursive, so that we can tell our writing apart."
We begin. It takes a few minutes, but, eventually, we manage to agree to stop.
Jisung puts the finishing touches on it before handing the paper back to me, and I glance down at it.
"Jisung, your finger slipped."
He huffs. "Not possible. I'm sure I put the right one!"
"No, look." I turn the picture of Seungmin holding a weapon back to him, concern written plainly across my features. "This doesn't look the slightest bit like it did when I handed it to you to finish it."
Jisung's eyes go wide. "Oh. Uh, they're right next to each other in my Favorites album—"
Before he can continue, the picture morphs into something I recognize much better.
"You drew dotted arrows on it?" I ask, incredulous. "No one is looking at this except for the two of us; we already know the order in which this was written."
Jisung glances around himself for a moment. "You keep telling yourself that, Felix."
I huff and brush my hair away from my face. "So..."
"You already had moving in mind, Lix. Why are you hesitating?"
"The relationship," I admit. "Half the time we've been living together, we've been boyfriends. It's weird to move out of my boyfriend's house... but I'm not sure how I feel about staying, either."
Jisung glances down at his watch, and my face falls as his lips twist into an ironic smirk. "Well, as much as this is fun, I must leave for class. Have fun making a big choice on your own~"
Jisung walks out; I stare daggers into his back.
What a little s—
>>><><<<
"Binnie, I've made my decision."
The two of us are sitting on his bed, Changbin's hand absently toying with my hair as I lay my head in his lap. "Hmm?" I hear the hum vibrate through me, and I snuggle a little more into his warmth.
"I'm not staying," I mumble. "I'm going to have my stuff moved back, and we're going to continue this relationship while living apart." Changbin exhales through his nose, lips pursed as he mulls over the information I've just given him. A little of my insecurity creeps back in, so I add, "Is that okay with you?"
"Of course it's okay, Felix," Changbin says. "I would be okay with it either way. It's your choice of where you are going to live, not my decision. I'll help you, since it's all still in boxes. You don't need to spend money on this, only a few hours. Tomorrow we can unpack, alright?"
"Tomorrow?" I vaguely remember Minho saying that tomorrow would be special, but, for the life of me, I can't think of why. "Sounds fine."
Changbin glances down at me, a small smile spreading across his face. "Why, Lix? Do you have plans for February fourteenth? Or are you planning on stooping so low as to spend Valentine's Day with your boyfriend?"
"Oh." My jaw drops, my eyes widening. February fourteenth. Idiot, idiot, idiot. "Yeah, let's do something together."
"Good."
Changbin leans down to give me a quick peck, staying close to me for an extra moment.
"I hope tomorrow is a fun day for you, Lixie, because, if it's not..."
"It will be," I assure the boy I love. "It will be."