♡︎|13

chapter 13—✧♡︎✧—

Lunch was peaceful.

Or at least, as peaceful as it could be with Jisung sitting at their table, rambling about yet another completely insane conspiracy theory.

"I'm telling you," Jisung said, pointing his chopsticks dramatically, "the moon landing was a distraction so that the government could replace world leaders with lizard people—"

"Oh my God, please stop," Seungmin groaned, stabbing at his rice. "I literally beg you to eat your food like a normal person for once."

"And I beg you to open your mind," Jisung shot back, narrowing his eyes. "You think it's a coincidence that politicians blink sideways sometimes?"

"Yes, actually," Seungmin deadpanned.

Meanwhile, Felix was blissfully ignoring them, too busy resting his head on Hyunjin's shoulder while he stole pieces of his kimchi.

Hyunjin didn't even complain—just rolled his eyes fondly, tilting his bowl towards Felix so he could grab more.

"You're spoiling him like he's some spoiled rich chihuahua," Seungmin muttered.

"Let me live," Hyunjin said, stuffing a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

Felix just smiled, happily chewing on his stolen food.

Everything was perfect.

And then, out of nowhere, three girls walked up to their table.

Felix barely noticed at first—too busy playing with the sleeve of Hyunjin's sweater—until one of the girls cleared her throat.

"Um, Felix?"

Felix blinked, looking up. "Uh—yeah?"

One of the girls, a very pretty one with perfectly curled hair and a shy smile, fidgeted with the hem of her skirt nervously. "I—um," she giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I saw your Instagram? And I think you're really cute."

Felix froze.

Oh. Oh fuck.

"So," she continued, smiling sweetly, "I was wondering if you wanted to maybe... go out sometime?"

Felix's brain completely short-circuited.

Jisung choked on his soup.

Seungmin looked between Felix and Hyunjin with wide eyes.

And Felix?

Felix was screwed.

Because what the hell was he supposed to say?!

He couldn't just blurt out that he wasn't into girls. And he didn't want to be rude, either. And—

"He's already taken," Hyunjin said smoothly.

Felix's head whipped around. "What?!"

The girl blinked in surprise. "Oh—oh, really?"

"Yeah," Hyunjin nodded, his voice way too calm. "He's been with someone for a while now."

Felix stared at him, heart pounding.

The girl pouted. "Oh... well, that's a shame. But lucky them, I guess." She gave Felix a polite smile. "Sorry for bothering you!"

And just like that, she and her friends walked away.

The second they were out of earshot, Felix slammed his tiny hand on the table dramatically. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Hyunjin just shrugged, taking another bite of his food. "I helped you."

"By saying I'm TAKEN?!"

"Would you rather have gone on a date with her?"

Felix opened his mouth. Closed it.

"Exactly," Hyunjin said, smirking.

Jisung was losing it. "OH MY GOD," he wheezed, gripping Seungmin's arm. "Bro just claimed you—"

"He did not," Felix sputtered, face burning.

"He so did," Jisung shot back. "He literally said 'Nope, sorry, that's mine.'"

Felix groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Meanwhile, Seungmin was just staring at Hyunjin, squinting. "You didn't even hesitate."

"Why would I?" Hyunjin said simply, twirling his chopsticks. "Felix obviously didn't want to say yes."

Jisung leaned in, grinning. "Damn, Hyunjin, jealousy is a bitch, isn't it?"

Hyunjin scoffed. "Shut up and eat your food."

Felix, still dying of embarrassment, just buried his face deeper into his arms.

Because holy shit, he was never going to live this down.

His face was burning, and his heart was pounding, and Jisung would not stop laughing.

"You should've seen your face, dude," Jisung cackled, shaking Felix by the shoulders. "Full-on deer in headlights moment—like 'B-Buh-BUH?'"

"Shut up," Felix groaned, shoving Jisung off. "This is your fault for making me post those stupid pictures in the first place!"

"Oh, please," Jisung scoffed. "That was the best thing I've ever done for you. I single-handedly got you your first public confession."

"And Hyunjin single-handedly destroyed it," Seungmin muttered, raising a brow at Hyunjin. "Seriously, you didn't even think about it. You just jumped straight in with 'He's taken.'"

"I was helping," Hyunjin repeated, unfazed.

"Yeah, yeah, real hero moment," Jisung teased, nudging Felix. "'Step aside, lady, that one's mine.'"

Felix whipped around, smacking Jisung's arm. "DON'T SAY IT LIKE THAT."

"But it's true," Jisung wheezed. "He totally claimed you. That's, like, some K-drama level possessiveness right there."

Felix groaned again, shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth so he wouldn't have to respond.

He could not think about this right now.

Because if he did, his brain would start wondering why Hyunjin had been so quick to shut the girl down. If he did, he'd start remembering the way Hyunjin had spoken—calm, casual, like it was just fact that Felix belonged to someone else.

Like it was just fact that Felix belonged to him.

And Felix really didn't need to think about that.

He already had enough delusions to deal with.

"ANYWAY," Seungmin cut in, clearly so done with this conversation, "can we please just eat in peace before Jisung starts writing fanfiction about you two?"

"Too late," Jisung said, wiggling his brows. "I already have the title: 'The One That Got Claimed.'

"OH MY GOD."

Hyunjin just rolled his eyes, looking so done with all of them. "Can we talk about something normal now?"

"Oh, sure, yeah," Jisung said, shoving another piece of kimbap into his mouth. "So anyway, did you guys know that the pyramids were actually built by—"

"NO," everyone groaned in unison.

And just like that, lunch continued—chaotic, ridiculous, and completely typical.

But Felix still couldn't stop thinking about it.

Couldn't stop thinking about the way Hyunjin's voice had sounded—firm, unwavering. Like he meant it.

Like the thought of Felix being with someone else actually bothered him.

And Felix knew he was being stupid.

He knew it was nothing.

But still—

Still, he couldn't help but wonder.