♡︎|17

chapter seventeen —✧♡︎✧—

Felix stood by his locker, leaning against it with his forehead pressed against the cool metal. His eyes were barely open, and his body felt like it was running on zero energy. Next to him, Hyunjin looked just as dead—his hair slightly messy, his uniform tie loosened, and a permanent pout on his lips.

"Remind me to never stay up texting you until four in the morning ever again," Hyunjin grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Felix, still half-asleep, mumbled back, "You texted me first."

"And I regret it deeply," Hyunjin yawned, dramatically slumping against Felix's side. "I think I aged five years overnight."

Seungmin, who was watching them with his usual unimpressed expression, scoffed. "You two look like you just survived a war."

"We basically did," Felix mumbled, still leaning against the locker. "The war of sleep deprivation."

"Whose fault is that?" Jisung smirked, closing his own locker with a snap. "Oh, right. You two idiots who apparently have nothing better to do than send each other dumb texts all night."

"They weren't dumb," Felix muttered defensively.

"Oh, really?" Jisung raised an eyebrow. "I bet at least half the conversation was nonsense."

"Excuse me," Hyunjin huffed. "Discussing whether we'd survive 100 horse-sized ducks was very important."

Seungmin blinked. "What the actual hell is wrong with you guys?"

Felix let out a tired laugh, while Hyunjin just waved a hand. "Too much to explain."

Just then, the warning bell rang, signaling that they had five minutes before class started. Felix let out a deep sigh, slumping further into Hyunjin's side. "I don't wanna go to class. Can't we just sleep in the nurse's office instead?"

"You'd probably get detention for skipping," Seungmin pointed out.

"Worth it," Felix yawned.

Hyunjin hummed, eyes still half-closed. "Honestly? Let's just take a nap in the back of the classroom. If the teacher calls on us, we can pretend we didn't hear."

"Genius plan," Felix nodded, giving Hyunjin a tired fist bump.

"You two are hopeless," Seungmin muttered.

Jisung grinned. "Hopelessly in love."

Felix immediately smacked him. "Shut up."

"Ow—" Jisung laughed, rubbing his arm. "Just saying!"

Hyunjin, completely oblivious, was already half-dozing against Felix's shoulder.

Felix, ignoring the way his face was burning, simply sighed and let him.

Hyunjin yawned as he walked into the classroom, rubbing his eyes while dragging his feet. Felix was right beside him, looking equally exhausted, his hands stuffed into his hoodie pocket as he tried to blink himself awake.

The moment Hyunjin spotted Haeri, she was already walking toward him, her arms crossed. "Jinnie," she pouted. "You didn't even text me good morning."

"Sorry, baby," Hyunjin mumbled, running a tired hand through his hair. "I didn't sleep much last night."

Haeri's pout deepened. "Why? What were you doing?"

Felix stiffened slightly beside him, feeling way too guilty even though it wasn't like he did anything wrong.

"Just... couldn't sleep," Hyunjin sighed, not exactly lying but also not mentioning that he was texting Felix until 4 AM. "I really need a nap, though. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

Haeri still looked annoyed, but after a moment, she sighed. "Fine. But tomorrow you're taking me to sephora."

"Mhm," Hyunjin hummed absentmindedly, already half-walking away.

Felix followed him toward the back of the classroom, glancing over his shoulder at Haeri. She was definitely glaring, but he quickly looked away, acting like he didn't see.

Hyunjin practically collapsed into his seat, resting his head on the desk. "Felix, wake me up when class is over."

Felix chuckled, sitting beside him. "What if I fall asleep too?"

"Then we both fail."

"Fair enough."

The teacher hadn't even entered the room yet, which meant they had at least five minutes to doze off. Felix yawned as he leaned back against his chair, stretching his arms. When he glanced to his side, Hyunjin was looking at him with a sleepy smile.

"What?" Felix muttered.

"You look tiny when you yawn," Hyunjin mumbled.

Felix scoffed, rolling his eyes. "And you look like a panda with those dark circles."

Hyunjin hummed, lazily reaching out to poke Felix's cheek. "Still cute, though."

Felix froze.

His heart did the stupidest little flip, his face immediately heating up.

But before he could even react, Hyunjin was already closing his eyes, completely unaware of the absolute crisis he had just caused.

Felix swallowed, looking anywhere but at Hyunjin's face. "Go to sleep, idiot."

Hyunjin hummed in response, already drifting off.

Felix let out a deep breath before resting his head on his desk as well, his gaze still lingering on Hyunjin.

He really needed to get a grip.

But then, just as he was about to close his eyes, Hyunjin shifted in his sleep—his head tilting slightly until his cheek was resting against Felix's shoulder.

Felix froze again.

He should move. He really should.

But he didn't.

The class droned on around them, but Felix and Hyunjin were lost in their own little world. The warmth of Hyunjin's head resting against Felix's shoulder was oddly comforting—too comforting.

Felix could feel everything. The steady rhythm of Hyunjin's breathing. The way his long lashes brushed against his cheek whenever he shifted slightly. The scent of his cherry shampoo lingering on him, mixed with the familiar smell of Hyunjin himself—something warm and nostalgic.

It was getting dangerous.

Felix swallowed hard, staring straight ahead, trying desperately not to freak out. But then—Hyunjin moved again.

Still half-asleep, he let out a small sigh and nuzzled closer, his nose brushing against Felix's shoulder. Felix swore he felt his soul leave his body.

Nope. Nope. NOPE.

Felix was about to die.

His heartbeat was a wreck, slamming against his ribs as if trying to break free. He bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut.

And then—Hyunjin stirred.

Felix panicked.

Before he could move away, Hyunjin blinked drowsily, his deep brown eyes meeting Felix's at way too close a distance.

Neither of them moved.

For a second, it was like time froze.

Felix could barely breathe. Hyunjin's eyes were still laced with sleep, but there was something else in them, something unreadable. His gaze flickered down—to Felix's lips.

Felix's stomach flipped.

Hyunjin didn't even seem to realize what he was doing—his eyes were heavy-lidded, his breath slow, his lips slightly parted like he wasn't fully awake yet.

And then, just as suddenly, his eyes widened.

His head snapped back up, and he blinked rapidly, his entire body stiffening.

Felix immediately turned away, his heart racing. Shit, shit, shit—

For a moment, there was nothing but tense silence.

"Uh," Hyunjin coughed, voice hoarse. "Did I... fall asleep on you?"

Felix forced himself to let out a breathy laugh, trying to act normal. "Yeah, you did, dumbass."

Hyunjin groaned, rubbing his face. "Why didn't you push me off?"

Felix couldn't say, Because I liked it.

So instead, he shrugged, forcing a teasing smirk. "Didn't have the heart to wake up Sleeping Beauty."

Hyunjin rolled his eyes but didn't push further. "Never letting you be my pillow again."

"You say that," Felix murmured, "but we both know you will."

Hyunjin huffed but didn't deny it. Instead, he turned away, resting his chin on his hand, clearly deep in thought.

Felix did the same, staring at his desk, pretending like his hands weren't trembling under the table.

The teacher started tapping the whiteboard with a marker to get the class's attention, but the tension between Felix and Hyunjin refused to break.

Felix felt Hyunjin still beside him, too still—like he was hyper-aware of everything. Like he was thinking.

Felix dared to glance sideways.

And—yep. Hyunjin was already looking at him.

Their eyes met, and neither of them looked away.

Felix could see the confusion flickering behind Hyunjin's gaze, the way he kept thinking too hard about something that should've been simple. Hyunjin wasn't even subtle about it—his lips pressed together slightly like he was trying to work through an equation that wasn't making sense.

Felix swallowed.

The teacher's voice was background noise at this point. The classroom, the lecture, the other students—it all faded away. It was just the two of them, staring across the tiny space between their desks, like they were waiting for something.

Then—Hyunjin moved.

Slow. Hesitant.

His knee brushed against Felix's under the desk.

It wasn't an accident.

Felix knew it wasn't because Hyunjin didn't move away. He let it stay there, the warmth of it sinking into Felix's skin through his uniform pants, grounding and electrifying all at once.

Felix's breath hitched.

He could feel everything—the press of Hyunjin's knee, the heat in his gaze, the way his fingers twitched slightly on the desk like he wanted to reach out but didn't know why.

Felix's heart was hammering. He had no idea what the hell was happening right now.

So, he tested something.

Slowly, carefully, he shifted just enough so that their knees were more firmly pressed together, the touch deliberate.

Hyunjin's eyes flickered.

His breath came out just a little deeper, his fingers tapping once against his desk before stilling again.

But he didn't pull away.

Felix didn't even realize he was holding his breath until Hyunjin exhaled sharply and dropped his gaze—to his lips again.

Felix froze.

Oh.

Oh, fuck.

Hyunjin quickly looked away, shaking his head as if trying to snap himself out of something, but his knee stayed there.