♡︎|22

chapter twenty-two—✧♡︎✧—

Felix turned his head from side to side, running his fingers through his freshly dyed purple hair, his mouth forming a perfect little o as he admired his reflection in the mirror.

"Okay, but look at me," he gasped dramatically, flipping his hair like he was in a shampoo commercial. "I'm actually breathtaking. I should charge people to even look at me now."

Hyunjin snorted, standing beside him with his arms crossed. "Breathtaking? Sure. More like a walking violet highlighter."

Felix gasped, clutching his chest. "How dare you? You literally just spent two hours perfecting this. Are you saying your own work is not a masterpiece?"

Hyunjin rolled his eyes but was grinning. "Fine, fine, it's a masterpiece, Your Royal Grape-ness."

Felix burst into laughter. "That's right. Bow down, peasant."

They were still yapping, throwing dramatic compliments at each other—when Hyunjin's phone suddenly rang.

Minho.

Hyunjin frowned as he answered. "What's up?"

"Go home. It's urgent," Minho said, his tone completely serious.

Hyunjin's stomach dropped. "What?"

"Just run," Minho said before hanging up.

Felix and Hyunjin locked eyes, panic flashing between them.

"What the hell?" Felix whispered. "Did something happen? Is your mom okay?"

Hyunjin didn't even answer. He was already sprinting out the door, not even bothering to grab his jacket. Felix ran after him to the front porch, watching as Hyunjin bolted across the street and into his house.

He shoved the front door open, breathless. "Minho? What's going on?"

But instead of some tragic emergency, Hyunjin was greeted with the sight of Minho lounging on the couch, swirling a glass of red wine in his hand like a villain in a drama, a smug smirk on his face.

"Ah, you're here. Took you long enough," Minho said mockingly. "Did you have fun with Felix?"

Hyunjin's eye twitched. "Are you serious? You made me sprint home for this?"

Before Minho could answer, another voice cut in. And that voice spoke in english.

"Hey, mate."

Hyunjin turned his head and almost lost his mind.

Standing casually in the doorway to the kitchen, holding a can of soda like he owned the place, was Chan.

What the actual fuck?

Hyunjin blinked. "Why the hell is he here?"

Chan grinned, looking way too amused. "Well, I am Minho's friend. And we decided to test you."

Hyunjin slowly turned back to Minho, eyes narrowing. "What?"

Minho took a slow sip of his wine, making direct eye contact with him over the rim of the glass before saying, "Because I needed to confirm something."

"Confirm what?" Hyunjin snapped.

Minho placed his glass down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "That you, little brother, are absolutely, painfully in love with Felix, and straight as a circle."

Hyunjin froze.

His breath hitched. His stomach turned. His whole existence stuttered.

Minho smirked at the silence. "And judging by that reaction, I'm right."

Hyunjin opened his mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again.

"No." He shook his head. "No, I'm not."

Chan scoffed. "Dude, come on. You should've seen your face when I flirted with him."

Hyunjin's jaw clenched. "What?"

Minho let out a laugh, shaking his head. "Yeah, by the way, that was on purpose. I told Chan to flirt with Felix just to see how you'd react."

Hyunjin felt his blood pressure spike. "You—what?"

Chan shrugged, smirking. "And oh boy, did you react. You looked like you wanted to rip my head off."

"I did," Hyunjin growled.

Minho raised an eyebrow. "Why, though? He's just your friend, right?"

Hyunjin snapped his mouth shut.

Minho watched the shift in his expression, his smirk widening. "And there it is."

Hyunjin took a step back, running a hand through his hair. "No." He shook his head.

Minho tilted his head. "You sure?"

"I have a girlfriend," Hyunjin said quickly.

Minho sighed dramatically. "Sure, but that doesn't change the fact that you're obsessed with Felix."

Hyunjin's ears were burning. "I am not."

Chan snorted. "Mate, stop lying to yourself."

"Shut up," Hyunjin groaned, pressing his hands over his face. "Oh my God. This is not happening."

But Minho was still smirking. "It is happening. You, my dear brother, are in deep."

Chan clapped him on the shoulder. "Welcome to the club, mate."

Hyunjin smacked his hand away. "Shut up."

Minho just laughed. "Denial isn't a good look on you, Hyunjin. Just admit it already."

Hyunjin glared at him. "I love Haeri."

Minho raised an eyebrow. "Sure. But that doesn't change the fact that you also love Felix."

Hyunjin just stood there, frozen in place as Minho and Chan kept teasing him.

"Dude, relax," Minho said, swishing his wine glass like he was in some sort of movie. "No one's gonna judge you. But we both know you're totally whipped."

Chan laughed, clearly enjoying the chaos. "I gotta say, it's cute. The way you get all defensive over Felix. It's like watching a puppy guard its favorite chew toy." He grinned mischievously at Hyunjin.

Hyunjin glared. "I'm not a puppy. And I don't have a favorite chew toy."

Minho snorted. "Yeah, sure. And I'm a magician." He leaned back in his chair, sipping his wine dramatically. "You know, you could just admit it. It would save us all a lot of time and energy."

Chan looked at Hyunjin with a mock-pout. "You don't wanna make it official? Come on, Hyunjin, don't leave us hanging! We're all friends here."

Hyunjin shook his head furiously, still trying to get a handle on his emotions. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope. I'm straight. I'm not—"

"Totally in love with Felix?" Minho interrupted, deadpan.

"YES!" Hyunjin snapped, then paused. He realized what he'd just shouted, and his eyes widened. "Wait, no. I mean, no, not like that."

"Oh, you totally are," Chan teased. "You're just in the closet right now. It's okay. Everyone goes through it."

Hyunjin buried his face in his hands. "This is not happening. This is literally not happening right now."

Minho, ever the dramatist, leaned forward, holding his glass like it was a goblet. "It's happening. Right in front of our eyes. You're in love with your best friend, and you're too scared to admit it."

Chan smirked, looking far too satisfied with the whole situation. "Sounds like a plot twist straight out of a K-drama."

Hyunjin groaned. "You guys are impossible. You know that?"

Minho grinned widely, fully enjoying the chaos he'd caused. "Yeah, I know. But come on, Hyunjin. Admit it, and we'll stop making fun of you."

"No," Hyunjin said flatly, crossing his arms. "I'm straight, and I'm not in love with Felix. End of story."

Minho tilted his head. "I mean, you can't be that straight if you're spending all your free time clinging to him like you're some kind of human magnet."

"Oh my god, shut up!" Hyunjin huffed, his face turning the shade of a tomato. "I was just being nice."

"Yeah, sure, nice," Minho said with a grin, holding up a finger. "So nice that you've completely forgotten you have a girlfriend and you're practically drooling over Felix. A true gentleman."

"I'm not drooling! I'm just..." Hyunjin paused, his brain completely shutting down for a moment as he tried to form a coherent sentence. "I'm just close to him, okay?"

Minho raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "Uh-huh. Just close. Sure."

At this point, Hyunjin was done. He threw his hands up in the air. "You guys are impossible. I'm going to bed."

But as he turned to leave, Chan called out, "Hey, don't forget to dream about Felix when you go to sleep tonight!"

Minho burst out laughing.

Hyunjin gave them both one last glare before walking out of the room, but not without hearing Minho's final words:

"Sweet dreams, Hyunjin. Make sure to think about Felix real hard."