♡︎|26

chapter twenty-six—✧♡︎✧—

Hyunjin woke up to the sound of soft breathing and the distinct feeling of something heavy draped over his body.

It took him a second to register that it was Felix.

Felix, who was practically melted against his side, one arm slung lazily over Hyunjin's stomach, face buried into the crook of his neck. His purple hair tickled Hyunjin's jawline.

Hyunjin blinked at the ceiling, brain still booting up.

His heart was beating too fast for absolutely no reason. This was normal, right? Felix was clingy. Felix always cuddled him.

Then why did Hyunjin suddenly feel like his body was overheating?

He turned his head slightly to peek at Felix's sleeping face. His features were soft, lips slightly parted, his breath warm against Hyunjin's skin.

Hyunjin swallowed thickly and looked away immediately.

Nope. Too much.

He carefully tried to shift away—only for Felix to let out a soft whine in his sleep and tighten his grip around Hyunjin's waist.

Oh, fuck.

Hyunjin froze, staring at the ceiling like it personally offended him.

Why was his life like this?

Why was his best friend doing this to him?

And most importantly—why wasn't he moving?

He should be moving. He should be untangling himself and getting up before someone else woke up and saw them like this.

But he didn't.

He just lay there, stiff as a board, listening to Felix's slow, steady breathing, feeling every single point of contact between them as if his senses had been cranked up to maximum.

"Why do you look like you're malfunctioning?"

Hyunjin flinched so hard he nearly threw Felix off the couch.

He whipped his head around to see Seungmin standing over him, arms crossed, looking at him with the most judgmental expression ever.

"Jesus Christ, Seungmin!" Hyunjin whisper-yelled. "What is wrong with you? Why are you standing there like a serial killer?"

Seungmin raised an eyebrow. "I just woke up to find you lying there like a corpse while Felix is literally on top of you. Figured I'd check if you were still breathing."

Hyunjin glared at him. "I was until you almost scared my soul out of my body."

Seungmin hummed, clearly unimpressed. His eyes flickered to Felix. "Are you gonna wake him up, or are you just gonna let him suffocate you?"

Hyunjin scowled. "He's not suffocating me."

"Ohhh, my bad," Seungmin deadpanned. "Then by all means, continue spooning him like a housewife."

Hyunjin's face exploded with heat. "Seungmin, I swear to—"

"Why are you guys yelling?"

A deep groggy voice cut through the chaos, and Hyunjin felt Felix shift against him.

Oh, no.

Felix blinked sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?"

Seungmin checked his phone. "Almost noon."

Felix groaned. "Ugh, why are mornings like this."

Hyunjin cleared his throat, ignoring the fact that Felix still hadn't moved away. "It's not morning anymore, dumbass."

Felix simply nuzzled back into Hyunjin's shoulder. "Still feels like it."

Hyunjin stiffened again.

Seungmin just stared at them, unimpressed. "You two make me sick."

Felix peeked at him. "Good morning to you too, sunshine."

Before Seungmin could reply, a loud thud came from across the room.

Jisung has hit his head while he attempted to stretch, unaware he is on the floor which he unfortunately fell asleep on.

Felix snorted. "Nice."

Jisung groaned from the floor. "Where the fuck am I?"

Seungmin rolled his eyes. "You're at Hyunjin's house, dumbass."

Jisung rubbed his eyes. "Oh, right. Are we eating, or are we just gonna starve?"

Felix perked up at the mention of food. "Ooooh, breakfast!"

Seungmin sighed. "Again, it's literally noon."

"Then lunch!" Felix grinned, finally rolling off of Hyunjin and stretching like a cat.

Hyunjin immediately exhaled, pretending that he hadn't been suffering for the last ten minutes.

"Alright, let's raid the kitchen," Jisung declared, already making his way toward it.

Felix and Seungmin followed, already arguing about whether pancakes counted as a lunch food.

Hyunjin stayed back for a second, rubbing his face.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Maybe he was still tired. Maybe he just needed food.

Maybe he needed to stop overthinking.

Yeah. That was probably it.

He got up and followed after his friends, pushing away whatever weird thoughts were swirling in his brain.

Food first. Existential crisis later.

The kitchen was pure chaos.

Jisung was rummaging through the cabinets like a raccoon, tossing random things onto the counter. Seungmin was standing by the fridge, looking absolutely disappointed at the lack of edible food. Felix was bouncing on his toes, hyping up every single food option like they were at a five-star buffet.

Hyunjin, meanwhile, was just trying to stay sane.

"Alright, chef's kiss," Jisung declared, slamming down a pack of instant ramen, a bag of chips, and... a single apple. "Gourmet meal coming right up."

Seungmin deadpanned. "What the fuck is this?"

Jisung grinned. "A balanced diet."

Felix gasped dramatically. "Ooooh, the apple for health, the ramen for happiness, and the chips for emotional support."

"Exactly," Jisung said, pointing at him. "Felix gets it."

Hyunjin sighed. "I can't believe this is what my life has come to."

Felix beamed at him. "Welcome to rock bottom!"

Seungmin ignored all of them and grabbed the apple. "I'm taking this before you idiots start dipping it in ramen broth or some demonic shit like that."

Jisung looked offended. "That's disgusting."

Felix tilted his head. "But, like... what if—"

"NO," all three of them said in unison.

Felix pouted.

They eventually decided on ramen (because they were too lazy to cook actual food), and after almost setting the kitchen on fire twice, they finally sat down to eat at the dining table.

Felix slurped his noodles aggressively. "God, I love instant ramen. It's literally a hug for your insides."

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. "That sounds so concerning."

Felix shrugged. "But, like... it's true."

Jisung nodded in agreement, mouth full. "Noodles fix everything."

Seungmin sighed. "I hate that you guys are right."

They ate in comfortable silence for a while, the occasional clinking of chopsticks and slurping noises filling the space.

Felix suddenly perked up. "Oh! We should plan out our outfits for the party, its a big event which could change our lifes!"

Jisung gasped. "YES. The party!"

Hyunjin frowned.  "What party?"

Felix sighed, "The Valentines day party we talked about yesterday."

Jisung wiggled his eyebrows. "A.K.A, the perfect place to find your soulmate."

Seungmin scoffed. "Or the perfect place to catch secondhand embarrassment from desperate people trying to hook up."

Felix ignored him. "We have to go."

Hyunjin blinked. "I literally have a girlfriend."

Felix froze. "Oh."

Jisung squinted at Hyunjin. "Damn, forgot about that."

Seungmin didn't even look up from his food. "Didn't we all."

Felix laughed, but it sounded a little forced. "Guess you're staying home, then."

Hyunjin hesitated.

He didn't want to stay home.

The thought of Felix at a party, meeting people, possibly—nope. Not finishing that thought.

"Whatever," he muttered, shoving more noodles in his mouth.

Felix playfully nudged his foot under the table. "We'll bring you back a party favor or something."

Jisung grinned. "Oh, yeah. Maybe a heart-shaped balloon."

Seungmin smirked. "Or a new boyfriend."

Felix choked on his food.

Hyunjin dropped his chopsticks.

Jisung burst out laughing. "SEUNGMIN."

Seungmin sipped his water, completely unbothered. "Just saying."

Felix, face slightly red, waved his chopsticks around. "No one is getting a boyfriend, okay?"

Hyunjin cleared his throat. "Yeah, obviously."

Seungmin side-eyed him.

Jisung smirked. "Sure, sure."

Felix huffed and went back to eating.

Hyunjin tried to act normal.

For some reason, it felt weird knowing Felix was going to this party.

Hyunjin sighed as he pushed back from the table. "Alright, I feel like I just ate three servings of sodium, so I'm gonna go do my skincare before my face explodes."

Felix snorted. "Dramatic."

Jisung nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you look fine. But go off, skincare king."

Hyunjin rolled his eyes but didn't argue, making his way to the bathroom. He grabbed his headband, pushing back his hair as he stared at himself in the mirror.

His mind felt foggy.

Everything had felt weird lately. Like, something was shifting, and he couldn't make sense of it.

With a deep breath, he started his routine—cleansing, patting his face dry, reaching for his toner—

"BOO."

"FUCK—"

Hyunjin flinched so hard that he nearly knocked over half of his products. He turned sharply to see Seungmin standing by the door, looking way too pleased with himself.

"Jesus Christ, Seungmin," Hyunjin exhaled, pressing a hand to his chest. "What is wrong with you?"

Seungmin smirked. "I was curious what the skincare princess was up to."

Hyunjin rolled his eyes and turned back to the mirror, applying his toner. "Well, congrats. You found me."

Seungmin leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "Soooo..."

Hyunjin glanced at him through the mirror. "So?"

Seungmin tilted his head. "Wanna finally tell me why you've been acting like a weirdo around Felix?"

Hyunjin's hands froze mid-motion.

"...What?"

Seungmin gave him a knowing look. "Don't 'what' me. You know what I mean."

Hyunjin swallowed. "I—I don't know what you're talking about."

Seungmin hummed, inspecting his nails. "So, you staring at him like he hung the moon and glitching every time he touches you is just... normal?"

Hyunjin almost dropped his serum. "I don't—"

"Yeah, yeah," Seungmin cut him off. "Look, I don't care if you're in denial, but just be honest for two seconds—you're catching feelings for him, aren't you?"

Hyunjin's jaw clenched. His face felt hot.

"I—" He shook his head. "No. I have a girlfriend."

Seungmin raised an eyebrow. "That's not an answer."

Hyunjin scowled. "Yes, it is."

Seungmin sighed. "Stupid."

Hyunjin pressed his lips together, his heart was beating way too fast.

He hated this.

He hated that stupid look on Seungmin's face like he knew. Like he'd figured out something Hyunjin hadn't even dared to say out loud.

And the worst part?

He didn't even have a good argument against it.

Because every time Felix smiled at him, every time he laughed, every time they got too close—

His heart always did something it wasn't supposed to do.

Seungmin's voice was softer when he spoke again.

"You don't have to tell me," he said. "But at least tell yourself the truth."

Hyunjin, without another word, turned back to the mirror and continued his skincare.

Seungmin watched him for a few more seconds before sighing and walking out.

Hyunjin took a deep breath before stepping out of the bathroom, making sure his expression was neutral. The last thing he needed was for Felix to notice something was off.

When he returned to the living room, Jisung was sprawled out dramatically on the couch, throwing a piece of popcorn in the air and failing to catch it in his mouth. Seungmin was on his phone, looking completely unbothered, while Felix was sitting cross-legged on the floor, fiddling with the hem of his sweater.

"Damn, took you long enough," Jisung said, finally looking up. "Did you, like, rebuild your face in there?"

Hyunjin rolled his eyes and plopped down next to Felix. "Sorry for wanting clear skin. Can't relate, huh?"

Jisung gasped in mock offense. "That's crazy. You see this, Seungmin? This is bullying."

Seungmin didn't even glance up. "Sounds like facts to me."

Jisung placed a hand over his heart. "Betrayal."

Felix snorted, nudging Hyunjin's knee with his own. "Did your fifteen-step routine work, then? Feeling fresh?"

Hyunjin turned to him, mouth twitching. "Flawless, as always."

Jisung clapped his hands together. "Alright, before Hyunjin murders Felix with his eyes, we should probably get going." He stretched dramatically. "I actually have a life to get to."

Hyunjin scoffed. "You mean going home to watch anime?"

Jisung pointed at him. "Don't disrespect me like that."

Felix shook his head, amused. "Go before you embarrass yourself more."

Jisung sighed, gathering his stuff, and Seungmin followed suit.

Seungmin turned to Felix. "You coming?"

Felix waved a hand. "I'll stay a bit longer. My place is literally right across the street anyway."

Hyunjin felt something stupidly warm settle in his chest at that.

Jisung wiggled his eyebrows. "Awww, a private moment? How romantic."

Felix rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

Seungmin smirked but didn't say anything, grabbing his jacket. "Alright, we'll see you losers at school."

With that, Jisung and Seungmin headed out, leaving the house significantly quieter.

Hyunjin turned to Felix, tilting his head. "So, you're choosing to hang out with me longer?"

Felix grinned, leaning his head against the back of the couch. "Yeah, yeah. Don't let it get to your head."

Hyunjin smirked. "Too late."