♡︎|12

chapter twelve—✧♡︎✧—

Felix was already waiting by Hyunjin's front gate, rocking back and forth on his heels, hands stuffed into his hoodie pockets. The morning air was crisp, and his blonde hair gleamed under the early sunlight. He was excited today, and not just because school meant he'd get to hang out with his friends.

No Haeri. She won't be at school today.

That meant Hyunjin was his today. Well, theirs—technically, he had to share with Jisung and Seungmin, but Felix felt a little more possessive than usual.

As soon as Hyunjin stepped out of the house, Felix perked up, his lips stretching into a big smile. But then he really looked at Hyunjin.

Dior Sauvage again.

Felix squinted. "Why are you so dressed up?" he asked, his voice immediately suspicious. "And why do you smell like money?"

Hyunjin scoffed. "What, I can't look good for myself?"

Felix hummed in doubt, stepping closer and giving an exaggerated sniff. "Bro, you stole Minho's cologne again, didn't you?"

Hyunjin shoved him lightly, grumbling, "Shut up. He doesn't need to know."

Felix let out a little giggle, finally taking a good look at Hyunjin. He did look prettytoday—okay maybe really pretty, maybe even drop dead gorgeous—

"Okay, you do look good," Felix admitted with a smirk. "But now I'm gonna smell like overpriced cologne just from standing next to you."

Hyunjin just rolled his eyes and grabbed Felix's hoodie sleeve, tugging him toward the direction of school. "Let's go, Lixie. We're gonna be late."

Felix let himself be pulled along, feeling warm despite the chilly morning.

—

The moment they stepped onto school grounds, it was like an unspoken agreement settled between them.

They both straightened up, acting more normal—which, in their case, meant casual side comments and subtle nudges instead of clinging to each other like koalas. Felix hated that they had to tone it down, but that was just how things were.

Jisung and Seungmin were already at their usual meeting spot by the courtyard bench, chatting about something dumb, most likely.

"Look who finally decided to show up," Seungmin said the moment he spotted them. "Took you long enough. We were about to leave and tell the teachers you died."

"You care about me that much?" Felix teased, tilting his head with an exaggeratedly touched expression.

"No," Seungmin deadpanned. "I just wanted to see if I could take your snacks if you didn't show up."

Felix gasped dramatically while Jisung burst out laughing beside him.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, just shook his head at them, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Can't we start the day without roasting Felix for once?"

"Nope," Seungmin and Jisung said at the same time.

Felix crossed his arms, looking between them all. "Y'all are just mad I'm the hottest one here."

"Debatable," Jisung quipped.

"Highly debatable," Seungmin added.

Felix huffed, turning to Hyunjin. "Jinnie, tell them I'm the hottest."

Hyunjin, caught off guard, blinked. His gaze met Felix's for a second too long.

"Uh—"

"SEE?" Jisung shouted before Hyunjin could even respond. "HE HESITATED. YOU LOSE."

Seungmin high-fived Jisung while Felix gasped in betrayal, grabbing Hyunjin's arm. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

Hyunjin laughed, shaking his head. "You are hot, Lix, relax."

Felix smirked triumphantly at Jisung and Seungmin. "HA!"

"Whatever," Jisung muttered. "Let's go inside before we all freeze to death."

Felix, satisfied, walked into school with his friends, sticking a little closer to Hyunjin than usual—just because he could. Today, Hyunjin wasn't preoccupied with Haeri.

Felix was having the best day ever.

No Haeri meant no death glares, no controlling whispers in Hyunjin's ear, no forced distance. For the first time in forever, Hyunjin was his the whole day, and Felix wasn't going to waste a single second of it.

They sat together in every class, clinging to each other without a care in the world. Felix rested his head on Hyunjin's shoulder during boring lectures, poking at his arm whenever he got too distracted, and dramatically sighing every time Hyunjin took notes too seriously.

Hyunjin, to Felix's utter delight, didn't pull away. Instead, he let Felix lean into him, resting his chin on Felix's head every now and then, lazily playing with the strings of Felix's hoodie when he thought no one was looking.

Felix soaked up every second of it, grinning like an idiot every time Hyunjin absentmindedly poked at his dimple just to see it appear.

By the time chemistry class rolled around, Felix was already bouncing on his heels.

"Alright, class," the teacher announced, "we'll be working in pairs for today's experiment. Pick your partners."

Felix barely even glanced at the rest of the class before turning to Hyunjin, beaming. "Partners?"

Hyunjin gave him a look that said 'Was that even a question?' before nodding. "Obviously."

They made their way to their station, setting up their materials while the rest of the class scrambled for partners.

"This is gonna be a disaster," Hyunjin muttered, scanning the lab instructions with a sigh.

Felix smirked. "Come on, we're gonna be great at this."

"You literally almost set your sleeve on fire last time we did an experiment."

"That was one time!"

"One time too many."

Felix scoffed, nudging Hyunjin's side. "You're just mad because you had to put it out."

"I saved your hoodie!"

"And I appreciate it very much," Felix said sweetly, batting his eyelashes.

Hyunjin just rolled his eyes, but Felix saw the small smile creeping up.

The experiment was fairly simple—measuring pH levels, recording color changes—but Felix was way more focused on the way Hyunjin's sleeves were rolled up, his forearms exposed as he carefully poured the liquids into test tubes.

"You look hot doing that," Felix blurted impulsively.

Hyunjin almost dropped the beaker. "What—"

"I mean!" Felix tried to backtrack, waving his hands. "You just—you look so focused! And, um, professional! Like a real scientist!"

Hyunjin squinted at him, clearly skeptical. "Right."

Felix coughed, looking away.

Smooth, Lee Felix. Real smooth.

Hyunjin, still eyeing him suspiciously, went back to the experiment. But Felix wasn't done messing with him.

"You know," Felix said innocently, "if this was a k-drama, we'd totally be that tropey couple in a lab where one of us accidentally spills something and then we have to frantically clean it up while dramatically making eye contact."

Hyunjin let out a loud sigh. "Felix, just do the experiment."

"Or—" Felix picked up a test tube, smirking. "—I could make that scene happen right now."

"Felix, I swear to God—"

Felix pretended to tip the tube over, and Hyunjin panicked, grabbing Felix's wrist in record time.

"Dude!" Hyunjin scolded. "Do you want to explode the classroom?!"

Felix just grinned up at him. "See? k-drama right here."

Hyunjin groaned, dropping his forehead onto Felix's shoulder in defeat. "Why are you like this?"

Felix cackled, victorious. "You love me."

Hyunjin didn't respond right away.

Instead, he lingered—just a second too long—before muttering, "Yeah, yeah."

Felix's heart stuttered.

Felix swallowed down the warmth bubbling in his chest, forcing himself to focus back on the experiment, even though all he really wanted to do was keep messing with Hyunjin. Because God, Hyunjin was fun to tease.

And maybe he liked the way Hyunjin reacted a little too much.

After finishing their notes, Felix grabbed a paper towel and wiped a tiny drop of liquid off Hyunjin's wrist. "There, all clean," he said, flashing a dimpled grin.

Hyunjin blinked at him before looking away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks."

Felix narrowed his eyes playfully. "Why are you acting all weird?"

"I'm not."

"You so are," Felix teased, leaning in slightly. "You're all shy now. You never get shy."

"I'm literally fine."

"Mm-hmm," Felix hummed, unconvinced.

But before he could keep pushing, Seungmin suddenly plopped into the seat beside them, looking beyond done with life.

"I swear-" Seungmin muttered, slumping onto the desk. "If I have to work with Jeongin one more time, I'm gonna start throwing things."

Felix blinked. "What did he do now?"

"He's convinced he can do the entire experiment without reading the instructions," Seungmin said flatly. "We almost made a toxic gas cloud."

"Oh my God—"

"And when I told him to stop," Seungmin continued, "he looked me dead in the eyes and said, 'Science is just fancy cooking, Seungmin, trust the process.'"

Felix burst out laughing while Hyunjin just sighed, shaking his head. "Why do you even put up with him?"

"Because if I don't, he might actually burn the school down one day," Seungmin grumbled. "And I don't feel like dying before graduation."

Felix giggled, nudging Seungmin's arm. "I see potential enemies to lovers k-drama in real life happening right infront of my eyes."

Before Seungmin could argue, the teacher clapped their hands for attention. "Alright, class! Wrap up your notes and start cleaning your stations!"

Felix stretched, arms high above his head. "That was fun."

Hyunjin gave him a look. "You barely did anything."

"Yeah, but I looked cute while doing it," Felix shot back, winking.

Hyunjin groaned while Seungmin gagged. "Please shut up."

Felix only laughed harder.

As they packed up their things, Felix felt Hyunjin nudge his shoulder. "You wanna sit together for lunch, right?"

Felix grinned up at him. "Obviously."