Chapter Text
moodboard by encie
"Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind.
Head on the pillow, I could feel you sneaking in.
As if you were a mythical thing.
Like you were a trophy or a champion ring.
And there was one prize I'd cheat to win."
“Seungmin-ah!” Felix nearly forgot his suitcases as he stretched out his arms to give his best friend a deserved hug. Seungmin’s fingers played with his long and purple extensions before pulling back. He had never been a fan of skinship, even if he made exceptions with Felix. “Happy to have me twenty minutes away from you?”
Felix’s vocabulary was pretty simple when it came to real words of affection. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his feelings but it was easier to tease his friend rather than admitting out loud that he was the one that was happy to be so close to Seungmin after a good amount of years living in Australia.
“Honestly? I feel like I’ll regret it,” Seungmin joked before taking one of Felix’s suitcases. “Are you carrying corpses here? Because I’m not sure if I’m ready to go to jail this young.”
Felix rolled his eyes and took back his suitcase. “You bitch. It’s not my fault my favourite shoes are so heavy.”
Most of his belongings were already waiting for him inside his flat but there were certain items that Felix preferred to carry himself, even if that meant ending up with sore arms and exhausted at the end of the day.
Or, even worse, sweaty and needing an urgent shower.
“‘Your favourite shoes’ more like your three pairs of sandals, those huge creepers you wear everywhere and likely a bunch of boots.”
“Shut up,” Felix muttered, walking faster than Seungmin to leave him behind in a poor attempt of showing how offended he was because his friend had pointed out the truth . He turned around and raised a finger. “And for your information, most of my boots are already in boxes in my flat, darling.”
He heard Seungmin chuckle but he kept walking towards his new building, swaying his body as casually as possible just to feel his extensions dancing behind him. He was so fond of them even if it had been The Risky Decision Of The Year.
And he bet people would love them once he started his internship.
Appearing the first day wearing regular clothes and looking boring and normal was a death sentence in the fashion industry and Felix wasn’t one to give up on his dreams. The next morning, everyone in that room would wonder who was the handsome and petite guy with a purple braid falling on his shoulder.
He wasn’t even a fashion designer, stylist or anything of the sort but there were no exceptions when it came to fashion.
And he was here to win .
Not that it was a competition but it kind of was one at the same time.
After all, the possibilities of getting a job after an internship like this one were pretty high if you caught the attention of the right people. And if Felix was an expert in something, for sure it was in making good impressions and making everybody feel ashamed of their own achievements, because Felix had gone beyond them, reaching places that were unknown for most people.
“Why are you so slow?” He whined while he waited for Seungmin leaning against the main door of the building. “Come on! I want to see my new home, grandpa!”
“Oh, God . Can’t you just keep your mouth shut for a second?”
Felix rolled his eyes again. “Do you want me to leave you outside or what?”
“You wish you actually could . You love me too much.”
And for the third time in a row in less than ten minutes, Felix rolled his eyes.
“If that helps you sleep at night…”
To be honest, Felix wasn’t there to win.
But he had never been a loser before and he wasn’t planning on changing that either.
***
Felix scrunched up his nose, his fingers caressing the curtains that were hanging in the living room. He cocked his head towards Seungmin and his friend chuckled. It wasn’t necessary to state out loud that those curtains would be hidden in a box in less than twenty four hours.
“At least, everything is clean,” he commented, now sliding his finger along the surface of the kitchen counter. “I was scared I would find dust everywhere even though theoretically the people my dad hired came two days ago to make sure everything was in perfect condition for my arrival.”
Seungmin was used to Felix’s antics so he simply followed his friend around the house while Felix inspected every little corner, twirling the long strands around his fingers as he did so.
“It’s going to be so weird to talk all the time in Korean after spending all this time in Australia,” he commented several minutes later, both of them sitting on the couch and drinking tea. “I’m going to miss speaking in English.”
“I’m sure some of your colleagues will be English native speakers or bilinguals.”
Felix shrugged. “Hope so? I’m giddy to see how it goes tomorrow. Since it’s a multidisciplinary internship, I wonder how they are going to work with all of us.”
Felix had read all the information provided on the website but still there were so many questions that required answers. He had so many stressful months ahead but he couldn’t wait to start.
Seungmin raised a finger at him. “Less thinking and more promising me you are going to behave and make new friends.”
Felix pressed his palm against his chest, pretending to be offended. “Excuse you, my parents raised a well-mannered human. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you.”
“You are only well-mannered when you want to.”
“And that is a problem because…?”
Seungmin sighed. “You are insufferable.”
Felix giggled and took a sip from his tea. “I promise I’ll do my best tomorrow but anyway I’m not doing the internship to make friends. I just want a good job.”
Felix was ambitious and he didn’t want a future where he wasn’t as successful as his parents were. It was true that the easiest way to do it would have been to follow his parents’ steps but Felix was also stubborn and he wanted a future he had built for himself. And if that meant moving back to Korea and leaving everything behind in Australia, so be it.
“May I remind you that your only friend in Seoul is me, Mr. I’m not doing the internship to make friends ? Don’t be a brat.”
“Are you my dad now?”
“More like the angel on your shoulder you always ignore even though I’m right.”
“I listen to you sometimes.”
“ Sometimes . What an honour.”
And it was.
Because Felix barely listened to anyone, too full of himself to consider what other people suggested. It was going to be tough to work with strangers again, especially if he bumped into someone that didn’t follow his instructions.
The next day was going to be an exciting and unpredictable rollercoaster.
***
Felix wandered around his new flat as he braided his long extensions and decided what outfit to wear. He had woken up with time enough to have breakfast on the couch and take a long shower to relax his muscles and prepare them for the day he had ahead.
As expected, he wasn’t actually nervous. Lee Felix wasn’t that type of person. He knew he was capable of exceeding any expectations. But it was going to be draining anyway to get used to his new schedule.
Sighing, he picked a purple top with a floral pattern and his yellow cargo trousers. It wasn’t simple but it wasn’t too elegant for his first day either. Perfect for a first day, in his opinion.
Felix was born in that world, even if at times he pretended he didn’t.
After all, before opening their own agency, his parents used to be a couple of renowned models. And he was close to becoming a long-term model too, comfortable under the directions of his parents. But standing in front of the camera wasn’t as exciting for him, even though the lenses adored him just as much as they adored his parents.
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath as he ran down the stairs, hearing the sound of someone running just as fast as him downstairs too. Any other morning, he would have slowed down to see his new neighbour but all of a sudden he had wasted a bunch of time deciding between two tops and now he was practically running late.
At least he called a taxi beforehand and just needed to jump into it and repeated the address. He grabbed his compact mirror and retouched his lips, checking his reflection meticulously just in case he had messed up his make-up at some point.
Luckily, and obviously, that hadn’t happened —his make-up sat prettily all over his face, enhancing his fairy-like features.
Just as fast as he got into the taxi, he ran out of it, not losing any more seconds to admire the building in front of him. MOD Fashion School was one of the most prestigious places to get specialised in fashion, whether it was as a photographer, a model or even an event planner like Felix. He debated between enrolling here or in Sydney but their eighteen months programme won his heart before Felix even read what Sydney could offer.
At the entrance, there was a neat reception with high ceilings and modern lamps that looked like roots falling down the sky. Behind the desk, there was a boy who seemed to be Felix’s age, if not younger.
“Hi! May I help you?”
Felix drew his best smile and walked closer. “I guess so? I’m looking for building Z.”
The receptionist's face lit up, as if he had answered that question a few times. “First day, hm?” He got up and took a map of the place, drawing a circle and saying, “This is where we are now.”
The sound of stressed footsteps distracted him for a second and Felix’s smile flattened ever so slightly. Really? Could he hurry the fuck up? He had to be in the correct room in less than five minutes.
“Let me guess,” the receptionist kept saying, his attention now focused on the person that was entering the building in such a hurry. “Looking for building Z?”
Felix crossed his arms against his chest while he tapped with his fingers over the fabric of his top. Come on . He didn’t even spare a look at the stranger that was making him arrive even later to his first day of classes.
“Yeah. Was that so obvious?” A musical voice answered and it took all Felix’s will to not roll his eyes.
“I have an expert eye to spot you.” He clapped his hands and grabbed the map again. “Anyway. As I was saying… This is where we are now. So you need to walk down this corridor until you reach the mermaid fountain, then you’ll see building Z on your left. The lift is right there too.” He handed one map to Felix. “My name is Seungkwan, by the way. If you need anything else, I’ll be here.”
Blah. Blah. Blah.
He might be the sweetest receptionist but Felix was already so annoyed .
“Thank you, Seungkwan-ssi.” He waved his fingers in the air as he saw from his peripheral view how the stranger beside him bowed before murmuring a quick thank you , too. He was clutching the map Seungkwan had given him against his chest and Felix internally cursed himself for not bowing too.
They both walked quietly next to each other, as if challenging the other to walk faster. It was tense and only when they got into the lift, Felix dared to look at the stranger that made him lose one minute of his precious time.
The first thing he noticed was a mole under his eye, which already gave his face a unique touch. His hair was black and short and he was wearing blue eye lenses that matched his white eyeliner so well. However, Felix didn’t even check his clothes out, kind of mad with the fact that the stranger was looking at his phone .
Really?
He didn’t look interesting enough for him?
Fucking idiot.
Behave and make friends, Seungmin had said.
Messages:
lix [9:27]:
what if some ppl just deserve to rot in hell
bitchmin [9:27]:
that’s such a strong statement for someone that hasn’t even officially started his day
lix [9:27]:
🙄🙄🙄
you are so helpful wow
ttyl
The doors of the lift opened and Felix stormed out of it, nearly shoving the stupid stranger against the walls of the lift since the latter was closer to the doors than Felix and, clearly, he had thought that gave him the right to leave first .
Please.
Lee Felix always entered and exited places, even lifts, whenever he wanted to.
He heard the stranger mutter something mostly to himself, probably cursing Felix, yet Felix kept walking, leaving him behind and reading the number attached to every door until he found the one he was looking for.
Door 707.
He pushed it open and didn’t wait for the stranger to reach it, walking into the room and letting the door almost hit the other boy in the face. Well, if there were any traces of sleep in his body, Felix guessed he was now wide awake.
You are welcome, idiot .
Ugh, he was sensitive that morning.
He needed to take a long shower when he got home and also remember to buy his favourite tea.
People were seated in groups of three and Felix didn’t hesitate to sit on the fourth row, where there was still one of those tables empty. Felix wished internally that his worst nightmare didn't happen but sadly, not even fifteen seconds later, the fucking stranger was occupying the seat on the other side of the long table, leaving the middle empty.
If the universe was testing him, Felix’d had enough.
“Good morning everyone and welcome to our seventh edition of our multidisciplinary postgraduate programme in fashion events.” A woman said as Felix grabbed his notebook and laid out on his table his set of different pens and highlighters. “As some of you already know, I’m Jeon Soyeon, coordinator of these studies and also your Impact of Fashion Weeks professor.”
Soyeon sat on the table before the white board and used her remote to start a presentation.
“The main objective of this programme is giving you a first contact with the professional field. That’s why this group is so diverse, gathering not only event planners but also stylists, make-up artists, fashion designers…” She pointed at the slide where all the disciplines were listed. “This is not about taking exams or studying boring theory. You are going to be working with professionals since the first day, spending several hours on your projects or just doing research.” Soyeon looked at the screen and nodded. “It is true that the first months will be mostly lectures but trust me, it's necessary.”
Felix took quick notes of what their coordinator was explaining, looking at the stranger one more time to find him taking notes on his ipad. He seemed focused, softly digging his teeth into his lower lip.
Why did idiots have the most beautiful faces?
It was so irritating .
He blamed his parents for teaching him to admire people’s features without thinking about their personalities. The voice of his mother always replaying inside his head like a broken record — not everyone can be the most beautiful fairy inside and out, prince.
A sigh left his mouth at the thought, catching the stranger’s attention. Their gazes locked for a brief second and automatically, almost repelled, they went back to their notes.
“So… would you mind introducing yourselves and telling us a little bit about your goals or why you are here? I don’t want to give you a headache at ten in the morning.”
One by one all his classmates introduced themselves. Some of them did it shyly, clearly used to stay in the shadows; others spoke as if they had prepared what they wanted to say the day before.
And then…
“Hi, my name is Hwang Hyunjin. I was studying Fashion Design when I accidentally found out that my dream was becoming a stylist, so after graduating I took some specialised courses in London. I thought that it was time to challenge myself a little more so that’s how I ended up moving back to Seoul and enrolling in this programme.” He tucked a dark strand behind his ear whilst his lips stayed stretched in a perfect smile that resembled the ones Felix put on his lips when he was trying to be polite. Hyunjin’s eyes wandered around the classroom until they found Felix again. “I hope we can learn from each other and maybe become friends.”
Fucking liar .
Felix could also recognise that tone —the false modesty. The pretended sweetness.
And if Felix could recognise it, that meant Hyunjin would also notice that the tone Felix used when he introduced himself was exactly the same.
Fantastic.
He wasn’t expecting to meet his match on Monday morning but for sure the universe was having its best time messing with his freaking life.
Messages:
lix [10:51]:
he sits as if he owns this classroom?????
god i’m so annoyed
why the fuck is he even sitting next to me
bitchmin [10:55]:
are we talking about the same person that should be burning in hell?
lix [10:58]:
yes :))))))
i haven’t even talked to him and i already despise him
yk when someone has this vibe that’s just so… NOPE
ughhhhhhh
and guess what :D he speaks english istg is this a joke
bitchmin [10:59]:
can i even ask why you are so pissed
lix [11:01]:
bc he’s an idiot!!!!!!!!!!
Felix had only one question —they didn’t have to sit every day in the same places, right? Because if they had, he was screwed.
***
“I’ll add you all to the group chat when I get home,” a classmate named Yuna promised as they left the building complex. “See you tomorrow!”
Felix saw some of them talking about grabbing lunch together so they could get to know each other better but he had already had his good dose of dealing with strangers for the day. Maybe on Friday, after talking to them for five days straight, he would join them. After all, even if he wasn’t especially excited about making new friends, it was a good idea to have connections within the industry.
It was exhausting to even think about it. But it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen his parents do exactly the same all these past years.
Speaking of them, Felix opened the group chat he had with his parents and his sister and typed a long message about his first day, giving them all the details he hadn’t given Seungmin yet about the professors he had met, his classmates and even the receptionist. He hadn’t finished typing by the time he got into a taxi to go back to his flat.
He couldn’t wait until his car arrived. Felix didn’t mind taking taxis but he preferred to depend on himself to move around the city. And public transport wasn’t even an option because it stressed him out.
That time, the ride seemed shorter, likely because Felix wasn’t running out of time to arrive at MOD. However, he wished it had been longer because when he got into the building and saw the lift doors closing, he ran towards it and pressed the button to open them again.
And then, the first thing Felix saw after that was a mole and blue eyes.
Felix laughed, dryly.
A long tense second grew between them while they stared at each other. Hyunjin cocked his eyebrow, silently questioning if he was getting into the lift or not, and Felix stepped forward and leaned against the opposite wall.
“What a coincidence,” Hyunjin commented, his tone now more sharp; poisonous. Real .
“H-hm. Best news of the day.”
His eyes widened when he looked at the lift buttons and noticed that they both were going to the same floor. What were the chances of having as his neighbour next door the same idiot he had met this morning? Why was this the most jinxed day in history?
Hyunjin switched to English then, “So, coming from Australia, hm?”
“Said the British,” Felix replied, in English too.
The lift doors opened and they walked in opposite ways. There were only two flats per floor in their building. Two. Literally it was going to be Hyunjin and him. Every day. Living on the same floor.
“It’s been a pleasure, Felix.” Hyunjin was grinning as he said it and the mockery in his voice burnt Felix’s tongue.
“The pleasure has been mine, darling.”
Fucking. Idiot.
Messages:
lix [14:22]:
guess who’s my neighbour ahahhahahahahahaha
bitchmin [14:30]:
this is like music to my ears
lix [14:33]:
I’M SICK OF THIS
I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF HIM
ENOUGH
AND HE SPEAKS ENGLISH W THAT STUPID BRITISH ACCENT GOD
i’m going to drink some tea
Felix undressed himself as he filled the bathtub, pulling his long hair into a messy bun before sinking into the warm water with vanilla scented bubbles. The candles in his bathroom smelled like cinnamon and the contrast made him sigh, content for the first time since he left his flat.
How could a single person pull all his strings like this?
Ugh.
Stress wasn’t good for his body nor his mind and yet Felix bet that this Hwang Hyunjin would give him a huge amount of that and also a bunch of headaches.
He wasn’t even someone that tended to fixate on anyone but since they had crossed paths, he had felt so repelled that it was inevitable to replay all the memories from that day —from the moment he met the receptionist to the instant where he found the other boy in the lift.
Felix closed his eyes and leaned his head against the bathtub. It was better to focus on his new professors and the exciting months that were coming.
Even though the coordinator explained to them all the details about the internship Felix didn’t know yet, he needed to be in the middle of that hurricane. He needed the pressure breathing against his neck. He needed long nights brainstorming his next project. He needed…
A challenge .
Felix groaned, remembering the idiot again, and opted for playing some music.
There was absolutely nothing music couldn’t cure.
Hopefully, the next morning he would bump into Hyunjin at MOD and they wouldn’t have any more weird moments in the lift or the stairs.
***
The rest of the week turned into a blur surprisingly fast. Getting used to a new routine was tiring but Felix wasn’t expecting it to be this much. Perhaps it had to be with the fact that every day they asked for more, throwing them in the middle of a new world with a compass that couldn’t point to the North properly.
Sadly, the seats were permanent so far so he had to see that mole almost every time but, at the same time, he was so busy taking notes that it became a habit to ignore Hyunjin during their internship and run home faster than him so they didn’t have to share the lift.
They avoided each other on the group chat too and when on Friday a few of them decided to have some drinks during the evening, Felix found it especially amusing how they sat at the opposite sides of the same table. Like they did during the internship.
Like two faces of the same coin.
Like parallel lines, too.
As if they could never be truly away from each other but they couldn’t be too close either.
“So you two are bilingual?” A classmate asked, gesturing at Hyunjin and him. Sunwoo, was his name. “I’ve tried learning new languages many times and I always give up.”
“To b-.”
“Hon-.”
They both shut their mouths at the same time and shot a glance at the other. Felix pressed his lips together and then smiled, waiting for Hyunjin to keep talking just because he felt polite enough that day. Also because looking sweet and gentle was his main goal with the rest of his classmates.
However, Hyunjin shook his head. “No, please, continue. I interrupted you.”
Felix’s smile almost cracked at the edges. Almost.
“I was going to say that I’m not sure if I could be considered bilingual but I guess I’m close to be one? I’ve spent more than half of my life in Australia and when we were in Korea I had private English lessons with my sister to improve our level. My parents and I even speak in English most of the time.” He brushed his ponytail with his fingers. “It’s going to be weird to not listen to people speaking English every day after all this time.”
“Yeah,” Hyunjin sighed, and it sounded so genuine that Felix looked at him again. “It’s really weird to go back to listening to my mother tongue every day. A good friend of my best friend is living in London so when we hung out it was like being here again but apart from that… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”
Felix nodded, his mind flying to old memories where his brain had begun mixing languages to the point where he had started talking in English with his parents and suddenly switched to Korean in the middle of the sentence. Not seeing them every day was also going to be so weird. Even if they were always working and they barely spent time at home, they liked to have dinner together.
“That’s so cool. I’ve never left Korea before.”
The conversation kept flowing after that, all of them chiming in to share their experiences travelling abroad or, if not, their dreamt places to visit. It was then when he also noticed another detail —they both naturally caught everyone’s attention, with their personalities or their experiences or just their presence but it was curious how eventually it was as if Hyunjin and him were taking turns to talk to the rest.
And that, obviously, annoyed him too.
Because he was the main character.
He was the centre of attention.
The spotlight wasn’t made to be shared.
His parents taught him that when he was a little kid and if Felix had come so far it had been because he had never forgotten it —in order to shine, he had to sweat and bleed but it was so worth it . No matter how many people he left behind nor how many storms he had to overcome, it was always worth it because the first place was going to be his.
Always .
***
Seventeen days after their first encounter, Felix had come to terms with the fact that, expectedly, Hyunjin would always be a pain in the ass. A mosquito flying too close to his ear but staying always out of reach. Always getting on his nerves, always disturbing his peace, always stealing his spot.
However, that didn’t make his existence easier in any sense. Especially when, at times, they bumped into each other in the lift or coming back from doing grocery shopping or even at the grocery store. It was annoying. Even when they only shot the other a quick smile.
Seeing Hyunjin and thinking about him was exasperating .
And it hadn’t even been a month since they met.
Messages:
lix [8:14]:
blue or purple
lix sent two pictures
bitchmin [8:20]:
first of all good morning
second
purple bc i gifted you that sweater
Seungmin said he was overthinking it. That the best thing he could do was keeping a cordial relationship since they were classmates and when the internship was over, bye bye . And Felix knew he was right —actually, Seungmin was usually right, even when Felix whined and pretended he wasn’t.
However, one thing was admitting to himself that he should follow his best friend’s advice and another was doing so. If they were at MOD, then it was easy. Lying while surrounded by other classmates was almost an automatic response.
Lying while they shared the lift was… not an option.
Hyunjin wasn’t even putting any effort on it anyway. It was obvious that their adoration was mutual. It was pretty unfortunate that his behaviour only fueled Felix to be the biggest asshole when no one was around.
But Seungmin didn’t need to know that, right?
Felix put his phone down and grabbed his purple sweater after changing his black trousers for his white ripped ones. He pulled his long hair into a high ponytail, braided part of his extensions and then wrapped the braid around the ponytail, as if it was a frame.
His car arrived a couple of days ago so now he couldn’t put on his make-up while he was in the taxi. So instead of doing a quick look, he played it safe and applied some concealer under his eyes, blush, mascara and a nude lipstick that also worked as a lip balm.
It wasn’t even late but Felix got so worked up every morning when he remembered the first person he could see that day was… Him.
Ugh.
Why couldn’t he ignore him? Why did he affect him like that?
Messages:
lix [8:34]:
lix sent a picture
thank you ilyyyy
Felix ran to the lift, praying internally as he counted the seconds it took the lift to reach his floor. He exhaled, relieved, as the doors closed and then walked towards his vehicle thinking he was safe. The worst part was over, after all.
He got into his car, picked one of his playlists and was about to hit his pedal when he recognised the black-haired guy that was struggling to turn on his car. He couldn’t see Felix but he was only three or four cars before him, right on the other side of the road.
It seemed to be a battery problem. Nothing serious. But Hyunjin looked mad as if his entire car had been demolished in front of his eyes. He was groaning and clearly pulling all the tricks he knew to try to awaken his car but nothing seemed to help.
For a split second, after checking how late it was and the time they had to get to MOD, Felix considered offering him a ride as some kind of forced peace . To also brag about being the most polite of them both.
Seungmin would be proud of him if Felix did that.
But Felix wouldn’t feel the same satisfaction that it would give him to just leave him behind.
Messages:
lix [8:42]:
i’m going to do something bad
but it feels so good
bitchmin [8:45]:
quoting taylor swift again?
and please don’t tell me this is about You Know Who
The event planner retouched his lipstick after dropping his phone on the passenger seat and then drew his best smile as his car approached Hyunjin. He kept his music low enough to listen to any possible reaction.
He rolled down the window and blew the horn when he was near him. The sound startled Hyunjin at first, the boy confused by the sound since he wasn’t doing anything that could bother the drivers. He raised his head to meet Felix’s eyes and his pissed expression only stretched Felix’s smile, making it grow wider.
“See you later, sweetheart,” he sangsong, terribly sweet even if his tone was more like daggers digging into Hyunjin’s skin. He waved his hand at him, his fingers graciously wiggling in the air, and hit the pedal to arrive on time to his first class.
Unlike Hyunjin, who probably would miss it and get to MOD for their second one.
What a shame.
Cars could cause the biggest headaches sometimes.
Although Felix bet Hyunjin would say that the only one causing him headaches was himself.
Messages:
lix [9:17]:
i don’t know what you are talking about <3
***
“Oh, really?” Felix said with his hand covering his mouth and his eyebrows raised as he stared at his classmate, Huening Kai. For a whole week, all the event planners were having activities together, aside the rest, and Felix was taking the opportunity to finally make friends. “I only have one sister and I feel like I have enough for this life and all the next ones. Can’t even imagine how it must be to have four .”
Huening Kai chuckled, putting his black hair back with his fingers.
“To be honest, the two oldest were pre-teens when I was born so sometimes they feel more like aunts to me. And anyway, I’ve always been so spoiled… I can’t even complain.”
“The competition must be insane between all of you.”
Their group only had five event planners —Huening Kai, Jinsoul, Momo, Sana and Felix; Momo and Sana were older than them and Felix suspected they were also a couple, so most of the time they were paired up together or stayed a bit further from them. However, Huening Kai and Jinsoul were really good company. And both of them gave Felix a life vision he had never considered before.
He didn’t share it, that was for sure, but it was interesting to talk to people that were so different.
“Competition?” Jinsoul plopped down beside Felix.
Hyuka shook his head with a smile still hanging from his lips. “We are talking about my sisters,” he explained. “And there’s no competition. Our parents have always supported us, no matter what we did, so it was only natural to support each other too.” He made a gesture towards Felix. “Do you have problems with your sister?”
“Oh, God, never. Annie is a ray of sunshine,” Felix soon clarified. “We are twins and she’s my best half.”
If there was a single person in the world that Felix believed was above him, that was his sister. He would never say a bad thing about Anne. She was gorgeous, inside and outside. Her big heart matched her big brain and Felix was always surprised by the simple way she stared at the world around her.
He used to be so jealous, too. But he had made peace with the fact that he would never be like her.
He was Lee Felix or Lee Yongbok.
But never Lee Anne or Lee Heejin.
“But I guess it’s not the same having one sister as having four.”
“You didn’t tell us it was your twin!” Jinsoul exclaimed. “That must be so cool. Are you super alike or something like that? Show me pics.” She snapped her fingers in front of Felix’s face, rushing him to put his phone out of his pocket. “What does she do?”
Felix unlocked his iPhone and searched through his gallery until he found a recent pic of Anne and him. Both of them had blonde hair on it and their elf nose was exactly the same one. They resembled their mother so much.
“She’s a model. She’s been the face of my parents’ agency since she was sixteen.”
“Oh, come on. She’s perfect or what?” Jinsoul groaned whilst Huening Kai laughed at her. “It’s dangerous to be a lesbian with so many beautiful women around.”
Felix smiled, pleased. Anne would giggle if she could hear what his classmate was saying.
He missed her so much. And sometimes, Felix wondered if this was a recent feeling or if he had been missing her since before leaving Australia.
“By the way, I’m going to grab some beers with my friends later. You better come or my friends won’t stop telling me they haven't met any of my classmates yet,” Jinsoul kept saying, incapable of shutting her mouth unless she was taking notes and paying attention to something. “Hm? What do you say?”
“I’ll bring my best friend,” Felix commented. “He’s annoying but you’ll adore him.”
They settled the date and time after that and Felix leaned against the backrest of his chair, relaxed. His whole life would be much more enjoyable if all his days were like this one —away from Hyunjin and sitting between two of his favourite people in the internship.
Overall, he bet the whole internship experience would be so much better if he didn’t have to see his eternal table-mate .
Hopefully, throughout the internship, there would be more opportunities to be split into different groups depending on their disciplines, so Felix could breathe fresh air and not that perfume that seemed to surround not only Hyunjin but also the space around him.
It was incredible to be able to work with people from other fashion areas but it was worthless to mix them up if neither of them knew how to do their own job properly. So yeah, Felix guessed that, at least for a few months, he would have more funny weeks like this one —sitting between Jinsoul and Huening Kai.
“I’ll text you when we decide where we are going!” Jinsoul promised before running towards her transport. Hyuka asked them both to send him outfit pictures and then disappeared down the street, leaving Felix alone in front of MOD.
He walked into the building again and took the lift to the parking lot, waving his hand cutely at Seungkwan, who blew him a kiss in response and then focused again on the little dots he was painting on his nails.
It had been a month since he started his internship and his brain had already automatised the ride home. It was easy to get lost in his thoughts now, although Felix was aware that he couldn’t get too lost unless he wanted to cause an accident. Thankfully fantasising about the long bath he would take at home didn’t even distract him much. He would light up his favourite candle and open a bottle of wine to celebrate the ending of another week.
His mind was filled with various outfits for the night when someone stepped into the lift with him.
“Hi,” the other man said as he leaned against the wall of the lift.
“Hi.”
Felix looked at the lift panel. Then at the man beside him. And then at the panel again. All of that in the span of three seconds. During those three seconds, he also found out that the stranger sharing the lift with him was visiting Hyunjin because, for sure, Felix had no idea who that person was.
How surprising it was to see that idiot with friends . Or whatever that person was. Perhaps it was just a cousin making the typical family gathering. As if Felix cared. The only thing he could think about was his warm bath and his possible outfits. He hadn’t seen Hyunjin in days and it wasn’t the moment to change that.
However, the first thing he saw when the doors opened was Hyunjin’s face.
Of fucking course.
His eyes widened for a brief second, clearly not expecting Felix in that lift too, but he directly ignored him and jumped forwards to wrap his arms around the other man, who groaned and hissed and cursed in Hyunjin’s embrace whilst the latter muttered how happy he was to see him.
Felix didn’t turn around once as he walked towards his own door. Not even after hearing the sound of a few kisses. Not even after hearing the other person murmured a weak threat if Hyunjin didn’t let him go. Not even after Hyunjin said in a happy tone Felix had never heard before that he had made several plans for the weekend they were spending together.
He closed the door behind him and forced his mind to remove those last minutes.
That never happened.
He had never seen Hyunjin.
His week was still perfect .
Although the sound of Hyunjin’s happy voice spent the weekend popping up randomly in his mind while he was doing the silliest tasks.
Messages:
lix [17:24]:
lol even devils deserve love i guess
bitchmin [17:28]:
???
do i really wanna know
lix [17:32]:
i just think i met his partner
or his potential partner idkkk
bitchmin [17:33]:
okay?????
lix [17:34]:
🙄🙄🙄
show more interest or smth
***
“You are useless,” Felix whined, a pout on his lips and his feet kicking the floor underneath him. “I need to leave in thirty minutes and I haven’t even done my make-up, Seungmin-ah.”
It was Thursday morning —8:10am to be precise— and Felix was dangerously close to losing a few brain cells unless his best friend got his shit together and helped him with his crisis. He rubbed his arms with his palms, pulling his lips into a gross expression at the sticky touch of his body lotion. He needed to buy a new one.
“Ugh. I woke up an hour sooner because of you. Shut up and let me drink my coffee,” Seungmin murmured against the rim of his mug. “And I believe I assured you last night that your black trousers with the purple velvety shirt tucked into them was my winner.”
Barefoot, Felix wandered around the kitchen island where Seungmin was having breakfast, his small body only covered by a long robe and part of his hair already braided. Contrary to Seungmin, who seemed to have slept peacefully in his guest room, Felix had barely got any rest.
It was his first presentation in the internship and although he was sure that what he had exceeded the expectations of his professor, that didn’t mean that was the approach his professor wanted. It was extremely annoying to not know his professors properly yet because it was so hard to guess what they were exactly looking for. And Felix hated to know he was the best everywhere he went but that it didn’t guarantee the other people would see that.
“Yeah? With the purple eyeliner and the soft blush?”
Seungmin nodded, taking another sip.
When Felix was in Australia, he facetimed Seungmin to force him to pick for him when Felix couldn’t make a decision so it was, somehow, heartwarming to have his best friend in his own flat whilst he ran from one side of the apartment to another.
Even if Felix barely voiced it out loud, his life would be so boring and grey without Seungmin. In fact, his current life in Seoul would be extremely lonely without him, no matter how well he got along with some of his classmates. It wasn’t the same.
Seungmin and him met by accident, more than a decade ago. It was during the two years Felix and his family spent in Seoul before going back to Australia. They went to the same school but they barely saw each other because they were in different groups.
Until one day they got accidentally locked in the library.
And that was it.
Felix was eleven then. He turned twenty-three that year.
“So…?
“Stunning, unbelievable, show-stopping, surreal.”
Felix giggled. “And the make-up?”
“Perfect too.” Seungmin patted the empty stool next to him. “Now have breakfast or you will arrive late.”
As expected, Felix didn’t arrive late but it sure felt like that when he entered the classroom to find almost every seat occupied. It seemed like all of them were nervous about the presentations. Especially since they would spend part of that day and part of the next one with them.
Felix fidgeted with his pen whilst he waited for Kim Hyunah. She was a well known fashion designer and had attended countless events. In contrast to her husband, Kim Hyojong, who was an event planner and preferred to hide in the shadows, Hyunah was like the sun —brighter than her own models.
Felix gulped down when she finally arrived and announced the order in which they would do their presentations. It was chosen in an arbitrary order and yet Felix couldn’t decide if he felt blessed or cursed when his name was called the fifth one.
Her subject was about overcoming any setback so each one of them had been given different possible issues and in their presentations they should explain how they would deal with them. And there lied the real problem of it all —the answers would be so subjective that it was impossible to guess what Professor Kim would like more.
“Good morning, I’m Lee Felix and in the current presentation I’m going to show you a successful way of surviving the most stressful day of your lives. You heard me right. The most stressful day, because an hour before the show starts, two of the models have twisted their ankle and knee while a heavy storm breaks the sky outside.”
Giving oral presentations was easy for someone that could convince anyone to buy ice cubes in the middle of a snowfall. Not even three slides in, Felix had forgotten about his nerves and was just explaining his conclusions and why he was so convinced that his alternatives were the ones that would work best to fix the unexpected problems.
He smiled to himself every time a classmate laughed at his playful tone or Professor Kim grinned before taking notes.
“So, in conclusion, it’s really hard to turn the most stressful day of your lives into the best one but nobody in the room will notice how stressed you are if you act fast and prevent damages before they reach everyone else.” Felix bowed whilst his classmates clapped their hands. “Thank you so much for your attention.”
“Thank you so much for such a lovely presentation, Felix,” the professor said. “Before I give my own valoration, are there any questions?”
No one had raised their hands with any of his classmates, so Felix was already exhaling all the air he had been holding in since the night before when Hyunjin cleared his throat and raised his arm.
“Actually, yes,” he murmured with a smile. “I have a couple if Felix-ssi doesn’t mind.”
Felix’s smile froze in his face as he turned his head towards Hyunjin.
“Of course I don’t mind, Hyunjin-ssi.”
They always dropped any honorifics when they were alone in the lift or just walking through the MOD complex so it was particularly annoying to hear the formalities. It was such a clear sign that he had two faces, just like Felix.
He wanted to be so perfect that Felix only wished everyone could see behind his façade, where all his flaws hid.
“So, you’ve said that you would talk to the stylist to ask them if it was possible to change the original idea of the event, erasing the classical catwalk and making some kind of hybrid where some models would be sitting while others walk around them. Am I right?”
Felix nodded, pressing his palms against his trousers to ground himself and not make any mean remark at him.
“Wouldn’t that be a risky decision when any other of the models could wear those outfits? It implies making so many big decisions an hour prior to the event and so many things could go wrong.”
“To be fair, due to the complicated weather, as I’ve stated earlier, the event would get delayed, so we would have more than an hour to rearrange that part of the event. Since you are a stylist, I guess it hits close to home and that’s why you see it as such a big change when it’s not really that big.”
Hyunjin pursed his lips at that.
“The times would be the same but whereas in the original version the models would be walking across the room apparently without a path, now they would be clearly walking between empty and occupied seats.” Felix licked his lips before drinking from his bottle of water. “However, I did consider the option of giving the other models those outfits and I think that although that would work too, that would affect the schedule more than my decision because now we would need more time for those models to change clothes and step into the event again.” Hyunjin parted his lips to interrupt him but Felix kept going. “And we are already running late enough because of the storm.”
Hyunjin nodded. “And what if the event can’t end later than planned? You seemed to only have considered the option of starting late and ending it just as late.”
Shut the fuck up, stupid idiot.
Was he trying to test Felix to see if he had thought enough about his event?
Was this some kind of vendetta after that day Felix left him behind whilst he was fighting against his car? Or was he just pissing him off on purpose?
“Then you are adding another reason to stick to my plan. The show is not only about the models, it also has a cocktail so probably said cocktail would have to be shorter in order to finish when it was expected. However, I want to believe that people would be gentle with us because of the storm.” Their eyes were locked and Felix felt as if Hyunjin was sucking his soul out of his body with his intense gaze. “Anything else?”
“No. That’s all. Thank you very much for clearing up my doubts.”
Was that a win?
It was, wasn’t it?
Felix had to make an effort to not give Hyunjin his biggest, cocky smile.
“Interesting discussion,” Professor Kim commented. “This is exactly what I’m looking for when I make you do these presentations. Rather than giving me convincing arguments, the real, main goal of these presentations is having these kinds of conversations. All of you come from different backgrounds and have different studies so to me it’s more interesting to see your opinions instead of giving you mine.” She smiled at them. “Good job, Felix and Hyunjin. Hope this encourages the rest of you to participate and ask more questions too.”
At least Hyunjin’s questions had turned into a sweet reward. Felix couldn’t complain whilst the professor gave him feedback on other possible approaches.
Yeah, this was a win.
Unless you were confident enough, it was impossible to survive a round of questions whose objective was clearly making him nervous and even reconsider his decisions.
Felix returned to his seat with a proud smile pinching the corners of his lips and he cocked his head in Hyunjin’s direction, finding the same intense gaze waiting for him.
“You really thought you could catch me off guard, hm?” Felix murmured as he leaned forward, so quietly that it was almost impossible to hear him. “Try harder next time.”
Hyunjin wrapped one of Felix’s braids around his finger, pulling him even closer.
“Don’t worry. I will, baby .” He said the last word in English but instead of tasting sweet, it burnt in Felix’s tongue. “Can’t wait for the next round.”