Chapter Text
The fluorescent lights of the grocery store hummed overhead, too bright, too sterile. Felix stood frozen in the aisle, the shopping cart forgotten between his slack fingers.
"I'd leave every party to be home before midnight every time, too."
Chan’s words hung in the air like poison. Jackson's elbow, Chan’s high-pitched laugh of apology, the casual way they spoke about bets and cleaning and…
"Binnie wiped the floor with us."
Felix’s gaze lifted slowly, mechanically, past the cart, past the case of beer he'd just loaded, past the amused faces of the two men who had no idea what they'd just done.
And there he was.
Hyunjin.
Just around the corner, phone pressed to his ear, head tilted down. He looked shy and boyish as he rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. The other hand gesturing softly, intimately. The biggest, goofiest grin Felix had ever seen stretched across his face. Soft, loving, in love?
Felix’s breath caught in his throat like a fishhook.
Wifey ♥
The contact name flashed behind his eyes like a neon sign. Wifey. Not Felix. Not honey or babe. Wifey. The word Chan had thrown around like a joke. The word Hyunjin had saved in his phone for Changbin.
Felix turned. He didn't speak. He didn't scream. He didn't collapse into sobs right there in Aisle 7 with two strangers watching. He turned and walked. His legs carried him on autopilot, past the dairy section, past the restrooms sign, into the men's room. He pushed through the heavy door, stumbled to the farthest stall, and barely managed to lock it before his knees gave out.
He slid down the door, back hitting cold metal, and vomited into the toilet until there was nothing left but dry heaves and a hollow, echoing silence where tears should have been. He didn't cry. He couldn't. But his body emptied itself of everything but the truth.
Felix fumbled for his phone with shaking hands. His fingers were slick with sweat, but he managed to unlock the screen. He pulled up Han’s contact. Hit video call. It rang once. Twice. Han’s face appeared on screen – sunlit, squinting slightly, probably outside. "Felix? Hey, we were just about to - "
"Han."
Felix’s voice was flat. Broken. Shattered. Empty. A stranger's voice. Han’s expression shifted instantly. "Felix? Baby, what's wrong?"
"I need you to come get me."
"Where are you?"
Felix opened his maps app with numb fingers. Sent the location pin. Watched the blue dot pulse on the screen. Lotte Mart, 241 Sincheon-daero.
"I'm at the grocery store," Felix said, voice hollow. "I came with Hyunjin. I can't… I can't be in the car with him right now. Please just – come get me." Han was already moving. "We're forty minutes away. Stay where you are. Don't move. We’re coming."
"Don't… don't talk to him. Please. Just–just get me out of here.
Han nodded once. Felix ended the call.
He opened his contacts. Found Hyunjin's name – “Jinnie ❤️” – and blocked it. Turned off location sharing. Then he sat on the cold tile floor, back against the metal, staring at nothing.
Minho’s foot pressed harder on the accelerator. Han glanced over from the passenger seat. "Minho, he sounds destroyed. He said he can't be in the car with him.” Minho’s jaw was tight. The rest of the drive was a blur of red lights, white knuckles, and the sound of Minho’s ragged breathing.
They pulled into the grocery store parking lot thirty minutes later. The sun beat down mercilessly, asphalt shimmering with heat haze. Han’s eyes scanned the lot and found Hyunjin's car parked near the entrance. No sign of him inside. They stepped out into the oppressive afternoon heat. Thick, humid air clung to their skin like a second layer. They stepped into the blessed cool of the grocery store’s air conditioner. Minho’s eyes scanned the aisles. "Where is he?" Han pointed towards the back of one of the aisles. "Men's room. Far corner."
Minho pushed the bathroom door open. "Lix?"
Silence.
Then – a soft rustle from the last stall.
Han approached slowly. "Felix? It's us." The lock clicked. The door opened. Felix stood there; pale, trembling slightly, eyes red-rimmed but dry. His face was a mask of devastation, but there were no tears. Just a hollowed-out emptiness that made Han’s chest ache.
"Hey," Han said softly. Felix didn't speak. Just stepped forward and let Han pull him into a tight embrace. His body was rigid at first, then slowly, fractionally, he leaned into it.
Minho’s eyes darkened. "Did he hurt you?" Felix shook his head against Han’s shoulder. "No. Not like that", responded, small and fragile.
He took a deep, shuddering breath and pulled back slightly, voice flat. "I just found out that he’s been cheating on me. With Changbin." Minho’s hands curled into fists. But he didn't speak. Didn't rage. Just nodded once, sharply. Felix’s voice was eerily calm. "I don't want to see him. I don't want to talk to him. Just get me out of here."
"You got it," Han said firmly. "Let’s go." Minho moved to Felix’s other side, a silent pillar of support. Together, they guided him out of the bathroom. They didn't look back. They didn't check if Hyunjin had seen them. They just walked out of the grocery store into the blinding afternoon sun.
Hyunjin turned back to the cart with a soft smile still playing on his lips. He didn’t see Felix. He was probably browsing the snack aisle again, picking out chips or cookies or something ridiculous they definitely didn't need. He walked back to the cart, set his phone down on the handle, and looked around.
"Where's Felix?" Chan frowned. "He left." Hyunjin blinked. "What?"
"He just… walked away," Jackson said slowly. "Like, right after we were talking. He looked… I don't know. Upset?" Hyunjin’s smile faltered. "Upset? Why would he be upset?" Chan shifted uncomfortably. "We were talking about the party last night. About how you left early."
Hyunjin’s blood ran cold. "What did you say?" Chan winced. "I don't know, man. Something about bets? About how Changbin cleaned the floor with us because you left before midnight –" Hyunjin’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He ignored it. "Where did he go?"
Chan pointed toward the back of the store. "That way. He didn't say anything. Just left." Hyunjin’s heart began to pound. "Did he look at me?" Jackson shook his head. "He didn't look at anyone. Just walked away."
Hyunjin’s phone buzzed again. And again. He pulled it out. Two missed calls from Changbin. He dialled Felix’s number. Voicemail. His location sharing was off. A cold dread trickled down his spine.
"He went to the car," Hyunjin said, more to himself than to them. "He's probably in the car. He just… he needed air or something." But even as he said it, he knew it was a lie. Felix didn't ignore his calls, and Felix NEVER turns off location sharing. Hyunjin’s hands began to shake. "I need to find him."
He abandoned the cart right there in the middle of the aisle and jogged toward the exit. Chan and Jackson followed behind, confused. The automatic doors parted. Heat rushed over Hyunjin, thick and suffocating. He turned to head in the direction of their parked car, and then he saw them.
Han. Minho. One on each side of Felix, guiding him toward a black sedan. Felix moved like a ghost. Unsteady and hollowed out.
He knows.
The realization hit like a punch to the gut. Panic clawed its way up his throat.
"Felix!" His name tore from his throat, raw and desperate. Han and Minho turned sharply at the sound. Minho’s glare could have frozen hell. Felix’s shoulders stiffened. For half a second, Hyunjin thought he might turn around. But he didn’t. He didn't spare Hyunjin a single glance as Minho opened the back door and helped him inside. “Felix, please –” Hyunjin closed the distance, breath uneven. Minho stepped in front of him. "You stay the fuck away from him." The words weren’t shouted. They didn’t need to be.
Hyunjin's eyes darted past him, where Felix sat in the backseat, staring straight ahead – through the windshield, through the world, through everything. “Lix – I just need to talk to you,” Hyunjin tried again, softer now. Desperate. “Please.” Han’s voice cut in, low and cold as ice water. "You don’t get to." He slid in beside Felix and closed the door.
Minho held Hyunjin’s gaze one second longer, long enough to promise something wordless, then stepped back. The car pulled away, tires whispering against hot asphalt. Hyunjin stood rooted to the spot, heat pressing down on him, watching until the taillights disappeared. Behind him, Chan and Jackson said nothing. There was nothing to say.
Two towns over, completely unaware of the wreckage he’d helped set in motion, Changbin sighed as he dialled Hyunjin’s number again. Still no answer. Strange. Hyunjin never ignored him. He tried Felix. Voicemail. Unease prickled at the back of his neck. He was almost at the beach house now. He dialled Chan. Three rings. Then, "Hey."
"Hyung," Changbin said, forcing lightness into his voice. "Are you with Hyunjin and Felix? Neither is picking up. I’m almost at the beach." A pause, then Chan sighed. “They’re not coming.” Changbin frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Binnie,” Chan said carefully, “what’s going on between you and Hyunjin?” The air in the car felt heavy. Changbin’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “…Hyung?” Changbin swallowed hard. “I don't know what you're talking about.”