𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍 //𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝑲𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝑭𝑭//

~𝟰𝟵~

(Third person, Felix's perspective)

Felix watched the stairs intently from his spot in the kitchen, resting his hands on the island and leaning onto them. He had heard the fight upstairs, and even though he knew he should probably not be waiting to find out what happened, he was worried. It sounded like Lee Know and Hyunjin were the ones fighting. He saw Ava come down the stairs, giving him a half-hearted smile before walking past him, going out the sliding door and onto the sand towards the ocean.

A few moments after her, Lee Know walked past Felix, not even paying him any attention. He breezed past and out the sliding door as well, but stopped at the edge of the porch, taking a seat there. Then Hyunjin came down the stairs. He seemed distraught. He walked towards the hallway attached to his room, but Felix took his wrist, stopping him. When Hyunjin turned to him, Felix saw for the first time how utterly miserable he looked.

Felix didn't ask any questions, instead just leading Hyunjin to the couch. He sat down next to him, waiting in silence. He would sit with him the entire day if he had to. He just knew Hyunjin needed his support in that moment. He had never not been there for him, and he wasn't about to break that record. He sat next to him, staring into space, not expecting anything to be said. Hyunjin actually startled him when he spoke.

"I've messed everything up," he said sadly, running his hands through his hair.

"I'm sure that's not-"

"I almost kissed Geneviève."

Felix was stunned into silence. This can't be true, he thought. Hyunjin would never. Unless...

"You're not telling me everything, are you?"

Hyunjin wouldn't look at Felix, focused only on playing with his ring, twisting it around his finger. The exact same ring Felix had, Hyunjin having bought it for himself and Felix a year back.

"How long have we been friends, Felix?" Hyunjin finally asked after a long pause.

"About four years."

"And I can tell you anything, right? Without any judgement?"

"Of course."

Hyunjin hesitated, still playing with his ring. He accidentally dropped it, the metal gliding across the hardwood floors into the kitchen. He ran his hands through his hair again.

"You didn't kiss her, did you?" Felix asked.

Hyunjin shook his head.

"Truth is, she tried to kiss me. One afternoon, when she was waiting for Lee Know to come back to the dorms so she could take him out for lunch. I had just come out of the training room, and she was standing in the kitchen. She just stared at me, like she was seeing me for the first time. It freaked me out, so I went towards the stairs, but she stopped me. She just randomly stood up on her tiptoes and tried to kiss me. I pushed her away and went up to my room... and I haven't told anyone ever since it happened. Not even Lee Know."

Felix sat in silence, not really sure of what to say. Then it dawned on him, he had no idea how the scene Hyunjin just described and the scene a few minutes prior were connected.

"How does this connect to your fight with Lee Know Hyung?"

Hyunjin looked up at Felix, the sadness in his eyes like a flare sent up into the sky. It was clear as day, and yet Felix had no idea why Hyunjin looked as sad as he did. He wracked his brain trying to think of a reason. He tried thinking back to what was said in the fight, or the little that he could hear of what was said.

One sentence kept running through his mind over and over. She's not yours. Those three words seemed so meaningless. Until they weren't. He realised the emotion behind them. And he realised his best friend who was still sitting silently next to him had not only said it to try to protect Ava.