PIXELATED | Lee Felix

Chapter 16

It's already the fourth day of mid-semester break and Felix is not particularly excited at the fact that the holiday will end 3 days. He has a recital coming up, the one that he's supposed to perform with his fellow friend Hyunjin, and his, probably ex-friend now, Han.

At least the papers that he had to do are over for now, he just has to practice his performance, though he isn't sure how since he's missing 2 members now; Hyunjin still hospitalized, and Han who always visits him.

Felix sighs as he takes his water bottle and changes into a comfortable sports attire. It's already 1 P.M. and he has been pretty much unproductive throughout the whole morning, so he has to push himself harder this time.

He leaves his room and goes to one of the lounges on his floor, surprised to see the pixelated girl, sitting on one of the tables while typing on her laptop.

Are you serious? Felix chuckles in amusement, then scans his student ID card to enter the lounge, also, surprising the girl.

"Oh my, Felix. Fancy seeing you here."

"I should be saying that to you, coz' who the fuck studies on mid-semester break?"

"Felix, language." Eugene points at him and he raises his hand in defeat. "Ok ok, I'll try."

"Tsk." She lets out a small laugh, while the male smiles. They are both amazed at how they can now converse with each other normally when they would usually be screaming at the top of their lungs. It's a huge development that they secretly appreciate amongst themselves—the pixelated face is for once, not a problem anymore.

"Why are you here though?" Eugene asks, but her gaze is still glued onto her laptop screen.

"Uh. I was planning to practice for my upcoming recital." He mutters in a soft tone, but it catches the female's attention. She looks at his direction with her head tilted, "Can I see?"

"Ha?" Felix sounds surprised, never has he thought that his neighbor would be interested in any of his activities. "I mean, uh..."

"Well, you can always think of me as an audience, no?" She chuckles, getting up from her chair and closing her laptop. She tidies up her study materials and starts arranging the tables, pushing them to the edge of the room.

Felix, noticing how she's already preparing a small stage for him, has no choice but to follow her prepping.

Ah. This wasn't my plan. He regrets it for some reason—maybe because he never wanted her to see him perform. Then again, why is that? What is he nervous about, honestly?

"Cool." Eugene then takes one chair, placing it in front of one of the tables. She plops down and crosses her legs and arms, amused at this whole situation. "Show me something, Felix."

"I'm here to practice, not perform..." Felix mutters, still standing near the door instead of the now, available space in the lounge.

"I'm here just to watch, not judge either." She counters him with her argument, making the male groan in distress. He gives up after seeing her not moving an inch away from the chair, so he puts his phone on the table and searches for the song that he will perform.

"I'm just gonna pretend that you don't exist." He sighs, and then Eugene laughs. "Ye, treat me like how you did when we first met."

"Hey?" He quickly jerks his head to her side, feeling a little embarrassed and guilty for how things happened in the past. But he knows that she means no harm anymore.

"Ugh. This is a bad idea." Felix gets into the middle of the space, waiting for the beat to start while he warms up. And when the song starts, his body moves like flowing water—with some movements sharp and acute.

Eugene has to admit that he is, indeed, a good performer. She's not much of a dancer herself, but she can see how well Felix places his energy in certain areas, making his moves just perfect.

When Felix finishes his routine, he hears a clap from the female. "Wow. You surely are a different person when you perform."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" He jokingly scoffs, quickly grabbing his phone to pause the song before the next one plays.

"Well yeah? You look mesmerizing for once." She shrugs so casually, "Is that it? Or do you have more routines?"

"This is something I'm going to perform in a couple of weeks. We just finished finalizing not long ago but never got to practice together." Felix says, feeling a short pang in his heart when he recalls the day he saw Hyunjin and Han in the hospital.

Good thing that Hyunjin is recovering, but Felix doesn't know how to face him later on. After all, his injury is caused by Felix's decision.

"Oh. So this is indeed something that you're going to perform with your friends. I noticed some moves are somehow supposed to be done in formations." Eugene gives him a nod, and then receives a question from Felix, "If you were a real audience, do you think you'd get the message that I'm trying to convey?"

"Hmm." Eugene pauses, crossing her arms as her body relaxes against the chair, "I do think it's a wonderful routine, but I don't understand what it is about, honestly."

So she's impressed by the technicals, she's awed but she doesn't feel anything more than that. Somehow, her honest feedback makes Felix a little pressured, thinking that the current routine isn't enough for the recital—probably.

"Felix? You good?" Eugene seems to notice his stiffness after her opinion.

"Oh? Yeah." He snaps out of his thoughts. The girl chuckles in amusement to see how bad he is at hiding his feelings. He's probably feeling a little stressed now that his routine doesn't deliver what it's supposed to deliver.

She pulls another chair and places it next to hers, patting it. "Come here, Felix."

The other reluctantly walks to her side and plops down, his head facing her now.

"You know. It's not about how your routine wasn't good enough. But it just hasn't reached its maximum potential, and I know you can improve—you still have enough time to make changes." Eugene nods at him, trying to comfort the pressured male.

"Regardless of what you're trying to achieve, I can already tell how much hard work you have put into this whole routine along with your friends. So be proud of it."

Thank God her face is still pixelated, and so is his. He's for once, thankful for the phenomenon because he can feel his eyes tearing up, touched by her words of comfort. He never thought he would hear these words coming from her at all. It truly gives him a sense of relief and validation.

And he cannot let her see him getting emotional, at least.

"Thanks, I'll work harder," Felix says in a soft tone, then looks at the palm that his neighbor is offering.

He unconsciously smiles at it and gives her a high five. 

----------

Author's Note: HI EVERYONE I know I usually update on Saturdays/Sundays, but I'm going to have a long flight this weekend to my home country and I definitely can't update SO YES I decided to update today instead :3 

Also, genuine question... Is anyone getting tired of the slow burn or... TT

Coz I've been reading other people's fanfictions, they move at a much faster pace than mine. I'm kind of scared that it gets too boring, even though I think slow burn suits this story the best. But do tell me what you guys think!

Have a lovely weekend!

- Howley.