PIXELATED | Lee Felix

Chapter 20

With Eugene being firm, Han finally left the two of them with a calm attitude to save face. She then returns to her seat and rests her chin on her palms, blowing her bangs. "Geez. I nearly told him to fuck off but I don't want to be rude as well."

She then looks at Felix, flipping the menu again at the same time. "Don't mind him, Felix. Let's just order our food and enjoy our dinner."

But Felix is still sitting on his spot without moving much. This kind of response, which is so untypical of him, is really scaring the female out. And so, she does a quick double tap on the table to catch his attention. "Felix?"

"? Yes, sorry." He sniffs a little, and one of his fingers goes for his eyes, seemingly, wiping tears off his face.

"Hey? Are you okay?" Eugene frowns, realizing that the male probably cried a little bit from the small exchange with his teammate. She extends her hand to him, doubtfully, to offer some comfort if he ever needs it.

Surprisingly, the male reaches out without hesitation.

He grabs her hand, and squeezes it rather tightly, while his other hand goes to rest on his forehead.

"I can't... I really can't." His voice cracks, but a chuckle follows. "To think that someone stood up for me like that... I never thought it would happen. Ever." He laughs in disbelief, but it's nothing close to sarcasm. He's just in utter disbelief and amazement.

"I... uh." Eugene awkwardly holds onto his hand, while watching him sighing in relief.

"Thank you. It made me happy." Felix smiles, perhaps, one of the first ever genuine ones to Eugene. And he hoped that she could see it instead of his pixelated face to let her know how grateful he was for her.

"You're... welcome." The female nods, her other hand resting on top of Felix's as she gently pats it twice, "I hope you'll feel better soon."

"Oh, I'm feeling better now alright." He lets out a light giggle and then releases her hand to go for the menu, "Let's order before we start talking actually. You're... probably curious, aren't you?"

"I think everyone would be." She tries to laugh it off, "But in all seriousness, no pressure. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It's alright. I don't mind." Felix replies, and the two place their respective orders before finally shifting into a more comfortable position in their seats.

"So." The blonde male takes a deep breath before releasing it in a not-so-excited manner, "As you can tell, Han's my teammate. We have known each other since our first year, and we also once teamed up with a couple of other international students. But only Hyunjin, Han, and I, remained in the same classes in our second year."

"Right. And he said that Hyunjin's... injured?" Eugene asks.

"Yeah. He's also right when he blamed his injury on me." Felix's voice starts getting a little heavy now. "Even though it wasn't exactly me being involved in the accident, it was my suggestion. I was the one who highly encouraged the three of us to constantly practice at the auditorium."

"The thing is..." He sighs while the girl is still actively listening. "Some students have been spreading rumours that the props and stage in the auditorium are unsafe. There haven't been any actual accidents yet, and the same students would still practice there regardless."  

"Huh? That doesn't make sense." Eugene looks at him in confusion, "Why would they spread rumours but also practice there if there's a potential hazard?"

"That's the thing." Felix shrugs his shoulders, his head tilting to the other side. "Others have said that these particular people are creating these rumours to scare other students so that they would avoid practising there, while these people can book the auditorium as much as they want to get used to the props and stage."