ˏˋ°•*⁀ ➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗬-𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥
─◌✰್ 𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗀𝗈
𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼（𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻）/ˈ𝗺𝗮𝗡𝗚ɡ𝗼̄/
❝𝖺 𝖿𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗁𝗒， 𝗈𝗏𝖺𝗅， 𝗒𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗈𝗐𝗂𝗌𝗁－𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗋𝗈𝗉𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝖿𝗋𝗎𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝖾𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗇 𝗋𝗂𝗉𝖾 𝗈𝗋 𝗎𝗌𝖾𝖽 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗉𝗂𝖼𝗄𝗅𝖾𝗌 𝗈𝗋 𝖼𝗁𝗎𝗍𝗇𝖾𝗒𝗌． ❞

As you stood just inside the door to Felix's room, it took you an entire minute to process that Felix wasn't sending you away. In fact, it was the complete opposite. He wanted to see you. He'd been wanting to see you, apparently.

Since you couldn't come up with anything appropriate or cool enough to say in response, you wordlessly walked through the room and out the open balcony door. You took a seat next to him, about a foot away in case he didn't want you too close.

You glanced down at Felix, who hadn't shifted from the position on his back. It had been such a long time since you'd seen him this comfortable, this at ease. He'd seemed so stressed out the entire trip, ever since you reunited back at the airport for the first time in years. From him saving you in the ocean, to him ignoring you all day, you had a almost wondered if he'd changed from the kind, lighthearted guy you once knew.

You supposed he'd been the definition of a gentleman when he held your hand on the plane. Your palms broke out in a sweat just thinking about it.

But no matter how infuriatingly sweet he'd been to you, it's was nothing like this. With his brown eyes turned up to the sky, you could see the constellations in his eyes. They mirrored the sprinkling of freckles dotting his cheeks. And with that perfect mouth slightly upturned in a grin, you couldn't help but let your heart flutter. How annoying.

You should apologize for what happened at the bar. You reminded yourself. But with Felix's face filled with that boyish delight, you felt that serious conversation dry up before you.

"What are you looking at?" You finally broke the silence before your nerves completely disarmed you.

Felix pointed up at the sky with an almost shy smile. "The stars are so bright tonight," he said simply.

He patted the spot next to him, inviting you to lay down.

You paused, waiting for him to change his mind and kick you out, just as he did back when you were both kids. Felix had always been incredibly kind to you, until Hyunjin arrived. Then he would leave without a word, inevitably excluding you.

But tonight, he didn't change his mind. He lifted his head to look at you, eyes full of question.

So you took a deep breath, and scooted over so you were mere inches away from him, and laid down.

"See?" Felix gestured at the sky once more.

You stared at the place where he was pointing, but you didn't need him to show you. The entire sky was lit up with millions of stars, winking down at you. The moon was a bright, milky color, the only thing illuminating the sky on this dark night.

"Wow, we never see stars like this back at home," you said in awe.

"I know, its always so smoggy," Felix chuckled. "Sometimes its nice to get away, isn't it?"

"You wouldn't have gotten to come at all if it weren't for me," you pointed out, nudging him in the side before you could stop yourself. "It's for my graduation celebration, remember?"

Felix's laugh filled the crisp night air, and your entire body zinged with shock at the sound. It was a deep rumble, something so pure and... well, sexy you supposed, that you turned onto your left side to face him.

As if pulled by a magnet, Felix mirrored your movements. Your faces were so close you could smell the tang of peach soju on his breath. You resisted the urge to breathe deeply, to inhale his scent. That might be too creepy right off the bat.

"I completely forgot," Felix smiled, his gorgeous eyes crinkling at the edges, his perfect teeth reflecting off the moon's pearly light. "Happy graduation. What did you get your degree in?"

Your mouth went dry and you couldn't speak. Did Felix really care about what you were up to since you'd last seen each other? You cleared your throat, trying to get some moisture to return so you could speak. "Erm, I majored in interior design with a minor in art history," you replied, glancing down at the wood balcony floor you laid on.

"I've seen some of the work you've been doing," Felix replied, and you watched from the corner of your eye as his cheeks turned pink. "You're doing great things, Sq- Laska. I'm really-" he coughed, his voice turning raspy. "I'm really proud of you."

Your stomach bubbled with a newfound warmth. You never thought you were the type of person who craved external validation. In fact, you generally didn't give a shit what other people thought of you, positive or negative. But Felix complimenting you made all of your intestines flip upside down over and over again, your body heating up at his words.

"I- thank you, Felix," you stumbled over yourself, trying to regain composure. It wasn't right that he should turn you into actual oatmeal over five silly words.

But they weren't silly. No one had ever said they were proud of you. Not your parents, not your teachers, not even Hyunjin. He'd always danced around it, but you'd never heard those exact words escape his lips.

"I-I should probably-" you started, feeling the sudden urge to escape. To run away from whatever these feelings were. Run away before you could apologize to Felix for whatever misunderstanding you'd had at the club. That was the reason why you'd come up here to see him in the first place, wasn't it?

"You don't have to go," Felix rushed to say, his face reddening even further. "I-I understand if you don't- don't feel the same way. You made that clear last night. But you don't have to leave. I'm sorry I've been acting so strange, but I swear, we can just be friends, I can-"

"I didnt mean what I said last night," you interrupted him, pushing away the cloud of confusion that was beginning to wash over you.

"You didn't mean what?" Felix said cautiously, eyeing you with sudden distrust.

"Mya told me that you a wanted to know what my crush looked like, and I told you that he had dark hair," you said hurriedly. You supposed there was no going back now."But I was wrong. I was... so messed up last night, I got it all mixed up. My crush... well, right now he has blond hair. But I've always known him with dark hair, so I must have gotten confused. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"I think so," Felix paused. "So you don't like Minho?"

It was your turn to take a moment and collect your thoughts. You watched as his face turned more and more disappointed the longer you waited, until you couldn't take it anymore. You just jumped in before you had any real words formulated.

"I think Minho is attractive, and he's really fun to hang out with," you began. "Why do you ask?"

Felix slumped his shoulders. "I dunno. I just... thought you liked him. More than... someone else. Do you like him more?"

"Like I said, he's attractive, and fun. But I think... I think I've always liked someone else more. I probably couldn't like anyone else unless I got over them," you twisted your hands together in front of you.

"And will that ever happen?" Felix asked uncertainly. You could see him cross his fingers, even in the darkness.

"Probably never," you whispered.

"A-And Minho, what did he say to you when he left last night?" Felix said in a hushed voice.

"I-I dont really remember," you stuttered, straining your memory to try and extract even an ounce of detail. "I mean, I can't remember much of anything from last night. I might have remembered if it wasn't for- and it hasn't been enough time for-"

"For what?" Felix's face was flushed. You weren't sure if he was upset, or nervous, but you knew you had to explain yourself.

"Not enough time for me to get drunk just because you didn't come and dance with me at the club," you said all in a rush.

Felix stared at you, taking your words in.

You immediately wondered if you should have kept your stupid mouth shut. Why would you think that Felix would take what you did the right way? You'd been so immature, getting blackout drunk just because your feelings were hurt.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," you blurted before you could stop them. "I mean, we barely know each other! It's way too soon for me to feel this-"

"Feel this strong?" His gaze roamed your face and for yet another time that night, you couldn't meet his eyes. It felt like he was examining everything about you, inside and out, and you didn't know if you loved it or hated it.

"What are you doing?" Your voice came out as a whisper.

"I'm studying you," Felix replied, his face coming impossibly closer to yours. "You said you feel like we don't know each other, so I want to prove to you that we do."

"And what do you see?" Your eyes flickered up to his, where you finally met each other's gaze.

"I see..." Felix trailed off, his eyes not leaving yours. "Someone who is smart, hardworking. Really brave. Someone who has really high expectations of themselves, and is scared of messing up. Someone who constantly takes control because they're afraid of losing it. Someone who cares about everyone around them. Someone who is a great sister. Someone I underestimated since we first met such a long time ago."

How had he seen through you so completely? He barely knew you, right? Even when he'd spent more time with you, it was only in the capacity of being your brother's best friend. He shouldn't know any of your passions or interests or insecurities, anything about you.

And yet.

And yet... it was as if you'd known him all your life, like he'd been there through everything. Like he could see every imperfection and weakness you'd ever had. Then he'd taken them out, examined them, polished them, and put them back, more beautiful than he'd found them.

"Is it my turn now?" You asked, a sly smile appearing on your face.

Felix's eyes widened, but he nodded.

You gazed upon Felix's face, and truly took in everything you could, for the first time in your life. From those soft, earnest eyes to his strong, sure jawline, and his soft blond hair. You found yourself staring so hard into his honest eyes, that words began to flow before you even knew what you were saying.

"I see the kindest, most genuine man I've ever known," you began, feeling exposed as you said those words. How were you supposed to just admit all of these feelings you've had for him? Feelings you've been bottling up since you were a kid?

And not just those feelings you had when you were young. Those feelings, while real and still tangible, had grown and matured, even over these minuscule forty-eight hours. And while you weren't entirely sure what these feelings meant, or what might happen because of them, you knew they were real. You recognized that Felix was a real person, not just some caricature of a dream man that you'd fantasized over all your life.

So you decided to open your heart to him, consequences be damned.

"I see a selfless, loyal, genuine person who would put their friends' happiness before their own in a heartbeat. Someone who is in touch with their emotions, but uses them to help others rather than themself. Someone I've cared for ever since we met, but someone I never really got to know," you chewed on your bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "And someone I want to get to know in the future."

Felix was silent for a long time. Such a long time in fact, that you started to worry about your decision to say all of those things. Maybe it was the wrong choice to trust him with your vulnerable thoughts.

But Felix's entire face transformed into a huge smile, so big you thought it might expand off his face and into the night air around you. He really was so handsome when he smiled. His entire face shone, even in the darkness, and you felt the warmth from his expression seep under your skin. You couldn't help but smile back.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" You asked, your cheeks warming as you grinned, half confused, half content to stay in this moment.

"Nothing, I-" Felix stopped, as if trying to collect his thoughts. "I would really like to get to know you too."

You felt your smile widen even further at his words, your racing heart slowing to a relieved beat as you laid back down on the balcony floor, looking up at the stars, but not really seeing them. All you could think about was how crazy this night had turned out to be.

You heard Felix shift around next to you as he settled down on his back once more.

The silence of the night blanketed you both, but it didn't feel awkward. You just lie together, enjoying each other's presence.

As your eyes were starting to flicker closed in exhaustion from the long day, you felt something brush against your fingertips. Your body reacted in surprise, twitching for a split second. But when you realized what it was, you instantly relaxed, while your heart stuttered in your chest.

Felix was cautiously reaching for your hand, as if he was testing the water. His actions were just as nervous as they were on the plane. Only this time, it felt different somehow, more important. He had no excuse for why he was holding your hand. You knew why he was doing this.

Almost imperceptibly, you slid your hand closer to his, biting the inside of your mouth to hide your giddy smile.

You didn't dare look at Felix's face, but you didn't have to. You could feel his anxious excitement buzzing around as he fully encased your hand with his.

As your hands danced together in a warm embrace, Felix said, "It really is a beautiful night, isn't it?"

Letting your smile emerge, you replied, "yeah, it really is."

laska's note -
eeeek! there it is everyone, our first actual romantic chapter! i know it took a long time but i had to build up the suspense and make y'all go a little crazy. ;) what did you think?? apparently i struggle to write actual romantic chapters so i hope you guys like what i came up with! next chapters will have more of the rest of the guys ofc, but some of the chapters have to have just felaska, so i hope you guys love them as much as i do. what do you think is going to happen between them?? will they officially get together? :D

question of the day -
have you traveled anywhere outside of your home country? if so, where? if not, where would you like to go?

my answer-
i've traveled to china, japan twice, and canada! i have also gone to most of the united states. i can't wait to go back to japan, and i would love to go to korea, of course!

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟮𝟱 - 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗱
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