ˏˋ°•*⁀ ➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗬-𝗦𝗜𝗫
─◌✰್ 𝗅𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖻𝗈𝗅𝗍
𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝘁 (𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻) /ˈ𝗹𝗶̄𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗡𝗚 𝗯𝗼̄𝗹𝘁/
❝𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝖼𝖼𝗎𝗋𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖺 𝗇𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖺𝗅 𝖾𝗅𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗋𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗀𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗋𝗍 𝖽𝗎𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗂𝗀𝗁 𝗏𝗈𝗅𝗍𝖺𝗀𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝖺 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗎𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝗋 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇 𝖺 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗎𝖽．❞

You didn't know so many people could fit on one couch at the same time.

Lanhua, JJ, Tessa, Riley, Mya, Robin, Renee, Hyunjin, and Han all sat in the living room, piled haphazardly on top of one another. JJ was stuck at the bottom of one tower, with Hyunjin and Lanhua sitting on her lap, Tessa squished between her and Riley. Robin and Renee each sat on one of the arms, with Mya on Riley's lap and Han on Tessa's. You weren't entirely sure who had chosen those insane seating arrangements, but you knew none of them could be comfortable.

They were all trying to watch a Korean variety show on the tv. Changbin sat on the green loveseat, with Seungmin in one of the blue beanbags.

When you and Felix burst through the door, everyone stood up immediately. Riley jumped up, knocking Mya to the floor. When she finally scrambled up, the two raced each other towards you, and they tackled you in a suffocating - but loving - hug, practically sobbing over how glad they were that you had come back, and that they didn't have to go orange picking alone.

Tessa pushed Han off her lap too, hurrying over to you. Lanhua got off Hyunjin's lap and hugged you, a stunning smile radiating off her face.

"We knew Lix could get you back!" She exclaimed. "We made a bet on it."

You wrinkled your nose. "Who bet that he wouldn't??"

Seungmin raised his hand. "I didn't think he had the rizz."

"Don't say that word Seungmin that's so cringey," Tessa rolled her eyes. "We all knew you'd be back girl, I mean, look at the two of you!"

Your face flamed hot as you glanced down at your and Felix's hands, which had been entwined since you'd left the airport. Felix scratched the back of his neck, but he couldn't help letting a huge grin appear on his face.

"I didn't have a choice, did I?" He said with a nervous laugh. "You girls would have mauled me if Laska went home alone."

"So true!" Riley tugged you out of Felix's grasp so you were properly in the middle of your friends. "I need a buddy to go climbing through the trees to pick the best oranges with me."

"I offered!" Tessa protested.

"Yeah, and I said yes, until Lanhua told me about the time you threw apples down at everyone last fall. I'm not about to risk that, as funny as that would be. How am I supposed to know you won't throw them at me too??" Riley crossed her arms over her chest.

"So not true," Tessa pouted, but didn't protest anymore.

Robin and Renee also got off the arms of the couch to give you a hug.

"We're so glad youre back!" Renee beamed at you. "It's so lonely flying on planes by yourself."

"I do it all the time for my job, but I like going with friends," Robin agreed.

You gasped, pointing at Robin's legs. "Bitch are those my sweatpants?? How the hell did you find them??"

Robin glanced down, not attempting to hide it. "Erm, well, they were sitting on top of your suitcase before you left, so I might have snatched them."

You glared at her. "Okay, that's just rude. I was gonna wear them on my trip home and I thought I lost them! You better give them back right now, or I'll pants you."

"She definitely will," Mya agreed. "I know from personal experience. I will never take her skirts ever again."

"Yeah, listen to Mya," you insisted, motioning with your hand., "gimme."

Robin rolled her eyes, but went off to the bathroom to change. "You better send me the link for where you bought those!" She yelled as she left.

Finally, Hyunjin stood up off of JJ's lap. It looked like they had been talking while you had a reunion with the others. Everyone turned to watch him, unsure of what to expect from your unpredictable brother. You smiled at him nervously as he approached you. Would you get the pissy rule-follower brother, or would you be lucky and get the overprotective, slightly hysterical one instead?

His face was stony, no expression upon that usually emotional canvas. He eyed you up and down, as if you ensure that you were okay.

You opened your mouth to say something - you weren't sure what, maybe a weak excuse - when he did the unexpected.

You should have expected it. You knew your older brother better than most every other person in the world. And you knew that underneath all the drama, he was a softie.

"Laska," he muttered under his breath, before pulling you into a bruising hug.

You stood there, both arms pinned to your sides in shock, as he embraced you.

"I'm glad you're back," he grumbled into your hair, so quietly no one else could hear him. You smiled into his chest.

"Me too Jinnie, me too."

You smiled against him, allowing yourself to enjoy the comfort of your sibling's love just for a minute. It wasn't often that he showed you this kind of affection, let alone in front of other people. It meant a more than he would ever fully know.

When you finally came to enough to hug him back, a voice sounded from behind you, interrupting this once-in-a-lifetime, tender moment.

"Sorry I'm late, had to grab Laska and Felix's bags. They're huge, how did you two carry these things?"

Everyone turned to gaze at none other than Lee Minho, who stood in the entrance to the beach house, holding your suitcase and Felix's duffel, one in each hand.

"Wow, way to ruin a nice moment Minho," Tessa shook her head at him, a smirk on her face.

Minho glowered at her, but for once, didn't respond. Instead, turning to Hyunjin, he said bluntly, "can we talk? Privately?"

Hyunjin released his arms from around you and nodded, brows furrowing at Minho's words. "Yeah, sure," he replied.

As the two friends disappeared upstairs to talk in their room (not that it would provide much privacy anyways), Minho shot you and Felix an almost imperceptible look. If you hadn't been watching him carefully, you might have missed it.

Felix squeezed your hand, not saying anything to acknowledge the conspiratorial look.

After the two men left the room, the rest of you just stared at each other, unsure of what to say. Changbin shuffled over to you guys, followed by Seungmin.

"So... should we go listen to them?" Seungmin asked a little to eagerly.

Renee pierced him with her best attempt at a withering stare. "No, we definitely shouldn't. We should go to your room and make sure you're all packed before you leave. How about that?"

Seungmin sighed, but offered his hand to her, before leading her upstairs. You could hear them scuffle as Seungmin tried to sneak off to Hyunjin and Minho's room, but based off of the grumbling sounds, Renee managed to stop him.

Lanhua glanced and Changbin with raised eyebrows. "Should you be doing the same thing, Bin?"

"I'm not leaving though," Changbin said stubbornly, "unless I can bring you in my luggage!"

Lanhua shook her head, trying to hide her smile. "You know I would kill you if you tried to fit me in your tiny ass suitcase."

Changbin chuckled, but you could tell he wasn't entirely joking. "Yeah, I know you're too much of a princess for that."

Lanhua sniffed just to prove his point, before yanking him up the stairs to start packing. Or start something else, who knew.

Riley and Mya eyed you curiously.

"You have to go listen to them, right?" Riley implored. "It feels wrong for us to listen too, but you have to tell us what they're saying."

"How do you know its about me?" You protested. "It's Minho, why would he talk to Hyunjin about me?"

Mya frowned. "I dunno, but the way he looked at you made me think he was trying to tell you something."

You feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe you two are a little sleep deprived?"

"She is, not me," Mya pointed at Riley, who rolled her eyes.

"Not true, I was good and went to bed at one last night. I'm wide awake."

"Well, JJ and I are gonna go back out to the beach for a little while," Tessa said with a wink at you, "we both have to work late tonight. I have to close the bookstore, and JJ's got a shift at the bar. So we don't have a lot more free time."

"I want to make my time off worth it," JJ nodded, "let us know if anything crazy happens!"

"Ooh yeah, we wanna be kept up to date on the tea!" Tessa pointed at you, Riley, and Mya. "If I find out there was drama later, I'll be mad."

"We got you," Riley promised, "we want to know too."

"I promise Lix and I will go listen," you sighed, "but only if you two promise not to snoop too."

Mya raised her hands in defeat. "Hey, I wasn't going to anyways. I kinda wanna go back to the beach too."

"You could come with us," JJ offered.

"We could flirt with the hot guys on the beach," Tessa joked.

"She's taken, remember?" JJ pointed out, but Tessa ignored her, grabbing Mya's hand and racing out towards the beach.

"Wanna go with us?" JJ said to Riley, who was peeking up the staircase, her ears practically wiggling as she tried to listen to the raised voices.

Riley nodded. "Yeah, I guess checking out the hot guys could be fun," she sighed, and the two girls followed Mya and Tessa outside.

Finally, it was just the two of you standing in the living room. You glanced at Felix, then up the stairs.

"I guess we should go listen then?" You grinned, reaching your hand back out to him.

Felix nodded. "You were right, that took a lot longer than I thought it would," he laughed, "your friends like to talk."

"I did warn you," you nodded, "they never shut up, but it's all because they care, ya know?"

"I'm glad they do," Felix kissed your cheek, before he led you upstairs to the room he shared with both men. The door was shut, but you could hear just fine. The two of you got as close as you could so you could listen to Minho and Hyunjin's conversation, ears pressed against the cool wood.

"We've known each other for a long time, Hyunjin," Minho was saying, "it's not really that crazy that I would like her."

"And you didn't think to tell your best friend?!" Hyunjin fumed. You listened as your brother stomped around the room like a child. You had kind of hoped he wouldn't care this much, but you supposed it was part of the plan. Minho sure knew him well.

"I didn't think I needed to tell her brother everything," Minho glared. Wow, even hearing just his voice, he was a good actor, "I can like and date whoever I want without your permission."

"You can date whoever the hell you want, just leave my sister alone!"

"Well then, if I can't date Laska then who can??" Minho demanded. You could practically see his hands on his hips.

Hyunjin spluttered as he tried to come up with an answer. "I don't know! No offense Minho, but you've been known to hurt girls feelings a lot! Just look at you and Tessa! What's going on there, anyway?"

Minho stumbled over his words at the sudden interrogation. "Wh-what the hell does she have to do with this?? What are you saying?"

"I'm just saying... I dunno, it would have to be someone nicer!"

"Like...?" Minho persisted.

"I said I don't know! Someone like Lix, maybe. Someone nice. She can't be with someone who's just sarcastic all the time! Again, you can date whoever the hell you want! Just don't date her!"

There was a pause as Minho breathed heavily, and then the door opened, and he marched out.

You opened your mouth to congratulate him, to tell him he was perfect. But you didn't want to expose your hiding place, not yet.

Minho just winked at you as he headed down the stairs, making as much noise as he possibly could on his way out.

You watched him as he left, heart thudding hard in your chest, when Felix nudged you lightly in the side. You started, but immediately nodded. That was your cue.

For the first time, you really let yourself feel the anger that you had felt for the past ten years, ever since you'd started wanting to date boys back in middle school. The fact Hyunjin was still being an overprotective brother wasn't okay, and he had to know that.

"I am not too immature to have a relationship!" You marched right over to your brother and glared at him, your hands across your chest.

Hyunjin eyed you with confusion and surprise, his cheeks slightly pink. But even if he was embarrassed, he wasn't going to back down. Neither Hwang sibling did, really.

"You were eavesdropping on me??" He exclaimed, coming to stand in front of you.

"I wouldn't have to, if  you'd just say stuff to my face instead of behind my back!" You shot back. "I'm. Not. Immature!"

The two of you argued back and forth, Hyunjin telling you that you were indeed too immature to pick a proper partner. You rolled your eyes one more time. Hyunjin's face was bright red, clearly overwhelmed with all the sudden conflict he was experiencing today.

"Fine, if you're so damn smart and apparently know everything, who would you pick for my boyfriend?" You stared at him, eyebrows raised expectantly.

Hyunjin chewed on his bottom lip. His hands were visibly shaking as he watched you. "You heard Minho and I, didn't you?" He challenged. "You heard my answer."

"Say it again," you insisted.

Hyunjin sighed, almost in defeat. "I said if you have to date anyone, it should be someone like Felix. Someone who is nice and respectful. Is that what you wanted?"

You sniffed, trying to hype yourself up for one more display of emotion. "I'm gonna leave, because if I stay here any longer I might start crying or screaming, and I'm already too embarrassed for that to happen in front of you right now."

Hyunjin opened his mouth to say something, before you raced out of the room and shut the door.

Felix grinned at you, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you into a kiss. He didn't say anything, but the pressure of his mouth on yours told you everything you needed to know.

You let go of him, and raced out to the beach to wait with your friends.

Everything was going to plan. Now, Felix just had to finish what you and Minho had started.

—————————————

Felix gritted his teeth. You and Minho had played your parts perfectly. Now all the pressure was on him. In the end, it was his job to convince Hyunjin that he deserved to be with you, and he was worthy of Hyunjin's approval. Hyunjin mattered so much to both of you, and as much as he feared doing this, it had to be done.

Felix pushed the door open to find Hyunjin slumped against the desk chair that he stood behind. He looked exhausted, and Felix felt a pang of pity for his friend. He knew that at the end of the day, Hyunjin just cared about your well-being, no matter how terrible he was at showing it.

"What do you want, Felix?" Hyunjin let out a sigh of resignation, as if those two conversations aged him twenty years. "I can't handle much more today."

Felix nodded slowly. "Well then, I'm sorry in advance, but I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Hyunjin frowned at Felix with suspicion. It couldn't be a coincidence that all three of you had come in here within seconds of each other.

"You know what it's about," Felix replied, sitting down on his and Minho's bed, staring at Hyunjin.

"You too?" Hyunjin paused, collecting his thoughts. "Since when has it been about her?"

"It's always been about her," Felix replied, shrugging. "I might not have known about it at the time, which was my mistake. But now, I do. And that's why I'm here, even though I was too scared to admit it before."

Hyunjin raised his eyebrows. "So what do you have to say about my sister, Lix?"

Felix took a deep breath. It was literally now or never. He had to do it, if he wanted to be in a relationship with you. And that was the most important thing to him. "I love Alaska."

Hyunjin covered his mouth like the drama queen he was. "Excuse me??" He exclaimed.

"It's true, Hyun. I think I've loved her for a while now, but I've been too insecure about myself to admit it. I didn't think I was worthy of her, I thought she was too perfect to be with someone like me. But I know now that if she loves me as much as she says she does, I have to believe I'm good enough."

Hyunjin nodded slowly, his face unreadable. "She loves you? She said that?"

Felix nodded, his cheeks pink. "We love each other, Hyun. We want to be together, but she wanted me to ask you for your... blessing first. She really cares about what you think. We both do."

Hyunjin frowned. "Why didn't you admit that you liked her when we talked earlier? I was kind of hoping you would. And why did Minho just admit he likes her too? It doesn't make sense."

Felix chuckled nervously. "Well, you admitted it yourself, right? If you could pick anyone to date Laska it would be me. And I want to date her."

Hyunjin shook his head at Felix, the hint of a smile peeking out of his lips. Felix's heart lifted with hope. "So you two were tricking me? Laska too?"

Felix shrugged, not giving away anything. "You said it, not me."

Hyunjin sighed. "Lix, you were the first friend I ever had. You're like a brother to me. And it's true, you're the best guy I know. I love the guys, but some of them can be douches. Sometimes. Don't tell them I said that. And I... I would want Laska to find a guy as good as you."

"So..." Felix trailed off, not wanting to hurt his chances.

Hyunjin came to sit next to Felix and put an arm around his shoulders. "If you and Laska are happy, then I'm happy."

Felix wanted to jump off the bed and go running outside screaming in excitement. Instead, he allowed himself a grin. "You don't know how much that means to us, Hyun. Really."

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, but couldn't help grinning back. "Dont rub it in, man. Now you should go find her and tell her. Just keep the PDA to a minimum, please?"

"You got it," Felix laughed, before standing up and racing out the door. He couldn't believe his luck. The plan had worked. Hyunjin was right, he had to tell you the good news.

You were standing on the front porch, pacing back and forth. You weren't even wearing any shoes, you'd dashed out there so quickly. As Felix dashed out the door, you whipped around, eyes wide with anxiety.

"Well???" You gasped, suddenly out of breath as you waited for the news. "What did he say???"

Felix broke out into the