22 days | felix lee

I | promise

━━☆⌒*.

IT WAS COMMON KNOWLEDGE. It was common knowledge that the Lee Felix was head over heels for a girl in his class; someone who he hardly interacted with but managed to stick with through all his years in the academy (middle school to university). Yet, she was always there, quiet and diligent in her work.

He had countless interactions with her: asking for a pencil, peeking at her textbook when he forgot his (she pushed it to the side so he could see better), and handing him notes from the day he was sick. Despite never talking to her and also being considered quite the popular extrovert, it was ironic that he found his heart fluttering in the first place.

Still though, even with good looks and supportive friends, he found it difficult to approach her. Girls were tricky; his sister told him that. "Don't ask her out through text and don't make a grand gesture either." She wasn't very helpful, but he appreciated her attempt at advice nonetheless. Felix felt nervous, glancing at his locker furiously as the minutes ticked by.

"What's bothering you, hyung?"

Jeongin, the kid that always ate at the back of class, questioned. He glanced at his older classmate with a concerned gaze, watching him fidget underneath his desk. "I want to ask her out," The youngest almost spat out his black bean noodles, narrowly ducking his head when the teacher looked over in their direction.

"What are you going to do?"

Felix explained his plan and the boy scrunched his nose at him, blue hair draping against his forehead again as he leaned in for another serving of noodles. "What's with that reaction?" The freckled boy raised a brow in return, he wasn't offended, but coming up with a confession plan was easier said than done.

"If I was a girl I don't think I'd enjoy that." The Australian chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. The girl they were talking about was in this said class, her head ducked down as she studiously took notes, only raising it to glance at the whiteboard again. Felix let out a sigh, still stressed and stuck as to what to do.

Hyunjin had a similar response, shaking his head at the blond. "Don't do that," He remarked, watching as Felix glanced at his locker briefly, some petals of the flowers sticking out of the slots of the locker. "Your girl liked it," The deep-voiced boy replied, looking down at his journals as the taller male beside him kept him company while they walked to their class.

Hyunjin ran a hand through his silver hair, beaming at his friend. "Yeah, because it worked for her. She's as extra as me, so of course, I knew what to do." He grinned. Still lost and clueless, Felix nodded fruitlessly and let the man continue his ramble about how great his girlfriend his, unknowingly making Felix more miserable.

Jisung was totally different, "It's cute that you like her and all, but I'm more focused on Chan's birthday party tonight." His obsidian eyes widened, glittering under the light as he smiled widely. His squirrel-like cheeks puffed, an exciting tone laced to his words as he spoke. "Girls can leave you," Jisung cheekily said. "Bottles won't."

In a sense, the quokka-looking boy wasn't wrong.

Hours later, sitting in front of a bottle, Felix was surrounded by his friends. Jeongin was asleep on the couch, Changbin sitting beside him while competing in a game with him. Jisung and Minho were doing something in the kitchen and every now and then, you would hear the latter curse. Seungmin was looking at his phone, waiting for the two to be finished with the cake.

"Why did we tell Chan hyung to go get more drinks again?" Hyunjin said, coming back from the bathroom as he shook his head back to fix his long hair into a ponytail.

"Because he's going to be nice and get us snacks."

"He has a car."

"He wouldn't be dumb enough to crash into a pole on the way back."

Everyone turned to look at Minho who shrugged, acting like he had said something so obvious. "You beat me," Changbin complained, watching as Felix won yet another round of Mario Kart in the past thirty minutes that they'd been here. "I told you that you wouldn't win, hyung." Felix smiled innocently, starting to laugh when Changbin let out a groan.

The doorknob suddenly jiggled, the front door swinging wide open as it revealed a pink-cheeked Chan. "Ah, it's a little cold out. Can someone take the cases for me?" A sleepy Jeongin and attentive Seungmin instantly stood up, taking the bottles from their hyung before dragging it onto the kitchen countertop.

Minho and Jisung finished just in time, fixing one of the icing roses before setting it on the table. "Hyung, c'mere! We finished," Jisung shouted from the dining room while Chan laughed lightly, unzipping his jacket before pulling off his beanie. "Are you sure you didn't poison it? Felix didn't get to bake it this time so I'm not sure I should trust it."

The now twenty-two-year-old man chuckled, teasing the others. Minho just crossed his arms, "Did you want us to poison you?" Chan immediately shook his head, the dumb grin still playing at his lips. Seungmin, being way more organized than the other boys, set up the candles on the cake while Changbin lit them up.

"Prepare your wish," Jisung seemed way more cheery than the oldest, waving his hands.

Chan put his hand over his heart, "Already done, quokka." The boy grinned widely at the nickname, eyes gazing up at the older boy. Minho, being nosy cocked his brow at Chan, clapping along with the others. He only opened his mouth when the birthday song finished, "So, what's your wish?"

Hyunjin hit his arm, "Don't be stupid! If he says his wish out loud, it won't come true."

"With enough wet tissues in your mouth, you wouldn't be able to say anything out loud at all."

Hyunjin immediately shut up as the boys started to laugh, sharing big grins and smiles. Chan tilted his head, "This isn't a wish, but a request." His eyes locked with the freckled boy near him. Felix looked at him with a big smile, confused as his brows furrowed. "We both know I'm going to the states soon for work, Lix. I just want to be sure that you have someone to take care of you."

Jisung puffed his cheeks offended, making the oldest laugh. "Other than them, I mean."

Felix's smile slowly dropped, realizing that this is Chan's indirect farewell. "Someone who genuinely loves you and as far as I know, they've found theirs." He gestured to the rest of them. Indeed, Minho and Jisung shared a look while Hyunjin flushed at the thought of his girlfriend. Seungmin averted his eyes to his pocket, hand gripped around his phone.

Jeongin was never adamant on finding someone, but the girl at the cafe was catching his attention last time he checked. Lastly, Changbin had been spending more and more time at the carnival, something that the boys teased him for after finding out he was head over heels for one of the ferris wheel employees.

"I want you to confess to the girl that you've always admired before I leave," He took in a breath, chest heaving as he finally revealed the one thing that had weighed so heavily in his mind. "And I leave in twenty-five days."