ELITE | 스트레이 키즈

the unknown

"felix, are you okay?" the detective asked in a soft tone as he neared the boy, who seemed awfully quiet — in his own world. the blonde boy turned around and nodded, followed by a hum as he gave a confused look to the older. the purple haired boy narrowed his eyes slightly, frowning down upon the younger.

"hyung, i-i...don't know who— o-or w-what i am..." the freckled boy let out slowly, slurring his words together as though he was lightheaded and the older only listened, trying to understand as best as he could from the ambiguity of the latter's words.

"...i feel like i'm lost...trapped...like i'm not where i'm meant to be, a-and..." felix let out with uncertainty in his own words while the detective inhaled deeply, understanding what he was feeling to an extent. he brought his hands up, cupping the younger's cheeks and surprising him before speaking.

"i get it, i do...but we have each other now, and we're as close to home as we could get—" the lavender haired boy began to assure him before the blonde pulled away with a small head shake, stopping the latter from continuing.

"hyung, it's not just missing austrailia...i don't feel like i belong in this...world, it doesn't feel right to be here— i don't know, i must be crazy..." the younger let out rather frantically, but chan had grabbed his wrist, keeping him at bay from running off from his emotions. the detective knew very well that it was a mistake to runaway, from anything at all.

"you're not crazy, felix...whatever you feel, you need to face it, confront it if it's bothering you, and talk to me about it — i'll do whatever i can to help you. but don't push your feelings aside, ever, don't run from them when they're too overwhelming either. you're the one who should be in control of yourself, so don't let them take over and cloud you in insecurity, okay?..." the older spoke from experience, seeing a lot of his past self in felix when he had first came to korea on his own, running away from home to protect his family from...himself. the blonde boy just looked up into his eyes, finding comfort in them before stepping forward and engulfing the detective into a hug. chan just chuckled lightly before hugging back, bringing a hand up to ruffle the back of his hair.

"you'll be okay, yeah? you got me now and i'm not gonna leave you behind" he spoke softly yet again while the freckled boy just relaxed in his embrace, finding consolation and peace with his every word.

"you jealous?" the youngest teased with a cheesy grin, wiggling his eyebrows slightly while the shortest just clicked his tongue, shaking his head as they had been watching the pair.

"no, there's just something about felix...when he petted me earlier, i felt this urge to kill or harm...it was so overwhelming that i had to back away for my own personal safety" the older explained, to which the turquoise haired boy only made an 'o' shape with his mouth, turning back to glance at the blonde freckled boy, who — upon sight — looked like the least likely to kill and the most innocent.

"are you sure?" jeongin pressed with uncertainty, not believing his words due to how he already perceived said-boy from his first impression.

"look, i'm not saying he's a serial killer, but i think there's something in him that drives his instincts down a dark path and almost possesses him briefly when met with people like us...you're a fox, you can sense these things just as well as i can — you try it, see what you feel when you make close contact with him. you'll feel it. it's like a tsunami, it floods your whole body, and it feels like it's even being held back, which is worse if that wasn't at it's greatest potential. just be careful, jeongin" the silver haired boy warned thoroughly in a quieter tone so no one else would hear. the fox only kept looking at the blonde in the corner with the oldest as they chatted with content smiles.