The Mess We've Made | Minsung

chapter thirty

I knocked on Felix' apartment door and looked at my nails as I awaited a response.

Changbin opened the door, "Hey. I thought you were going on The Tonight Show. Felix isn't here right now but I can deliver a message."

"I'm here for you and I have an hour to kill before I fly out," I said to him.

Changbim stepped aside and shut the door behind me as I headed for the couch. I gave him a hug when he approached me and we sat down not far from each other after. He turned his head to look at me and asked, "Is this about you know who?"

"You know who and who know who," I joked.

"Do you know why he even started acting like this in the first place?" Changbin asked me.

"The dance we did to Thriller." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I thought nothing of that," Changbin chuckled.

"He said that he he didn't like the way we looked at each other," I laughed.

"You guys look at each other like you love each other but that doesn't mean you want to fuck."

"You understand me," I sighed. "That's not exactly what I wanted to talk about, though. It branches off of that."

"Is this about-,"

"Yeah."

"I want to thank you for taking care of him then," Changbin said.

I didn't look over at him, "No need."

Changing sat forward in his spot and placed his elbows on his knees as he looked down at the floor, "I don't know why he wouldn't tell me something like that. Does he not trust me?"

"No, it isn't that at all," I said. "He didn't want to tell you because he's scared you'd have a reaction similar to Minho's. He thought you were going to judge him so he didn't say anything."

"I didn't react how I should've. I got angry when I should've been supporting him," Changbin shook his head at himself, "I feel like a fucking moron."

"You're not dumb," I said to him, resting my hand on his shoulder. "You didn't know how to take it. It's a lot to process."

"I just thought he was hiding it from me because he didn't know if he could trust me with it or not," Changbin said, leaning back in his spot on the couch and looking up at the ceiling.

"No. Felix just doesn't want you to think of him like that. He's done so much work to improve himself. He watches his past in his mind with an Eagle-eye view because he feels so far removed from it and it's true. He's unrecognizable," I said.

"I would never think of him like that," Changbin said. "And the gymnastics thing. I just. How could he not tell me that if it was so important to him?"

"It wasn't just important to him, that's the thing," I said, leaning forward in my spot. "He was born to be an athlete. It was his life. He ate, breathed, and slept gymnastics. He was training to take part in the Olympics. He wasn't just good at it and it wasn't just important to him. It was everything to him and now he can't even talk about it because he misses it so much. Biochemistry was his backup plan. His life never should've gone this way."

Chenghan put his hands over his face, "Oh my fucking god."

"It's bad, I know."

"Does Minho know all of this?" Changbin asked me. "Like, is he saying all of this knowing what Felix was about to do with his life before the shit went down?"

"He knows," I said, nodding my head and feeling a sudden rush of emotion when involuntary tears began to form in my eyes, "He knows all of it."

Changbin bit his knuckles before looking over at me, "I might kill him."

I wiped my eyes, "I hate being with him right now, I can't even look at him."

"You 'been steady fucking with his head like you and Felix planned?" Changbin asked, scratching the back of his head. "Felix showed me the pictures from the shoot you did last week, how'd he take it?"

"He lost goddamn his mind," I laughed. "He was talking all of this shit about how nobody's going to take me seriously as an intellectual if I'm out here showing off my body or whatever. I don't even need to explain to you why that's such an awful thing to say."

Changbin audibly gagged, "Oh my god. What did you say back to him?"

"I laughed in his face," I said. "I laughed in his face and embarrassed the fuck out of him."

"Good. Fucking good. He should be embarrassed," Changbin mumbled. "If Felix and I weren't planning on putting a down payment on a house I'd quit and finally find another job."

I took my time in responding, "I'll take you."

"What?" Changbin asked.

"I'll take you, snatch you, have you work with me, whatever it is," I said.

"No, no-,"

"You know you'd enjoy it way better."

"I would but what about Seungmin? We share an office. He's like my built-in best friend. I can't leave him with Minho," Changbin said.

"You two come as a matching set?" I asked him, raising a brow.

"We do."

"I'll take him then too."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Would I suggest it if I weren't?" I asked him. "I have ulterior motives, if it helps to convince you."

"It sounds too good to be true," Changbin said, shaking his head.

"I don't think you get it. This is mutually beneficial."

"How?" Changbin asked. "I know how it would benefit Seungmin and I but you? This just sounds surreal."

"I can give you an entire list," I said to him bluntly.

Changbin laughed, "What?"

"I can give you a whole list, dude," I chuckled.

"Okay, let's hear it."

"First off, this is going to get me into so much trouble with Minho. Snatching two of his best employees from him is one of the most disrespectful things I could possibly do and that's exactly what I'm going for. Secondly, I want you and Felix to be able to get a house together. I came here to help you make up. What puts that in jeopardy is your now volatile relationship with Minho. I don't want him getting in the way of your relationship with him. Seeing Felix happy with you benefits me because his happiness makes me happy. His happiness is the most important thing to me. It's my top priority and it has been since the day we became best friends. It wasn't like we gradually turned into best friends either. It was an instantaneous connection. Thirdly, it's not like this is some gift by god or something. I've passively observed your work together on Anaïs and you work brilliantly with one another when you get along. Considering the difference in environment, though, I don't see you two having any difficulty. You two could do great work with me on Genesis. Just-," I paused, "Think about it. Come by on Tuesday and bring Seungmin with. I'll give you guys the tour and go over everything about the job with you guys. I'll introduce you to your collaborator and you guys can make a decision from there."

Changbin nodded his head, "Okay, I'm there."