The Understudy | Hyunlix

7. The Other Side

The rest of the week wasn't much to speak of. Felix was getting back into his work routine, though he was still really missing those evening practices. He even had thoughts of dropping by just to watch.

Chan and Changbin had their day jobs and then occasionally evening dates with their guys. Changbin wasn't officially calling Seungmin his boyfriend, but they were definitely spending a lot of time together.

The evenings were lonely, even though Felix was happy for his friends. When Friday came around, he figured they'd be busy again. As expected, both came home to quickly get cleaned up before heading back out to see their "special guys".

And once again, Felix planned to spend the evening alone watching movies in his Friday night couch nest. Just as he was getting settled, he got a notification on his phone.

That Hyunjin Jerk

JerkFace: You busy?

Felix was shocked to see the message was from Hyunjin. It had been a week since they had the very awkward conversation in his home. It felt like deja vu, being interrupted by this guy, sitting there in his pajamas and blankets. He hesitated, but was too curious not to reply.

That Hyunjin Jerk

Felix: No, I'm just sitting at home. What's up?

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Felix jumped and spun his head to look, as if it were a scene out of a horror movie. He sat for a moment, unsure about answering. Then his phone buzzed again.

That Hyunjin Jerk

JerkFace: You going to answer the door?

Felix felt his stomach twist up. Instead of replying, he slowly got up and limped to the door. He took a deep breath before finally turning the knob and pulling it open.

"Hey," Hyunjin said more awkwardly than was usual for his demeanor, "Is it alright if I come in?"

Felix immediately noticed how polite the dark-haired male was being. "Uh, sure, of course." He turned and hobbled back to the couch and sat down. Hyunjin closed the door and slowly walked into the living room.

"So, what's up?" Felix muttered.

Hyunjin noticed his unusually flat tone and the dark circles under his eyes. "I was just wondering how you were doing."

"You came all the way here just to ask me that? You could've just texted," Felix huffed, grabbing a pillow and hugging it, not looking at Hyunjin.

"I know. But I heard you might be kinda lonely."

Felix knew his circle of friends must have been talking about him. But that didn't explain why Hyunjin felt the need to do something about it.

"Why would you care?" Felix turned and looked up at the towering male.

"I told you before that I'm sorry for how I treated you. I meant it." Hyunjin's expression was as genuine as Felix had ever seen it. "Practice isn't the same without you. I actually..." He trailed off, hesitating to finish his confession.

"You what?" Felix tilted his head, his tired doe eyes were glassy and twinkled slightly in the dim lighting.

"I kinda miss you being there," Hyunjin said with a heavy sigh, feeling both embarrassed and pathetic.

"You miss teasing me? Making my life hell? I don't understand." Normally, Felix would have spent more time listening with empathy, but he was indeed tired and lonely and not in the mood to console someone he didn't even like.