𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢 🖌 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘨

10

Jisung, who had promised to hang out with Jeongin and introduce him to a friend, stared ahead at the three men entering the restaurant. Hyunjin, the freckled beauty he'd seen once, and a new face made their way over to where he sat with his best friend. Hyunjin had asked last minute if he could invite a few friends. Jisung didn't know how to say no, and so there they were.
Hyunjin looked slim as always, though Jisung noticed he put a layer of makeup on to accentuate the color of his eyes. He wore a white dress shirt and some jeans, his hair pushed back with a black cloth. He looked feminine and Jisung actually favored that style on him. That could have been the gay in him.
The freckled beauty following behind him was still Angel like. His eyes were decorated with eyeliner and mascara. He wore a yellow shirt, bracelets all over his wrists, and some interestingly cut shorts. His style was a mess and yet it weirdly fit together perfectly.
The last man was shorter than both of them and wore a black short sleeve that fit tight around his muscles. He was extremely muscular. Maybe he did some kind of martial arts. He had the aura of a guy who boxed. He was intimidating.
When they sat down, Jeongin instantly started talking in his decent English. "Hi! You're Hyunjin, right?" The exhibit creator chuckled with a quiet word of affirmation. "And then you guys are?"
The freckled beauty cleared his throat and scratched the side of his neck lightly. "Felix," he said.
Jisung wasn't exactly shocked by his deep voice. It was interesting, but he didn't care all too much about it. What mattered was his name. Both Hyunjin and Minho had uttered the name several times. So this was the guy? Jisung felt himself growing self conscious. He linked his hands and stared at the table. Minho was friends with so many remarkably beautiful people and yet he wanted to go on a date with Jisung? It wasn't adding up.
"I'm Changbin. Seo Changbin." The darker man's voice sounded lighter than Felix's. They contrasted each other perfectly. Jisung almost laughed at the odd connection. They either really hated each other or got along the best out of anyone they'd ever met.
"I'm Yang Jeongin. But, Felix, you don't have a last name?" he joked.
Felix followed him in a laugh. Jisung watched as Changbin threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into his side. Felix's ears turned pink and he smiled brightly, more so than he'd ever seen anyone smile. "My last name is changing in a few months. Changbin's my Fiancé. But for the record, it's Lee. Changbin just doesn't like me introducing myself as anything other than a Seo."
"Cause you're mine," Changbin grumbled.
Jeongin awed at the two and their cute relationship with each other. The dark guy was clingy and the bright guy was sassy. Who'd of thought? Jisung bowed his head to greet them but went completely unnoticed. That happened sometimes. He just listened in on the continuing conversation.
"So are you soulmates?"
Felix took out his phone and showed a picture of what Jisung guessed to be their tattoos beside each other. He caught a peak of them from the corner of his eye. One was yellow triangles fit together to look like some kind of bird. The other was a black oval bear. Jisung had gotten weirdly good at finding out what animals were printed onto people.
"Do you know what the bear means?" Jeongin asked.
Felix nodded. "That's my tattoo for Changbin. It means uniqueness and individuality, as well as pushing boundaries while still respecting and honoring tradition. There's some other things like mystery, power, elegance, and sophistication, but I like the first description more."
Changbin cut in the explain the meaning behind his tattoo for Felix. "The triangles mean creativeness and harmony. Though it's also said to be a symbol of merging masculine and feminine energy. I think there was something about Evolution too. There's a lot of different ways to look at the shape I guess. But those match Lixie the best."
They all went on to look at Jeongin and Hyunjin's tattoos. Jeongin thought the dog was cute and the three commented that Jeongin's tattoo reminded them of someone. Jisung didn't care really. He was focused on his own tattoo. He rubbed the outline with his thumb with a soft smile. If he thought about it, he'd met someone similar to it too.
"You should see Jisung's. I think you'll laugh when you see who it represents," Hyunjin commented.
Jisung looked up as he registered the statement. Felix and Changbin were looking at him expectantly. He bit his lip and raised his hand above the counter. Changbin leaned closer almost immediately, eyes wide as if he didn't believe that Jisung's tattoo was real.
Felix seemed to be more distracted by something else. His eyes looked far off and his smile seemed fake for a good few seconds before he shook himself out of it.
"I didn't think Minho would ever be the type of person for any human. I thought he'd marry the Wallaby's," Changbin muttered.
Felix elbowed his fiancé with a snicker. "Don't be a jerk. If Seungmin can have a soulmate then so can Minho."
Jisung smiled genuinely for the first time in front of the two. "Minho is like that though, isn't he?" he asked rhetorically. He could imagine Minho lining up Quokka's in wedding attire.
Felix's eyes widened. That tint of fear or sorrow that had glazed over his eyes vanished. He didn't say anything but the surprise on his face made Jisung anxious. The artists smile faded and he looked back down at the table. Should he not have commented? Did he ruin the mood?
After they ate Jeongin, Hyunjin, and Changbin went into the store next door to look for things to commemorate the meeting. Jisung didn't like the idea of being in a crowded shop with them so he stood outside. Felix stayed with him, saying Changbin would buy something for him even if he told him not to. It was quiet between the two until Felix passed his phone to Jisung.
Jisung stared at the screen with a digital pad of numbers. Felix wanted his number. Jisung hesitantly put it in and then handed it back. Felix gave another bright smile as he tucked his phone into his pocket. "When'd you meet Minho?" Felix asked. He didn't sound hyper or bored. It was interesting because no one really knew how to approach Jisung. They always spoke to fast or too slow.
"A few weeks ago," Jisung answered.
Felix knocked the tip of his toe against the concrete walkway. "Are you in love with him?"
Jisung's eyes widened at the question. "What?"
"I mean, you only smiled when you talked about him. You didn't even cut in to introduce yourself but when the topic of Minho came up you were all for jumping into the conversation," Felix explained. He looked at his nails. Something was different than when they'd been in the restaurant. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not interrogating you. You don't have to answer me if you don't want to. I'm just saying what I saw. If you are, take care of him. He's a close friend, you know?"
Jisung massaged his hands to comfort himself. He didn't like being confronted like that. Jisung began stuttering, not sure exactly what he should say. Felix gave a light laugh. "Relax. You aren't in trouble. I'm just saying he'll take care of you, so I hope you can do the same. His past isn't perfect and neither is yours. Sometimes that's the thing that connects people together."
Jisung's brows furrowed. How did Felix know about his past? He raised his eyes. Felix tapped the inside of his wrist and a soft look. "It's not hard to spot it when you've been in the same situation. It gets better, I promise."
He was talking about the scars on Jisung's wrist. "You are strange."
Felix winked at the artist. "It's a Virgo thing."
"You're a Virgo?" Jisung asked.
"Yup. September 15th."
Jisung smiled out of surprise. "I'm September 14th."
Felix's eyes widened. "Really? What year?" Jisung sputtered out the year and Felix grabbed his hands. "We're practically twins!"
Jisung chuckled and nodded. "I guess, yeah."
"Too bad we don't look anything alike. I could've had a long lost brother," Felix whined.
Jisung's smile left as soon as Felix said it. Another brother? Well, if he were to have one like Felix he wouldn't mind at all. Felix was oddly easy to talk to. He cared more about a stranger than Jisung's own brother had cared about him. "Would've been nice," Jisung said.
Felix bumped their shoulders together. "We'll just pretend, right?"
Jisung shook his head with a laugh. "Maybe it's a good thing we aren't real brothers. We'd end up fighting over which guy is the hottest. That or our parents would kill us for both being gay."
Felix chuckled. "Mm, my mom would but if I'm being honest I could care less about her opinion of me. And my dad would be cool with it cause he's a real one."
Jisung sighed. "I wish I could say that. My dad would have murdered me if he didn't run off so long ago. My moms the only one that accepted me."
Felix raised a brow. "Only one?"
"Older brother," Jisung replied.
Felix nodded. "Well, hey, if your mom ever wants a boyfriend send her to my dad. Then I can replace him." Jisung laughed so hard his eyes started tearing up. That was the stupidest joke ever and for some reason he actually liked the sound of it. "No wonder Minho's in love with you. You really do resemble a squirrel."
Jisung wiped his eyes and looked at Felix. "In love with me?" he questioned.
"He draws your tattoo sometimes during work."
Jisung cleared his throat and hid his mouth behind his hand. That made him so unbelievably happy. It was stupid. "He's an idiot."
"We can all agree he's a weirdo."
Jisung looked at his tattoo with a loving gaze. "I like weird," he whispered.
"Good. I do too. Changbin's a very big weirdo too. He is literally such a bear. He likes to workout and he could eat a whole three person meal by himself. Then he suffocates me in his arms when he goes into hibernation."
"Doesn't sound like you hate it," Jisung retorted.
Felix's eyes wrinkled at the edges as he smiled. It was probably the brightest smile Jisung had seen come from him. "He's the best part of my life. I wouldn't complain about Changbin in anyway."
Felix looked so in love. He'd never seen it before-someone who cared so much about someone. His mom hadn't ever looked at his dad like that when they were together. He couldn't even remember what it was like to be stared at by his mom. Maybe love wasn't so bad. It just had to be the right person.
"Except that you can't resist me in bed," said Changbin as he came up from behind Felix. He wrapped his arms around the taller boy and sent Jisung a wink. "He whines about wanting to top all the time."
Felix's face slowly went from pale to strawberry red. "Don't say shit like that!" he yelled, struggling to escape Changbin's arms. Changbin laughed at the failed attempt. He was smiling brightly too. Jisung was happy for them. Instead of feeling disgusted by their acts of affection, he kind of enjoyed it. There wasn't the thought that he would never experience that, but instead, he thought about how much he wanted it. It was a small change to others, but to Jisung it was huge. He was slowly becoming someone he didn't hate.
"Gross. I agree with Felix. No one wants to hear about your sex life," Jeongin said.
Hyunjin agreed. "Not everyone is into the idea of it, remember?"
Changbin stuck his tongue out. "I'm not gonna filter myself cause your ass is Asexual."
Hyunjin raised his hand to smack the older but then laughed and pushed it into his pocket. "Asshole."