OFF OF THE DEEP END | CHANGLIX ✔️

27. friends

i'm gonna be (500 miles) // the proclaimers

Springtime was in full bloom. Flowers burst out of the cracks in sidewalks, mingling with vividly green strands of grass to form a sort of natural bouquet. Changbin appreciated the beauty spring brought to the streets of Seoul, able to fully see all the details due to the glasses enhancing his faulty vision. Felix would never need to know of Changbin's glasses, for surely he'd have some aggressive reaction to the sight.

It had been a while since he'd been in this particular neighborhood. Void of tall apartment buildings and neighboring corner stores with all of the essentials someone could ever need, medium-sized houses filled the city blocks with enough space to harbor lawns and gardens. The house that he was looking for had one of the long expanses of land in front, the owner taking his time to cultivate a garden. Changbin hadn't seen the garden since it had frozen over, but the thawed result of a still pond and swooping trees was stunning.

He made his way through the stones creating a path leading to the door, stepping carefully as to not disturb the gentle growth of newborn plants. Changbin made sure to remove his glasses before knocking, in order to confirm that the owner didn't have another thing to make fun of. The old-fashioned brass knocker made a dull knocking sound against the wooden door. It took four rounds of knocks for the door to open, but Changbin knew that the owner of the house was probably blasting music somewhere and unable to hear the subtle knocking.

The door opened, finally, a head of messy brown curls emerging.

Changbin smiled, "Hi, Chan. You look like shit, as normal."

"Good to see that you're still as short as ever."

"Your dark circles are looking especially purple today," Changbin bit back."

"It's nice to see you, Changbin. Please come in, don't freeze standing out there." Chan fully opened the door, letting Changbin come inside. The latter kicked off his shoes, admiring the careful decor of the house that the older had spent hours perfecting to meet his standards. Changbin often wished he could decorate his apartment to fit the styles he always admired online, but he simply did not have the time nor the money to dedicate so much to further embellish his apartment besides a few art pieces intermingled with the necessities.

"You're being weirdly polite today," Changbin noticed, staring quizzically at his friend. "Did something happen? Have you decided to become a good, pure soul?"

"Nothing of the sort, I'm still the same Chan. I have a guest over today, and I don't want to scare them away by being a," Chan lowered his voice, "Bitch."

"They must be some special person if you're willing to change your entire asshole-y personality for." Changbin peeked into the living room, which was decidedly empty and void of any special guests. "Where are they? Can I meet them? Or am I too hellish to offend them?

"They're in the bathroom right now. Come on, let's go to the studio. Perhaps you can help us with your knowledge." Chan gestured to the flight of stairs that lead downwards to the basement-turned-studio.

"You flatter me, but everything I've learned has either been picked up by you or ingrained into my mind by two a.m. youtube videos. I doubt I could do better than you, but lay it on me." Changbin joined Chan on the trek down, appreciating the grand room filled with everything a producer could ever want.

"It's a job request. I'm working with a singer to produce some of their new songs because their old producer quit."

"Ah, so you're pretending to be Mr. Nice Guy to get a good job?"

"Exactly," Chan sighed, plopping down on a stool and swiveling around absentmindedly. "It's a big job, lots of money. I'm so... fricking nervous, I'm constantly scared of fu— screwing up."