Muted // Felix-centric

Chapter 42

I think I confused a lot of you with the open end in the last chapter and I don't want to be mean so here you have another chapter!

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When Felix enters the house, he sees his suitcases in front of him...
"We don't want you here anymore! Get out!"

Felix stands petrified at the door.
Minho looks disappointed.
Jisung looks hurt.
Chan looks angry.
Seungmin and Jeongin look sad.
Hyunjin looks devastated.
Changbin doesn't look surprised.
And Felix looks confused.

They all feel different emotions, but only the seven boys share one thing in common... Betrayal... they feel betrayed, while Felix doesn't know what happened. He was just back at his old home, finally giving his father the punishment he deserved, and he wanted to be free at last... but now he is standing here and feels as if he has been dragged back into the past. Felix knows that look on his face. He knows it all too well.
Jinyoung had it too back then...

꧁꧂

"I just can't believe how you could do this to Jinyoung," a boy speaks to him. Felix didn't know this boy. He doesn't know who he is and has never spoken to him before. Felix was never a student who stood out. He was only ever out and about with Jinyoung. He didn't behave conspicuously and wasn't an outstanding student. He was just normal. But now everyone stares at him. They all have this look on their faces like Felix killed someone and didn't even try to keep it a secret. That reproachful look... the way it slowly eats under his skin and only feeds his own insecurities with more guilt.

"W-what?" Felix asks, confused. He doesn't know what the boy is talking about and Felix couldn't explain why Jinyoung, his best friend of many years, is just standing there and not helping him. What could Felix have done?
"Don't act so innocent. We've all seen the photos," the boy says reproachfully and speaks as if Felix knows what he's talking about, but Felix has no idea. "W-what photos?" he asks, looking first at the boy and then at Jinyoung questioningly. But Jinyoung just drops his gaze and is immediately surrounded by other students, as if they are forming a protective barrier between him and Felix.

The boy in front of Felix just throws a photo in his face and then makes a settled remark.
"And that kind of thing attends our school," he says and walks over to the others. Felix looks at Jinyoung one last time, but he has already disappeared with his new friends. Felix picks up the photo and looks at it. A cold shiver immediately runs down his spine. The photo shows Jinyoung with Felix... Felix holding his hand... but what's so wrong with the picture? He turns the picture over and there's something written in red...

'Faggot!'

What does that mean? Do the others assume that Felix and Jinyoung are gay? But Jinyoung has confessed his feelings to Felix, hasn't he? What's actually going on here?
Over the next few days, Felix only asked himself more questions but never got an answer. Instead, more rumors were spread around the school, making Felix look like a monster.

"Felix is a rapist!"

"Felix is forcing himself on Jinyoung!"

"Felix seduced Jinyoung!"

"Felix is a stalker!"

"Felix is a creep!"

All these rumors and more. Felix never had the chance to defend himself and even if he had, no one would have listened to him because they all just believed Jinyoung, who started the rumors in the first place. Felix didn't want to believe it at first, but then he heard him say it himself. He was on his way to the boys' bathroom, but then he heard Jinyoung talking to some of his new friends.
"Tell me Jinyoung... Is it true about Felix?" one of the girls asks. Jinyoung sighed out loud.
"Yes... Unfortunately. He has tried to touch me and kiss me before," he lied and from then on, Felix knew that Jinyoung was to blame for all of this. But why? Unfortunately, he doesn't know.

꧁꧂

And he never found out...
But why do the boys look at him like that? What is Felix supposed to have done this time?
Jisung notices the confused look on his Moon soulmate's face and throws photos at his feet. Once again, Felix has a sickening deja vu feeling. He looks at the boys and then at the photos. He picks them up. You can see Felix in all of them... firstly going into a bar and talking to the bartender... then talking to another man in the park... and last but not least, Felix walking into a stranger's house...
All these pictures have been taken in the last few days. Felix knows what they look like and can imagine what the boys are thinking, but there's a simple answer... if only his voice hadn't left him...

"We trusted you Felix, but apparently we shouldn't have trusted you," Minho says hurt with a lump in his throat. They really think that Felix has cheated on them with some men.
"We opened our hearts to you, but you betrayed us," Seungmin continues, his harsh voice sending a cold shiver down Felix's spine.
"We found out that you excused yourself from school... for several days," Chan says, and Felix wonders how they know. The principal shouldn't have told them.
"If I'm honest, I'm not surprised," Changbin says coldly, and that hurts Felix the most.
He knows he had a rough start with the older boy, but the fact that he trusts him so little breaks his heart.

Even if Felix could, they wouldn't listen to him. They have all stuck to their 'evidence'. Why should they believe him? No one believed him then, why should anyone now?
Felix goes to his packed suitcases and takes them. He gives the boys one last look, which they can't quite interpret, and then Felix turns away towards the door.
"That's it? No explanation, nothing?" asks Jisung, but Felix makes no pretense of explaining anything. He opens the door and leaves the house.
He just wants to go to bed and sleep. He is too tired. Too tired to think about his future. Too tired to think at all. And too tired to explain everything to the boys on paper or via chat.

'That's why I always pushed everyone away... I have nothing left in my life....'

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Here you have the explanation for their reaction...

I would like to know your thoughts.
What do you think?

Who send them these pictures?

Is there some connection between Jinyoungs case and this one?

Hope you enjoyed it!

~chichi