CHAEBEOL | minsung

twenty-three

'*•.♡ ♡.•*'

"Jeongin, Minho, please, before you turn around... Don't kill me."

Jeongin made no promises. When he turned around, he was glad. Hyunjin needed to die.

As usual, Hyunjin stood in the doorway to the classroom where Jeongin usually ate with him and Minho. But this time - and this was becoming all too familiar - someone else stood in the doorway with him.

Shorter, blonder, more freckles, less confidence. Felix was near enough shaking.

"I can kill him, though, right?" Jeongin bit back.

He was near enough baring his teeth at Felix, the blonde staring at him, all over cagey and on-edge.

"Maybe I should leave," breathed Felix through an awkward laugh.

"Maybe you should." Minho's answer was short. It made Jeongin smile, closer to a grimace than anything else.

"Play nice," Hyunjin muttered, sidestepping around the desk Minho and Jeongin were sat at to grab a packet of snacks. "I asked Felix to have lunch with us because the other prefects are skiving at some event with their parents."

"Aww," Minho cooed, clicking his tongue. "No other friends, kid?"

"Not as many as you, it seems," muttered Felix under his breath. And then he realised what he'd done. Realised he'd spoken out loud. His eyes flickered, widened, caught on Minho's. "I mean- I didn't-"

Minho's laugh was cold. "I'm a friendly guy, what can I say?"

"Friendly with the wrong people," tutted Hyunjin, kicking Minho's feet off the chair they were resting on so Felix could sit down. Felix did, nervous, shooting poorly concealed glances up from under his eyelashes at Jeongin and Minho.

Jeongin tutted, too, when Minho moved his feet off of the chair and rested them on Jeongin instead - but he noted to himself that Minho sat with his feet dangling off the edge, making sure the soles didn't touch Jeongin. The younger made no effort to push the older off.

"Says the person rubbing shoulders with a prefect," Jeongin snarked back at Hyunjin, eyes pointed low like a stroppy teenager.

Hyunjin frowned at him. "So it's fine when Minho does it, but not when I do?"

"You're friends with the prefects? Which ones?" Felix spoke up, interjecting into the conversation but making a point to keep his voice low, non-confrontational.

Jeongin and Minho observed him from across the table. Perhaps a moment too long, because Jeongin watched the tips of the blonde's ears slowly burn into a rosy shade of pink.

"Pretending you don't know, hmm? Interesting." Minho cocked his head as he said it, and Felix's face fell.

"I'm- Uh, I mean... Yeah, right, you're right, I know you're- Erm, I know you and Jisung are partnered for a project. I meant, any other prefects? Just making conversation I guess..." Felix finished this with an uncomfortable laugh.

Minho's eyes were glued to every movement, every fracture that Felix revealed in a polished exterior. "Chan. He seems cool."

"You and... Chan? You two know each other?" Felix was frowning.

"Ew," muttered Jeongin with his face folded in disgust.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes. Jeongin and Chan's feelings about each other were well known. Jeongin knew that Hyunjin didn't like hearing about it, but he also knew he had to keep up appearances somehow.