Mafia's Heartbeat: A Dangerous Love

Chapter - 12

As Felix's brothers and cousins continued their teasing, Minho, who had been quietly sipping his drink up until now, raised an eyebrow and finally decided to join in on the fun.

"You know," Minho started, swirling his glass, "Felix has been acting a bit different since that night at the bar. He has been a little distracted." He smirked at his younger brother.

Felix groaned, already anticipating where this was going. "Not you too, Minho."

"Just an observation." Minho's smirk widened. "Though, if I had to guess, I'd say the distraction has something to do with that bodyguard of yours."

Heeseung laughed, nudging Minho. "Oh, he definitely has a thing for Hyunjin. You didn't see him earlier, Minho, but Felix couldn't stop glancing over at him."

"Really?" Minho tilted his head, clearly amused. "And here I thought Felix hated the idea of having a bodyguard. Looks like he's warmed up to the idea quite a bit."

"Or warmed up to Hyunjin specifically," Chan chimed in, his grin never faltering.

Felix sighed, but there was no stopping them now. His brothers and cousins were relentless when it came to teasing him, and it didn't help that he'd given them plenty of material to work with.

"Fine, fine," Felix muttered. "I'll admit, Hyunjin's not like the others. He's... different."

"Different, huh?" Minho's eyes gleamed with mischief. "In what way? I hope you're not going soft on him, Felix."

Felix shot him a look, his voice low but firm. "You know I don't do 'soft.' Especially not when it comes to work."

"But maybe when it comes to Hyunjin?" Seungmin teased, causing the table to erupt in laughter again.

Even Minho chuckled. "Well, good luck with that, Felix. Hyunjin seems like quite the handful. But something tells me you enjoy the challenge."

Felix leaned back in his chair, the teasing smirks from his brothers and cousins not bothering him nearly as much as before. Instead, his thoughts drifted back to Hyunjin—the blush, the shy glances, and the way Felix's presence seemed to both fluster and intrigue him.

A challenge, indeed. But one Felix was more than ready to face.

 [Now let's see what was going on inside Minho's head]

Minho tried to ignore the teasing going on around Felix, but his attention kept drifting elsewhere. As his brothers and cousins piled on Felix, Minho found his gaze unconsciously shifting to Jisung. The younger boy sat across the room, laughing along with Niki at something Hyunjin said, the sound of his laughter light and contagious.

Minho's hand froze midway to his glass, and he felt a strange flutter in his stomach. His gaze lingered on Jisung, tracing the way his eyes sparkled when he smiled, the way his laugh seemed to light up the entire room. Minho shook his head, trying to brush off the feeling, but it was hard to ignore the warmth spreading through his chest.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Minho muttered under his breath, taking a quick sip of his drink to distract himself.

But it was no use. Every time Jisung laughed or even smiled, Minho's eyes found their way back to him. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd seen Jisung, but something about tonight felt... different. The teasing conversations around him faded into the background, and Minho found himself focusing only on Jisung, who seemed oblivious to the attention.

As Jisung caught Minho's gaze, just for a split second, Minho quickly averted his eyes, feeling an uncharacteristic wave of embarrassment. He could feel his heart beating a little faster, and he cursed silently at how obvious he was being.

Heeseung's voice broke through his thoughts. "Minho, you're being awfully quiet tonight. Something on your mind?"

Minho snapped out of his daze, quickly throwing on his usual smirk. "Just enjoying the show," he replied smoothly, raising his glass toward Felix, who shot him a questioning glance.

Heeseung didn't seem convinced but let it slide. However, as the evening continued, Minho couldn't shake the feeling stirring inside him. Maybe Felix wasn't the only one dealing with unexpected feelings tonight.

And as Jisung glanced in his direction again, smiling that bright, boyish grin, Minho felt the flutter in his stomach return with full force.

[Back to Felix]

Felix was doing his best to ignore his cousins' teasing, but every time he glanced in Hyunjin's direction, he felt that pull. Hyunjin stood straight, composed, even while casually talking to Jisung and Niki at their table. But Felix knew, from the way Hyunjin had blushed earlier, that his little touches and teasing hadn't gone unnoticed. That reaction only made Felix want to rile him up even more.

As Felix subtly glanced over at Hyunjin again, Chan caught him in the act.

"You know, for someone who didn't want a bodyguard, you sure can't stop staring at yours," Chan teased, leaning closer with a smirk. "What's going on with you and him, huh?"

Felix huffed, rolling his eyes. "Mind your own business."

But that didn't stop Heeseung from jumping in, grinning wickedly. "No, but seriously, Felix, this is new territory. The mafia heir, 'falling' for his own bodyguard?" Heeseung exaggerated, making a dramatic gesture. "It's like something straight out of one of those cheesy romance novels."

Felix shot him a sharp look, but the teasing didn't stop.

"Ah, so it's love now, huh?" Chan added, nudging Felix. "Look at him, all smitten and distracted."

"Shut up," Felix grumbled, but his brothers and cousins were having too much fun to let it go. He glanced at Hyunjin again—this time, their eyes met. Hyunjin quickly looked away, his cheeks tinged pink, which only fueled Felix's desire to tease him further.

"You're hopeless," Heeseung said, taking a sip of his drink, and then, as if noticing something, he glanced at Minho, who was unusually quiet. He raised an eyebrow, but before he could comment, Niki, sitting near Jisung and Hyunjin, gave Minho a curious look.

Niki had been quietly observing everyone, noticing Felix's obvious interest in Hyunjin, but now his focus shifted to Minho. He didn't miss the way Minho's eyes seemed to linger on Jisung, the subtle tension in his posture every time Jisung laughed or looked his way. There was something different about Minho tonight, something Niki couldn't quite place yet. He exchanged a quick glance with Jisung, who was oblivious to it all, before turning back to watch the scene unfold.

Meanwhile, Felix was doing his best to brush off the constant ribbing from his brothers. "You're all ridiculous," he muttered, though the small smirk on his face gave him away. He didn't mind the teasing, not when the thought of Hyunjin was occupying his mind anyway.