Steal His Heart - Hyunlix

Face Your Fears

Jeongin and Chan greeted the little girls who ran up to the booths with dimpled smiles.

"Well hello there! What would you like off the menu today? The specials are... chili, chili... and... drumroll.." Chan mused just like a dad, smirking as he heard the younger drum on his knees next to him. "Chili!"

The little girls giggled together and tapped their chins, trying to get up on their toes to see what was spread out across the table. "I think I'll have...." they pursed their brows in playful thought. "The chili! With extra sour cream and cheese please!" The princess beamed, while her sister continued to look.

"I guess I'll go with the chili.." she pursed her lips in contemplation. "But.. can I get some honey with it?" She asked sweetly.

Jeongin looked at her with a tilted head and a questioning expression. "Hon-"

"Ewww! Why would you want honey in your chili?" Her sister judged with a gagging motion.

Chan kneeled down in front of her and smiled. "Actually.." he directed towards the judging princess who was still giving her sister a disgusted look. "Honey cuts down on the sharpness of chili.. so it adds a whole other level of flavor. I think it's a great choice." He reassured sweetly, causing Jeongin to coo at him with admiration.

-

"Where is Mr. Ha-"

"I'm right here sir.." Jisung announced as he hesitantly walked up to his best friend and the mayor.

"Oh! Great!" Mr. Park resonded with his own bright smile. "I'm sure you guys would love to get back to the festivities so I won't take too much of your time." He continued without pause.

Felix and Jisung held their hands together and looked at the man in front them intently. The tension was thick and they swore they could hear eachother's hearts beating.

"Last year you were able to secure funding through a grant that had become available on an experimental basis. The grant was originally in the hopes of decreasing the load placed on shelters and schools in providing basic needs. I'm sorry to inform you that the same grant was not made available this year." The man expressed with an apologetic look.

Felix and Jisung felt their hearts drop. They squeezed each other's hands for dear life, making their knuckles go white as tears formed in their eyes.

"But..." Mr. Park picked back up, his apologetic expression turning with slight mischief. "There were some things that were revealed during our annual budget meeting. The grant was split over multiple cities during the trial... and just because the experiment failed as a whole.. doesn't mean it failed here." He urged proudly. "We discovered that since the start of the center, the amount of funds that have had to go into the schools and the shelters have decreased dramatically. The amount that was left over actually surpassed the amount that was originally given through the grant."

Felix and Jisung both took a second to process the information.. not really knowing if they were hearing things correctly, let alone assuming the right implications of what they were just told.

"So... what does that mean?" Jisung asked with a shaky voice, not even trying to hide the vulnerability within it anymore.

The mayor beamed a bright smile and stuck out his hand. "It means... I am here to ask you if you would consider renewing your contracts for next year. It is clear that you have had an impact and the council is in agreement that it is money well spent." He stated as if he was talking to a colleague.

Jisung and Felix stood by with blank expressions. They truly could not process the information they were given in that moment.

The older twin was the first to acknowledge the words and immediately grew the biggest smile imaginable. He threw his hand into the mayor's and shook it eagerly. "Of course! Wow.. what an honor!" He beamed, clearing his throat and nudging his younger twin who remained frozen in place.