One Shots| Stray Kids

Beautiful ruins (Hyunlix)

Hyunjin stood by the window of their apartment, cigarette dangling from his fingers, the smoke curling upward like ghosts of words left unspoken. The city stretched out below him, a blur of lights and chaos, a mirror of his own mind. Behind him, Felix was pacing, his voice sharp and cutting as he hurled accusations.

"I saw the way you looked at him," Felix snapped, his Australian accent more pronounced in his anger. "You couldn't even pretend to hide it."

Hyunjin exhaled slowly, the smoke coiling around his face like a shroud. He didn't turn around. "You're imagining things," he said, his voice calm but ice-edged. "I don't have time for your insecurities."

Felix stopped pacing, his chest heaving. "My insecurities? You've been distant for weeks, Hyun. And now you won't even admit—" He cut himself off, his voice breaking. "Why do you do this? Why do you make me feel like I'm crazy?"

Hyunjin finally turned, his gaze cold and unreadable. "Maybe because you are," he said, each word a dagger. "You're always looking for something to fight about. Maybe you like it."

Felix flinched, but his anger flared in response. "Don't turn this on me," he said, his voice trembling. "You can't keep pretending this is all in my head. You're the one who's checked out."

For a moment, silence filled the room, heavy and suffocating. The tension crackled like a live wire, their gazes locked in a battle neither could win. Hyunjin dropped the cigarette into an ashtray and crossed the room, his movements deliberate and slow. He stopped inches from Felix, his presence overpowering.

"You're exhausting, you know that?" Hyunjin murmured, his tone dripping with disdain. "Always needing, always clinging. Maybe I'm checked out because I can't breathe around you."

Felix's throat tightened, tears stinging his eyes. He hated how easily Hyunjin could make him feel small, how his words cut deeper than any blade. But he couldn't walk away—not when he was still desperately clinging to the scraps of love they once had.

"You didn't feel that way when you begged me to stay last time," Felix said, his voice shaking but defiant. "You can't keep pushing me away and then pulling me back whenever it suits you."

Hyunjin's jaw tightened, his façade cracking for the briefest moment. "Maybe I wouldn't have to pull you back if you didn't always threaten to leave," he shot back. "You love playing the victim, don't you?"

Felix took a step back, his hands trembling. "This isn't love," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "We're killing each other."

Hyunjin's lips curled into a bitter smile. "Then leave," he said, his voice soft but venomous. "Walk out that door if you're so sure."

The challenge hung in the air, daring Felix to follow through. But Felix's feet stayed rooted to the floor, his heart warring with his head. He hated Hyunjin in that moment, but he hated himself more for still loving him.

"I can't," Felix admitted, his voice breaking. "You know I can't."

Hyunjin's smile faltered, a flicker of guilt crossing his face. But it was gone as quickly as it came. He turned away, running a hand through his hair. "Then stop pretending you're a martyr," he said, his tone resigned. "We both know you'll never leave."

The cycle continued, a vicious loop of love and destruction. They would tear each other apart, only to come back together in a blaze of passion that burned brighter than their pain. It was intoxicating, addictive—a high they couldn't quit.

Hyunjin would whisper apologies against Felix's skin, his kisses fevered and desperate. "I don't mean it," he would say, his voice trembling with something close to regret. "You're the only one I need."