Deep End | Hyunlix

59

The morning light crept in thin golden streaks through the gap in the hotel room curtains, brushing across Hyunjin's face until he stirred. A low groan slipped from his throat as he buried his eyes against the crook of his arm. His head throbbed, an angry, pulsing reminder of too much alcohol and too little sleep.

Where...? He blinked blearily and froze. This wasn't his studio. The surface beneath him was soft, the sheets smooth, the air faintly cool with the scent of unfamiliar detergent. His fingers tightened around the blanket, confusion flickering in his fogged thoughts.

Wasn't I at the studio? he asked himself, trying to thread his memories together, but they slipped like water through his fingers.

He pushed himself upright and winced when a sharp jolt of pain spiked behind his eyes. The room swam for a heartbeat before steadying. That's when he saw him.

Felix was slumped in a chair a few feet away, still in yesterday's clothes, chin resting on his chest, his breaths slow and even in sleep.

Hyunjin stared, frozen in place. Felix?

His pulse quickened. A dozen questions tumbled through his mind in a rush. What is he doing here? Where am I? How did I get here? Did I... call him? He searched for scraps of memory, bottles, the wreckage of paint in the studio, the hollow ache in his chest. Nothing after that.

He glanced around the room again, neutral walls, a curtained window, a dresser with a small TV bolted above it, definitely a hotel. His confusion deepened.

A faint clink drew his attention to the nightstand. A bottle of water and a packet of painkillers rested neatly there as if someone had anticipated his morning misery. Hesitating only a second, Hyunjin reached out and unscrewed the bottle, taking a long swallow. The water was cool, blessedly so, and he couldn't suppress the low moan of relief as it soothed the desert of his throat.

His eyes shifted back to Felix. The younger hadn't stirred, the morning light outlining the curve of his jaw, freckles softened by sleep. The sight made something strange twist in Hyunjin's chest, part unease, part something warmer he didn't want to name.

Cradling the bottle loosely in his hands, Hyunjin sat there in silence, watching him, waiting for the moment Felix's lashes would flutter open. He had questions waiting on the tip of his tongue, but for now, he stayed still, trying to piece together how last night had ended with him here, and why Felix had been the one to stay.

Hyunjin shifted against the headboard, careful not to let the mattress creak. The pills sat half-dissolved in his palm as he rubbed his temples, trying to push through the fog in his mind. The light through the curtains was soft but still too bright, cutting across the room in narrow bands that caught the dust in the air.

The water bottle, now half-empty, rested on his knee. He stared at it without really seeing it, thoughts scattering like loose pages in a storm.

The memory of last night was a fractured slideshow, the paint-stained floor of the studio, the sting of alcohol on his tongue, the blur of canvases he'd thrown until his arms ached. After that, there was nothing. A blank space where the hours should be.

His eyes drifted back to Felix. The younger's head had tilted slightly to the side in sleep, his mouth relaxed, his lashes casting faint shadows on his cheeks. That same steadiness was there even in rest, a kind of quiet resolve that made Hyunjin's chest tighten.

Why is he here? He didn't remember calling him. Didn't remember even thinking of him while he'd been drowning the night away. And yet Felix had been the one to find him, that much was clear. Hyunjin's gaze dropped to the water and the painkillers again, small gestures that told him Felix had anticipated his miserable morning.