Deep End | Hyunlix

67

Felix's fingers moved before his brain could catch up.
Felix: where are you?

Hyunjin's reply came quickly.
Hyunjin: i'm outside the city.

His pulse jumped, tension clawing up his spine.
Felix: where should i meet you?

A few seconds passed before the next reply lit up his phone.
Hyunjin: i have a safe house. i'll send you the address.

Felix stared at the screen, waiting for the message to come through, already moving through the halls of the compound like a ghost. His mind raced, but his expression remained calm. Or at least, he hoped it did. Just get outside. Get to the bike. Don't think about anything else right now. He made it halfway to the exit when a familiar voice cut through the low hum of his thoughts.

"Where are you going?"

Felix froze. Chan. His tone was deceptively calm, but Felix could feel it, the tension radiating off him like heat off asphalt. He didn't stop walking.

"I need to go out for a bit. I'll be back," he said flatly.

A hand closed around his wrist. Firm. Not hard, but enough to stop him in his tracks.

"Will you be?"

Felix looked down at Chan's hand, then turned to meet his eyes. There was no anger there, just something raw. Sadness. Betrayal.

"Yes," Felix said. "Please let go."

Chan didn't move for a moment, then slowly released him. "Talk to me," he said softly. "I just want to understand."

Felix's throat tightened. His mind ran in circles. He wanted to tell him everything. About Hyunjin. About the safe house. About how close the danger felt. About the weight of every choice he'd made since that first night in the gallery. But he couldn't. Not if he wanted to protect him. They wouldn't understand. They would see Hyunjin as the enemy. They wouldn't care about the grey lines Felix could see so clearly now.

"There's nothing to say," he muttered.

Chan's voice cracked behind him. "After everything, you're just going to walk away? We're your team, Felix. You're our leader. We have to be honest with each other. We put our lives in each other's hands every day, and you're just going to let someone override all of that?"

Felix stopped. He was right. Everything he was saying was right. And still... "I'm sorry," Felix whispered, not looking back.

He left the building, heart hammering in his chest, and found his bike. Hyunjin's message had just come through with the address. Felix stared at it for a long second, then dug the key out of his pocket and passed it from hand to hand before looking back at the compound one last time.

This might be the last time... He cut the thought off. No. Focus on Hyunjin. He needs you. He slid on his helmet, kicked the stand up, and peeled out onto the road. The wind rushed past his ears, but it couldn't drown out the pounding of his heart.

Every mile that passed, he felt the stakes rising, like something was building, pressure mounting. And he didn't know if he was racing toward something that could save them both, or something that would break them for good. But he had to know.

The road stretched on longer than it should have. Felix rode for what felt like hours, though the clock on his dashboard told him it had barely been thirty minutes. Time warped when his mind refused to slow, thoughts looping and colliding no matter how fast the world blurred past him.

The city lights faded behind him, concrete and steel giving way to open stretches of road and looming silhouettes of trees. With every mile, the weight in his chest shifted, less noise, less eyes, but more isolation. More risk.

What am I doing? Chan's face kept flashing in his mind. The hurt. The anger. The disbelief. Felix's jaw clenched beneath his helmet. He'd never seen Chan look at him like that before, like Felix had already stepped halfway out the door and left something broken behind.

Things won't be the same, he thought bitterly. Even if I come back... they won't be the same. The realization ached more than he wanted to admit. Felix turned off the main road and onto a narrow dirt path, gravel crunching under his tires. Trees closed in on either side, tall and dense, branches tangling overhead like they were swallowing him whole. The air felt heavier out here, quieter in a way that made his instincts hum.

Then he saw it. A house tucked into a clearing, unassuming, almost forgettable. The kind of place meant to disappear into the landscape. And parked just off to the side, Hyunjin's car.

Felix exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, relief loosening something tight in his chest. He slowed to a stop, cutting the engine and pulling off his helmet. The silence pressed in immediately, broken only by the faint rustle of leaves.

He typed quickly.

Felix: I'm here.

Before he could pocket his phone, the front door creaked open. Felix looked up. Hyunjin stepped out onto the porch, the late light catching the sharp lines of his face. He looked tired, no, exhausted, but upright, alert. His eyes found Felix instantly, locking onto him with an intensity that made Felix's chest stutter.

For half a second, Felix forgot how to move. Every instinct screamed at him to close the distance, to pull Hyunjin into his arms, to kiss him just to prove he was real and here and breathing. The memory of their last night together flickered hot and vivid in his mind, skin against skin, vulnerability laid bare.

Not now, Felix told himself sharply. He forced his feet to move instead of run, every step measured as he crossed the clearing. His gaze swept over Hyunjin automatically, cataloging details. No blood. No obvious bruises. Tension in his shoulders, dark circles under his eyes.

"Hey," Felix said quietly.

"Hi," Hyunjin murmured back.

There was something burning in his eyes, fear, relief, longing, all tangled together so tightly Felix couldn't separate them. Hyunjin reached out.

Felix didn't hesitate this time. He stepped into Hyunjin's arms, wrapping his own around the older man's waist, pulling him close. Hyunjin's hands came up, gripping Felix's jacket like he was anchoring himself. For a moment, neither of them spoke. They just stood there, breathing each other in, the familiar warmth grounding in a way nothing else had managed all day.

Felix pressed his face briefly into Hyunjin's shoulder, inhaling the faint scent of paint and soap, and something unmistakably Hyunjin. His heart slowed, finally finding a rhythm that made sense.

You're here, Felix thought, relief flooding him. You're okay. His fingers curled slightly at Hyunjin's back, holding on just a second longer than necessary. He didn't care. Out here, away from the city and the eyes and the rules, this felt like the only thing that mattered.

Whatever storm was waiting for them next, Lee Know, the clan, his team, it could wait one more breath. Just one.

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1138 words