Stray Kids Shorts

Hanahaki Disease - Changlix

Since I've been obsessed with flowers and their meaning recently, here's a story ~

Changbin was sick. It wasn't a cold, nor flu. He was love sick. Changbin was in love with the popular boy in school - Lee Felix.

They were friends, ever since Felix moved from Australia. However, Felix liked someone else. The Australian boy liked Hyunjin and it didn't help that they were both part of the same dance team. Hyunjin was tall, which Changbin was not. He was popular, which Changbin was not. Hyunjin was good looking and had a bright personality. And Changbin didn't think he was any of that.

At first, only his heart ached every time he saw Felix look at Hyunjin with those sparkles in his eyes. Every time when Felix smiled at him, Changbin wished it was him instead of Hyunjin. He was jealous.

However, one day, as he saw Hyunjin and Felix looking into each other's eyes and holding hands, Changbin felt his heart constrict in pain and he had the sudden urge to throw up. The short boy rushed quickly to the restroom and he was shocked when it was flower petals instead of his lunch that came out of his mouth. Then Changbin knew that he had the Hanahaki disease.

He didn't want to believe it at first, thinking it will go away. However, it only became worse as time passed. Every time he saw Felix and Hyunjin together, being close, he would start feeling sick and would hide somewhere, throwing up flower petals.

When Felix told Changbin that he was dating Hyunjin, the short boy swallowed his tears, holding them back as a searing pain in the heart shot through him. He had to excuse himself. This time, it was more painful than ever and he felt like suffocating. Changbin threw up entire flowers. Anemones. Just like the ones Felix had given him on the first birthday he celebrated with the Australian boy.

The rest of his friends began sensing that something wasn't right. Changbin was often finding excuses to disappear. He often spent time alone and it worried the rest.

That's why Jisung, Changbin's best friend, decided to confront him about it one time when they were hanging out at his place.

"What's wrong?" Jisung asked, worry laced in his voice.

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong." Changbin defended.

"Don't lie to me. I'm your best friend. I know when something is bothering you." Jisung stated, and when he got no reply from his friend, he continued.

"You look like you've lost weight and your face has been very pale recently. Are you sick?" Jisung tried again, reaching out his hand to touch Changbin's forehead.

"I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about." Changbin seriously said.

"Is it because of Felix and Hyunjin dating?" Jisung asked, sounding upset, because the short boy wouldn't say what was bothering him.

"How-" Changbin began, but he felt the familiar pain, now in his lungs too, suffocating him. The anemones were caught in his throat, but he refused to let them out in front of Jisung. Now even the mention of Felix and Hyunjin had him feeling intense pain.

"Changbin!" Jisung shouted as he rushed to his friend's side. He didn't know what to do. Changbin couldn't hide it anymore, so he coughed up the flowers. Jisung's eyes were wide.

"You-you have the Hanahaki disease! It's... It's Felix, isn't it?" Jisung asked.

Changbin felt ashamed, for letting his secret out and for looking so weak. But he couldn't deny it now. It was best if he was being honest with Jisung.

"Yeah..." Changbin confirmed weakly, his voice scratchy due to the flowers.

"Anemones. Do you know what their meaning is?" Changbin asked quietly, staring at the ground as if it were the most interesting thing on the planet. Jisung shook his head.

"Forsaken. Their meaning is forsaken." Changbin wanted to cry. Because it was true. Felix wasn't hanging out with him as much anymore. And whenever he did, all he talked about was Hyunjin.

"You have to take the surgery." Jisung stated firmly. He couldn't watch his best friend die in pain.

"No. I'll forget about Felix and it wouldn't be me. I won't be the same person. Please, Jisung. Don't make me give up who I am." Changbin pleaded. Jisung didn't want to, but he decided to respect his friend's wish with tears in his eyes.

After a month or so, Changbin stopped going to school. He couldn't. The flowers were growing inside him, they had wrapped themselves around his lungs, causing him unbearable pain.

"Felix..." Changbin muttered weakly while Jisung was crying by his side.

What was Felix doing while Changbin suffered? He was crying. He was unhappy. Why? Because he didn't like Hyunjin. They were dating because Hyunjin wanted to make Seungmin jealous and Felix wanted to make Changbin jealous. Felix liked Changbin since the start. But he thought Changbin didn't like him back. So he thought Changbin would start liking him if Felix faked being with Hyunjin.

Then, his phone buzzed. Felix picked it up.

"Hello?" He said and was met with silence. The person on the other line wasn't speaking. Instead, Felix heard sobbing.

"Hello?" he repeated.

"Felix, Changbin... He... Come now. Quickly." The person, Jisung said through tears and hung up immediately.

Felix was worried. He rushed towards Changbin's house immediately. He had a bad feeling and he couldn't shake it. When he got there, Felix opened the door to see a crying Jisung next to Changbin's bed.

Felix neared the bed, only to notice that Changbin was lying motionless. Anemones were scattered everywhere around him, making him look handsome, almost like a doll.

Then Felix gave a loud painful cry.