lamppost | changlix ✔

treinta y dos

minho and felix made their way inside the cozy, well-lit club. the smell of vodka stung their noses as they sauntered past the bar lined with red solo cups. the venue capacity was surprisingly small for such a masterful group. the sparse, exiguous audience initially stunned both of the boys. quickly, they discovered what mattered was not the size of the crowd - the true value instead lied within the noise of the crowd.

the trio were unimaginably talented - and though the attention they accumulated wasn't big, it was certainly passionate. everyone there was notably immersed in the world of music. even though being around strangers generally triggered nerves and anxiety, the two unexpectedly found themselves bonding with near enough the full room over their adoration for the group. the crowd was filled with judgement-free minds as opposed to the regular gaggles of gawkers they tried to avoid. rather than feeling uneasy as usual, they soaked in the comfortable atmosphere, feeling relaxed and at home.

the environment was brand new to the pair, yet brought a sense of strange familiarity. the aura was much less intense at most other concerts or acts they'd been to see. with smaller acts, the community was intangible and familial - whereas if the group had a larger traction, there tended to be a weaker backbone to the fanbase.

going to see a local band was like spending a night as part of a tight-knit lion pack; like making a joint unspoken agreement to stand together and look out for one another, even if just for an evening.

"my baby's about to steal the whole crowd's hearts," pouted minho.

"hey, reign it in," felix chuckled, "i know you're obsessed with him, but how would jisung feel if he heard you call j.one your baby?"

minho creaked his head around to face the younger as he raised his eyebrow.

"how the hell haven't you figured that out yet?"

"what do you mean?" felix questioned. the older's tone caught the younger boy off guard, bringing out the slight insecurities in him. he began wondering if he struck a nerve in the older, and thought maybe they'd separated or fallen out. he sipped on his water to soothe his throat, dry from sudden nervous energy.

"oh my god," minho laughed. all traces of his act of disappointment dropped in an instant as he found himself feeling bad for the naïve boy.

"felix, you oblivious child. jisung is j.one," the brunette boy explained. he giggled and shook his head as he watched felix choke on his water. his panicked face quickly contorted into one of shock and disbelief.

"what?! are you fucking serious?!"

the older had to stop himself from collapsing in a fit of laughter to answer the poor boy with a smug nod.

"you mean to tell me that i met a member of 3racha and you just decided not to say anything about it?!" felix's mouth hung open in shock.

"you betcha," minho cackled while shooting the red haired boy a nice set of finger guns.

"unbelievable," felix rolled his eyes. he tried his best to at least appear annoyed only to be betrayed by the developing smile on his face. in truth, the boy felt much more embarrased than he did angry. picturing how stupid he must have appeared to the older was physically painful for him. even still, his brain continued forsaking him as every clue about jisung's connection to 3racha surfaced in his mind to point out how ignorant felix had been.

"to be fair, i trusted you to figure it out on your own. i didn't think i'd have to tell you," minho teased.

"hyung, that's just a lie. you have no faith in me."

"yeah, it was a lie," the older chuckled again as he shielded his arm in advance. as predicted, felix lashed the other boy's exposed shoulder (in a contained manner, not aiming to harm the boy).