Strawberry Milk - Jeonglix

21

Bittersweet excitement consumed Felix as he ran towards the park on Saturday morning. It was earlier than he usually left, but it was his last day with Jeongin before exam season began and they'd have to spend the next few weeks apart, revising and sitting the examinations. It was Seungmin's idea and Jeongin agreed to go along with it but Felix wasn't the happiest.

He stopped off at the shop on his way to meet Jeongin, filling a plastic bag with items before running the rest of the distance to the park. He didn't bring his skateboard with him, forgetting it as he'd left the house in such a rush, but running got him where he needed just as quickly.

When he reached the park, he noticed Jeongin sitting on the swings. Felix couldn't see his face as he entered through the back gate, but he could see his shoulders slumped as he kicked his foot along the ground.

"Surprise!" Felix exclaimed as he placed both his hands on Jeongin's shoulders. Jeongin nearly jumped out of his skin, leaping off the swing and turning to face Felix with a horrified look on his face.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" He shrieked, hand clutched over his heart but a small grin starting to tug at his lips.

"Come with me," Felix said, walking past the swings and seizing Jeongin's hand. Jeongin allowed Felix to pull him along, leading him in the direction of the solitary field that might as well have been theirs now. Their own private escape from reality.

Once surrounded by the overgrowing grass and tall trees, Felix opened the plastic bag in his hand and pulled out a sheet of material. It was baby pink and blue, checkered and square in shape. A picnic blanket. In the middle of the field with the sky clear and blue above them, it was picturesque.

Felix flattened it out over the grass and took a seat upon it, patting the space beside him so Jeongin would join him. Felix took out the familiar pink carton of strawberry milk and Jeongin grew visibly excited as he sat down. He placed it down, along with the chocolate milk for himself and there was one thing left in the bag. A see-through container with chocolate covered strawberries inside.

Jeongin giggled, "this is romantic."

"I hope you like it. I thought it would be cute since we won't be seeing each other for a while."

Jeongin leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Felix's cheek, over the freckles he admired so greatly. "I love it," he said before seizing his flavoured milk in his hand, "and I've missed my strawberry milk. It's been so long."

"Hasn't it been like...a week?"

"Yes," Jeongin nodded, ripping the straw away from the carton and stabbing it through the foil top, "that's too long."

He took a sip and Felix chuckled, " are you reunited with your one true love now?"

"No," Jeongin giggled, "I've been with you all along."

🍓🍓🍓

"I want to show you something," Felix said as he pushed open his front door and let Jeongin into his house. The two decided to head there after spending a couple of hours in the field, talking, cloud gazing and sometimes listening to music. Felix's parent's car wasn't in the drive, leaving them the house to themselves. Once Felix locked the front door and they took off their trainers, he seized Jeongin's hand and started pulling him up the stairs.

"What is it you want to show me?" Jeongin asked once he was inside Felix's room, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed.

Felix walked over to the corner of his room and picked up one of the guitars that lay there. It was his favourite one. He only had two, but it was the first one he received when he was fifteen, a birthday gift Chan, Minho and Hyunjin had grouped together to buy him. Over the years, it had accumulated an abundance of stickers, decorating most of the instrument which made it stand out against his other, pristine guitar from his parents.

"Ok, so, for my music assessment I had to write a song, right?" Felix asked, pulling the four-legged wooden stool out of the corner of the room and situating it in front of Jeongin.

"Yeah, you kept writing love songs," Jeongin nodded, "did you finish one?"

"Yes," Felix grinned, sitting down on the stool and placing the guitar over his leg, "I'm performing it on Monday but I want you to be the first person who hears it. I called it Strawberry Milk."

"Like my favourite drink?"

"Yeah...I made it for you."

Jeongin looked down at his hands, a chuckle leaving his lips. When he looked back up, Felix started to strum the strings with a guitar pick. It was pink like strawberry milk and Jeongin didn't know if it was intentional or not, but he liked it. The chords Felix used were simple at first but as the song progressed, it gradually got more complex. Jeongin stopped focused on the guitar when Felix had started singing though. He could sing well, not as good as Seungmin could, but it fit his style perfectly, his voice deep and relaxing.

The lyrics were what Jeongin focused on the most. He knew he and Felix hadn't been together long, but as he listened to what Felix had written, it was as if they'd known each other their whole lives. So many experiences they shared had been implemented into the lyrics. There was mention of Felix falling in love with Jeongin a little bit more every time he saw him and Jeongin barely realised when tears started to fall from his eyes.

"Oh dear, was it that bad?" Felix asked once he finished.

"No, that was so beautiful," Jeongin shook his head, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. "I'm crying because I loved it so much," he explained with a choked up chuckle.

Felix placed his guitar on the floor, leaning it against the stool he'd been sitting on before getting up and joining Jeongin on the bed. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled him close to his chest. "I didn't know if you would like it. The song doesn't do you justice, Innie. You're the most perfect person I've ever met, I couldn't properly put it into words. I'm not the best at songwriting, sorry."

Jeongin closed his eyes, his head resting on Felix's shoulder as he listened to him ramble on. "It was the most beautiful song I've ever heard, Felix," he eventually interrupted.

"Well... yeah, you've only heard like five songs."

Jeongin scoffed and hit his arm. "Take the compliment, dummy."

"Damn. That's the meanest thing you've ever said to me, my feelings are hurt."

"Hmm," Jeongin mumbled, "can you sing for me again?"

"Now? Without the guitar?"

"Yes please."

Felix inhaled, nervous to sing without the guitar accompanying him as it was his strongest point, but even if he wasn't the best singer, he was sure Jeongin wouldn't mind, or he hoped so anyway. "Ok," he breathed out, clearing his voice before beginning to sing once again. 

I'll bring you strawberry milk every day,
if it will keep that frown away.
Sitting on that swing I'll watch you sway,
wishing I knew just what to say
to keep those tears at bay...