Chapter Five

••••

FELIX

After spending the rest of the night with old friends and people I considered my family, I woke up with a pounding headache in the middle of the living room. Looking around, I could see Wooyoung, Han, Yeosang and Hongjoong all knocked out and sprawled in different areas of the room. Slowly getting up, I grabbed my phone to look at the time.

8:25 a.m.

"Shit! Guys, wake up!" I shouted, shaking each of the boys quickly. "Wake up!"

Wooyoung stirred, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Lixie...? What's wrong?"

"My class starts in basically 30 minutes, so that means I'm going to be late!"

His eyes grew wide as he sprung up from his spot. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! You go get ready, I'll make sure they get up and tidy the place before we leave."

I nodded, leaving him to his promise as I dashed toward my bedroom to shower. Today was the first day of the one class I've been looking forward to since the start of Uni, especially because the instructor was a well-known dancer with plenty of connections to the professional world. The last thing I wanted was to be late and create a bad first impression on the one person who could either make or break my career. It also didn't help that the Performing Arts building was ten minutes away from my apartment, walking distance. However, I knew exactly which studio the class would be held, so that was something positive to take into consideration.

Speeding through my shower and skincare, I stepped into my bedroom and picked out the quickest outfit ever: a black v-neck long sleeve shirt and matching sweatpants. I didn't have enough time to put in my contacts or makeup, so I grabbed my glasses and accepted showing my freckles to everyone despite deeply hating them. Taking a fast look at myself in the mirror, I grabbed my backpack and checked the time on my bedside clock.

8:45 a.m

"Fuck!"

Slipping on my sneakers, I sped through the hallway and living room to see the boys fixing up the living room as promised. "Thank you guys, seriously."

Hongjoong smiled. "No worries, go to class. We'll do this again soon."

Exchanging smiles with all four of them, I stepped out of the apartment and began jogging towards campus, determined to make it in time.

Choosing the jog was the right decision as I reached the Performing Arts Building with only two minutes to spare. There was a crowd of students congregating in the front, so I sped through, passing students to find the designated dance studio. It wasn't long before I found it, but I faintly heard the instructor tell someone to shut the door.

Quickly increasing my speed, I dashed into the room with a heavy pant. "I'm so sorry I'm late! Please forgive me!"

Taking a second to lift my head, I noticed a large group of dancers staring at me, some with amused faces while others looked irritated. However, my eyes saw Juyeon sitting in a corner, patting an empty spot next to him with a small amused smile on his face.

Great job at a good first impression, Felix...

It wasn't until I heard a familiar person gasp loudly and yelled. "Felix! You made it!"

My eyes darted to the sound I noticed a bright and happy Yunho smiling at me. I was about to return the smile until I saw a blonde-haired male sitting next to him, his eyes wide in shock at me. My heart fluttered as I realized who the person was beside him.

Hyunjin...? Wait, he dyed his hair blonde?

Quickly shaking off the warm feeling, I darted my eyes away and took my seat next to Juyeon, sighing heavily onto the floor. Juyeon raised an eyebrow curiously at me. "What made you so late, hmm?"

"Old friends stopped by my place." I muttered. "All that matters is that I made it."

"And by old friends, you mean Wooyoung?"

I nodded. "He was one of them, yes."

"Ah..." Ju said with a nod of approval, before brushing a piece of my hair back behind my ear. "Well, that's good. I was a little worried that you were sort of a recluse or something."

"Was it that? Or was it the fact that you've just wanted an excuse to have a key to my place?" I teased.

He laughed. "You caught me, but honestly, now that I think about it, I wouldn't want a key..." he paused, leaning next to my ear before whispering, "too tempting."

A faint blush grew on my cheeks before I playfully slapped his arm, turning my attention away to focus on my stretching. However, he then asked a question that I deeply hoped he wouldn't. "Who was that guy who yelled your name earlier?"

"Yunho. He's one of my friends that I had met through Instagram when I lived in Australia. Him and Wooyoung were basically my pen-pals before I moved here for senior year of high school."

Juyeon nodded, before leaning next to my ear in a hushed whisper. "...and the blonde guy next to him? The one who was staring like he saw a ghost?"

I froze, taking a second to composed myself before answering slowly. "That's Hyunjin..."

He gasped in disbelief before whisper-shouting. "That's Hyunjin? He's the one dating one of my friends!"

Now my curiosity was peaked as I raised an eyebrow playfully, trying my best to not come off as too interested in the mystery person. "...One of your friends? Who knew you had any friends."

"Ha-ha, very funny." Juyeon said with an eye roll. "I'm serious. My friend Ni-ki said that he was dating someone, but all he would tell me was the name. I'm glad I finally can put a face to the name."

The Instructor took up his clipboard and began doing roll-call, gathering our attention as he went through the names. However, all I could think about was finally having a name to the person I saw sitting at that dinner table years ago, my heart sinking more and more as I let the inevitable sink in.

Ni-ki... that's his name...

•••

The class turned out to be exactly what I expected it to be: rigorous. Within the timespan of two hours, the amount of choreography learned was more than sufficient for a week of regular classes, but we learned it all in just a single class.

Grabbing my backpack off the floor as students began to department, Juyeon handed me a spare towel. "Here."

"Thanks."

Yunho and Hyunjin walked up to us, with Yunho grinning brightly as he squealed. "Felix! I missed you!"

I smiled softly. "I missed you too, YuYu."

He looked at Juyeon with a curious tilt of head. "Who is this gorgeous man next to you?"

Juyeon chuckled, leading the four of us out of the studio. "I appreciate the compliment, sweetheart. I'm Juyeon, and Felix told me your name already Yunho...." he paused, looking at Hyunjin with a smile. "It's nice to finally meet you, Hyunjin."

Hyunjin raised his eyebrow at the male. "How do you know my name?"

"You're dating my friend, Ni-ki. He mentioned your name before."

"Still doesn't explain how you know my name."

"Well...based on how you stared at my friend, or more like gawked at him," Juyeon smirked pointing to me, "I had to ask if he knew you. That was all the confirmation I needed."

Hyunjin grew wide eyed, causing me to turn my head away from him nervously. Yunho picked up on the awkward tension and quickly spoke up. "Well that's true, but honestly the more famous person in the group of us right now is Felix. Who wouldn't stare at a model that's plastered everywhere?" He teased.

"YuYu..." I said slightly embarrassed. "Stop it."

Juyeon grinned, pulling me under his arm as we stepped outside. "That's right! My baby here is practically a star, and I'm just a fan trying to get on his level of fame."

This time, Hyunjin spoke up with a skeptical question as he took notice of our sudden closeness. "Baby? Are you two dating?"

My eyes grew wide, quickly looking at Juyeon with a panicked expression but he just smirked in response. "I wish, but I'm not giving up on him just yet. I want to be the one to call him mine and mine only one day."

Yunho cooed. "Wow, Felix. If that wasn't a confession, I don't know what is..."

What the hell is going on...?

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