3 months earlier...

Chan groaned and pushed himself closer to the strong body beneath him. He pressed his lips gently against his favourite jawline before grazing his lips over the warm skin until he reached his favourite spot. He kissed the spot on the neck softly, smirking as he felt the other boy shiver. The blond began to suck on the spot eagerly with the intent to mark, eliciting a breathy moan from his favourite person. He dragged his hand down the exposed body, tracing the slight definition of abs before trailing dangerously close to the low waistband of the pants obstructing his journey. With a growl he detached from his lover's neck and removed the unwelcome articles of clothing.

The brunette inhaled sharply as Chan dove downward and pressed open mouthed kisses along his hip bones, slowly moving closer to his already hard member. He whined when the blond skirted around the sensitive area in favour for leaving a trail of hickeys on his thighs. Chan smirked at the brunette's reaction to his actions and decided to stop teasing his lover.

He met the trusting brown eyes he always found himself falling into and leaned forward to capture his favourite pair of lips. Chan moved to position himself over the brunette's groin, eager to continue, but as he went to reach back, the boy beneath him grabbed his arm and stared up at him with concern. "Wait, Channie. Are you sure you want to do this now? I barely prepped you," Chan rolled his eyes affectionately at his lover's concern, a tremor of lust vibrating through his veins. This was why he loved him. This is why he loved Woojin. He always knew when Chan needed something before Chan himself knew. He always put Chan before himself in these situations- which although frustrating sometimes, was endearing and somehow turned Chan on even more.

"Woojinnie," the blond pecked the brunette's lips. "It's fine."

"But-" Chan sighed before consuming his lover's lips once more. He pulled away slightly before speaking against Woojin's lips.

"I want you now, Woojinnie. Please," Chan begged breathlessly as he rocked backwards to initiate friction between his body and Woojin's dick. The brunette moan softly before growling and flipping them over so that Chan was pinned beneath him. This, this was what Chan loved the most about Woojin. When he dominated him.

Woojin kissed and sucked Chan's neck roughly before nibbling on the blond's collar bone. Chan's back arched as the brunette gently licked at his nipple before sucking on it.

Chan met Woojin's heavy gaze with a slow bite to his lower lip. The blond smirked as the brunette let go of any previous reservations and captured his lips roughly between his own before nibbling on Chan's lower lip. Chan willingly answered Woojin's fire with his own and ground upwards against the brunette's groin impatiently.

His lover growled into his mouth before aligning himself and pushing in slowly. Their groans and pants mingled together as Woojin thrust in fully with a sharp snap of his hips. The older set a fast and rough pace that had Chan a moaning mess in seconds. He trembled with pleasure as he focused on the feeling of Woojin's length sliding inside of him, filling him up before retracting almost all of the way out before he can completely chase after that satisfying full feeling.

The blond's pitched moans and shallow pants set Woojin's body alight with desire to extract more delicious sounds from his lover. He sucked and nibbled on Chan's neck, teasing around his sweet spot, just barely brushing against it with his lips before suckling on pale skin beside it. He moaned loudly as he angled his thrust slightly and Chan clenched around him in shocked pleasure. The feeling of Chan's walls swallowing Woojin and trying to keep him pressed against that small bundle of nerves was overwhelming and the brunette's hips stuttered. If they kept this up, it would end too quickly.

He gripped Chan's waist carefully as he pulled out and changed their position. The blond whined at the absence of Woojin inside him but the brunette simply swallowed up the pitiful sound with his mouth as he kissed Chan. He licked at Chan's lips, asking for permission which he was eagerly given.

Chan shuddered as lust coursed through him. He absently fought Woojin for dominance, their tongues pushing and swirling at each other hungrily. He didn't wish to be in control, he wanted to be dominated, but he knew Woojin liked to be challenged when he was in command.

He gasped when he felt two fingers slip into him without warning, the digits immediately pumping in and out of him at a steady pace. He rocked back against the fingers with a moan as Woojin slipped a third finger in beside the other two. The brunette scissored the blond open until he was a trembling, panting mess, lightly pressing against his prostate before pulling his fingers backwards only to push them forwards faster than before. He continued his ministrations until his lover was a moaning mess beneath him.

All too soon, the digits were slipping out of Chan and Woojin was pulling away from him. Chan pouted at his teasing lover. He didn't have to wait too long before getting what he wanted, however, because the brunette guided the blond to be on all fours swiftly before entering him again.

Chan cried out as Woojin aimed for his prostate and thrust into it repeatedly with varying pressures. Chan hissed in annoyance at the teasing alternating changes while Woojin chuckled, although somewhat breathlessly.

Woojin pound into Chan seriously when the latter rocked back into him to meet his thrusts half way. The moan that tumbled passed the blond's lips at this simple movement was enough to snap Woojin's tether and leave him mercilessly chasing after the boy's prostate with every well aimed and powerful trust.

Woojin could tell when Chan was getting close because the blond fell to his elbows and his moans became obscene and drawn out. Chan could tell by Woojin's faltering thrusts that he was about to cum, so he clenched around him, gasping out his lover's name wantonly as this action drew Woojin flush against his prostate and left him cumming at the same time as he was filled with Woojin and his own cum.

Woojin waited a moment before pulling out and collapsing beside Chan with a contended sigh. "I love you, Channie." He whispered, adoration decorating his brown eyes with shining stars as he gazed at the blond like he was his whole world. Chan smiled happily and snuggled closer to the brunette.

"I love you more," he sighed into Woojin's neck, swallowing his own sappy words with a gentle kiss against his lover's pulse.

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FLASHBACK

Felix was glaring at them with an undying fury as he sat opposite the stiff ravenette. He was clearly unimpressed that they had lied to him and were now forcing him to be in the same room as the one who had hurt him and invaded his privacy. The red haired boy was impossibly tense, muscles drawn taut over his bones like an elastic band stretched to its limit, stretched until its release would yield sharp burning pain to its target, refusing to relax even as Seungmin massaged his shoulders comfortingly and Jisung curled protectively around the boy. But Chan could understand it. They had failed to protect him that day. It would be a long while before they could earn back Felix's trust. Perhaps even longer before he would readily depend on them for support like he used to.

Woojin subtly rubbed small comforting circles with his fingers near Chan's lower spine. The blond sent the brunette a grateful glance before meeting Felix's glare sternly, putting on a front of the confident leader role he often found himself falling into to keep the group together.

"Felix, I am sorry we lied to you, but you aren't the only one. We lied to Minho as well," he inhaled slowly, giving himself a few seconds of calm before chaos erupted. "We all need to talk."

Voices battled each other violently. Viciously tearing at each other, ripping their foe apart in an effort to be the last one standing, to be heard. Chan schooled his expression into one of neutrality as several voices clashed and snapped simultaneously, creating a cacophonous, disjointed melody of discord. Woojin's comforting fingers paused as the older winced at the abrasive sound.

"SHUT UP!" The loud scream startled the room into silence. The owner of the voice blinked, seemingly surprised by his own power before he stood and met everyone's confused and expectant stares. "Just shut up," the boy's voice was weaker now, wobbling and teetering over the edge of his words. The usual ringtone of the boy's phone filled the room with foreboding. Felix glanced at Seungmin apologetically before hurrying away, ringing phone in his hand. The loud slam of his bedroom door the telltale sign of his terror.

No one spoke. Each person too afraid to shatter the fragile layer of silence which had frozen around them. Chan leaned heavily against Woojin for support while he waited for Felix to return. He knew the red haired boy would. Whether it was after his phone call, or once his anxiety had settled down, or even after everyone else had left except for Chan, Felix would come back. So, he waited, and with him remained his eight friends.

Half an hour ticked by before the red strands of hair and constellations of freckles cautiously returned to the living room. Felix stared at the floor with an expression that had Chan siting on the edge of his seat in a heart beat, his body tensed, ready to jump into whatever action was required.

When Felix spoke, it was accompanied by a strange strangled sob. "They said I should forgive you," Teary brown orbs stared at Minho as a shaky exhale blanketed the room with relief. "T-that I should try to fix things, if you are willing to meet me half-way."

Minho stood uncertainly, his movements wary and slow, his face contorted by the effort to hide his jealousy, relief, regret. "I want to fix this, Lix-Felix," the red haired boy tensed and Chan winced at the ravenette's slip up. "I never meant for any of it to happen. I am so- you don't understand how sorry I am that I hurt you, Felix."

"Not sorry enough," the red head's harsh tone and stony glare was enough to send a rush of sharp inhales around the room and for the usually confident and dominant Minho to pull into himself, shoulders drawing inwards, arms crossing around himself uncertainly while his face paled and his mouth opened and closed as words refused to make their way passed his lips.

The silence that had fallen over the room was deafening. It screeched and screamed until its voice was hoarse and faint. But still, it persisted.

Woojin made eye contact with Chan, a certain sadness, which Chan was sure was mirrored in his own eyes shone brightly in his brown eyes as he conveyed every thought he was having through his exasperated, anxious expression.

Suddenly, a body moved, unfreezing the scratched disc and continuing the story. Felix's head snapped in the direction of the movement as the tall onyx haired dancer approached him before engulfing him in an understanding, comforting embrace. It spurred Seungmin into action who joined the two eagerly.

Chan watched as the two boys pulled away from Felix slowly. A rosy pink floated amongst the stars resting on Felix's face. A small confused but happy smiled played with the corners of the younger's lips and caused the others in the room to smile, except for Minho.

The ravenette stared at the younger Australian with dull, heartbroken guilt. Jisung observed silently as the lonesome boy stepped quietly from the room. He hated that Minho was hurting more than before and slipped out of the room unnoticed after the boy. If anyone asked, he would tell them he was telling Minho how to fix things with Felix and encouraging him not to feel discouraged by Felix's jarring statement and involvement/reliance with/upon strangers.

END FLASHBACK

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It took a few weeks, but with the guidance of Jungkook, Felix found himself able to endure Minho's presence with little to no apprehension. And with the aid of Jisung, Minho found a way to vent his frustrations while also finding out how to rectify his mistakes. He smiled contentedly when the red haired boy voluntarily chose to sit on the couch adjacent to him. While not what he was hoping for, it was progress. Considering the boy used to avoid him like the plague and outright refused to exist in the same room as him, it was major progress. Minho glanced at Felix regularly, but the boy was absorbed in whatever game he was playing on his phone.

Minho sighed quietly before giving up on the notion of possible conversation, laying back on the three-seater, stretching out much like a cat would before settling in to see what Jeongin, Jisung and Seungmin were up to as the trio had left the house over an hour ago with excited expressions.

"Can you let Chan know that I will be out for a few hours once he and Woojin are done?" Minho started at the red head's sudden voice. It had been silent, save for the constant loud moans emanating from down the hall, but those easily became background noise- to Minho anyway. The ravenette looked up at Felix as he stood and started walking towards the front door while typing on his phone with sure fingers.

"Where are you going?" He queried, even though he was sure he knew where the boy was going. The terse answer twisted his heart tightly as it only confirmed his suspicion.

"Out." The finality of the statement shut down the ravenette effectively and the red haired Aussie strode out of the house without hesitation.

Minho chuckled humorlessly. There was no purpose to the sound. It simply existed because the boy didn't know how to express his frustration. He became acutely aware of Chan's and Woojin's pitched and breathy moans as they filtered through the house. No matter how hard he attempted to focus on his phone before him he could not stop the sounds of people pleasuring each other from penetrating his concentration.

Eventually, complete and utter silence reigned over the house but it took Minho a moment to realise that moans no longer echoed around him. The ravenette shifted uncomfortably as complete silence settled over the house. With the maknaes out of the house, Hyunjin and Changbin asleep, and Chan and Woojin no longer moaning, there was no sound except for the distant purring of car engines. It was unsettling to Minho who was used to at least the soft sound of someone breathing or the rustling of someone moving to get comfortable. He sat up, no longer able to relax or zone out as he had been before Felix entered the room.

He stared at his phone blankly, not moving even as the screen went black. What was he supposed to do? He had no one. Many of the boys had become apprehensive around him and were wary to be around him too often. He knew it wasn't because they feared for their own safety. They just didn't want to upset Felix by hanging out with Minho. And it hurt.

The only person who was happy to be near him without a care was Jisung. But that only happened recently and the squirrel boy had already warned the ravenette that if he hurt Felix again, he would hurt him. Minho sighed. He really never meant to hurt Felix. He doesn't understand why he reacted the way he did when Felix came home that day. Something just snapped inside him without warning and red rage boiled his blood until he could no longer think beyond the stress and fear Felix had forced him to endure by leaving alone and going radio silent on everyone. But what he did to Felix was horrible and he hated himself for it. He missed Felix. Missed his deep voice, his carefree laugh, his cute pout when he wanted something but didn't know how to ask for it. He had messed up everything and despite Felix slowly associating with him more and more, everyone was still uncertain on whether this meant they could be openly friendly with Minho without upsetting the red haired boy. Although, Minho scoffed, it didn't really matter considering the freckled boy was rarely at the house. Ever.

The ravenette threw himself backwards with a huff. It was frustrating. He just wanted to fix what he had ruined with Felix and mend his relationships with everyone else (he missed the sex for crying out loud. He didn't like messing around with people outside their group. He didn't want something with feelings. He just wanted sex- that's what he told himself anyway).

A quiet voice startled him from his thoughts, causing him to drop his phone on his stomach in surprise. "Penny for your thoughts?" Minho glanced to his right and saw a peaceful looking Chan leaning casually against the wall, his bleached hair still partially wet from the shower he had just taken. When Minho didn't respond, the blond sighed and spoke again. "It will take time."

"I know," The ravenette sighed. "I know. I just..." Minho trailed off and dropped his head down to rest on the couch and stared up at the ceiling in annoyance.

"You regret it," Chan finished for him. Minho nodded. "That's good. You should."

The ravenette snapped his head to the side to stare at the blond in bewilderment. Chan's tone had morphed from warm and soft to cold and harsh, adding a nasty bite to his words. Minho went to speak but Chan's voice rumbled through the room before a sound could escape the confines of his throat.

"You didn't just fuck everything up for yourself. You ruined it for all of us. He trusts no one now- no one in this house anyway" The blond observed as Minho flinched and frowned at the reminder of Felix's new friends. "You ordered us to stay away from him- to keep him out of our fucking sessions because you wanted him and didn't want to lose him to someone else, and yet, you are the reason Felix is out there with people we don't know. People he trusts enough that he will leave the house alone to meet them or call them when he wants someplace else to stay. You did this. You pushed our Lixie away from us."

Woojin walked up behind Chan and slowly slid him arms around the blond's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. The brunette's eyes settled on Minho without empathy. He stared at the gaping ravenette who was now sitting up as shock jittered through his bones. Sure Chan could be blunt, but he usually approached situations a lot more diplomatically and refrained from placing the blame entirely on someone. Two curious faces peered into the quiet living room shamelessly as they inspected the situation.

Minho's frown deepened. Chan was right. He had fucked up. Big time. But he already knew that. Jisung had told him, although in a kinder way, that everyone was mad at Minho for ruining their relationship with Felix by behaving so aggressively. However, Jisung had told him that while they were mad at him, it wasn't the reason why they kept their distance from him. In fact, it was because they didn't want Felix to mistakenly believe that Minho's behaviour was easily excused by everyone else.

Minho exhaled slowly, calming his agitated nerves. "It will take time," the ravenette muttered, relaying Chan's earlier statement back to the older. A muscle in the blond's jaw jumped and Minho knew his statement had come across wrong. To fix it he blurted out the first sentence he thought of to stop the peeved Aussie from yelling at him. "Which is why, I'm moving out."

Surprised gasps and the clash of something hitting the tiled kitchen floor made the ravenette flinch and turn around. Four faces stared at him with varying levels of confusion. Jisung's jaw was tense, betrayal shining through his dark eyes, letting Minho know this was definitely not the best thing he should have said. A quick glance at Jeongin and Seungmin left the ravenette frowning as the two looked completely bewildered and shocked. Minho flickered his eyes to the red head behind them and observed a confused sadness on the boy's freckled face before the red head smothered it with a blank expression devoid of any emotion.

The ravenette looked away, his gaze settling on Changbin's disbelieving stare and Hyunjin's uncertain expression, as if the dancer couldn't work out if what he heard was correct or not. Minho dragged his eyes away from the two to meet Chan's and Woojin's stern gazes. He met their stares and held them unfalteringly as he restated what he said with finality as if he had actually debated this option and come to this conclusion over time instead of just panickedly blurting it out.

"I'm moving out. I'm going back to Korea. I plan to be gone before the month is over," his voice moved confidently around the words like a dancer with well learnt choreography- like he had practiced those exact lines over a thousand times.

A strange strangled noise escaped into the room, but Minho didn't turn around. He knew who it was without even having to look.

"No you're not," the words were spat out harshly, like a vicious denial wrapped around a plea disguised as an order.

Every pair of eyes in the room flickered to the scrunched freckled face of the red haired boy who was glaring at Minho with an unyielding ferocity. "You are not going back to Korea. You are not moving out. You don't get to runaway, Lee Minho," something inside the latter deflated at Felix's last statement. For a second, for a brief heartbeat, Minho could pretend that Felix said those words because he wanted him to stay, but with those final words, the ravenette knew that the boy simply thought of him as a coward trying to runaway from the repercussions of his actions instead of facing them and fixing what he had broken.

The constellations of freckles disappeared down the hall, their absence emphasised by the echoing slam of a door. In the silence, the others met each other's surprised stares awkwardly before slowly sneaking down the halls to their respective rooms, until Minho was left alone again in the living room.

Again, Minho chuckled mirthlessly. This was ridiculous. Even Chan refused to rebut what Felix had said or even add to it. This meant that Minho was stuck here, even if he never planned on leaving, he couldn't move away. Because to do so would be to make everything irreparable between him and the others, and Felix.

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Felix wandered into the lounge room slowly. His eyes flickered nervously towards the calm ravenette occupying the three-seater couch. Despite wanting to turn around and just go back to his room, Felix chose to sit in the chair beside Minho. He promised Jungkook and Namjoon that he would try and so he was.

He focused on his phone, intermittently sending messages to the group chat he had been added to with Jungkook and the others, and playing Card Thief. He didn't mind the game. It required some strategy, especially once you reached the higher levels. He was focusing more on beating his high scores in each completed level rather than focusing on actually reaching the next level. He wanted to stay ahead of Jungkook after all, even Yoongi was close to catching up to his high scores.

He sighed as quietly as possible as he made the wrong move and was captured again. He was so close to beating his high score but now it was ruined. He reopened the group chat and read the messages he had ignored while playing the game and smiled.

Jimin and Taehyung were heading to the arcade and were wondering if Felix wanted to join them. He quickly typed out a response.

He looked up from his phone briefly and started when his eyes landed on the almost motionless ravenette stretched out across the couch. His eyes wandered over the exposed flesh where the older boy's shirt had ridden up slightly before slowly dawdling up to the ravenette's face. His expression was calm but held a pinched tension that suggested that something was bothering him. A part of Felix wanted to go over to Minho and gently massage his shoulders while asking him what was wrong, like he used to but Felix knew he couldn't do it. Both because it was too intimate after the distance between them and also because he just couldn't. Minho had hurt him, and even if it really didn't seem like much too someone else, it had traumatised Felix in a way. He just didn't trust Minho at all anymore.

He glanced down at his phone as it vibrated and read Jimin's response. The ash blond had suggested a challenge between the three of them and Felix was quick to accept it. Taheyung was a bit hesitant but Felix knew that that was because there was an underlying meaning behind "the losers have to do what the winner wants for 24 hours". Felix knew that Jimin and Taehyung were particularly close but he wasn't exactly sure what relationship they shared. He also knew that Jimin always got what he wanted. So, Felix knew that even if Taehyung won, he would end up still doing what Jimin wanted, and he knew that the other two knew that as well. It was a win win situation for Jimin. All the ash blond had to do was pout and bat his eye lashes and Taehyung would give him the world. Hell, Felix would give Jimin the world if he looked at him like that, especially if he used his smooth, low tone that ascended gently in pitch as he giggled. But Felix doubted Jimin would ever do that with him. They were new friends after all- although he had seen Jimin use it with complete strangers quite a lot, but it held a different tone to the one he used on the members of his household.

With a sad sigh, Felix stood. " Can you let Chan know that I will be out for a few hours once he and Woojin are done?" Without glancing up from his phone as he began to set out some ground rules for the challenge, Felix began walking towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" The strong smooth voice that belonged to Minho chased after him curiously. Felix struggled to keep walking at the sound of the commanding voice, it held a tinge of panic that was abnormal for the ravenette and Felix knew that he was the cause of it. He didn't want to be the reason Minho was hurting or afraid, but he wasn't about to stop seeing Jungkook, Jimin, Taehyung, Hoseok, Yoongi, Namjoon or Jin to make Minho happy. As petty as it was, Felix believed it was Minho's turn to hurt. Felix shook off the thought. Minho's pride was likely the only thing that was hurt here. He didn't care what Felix did as long as he just hurried up and forgave him so that he could mess around with the others again. Felix wasn't blind or stupid. He saw that the others were keeping their distance from Minho and he knew Minho, although a bit of a hoe, he didn't want to have sex with people outside of their group. The older boy was afraid of someone getting feelings for him instead of keeping the sex meaningless. Not that Felix ever found it meaningless when he heard them all moaning together. They may not have feelings for each other in the same way lovers do, but there was still feelings there. Feelings that meant that they all wanted each other to feel satisfied and feel the utmost pleasure during their sessions. The memories of all of the times he was left alone in his room while moans filtered through the house sparked an ember of past rage and loneliness.

"Out." He responded to Minho curtly while striding out of the house. He exhaled shakily before dialing Jimin's number. The phone rang thrice before the ash blond answered the phone.

"What's up?" The boy asked the second he accepted the call.

"N-nothing. Just wanted to hear your voice is all," Felix answered cheesily. The ember flickered and burned in his chest as he strode confidently down the path he had walked over dozens of times both alone and beside someone over the last few months. It was a persistent undying flame, small but refusing to go out completely. He hated thinking about the past, even if those memories were from a few months ago before everything drastically changed that day.

"Did something happen, Lix?" It was Taehyung's concerned voice crackling through the phone speaker now.

"No, no. Nothing happened. Just needed something else to focus on instead of the people around me," he sighed in relief as understanding passed through the boys on the other end of the phone.

"Oh, okay," Taehyung didn't completely believe him, but Felix knew that he would wait until Felix was ready to talk about it.

"Well, just listen to our voices then, Lixie. What game should we play first at the arcade?" Jimin knew Felix wasn't being entirely truthful as well, but he hid it better than Taehyung, allowed Felix to feel like he was just simply anxious about walking the streets alone rather than dwelling on past memories and emotions. He was offering a distraction to Felix, to keep him focused on their voices rather than whatever was bothering him.

"I'm not sure. We could start with that basketball one?" He posed the suggestion as a question as he tried to recall what games the arcade had. It had been quite a while since he had last visited.

"Is that the only one you remember?" Taehyung snorted, his usual playful self returning to entertain the boys with friendly banter.

"No," Felix dragged out the 'o' slowly with a higher pitch to blatantly indicate that this was indeed the case. Jimin's giggle fluttered through the speaker and the red haired boy closed his eyes briefly at the melodic sound. The sharp, breathless inhale, almost inaudible on the other side of the phone indicated that Taehyung was similarly affected by the ash blond's laugh.

They continued to talk for about five more minutes before the line went silent for a while. The silence was comfortable and calming to Felix. After a few minutes, Jimin's soft humming danced into Felix's ear with graceful leaps and elegant twirls. Taehyung's deeper voice harmonised with Jimin's as they enticed their vocal chords through the calming melody.

The red haired boy found himself disappointed when he reached the arcade and Jimin and Taehyung stopped their impromptu serenading. He walked towards the waiting boys who were standing at the front of the arcade while pocketing his phone.

"You ready?" He asked the older boys.

"Hell yeah!" Jimin responded, eagerly grabbing Felix's and Taehyung's arms before dragging them inside the venue. "Let's get this challenge started, I can't wait to have you both doing what I say by the end of today," Both Felix and Taehyung sputtered out laughs but neither denied that that was exactly how the day would end up.

They were onto their fourth game, with Felix surprisingly in the lead, when a familiar voice startled Felix.

"Felix?" Seungmin's light voice seemed to cut through the loud game sounds easily and the red head turned around, mid-game. He stared at the brunette in surprise as he noticed Jeongin and Jisung by his side. In his peripherals, Felix saw Jimin and Taehyung also stop, turning around, watching their interaction uncertainly.
Felix glanced at the two older boys and subtly signaled that it was alright. The two visibly relaxed but their eyes remained trained on the three in front of the freckled boy warily.

"What are you guys doing here?" Felix asked.

"What are we doing here?" Jisung asked incredulously. The rapper was already concerned for how discouraged Minho would be when he spoke to him later. Not to mention concerned about his soulmate. They were practically twins and Jisung hated how much his freckled friend had distanced himself from him since that day. "I think the better question is what are you doing here? You don't even like the arcade."

Jimin and Taehyung glanced at Felix sharply and the red head hung his head slightly. It was true that he wasn't the biggest fan of the arcade, but that was because it was usually crowded and there was no way to escape the overall claustrophobic atmosphere of the place. But somehow, when he was with Jimin and Taehyung, he could just lose himself in the joy of playing the games alongside them.

"Or do you only like the arcade when you're with your new friends?" Jisung's tone was accusatory and harsh but Felix knew it was just his way of masking his hurt. Seungmin slapped the brunette upside the head with a frown before anyone else could speak or do anything.

"Stop being a jealous prick, Jisung. It doesn't matter who Felix does or doesn't like going to the arcade with. You forget, when we last went to the arcade with him, he couldn't leave the house alone because of all the people walking on the paths, so how do you think he felt walking into a crowded place like this?" Jisung looked aptly reprimanded and Jeongin was stifling a laugh behind his hand, his crinkled eyes a dead give away to his mirth.

"You tell him, hyung!" Seungmin shot the maknae a half-hearted glare and the younger lost it, laughing loudly while walking away to compose himself. Seungmin sighed before looking to Felix imploringly.

"Where did we go wrong with that child?" He asked with a sigh. The red head just chuckled, a delighted grin decorating his features in a way that left the brunette smiling softly. It was something he hadn't seen his best friend do in a long time, and he desperately missed it.

"I'm sorry, Lix," Jisung apologised suddenly.

"It's okay, Sungie," the freckled boy assured his almost twin. "I know your jealousy gets the best of you sometimes," the rapper glared at Felix in annoyance.

"Hey! It does not!" The boy denied loudly. A few people turned to glance at the group but immediately looked away when Jimin looked at them, their faces suddenly becoming flushed.

Seungmin glanced between Felix and the two strangers beside him silently. The freckled boy caught on to the unspoken question and Felix rushed to introduce the boys. Jeongin had thankfully just returned to the group, composed but with a sly grin still gracing his features.

"This is Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung," Felix gestured to each boy as he said their name. His three friends nodded and extended their hands in greeting before introducing themselves.

"It's nice to finally meet the amazing Seungmin we have heard so much about," Jimin drawled. Felix shivered at the low tone the ash blond had taken on. Seungmin glanced at Felix in surprise.

"You talk about me?"

"Uhm... I talk about all of you?" He replied uncertainly. Jeongin's expression became apprehensive as he glanced between the two older boys and Felix. He stepped back, nervously playing with the rings on his fingers. Jimin caught the maknae's nervous movements and sent him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. It's all good things,"

"Okay, that has to be a lie," Jisung declared boldly. "There is no way Felix would have anything good to say about Minho anymore," Seungmin turned towards the rapper, ready to slap him again when Taehyung's voice rumbled through the air.

"We weren't talking about him."

"I-"

"We rarely talk about him," Taehyung's reprimanding stare settled on the squirrel-cheeked boy. Jisung bowed his head in apology to his unnecessary outburst. The dark haired boy was growing frustrated the longer he saw Felix beside the other two. They were extremely good looking, good enough to be famous, international models or idols. And on top of that, they were genuine, kind, and liked to have fun. It would be too easy to lose Felix to them. Jisung understood why Minho was so concerned now, even without knowing what the boys looked, sounded or acted like. Because Jisung was terrified that he would wake up and find out that the red head was moving in with Jimin and Taehyung.

"Umm... so, what brought you guys here?" Felix asked again, in an attempt to break the awkward silence.

"Jeongin wanted to come here and see who could win the most tickets," Seungmin responded, relief shining gratefully in his eyes. The dark haired maknae grinned gloatingly before announcing who the winner was.

"I won the most tickets so Seungmin hyung and Jisung hyung have offered to buy me lunch!" Jeongin exclaimed eagerly.

"Offered?" Seungmin scoffed at the same time Jisung exclaimed, "Offered!"

"This brat here," Jisung moved towards Jeongin before grabbing him in a headlock. "Is draining our wallets all because of a stupid competition where the losers pay for the winner's lunch!"

"Stupid? You didn't seem to think it was stupid before I won," the dark haired boy exposed the rapper daringly despite the boy's arm near his throat.

Jimin's cute giggle floated through the air. Felix and Taehyung glanced at the dancer with grins of their own. "Looks like your dongsaeng has you there," the ash blond smiled charmingly at the trio and they smiled back, all previous reservations and apprehension gone. Felix loved how Jimin had that effect on people.

"So, are you going to get lunch now?" Taehyung queried. The trio nodded. "Mind if we join you? Don't worry, we will pay the bill," the blue haired boy added, seeing the look of concern flash on Seungmin's face and his hand instinctively move towards his wallet.

"Uh-"

"Oh! What if we have a group lunch with everyone so that way everyone can meet us?" Jimin perked up. He turned eagerly towards Felix, his eyes telling the red head that he could decline if he felt uncomfortable.

"I think that would be a great idea, hyung. What do you think, Seungmin?" Felix asked his best friend, wanting his opinion as well. The red head was actually excited for his two friend groups to meet each other. He hoped it would help each group feel less apprehensive about the other- not that Jungkook and the others felt that way towards Felix's friends or even Minho.

"Oh, um, I'm sure Chan wouldn't mind. But does this include Minho?" The brunette shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously as he glanced between Taehyung, Jimin and Felix.

"Well, we can't just exclude him," Felix responded slowly. "He is a part of our household and he is friends with the rest of you," Jeongin snorted at the word term.

"If you could call that thing slinking around the house sulkily a part of the household, then sure, include him. I, for one, think it's a terrible idea to bring him along. No one likes him anyway. He will just ruin the mood with his temper."

"Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean everyone else doesn't. You're the only one I see ruining the mood with your petty and disrespectful behaviour," Jisung seethed, his stare stony as it fixated on the maknae. Jeongin looked at Jisung with disinterest, the smallest hint of annoyance tugging the corners of his lips down.

"Don't get so defensive, Jisung hyung. Your little crush is getting annoying," Jisung glanced at Felix in alarm, his mouth already opening to deny the claim. Felix observed the boy blankly. Jisung had a crush on Minho? Before he could grow too carried away by his curious and slightly hurt thoughts, Jeongin's voice ploughed forward, disturbing Jisung's words before they could weed their way to the surface. "Minho is a bad tempered person who disrespected Felix to the point where if it were up to me, I would have kicked him out of the house. He deserves no respect."

"Well, it's a good thing it isn't up to you," the dark haired rapper was furious, his fists clenched and shaking, his eyes narrowed and cold, his voice deep and rough with rage.

Jimin stepped forward before things could escalate. "How about we play a few games together to cool off? The person who earns the most tickets out of three games gets to make the people with the least amount of tickets do whatever they want for the next 24 hours," Jimin's expression became serious suddenly as he added in a light voice, "terms and conditions apply."

Felix nearly choked on his saliva as he tried to inhale and laugh at the same time. The other boys grinned, a few melodic jingles of laughter escaping each of them at the short phrase every ad seemed to include on the television.

-----------------------------

The red haired boy sighed contentedly as he observed his friends interacting and competing against each other. He stood a little off to the side with Jeongin as Taehyung and Seungmin versed Jimin and Jisung in air hocky. Jimin and Jisung were ahead by 250 points but Felix knew that the scores were not set in stone yet. The competitive clench of Seungmin's jaw combined with his narrowed eyes which focused solely on the pucks suggested decimation. There was no way Jimin and Jisung were escaping this game unscathed. Felix giggled with Jeongin as they observed Jisung and Jimin grow increasingly frustrated as the tables turned and Seungmin single-handedly destroyed their score with an extra 700 points. Felix chuckled loudly when he glanced at Taehyung and was met with baffled bewilderment.  The older boy's eyes were wide with astonishment as Seungmin moved swiftly and precisely, delivering devastating blows to Jimin's and Jisung's pride like a well-oiled machine.

A victorious shout from Taehyung signaled the end of the game. Seungmin smirked at the opposing team while brushing off his hands casually. Taehyung jumped around Seungmin and wrapped his arms around him, encouraging him to jump with him. Felix laughed loudly as the younger boy grinned and allowed the giddiness of his sweet victory hit him full force. This game was the final one and it had just made Taehyung and Seungmin the winners.

The idea of teaming up had been Jeongin's idea. Felix believed it was an excuse to continue keeping his distance from Jisung while (hopefully) beating him. All of them had agreed that pairing up would be a great idea as it meant a few other games could be played. So, after quickly working out the groups and tallying up the pairs' collective scores, they set out to destroy each other.

Unfortunately, Felix and Jeongin ended up left behind in the dust as Jimin and Jisung, and Taehyung and Seungmin raced ahead with what seemed like superhuman scores to the younger boys. However, they were eager to watch the rivalry between the two groups grow as they battled to be the winner.

The only time anxiety pricked at Felix was when he noticed the crowd they had drawn. It was only a dozen people, but that was enough to have Felix forgetting how to breathe until Jeongin put a comforting arm around him and whispered encouragement to him. The younger continued to speak softly, offering Felix something else to focus on, until Felix relaxed.

With Taehyung and Seungmin the winners and Jeongin and Felix the indisputable losers, Felix felt his wallet wailing already. A glance at Jeongin's wary expression told Felix that the younger was hearing his own wallet crying as well. He glanced at the four boys, two beaming with victory and two begrudgingly licking their wounds. Even if it was just the six of them, Felix would not be able to pay for all of the food they would eat, and with the possibility of the other ten boys joining them for lunch, there was no way Felix would be able to afford it, even with Jeongin's help.

Lost in thought, Felix didn't hear Seungmin calling his name at first. It wasn't until Jeongin nudged him back to reality that he looked up from the floor and met the brunette's brown eyes shining with affection and slyness.

"Felix?"

"Sorry, yeah?" He blinked at the boy as Taehyung moved to stand beside him.

"Don't stress, Felix," Taehyung's voice danced joyfully through the air, mingling eagerly with the jingles of the games within the arcade. "We wouldn't allow our dongsaengs to pay for all of us." Taehyung's expression became blank for a moment as he added, "Besides, Namjoon hyung would lecture us about being bad hyungs if we did that," he pulled a face and all four of them giggled.

A sigh snagged their attention and Felix glanced over to his right. Jimin was standing between Seungmin and Felix with Jisung hiding shamefully behind him. If Felix wasn't still a little upset from finding out that Jisung had a crush on Minho, then he would have hugged his almost twin and promised him cuddles back at the house. It might have seemed ridiculous to anyone else, but he wasn't upset that Jisung was crushing on Minho, it was bound to happen after all - it's not like Minho was unattractive. What upset Felix was the fact that Jisung had kept it from him. How long had he been keeping it a secret? Had Jisung liked Minho when Felix had told him about his own hopeless crush on the ravenette? Is that why the boy Felix would consider his brother had not uttered a single word about liking Minho?

Shooing away the nagging questions he would probably never get an answer for, the red haired boy smiled at Jimin. The ash blond returned the gesture eagerly before telling Taehyung that he had texted Namjoon and the older had told them to come home and help him convince Yoongi to get out of bed.

Bidding farewell to the older boys was amusing to Felix. Jisung seemed eager to shadow Jimin home before Seungmin grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him back, all while smiling brightly and waving at the two walking away. Jeongin giggled with Felix at the scene.  Jimin stopped for a second to blow Jisung a joking kiss while Taehyung chuckled endlessly, finding the whole ordeal hilarious - especially as Jisung blushed a dark red and tried to scurry behind Seungmin to hide his crimson face.

--------

It seemed as if Jisung's embarrassment was enough to resolve the tension between him and Jeongin - or Jeongin deemed this, combined with his defeat, enough to make up for his earlier transgressions, because the dark haired boy gleefully teased the older about his very red face for the entire twenty minute walk back to the house.

Jisung jokingly went to strangle Jeongin at one stage and Seungmin had to hold the boy back. His eyes stared at Felix imploringly, but the freckled boy couldn't stop laughing and found himself unable to help restrain Jisung.

When they, entered the house, their giggles quietened as they snuck into the kitchen to grab the bag of snacks Seungmin had bought the day before. Felix was grabbing some glasses so the boys could drink some soda, when he heard Minho's voice. The once comforting sound sent a shiver of apprehension down his spine. He glanced at the three boys and they met his gaze with furrowed brows. Although, none of them could discern what was being said, they could all hear the tense tone Minho's muffled words carried.

Shuffling quietly out of the kitchen, glass forgotten in his hand, Felix followed the others towards the living room. Just as they made it to the door way, Minho's words rang clearly through the air like a clock tower bell chiming loudly so it could be heard over the cacophony of the city.

"I'm moving out." Those three words sent a hurricane of emotions rampaging through Felix. Without realising, the glass slipped from his fingers and shattered on the tiled kitchen floor. Something within him scoffed at how the shards were almost an exact replica of his heart; broken and irreparable. Hundreds of thoughts crashed through his mind all at once, reminiscent of a stampede of wild rhinos. His skull felt like it would split open from the impact of the thoughts being flung against it violently as the raging winds tearing him apart seemed to only grow more vicious.

Minho can't leave! That thought- that desperation exclamation shot through  him, spearing his lungs and tearing the organ to pieces. Felix felt oxygen and carbon dioxide stutter in his throat as he forgot how to breathe (A/N: this is where I started to cry. I was listening to Astronaut and started wondering which parts Woojin would have been singing or if they removed those parts. And then I started thinking about how their future songs really won't have Woojin... goodnight). The world blurred and refocused as a fuzzy darkness scratched at the sides of his eyes, consuming his vision.

As quickly as the sheer panic had come, it disappeared. A furious determination standing steadfast in it's place, it's jaw snapping viciously with rage and betrayal. A scary calm washed over Felix, soothing his muscles, soothing his aching heart, soothing his burning lungs, and washing away any traces of his previous panic.

"I'm moving out. I'm going back to Korea. I plan to be gone before the month is over," the practiced words slashed at the frothing beast trembling with pent up fury, goading it. It was only logical that the beast would retaliate, that it would lash out with just as much fervor.

"No you're not," the words were red and raw, bloodied and torn. An unyielding demand hiding a broken plea that had been whispered into the silent night too many times: don't leave me, please.

Every pair of eyes in the room flickered to the scrunched freckled face of the red haired boy who was glaring at Minho with an unyielding ferocity. Felix refused to back down even as t he pressure of all of these people watching him, sparked his anxiety. The multiple sets of eyes only encouraged the beast.

"You are not going back to Korea," the beast launched itself at it's unsuspecting prey, it's teeth bared. "You are not moving out. You don't get to runaway, Lee Minho," the name was spat out as if the syllables were poisoned. Felix glared at Minho. It was infuriating that the boy he had idolized and cared for more than he should have, was trying to bail instead of trying to fix things. The beast of rage within him snarled at the the thought of Minho scampering away with his tail between his legs. It was pathetic. The boy was supposed to care for Felix. He was supposed to want to fix this. Yet, all he wanted to do was get as far away from Felix as possible.

As a storm cloud of sadness loomed over the beast and allowed freezing fat drops of despair and loneliness to numb the raging beast. Before the tidal wave could crash through his eyes and reveal his pain to the world, Felix stormed down the hall and entered his room. The slam of the door boomed through the air like a loud clash of thunder. With this herald of a storm, Felix's dam broke and tears cascaded past his freckles freely. A single thought raced within the droplets of warm salty water as they dropped from his chin into a free fall to the floor;

Why does Minho hate him? 

Hey... I'm sorry this isn't the super long chapter that I promised. I really wanted to publish something today because it is officially one month since we found out about Woojin leaving Stray Kids... I wanted to do something to defy the stupid lack of motivation and depression I've been dealing with. And so, Ta-Da!
I'm super sorry that it is poorly written (and unedited) and that it has taken me so long to post something. But hopefully this will make up for that -> This story will no longer be on hiatus and I will update HOE monthly.

I want to take a moment to thank you.
Thank you for waiting so patiently.
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Thank you for existing ♡