Pairing: Hyunjin & Felix & Minho

Genre: Non-Idol AU

!!TW!! : angst, overwork, mild injury, exhaustion, brief mention of blood

(requested by @Misunni)

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Felix had always been a people-pleaser. Not in a submitting sense but more like, if he could help make someone's day just a little easier, or just a little brighter, then he would push his own happiness to the side without hesitation to make it happen.

Felix had developed a rather... unhealthy, mentality, in regard to that aspect of his personality. He'd grown up believing that his life was worthless unless he proved himself useful to others, and it reached a point where he'd forsake his own health if it meant being of use to other people – because what was the point in him being there if he took up space and air without working for it?

Felix knew, deep down, that this wasn't the right way to think – but he was already gone too far, stuck too deep. He'd grabbed the wheel and pushed the gas pedal without realizing the break wasn't working, and now he was in for a wild ride that would ultimately drive him off a cliff.

To think it started with something so simple, too.

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"Oh, no..."

"What's wrong, Hyunjin?"

"I don't have enough to pay my share of rent this month," cursed the slightly older man, looking through his bank account. "I'm so sorry, could you—"

"I'll pay it," assured Felix with a small smile. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh, thank you, you're an angel," he sighed, relieved. "I'll pay you back, okay?"

"It's okay, don't stress with that kind of stuff. You have important exams coming up, right? Just focus on those."

And a few hours later...

"Oh, Felix! I was wondering if you could do me a favor!"

"What is it, Minho?" asked the younger, always eager to help.

"My boss got the pays mixed up, and I won't get my new cheque before next week, but rent is due in three days and—"

"Sure, I'll cover your share," volunteered Felix.

Minho frowned slightly. "Are you sure?"

"Of course, it's no trouble."

"Awesome. I'll you back once I get the money, promise!"

In the end, neither Hyunjin or Minho paid him back – not this time, nor the others.

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In order to cover his two roommates' shares, Felix's current salary wouldn't be nearly enough. While the rent on their nice apartment wasn't too astronomical, they'd decided to move in as three for a reason. However, since Felix wasn't exactly busy with school – contrarily to the other two, he didn't have a major – he figured picking up an extra job or two couldn't hurt.

In addition to his regular shifts at the coffee shop on the corner of their street, he applied for a job at the bookstore not much further than there, at the 24/7 convenience store a few streets away, at the dry-cleaning shop he passed by, and also that one French restaurant that was starting to get really popular. He'd figured that by applying to so many places, at least one of them was bound to call him back and give him the job.

What he didn't expect was for all of them to call back and, Felix being Felix, he couldn't bring himself to say no to any of them.

I have the time, he'd reasoned. And extra money can't hurt.

His weeks instantly became... extremely busy. He'd work the night shift from 10PM to 4AM at the convenience store almost every day, then head directly to the coffee shop to start his day shift from 5AM to 5PM, except for Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when he'd go to the bookstore instead to start at 10AM and close the store at 4PM. After his shift at the coffee shop, he had about an hour to go home, take a shower, and then head to the dry-cleaning shop to work from 6PM to 10PM – and, after his shift at the bookstore, he'd head directly to the French restaurant to work from 4:30PM to 10:30PM, and he also worked there each Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

It's not like Felix wanted to work so many hours but, each time he'd faced one of his employers asking him for more hours, he found himself unable to refuse them. They needed more employees, they needed him to work, and Felix couldn't deny someone when they needed him.

(Maybe he was a bit of a pushover, in a sense. But he felt bad for not working full-time already, so he couldn't bring himself to refuse when they asked him for more hours.)

He had enough to cover his roommates' share, that much was nice – and then he'd realized that he was earning more than enough to, you know, cover a few more rents by himself and give the other two a break. They were both studying so hard for their respective majors, and they were already forced to split their time between studying and working their part-time jobs – surely Felix could ease their burden somehow?

Without concerting with them, he started paying the full rent in advance. Hyunjin hadn't even noticed, he was a bit airheaded, and he didn't remember they had a rent to pay unless Felix or Minho reminded him. Minho was a bit more diligent but, with how hard he was training for his upcoming dance evaluations, he also ended up forgetting.

Still, Felix felt like he wasn't doing enough. Earning money was nice and all, but it didn't change the fact that the other two were still quite stressed by their upcoming finals, and life at home didn't make it any easier on them. Wishing more than anything to help some more, Felix didn't think twice before picking up their shares of chores, too.

He'd clean the apartment, wash their clothes, change the beddings, buy groceries because as tiring as it was, working so many hours really did pay well, cook lots of food in his rare free time that he'd put away in the fridge or the freezer so they could eat it later, bought Hyunjin a new notebook when he filled up his last one, bought Minho a new water bottle when the other broke...

Felix was non-stop and, in some rare moments of lucidity, he was almost scared.

He didn't know how to stop.

He couldn't quit one of his jobs because it'd put his employer and his colleagues in a lot of trouble. He couldn't ask for less hours because he was the one who'd decided to take on so many jobs, and it would look bad to ask for less work when he sought it out in the first place. He couldn't stop paying the full rent because he had the money, why stress his friends with it when he had the means to pay? He couldn't stop cleaning or washing or cooking or buying either, because now Minho and Hyunjin were neck deep into their finals and they didn't need the extra stress those measly chores would put on them.

Felix had bitten off more than he could chew, and it was starting to seriously take its toll on him – but, even as he noticed his depleting levels of energy, he still couldn't bring himself to stop.

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It took Hyunjin and Minho an absurdly long time to notice something was wrong with their precious sunshine. They were both so caught up in their studies, they didn't even notice that Felix wasn't home most of the time. It took until Minho was done with his last dance evaluation for him to finally get out of his own head and realize that things weren't as they used to be.

Minho was tired, but satisfied – his evaluations had gone well, and he was confident that he would pass the semester with flying colors. With that thought in mind, he'd returned home early that day, fully intending on taking a well-deserved nap and, since Hyunjin was finishing just a little later today, maybe the three of them could share a nice dinner?

Felix wasn't home, but Minho figured he was at the coffee shop, still – he worked there full-time, after all. Not too worried, he decided to get started on making dinner for everyone, instead of taking a nap. Upon opening the fridge, though, he found it already filled to the brim with all sorts of Tupperware and prepared food.

I didn't realize Felix had made so much...

Well, scratch making dinner – they could just get takeout instead tonight and eat all of this in the upcoming days. Just as he closed the door of the fridge, the door of the apartment swung open.

"I'm home, babies!"

"Oh, Hyunjin!" he greeted. "You're home early."

"My last exam went better than I expected. I can't believe I'm finally free!" he groaned, flopping on the couch. "And now we have summer break ahead of us... Hey, where's Lixie?"

"Probably at work, still."

Hyunjin hummed under his breath, closing his eyes for a bit. He was pretty tired, but a bit too pumped by the end of the semester to actually fall asleep. Just as he was about to doze off, however, someone came to knock at their door.

Minho came to answer, and was surprised to find Miss Kim, the owner of their building, standing on the other side of the door.

"Oh, Minho dear!" she greeted cheerfully – which was weird, because Miss Kim never liked him or the others very much.

"Hello, Miss Kim," he greeted. "Is there anything we can help you with? Rent isn't due for another two weeks, if I remember correctly."

"Rent? Silly boy, you already paid it in advance, remember?" No, Minho did not, in fact, remember paying the rent – not this month, or... "In fact, I came here to return some money – you paid too much last time. Can you imagine that? I think it's the first time I was paid extra for the rent, ah, ah!"

She handed him a thick, white, sealed envelope, and Minho took it back with a hesitant smile, trying his best to swallow the bile rising in his throat. He thanked her quietly, then closed the door and returned to the living room, the envelope feeling incredibly heavy in his hands.

"Minho? What's wrong?"

"When was the last time you paid rent, Hyunjin?" he asked, his throat tight.

"I..." Hyunjin froze. "Crap, I forgot about that. We must owe her so much, oh my God, we're gonna get evicted—"

"No."

"No?"

"Apparently, we paid rent in advance, and too much of it at that." Minho threw the envelope on the couch beside him. "She came to return money, not ask for more."

"But... I didn't pay my share of the rent in like, three months..."

"Me neither."

The pair exchanged a look. Minho's expression was grim, and it took Hyunjin a few seconds to realize that if neither of them had paid, then only one person was left.

"Oh my God—"

"We need to find him – now."

"L- let's go!"

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They were quite surprised when, upon arriving to the coffee shop, they failed to find Felix anywhere. It was true that they hadn't been there in quite a while, but surely they would have known if Felix had somehow been promoted as manager or something in the back, right?

"Felix?" repeated Lia, one of his coworkers. "It's Tuesday – he doesn't work here on Tuesdays. Or Wednesdays, for that matter."

"What? Where does he go, then?"

"The bookstore, I think? We haven't talked much recently – he always looks so tired, I didn't want to bother him with my big mouth."

The worry in their hearts only grew at that, and they promptly took their leave.

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There were quite a few bookstores around and, by the time they found the one where Felix had apparently started working, it was already closed for the day.

"Do you- do you think he went back home?" gulped Hyunjin.

"Well, where else would he go?" replied Minho, though he wasn't sure of the answer himself.

Felix was not, in fact, at home. The pair waited all evening in the living room, their worry growing greater with every passing hour as they realized that it was getting extremely late, and Felix still wasn't coming back. And, when he still failed to show up when it became passed eleven, they couldn't wait any longer.

"He probably picked up a night shift somewhere," remarked Minho, gritting his teeth as he slipped on his jacket. "What places are open 24/7?"

"Convenience stores. Some markets. A few restaurants. The bars. A whole bunch of places and there's literally no way of narrowing it down—"

"We'll start with our area," decided Minho, cutting Hyunjin off before he could start really freaking out. "We have to check everywhere."

"Wait! What if we use his localization app? It must be on, right?"

"Crap, why didn't we think of that earlier!?"

Hyunjin might be a bit of an airhead, but he was still smart – barely two minutes later, they managed to localize Felix's phone barely a few streets away from their apartment and, not wasting any time, they quickly made their way over there. It didn't take them too long to find the small convenience store on the corner.

Quickly making their way inside, they almost instantly stumbled across a sight that made their hearts stop and their blood boil.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Do you have any idea of how much these bottles are worth!? You little, useless brat!!!"

It didn't take a genius to piece everything together – with the mess of liquor on the floor and the broken pieces of glass bottles, it was obvious someone had dropped a full box of them by accident. However, it wasn't just someone who was getting thoroughly berated by the floor manager – it was Felix.

"I- I'm sorry sir—"

"I'll teach you how to do your job correctly! Clean this mess up!"

The larger, burly man roughly shoved Felix backward, and the boy stumbled back before slipping and falling. A pained whimper followed as he hit the floor, holding his hand protectively against his chest.

"Hey!" Minho was the first to snap out of his stupor. "What the hell!? Get away from him!"

"Aah? Who're you?" snapped the manager.

"Felix!"

While Minho handled the manager, Hyunjin rushed to Felix's side. The freckled boy was sitting up, obviously holding back his tears as he held his hand against his chest, and Hyunjin was horrified to see droplets of blood dripping from the closed palm.

Crap, he must have cut it on one of the shards...

"Come on, baby," he urged gently, helping him back to his feet. "We're taking you home."

"No you're not!" snapped the manager. "He still has work—"

"He quits," announced firmly Minho. "He's not coming back here – and you can rest assured that you will be sued for assault."

"You little—!"

But Minho completely ignored him, simply coming to stand by Felix's other side before walking out without another look back. Felix had yet to say anything, obviously focusing on not bursting out in tears, and Hyunjin and Minho figured they could ask questions later – right now, what mattered was taking care of Felix.

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Minho and Hyunjin were horrified to find that the glass shard stuck in Felix's palm was not, in fact, his only injury. He had oil burns all over his arms and his fingers, and he also had some finger-shaped bruises blooming around his wrist and his shoulder.

As soon as they'd gotten home, Hyunjin had dragged Felix to the bathroom to help him clean up and treat his injuries while Minho got started on whipping up food for everyone. Felix had yet to say anything, still, and neither could tell if it was because he was ashamed to face them, or if it was simply because even Felix didn't know how to explain the situation.

Cleaned up, injuries treated, and stomachs filled, the three of them settled down in the living room together. Felix didn't fight it when Hyunjin gently tugged him down so they could cuddle together, but Minho decided to sit on the chair instead, unable to relax until every question had been answered.

And, albeit with some difficulty, Felix eventually spilled the beans. He told them about the extra jobs he took, and how everything just spiraled from there. The pair was horrified, because they'd known of Felix's people-pleasing nature for a while, now, but they didn't think it could become an actual problem.

He told them about the long work hours, about how he'd gotten hurt when working in the kitchens at the restaurant, about how the owner of the dry-cleaning place liked to manhandle him and dig her nails into him every chance she got, about how the floor manager they'd met earlier always looked for an excuse to yell at him.

He told them about how it became impossible to stop, no matter how much he wanted to.

"You're going to quit all of your jobs," announced Minho once he was done. "You're going to take the whole summer break off, and you can go back to part-timing at the coffee shop once the next semester starts."

"I can't quit," protested Felix, his voice trembling a bit.

He was being literal – he'd never be able to call or face his employer and quit. Seemingly understanding his predicament, Minho nodded.

"It's okay, we'll do it for you. We'll help you fill the papers, call your bosses, anything you need – and if they try to say anything about it, just leave it to us."

"We're going to pay you back our shares of the rent, too," said Hyunjin, serious. "We understand that you wanted to help, but that wasn't your burden to bear – we'll pay you back in full, no matter how long it takes us."

"You don't have to—"

"Then we want to."

Frankly, Felix was too tired to really fight it, at that point. He was just glad they'd managed to grab the wheel from him before he truly drove himself off a cliff. Relieved, Felix snuggled a little closer against Hyunjin, feeling like he could finally breathe again.

"We're sorry, Felix," murmured Hyunjin, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "We should have noticed sooner."

"Not your fault," he mumbled, growing a little drowsy. "I didn't... say anything..."

"Rest, Lixie," urged gently Minho, reaching out to pat his head. "You deserve it."

Felix didn't need to be told twice. His eyes fluttered shut and, barely a few seconds later, soft snores filled the room. Hyunjin and Minho chuckled softly, but it was a little sad.

"... we really messed up, didn't we?"

"We'll make it up to him," simply replied Minho, determined.

They wouldn't forget about Felix again. If their friend couldn't take care of himself, then they would happily do it for him – it was about time they took care of their precious sunshine instead of the other way around, anyway.