Chapter Text
1.
As the self-proclaimed best friend of Changbin, the main rapper of Stray Kids, Wooyoung is already somewhat familiar with the senior group’s members. However, there is this one member that always seem to catch his attention while the whole group is together, and that is the deep voiced dancer, Lee Felix Yongbok.
Felix is the Australian with the most unique vocal tone that most would ever encounter in their life, who might have a baby face but also explodes with charisma on stage. (I mean, who hasn’t tried imitating the iconic “Cooking like a chef I’m a five-star Michelin” line in God’s Menu?)
His first impression of the younger was, understandably, from Changbin, who smugly declared him as “a dongsaeng obsessed with me”. Despite the odd wording of the introduction, he couldn’t help but notice how often this dongsaeng came up in conversations with his fellow 99 liner, whether it be a casual mention of, “Oh Lix and I went to the café together this morning” or a faux complaint of, “Yongbokkie has been bugging me to play this particular game with him for ages!” With these random and frequent TMIs, Wooyoung gained a fairly good grasp of their relationship, not surprised in the least that his friend was also pretty obsessed with this dongsaeng as well.
He knew Changbin as a really caring person in general, however, there was something infinitely softer in the way he treated Felix. Maybe it’s because of his status as a foreigner struggling to fit in the harsh Kpop idol life, or maybe because of how young and innocent he seemed. But if there was one thing Wooyoung is certain, it’s that Felix definitely held a special place in Changbin’s heart.
From what limited interaction he had with Felix over their early rookie days, between hurried greetings in back stages and award shows, his understanding of the sweet dancer expanded little by little. He would never forget the shock of hearing the deep voice in contrast with his soft features in person for the first time. No matter how many stages he watched from their comebacks, nothing could have prepared him for the way the younger shyly offered him a handshake along with a deep, “Hello my name’s Felix, nice to meet you.”
Whenever they would greet each other at first, Felix was always accompanied by Changbin. Though Wooyoung didn’t feel awkward at all, he understood the younger’s hesitance of speaking Korean. Also, it provided him with ample opportunities to observe the two group mates’ dynamics. From the outsiders’ view, it might be Felix who is constantly clinging on and talking to the older rapper, but with the understanding that came with numerous years of friendship, he could tell from the not-so-subtle tracking of Changbin’s gaze and the upturned corners of his mouth that his friend had a quiet way of caring for the younger. Nevertheless, there was no doubt that his same age friend treasured his dongsaeng a whole lot, albeit with a somewhat indirect showing of his affections.
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On the opposite side of the affection type scale, there was Hyunjin, who was almost always hanging around his younger dance liner in some way. In the times when Wooyoung spotted Felix without Changbin, there would be him attached to his side more often than not. Being a serious cuddler himself, he would say that the pair was probably at the same level as him and San, which was a lot coming from the notorious Woosan couple.
Ranging from soothing shoulder massages to affectionate back rubs to full on hugging, Wooyoung had come to learn that Felix liked to express his feelings through touch. Right up my alley, he thought giddily. But it wasn’t until the ISACs did he finally get to experience it for himself.
The infamous ISACs are known for the long waiting hours, borderline uncomfortable seating arrangements, and accident-prone events. However, it also could be the best place to make new friends in the same industry. For Wooyoung, it was the perfect chance to catch up with his many idol friends face to face. Luckily, most of the 4th gen groups are often seated close if not right next to each other, making it all the easier for him to chat.
From his vantage point of being right beside Changbin and the rest of Ateez members, he could clearly see Hyunjin and Felix cuddling one row down the bleachers. And what a visual couple he must add. The way Felix appeared even smaller in the taller’s arms as he giggled was almost too cute to handle.
Wooyoung smiled softly to himself until the annoying dwaekki on his left rudely interrupted his inner thoughts, “I know that Hyunlix are pretty, but can you focus on your bestie for a sec? Gosh, what do I need to do for some attention around here?” Prompting the two back to their usual banter.
Knowing that the two dancers are of the same age, it made Wooyoung even more curious about the way the taller seemed more caring and attentive around Felix. Personally, he knew Hyunjin as an easy going and friendly guy who wasn’t afraid to act silly around close friends to lighten things up, thus having an image of a cheeky yet endearing younger brother. Of course, the Stray Kids visual definitely had a considerate side to him, but with Felix, it seemed that these traits were brought to the very front of his being. Whenever the two were in close vicinity, all of Hyunjin’s attention would automatically laser focus onto his fellow 00liner, ready to hug or take care of him.
It didn’t help that Hyunjin had absolutely no qualms about publicly showing his love for the younger. Wooyoung didn’t think he had strayed more than a few feet from Felix’s side in the three hours they had been in this ISAC recording. Seeing the taller brunet enfold the petite blond into a gentle back hug made him softer than he cared to admit, the cute sight healing his tiredness in the middle of the grueling events.
So this is why Changlix and Hyunlix are so shipped, Wooyoung thought wryly. He had come across one too many Stray Kids ship videos on YouTube recommendations to feign ignorance as he watched Changbin’s slightly worried frown after he saw the younger starting to wander off on his own, mouth opened as if to voice out a concern or to call out his name.
Meanwhile out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Hyunjin, who had originally been sitting apart from Felix for once, get up only to pull the shorter into himself for a cuddle after seeing the same situation, using Felix’s love for casual skinship to latch onto the unsuspecting boy. Beside him, Changbin relaxed and gave him a sheepish smile as he noticed his raised eyebrows.
Wooyoung scoffed and shook his head amusedly at the overprotective pair, fondly disgusted at the blatant possessiveness he had just witnessed. Even though he wanted to call them out on the spot, he too became way too soft for the boy beaming back to Hyunjin, and so he settled with smiling for the nth time that day.
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Months later, both groups met at the ISAC stadium once again, and as usual, sat side by side. To his surprise, Felix leaned towards him from his seat one row up, and greeted with a cheerful, “Hey Wooyoung hyung!” while sporting an adorable eye smile. Suffice to say, he just about melted into a puddle of uwus.
Now that they’ve had a few comebacks under their belts and not exactly wide-eyed rookies anymore, there was little opportunity for them to meet outside of the hectic schedules. Therefore, the first thing that Wooyoung noticed was the startling fluency Felix spoke in Korean after a mere few months.
Where there had used to be a slight lisp with tricky vowels, only clear and easy pronunciation remained. While he had spoken with some hesitance before each sentence as if carefully choosing the words from a mental dictionary, the transitions became fluid and confident.
Wooyoung is oddly proud of the progress he made. Even though he had only known the younger for a short amount of time, Felix had a certain cuteness mixed with charisma that drew people in, making them feel a close bond even with just a few meetings. He already felt like an older brother that would do anything to protect this kid from harm. This thought was so out of tune with his original “fake maknae” role in Ateez that he almost did a double take when he first realized. However, one look at the bundle of adorableness in front of him answered any lingering questions.
He is simply worth every effort.
Felix was bouncing slightly while walking backwards to talk to some of his members, his energy contagious even after hours of waiting around on the ground. Wooyoung, who was ahead of the little band of 00 liners and chatting with Changbin, found himself surreptitiously glancing back to get some free serotonin. With the blond hair and the slightly protruding lips due to excitement, the young Aussie looked more like an excitable chick then ever. It actually reminded Wooyoung of some baby animal tiktok he found just the other day, particularly one with a newborn chick chattering before stumbling into a fluffy blanket.
As if on cue, Felix skipped through his next steps (how did he even do that while walking backwards?) and nearly crashed into Wooyoung if it weren’t for the quick reflexes of the older wrapping a secure arm around his waist to steady the both of them. A few exclamations sounded amongst their group, most noticeably Hyunjin’s almost-screech, before everyone collectively loosened their breath for the timely save.
Smiling a tad bit sheepishly, Felix wrapped him in a brief yet warm hug as thanks. While it only lasted for a couple seconds, he can still feel the appreciation that Felix was trying to express without actual words. The soft moment was interrupted when he felt two pinpricks of gazes on him. Specifically, Changbin and Hyunjin.
He only smirked knowingly at the two, tucking the boy into himself under the watchful eyes, and started to chat with a bright, “Yongbok-ah, did hyung ever tell you about the time…” Risking a glance back, he had to hold back a giggle when he found a pouting Hyunjin and an incredulous Changbin, both looking like their favorite toy was taken from underneath their very eyes.
Just to be petty, he cocked his head in a challenging way to his best friend, only to get a scoff and an exaggerated eye roll from said male. He then turned back to the ball of sunshine in his arms with a wide smile, ready to see the radiance of Felix's grin all to himself.