Archive of Our Own ^beta

It’s officially been one month since Felix arrived in Seoul with only two suitcases to his name and here he is - celebrating by scanning bottles of soju for drunken thirty year olds at two in the morning. 

“Yah! Hurry it up, will you? Don’t have all night to stand here watching you suck at your job.”

How lovely.

Seoul life isn’t exactly how he’d pictured but few things ever are, he supposes.

He quickly wraps up the transaction, shooting a sickly sweet smile at the pair throughout the full thing, only letting it drop when he hears the exit chime confirming they’ve left the store.

Maybe he was showing a bit of his habitual naivety when he’d assumed working retail over here would be better than his old job in Australia. Perhaps it’s because of the location (just off a shady alley, frequented by drunkards and general troublemakers), or the timing of his allocated shifts (always nightshift, even on the weekends when he’s actually available for daytime ones) or maybe it’s because his still slightly stilted Korean easily gives away his status as a foreigner - but no matter the reasoning, he swears it’s actually even worse here.

There’s not much he can do about it though. 

He needs to make enough money to pay his rent, bills and keep himself fed somehow and, despite the nature of the job itself, the pay is actually fairly decent, especially so because he works the graveyard shift - late night hours mean a bit of extra pay on top of his usual rate, and he’s in no position to turn his nose up at a chance to live a touch more comfortably - so he continues to show up diligently to his twelve o’clock starts every night, even when exhausted from a full day of University schedules. 

However, his packed timetable means he rarely actually spends any time in the apartment he works so hard to pay for; aside from when he sleeps there on his one mandated night off a week or squeezes a nap in between one of his earlier finishing dance classes and his scheduled shifts; which is such a crushing blow to his optimistic mental state that he elects to try forget about the fact whenever he can.

If he doesn’t acknowledge how much money he’s blowing on a barely used apartment and it’s countless utility bills, it’s not really happening…right?

Okay, fine, so he might have been a tad too ambitious when he declared to his parents that he was going to apply for study in South Korea instead of Sydney, citing a want to become closer to his cultural heritage - which was kind of true, the fact that the choice heavily satiated his inner wanderlust just so happened to be a massive bonus. But, in his defence, he had spent hours upon hours of researching the logistics of foreign study and living, roped his best friend (who had already committed to studying finance at a local University) into crunching the numbers with him, and threw himself into his Korean studies with even more fervour than before. 

And he was technically surviving pretty well - if you don’t count the immense fatigue he’s already gotten used to carrying with him every day.

He’s scribbling on some receipt paper, vaguely structuring and planning out his ‘Ethics of Dance’ essay that’s due in a few days (his intense study-work schedule doesn’t leave much room for his assignments, so he’s quickly learned to take advantage of any quiet spells during his shifts) when he hears footsteps approaching the kiosk. Shoving the scrap of paper to the side, Felix quickly unlocks the till - which has long since entered secure mode due to inactivity - just in time for the person to reach him.

“Hi, how can I help you?” He smiles cordially, mentally bracing himself for what’s bound to be another grumpy interaction and rude customer. Oddly enough, it’s a youthful face Felix is met with when he looks up, not one with frown lines permanently etched into their skin like usual.

“Just looking to buy these,” The stranger says, dumping three cup noodles on the counter unceremoniously, grinning widely. “That’s all, thanks!”

Felix feels his own lips upturn at the sight of the other’s warm smile and decides this particular customer might actually deserve some good customer service from him. The cheery attitude is a welcome change from the rest of the public he’s had to deal with so far tonight.

“No problem, do you need a bag with that?” Felix asks with a pleasant smile, hitting the quantity button on the screen and inputting ‘three’ before scanning one of the cups through. 

“They still a hundred won a go?” The other responds, and laughs when he notices Felix’s apologetic expression. “Yeah, think I’ll leave it for tonight. Save the seals, or whatever the saying is.”

“I think it might be turtles…” Felix mumbles offhandedly, tapping the total button. 

“Is that not for metal straws?” The customer responds. Felix’s head jerks up at the reply - he hadn’t expected the man to actually hear his comment - and he’s met with the customer’s considering expression.

“Oh - okay, yeah, now you mention it…” He purses his lips in thought. “Seals are cuter so let’s just go with them.”

“Very correct opinion there. Nothing beats a baby Joey though,” The other chuckles briefly before his expression twists. “Ah - sorry, I meant a-“

“Baby Kangaroo?” Felix finishes, raising an eyebrow.

“You know what a Joey is?” The other looks shocked, eyes examining Felix as if he’s seeing the boy in a whole new light. Cute. 

“Well, yeah, I’d be a pretty bad Australian if I didn’t.” Felix retorts with a grin, watching as the man’s mouth drops open. 

‘Bit of a dramatic reaction? I said I was from Australia, not Jupiter.’

“You - you’re an Aussie?” The other asks incredulously, an Australian accent now coating his words thanks to his abrupt language switch-up; not quite as thick as Felix’s own but still fairly prominent. Suddenly, the customer’s previous slack-jawed awe makes much more sense.

“No way…you too?” Felix bounces slightly, leaning forward in interest. 

He’d only been here a month, but it’s definitely felt long enough in terms of missing his home country. South Korea is amazing, don’t get him wrong, but there’s no denying the part of him that’s constantly aching for the comfort of familiar Sydney streets. Meeting someone that’s from Australia - that might actually understand and relate to his intense yearning for the distant country - seems almost too good to be true. Maybe he feel asleep earlier and is just dreaming this full encounter, and he’ll be woken up in a few minutes with drool over the till and his ponytail a complete mess by an angry drunk lady banging the counter?

“Born and bred! Moved here when I was thirteen but we go back every couple of summers.” The other beams. “I probably should have clocked on that you weren’t national when I first saw your badge. ‘Felix’ isn’t a very traditional Korean name.”

“Not a very traditional name in general. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone else with the same one as me.” Felix rolls his eyes. “It’s definitely gotten me my fair share of odd looks over here.”

“I like it.” The man responds with a soft smile. “Makes me think of that one potion from Harry Potter that makes you extremely lucky. Felix Felicis, was it?”

“That’s me - your personal lucky charm!” Felix blurts out, instinctively shooting finger guns and winking. It only takes a second for the extreme embarrassment and regret to set in because that wasn’t funny at all, Felix, what on earth were you thinking, but the other just cackles in return.

“I could sure use one - how much does an hour of your time go for?” The other raises a brow, smug, apparently playing along with Felix’s stupid comment. 

Felix feels himself smile at the other’s good natured humouring, but he tempers it down and makes a show of inspecting his fingernail’s disinterestedly while replying. “Ahh, well, usually I’d say it’s far more than you could ever dream of affording…” He spots the other’s pout in the corner of his vision and has to try hard not to giggle. “But for my fellow Aussie? Just leave a good review for me on the shop’s social page and I’m all yours.”

“Done. I expect to wake up to a million dollars and a Ferrari tomorrow.” 

“Oi! I said lucky, not a god! There’s only so much I can do.”

“Hmm, I feel like I’ve been conned here, but okay.” The other taps his index finger to his chin.

“You didn’t pay me anything, how could I have conned you?” Felix gripes, showing off his empty hands, absent of a single won.

“I’m not sure, but the feeling is there.” The man teases, leaning forward.

“Psh, sure.” Felix replies, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing out a sigh of disbelief. 

There’s silence for a few seconds, but then he meets the others eyes and they both burst into laughter. It takes a good minute or so for them to completely calm down, but Felix is left with a warm feeling occupying his stomach when he does. 

It’s strange - Felix only met the other a few minutes ago yet he can already feel some affection for them curdling within him, fluttering at his earnest laughs and sizzling at his borderline flirtatious comments. Maybe he’s just grown so starved for proper human conversation that doesn’t consist solely of ‘Hi, would you like a bag, that’ll be X amount of won, thank you, see you later!’ that his heart has decided to fall for the first good looking, friendly guy he’s talked with.

“But, seriously… what a weird coincidence. Two Aussies meeting and staying so close in a completely different country.”

“Yeah…” It really is, Felix thinks he’s still in shock about the whole thing. “Can’t say I don’t appreciate it, though. It’s nice to hear that familiar twang again, makes me feel a little less out of my depth here.”

“How long have you been here for then? Seoul’s a large place but I come to this shop pretty frequently, so I’d have thought I’d have met you by now?” They ask, raking their eyes up and down Felix’s form and, if the guy didn’t seem so naturally sweet and harmless, Felix would have thought the action was them shamelessly checking him out.

“Ah, just last month, actually. Today’s exactly one month since I got here.” Felix confirms, shrugging lightly. 

“Hell of a way to spend it, huh?” The other laughs, shooting a pointed glance at store’s only other occupant - a drunken, stumbling man down one of the aisles who’s been staring intently at a bulk-bag of cat food for the past five minutes. Felix grimaces, pulling another laugh from the other. 

“Tell me about it.” Felix groans, glancing at the clock. “Two hours down, another five to go.”

“Yay.” The other deadpans, waving his arms unenthusiastically in the air. An airy chime sounds from his pocket, and an apologetic expression takes over his pleasant features. “Ah, sorry, give me a second.” 

Felix just nods silently, turning his attention to the electronic screen to seem like he’s not impatiently waiting on the other to finish. There’s a lot of buttons with hangul on them, all coloured with dull variations of grey, and he still doesn’t really know what half of them are even for.  He’s not had to use them yet though so they can’t be that important.

“That’s me. Sorry about that.” Felix is drawn out of his mindless musings by a gentle tapping on the hand he has resting on the counter. The man has the same puppy-like expression as before again, eyes creased with his constant smile. “I feel like I’ve probably taken up enough of your time, two secs and I’ll just get some money out for you.”

He watches, eyes widening, as they produce a mountain of coins that threaten to spill over their hands and onto the tiled flooring. Clearing his throat, Felix automatically slips back into his customer service voice to try cover his surprise, hitting the button for customer’s paying with cash and waiting patiently for the other. “It’ll be six thousand won for you tonight.”

“Wait - six? I swear that brand used to only be fifteen hundred a cup…” The man frowns, creases forming on his handsome face.  He looks conflicted, glancing back and forth between his pile of change and the three ramen cups multiple times before sighing. Eventually, he trains his gaze on Felix and offers a gentle smile in apology. “Sorry, I’ll have to leave one of them.”

Felix’s ears attune finely, just managing to catch the other’s whispered ’I’ll just skip dinner tonight, Bin and Sung have been working so hard all day…’, and he swears he can feel his heart break slightly at the other’s sacrifice.

It’s long since passed two in the morning, surely the other’s dinner should have been hours ago? And if he’s not eaten anything since before then - god, he must be starving. Yet he’s still saying he’ll give up his portion so ‘Bin’ and ‘Sung’ (his friends, Felix presumes) won’t go hungry, even if it means he’ll be dealing with an empty stomach’s pangs and twists until whenever the next meal he can afford is.

Felix glances at the register, staring intensely at the ‘Quantity: Three’ beneath the ramen’s store coded name. 

He shouldn’t.

He really shouldn’t.

But the shop chain he works for has dozens of businesses open all across South Korea, and they make billions upon billions of won every single month, and they have so much stock through the back - surely one cup of discount ramen won’t be missed, right?

“Ah - I almost forgot!” Felix interrupts, voice a touch too loud. “There’s a multi-buy deal on ramen at the moment! Buy two get one free, so it’ll actually be four thousand, not six.” He smiles sheepishly in fake remorse as he discreetly alters the number of cups on his screen. 

“Sorry, still figuring out the system.” He tacks on when he notices the other’s confused stare, widening his eyes and smiling apologetically, praying the other will accept his flimsy excuse easily.

“Seriously? Mate, that’s perfect - there you go!” 

Hook, line, sinker.

All lines disappear instantly as Chan grins and hands over his pile of change, dumping the coins into Felix’s waiting hands and still smiling giddily to himself. 

Yeah, Felix thinks, it’s worth it.

“That’s you then.” Felix grins tightly. He pretends he doesn’t feel a hint of curling guilt swirling around in his stomach as he throws the receipt into the bin to hide the evidence of his tampering from the other, not risking giving it to them just incase they notice it looks a bit off. “I’ll see you later…uh-”

“Chan. My name’s Chan - foreign name is Chris. Sorry, could’ve sworn I told you earlier!” The man - Chan - beams, finally introducing himself. It’s a nice name, Felix thinks, and it definitely fits them even though he doesn’t know exactly why. 

“It was nice to meet you then, Chan. Hope to see you again some time.” Felix hopes his tone doesn’t betray how eager he is - it’s just, you know, he likes the comfort of a fellow Aussie, that’s all. 

Yeah.

“Definitely. I’m in here most nights usually, but my friends and I have been coming during the day for the past while because it was convenient during our unit work. It's all over and done with now though, so you can look forward to seeing my face on the regular from now on.” Chan winks cheekily, shooting the same finger guns as Felix did earlier, but the latter can tell its not in a mocking way - more like an inside joke between them - and snickers in response.

“Cannot wait.” Felix deadpans, straight expression cracking at Chan’s resultant frown and pout. “Seriously, though, it was really nice to meet you. Feel free to come in as much as you like; I work almost every night so you’ll rarely miss me if you stick to this kind of timeframe.”

“Good to hear.” Chan picks up the three ramen cups, hands fumbling slightly before he manages to balance them precariously in his arms. Felix glances down at the bags hanging behind the counter, and rips one off before he can convince himself otherwise, laying it on the counter. 

“Here, take it. I won’t tell anyone.” Felix makes a shushing motion with one hand, raising the pinky of his other in a show of his promise. Chan looks conflicted for a second, but seems to come to a conclusion quickly and nods gratefully as he begins to put the cups into the plastic bag.

“Thanks, Felix. You’re a real one!” He raises his pinky as well before swinging the bag over his shoulder and - looking much cooler than anyone should while exiting a convenience store at half two in the morning - strides over to the door. Just as he’s leaving, Chan twists his head around and gives Felix a short wave. “See you same time tomorrow!”

And just like that, he’s gone, three cups of ramen in hand.

Felix thinks for a second that the other might have taken his heart in that bag too, before mentally slapping himself for how stupid and cliche that sounds. What is he, a teenage girl from one of those early two thousands chick flicks?

Still…he finds himself looking forward to the idea of seeing Chan again tomorrow night, and the night after that hopefully. He could use a familiar face in a city so full of strangers.

“Eyy, fairy boy - havin’ a nice night? Just lookin’ to buy a couple a things, heh.” The drunken man from earlier drawls, slamming a bag of dog food down on the counter gracelessly. Was it not cat food he was looking at earlier? And what does he mean ‘a couple of things’ - that’s only one bag? “Hellooo, anyone in there~“

Felix huffs a sigh, forcing a smile at the man’s dazed look and picking up his scanner.

He’s finding it far too easy to miss Chan already.

It’s around two weeks later that the entrance chimes and Felix is completely thrown for a loop. 

He and Chan had developed a routine of sorts within the past couple of weeks; Felix would let the elder know which day he was off that week, and Chan - the insomniac he is - would come at exactly two in the morning every night he was on shift. Felix had felt extremely guilty about it at first but, after multiple reassurances from the other that visiting so frequently was indeed completely normal for him and not an inconvenient new development, he’s gotten used to it by now. In fact, he tends to find himself eagerly clock-watching for the first two hours of his shifts usually, counting down the time until he’s able to see the other again with more excitement than he’d ever admit to if asked.

Which brings him back to the confusing thing; its two in the morning, yes, and the door has opened like usual, sure, but it’s not Chan that’s walking in.

In his place, two strangers stroll through the entrance faux-casually, curious eyes roaming around betraying their attempt at nonchalance. Felix has only had the chance to inspect them for a few seconds and notice that even though they might not be Chan, they certainly look around the same age range, when one set of eyes locks firmly on him.

He’s subjected to a bit of intense staring as the person eagerly nudges their partner in the side, jabbing him with their elbow and earning a shove in return, but soon enough both pairs of eyes are set on him and Felix can’t help but feel like he’s being picked apart and evaluated by the strange pair of men.

He clears his throat lightly. “Um, hello? Is there anything I can help you with?”

“You! You’re Felix - Chan’s cute little server - aren’t you?” The one that first noticed him exclaims, pointing at Felix and starting to make his way towards him. Felix instinctively takes a step backwards at the movement despite already being well out of the stalking boy’s reach behind the counter.

“Chan’s…server? You - you know Chan?” Felix asks hesitantly, pieces beginning to slot together in his mind. Two strange men walk in at two in the morning - what should be his and Chan’s meeting time - and they both instantly begin to look about for something when they enter, staring intensely at him when they both spot him behind the counter. Then, one of them points him out and mentions Chan, who still isn’t here, while walking over to Felix. 

Suddenly, it hits him. 

“Wait. Are you ‘Bin’ and ‘Sung’?”

“You’ve heard of us? Hear that, Binnie, Chan must’ve mentioned us even though he said he didn’t!” The one that was swiftly heading towards him and is now standing right in front of Felix grins victoriously. “‘Sung’ at your service! Full name is Han Jisung, and that there is Seo Changbin, or ‘Bin’ as you know him.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble but Chan was actually telling the truth…he’s never actually mentioned you both in conversation, I just overheard him mumble something about you both at one point.” Felix frowns, feeling a bit bad. He didn’t mean to get the other so excited just to let him down.

“Jisung, you really should’ve known better.” The other approaches, albeit with less haste than his friend, and levels the pouting boy with a flat gaze. “Chan doesn’t lie and, with the way you’re acting right now, I don’t completely blame him for not bringing us up. The poor boy looks like he’s ready to bolt or press a panic button or something.”

‘Sung’ - or, Jisung, Felix supposes - turns back to face him and shoots him a remorseful look. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I was just excited to finally meet the boy Chan keeps talking about. He’s mentioned you so much but also keeps so tight-lipped about you that it’s kind of impossible to not be curious about his ‘fellow Aussie’, you know?”

“I understand, it’s okay.” Felix sends the other what he hopes is a warm smile, forgiving the boy easily. He was already pretty interested in the pair too, and that’s with only ever hearing their names muttered under Chan’s breath once, he can only imagine how much more curious he’d have been if Chan had kept bringing them up but also refused to tell him anything about them. “So you’re Chan’s friends then, yeah? How come you’re both here tonight in his place?”

It’s ‘Bin’ - or Changbin - that answers him this time. “Well, it would have been Chan standing here right now if he hadn’t went and overworked himself to the point of passing out.”

“He - he passed out? Is he okay?” Felix’s teeth worry at his lower lip, and the pair seem to find something amusing for a second before they both school their expressions. 

“Chan? He’s perfectly fine - in fact, it was probably for the best, maybe now the vampire can finally get some proper rest so he’s not surviving solely on cups of discount ramen and pure spite.” Changbin snarks, and Felix feels his concern ease enough to muster a laugh in response. 

“Ah well, guess I can give him a pass for tonight then. Charging his life meter up is definitely a good excuse for missing a night.” Felix replies, and the answer seems to please the other two if the way they relax their posture and their smiles turn a touch more genuine looking is any indication. Did he just pass a test he had no clue he was taking? “And it means we’ve gotten to meet each other so, everything worked out okay anyway, right?”

“Right!” Jisung beams, raising his right fist. Felix looks at it in confusion, Changbin giving a snort at his lost expression. “Uh - fist bump? Is that not a thing in Australia?”

“Ohh - no, no it is. I just didn’t know that’s what you were aiming for; it just looked like you were holding your hand out for no reason…” Felix apologises, raising his fist and gently bumping the others still floating one. He hears Changbin snort again, but it’s cut off with a wheeze when Jisung jabs his stomach harshly.

“Yah! Quit that, I have enough bruises from your boyfriend, don’t need even more from you.” Changbin grumbles, rubbing soothingly at his stomach while shooting periodic glares at his friend.

“Not my fault you rile him up all the time. Stop being annoying if you want to stop getting bruised.” Said friend huffs.

“I feel like I should maybe pretend I didn’t hear that?” Felix chimes in with a fake worried expression. “Plausible deniability and all, yeah?”

Jisung gives Felix a quick once over and grins, all teeth. “I like you. Let’s be friends.”

“There’s that terrifying expression again…” Changbin shivers, looking at Felix in fear. “His boyfriend has this smile - it’s absolutely terrifying - and he went and taught Jisung here how to do it. I’ve not been able to sleep ever since.” 

Felix knows Changbin’s joking, he can tell by the way his lips are twitching in an effort not to smile, but there’s this haunted look deep in the other’s eyes that makes him wonder just how scary Jisung’s boyfriend could possibly be…maybe he’ll be unfortunate enough to find out himself one day?

“Anyway!” Jisung declares, linking his arm through Changbin’s and breaking the fake tension. “We did actually come here to get one or two things, not just to annoy you, promise. We’ll just go get the stuff and be right back!”

Felix goes to nod, but the pair are already striding away and down one of the mini aisles. And Jisung must have been serious when he said ‘right back’, because the duo arrive back at the counter with two bags of rice, a few cups of ramen and a chocolate bar in hand within under two minutes. For a moment he just stands in shock; the two were so fast, even Felix couldn’t have found the items that quickly and he works here; but then again, Chan did mention that he and his friends frequented this store very regularly - but so much that they have the layout memorised?

“There we go!” Jisung splays the items over the counter, leaning to rest an arm (and subsequently, his full body weight) lazily onto Changbin’s shoulder. 

Felix picks up the ramen first, scanning the cups on auto-pilot before his memory reminds him of the pair - and Chan’s - precarious financial situation. He examines the two as discreetly as possible, taking note of their worn and scuffed trainers and hoodies that seem far too thin for Seoul’s current weather, before scanning the chocolate bar and one of the bags of rice, leaving the other on the counter. 

“That’ll be eight thousand, five hundred won for you both.” Felix smiles, grabbing the pair a bag and beginning to pack without asking. 

“Ah, we’ll just leave the bag-“ Changbin begins, but Felix cuts him off before he can finish the denial.

“Don’t worry about it.” Felix’s eyes crinkle as he gives a reassuring smile, putting the last of the items in the bag and setting it back on the counter. “It’s on the house.”

“Binnie,” Jisung pouts, turning to face his friend with imploring eyes. “Can we keep him? Pretty please?”

“First of all, he’s a human, Sungie, not a stray kitten. Second, do you really think Chan would approve of you bringing Felix home - actually, wait, don’t answer that question.” Changbin sighs, rubbing his face with his hand in exasperation. “Eight thousand, five hundred, you said? Give me a second.”

“Hah! You know Chan would be stoked if he woke up and Felix was in the apartment - admit it!” Jisung crows, shooting a triumphant look at the other. Changbin doesn’t deign him worthy of a reply, however, and just hands Felix the money in a pile of change like Chan usually does.

“You might want to count it just incase.” Changbin adds afterwards, eyeing the change with dubious eyes.

“Nah, it’s okay, you both seem trustworthy.” Felix teases, starting to sort the coins into their respective slots in the till. “If I get hauled into the back office tomorrow though, I’ll know who to blame.”

“I take no responsibility! Changbin gave you the cash, not me. I’m not made for prison life, I’ll crumble - crumble I tell you!” Jisung cries out, clinging to the other’s arm dramatically. “You wouldn’t do that to a friend, right?”

“Of course not, that would make me a terrible friend.” Felix nods solemnly, the other’s acknowledgement of their newfound friendship almost tempting a silly grin to his face. 

“It’s like he’s found his twin or something. What’s your birthday again?” Changbin asks, flicking between the two with a pained expression.

“September 15th, 00’ liner.” 

Jisung’s expression turns manic.

“Shut up!” He yells, bouncing up and down. He points to himself enthusiastically. “September 14th, 00’ liner! We’re practically soulmates!”

“Of course…of course you both are, why am I not surprised?” Changbin grimaces, rubbing his temples. “Okay, as much as I’m loving this, we really need to get back to the apartment - don’t pout, Sungie - before Chan wakes up and freaks out because we’re missing and he thinks he’s missed his date.”

“I suppose you’re right…” Jisung concedes, leaning forward to pick up the handles of the bag and lift it up before letting it drop to hang by his side. He looks up and makes eye-contact with Felix again straight after, eyes shining bright. “Don’t think this is the last you’ve seen of me! We’re honorary soulmates now, there’s no getting rid of me, so I’ll be back!”

“And I guess I’ll be back too - someone has to make sure this dummy doesn’t cause any trouble.” Changbin sighs fondly, patting his friends head before his hand moves to clasp a different part of it. “It was nice to meet you, Felix.”

“It was nice to meet you both too!” Felix replies, watching as Changbin pulls Jisung out of the store by his ear, the other whining as he waves frantically with his free hand.

Soon enough, the door’s swinging shut behind the eccentric pair, and Felix can’t help but think the store feels so much quieter without their bickering. He should feel sad about the absence of Chan, but a larger part of him tells him it was definitely worth giving the other a night to relax and sleep as a trade for meeting his quirky, but kind, friends.

Yawning, he glances at the clock. Only half two - another four and a half hours to go.

Outside, a few minutes away, Jisung stops swinging the grocery bag abruptly and yanks on the elder’s hood to pull him to a halt as well. 

“Hey, wasn’t that a little cheap?” Jisung asks, face contemplative.

“I mean, now you mention it… I feel like you’re right. Maybe they put down their prices and we didn’t notice? You did drag me around the shop at lightning speed.” Changbin laughs. “Ah well, I’m not complaining. We could use all the spare change we can get.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Jisung agrees as the pair resume their walk home, bag hanging limply by his side.

“Felix! The one and only love of my life - my eternal soulmate!” Jisung proclaims, bursting through the front entrance dramatically. “I’ve missed you more than words could ever convey.”

Changbin follows, flicking his forehead. “Leave Felix alone. You want Minho to find out that you’ve been confessing your undying love to a cute cashier you’ve only met twice?”

“Minho would probably ask if said cute cashier was poly.” Chan snickers, shutting the door gently behind the three before waving. “Hey, Lix.”

“Hey, Channie.” Felix replies, electing to ignore the bickering pair. He may have only met the two once more since their initial introduction, but he’s quickly learned that giving them attention only prolongs the arguing - and induces a pounding headache for him.

“Bin, he just ignored me! I poured my heart out, laid it all on the table, and all he says is ‘Hey, Channie’!” Jisung pouts, grabbing and shaking Changbin’s arm in a perfect imitation of Felix’s three year old cousin whenever his Aunt refuses to buy him a new toy. Felix looks to Changbin for some common sense, but the elder has a pout of his own and is also staring at him in betrayal.

The blonde sighs. “Hey Binnie.” 

Changbin drops the hurt look immediately, grinning. 

Felix smiles placatingly. “Hello Sungie.”

Jisung winks before roughly abandoning Changbin’s arm, grabbing Chan’s in its place and dragging the eldest towards the counter.  “Okay, you’ve satisfied me. Here’s your boyfriend.” He pushes Chan forward, the man stumbling into a rogue promotional display at the sudden harsh movement. 

“Jisung, how many times do I have to tell you-“

“You’re ‘not boyfriends’ - just ‘good friends’ - blah blah blah and so on. Yeah, right, sure.” Jisung mocks, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t even have his number; how could we possibly be dating?” Chan sighs, pinching his nose bridge. 

“Wait… we’re - we’re not dating?” Felix stutters, playing along. He shoots Chan a look full of painful confusion, forcing his eyes open until they begin to water. His soulmate catches on to the act instantly, face filled with glee, and gives him an enthusiastic thumbs up when Chan’s not looking.

“Uh - I - well, I didn’t think…” Chan turns bright red, eyebrows creasing at Felix’s crestfallen expression. “I just, well, we haven’t ever talked about - and, you know, it’s just a big step and you’ve never mentioned it before and, uh, we haven’t even done anything together when you haven’t been working and we only just met like a month ago and-“

Felix takes pity on the stammering mess, giggling and waving his hands to get the other to pause. “I’m just kidding, Chan. Don’t work yourself up over it, it was just a joke.”

The other’s body slackens, tension dissipating as he stares at Felix like the younger had stabbed him in the chest. “You’ve been spending too much time with Jisung.”

“We’ve only seen each other in person twice, how have we been together too much?” Felix frowns exaggeratedly, spotting Changbin’s shaking form failing miserably to suppress his laughter out of the corner of his eye.

“I don’t care for your excuses. Friendship over. You’re banned from seeing each other again, say goodbye to Jisung.” Chan states, face stony. It’s so tempting to crack; to burst out laughing and end the full charade; but Jisung’s mischievous expression fuels his persistence and he manages to hold out. 

“Bye, bye Sungie.” Felix casts his hand out, reaching blindly for Jisung, who’s already clamouring forward in protest. 

“No! I won’t have it - you can’t make him leave me, I won’t survive!” Jisung cries, clasping the blonde’s outstretched hand tightly and cradling it tenderly at his chest. “I challenge you to a duel - to the death!”

He picks up a baguette, which a previous customer had conveniently discarded on a nearby shelf upon deciding they didn’t want it anymore, and points it at Chan’s exposed throat. Felix makes a mental note to waste it later on - as much as he dislikes the majority of people that come in here, he’s not quite mean enough to sell them a baguette covered in fingerprints.

“If it’s a duel you request, it’s a duel you shall get.” Chan agrees, knocking the long loaf away from his neck for long enough to sprint at the other. Jisung squeaks, instinctively dropping the baguette  - and Felix’s hand - and springing backwards, arms raising to defend his face.

Reality seems to hit the pair as the sound of the bread connecting with the tiled floor echoes throughout the small store. Their expressions morph with shame as they stare despondently at the fallen loaf, as if they could will it back into their hands with regret alone and, when the baguette remains in the exact same position, both whip their heads up in tandem to stare apologetically at Felix.

“I was already gonna waste it anyway - someone else was touching it with their sticky fingers earlier and no one deserves to have to eat it after that.” Felix makes a disgusted face, stepping out from behind the counter and bending down to pick the baguette up. He sits it off to the side, breaking it in half to save some room on his tiny counter, and dusts his hands of the crumbs with a grin. “There, no harm done. It’s just a baguette - I’m sure the store won’t fire me over it or anything.”

Jisung breathes a deep sigh of relief, but Chan still looks troubled.

“Sorry, Lixie. We’ll be more careful from now on…”  The younger promises, Chan nodding in agreement. 

“You better be.” Felix chides. He points a finger at Changbin. “That goes for you too, Mr Bystander.”

“Wa - what? What did I do?” Changbin complains. His incredulous reaction is like flipping a switch, the room’s mood lifting and any lingering guilt floating away with it.

“You did nothing, that’s the problem.” Changbin looks even more confused. “You should have intervened and stopped these two knuckleheads before it came to this!”

The other whines. “Oi, they’re not my problem to deal with! What am I, their mother?”

“You’d be a terrible mother if you were.” Felix murmurs, sweeping any stray crumbs into a pile in his palm before discarding them in his miniature desk bin. 

“They’re the ones that ruined a full baguette, why am I getting all the blame?” Changbin grouses, arms crossed and fingers clenching his hoodie - the same one as their first meeting, still far too thin for the temperature outside. 

“Hmm, good question.” The blonde hums. “But bystander’s don’t get answers to their questions, no matter how valid they are.”

“Jisung, did you and Minho have a child and not tell me? There’s no other explanation for you - you’re a perfect mix of that devil couple.” The elder shivers, the defensive crossing of his arms tightening to a self-comforting hug.

“Uh, I’d have been one day old when he was born so, I’m gonna have to go with no.” Jisung responds. “But…maybe if I time travelled-“

“No. No. Nope. Not having this conversation again. Let’s move on.”

“I’ll make you eat your words in a few years time - or maybe a few years in the past - you non-believers!”

“Anyway,” Chan diverts Felix’s attention, smiling while learning forward onto the counter. “How’s your night been so far?”

“Uneventful until the three of you arrived.” Felix chuckles. “Apart from baguette man earlier, there’s only been a couple of kids in. Kind of eerily quiet tonight.”

“Glad we can spice up your shift a bit then.” The other casts a look at the pair, who’ve now started to aggressively play the push-palm game with each other, wobbling backwards and thrusting forwards passionately. “I was meant to be coming alone, but these two insisted. You’ve gotten in their good books awfully fast, but I’m not really surprised they gave in so easily - it would be pretty hard not to.”

And damn, if Felix didn’t know Chan was just the type of person to say these kinds of things in passing, it’d be so easy to just let himself indulge in the other’s honeyed tone and sweet words. 

He clears his throat briefly, smirking. “Careful with your words there; anyone else and I’d think you were coming on to me.”

Chan’s eyes widen at his teasing, mouth popping open and gaping for a good few seconds. Good, Felix thinks, let him spend a minute feeling the way he makes me feel constantly. The other recovers from his stupor fairly quickly however, but spends another while racking his brain for an appropriate response and Felix is beginning to worry that perhaps he’d went a bit far with his jibe when Chan eventually seems to settle on what to say.

“I’ve been caught out. You know me too well.” He finally admits, the reply a touch too late to carry the suaveness he seemed to intend, something Chan seems to have realised too if the downturn of his lips is any indication. He coughs into his fist awkwardly, casting a desperate glance over to his friends for an intervention but only receiving a joint thumbs down from the pair.

The duo do seem to hold some sympathy for him however because, in the end, they come up and link arms with Chan on either side, leading him away with the excuse of ‘needing his help to decide which ramen flavour to go with’. Felix knows it’s a lie - the group always get the basic flavour; all of the other kinds have a higher price tag, after all; but he just gives an affirmative smile and allows them to head down the appropriate aisle, starting to pick at the broken baguette while he waits.

He feels like he might have pushed Chan a bit too far tonight. Sure, they’ve gotten considerably closer since their first meeting a month ago, but maybe Felix was overestimating exactly how close they’d gotten. At the end of the day, Chan and Felix are still just customer and employee and, considering the elder has never expressed a want to extend their relationship to anything outside of their mutually beneficial two a.m meetings, perhaps that’s all it will ever amount to.

“Earth to Felix!” Jisung’s voice interrupts his musings. “We’re back and we come with our decision. Drumroll please… we have chosen… basic flavour!”

Of course you have, Felix thinks sadly.

He doesn’t voice his thoughts though, just holding his hands out instead. His almost-twin drops his cup into Felix’s hand, the other two opting to place theirs on the counter, and pulls out a battered wallet. Jisung starts to thumb through the different sections, and Felix turns his gaze away to try give the other some privacy, not wanting him to feel self-conscious about the contents of the holder.

It’s become so instinctive at this point that Felix doesn’t even need to remind himself to only process two of the three cups, he just does it automatically. “That’ll be four thousand won like usual.”

“Is it not six thousand? The label on the shelf said they were two thousand each, so…” Jisung trails off, looking pensive. Changbin’s face changes to mirror the younger, curious eyes scanning the three cups as if they would reveal the reason, not Felix himself.

Felix is about to spout his usual spiel; that the ramen cups are on a multi-buy discount; when Chan beats him to it.

“There’s an offer on the ramen, Sungie. Three for two, so it’s only four thousand altogether.” The eldest answers, his familiar kind smile present.

“But it didn’t say anything about a deal on the shelf? Doesn’t it usually say it on there so people will buy it - why else would it be on offer in the first place?” Jisung questions, brows furrowing even further. 

Chan sends an inquisitive look to Felix, but the younger can only shrug shakily in response. He doesn’t have a valid answer because there is no valid answer. 

“Does it really matter? Maybe the store just hasn’t gotten around to putting the display sign out, or they might have just forgotten about it.” Chan backs Felix up, and his sensible excuses - that are so far off despite sounding so reasonable - are enough to send tidal waves of guilt through the blonde. 

Jisung just nods faintly, handing over a five thousand won note and keeping quiet. The usually loud boy’s silence is unnerving, but Felix tries to ignore it and busies himself with getting the other’s change, placing the coins on the counter and ripping up the printed receipt, chucking it in the bin like always.

“Uh - could I actually get the receipt?” Shit. “Just to - to, um, keep for memories?”

“Oh, I - I actually tore it up. Chan doesn’t usually want it, I’m really sorry, Sungie,” Felix’s smile wobbles, but miraculously stays present. 

“Is there no way to print another one out?” Jisung persists.

“Not really. I’d need to go into the system in the office and backlog from this weeks transactions, and I can only pull up a virtual version of it once the original transaction is finished.” Felix mumbles, and he knows he’s telling the truth about the complicated procedure, but it doesn’t make him feel the slightest bit better in the face of his friend’s worried face.

“Jisung, you don’t really need this exact receipt, do you?” Chan asks - and god, Felix wants to ask him to stop sticking up for him when he really doesn’t deserve it - and receives a shake of the head. “We’ll just leave it then. You can get a receipt for your memories next time we’re in, Sung, yeah?”

“Yeah, we can,” Jisung confirms, coming back to himself a bit. “Sorry about that, Lixie, I don’t want to make more work for you.”

“No - no…don’t apologise, Jisung. I’m the one that’s sorry.” Felix replies, blinking back the tears that are threatening to escape. He’s always been too emotional.

Jisung shakes his head, smiling, and Felix feels even worse. The other probably thinks Felix is just apologising for automatically tearing up a receipt that Jisung had wanted to keep, not the secret decisions he’s been making without their consent throughout their full friendship.

It’s starting to hit him that perhaps what he’s doing isn’t right.

He’s been altering their transactions without their permission, adjusting the total and taking less money than they owe without their knowledge.

That’s not fair. 

But…if they never know about it, they’ll never have to worry about it. Felix can carry all of the crushing guilt that they should never have to bear - because none of it was ever their fault - and they can live their lives on fuller stomachs and without having to fret about running out of food money constantly.

Still, a part of him whispers that he should really stop doing it, and that part is growing larger and more consuming every night.

But the store wastes so much; forcing him to throw out bags of rice with tiny holes in them, or cans that have dents in them, or meat because it’s almost at its best before date; and makes so much in spite of their complete lack of care for their stock. What’s the difference in the end? At least what Felix is doing means people aren’t going hungry when they don’t need to.

(He knows deep down that he’s being biased - that he was being biased from the second he first saw Chan’s blinding grin - and that it’s selfish of him to subject the other to this just so Felix can know he’s eating enough, but once he started it quickly became impossible to stop himself.)

Anyway, what’s the worst that can happen?

“Yongbok, can I see you in my office?”  His boss calls, walking towards him with an encouraging smile. The attempt at being welcoming doesn’t do much to comfort Felix, which is strange, because he likes his boss - the man has always been kind to the younger, laughing at his jokes and ruffling his hair whenever he told Felix he was doing well.

“Of course, but - what about the register?” He asks, pointing at the till and the shop floor.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll lock the doors for ten minutes, flip the sign and we’ll just say we’re closed right now.” His boss replies, striding over to the entrance and doing exactly what he’d just said before turning back and starting to head through the back, gesturing for the younger to follow.

“Okay…” Whatever it is must be pretty serious if his boss is willing to close the full store over it. He trails after the man, anxiety rapidly rising in his chest as he tries to calm himself down. It’s probably nothing, and he’s working himself up over something trivial like usual, but the worry remains nonetheless. 

“Take a seat.” His boss says, sitting on the other side of the desk and gesturing openly towards the chair on the opposite side to him. 

Felix follows his lead, hesitantly sitting down and crossing his shaking hands in his lap before looking up at his boss.

“Okay - where to start.” The man sighs, letting the previous stiffness and formality drop. He takes his glasses off, dropping them haphazardly on the table, and runs a stressed hand through his short hair. “I suppose I should just get straight into it: you’ve been purposefully not scanning items and ignoring shoplifters, haven’t you?”

Felix startles, jolting ramrod straight and staring at his boss in shock. 

He’s been caught out. 

Fuck.

“I - I mean, well - I just…” he splutters, chest rising and falling sharply, fingers messing and tangling with each other to try calm himself but - god, its not working. His boss shoots him a look that requests the truth and he forces himself to stop for a second, take as deep a breath as he can manage in his current state, and answer properly. “Yes. Yes I have.”

“Fuck.” His boss sighs deeply, unintentionally echoing Felix’s thoughts, looking betrayed. “Goddamit, Yongbok, I was really hoping you were going to say no. That you’d have a valid excuse for what you’d been doing.” He slouches back in his chair like a marionette with its strings cut and stares at the ceiling despondently.

“I- I’m sorry! I know it was wrong, but - I just - I didn’t-!” Felix cries out, panic starting to overwhelm him. His boss looks sympathetic, as if he wants to reach out to the younger and comfort him, but the distance of the table and their current situation renders any effort useless.

“Yongbok… what you’ve been doing is technically company theft.“ The elder says, resting his head in his hands.

“Wait- no- I never-“ 

Theft? Theft. What he’d been doing is theft. Realistically, Felix must have known that. The guilt he’d felt whenever he fake-scanned a bag of rice or bottle of water showed that, on an intrinsic level, he’d known exactly what he’d been doing. But it was so easy to brush it off at the time - to think of Chan’s sunny grin, or Jisung and Changbin’s friendly camaraderie, or the homeless kids shining eyes - and pretend the shame he felt in his stomach was just the result of some general anxiety.

“Technically, I said.” Felix looks up. “I’ve seen the security footage. I tried to let it go for as long as I could, but the big boss has been hounding me about stock shrinkage. And I know it’s just a ramen cup or chocolate bar - tiny, minuscule stuff in the grand scheme - but he takes his no tolerance policy seriously.”

This can’t be happening.

“Listen, Yongbok. You’re a sweet boy, and if I were anyone else I’d say you doing a bad thing for a good reason was admirable, but I’m not just anyone - I’m your boss. And as sympathetic as I am to your situation, I need to do something or everyone else will think they’re free to do the same but for less pure reasoning. I’m truly sorry, Yongbok, but I’m going to have to ask for your resignation.” His boss finishes, staring at Felix with so much pity that the younger can almost taste it.

“Please, there - there has to be something I can do, something else! I need this job.” He pleads. He does need this job. He needs it or else he’ll be homeless just like the kids who’s sticky fingers he’d turned a blind eye to before.

“I can’t argue with camera footage, kid. It’s either you quit and I mark it down as voluntary termination and promise to write you a damn good reference for your next job, or I have to file a report and you endure a month long investigation and interrogation process just to get fired in the end anyway. I don’t want you to have to go through that. Please, just… think it over.”

He doesn’t need to think it over. He’s a kid from Australia that still struggles with his Korean occasionally, has complex uni hours that he needs to work around, and has no connections at all over here. Having it on record that he was fired from his first job in South Korea for stealing company property? He’d be lucky to ever work again. “I’ll get my letter of resignation written and hand it in tomorrow.”

“For what it’s worth, you were a pleasure to work with. I’m sorry, kid.” His, now ex, boss says, ruffling his hair as he walks by him and towards the exit of the office. “I’ll go get the doors opened again. You’ll have a week of shifts left after you officially hand in your letter tomorrow, and you’ll get your last pay check the Friday after. I’ll get your recommendation written by then and have it mailed out to you since you probably won’t see me about during your set shifts - I’ll be occupied with finding a new hire and getting them trained up for the next week, so.”

Just as he’s about to leave the room, he turns back and sends an apologetic glance full of sympathy at Felix. “Take a few minutes - I’ll man the counter for a bit. Don’t rush yourself, I doubt we’ll have any customers in anyway.”

It’s only a matter of seconds before he starts spiralling - and spiralling hard.

“What - what have I done?” His hands shake as he brings them up to tug on his hair, yanking it out of it’s neat ponytail. He drags his fingers through the strands, tugging on them until his eyes water in pain - or terror, he can’t really tell - and keens into his lap. “I’ve lost my job. How am I going to pay for my apartment, or electricity, or heating, or - or food?”

He’s such an idiot. 

What the fuck is he going to do now?

“I’m heading out to the shop - just get the same as usual?” Chan calls out from the doorway, pulling his trainers on and fumbling with his laces.

“Nah, get some samgak gimbap for a change,” Changbin yells back, not bothering to take his headphones off. “I’ve got some extra cash left over for some reason, may as well treat ourselves while we can.”  

“Did someone say gimbap?” Jisung chimes in, popping his head up from where he’d been resting on their dorm’s couch, full of holes and covered in undisclosed staining. None of the three have ever owned up to any of the dried marks, but they weren’t there when they hauled the old thing up three flights of stairs upon discovering it abandoned in the alley next to their building. 

Chan barely uses it, much preferring either the comfort of his single bed or the structure of the swivel chair at their communal desk, so he’s almost certain he’s not responsible for any of them. Jisung (avid cheesecake lover) and Changbin (frequent consumer of caffeinated drinks) on the other hand, both have a habit of working and inevitably falling asleep on the sofa, so it’s fairly obvious to the eldest who the culprits are.

They don’t have enough money spare to buy any cleaner or stain remover for it though, or even an extra blanket to drape over it, so it continues to sit there in all it’s blindingly ugly and unnervingly dirty glory. 

“I did. Figured we could upgrade for the night and get some instead of the usual bland ramen, I’ve got a few thousand to spare this week, so.” Changbin shrugs, turning his focus back to his battered laptop screen, continuing with his composition assignment. 

“Woah - really?” Jisung’s eyes shine. “When was the last time we had gimbap? Last year?”

The gleam in the younger’s eyes causes Chan’s stomach to churn. He hates the fact that Jisung has gotten so used to living off cup noodles and plain rice that some triangular fish balls are enough to invoke such a bright response. Hates that the thought of biting into said rice balls makes him feel just as excited. 

He just nods at the younger, and Jisung grins before flopping back down onto the couch, snuggling under the duvet he’d dragged through from his bed and shutting his eyes. Shaking his head fondly, Chan gives Changbin a parting wave - receiving a short one in return - and heads out of the apartment, setting off towards the store. His mind is still distracted though, ruminating on the conflicting happiness of their youngest.

They shouldn’t be living like this - barely making rent every month, having to budget their every single purchase - but music production is an expensive course. Buying the equipment required; purchasing subscriptions for necessary software; paying for their accommodation and essentials - there’s only so much their loans can cover in the end.

The trio had tried picking up some part time work, but the elder two had soon found themselves completely overwhelmed with the struggle of balancing it alongside their intensive second year of Uni and had to quit. Jisung held out a bit longer, seemingly taking to the added workload like a duck to water, but when the boy finally landed himself in hospital after passing out at the top of a flight of stairs, his friends decided enough was enough and extracted a reluctant promise to resign from him. 

Jisung’s boyfriend seemed to be managing just fine working his cafe job during term time, but Chan has heard from Minho and Hyunjin numerous times how different their course’s scheduling and requirements are, so he guesses the three of them just picked a bad course for poor people.

But still, Chan thinks, maybe there’s something more he could be doing to help provide for everyone? His previous job had been too taxing, too physically demanding for him to keep up with, but if he could just find another job somewhere, something more relaxed and - something just like Felix’s job. 

Yeah - yeah, that’d be perfect.

Sure, it doesn’t seem like the most interesting job ever, and Felix has told him on many occasions about the amount of awful customers he’s found himself dealing with over the course of his time there, but it’d fit in perfectly with his night-owl habits and, more importantly, would give him some extra money to help them all live more comfortably. 

He’s considering whether or not to ask the Australian if there’s any jobs going for his company’s chain somewhere in Seoul when he walks through the entrance, but the choice is taken away from him at the discovery that Felix isn’t there.

In his place, there’s a young girl leaning on the counter in boredom, chewing some gum loudly. She looks up, seeming to sense a pair of eyes on her, and gives an obviously fake smile.

“Something I can do for you?” She continues chewing, twirling a strand of blonde hair between long fingers with acrylic nails. “Or are you gonna just stand there and stare at me like an idiot all night?”

Chan can’t seem to muster up a response, gawking openly at the other. Her fake smile turns even more plastic and she drags her eyes up and down him in distaste.

“Listen, dude. You’re hot and all - what, I’m not blind - but I don’t swing that way. So unless you want to fight my very small, very aggressive girlfriend, you might wanna cut it out. Yuqi isn’t as harmless as she looks when she’s angry.”

“Ah - wait, no, it’s not like that-“ Chan stutters out, the blonde sending him a disbelieving look. “Seriously! There’s a boy that usually works nights in here - his name’s Felix - so I was just surprised that it wasn’t him behind the counter. He usually lets me know when it’s going to be his night off, and he never mentioned anything last night, so…” He trails off, chewing his lip.

“Felix…hmm…” She ponders, tapping a long nail to her chin in wonder. “Never heard the name before but, then again, I just started the here the other day there. Name’s Soyeon, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Soyeon.” Chan replies dumbly. “So, you’re sure you’ve never heard of him before?”

“Nope, never heard of a Felix.” She confirms, nails tapping rhythmically on the wooden counter. “You sure you’ve got the right store? Boss said the boy that worked nights was called Yongbok, I’m sure - quit the other week there and finished up his mandatory notice last night.”

‘…Yongbok…quit the other week there…finished up last night…’

Yongbok - that’s Felix’s Korean name, Chan’s sure of it. He remembers the other’s cute whining over it so vividly; how much the boy had despised the way his Boss continued to call him by it instead of his foreign name despite the other agreeing to put ‘Felix’ on his name badge. 

But that can’t be right. 

If the new girl - Soyeon, she said her name was - is referring to Felix, then that means… the younger boy quit? Without telling Chan? Why on earth would he do that?

“Yo, you okay over there, lover boy?” Soyeon asks, slackened posture suggesting that, despite her concerned words, she couldn’t really care less about the strange guy having an internal freak out in front of her.

Fair enough, he’d probably be a bit weirded out by himself if he was in her shoes too.

“Uh, yeah - yeah. I’m fine…just, remembered that I’ve got somewhere I need to be.” Chan forces a grin, turning abruptly and starting to walk briskly to the front door. 

“Hey, wait a second.” Her voice calls out from behind him and, even though all he really wants to do right now is go back to the apartment and maybe cry a bit, he finds himself following her instructions and pausing in his exit. “You care about this Felix boy, yeah? Maybe in a way that’s a bit more than just friendly, am I right?”

“Okay, so I am right.” She looks smug when he whips to face her in embarrassment, but her next words are spoken softer than before. “Look, I don’t know why your boy quit, but I can tell you that it must have been a really sudden decision.”

Chan thinks the brash girl might be trying to comfort him, and the thought brings some warmth to his stomach. Perhaps she wasn’t as heartless as she first appeared.

She sighs, leaning her slim body backwards and crossing her arms loosely. ”Before I got this job, I was stuck in a really shitty, toxic environment - fast food industry, you get me? - so I was constantly on the look out for a chance to get out of there. The post for the vacancy here? Went up and was taken down within a matter of hours. Now, I don’t know if you know much about the job market, but that kind of thing just doesn’t happen. I mean, why would it? Places keep their listings up for at least a couple of days usually, to try get as big an applicant pool as possible. Only sticking it up for a few hours brings down the amount of applications you’re gonna get and reduces the likelihood of any of the people applying being decent enough to want to hire. You still with me?”

Chan nods, still not completely sure where the blonde’s going with her rant, but thoroughly invested all the same.

“In my opinion, only reason for a business to do that is if something super last minute has come up - for example, your lover boy suddenly quitting - and they need to fill a slot asap. And if you’re saying this ‘Felix’ didn’t mention it to you or bring up that he was gonna be leaving when he, presumably, cares as much about you as you do him…” She pauses, looking conflicted. “I think something bad must’ve happened to him.”

A bolt of panic rushes through Chan, because everything Soyeon has said so far makes perfect sense - too much sense to not be at least partially true. And if what she’s suggesting is actually accurate, and something did come up that left Felix with no choice but to resign, then he can’t help but feel immense worry for his newfound friend. 

Felix isn’t a local; he didn’t grow up here, or move here at a young age; and he’s mentioned in passing that he uses his work pay check to cover his apartment rent and the living expenses that aren’t able to be funded with his University loan, so how is he going to survive without getting any of the money he needs to have a home over here?

There’s always a chance that the younger found a different, better paying job that works around his schedule, but it’s hard enough to find one of those as a Seoul native, never mind a foreign boy with only two months experience in the country. And as much as Chan wants to believe that Felix has just gotten lucky, the pit of dread opening in his stomach warns him otherwise. 

“I - look, I’m really sorry.” Soyeon winces, evidently taking Chan’s silence as him being angry at her for daring to suggest Felix might be in a tough position. “I wish I could tell you more, let you know if he’s doing okay, but my boss was pretty tightlipped about the whole thing. I was lucky enough to get told his name, never mind the reason behind his leaving.”

“No, no, don’t apologise. You’ve done more than enough.” Chan consoles her, pained smile more genuine now than when he initially went to leave.

“If it’s any consolation, my boss always seemed like he cared about the boy anytime he mentioned him, and I don’t think he’d have been so warm if anything that bad had happened, so try not to worry too much. I’m sure you’ll manage to get in touch with him somehow.” She smiles comfortingly.

“Thank you, Soyeon. I hope you’re right.” Chan smiles back before exiting the shop to no resistance this time, just a sad gaze trained on his back.

He spends the walk back trying his hardest to block out any intrusive thoughts that try to pop up involving Felix; the younger getting fired; the younger getting evicted; the younger homeless and alone and freezing down a random alley somewhere and - Chan shakes his head aggressively, trying to dispel the image of the Australian sick and sleeping by a dumpster. 

It’s not until he enters his apartment that he realises his hands are as empty as they were when he first departed. 

“Gimbap! Gimbap! Gim- bap…” Jisung rushes over to him, any dregs of sleep long gone at the promise of tasty food, before staring disappointedly at Chan’s lack of a shopping bag. "Where’s the food?”

Changbin apparently deigns the situation serious enough to remove his headphones and hoist himself out of the swivel chair, walking over to the pair, questioning face directed at the eldest.

“I - sorry guys, I forgot to get the food.” Chan apologises.

“You…went to a shop… and forgot to buy… the food you went to the shop to buy?” Changbin drawls slowly. Chan understands, he feels like just as much of an idiot as Changbin is inferring he is.

“Channie,” Jisung says, staring at Chan anxiously. “Is everything okay?”

Chan freezes at the concerned prodding. For some reason, he can’t bring himself to explain the reason for his air-headed forgetfulness to the two, as if telling them about Felix would somehow make the whole situation more real than it already is. 

“…Felix quit.” He finally reveals, heart clenching at the upset looks his words paint on the duo’s faces. 

“What do you mean, he quit?” Changbin is the first to recover, spitting his words out venomously, like holding them in his mouth for any longer would poison him.

“Exactly what I just said - Felix left and didn’t tell us. There was a new girl, Soyeon, who said he handed in his notice last week and worked his final shift last night.” Chan responds, voice rising in defence. Rationally, he knows Changbin is just wounded at the thought of Felix abandoning them without any notice, but he’s already feeling fragile enough at the news and the younger’s offensive tone isn’t doing anything to help.

“He - he couldn’t have left. He would have said something.” Jisung is the one to reply this time, Changbin seething in silence instead. “We were all in last night and he didn’t seem like someone about to up and disappear without telling his friends.”

“Maybe we didn’t know him well enough, then.” Changbin fires, hurt overwhelming his affection for the young Aussie. 

“Don’t say that, Binnie. You know you don’t really think that.” Jisung pleads weakly. “There must be some reason for him to have left without letting us know.”

“Soyeon…she seemed to suggest that it was probably a sudden decision and-” Chan pauses, heart pounding audibly in his ears. “-might have been due to something bad happening.”

Jisung’s face creases in alarm as Changbin’s tense posture drops most of its hostility. 

“Something bad?”

“A change of circumstances, something along those lines.” Chan says, reaching out to pull the youngest into his arms. Holding him close like this, he can feel the tremors wracking through Jisung’s small frame, but he’s unable to do anything but stroke a soothing hand up and down the boy’s back.

“We need to find him, then. Make sure he’s okay.” Changbin looks resolute, eyes darting about in search of his shoes. 

“Changbin, it’s almost three in the morning, you haven’t slept and Jisung is in no state to go searching throughout Seoul.” Chan tries to appeal to reason, but Changbin doesn’t seem to take too kindly to his attempt at prevention, stalking forward and past Chan (and Jisung, who’s staring at the former in shock) as he spots his wrecked trainers beside the door. He yanks them on roughly and turns to face Chan once more, eyes blazing. 

“I’ll go alone then.”

“Binnie…” Jisung’s face crumples. “I’m worried about Lixie too, but it’s too dangerous. Please don’t go.”

The smallest’s face pinches in conflict at the other’s pleading, staring at Jisung for an indeterminate length of time before toeing his trainers off and slumping in defeat.

“…what if he’s hurt?” Changbin’s voice is small, absent of all the rage he’d seemed to portray just moments before, and his eyes are watering. Chan feels like he’s looking in a mirror.

“Felix mentioned that he attends a local performing arts University near here. He never mentioned it by name, but there aren’t too many of them in this district, and the closest is the one we attend. I say we take a shot there tomorrow, have a look around the dance building for him - we could even ask Minho and Hyunjin if they’ve ever seen or heard of anyone like him.” He suggests, releasing Jisung from his hold and dropping his arms to his side.

“That sounds like a good plan.” Changbin admits reluctantly, shuffling towards them. He raises his arms, tugging the pair into a tight hug in what Chan recognises as the smaller’s form of apology. He allows himself to be pulled in, squeezing the other to show his acceptance, and decides to try lighten the mood.

“You didn’t set the bar very high, Binnie.” He laughs. “I mean, hunting about Seoul for one boy at three in the morning? All we’d have found by the morning is ourselves with some bad cases of pneumonia.”

“Shut up.” Changbin mumbles into his shoulder, Jisung’s body shaking with laughter instead of fear now.

He’s still immensely worried about Felix, but having his friends with him makes the dread slightly easier to cope with.

He just hopes their gamble is right and, come morning, they’ll be reuniting with the youngest on campus.

“Felix? Of course we know him, he’s a sweetheart.” Hyunjin says. “I’ve been trying to get him to come eat lunch with us all term but he’s just so slippery. One second he’s right there and the next - poof, he’s vanished.”

“He’s a strong dancer.” Minho adds, chewing on his kimchi. “Has some confidence issues so he struggles when performing solo, but definitely one of the best in class.”

The trio let out a synchronised sigh of relief, tense figures sagging at the confirmation. The other four at the table just stare.

“How do you know him?” Minho sets down his plastic fork. “Felix doesn’t speak to anyone - he’s like a lone wolf, but cuter - doesn’t strike me as the type to walk the streets making friends left, right and centre.”

“He works - worked in the shop we visit; you know, the one down by our old school?” Jisung corrects himself, frowning. Changbin lays his hand over the younger’s, rubbing circles with his thumb. Minho’s gaze sharpens at the comforting gesture, feline eyes flicking up to stare at Chan.

“I met him a month or so ago, he worked basically every night in there. And, well, you know that I go there most nights anyway, so we all ended up pretty close with him.” Chan says, seeming to satisfy Minho with his answer.

“That explains why the poor boy always looks so tired. There’s been a few times we’ve thought he was going to pass out during practice over the past few weeks.” Hyunjin looks concerned at the revelation, teeth tugging on his full lower lip. “But why are you asking about him now?”

The three production students share a common look, but it’s Changbin that eventually answers. “We found out last night that he quit. Without telling any of us. It’s not like him, so we’re worried something might have happened.”

Seungmin and Jeongin, who’d been caught up in their own conversation until this point, abandon it as they tune in to Changbin’s obvious concern. 

“Wait - someone’s in trouble?” Jeongin’s eyes widen, his tteokbokki long forgotten. He frowns at the eldest, Seungmin adopting a similar expression.

“Possibly, but we’re not certain.” Chan tries to appease their youngest’s worry, but the pair’s frown lines remain. “We spent this morning looking about this part of campus for him but we didn’t have any luck.”

“He wasn’t in jazz class today.” Hyunjin reveals, releasing his abused lip. “We have different ballet instructors, but I don’t remember seeing him outside of the practice rooms either.”

“So he’s not even attended his classes?” This doesn’t bode well for Chan’s theory. He had managed to hold out some hope that Felix had just managed to find a better job somehow, but if the Aussie didn’t come to University today, then-

“Wait - is that not him over there?” Minho alerts him, pointing towards the fountain. Chan follows his indication and spots a blonde haired figure walking briskly across the campus, some papers clenched firmly in their hand.

“Felix!” Chan calls out impulsively, the person’s head whipping up at breakneck speed and staring at him like a startled deer. That’s definitely Felix, Chan thinks. The other looks conflicted, flicking his eyes frantically between the elder and the elusive papers in his grip before steeling them and continuing on his way with even more haste than before. 

Chan wasn’t called a track star at his school for nothing though and, after springing up from his seat on the bench, quickly reaches the other, desperately grabbing onto Felix’s jumper to get him to stop. His fast appearance must have surprised his fellow Aussie as the younger drops his papers in shock. Chan goes to pick them up for him, feeling bad for scaring him, but Felix cries out right as his finger’s brush against the sheets.

“Stop!”

They’re… University withdrawal papers?

“Felix, you’re - you’re dropping out?” 

He says it so loud that the full table hears despite the distance, and Minho and Hyunjin instantly cry out in protest. 

“What do you mean ‘Felix is dropping out’? He’s doing amazing; one of the best in our year, all of the teachers adore him - he can’t drop out!” Hyunjin wails, staring over at the wide-eyed boy in betrayal. Minho doesn’t say anything quite as dramatic, but nods in stern-faced agreement.

Felix looks agitated, shaking slightly and Chan swears he can see tears forming in the blonde’s eyes. He’s switched to staring resolutely at the ground, determinedly refusing to meet anyone’s searching eyes.

“I don’t really have a choice.” Felix mumbles, still staring intently at a pebble at his feet.

“What? Have you been kicked out?” The younger just shakes his head. “Is it to do with your finances, then? I thought you said you had an approved loan, one that covered all of your tuition?” 

“Yeah - my tuition. Only my tuition. Not my apartment, or bills, or food or - or anything else.” He cuts himself off, voice acrid.

“Why did you quit your job then? I take it that was your form of income, but Soyeon said you left so abruptly-“ Chan continues his badgering, wanting to stop but his curiosity winning out.

“I didn’t - I didn’t leave. Not voluntarily at least. Not really.” The younger replies evasively, fingers gingerly reaching out for the withdrawal papers Chan is still holding, but pulling back in reticence.

“…they fired you?” Chan asks, stunned. 

A timid nod. “Basically.” 

“But why? You seemed like a perfect worker every time I was in?” Chan pushes, desperate for an explanation. Sure, Felix had slacked off once or twice while he was in visiting, but he’d still been an exemplary employee whenever Chan witnessed him interacting with another customer or dealing with an issue that cropped up. 

Felix flinches. “Yeah, well, I guess their idea of perfect worker isn’t someone who steals company stock.” 

What?

“Steals? Felix, you… you didn’t?” 

There’s no way.

“Depends on your definition of stealing, I guess. Do you consider deliberately not scanning items to be thievery?” Felix shrugs, kicking forward with his right foot.

“I - well…” The elder stammers, finding himself unable to lie to the younger.

“Exactly. It’s kind of obviously wrong when I say it out loud but, god - I just - it never felt wrong in the moment. I mean, yeah, sure I felt guilty sometimes but… it was always worth it.” The younger Aussie glances up at Chan through thick eyelashes with an adorably earnest expression. 

“Felix…will you come sit down with me? Explain things a bit more?” Felix looks torn, glancing worriedly at the table that’s full of both familiar and unknown faces that stare right back, but eventually seems to settle on a decision and allows Chan to gently pull him over to the table. Jisung has moved along to make a space for him, Felix smiling shakily yet gratefully at the kind gesture as he takes a seat, Chan following to sit on his other side. Before Chan can continue their conversation though, someone else addresses their new addition first. 

“I - I, um, couldn’t help but overhear your conversation and I just wanted to ask…was it us?” Jisung blurts, and some of the table looks confused, but Felix’s eyes widen tellingly. “Just cause I noticed a few times that what we were paying didn’t seem enough for what we were buying and, well, you never gave us the receipts…” 

Chan can’t believe it. 

“God, Felix. Please - please tell me it wasn’t for us.” He begs the younger, praying desperately for a denial.

“…I’m sorry, Chan. I can’t tell you that.” His hopes are crushed with the blonde’s reluctant words.

“You…why would you for - for us? You barely even knew us, and you…” Chan trails off, realisation dawning on him. “So, that first time - the first time we met, when I didn’t have enough for the ramen and you told me it was on offer - it actually wasn’t?” 

“…no.” Felix replies meekly. “I just deleted one of the ramen cups from the screen and charged you for two instead.” 

“And all the times after that?” Felix just ducks his head in shame. 

Chan feels a mix of emotions warring within him. Deep down, there’s a tiny shred of anger at being an unwilling accomplice to Felix’s plans - this means he’s technically stolen from that store so many times, right? A plastic bag worth a hundred won is one thing, but full cups of ramen, bags of rice… he’s probably eaten enough free noodles to feed the three for a week by this point.

But it’s almost completely buried by the intense pity he feels for the boy - such a sweet kid, just trying to help out some starving students because Chan was kind and familiar and felt like home to him.

“I just - I wasn’t thinking. Or, I mean, I was, but… the store - the company that owns it - they’re rich. The CEO’s? They’re billionaires. I just… thought it wouldn’t matter, because what difference would it make to them - to their fortune? They probably blow their noses in thousand won notes; it’s so little to them, but so much to people like us…” Felix sniffles, sleeve-covered fists rubbing at his eyes angrily. “You just looked so sad. I heard the way you spoke under your breath; how you were so willing to go without any food so Jisung and Changbin could have something and - and I just thought ‘god, this is so unfair.’ This world is so unfair… so I deleted one.” 

The four residents of the table that had yet to meet, or be made aware of, Felix glance between each other, the facts of the situation finally becoming clear. 

“I know I lied and I’m so sorry about it; I should never have done what I did without your knowledge; but I can’t say I regret it. I know if I were to live through the situation again, I would do the exact same thing.” The younger finally fully locks eyes with Chan, the elder witnessing a flame in them - bright and burning with passionate resolve. And just like that, Chan feels any last minuscule ounce of upset that was residing within him crumble to ashes from that fire’s heat. “Besides… it wasn’t just you guys that I broke the rules for.” 

Felix picks at the ends of his jumper, moment of confidence finished if the way his eyes have moved back down to trace the wood of the table is any indication.

“There’s these homeless kids that come around - oldest can’t be any more than fourteen - that are so thin, and dirty and… well, it was even easier to turn a blind eye whenever I caught them pocketing a chocolate bar or shoving a bottle of water down their jumper than it was to help you three.” He pulls a long thread free, discarding it onto the grass.

“They were so young, but the world had already hurt them so much - if pretending I was a ditzy blonde that paid more attention to my nails than my job whenever they were in made their lives any easier, I was happy to do it. Plus, it always seemed to give them a good laugh whenever I purposefully sang off pitch to Twice, so…” All of the table have matching soft looks directed at Felix by this point, even Jeongin and Seungmin who’ve never met the boy before seem endeared, Chan thinks to himself. 

“A-anyway, there - there was a point to all that. Just… please don’t blame yourselves?” Felix shoots a pleading look between the three, watery eyes imploring. “None of this was your fault. I made my choices, they fall wholly on me, and I stand by them. I might have gotten myself stuck in a pretty bad situation because of them, but it could be a lot worse, so please don’t worry yourselves. I’m pretty resilient in the face of hardship, you know; my sister once broke my arm when I was seven and I didn’t even cry that much!” 

Felix looks proud, preening slightly, but Chan can tell it’s forced from the way the other’s hands are still trembling, still picking anxiously at his fraying woollen sleeve.

“I’m sure you are,” Chan chuckles, ruffling the younger’s hair. “But, considering you were walking home with University resignation documents in hand, I take it you haven’t been able to find a new job yet?” 

Felix sighs, easily dropping the optimistic facade. “Yeah…no job means no money to stay in Seoul. My last boss was really nice about the whole thing, honestly. Said he sympathised with me; implied he actually agreed morally with what I did, but that he couldn’t let me away with it because he’d be the one losing his job if he got found out for it. Which is, like, totally understandable - I mean, I would never want him to get fired because one of his employees decided to try play saviour to a bunch of customers - but he wrote me a really good reference before I left, there’s just not been any jobs available. Must be the time of the year…” 

“Hey blondie,” Minho chimes in from across the table, and Felix startles at the sudden intrusion of a new voice. “Yeah, you. The little chick I’ve been trying to get to sit with us in dance class for the past - what, two months?” Minho teases, and Felix’s cheeks glow a warm rose in embarrassment. 

“Well, it’s your lucky day. Hyung here happens to work in a very nice coffee shop just five minutes off campus, and said coffee shop just so happens to be looking for a new start at the moment. The hours are perfect for dance major schedules, and the pay is nothing to scoff at either. I suppose I could put a good word in for you, get you an interview - if you want, that is?” He winks. Felix’s mouth drops open slightly, sharply inhaling as he stares with starry eyes at the elder. 

“You - you could do that for me?” The blonde gapes, fists clenched in restrained hope.

“For a boy that put his ass on the line for my friends? Bbiyak, I’ll make sure getting a new job is the last of your worries.” Minho grins like a shark, but there’s a gentle softness to his face that betrays his endearment to the younger. 

“I- thank you! Thank you so much!” Felix exclaims, tears finally trickling down his face in gratitude, not sadness. Jisung reaches over from his position on the other side of Felix and snatches the University withdrawal papers that were laying discarded on the table in front of Chan. Swiftly, he tears them up and throws them behind his shoulder. 

“You won’t be needing those now, will you?” He grins impishly, pulling Felix in for a side hug. 

“No - no. I guess I won’t.” Felix chokes out, twisting to face Jisung and returning the hug with even more fervour.

“Han Jisung - what have I told you about littering! Wanting to look cool in front of Felix is not an excuse for throwing trash on the ground! Once you’re done hugging, go pick it up and put it in a bin.” Minho barks, leaning over the table and flicking his boyfriend on the forehead. 

“Ahh, Minnie~” the younger whines, pulling Felix in even closer. “Couldn’t you have left it for a little bit longer, now Lixie is gonna think I’m a litterbug that hates the environment!” 

“Could’ve fooled me with your whole ‘throw a stack of papers on the ground after tearing them up’ shtick.” Seungmin mumbles from his position across from Chan, earning a pointed glare from Jisung and a giggle from Felix, who’s finally detached from Jisung and sitting up straight again. 

“So, does this mean Lix is gonna be a permanent addition to our group? Because I’m totally up for that.” Hyunjin asks from beside Minho, smiling widely at the Aussie. “I’ve been trying to get you to be my friend since the semester started, who’d have known all it would take is Chan dragging you over to our table and making you tell us your work trauma!” 

“Hey! I did not drag him…I just, lightly pulled him in the right direction…” Chan trails off, frowning. 

A pointed cough comes from beside Seungmin.

“Dragged.” Jeongin coughs out, receiving a poke from the former in reprimand. He just widens his eyes innocently and shrugs his shoulders. “What? I didn’t say anything.” 

The whole table starts laughing at their youngest, and within the hilarity, Chan spots Changbin learning backwards from beside Jisung and getting Felix’s attention while everyone else is distracted. He knows he shouldn’t listen in - that he’s just being nosy at this point - but Changbin seems to have noticed Chan’s peering eyes and hasn’t stopped, so he must not mind the elder’s eavesdropping. 

“Hey, kid.” He feels Felix jump slightly, turning to face the other upon feeling a light poke to his side. 

“Um… is something wrong?” Felix asks, looking concerned. There are still tear tracks on his face, Chan notes, adding an ethereal gleam to his numerous freckles.

“Nah, just wanted to thank you.” The elder gives an appreciative nod. 

“For - for what?” The younger stutters, dumbfounded.

“For thinking about us. Not many people would be perceptive enough to realise when someone is in a hard position in life, and even less would make the choice to do something about it -  especially when it doesn’t benefit them. It was very sweet of you.” 

“I - well, I mean, you’re welcome?” The younger splutters out, cheeks turning red again. Chan masks an involuntary giggle at the response; the younger is just too cute for his own good sometimes. 

“Please don’t do it again, though. I get that you have a big heart, and you seem far too caring for your own good, but don’t go about sacrificing yourself for strangers. That’s no way to live.” Changbin says, face and tone serious. 

“…I won’t.” The younger agrees, and Changbin’s sombre expression eases as he goes to sit back up, but halts when Felix continues talking. “But you’re wrong about something.” 

Changbin looks confused, but humours the younger. “I am?” 

“Mhm,” The blonde hums. “I did get something out of it - I got the knowledge that you three weren’t going hungry and stressing about being able to afford food. So, I was kind of being selfish, in a way. I didn’t want to live with the knowledge that you were all going without, so I did something to make sure I didn’t have to.”

Changbin chokes out a stunned laugh, staring at the other in disbelief. “If you say so, kid.” He says in amusement. “If you say so.” 

Felix looks satisfied with his answer, at least, even if Chan can tell that Changbin most certainly didn’t seem to believe the words he’d spoken. 

He spots his opening and strikes, leaning in and tapping Felix’s shoulder. 

“So, is this a bad time to say that I never did get your number?”

Felix blurts out a shocked laugh, before grinning widely. 

“Never a bad time for you to ask for my number, Mr Bang.” He quips, and Chan shivers when he feels a hand slip into his back pocket. A few seconds later, Felix grins triumphantly, waving Chan’s phone in front of his face. “Passcode, please.” The Aussie flutters his lashes, pointing the locked screen towards him. 

“Why, of course. Anything for you.” Chan replies, tapping the four digit code into the device.

Felix had most certainly done enough for Chan already, time to start making it up to the other.