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'Cause I like you
There's no other reason, I like you
When I watch you smile, there's nothing more I could ask for
'Cause I just like you
It started when Changbin first made eye contact with the new transfer student from Australia in their shared biology class. The student’s visuals just screamed ‘beauty’ and ‘handsome’, especially his smile with those luscious and plump lips that had Changbin falling hard. Changbin remembered when their teacher, Mrs. Jung, had him raise his hand to show the transferee where to sit beside him, as that was the only available seat left in the classroom. Changbin remembered the way the kid almost skipped over to the seat beside the elder, and gave him an eye-blinding smile, before reaching out and offering his hand to Changbin, while saying in broken Korean, “Hi! What’s your name?”
But it wasn’t the other’s awful pronunciation and accent that caught Changbin off-guard. It was the kid’s deep voice, that was so low it could be easily missed if the other had spoken softly. But that wasn’t the only thing Changbin remembered. He remembered the way his heart had beat rapidly in his chest as he shook the latter’s hand, and barely managed to properly form out the words, “I’m Changbin. What’s your name, pretty?”
“I’m Felix!” the other responded cheerfully, giggling at Changbin’s petname for him, yet still with that shockingly deep voice of his. But the only thing that resonated in Changbin’s mind was the latter’s name. Felix. Felix. Felix.
I just wanna ask you about your day
Listening to your stories has become my hobby
It feels like the shortest time of the day
I wanna listen to all your worries
Let me share your load
So you can break free from the heavy burden
You've been carrying
Over the next few weeks, Changbin only fell harder. Every day during lunch, the two sat together in the library, away from all the chaos in the cafeteria. Changbin always asked Felix how his day went, while the younger would reply with complete honesty. Some days Felix would be feeling cheerful, happy with what he completed so far in the school day, while other times he would feel anxious or nervous about an upcoming test. The story that stuck with Changbin the most, however, is when Felix suddenly burst into tears when Changbin asked the younger how his day went.
“I wish I could stay strong and pretend everything was okay,” Felix said in between sobs, as Changbin tried comforting the other after he had suddenly began sobbing.
“Hey, it’s okay to feel sad or vulnerable at times,” Changbin replied. “It’s good to let your feelings out and share them with others. If you bottle up your feelings for too long, that will only make letting them out even more difficult. So can you tell me what’s wrong? I don’t like seeing my beautiful Pixie Lixie crying his pretty eyes out, okay?”
“O-okay,” Felix replied, slightly blushing and feeling shy at Changbin’s compliments. “It’s just, my parents always expect me to be picture perfect like my older brother, Chan. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love and admire my brother, and he’s more than I could ever wish for. And it’s the same thing for my parents. But I just wish they would stop comparing me to him sometimes. When they saw that I got a ninety-three on the math test a week ago, they got really mad at me since I never score ninety-eight’s, ninety-nine’s, and one hundred’s like my brother does. So I was just feeling a bit down and useless...”
“Hey, look at me,” Changbin said, gently lifting Felix’s chin up with his fingers. “You are more than enough for me and your parents. Although you may not score as well as your brother does, you shine in so many other areas. You mentioned how you enjoy dancing once, right? And how when your parents went to one of your showcases, they were extremely proud. I promise you you’re not useless, quite far from that, actually. Please don’t cry, Lixie, I promise you they don’t mean any harm or malice. They just want you to excel and always do amazing, and sometimes that just isn’t possible. We’re only human, after all. And even so, a ninety-three is already really good! That’s already so much higher than the average score in our grade, okay? So please don’t beat yourself up about it, alright Lixie?”
“Th-thanks, Binnie hyung,” Felix softly replied, hugging the older. The soft touch of Felix’s hands and arms warmed Changbin like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter day. And so, the older only fell harder.
You can lean on me
Until your cloud of worries disappear from your clear eyes
What's giving you such a hard time?
I'm serious, I'd rather hurt instead of you
Seeing you smile makes me happy
Even though you look the prettiest when you smile
When you just wanna cry, don't fake a smile
After the incident with his parents, however, Felix only began to look more tired when he walked into class everyday, and Changbin quickly took note of that. Dark circles and eyebags began to form under the Aussie’s bright eyes, and they would often droop tiredly whenever the professor was giving lectures. So Changbin decided to bring it up at lunch one day.
“Hey, Lix?” Changbin asked, as the two were seated in the far right corner of the library.
“Mhmm?” Felix hummed in response tiredly, opening his eyes and looking up at Changbin as his head rested against the older’s legs.
“Are you okay? You seem...tired, these days. And dark eye bags are starting to form under your beautiful, glowing eyes, while they were never there before. And I don’t think our professors are giving us too much homework to the point where that would happen...” Changbin spoke softly, trying not to scare off the younger.
“O-oh, I’m just...having trouble falling asleep at home...” Felix mumbled, quickly averting his gaze from the older and turning his face opposite of Changbin’s.
“Lix, look at me,” Changbin said, gently holding the bottom of Felix’s chin and turning his face back towards him. “You know you can tell me anything, right? I promise I’ll never judge you for it and that I’ll always stick by your side.”
“Th-thanks, Binnie hyung,” Felix sniffled, burying his face in Changbin’s shoulders as he sat up and hugged the older. “I promise I’ll tell you when I’m ready. Just...not now.”
“That’s alright,” Changbin replied, slowly stroking through Felix’s locks, wondering what was going on inside the Aussie’s head right now. “Just please try not to overwork yourself and rest well, is that okay?”
“Y-yeah,” Felix said, lifting his face up from Changbin’s shoulders, and shooting him a small smile of thankfulness. It was likely purely out of gratitude and appreciation, but it still shot sparks up Changbin’s spine. The younger’s smile was so pure and bright that it could light up a whole universe. And the way his eyes would slightly scrunch up from the way his lips curled up just made the younger all the more cuter. It was easily the prettiest sight Changbin ever saw, and he wanted to make the younger smile happily every second the two spent together.
Your eyes filled with happiness, yeah
Are water that will spill even with the slightest jolt
That's why I'm more cautious, no
I'm worried for you 'cause I like you (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
“Ugh, you’re so useless!” Changbin heard a male voice yell from a nearby classroom as he was heading towards the library for lunch. He was going to leave the frustrated male alone, until he heard soft and scared whimpers accompanied by the voice.
“Can’t even do my fucking homework correctly! And to think that I got lucky by getting the school valedictorian: Bang Chan’s, younger brother to do my homework. Tch, you’re so stupid and worthless,” the male continued. Bang Chan’s younger brother? Changbin thought to himself. As in, Felix’s older brother? Shit, that’s Felix! Changbin quickly walked towards the classroom that he heard the male’s voice in, and saw a sight that greatly worried him. One of the more popular students, Minjun, was towering over Felix’s small frame in the corner of the otherwise empty classroom, and had his hand in a position that looked like he had just slapped the smaller. The red mark on Felix’s cheek, and the tears that were spilling down his cheeks only confirmed so.
“What did you just say?” Changbin asked furiously, clenching his fists behind his back.
“Oh look, you have yourself a little boyfriend to save you~” Minjun teased cruelly, which took everything in Changbin’s body not to beat the other up right then and there. He didn’t want to scare Felix. “Too bad his short little ass can’t even reach me!”
“Listen here, you motherfucking son of a bitch,” Changbin seethed, hissing out each and every word with venom. “If you dare lay your hands on Felix ever again, I swear that your ego won’t be the only thing that gets beat up.”
“Oh look, your short little boyfriend is trying to threaten me~ Oh no, I’m so scared!” Minjun said, mocking a scared, high-pitched teenage girl. And that’s when Changbin snapped. Before he could even register what he was doing, Changbin snatched Minjun by the collar, pushed him down onto the classroom floor and away from Felix, before punching him square in the face. Several more punches were delivered by Changbin, and bruises from his fists were forming on Minjun’s face, arms, and legs.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Minjun pathetically pleaded, trying to stop Changbin’s fists.
“Don’t say sorry to me,” Changbin hissed. “Say sorry to Felix.”
“Okay! Okay! I’m sorry Felix! I’ll never bother you again!” Minjun quickly apologized, getting on his knees, while the latter was still standing in shock in the corner of the classroom.
“Good. Now don’t let me ever see you near me, or him again,” Changbin spat out, pushing Minjun back onto the floor, before dragging a surprised Felix to the library for the remainder of the lunch period.
“Ch-changbin hyung, stop! You’re scaring me,” Felix said, right as they left the classroom, and quickly yanked his wrist from Changbin’s tight grip.
“I’m so sorry, Lix. Are you okay? Is your face okay? He didn’t hurt you too much, right? I swear, if he even gave you a single cut or a bruise, I will march back in there and sho-” But Changbin was interrupted by Felix putting his finger against Changbin’s lips to silence him, followed by a sweet giggle that made Changbin weak in the knees.
“I’m fine, hyung. I’m more worried about your knuckles, and you already beat Minjun up enough!” Felix quickly said, lifting up Changbin’s knuckles to inspect the red marks from punching Minjun so hard, before quietly adding, “You just looked mad, and I thought you were angry at me too...”
“Oh, Lixie, I could never be mad at you,” Changbin said, gently holding Felix’s chin in his hand and caressing his cheek with the other. Felix’s lips looked so tempting right now, the hallway lights above casting highlights onto them, which only made them look like they were glowing. But then his eyes flickered up to Felix’s cheek where Minjun had slapped the younger, a faint red mark still visible.
“Oh my god, you’re cheek!” Changbin exclaimed, before quickly holding Felix’s wrist—a lot more gently this time—and dragging him to the nurse’s office.
“Hyung, I’m fine! It’s just a small mark, it’ll fade away soon,” Felix complained, protesting against Changbin’s seemingly pointless concern over the faint slap mark on his cheek. But the older refused to listen. Five minutes later, the two were seated on a bench inside the library with a handful of band aids in Changbin’s hands, the older placing one on Felix’s cheek. Originally, when Changbin had burst into the nurse’s office, asking for a band aid, she looked at the two really weirdly and confused, asking why. Since Felix knew the nurse wouldn’t give Changbin a band aid over the practically non-existent slap mark on his face, he pointed to Changbin’s bruised and cut fists, and the nurse quickly pulled out a handful of band aids, handing it to the two. She had offered to treat Changbin’s cuts and bruises, but the older quickly declined, saying that they would be “heading back to lunch”.
“Binnie hyung, band aids aren’t used for slap marks,” Felix pointed out, to which Changbin shushed the younger playfully and told him to “keep quiet, and let him do his magic”. Felix giggled at this, which only caused Changbin to melt and fall even harder for the younger.
'Cause I just like you
For no other reason, I like you
When I look at you smile there's nothing more I could ask for
'Cause I just like you
After the whole incident with Minjun, Changbin and Felix only grew closer. Felix seemed happier after Minjun left him alone, and Changbin had a high suspicion that Minjun had something to do with Felix’s dark eye bags and constant tired state for the past few days.
“Hyung!” Felix excitedly exclaimed in the library during their lunch period, which caused the librarian to shoot him a dirty glare saying “shut-the-fuck-up”, to which Felix bowed and apologized, embarrassed.
“What’s up, Lix?” Changbin asked, once the younger was sitting beside him on the carpet floor.
“I got a one hundred on my history test!” Felix exclaimed, his eyes crinkling up as he smiled brightly. Oh, how Changbin could stare at his smile for the rest of his life, and never get tired of it.
“That’s amazing, Lix! I’m so proud of you!” Changbin gushed, as he wrapped his arms around Felix and pulled the latter in a hug.
“Thanks, Binnie hyung! I’m excited to show my parents!” Felix said, once the older had let go of him.
“That’s awesome, Lix. Just remember that your parents’ opinions of your grades don’t always matter, okay? As long as you tried your best, then that’s all that counts,” Changbin said, subconsciously rubbing small circles inside Felix’s palms as he held them in his, substantially bigger, hands.
“Th-thanks, hyung,” Felix stuttered out, slightly turning red at Changbin’s fingers rubbing his palms, before shyly adding, “You’d be an amazing motivational speaker.”
“I know, I’m just so amazing,” Changbin dramatically replied, pretending to flip his non-existent long hair for extra effect.
“Don’t get too cocky, hyung. You’re not that amazing,” Felix jokingly teased, to which Changbin feigned offense, and Felix laughed at. Seeing Felix smiling and laughing brought butterflies to Changbin’s stomach, especially when he knew it was because of him. And so, the older fell even harder for Felix.
I wanna be with you all day
Without mood swings, full of laughter
You cried yesterday but I'm glad you feel better
The sparkling tears in your dewy eyes are diamonds
I like your honest expression
I like that you're not good at hiding your facial expressions
So don't conceal it
You know better how much harder it is
Everything was going great for the next few days, until Felix walked into class one day with an undoubtedly sad face—his eyes slightly puffy and red as though he had cried fairly recently.
“Lix, what’s wrong?” Changbin asked a few minutes before the bell was supposed to ring.
“It’s nothing,” Felix said, faking a smile.
“It’s not nothing if your eyes are all red or puffy,” Changbin replied, which caused Felix to quickly rub his eyes in response.
“It’s just allergies,” Felix said, but Changbin knew the younger was lying since it was the fall, and almost winter. Besides, his eyes weren’t red or puffy yesterday, which only confirmed Changbin’s suspicions that Felix was indeed lying. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but the bell rang, and Mrs. Jung began the lesson.
Later at lunch, when Changbin brought up Felix’s obvious sad mood, the younger denied it once again.
“Lix, I know you’re sad. You’re not cheery and smiling like your usual self,” Changbin said, after Felix had denied that he was feeling worse than usual. “It’s okay to feel sad or down at times, I just want to help you through it. Please, Lix?”
“B-but you’re going to get mad or upset at me,” Felix stuttered, his eyes welling up with tears.
“I could never get mad or upset at you, I promise,” Changbin said, sticking out his pinky to lighten the mood, and waiting for Felix to intertwine his pinky with the older’s.
“A pinky promise?” Felix asked, looking at Changbin amused.
“Yes, now are you going to take it? Changbin asked, to which Felix only chuckled softly and returned the promise. “Will you tell me now? Please, Lix?”
“Okay...” Felix mumbled, looking down at his hands, before softly speaking barely above a whisper. “I- I’m moving back to Australia...”
“Wh-what?!” Changbin asked rhetorically in a slightly louder voice than he intended to, shocked and surprised.
“You said you wouldn’t get upset...” Felix mumbled, looking away nervously.
“Oh god, I promise I’m not mad at you,” Changbin quickly said, brushing his hands along Felix’s cheek to turn the younger’s face back towards him. “I’m just surprised...and sad, too.”
“I’m really sorry,” Felix quickly apologized, tears now beginning to softly flow down his cheeks. “It’s just- I told my parents about Minjun, and they seemed really worried, and they started wondering if Korea is the right place for me, and since my dad found a higher paying salary back in Australia, we’re moving back there, and we’re going to stay at my grandparents’ house before we get to move into one by ourselves.”
“When is it?” Changbin shakily asked, trying not to cry too. Felix, his precious Felix, was moving back to Australia and going to leave him.
“T-two weeks,” Felix sadly replied. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I only found out this morning, and I was fighting with my parents about it.”
“It’s okay, Lix. We’ll just have to cherish these last two weeks together, then,” Changbin said, looking at Felix as though he was the most precious thing in the world—the most precious thing in the world that was soon going to leave him.
“O-okay,” Felix replied, wiping the tears off of his cheeks with the back of his hands. And Changbin watched. Watched how the younger’s beautiful glowing eyes twinkled like diamonds from the reflection of the light against his glossy eyes. Watched how Felix cuddled up against him, and rested his head against the older’s shoulder, planning on laying there for the rest of the lunch period. And again, Changbin was falling even harder for the latter. But now, with this new found information, Changbin realized that there wasn’t much time left to fall for the younger, before he was leaving his embrace.
Your eyes filled with happiness, yeah
Are water that will spill even with the slightest jolt
That's why I'm more cautious, no
I'm worried for you 'cause I like you (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
The next few days with Changbin and Felix were filled with bliss and happiness. Until the two were pulled back into reality when Felix’s parents reminded him that he had to start packing.
“I can help you,” Changbin offered, once Felix told him during lunch one day.
“Are you sure? What about your parents?” Felix asked.
“They usually never mind if I come home late,” Changbin replied, despite Felix’s doubtful look. “I promise, Lix. They usually never notice if I’m out or not anyways. Please?”
“Alright, fine,” Felix reluctantly agreed.
“Oh, are your parents okay with it?” Changbin asked.
“Yeah,” Felix answered, before muttering, “They’re more than okay with it.”
“Sorry, what was that?” Changbin asked, not hearing Felix’s quiet murmuring.
“Oh, ah- nothing!” Felix quickly said. Weird, Changbin thought, but brushed it off anyways.
Later, after school, Changbin and Felix met up at the front of the school to drive to Felix’s house. Once they arrived, Felix had rung the doorbell, and the door soon opened.
“Felix! How was school? Oh, and who’s that behind you?” a woman, who Changbin assumed was Felix’s mom, asked.
“Hi mom, school was fine. Oh, and this is, er- Changbin,” Felix said shyly, almost whispering Changbin’s name.
“You’re Changbin?” Felix’s mom asked, in a tone that Changbin couldn’t quite decipher. He looked at Felix beside him, who was rubbing his neck awkwardly and staring down at the ground.
“Um, yes ma’am?” Changbin answered, confused.
“It’s nice to finally meet you! Honey, come here! Felix brought his friend, Changbin! Oh, and sorry, where are my manners? Why don’t you two come inside? You can call me Mrs. Lee, or mom, just for the future,” Mrs. Lee said, winking, to which Felix blushed a bright red and lightly shoved his mom.
“So you’re the young gentleman Felix is constantly blabbering about,” Felix’s dad, Mr. Lee, said, to which Felix whined and quickly shouted a, “dad!”
“What does he talk about?” I asked, curious, while Felix quickly tried shushing me, but failed miserably.
“Oh, the list goes on and on and on,” Mr. Lee said, pausing as though he were trying to think of everything. “He talks about how handsome you are, and how muscular your arms, chest, and legs are. He told us about how you saved him from that bully: Minjun, and how you’re his first friend here in Korea. He also mentioned how you two talk a lot, and that you’re really good at taking care of him.”
“DAD!” Felix shrieked, instantly turning red as he saw Changbin staring at him in a mixture of awe and pride. He then grabbed Changbin’s hand, and shouted, “we’ll be upstairs packing my stuff”, before leading the older to his bedroom.
Mrs. Lee responded with, “Okay, just make sure to introduce him to Chan once he gets back home,” before the two parents went back to what they were doing before.
“So, what was that about you talking about me constantly?” Changbin teased, which caused Felix to blush a bright red once more and hide his face in his tiny hands.
“I- it’s nothing,” Felix replied, stuttering, with his face still buried in his hands. Changbin gently removed them from the younger’s face, before gently reaching and touching his cheek. Changbin’s hands slowly moved down Felix’s face, softly caressing it until his hand grabbed the younger’s chin.
“Really?” Changbin asked rhetorically, staring at Felix dead in the eye, while the Aussie was growing more flustered and red by the minute. “So you talking about how handsome I am is nothing? The way you’ve talked about my figure is nothing? That the way I comfort you is nothing? Judging by your blushing face, I don’t think it’s nothing.”
Changbin then leaned forward, his breath softly fanning against Felix’s ear, before quietly whispering, “I think you’re just too shy to admit that you like me.” After the words left Changbin’s mouth, Felix quite literally whined, before covering his mouth with his hand and turning impossibly more red. Changbin leaned away from Felix’s ear, and gently removed the younger’s hand from his mouth. Staring down at Felix’s lips, he felt so tempted to kiss them right then and there. He was already so far gone that it was too late to back out now.
“Can I kiss your lips?” Changbin whispered, to which Felix gulped before nodding. With that one motion of affirmation, Changbin pressed his lips against Felix’s, the two’s mouths slowly melting together. Felix reached his arms out to hold the back of Changbin’s neck, as he leaned in more into the older’s mouth. At this point, Felix was basically sitting on top of the older, his legs slowly beginning to wrap around Changbin like a koala clinging onto a tree. After a few more seconds, Felix pulled back, needing to breathe.
“I like you,” Changbin said once he regained his breath, letting out a soft smile at Felix’s flustered state.
“I like you too,” Felix replied, giving Changbin a happy and soft smile.
'Cause I just like you
For no other reason, I like you
When I look at you smile there's nothing more I could ask for
'Cause I just like you
After the day of packing at Changbin and Felix’s house, the two were stuck together even closer than before. During the school day at lunch, the two often shared small pecks and kisses, and always cuddled until the lunch bell rang, sadly separating the two. But they still weren’t officially boyfriends yet. Changbin was waiting for the perfect time to ask Felix out on a date, and then propose to him there. And the perfect time just happened to be during lunch on Friday, four days after they had first kissed at Felix’s house.
“Hey, Lix. Are you free tomorrow afternoon?” Changbin asked, as the two were eating in the library.
“Yeah, why?” Felix asked, curious.
“I want to take you on a date,” Changbin straightfowardly answered, and Felix nearly choked on the sandwich he was eating in surprise.
“S-sorry, what?” Felix asked, after he had stopped coughing.
“Oh, do you not want to?” Changbin asked, slightly disappointed and sad. “It’s okay if you don’t want to, maybe I’m just taking things too fast. Just forget I asked, sorry.”
“Oh no, I want to go on a date with you! I promise I do. I just didn’t expect you to be so forward, that’s all,” Felix quickly replied.
“So it’s a yes?” Changbin excitedly asked.
“It’s a yes,” Felix answered, chuckling. “Where are we going?”
“That’s for me to know, and for you to find out,” Changbin said with a wink, which caused Felix to whine in annoyance and pout.
It was now the next afternoon, and Changbin was waiting for Felix at the front door of his house with a bouquet of flowers in his hands: pink tulips, which were Felix’s favorite flowers.
“Hey, hyung! Oh, are these for me?” Felix asked, noticing the tulips in his date’s hands.
“Yeah, do you like them?” Changbin asked nervously, subconsciously biting his lip.
“Like? I love them! Thank you, Binnie hyung!” Felix said, quickly kissing the older on the lips and taking the bouquet into his hands.
“Anything for you, Lix,” Changbin replied, smiling. “And you look stunning, as always.”
“Thanks, you look quite handsome yourself,” Felix said, blushing and shyly smiling, butterflies erupting in his stomach. “Do I get to know now where we’re going?”
“Nope, you’ll find out when we get there,” Changbin replied, while Felix pouted once more. The car ride lasted around twenty minutes, with the two lovebirds showering each other in compliments, and Felix asking Changbin every five minutes “are we there yet?”. When they finally arrived, Felix realized that Changbin had chosen the younger’s favorite place for picnics for their first date. Excitedly, Felix helped Changbin open the trunk of the car, and quickly set up the picnic with the older.
“Thank you so, so much, Binnie hyung!” Felix exclaimed, pulling the older into a hug, and kissing his lips once more, before sitting down on the red and white picnic blanket.
“Anything for you, Lix,” Changbin replied, a soft and dazed smile plastered on his lips. The two had an amazing time on their picnic. The weather was beautiful and the sky was blue, while the two munched on sandwiches and fruit—at one point having a contest to see who could stack the most blueberries on top of each other. Felix won, of course. At the end of their date, the two were sitting on the soft grass, hands intertwined, and staring at the pale blue sky and slowly drifting clouds in the distance.
“Lix, I have something to tell you,” Changbin said, which caused Felix to look away from the sky and at the older’s face.
“What’s up?” Felix asked, hands still holding Changbin’s.
I just really love you
You're the only reason why I really love you
When I see you smile I just can't get enough
And I can't live without you
Baby I just really love you
“Do you want to be my boyfriend?”
“Yes! Of course, a thousand times yes!”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”