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felix stands behind the singular beat-up couch at jeongin’s place, sandwiched between minho and changbin. as he looks towards the tripod set up in front of them, felix tries to school his features to neutrality; he knows the camera is already recording, and he doesn’t want jeongin to have any more footage of him making weird faces. a few weeks ago, felix had accidentally spit out water onto seungmin during one of jeongin’s vlogs, and it had gone semi-viral on twitter. seeing his face turned into a reaction gif had been a bit of a surreal experience.
“do we really need to record this?” minho complains. “it’s not even christmas yet. why are we opening presents early?” felix secretly agrees with him, but he won’t voice his opinion because he knows this means a lot to their friend.
jeongin turns around from his seat on the couch and smacks minho’s arm. “it’s for my channel, minho-hyung!” he exclaims. “of course we have to do it.”
“the things we let you get away with because you’re the youngest,” seungmin mutters under his breath.
steadfastly ignoring him, jeongin turns back towards the tripod and flashes a blinding smile, eyes narrowing to slits and dimples popping. it sometimes frightens felix how quickly he can flip on his youtuber persona. “hi everyone, welcome back to my channel! merry christmas to all my foxies who celebrate! today, we’re here to do a secret santa gift exchange.”
felix tunes out the rest of jeongin’s intro, having heard a hundred different variations of it already. he finds himself staring off in the distance - or rather, in one specific direction.
as usual, his eyes are drawn to hwang hyunjin, his best friend of over two years. they had become fast friends when they met at a dance class, felix’s natural extroversion pulling hyunjin out of his shell quickly. as they started spending time together outside of class, they had naturally been introduced to each other’s friend groups, eventually merging into the group of eight they have now. felix loves hyunjin, he really does, and he owes much of his happiness in the past two years to him. unfortunately, their friendship had also been the topic of many an argument with his ex.
hyunjin’s hair is getting long again after he had buzzed it at the start of the year, growing out to reach his shoulders. for some godforsaken reason, he’s wearing a black tank top (felix has noticed hyunjin wearing a lot of sleeveless shirts of late, despite the cold weather), and his biceps look unreasonably attractive.
has he been working out more lately? i wanna bite those arms. i want him to wrap them around my throat. i want-
minho elbows his side, shooting him an unimpressed look. although he doesn’t say anything, felix can practically read his mind; stop being pathetic, minho’s eyes seem to be saying.
felix straightens out his shoulders and looks away before hyunjin can notice him staring. if felix is being honest with himself, he’s always had a bit of a crush on hyunjin, but it’s only gotten worse since his ex broke up with him. felix has been unreasonably horny (both physically and emotionally) ever since, and hyunjin is the perfect outlet. his soft smiles and gentle praise are enough to make anyone swoon, and that’s without accounting for the fact that his body looks like a literal greek god and his face card is so lethal it could ruin lives.
“alright everyone, you can open your gifts now!” jeongin announces. “please don’t guess who your secret santa is yet. we’ll go around the group afterwards and take our guesses.” felix blinks; he must have been daydreaming for some time, because he has no idea what has been happening up to this point. he can only hope the camera didn’t pick up any weird facial expressions while he was spaced out.
changbin lets out a cheer. “finally!” he exclaims, already starting to tear into the wrapping paper covering his present.
felix’s heart races as he removes the tissue paper from the gift bag in his lap. he can’t explain it, but he has a good feeling about this. with shaking hands, he pulls out a polaroid camera in his favorite shade of light blue. felix doesn’t even try to hide the wide smile stretching across his face; whoever got him this gift has been paying close attention to his ramblings.
just as he’s about to place the camera back in the gift bag, felix notices there are more items inside: a few refill film packs and a rectangular object in the same shade of blue as the camera. furrowing his brows, he pulls out the object and studies it closely. at first, felix thinks it’s a notebook until he flips open the cover and sees sheets of empty plastic sleeves where polaroid-sized photos can be inserted. what a thoughtful gift, he thinks.
a slip of paper falls out of the photo album, and felix barely manages to catch it before it falls onto the couch.
if you were mine, i'd treat you right. can i be your new year’s kiss, felix?
with love,
your secret santa
felix feels his ears grow hot as he reads the words over and over again. they’re hand-written in a beautiful cursive font, but he doesn’t recognize the writing. felix shakes his head and laughs incredulously. surely, this is just another prank by one of his trickster friends. they all know how down he’s been after the breakup, so one of them must have decided to flirt with him to get his spirits up. yes, that must be it.
still, felix can’t help that his heart is traitorous and weak. his eyes flick over to hyunjin, and he notices the brunette is already staring at him with an intense expression on his face. they both look away at the same time after a fleeting moment of eye contact. felix’s cheeks feel hot.
for just a moment, felix lets himself dream of a world where hyunjin had written the note and meant it. he imagines a world where they get to be together as more than friends.
all too quickly, the moment passes. felix sighs quietly.
jeongin claps his hands to get everyone’s attention. “who wants to guess first?”
changbin raises his hand in excitement. “pick me, pick me!”
they decide to go around in a circle, starting with their favorite gym buff. seungmin had gotten him a fancy new blender to make his protein shakes, and changbin had been so touched that he literally fell to his knees in front of the younger man. despite seungmin’s efforts to appear uninterested, a small smile had tugged at the corner of his lips.
changbin had gotten chan some new soundproofing equipment for his music studio. chan had clearly been touched as he sniffled through his thank yous.
hyunjin had received a set of oil pants, gifted by jisung. although he had rejected jisung’s attempt at giving him a kiss, hyunjin had surprised him with a rare hug.
jisung had received a new microphone that could be plugged into both his phone and his laptop. “for your song covers,” minho had explained to a tearful jisung.
seungmin had received a baseball jersey with the name lee dae-ho on the back. felix had never heard of him, but seungmin’s wide eyes showed his recognition; lee dae-ho was apparently a legendary first baseman for the lotte giants and one of seungmin’s favorite players of all time. jeongin had smiled widely when seungmin had guessed him correctly on the first try.
felix had gifted jeongin a fancy new ring light because he had been complaining about his current setup. “thank you so much, lix-hyung!” jeongin had exclaimed, allowing felix to ruffle his hair in a seldom-tolerated display of skinship.
as his friends’ presents are revealed one by one, felix starts to get increasingly more jittery. chan and hyunjin are the only two who haven’t been revealed as secret santas yet, and the suspense is killing felix.
minho shows off his brand new air fryer, laughing as he reminds everyone of the perfect temperature to cook hyunjin at (180 degrees for twenty minutes, in case anyone is curious). “did you get this for me?” minho asks the brunette. felix’s heart does a funny little lurch as hyunjin shakes his head no. “it was me!” chan says, wrapping minho up in a reluctant hug.
finally, it’s felix’s turn in the spotlight. he clears his throat before he starts speaking, desperate to conceal his nerves. “i’ve been wanting to take photos of my life,” felix says, holding up the camera and the photo album. “thank you so much, hyunjinnie.”
hyunjin beams at him. “you’re welcome, yongbok-ah,” he says. “you know hyung always knows what you like.”
the words cause felix’s brain to combust. “hyung?” he asks, slightly hysterical. “you’re hyung?” felix presses his fingers to the tips of his ears, trying to calm down the furious blush he knows he’s sporting.
“you’re barely even older than him,” minho snorts.
“so what? i’m still lix’s hyung,” hyunjin insists.
as the group erupts in a conversation about the appropriate age gap to call oneself a hyung (no one else seems to think that hyunjin is old enough to refer to himself felix’s hyung), felix can’t think of anything other than the words in the note. what had hyunjin meant by that? had he been serious, or was this just another one his pranks? what did it mean for their friendship if he was serious?
“ayen-ah, can we take a break?” hyunjin’s voice suddenly cuts through the whirling thoughts in felix’s head. “i need to go to the bathroom.”
jeongin nods and moves to turn off the camera. “of course,” he says. “we can all take a quick break, and we’ll reconvene in twenty-five minutes.”
as hyunjin stands up and starts to walk towards the bathroom, he looks back at felix and beckons for him to follow. at first, felix thinks he’s imagining it - maybe he was gesturing at changbin? - but hyunjin locks eyes with him and gives a small nod. with his cheeks burning and eyes wide, felix joins him in the hallway, ignoring minho’s raised eyebrows.
they walk towards the bathroom in a tense silence, the sound of their friends fading behind them. the anticipation builds with every step. felix has no idea why hyunjin had told him to follow, but he’ll do anything the brunette asks.
the seconds seem to stretch into minutes as hyunjin reaches out his hand to turn the door handle, pushing the bathroom door open. hyunjin looks back at felix as he enters the room, an indecipherable expression on his face. as soon as felix passes the threshold, hyunjin shuts the door behind them.
“do you need something, hyunjinnie?” felix asks, wringing his hands. jeongin’s bathroom is kind of tiny, and this is the first time he’s been in such close proximity to hyunjin.
“i wanted to ask…” hyunjin starts, then pauses. away from the group, he’s not quite so bold; he seems to have trouble looking felix directly in the eyes for too long. “d-did you see my note?”
felix feels his blush deepen; he should have assumed hyunjin would want to talk about it. “i did,” he says shyly. “it was really sweet.”
“i’m glad you think so,” hyunjin smiles, bringing out the dimples in his cheeks. felix has dreamed of kissing those dimples on more than one occasion.
before felix can stop himself, he blurts out the first thought on his mind. “you’re so cute, hyunjinnie.”
hyunjin tries to pout, but he can’t hold back his grin. “just cute?” he teases.
“and sexy, and handsome,” felix giggles; he’s happy to indulge hyunjin. “and every other positive word you can think of.”
hyunjin ducks his head as a shy smile crosses his face. “then… what do you think, yongbok-ah?” he asks, taking felix’s hands in his much larger ones. “will you go out with me? if we start dating tonight, we can kiss on new year’s eve.”
always the romantic, but oh-so-careful. felix is tired of careful.
“fuck that,” felix breathes, lips only inches away from hyunjin’s. “i don’t wanna wait.”
he leans forward and closes the gap, kissing away the surprised expression on hyunjin’s face. it’s a sweet kiss, gentle but not chaste. hyunjin’s lips feel just as soft as they look.
felix pulls away after a few seconds, staring up at the taller brunette. hyunjin’s eyes are wide, and felix swears he can see red on the tips of his ears even in the dark of the bathroom. “does this mean you’ll date me?” hyunjin asks.
the blonde can’t help but roll his eyes. “duh,” he says. “i wouldn’t be kissing you otherwise, now would i?”
hyunjin breaks into a soft smile as his head tilts to the side. “you’ve just made me the happiest man alive, lix-ah,” he says, squeezing both of felix’s hands. “i meant what i wrote in that note, you know?” he continues, voice turning serious. “i’ll treat you right, never give you a reason to doubt me.”
felix giggles and looks away; he can’t handle the full weight of hyunjin’s attention. “i’m really happy too, but can you please just shut up and kiss me harder?”
the words seem to unlock something in hyunjin’s brain as his gaze turns darker. “i can do that,” he murmurs, releasing felix’s hands to instead grab his hips. felix yelps and wraps his arms around hyunjin’s neck instinctively as the brunette lifts him onto the counter and positions himself between felix’s legs. “this okay?” hyunjin asks quietly, eyes half-lidded as he stares at felix. the blonde stares back in wonder; somehow, hyunjin is sexy as hell even when he’s asking for consent.
“more than okay,” felix confirms, head bobbing up and down quickly. he loves when hyunjin is soft and sweet with him, but this side of him makes felix feel hot all over.
hyunjin cups his cheek and leans in, bringing their lips together again. this time, it’s a proper kiss; their lips slot together in a warm embrace that tastes like vanilla and feels like coming home after a long day of work. hyunjin gently tugs on felix’s lower lip with his teeth, opening his mouth and sliding their tongues together. felix loses himself in the heat, feeling a familiar haze come over his thoughts as the kiss grows more passionate. it’s only been a few minutes, but felix is already addicted to the taste of hyunjin’s lips. i could do this forever, he thinks.
“we should go back before they start to wonder what’s up,” hyunjin whispers against felix’s mouth. he doesn’t seem to really mean it, because he immediately goes back in for another open-mouthed kiss. the intensity of the moment makes it hard to think about anything other than the wet slide of hyunjin’s plush lips against his.
when felix finally manages to get a word in, he’s out of breath. “i don’t care if they know what’s up,” he breathes, lips brushing hyunjin’s as he speaks. “i want them to know about us.”
hyunjin pulls away fully even as felix chases his lips; he just smiles at the blonde’s displeased noise. “really?” he asks, a hopeful expression shining on his face. felix is struck with how beautiful hyunjin is, even in the dark of the bathroom.
“yes, really,” felix says, leaning his forehead against hyunjin’s. he moves his hand to the back of hyunjin’s head and tangles his fingers into the silky locks. “but we’re not leaving this room just yet. i plan on making full use of those twenty-five minutes.”
felix brings their lips together again, reveling in the soft sigh hyunjin exhales into his mouth.
forty minutes later, they walk out of the bathroom to a cacophony of cheers and wolf-whistles.
─────⊰ ♡ ⊱─────
a few days later, felix unexpectedly gets a call from jeongin.
“innie!” felix exclaims. “you never call me! either something is very wrong, or you love me so much you just had to hear my voice.”
“felix-hyung…” jeongin begins, uncharacteristically somber. felix had been joking about something being very wrong, but now he starts to wonder. “um, i’m not sure how to say this…”
felix sighs. “just tell me, please.” the tone of jeongin’s voice worries him, but he knows it probably isn’t that serious - jeongin doesn’t sound scared, just hesitant. felix just hopes it’s something like you forgot your wallet at my place or i need your help cleaning up the wine spill on my carpet, not i’m in jail and need you to bail me out.
“youandhyunjinhyungmaybewentviralontwitteryesterdayand-”
“whoa, slow down,” felix interrupts. “i literally can’t understand what you’re saying.”
jeongin takes a deep breath and exhales loudly. “i think it would be easier to explain if i just sent you the video,” he says sheepishly.
video? what video? felix knows jeongin had uploaded the secret santa vlog on christmas day, but he hadn’t noticed anything weird about it when he watched it.
a ping sounds as a new message comes in from jeongin. felix sees a link to twitter and immediately starts panicking. “no way someone posted me on twitter again,” he gasps. “what was it this time? did i make a stupid face while opening my present? did i accidentally burp? did i-”
“just check the link, lix-hyung,” jeongin cuts in. “it’s probably not as bad as you’re thinking.”
“i’ll be the judge of that,” felix mutters, but he opens the link nonetheless. he’s taken to a video with over three thousand likes - extremely viral for jeongin’s relatively small channel of fifteen thousand subscribers - and presses play before he even dares to read the caption.
it’s a clip from the christmas vlog jeongin uploaded, a close-up on felix’s face as he looks at hyunjin. hyunjin is talking and felix is just staring at him, smiling like a lovesick fool. he even bites his lip, an action felix doesn’t remember doing in the moment.
he scrolls and sees another clip that has also gone viral, this one with over five thousand likes. in this video, hyunjin is staring back at felix with an intense expression on his face. after they make eye contact, hyunjin looks away and tongues his cheek as he smirks.
they look like they’re about five seconds away from jumping each other’s bones (which, felix supposes, isn’t too far off from the truth. the clips were filmed after they had come back from the bathroom, both their lips still swollen from the passionate kisses they had shared.)
felix realizes jeongin is still patiently waiting for his reaction, so he blurts out the first thing on his mind. “do we really look at each other like that?” he asks incredulously. “why did no one tell us?”
jeongin laughs, an awkward sound. “we’ve always known you and hyunjin-hyung have a… special friendship,” he says. “i guess you could call it romantic. but you were never single until recently, and hyunjin-hyung was too much of a gentleman to ever get in the way. we all respected his wishes, so we never talked to you about it.”
sure, hyunjin had said he had liked him for a while, but felix hadn’t realized all their friends had also been in on it. “i can’t believe this,” he groans. “now the whole world knows i’m in love with my best friend.”
“you’re not mad, though?” jeongin asks hopefully.
“no, i’m not mad,” felix admits. “it’s kinda cute, actually. it’s just a bit earlier than i was planning on hard launching our relationship,” he laughs.
as felix scrolls through tens of comments praising his romantic chemistry with hyunjin, a warm feeling fills his heart. he doesn’t need external validation of his bond with hyunjin, not really, but it’s surprisingly nice to know others see it too.
─────⊰ ♡ ⊱─────
yeol! (ten!)
hyunjin wraps an arm around felix’s waist, pulling him closer to his side. they’re both bundled up in coats and scarves as they sit on a picnic blanket alongside the han river, waiting for the stroke of midnight. they had opted against going to a party for new year’s eve, deciding instead to spend the night together.
ahop! (nine!)
“how do you feel?” hyunjin asks.
yeodeol! (eight!)
felix presses a kiss to his cheek. “so happy!”
ilgop! (seven!)
“i’m glad,” hyunjin whispers. the warmth of his breath against felix’s cheek causes the blonde to shiver.
yeoseot! (six!)
“thank you,” felix whispers back.
daseot! (five!)
“for what?” hyunjin asks. he looks adorably confused.
net! (four!)
“for being you,” felix says.
set! (three!)
“i don’t-”
dul! (two!)
“shh,” felix interrupts gently. “it’s almost time.”
hana! (one!)
“happy new year, baby,” hyunjin smiles. his eyes fall closed as he leans in.
saehae bok mani badeuseyo! (happy new year!)
their lips connect just as fireworks erupt across the river. the sound of cheers and ringing bells fill the air, signaling the start of a new year.
“happy new year, hyunjinnie,” felix breathes against hyunjin’s mouth. he can feel the brunette’s answering smile on his lips.
for the first time in ages, felix is looking forward to the new year.