Chapter Text
Seungmin decided he hated Seoul approximately three minutes after the bus doors opened.
It wasn’t anything dramatic. No lightning strike of doom, no cinematic realization. Just the way the air felt heavier—thicker, like it pressed against his chest instead of sliding past him the way sea air did. Back home, breathing had always been easy. Automatic. Here, it felt like something he had to think about.
Felix, of course, didn’t notice.
“Oh my god,” Felix said, already half out the door, eyes bright like they’d personally offended the city if they weren’t excited. “Look at this place! Seungmin, did you see the café across the street? And there’s a convenience store right there—wait, no, two convenience stores—”
Seungmin tightened his grip on the strap of his backpack and followed him out, rolling his suitcase behind him like it was a reluctant pet.
“I saw,” he said. He hadn’t. He was busy missing the sound of waves.
Their entire life had fit into four suitcases, two duffel bags, and one battered box labeled KITCHEN??? in Felix’s handwriting. Everything else—their childhood bedrooms, the view from the cliff behind Seungmin’s house, the salt-stained windows—had been left behind.
Felix spun around suddenly, walking backward. “You okay?”
Seungmin shrugged. “I will be.”
That was the thing about Felix. He never pushed, but he always noticed. Had since they were kids—since Felix had wandered into Seungmin’s yard one summer afternoon, barefoot and loud and impossible to ignore, and decided they were friends now.
Felix grinned, satisfied enough with that answer, and turned back toward the apartment building.
It was… fine. Tall, beige, forgettable. The kind of building that blended into the city like it had always been there and always would be. Seungmin supposed that was comforting, in a way.
They’d just made it inside when a familiar voice echoed down the hallway.
“You’re late.”
Felix lit up like he’d been summoned. “Hyung!”
Lee Minho stood near the elevator, arms crossed, black hair tied back, expression caught somewhere between fond and deeply unimpressed. He looked exactly like he always did—like chaos tolerated him but never truly won.
“You said ten,” Minho continued. “It’s ten twenty-three.”
Felix waved him off. “Traffic. Also Seungmin wanted to say goodbye to the ocean.”
Seungmin blinked. “I didn’t—”
Minho’s gaze slid to him, sharp and amused. “You stood on the beach for fifteen minutes staring at nothing.”
“…Okay, maybe I did.”
Minho snorted. “Figures.”
Despite himself, Seungmin felt some of the tightness in his chest loosen. Minho had always been like this—teasing but solid, an older brother who’d quietly taken it upon himself to make sure Felix (and by extension Seungmin) didn’t accidentally burn their lives down.
“Keys?” Minho asked.
Felix fumbled through his pockets. Dropped them. Picked them up. Dropped them again.
Seungmin sighed and handed them over. “Here.”
Minho raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to be the responsible one, aren’t you?”
“No,” Seungmin said flatly. “I’m just aware of my surroundings.”
“That’s what responsible people say.”
Their apartment was on the fourth floor. Small but bright, with a narrow balcony and windows that let in enough sunlight to make Seungmin pause.
It wasn’t the ocean.
But it wasn’t bad.
Felix immediately claimed the room with the bigger closet. Seungmin didn’t argue. He’d learned long ago that Felix functioned best when allowed to expand like a golden retriever given a yard.
Minho helped unpack, offering commentary the entire time.
“Why do you own three identical hoodies?”
“They’re different,” Felix argued. “This one is emotionally warmer.”
Seungmin stacked books carefully on his shelf, fingers lingering on the spines. Marine biology textbooks. Old notebooks. A seashell he’d slipped into his pocket before leaving.
Minho noticed, because of course he did.
“You miss it already,” he said.
Seungmin didn’t bother denying it. “I didn’t think I would this much.”
Minho leaned against the doorframe. “You’ll find new things to love here.”
Felix popped up between them. “Like us!”
Minho shoved his head away. “You already love us. That’s mandatory.”
Later, after Minho left—just down the hall, don’t do anything stupid—Seungmin stood on the balcony alone.
The city hummed below him. Cars. Voices. Life stacked on life.
He closed his eyes and imagined waves.
Seoul wasn’t home.
But it would be something.
And knowing Felix—and Minho—something was probably going to be chaos.
***
Orientation day was, objectively, Seungmin’s worst nightmare.
Too many people. Too many voices. Too many overly enthusiastic student volunteers wearing matching shirts and shouting things like “LET’S GET EXCITED!” as if excitement were a group assignment.
Felix, on the other hand, was thriving.
“Seungmin!” Felix whispered loudly, already halfway turned around in his seat. “The guy next to me has stickers on his laptop.”
“That’s normal,” Seungmin muttered.
“They’re wolf stickers.”
Seungmin sighed and adjusted his tote bag on his lap. He’d strategically chosen a seat near the aisle, close enough to an exit that he could escape if needed, but still within Felix’s gravitational pull. Years of experience had taught him that wandering too far from Felix in public only resulted in being dragged into conversations anyway.
On stage, someone with a microphone was talking about academic integrity. Seungmin nodded along politely. Felix was absolutely not listening.
“Oh!” Felix suddenly said, turning fully to the person beside him. “I’m Felix.”
Seungmin closed his eyes.
The guy next to Felix looked up from his laptop, eyes bright, grin immediate. “Han Jisung.”
They shook hands like this was fate.
“I like your stickers,” Felix added.
“Thank you,” Jisung said proudly. “They’re emotional support.”
Felix gasped. “Same.”
Seungmin opened one eye.
That was all it took.
Within thirty seconds, they were comparing schedules. Within a minute, they’d discovered they both liked late-night convenience store runs. Within two, they were whispering jokes back and forth like they’d known each other for years.
Seungmin watched the friendship form in real time, vaguely horrified and deeply unsurprised.
Felix leaned back toward him. “Seungmin, this is Jisung.”
“We’ve been sitting here the whole time,” Seungmin said.
Jisung laughed immediately. “Oh, I like him.”
“No, you don’t,” Seungmin replied.
Felix beamed. “He’s shy.”
“I’m not shy.”
“You once avoided a phone call for three days.”
“That was strategic.”
Jisung looked between them, eyes sparkling. “Are you roommates?”
“Unfortunately,” Seungmin said.
Felix slung an arm around his shoulders. “Best friends.”
Seungmin didn’t push him away.
The orientation leader called for a break, and suddenly the auditorium exploded into movement. Felix stood up instantly.
“Coffee?” Felix asked Jisung.
“Yes,” Jisung said, also standing. “Absolutely.”
Felix turned to Seungmin. “You’re coming too.”
“That wasn’t a question,” Seungmin observed.
“Nope!”
They ended up in line at a campus café that smelled burnt but comforting. Jisung talked the entire time—about his major, his terrible sleep schedule, the club he wanted to join but probably wouldn’t. Felix matched his energy effortlessly, laughing too loud, gesturing wildly.
Seungmin listened.
That was usually his role. Quiet observer. The one people forgot was there until he spoke and said something just sharp enough to make them pause.
“So,” Jisung said suddenly, peering at him. “You’re the calm one.”
Seungmin raised an eyebrow. “That’s a dangerous assumption.”
Felix laughed. “He’s lying. He’s the scariest.”
Jisung’s grin widened. “Oh, I knew it.”
They found a small table near the window. Sunlight spilled across it, warming Seungmin’s hands around his cup. He watched Felix and Jisung talk like mirror images—same restless energy, same easy openness.
Another addition to Felix’s ever-growing collection of people.
Seungmin should’ve been annoyed.
Instead, he found himself thinking that maybe—just maybe—this place wouldn’t swallow him whole.
Felix leaned over suddenly. “We should all hang out later.”
Jisung nodded immediately. “Yes. Please.”
Seungmin hesitated, then took a sip of his coffee.
“…Fine.”
Felix grinned like he’d won something.
Orientation continued. Names blurred. Faces passed. But one thing was clear: Felix had made a friend, just like that.
Seungmin had a feeling this was only the beginning.
And somehow, that made him smile.