Chapter Text
If you grew up in a small town, you know one of the most common dream every bright eyed bushy tailed teen had was to one day leave.
To get accepted into a prestige college, pack your things and never look back.
It's every small town kids dream. And it's encouraged by their teachers, friends and sometimes their parents. Get out of this dead end town and make something of yourself.
So you do. You graduate high school and pack away your childhood room to unpack in your college dorm, cities, states, sometimes even countries away.
You grow up, start your dream job and you fall in love and that small town is just a distant memory that you visit once a year in between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
But for some, it's no longer a memory, but a nostalgic haven, a safe place you dream of when your life doesn't turn out the way you expected.
You want to go back. Maybe all the way back. To when things were simpler, no bills to pay, no job to worry about.
Friends to run to when things get rough at home.
No having to buy a one way ticket back to your small home town, where everything's the same, yet feels so different. Just the question of, should I stop by the Penny Candy Store and pick up some shaved ice on the way home?
That's what Felix was thinking as he passed said shop, surprised, or may be not really, to see it still standing.
"It's sad. They raised the prices of the Frootie Tootie candies to like three cents. And then Covid hit and someone bought it, thinking they'd be able to keep it going, but she lost money, so it's no longer open. Remember when Hyunjin used to flirt with one of the employees to get free shaved ice?" Jisung asked next to him with an amused chuckle. He looked away as the shop blurred into the distance and hummed in acknowledgement.
When he called for an uber, he didn't think one of his high school best friends would be the one to pick him up. He was shocked when Jisung nearly jumped out of the car, barely putting it in park, before he was wrapping his arms around Felix.
"I can't believe it, Lee Felix, in the flesh," he had pulled away from him, a look of pure admiration on his face before squeezed his shoulders gently and grabbed his suitcase to put in the trunk.
Felix chewed on his bottom lip as he watched Jisung, almost tempted to ask for another uber driver. But seeing his old friend and seeing how excited he was to see Felix, it made him bite his tongue and get in the car without complaint.
"So where we headed to?" Jisung had asked when he got into the driver's seat and started his car.
"Oh. I don't know if it's still standing, but my mom gave me the key to our old house." Felix said, adjusting the scarf that sat around his neck. The hand shaped bruise was still visible and he didn't want to bring anymore attention to himself.
"Your old house?" Jisung he asked.
Nodding, Felix shifted in his seat, "My dad passed away last year and my mom I guess the will in the mail. She opened it and it said that he left the house to me. She uh, she knew I wasn't in the best relationship, so she kept it to herself until I needed it. When I told her about what was going on, she handed me the will and the key and told me to go. Neither of us know if the house is still standing, or what kind of condition it's in, if it is, but ya know?" he shrugged.
He was met with silence, so he looked at Jisung who had his phone out and was typing away, "Well, let's go find out together." he smiled before putting his car into gear and pulling out of the parking space.
When they pulled into Felix's neighborhood, he couldn't help but look around at the homes that he was once familiar with. Most of them were different, flipped by new home owners, others had received a fresh coat of paint. But a lot of them were the same too.
He wondered how many of his neighbors were still here and how many had moved away as their kids grew older and their homes no longer serviced them.
"Here we are!" Jisung had parked along the sidewalk, right in front of his house. He turned and looked out the window, surprised to see that the house was still standing. It looked like someone had taken care of it over the last few months since his father had passed. The exterior of the house had been freshly painted, the numbers on the door replaced with bronze replicas and the once dark green trim had been painted white. The tall maple tree that once stood in the middle of the yard had been gone, replaced with what looked to be a raised garden bed.
The garden beds that framed along the walk way had been stripped of all the bushes and plants that once flourished there and were just replaced with stone,
It was clear someone had taken care of the house when his dad had passed away.
He'd have to ask his mom about it when he was finally settled.
"Wow, it looks so different. I won't lie, I haven't seen this place since you left us." Jisung said in aw.
Felix turned away to look at him and nodded, "I didn't know anyone was keeping up with it." he admitted.
"I think whoever it was, knew you'd come home some day." Jisung said as he turned off the engine and climbed out of the car.
Felix just stared at the space his friend had occupied before turning back to his house. He studied it for a moment, wondering who could've cared enough about the house to take care of it. Who cared enough about him to want to take care of it so much.
His father had been an abusive drunk. And it didn't take much to trigger his rage. His mother was oftentimes the focus of his drunken rampages, which she had later told Felix was to protect him.
Just a few days before his graduation, Felix had had his best friend Hyunjin over to figure out what to wear for their graduation, and in a heat of a moment, the two had kissed and were making out on the floor. Felix's father had stormed in to demand Felix go buy him more beer, and when he saw the two in a deep lip lock, he stormed in, pulled Felix off Hyunjin and tried to strangle him.
Hyunjin had called his mom who rushed home and managed to get him off Felix, but not before he had broken his arm. It was the final straw, a threat she had made time and time again to his father, stating if he had ever laid a hand on their son for any reason, she would leave and take him with her.
The morning after graduation, his mom had woken him up and told him to pack his bag with as much of his stuff as he could. As soon as he had done that, they quietly rushed out of the house, living the only place he had ever known as home.
They got a cab and headed to the airport where they took a one way plane to Australia. They stayed with his grandparents until he started college and moved to the dorms. And after graduation, he got a place of his own.
But now he was back in California, back in his home town. And there was something special about it. Maybe being here would heal wounds— new and old.
Felix took a deep breath and released it before turning to Jisung, "I know it's a lot to ask… but do you think….can we keep this homecoming between us for now?" he gestured between them.
He was sure Jisung would tell Minho. They were best friends after all.
But the others? They needed to hear it from the source.
He wanted to tell them when he was finished tending to his wounds, untuck his tail out from between his legs. Tell them on his own terms that despite his mom's best efforts to get them away from a bad man, that he ended up with a man who was far worse.
His neck throbbed and he adjusted his scarf again.
Jisung's eyes went wide and he looked a little uncertain, "I mean, I can try and keep things quiet, but you know I can't lie to Minho, he's my fiance and he'll know I'm lying to him." he rubbed the back of his neck.
Fiance?!
Felix tried to mask his surprise but the small smile that was forming on his lips won, "Congratulations Jisung, I'm really happy for you, really."
He had known back in high school that there was something going on between the two of them, but none of them wanted to ask, in fear of making them come out before they were ready.
"And I figured you'd tell Minho. I mean, I don't think any of us ever had secrets that he didn't know." he teased, testing the waters.
Jisung looked surprised, but a grin spread across his face and he kicked a small pebble that was on the ground.
"Yeah, sometimes I wonder how he knew so much about us all. Was he pulling some Mona from Pretty Little Liars on us? Anyway, your secret is safe with me Lix. Just know Minho's gonna want to invite you over for dinner."
He didn't know if it was the old nickname or the fact his friends didn't seem to hold any kind of resentment towards him after he disappeared on them all those years ago, but Felix found himself wrapping his arms around Jisung briefly before stepping away.
"Let me know what to bring," he said. He gave his arms a squeeze before letting them drop to his sides.
Jisung looked stunned, but soon a heart shape smiled formed on his face before he nodded, "Yeah, I'll reach out. I'll see you later Felix," he said before getting into his car and heading off to find his next passenger.
Felix watched him drive off before turning back to the house in front of him. He dragged his luggage behind him and headed to the front door. He inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it. Something released in his chest when the key turned easily and he heard the lock unclick, as if deep down he was worried that the key his mom had given him wouldn’t work.
As if the universe was playing one final cruel joke on him.
He pushed open the front door and walked inside. The living room was bare, but the walls were painted a pale lavender and it seemed the flooring had been replaced from a blond wood, to gray. Further into the house, beyond the half wall that separated the kitchen from the living room, he could see that the cabinets had also been painted.
Stepping further inside, Felix locked the door behind him. He walked into the house, examining his childhood home. The gray hardwood wasn't just in the living room, but expanded over to the dining and family rooms. It also went down the hall where the guest bathroom and three bedrooms resided.
Chewing on his bottom lip, headed down the hall to peek inside the guest bathroom.
The walls had been updated, no longer were they designed to look like weathered paneling, but a solid light blue. The cabinets had been painted navy blue and it looked like the toilet had been updated. The white tile of the bathtub looked to be updated, or maybe someone just gave it a deep clean. Peering in, Felix realized he'd have to replace the shower head.
A fond smile formed on Felix’s face when he saw that he light switch cover hadn’t been changed when he turned to leave. He ran his hands over the faded clown fish and coral, wondering if whoever was keeping up with his house had some sort of nostalgic ties to it as he did.
There was only one other person other than Hyunjin who would’ve had some sort of tie to this house. An old friend he had missed dearly, who had spent many nights overnight, staying up late into the night, talking about their futures and what they thought it'd entail.
But Felix doubted he was the one who was taking care of it. He closed the bathroom door and decided to take a peek into the other rooms.
His childhood bedroom seemed so small now that he was older. The walls that were once a navy blue, covered in posters from his favorite bands, movies and video games were just plain white. The closet was still as small as ever, but empty with no sign of life.
The spare and master bedrooms were the same, just empty shells void of any memory of the people living in them.
With a sigh, Felix went to the living room to grab his things. In one suitcase he had all his clothes and toiletries and in the other, his mother packed him some necessities. Like an air mattress and an air pump to fill it with.
He took the mattress and pump to the master bedroom and got to work setting it up. Once it was filled, he tossed his blanket and pillows on top of it. It’d have to do for now, since he didn’t have much else.
His mom was going to send him some money once he was settled and he’d be able to use that to furnish the house a bit. Maybe he’d head to the local library and work on his resume so he could apply for a job.
He hadn’t had a job in over two and a half years and he knew that much of a gap was going to look bad, but he had to try something. Even just a part time job at a local restaurant would be better than nothing.
Sitting down on the mattress, Felix dug through his backpack and grabbed out his phone. He checked his messages, despite knowing there wouldn’t be any new ones. His mom only ever called him on the phone to keep any trail from his ex-boyfriend and it’s not like he had many friends in Korea. Daehyun made sure of that.
Sighing, Felix fell back against the mattress before tapping on his mom’s contact name and held the phone up to his ear.
“Yongbok?” she answered on the second ring.
“Eomma.” Felix felt something shift in his chest upon hearing her voice. It hadn’t been long since he saw her last, just a day or so, but it still felt good to hear her voice.
“Yongbok, hi. You made it okay?” she asked and he could tell she was relieved.
“Yeah. I’m actually sitting on the mattress you gave me. Eomma, did you know someone’s been taking care of the house since appa passed away?” he asked.
There was silence for a moment and Felix had to check to see if the call had been disconnected.
“Eomma?”
“Ah, sorry Yongbok, no, I didn’t know someone was taking care of the house. That’s good though, yeah? It means you won’t have to do much work.” she said.
Felix nodded, “Yeah…eomma, it’s weird. I half expected it to be just like it was when we left. And it is, in some aspects. But in others… it’s like it’s a completely different house.”
“I understand what you mean. I’m glad there’s no ghosts to haunt you.” she said.
Chuckling, Felix ran a hand through his hair, “Well. There’s definitely ghosts,” he said thinking about Jisung and the inevitable Minho visit he’ll get, “But at least they’re friendly.”
“That’s good Yongbok. I’m really proud of you. I know how hard it is to leave a situation like that.” his mom said after a beat of silence.
Felix felt his eyes started to water and he ducked his head, as if his mom would see them if he didn't. “Thank you Eomma. I finally feel safe.” he admitted.
They talked for a bit more until the jet lag, time change and over all excitement of moving from one country to another started to settle into Felix. His mother wished him a good night and promised they’d talk soon.
Deciding it was best to just fall asleep, Felix made sure the front door was locked, making sure the chain lock was also in place before getting changed into his pajamas and heading to bed.
-
Sleeping was rough.
There were new background noise to get accustomed to and Felix felt like he was waking up every couple of minutes when the house shifted, or something outside made a noise.
It was around five in the morning when he finally gave up on sleep, as a train drove by, blaring it’s horn. He laid on the air mattress, just watching the ceiling fan spin round and round until his boredom started to weigh on him.
He eventually got up and headed to the kitchen and sat on the counter with his phone.
It was around seven-thirty when a loud knock on his front door made him nearly fall off his counter where he was eating a bag of shrimp chips and looking through Facebook marketplace for some cheap, or even free furniture.
He had found a decent enough looking pots and pans set for ten dollars that he was about to message the seller about when the knock arrived.
Felix clutched his chest as he stared at the front door. His hand went to his throat, knowing there was a visible bruise there. But he didn’t have enough time to find something to cover it up.
He rushed to it when another knock came, more impatient than the first one. Cautiously, he opened the door and peeked through the crack, relief washing over him when he saw it was Minho.
Minho looked as surprised as Jisung did when he first saw that it was Felix at the airport. It was as if he didn't believe he was actually seeing him.
His eyes glanced down to Felix’s neck, but he quickly looked away and smiled, “A little squirrel told me you were back in town,” he grinned, opening his arms for Felix.
His throat felt tight as tears started to form in his eyes as he rushed up to Minho and wrapped his arms around him. He pulled away after a moment and wiped his eyes, “It’s a little birdie, not a squirrel.” he said with a laugh.
Minho rolled his eyes, “Have you seen Jisung? He’s a squirrel.”
Felix laughed again and shook his head, “So… what are you doing here?” he asked.
Minho turned and gestured to the truck that was parked in his driveway which looked to have a bunch of stuff in the back, “The fact you were back in town wasn’t the only thing Jisung mentioned. He said all you had was a handful of suitcases and a backpack. We were getting rid of this stuff anyway, so why not give it to a good home?” he asked.
Felix looked at the truck and back at Minho, his eyes watering as he glanced at the items that were back there, “Minho…” he trailed off, fighting back his trembling lip.
Minho just shook his head, walking to the truck to start unloading it, “I don’t want to hear it. We were going to donate to the local Goodwill in town, but Jisung suggested we give it you instead. Just consider it a welcome home gift.” he grinned, grabbing out some metal pieces that Felix figured out were for a bed .
He smiled and nodded, “Thank you Minho, I really appreciate it.”
Minho just grinned over his shoulder, “Come on, I’ll treat you to breakfast.”
True to his word, once all the stuff was inside, Minho ordered them breakfast from a diner in the next town over.
“The bed frame will need to be put together, but I can have Jisung stop by after work to build it for ya.” Minho explained as they sat on floor around the coffee table he had brought.
“He doesn’t have to. I think I can figure out how to put it together.” Felix waved him off as he shoved a bite of biscuit and gravy into his mouth.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” he said, nerves starting to settle into his stomach. He had caught Minho eyeing his neck a few times since he showed up and while he wasn’t prepared for the questions that were about to be asked, he knew they were coming anyway.
Minho looked uncomfortable as he adjusted, moving his legs into a more comfortable position. He looked down at his hands before looking up at Felix, “I know it’s none of my business… but are you… are you here by yourself? Or do you have someone joining you?” he asked.
Felix’s eyebrows furrowed at that as it wasn’t the question he was expecting. His hand went to his neck before lowering it, “No. I’m by myself. I left him before I moved here.” he said.
It had been terrifying asking his mom for help. Having to tell her that he was leaving his boyfriend for the same reason she had left his father. She had known, that he was being abused. She had recognized the signs. The oversized hoodies and scarfs. The lies of how he get a hand sized bruise around his wrist, or the black eye.
He fell down the stairs or he fell into the doorknob.
But as much as she wanted to help him, she knew there was nothing she could do. She had to come to terms with her own abuse and she knew Felix needed to do the same. When he finally showed up at her apartment, all of his belongings thrown into a couple of suitcases, she held him close and told him none of it was his fault.
She helped him get back on his feet and when Daehyun started coming around, demanding to see Felix, wanting to take him back, ask for forgiveness for cheating on him, she lied to his face, telling him she hadn’t seen her son in months.
When his ex broke into her apartment and tried to kill him, she handed him the will, an airplane ticket, some cash and the keys to his childhood home and told him to get out of Australia and away from Daehyun.
He hadn’t realized he was crying until Minho was next to him, arms around him, pulling him into his chest and whispering that he was okay and that he was safe. That he wouldn’t let anyone ever hurt him again.
Felix gripped his arm as he sobbed, the reality of everything that happened finally crashing down on him.
-
Just as he had promised, Jisung arrived at some point during their breakfast to help build the bed frame. He kissed Minho as a greeting before waving to Felix and heading straight to the master bedroom.
Minho sighed happily and Felix bumped his arm, “So when is the wedding?” he asked.
“Next Spring. Like Mid-May? School ends at the beginning of June, so we can focus on having our honey moon during the summer. Plus we wanted to avoid any birthdays, and with Hyunjin and Jeongin's being so close together, it made sense."
Felix nodded his head slowly. Jeongin? Who was Jeongin? Hyunjin's boyfriend maybe? "Whose Jeongin?" he asked.
“Kindergarten teacher over at the Live Oak Elementary. He moved here a few years ago. I guess he was Seungmin’s roommate in college and he followed him here when they graduated. If you ask Hyunjin, he thinks those two are secretly married, but he can’t get either of them to fess up about it.” Minho explained.
Snorting, Felix pushed his food around the container, “I’m surprised Seungmin came back.” he said, eyebrows furrow. If there was anyone to get out of Live Oak it was Seungmin and Chan.
They were step-brothers, Seungmin's mom marrying Chan's dad when they were just ten years old. Despite the circumstances, they had become close friends and Seungmin was integrated into their friend circle naturally.
He was smart, with a dry, almost sarcastic sense of humor and always gave Minho a run for his money. He had dreamed of being a big shot lawyer, just like his dad. All in all, he was your typical straight A student. He played sports, took choir and was in so many clubs, Felix never knew how he could keep up with them.
Felix knew that when Seungmin graduated, he'd be going to his top choice for college and never have to see this town again.
"We all were. He just showed up unannounced to Hyunjin and Changbin's engagement party, with Jeongin trailing behind him. We still don't know why he came back. He opened his own practice here though. Does family lawyer stuff just like his dad." Minho shrugged.
Felix realized that's probably all he was gonna get out of Minho, so he let the subject drop. He had half a mind to ask about Chan, but a part of him knew it'd just break his heart. He didn't think he could handle hearing that Chan was married with a kid or two.
It was better if his ex-best friend was out of sight, out of mind.
Wait. Hyunjin and Changbin? Who the hell was Changbin?
Before he could start questioning Minho, Jisung came out from down the hall and wrapped his arm around his waist and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Bed is all put together, you just gotta put the sheets on it and your pillows and whatever else and you're good for bed tonight." he grinned.
Nodding, Felix gave them both a small smile. The random urge to hug both of them washed over him and quickly gathered them both in his arms and gave them a small squeeze before stepping away, "Thank you… both of you."
Minho gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand before letting it go, "Dinner. On Friday. At six-thirty. Don't be late. We may have some more stuff for you to take if you want it." he said as he pulled Felix into another hug, kissing the crown of his head.
He was overwhelmed with relief. Minho was always protective of their friend group, especially Felix. When he first caught wind of what had been happening at home, Minho opened his doors for him, letting him know that if he ever needed to escape, his family would happily take him in.
Sniffling as tears started to form in his eyes, Felix blinked back the tears before stepping away, not wanting to worry either of his friends, "I'll be there," he promised.
Minho gave him a knowing look before patting his head before heading out the door. He waved them good-bye and watched their cars leave the caul-de-sac before heading in to make up his new bed.