Chapter Forty
•••

HYUNJIN | FELIX

Waking up the next morning, my emotions were bittersweet as I realized how the day could turn out. Despite having the best day yesterday and overall nice weekend, today was something completely different: school. The main concern was the amount of attention we would get, and just the thought of it made me nauseous.

Chan knocked on my bedroom door before opening it with a smirk on his face while Jeongin peeked his head inside under his arm. "Who would've thought that my cousin would get a boyfriend in his first week of school?"

I rolled my eyes. "At least it's longer than what you did with Innie...wasn't it like four days or something?"

"He got you there..." Jeongin giggled softly, earning a playfully scowl in return from Chan. "It was three, actually. However, we were friends first. You and Hyunjin are completely different."

"Whatever...You have school in an hour, so get up kid." Chan ordered, pushing Jeongin out of the room. "No excuse to be late."

Groaning, I put the pillow back over my head, not wanting to get up and face reality.

•••

"So...are we going to walk inside school as if nothing happened?" Hongjoong asked curiously. This time he was sitting in the front passenger seat while the other three sat in the back.

Han sighed. "As much as I would love for things to be normal, that ship has sailed since Saturday night."

"I suggest walking in as normal. I don't have the energy for hearing the whole school whisper things." Yeosang muttered.

"I second that." I agreed.

Wooyoung laughed. "I'm still surprised how everything turned out! We basically all have boyfriends now!"

"Ahem," Yeosang cleared his throat, "Jongho and I aren't together yet."

"Potato, tomato."

"That's not how the saying goes!" Han and Hongjoong yelled.

I rolled my eyes as the four began to bicker as I pulled into the school parking lot. It was easy to notice Hyunjin already parked, as the other boys were standing by his car watching me drive into an empty spot. Parking and shutting the engine off, my nerves skyrocketed at the realization of the moment, us potentially having to walk inside with them and having all eyes on us.

Wooyoung paused his arguing to take notice of me, growing wide eyed. "Lixie, just breathe..."

"That's it, I'm gonna text them to let us walk inside alone!" Yeosang stated, pulling out his phone but I stopped him.

Shaking my head to stop him, I sighed. "I need to get used to this sooner or later...let's just get this over with."

"Are you sure? I think they would understand..." Han reassured me.

"I'm sure." I smiled semi-confidently. "Let's do this.."

The four of them nodded in agreement, with all of us stepping out of the car. Hyunjin and the others walked over with smirks on their faces, each of them dispersed to their respective persons. "Good morning..."

"G-Good morning..." I greeted shyly.

He intertwined his hand into mine. "There's no reason to be nervous. No one will say anything to us, I promise."

I raised an eyebrow. "How did you know I was nervous?"

"I kind of picked up on how you hate attention...and I may or may not have Yeji warn everyone to keep their mouths shut."

"Seriously...?"

Hyunjin smiled, placing a soft kiss on my temple for comfort. "Yes. We may not claim to be family publicly, but we have our moments of getting along. Plus it wasn't hard to convince her, since it was you we are doing it for. Now, let's go inside."

Leading the group of guys inside the building, I mentally prepared for a few whispers to go around upon noticing us. However, as we entered, the majority of the students were engrossed in their own conversations, with some glancing their smiles toward me as we walked. The sight instantly calmed my nerves.

"See?" Hyunjin whispered in my ear. "Nothing to worry about..."

Squeezing his hand, I smiled. "Thank you..."

We had reached his and the other boy's lockers first, so I let go of his hand. "You get your stuff, I'll see you in class."

"I wanted to walk you to your locker."He said with a pout.

Playfully rolling my eyes, I placed a peck on his cheek. "Hyunjin, I still need to maintain some type of normal. It's not like I'm not going to be seated next to you anyways since we're partners."

Hongjoong, Han, Yeosang and Wooyoung said their goodbyes before following me to our own lockers. Wooyoung snickered. "Who would've thought Hyunjin would be so clingy as a boyfriend?"

"As if you're not clingy to San?" Yeosang sighed.

Hongjoong smiled. "I'm just happy that we all get along."

"I have to be honest with you guys." Han said suddenly.

The four of us looked at him curiously and waited for him to speak. He looked down nervously before confessing. "Minho and I have already been dating way before you guys even started and we live together!"

A moment a silence washed over us before three out of four us bursted out laughing, with Yeosang being first to respond. "I kind of already knew, and Jongho basically confirmed my suspicions to me."

"Minho told me when we had to spend those seven minutes in the closet." I added.

"You know that I already knew, so the only person you were are telling is Wooyoung." Hongjoong smirked, turning to the mentioned shocked male.

Wooyoung gasped. "Why didn't I know?!"

Yeosang rolled his eyes. "It was kind of obvious. Plus, you were probably too distracted by your boyfriend to even pay attention."

Patting his shoulder, I shut my locker with a sympathetic smile. "It's alright, Youngie. Now you know, okay?"

He huffed, a pout forming on his face. "Fine..."

With that, we all split off to go to our classes, with Han and I walking together to our home room. Upon reaching, I saw Yeji first in front. Smiling at her, I greeted her. "Good morning, Yeji."

She smiled, returning the greeting. "Good morning, Felix. I'm sure you're aware of what I did this morning."

"I am...thank you for that."

Han raised an eyebrow curiously. "What did she do?"

Yeji and I both sighed, but Yeji explained anyway. "I made sure no one spoke while he entered the school with Hyunjin."

"That's why it was so quiet! Wow... you're scary. I can only imagine what you told them." He shuddered.

"Actually, I didn't do much. People like the kid," she said pointing to me, "and they don't want to get on bad terms with Hyunjin. It was quite simple, truly."

Looking up, I noticed Hyunjin seated in the back with a smile while Minho sat in my old seat with a smile toward Han. Nudging Han to take notice, he looked up and saw them. Both of us exchanged silent laughs with each other before saying our goodbyes to Yeji and making our way to our partners.

When I first came to the states and marked my first day of school, the idea of getting into a relationship was the least of my concerns. I was not looking for one, nor did I even want one.

Never would have thought that someone could actually capture my heart so fast...

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THE END