Chapter Twenty-One
•••

HYUNJIN | FELIX

All five of us were in Chan's apartment working on my brownies together, per Wooyoung's request. Chan was over Jeongin's apartment for the night, so I had the entire place to myself. With a collective agreement and gathering of overnight sleeping bags, the others would spend the night here with me.

"Wait, that's what he told you? He couldn't have just asked you normally to talk in private without causing a SCENE?!" Wooyoung yelled angrily, waving a chocolate-covered spatula in his hand. "San just told me to trust him, whatever the hell that means..."

Hongjoong sighed. "Seonghwa told me the same thing and honestly...I believe him."

"I'm more curious as to why Hyunjin would actually want to warn you about something? Seems a bit odd for him to do, considering who he is at least." Yeosang rolled his eyes.

"Maybe he likes you and doesn't know how to show it?" Han suggested.

I scoffed. "Yeah, right. That's like me saying I'm Australian but I pretend not to be. Let's be serious here...."

"I don't know, Lix... Han could be onto something." Hongjoong smiled softly. "Maybe that was his way of showing jealousy, in some weird sense. Who knows what goes on in that head of his."

Is that possible...? Hyunjin likes me?

Shaking my head, I brushed it off and huffed. "Whatever. I still don't approve of what he did, and because of it, he's not getting an extra brownie."

"Oooh, yeah. That'll show him." Yeosang teased, causing Wooyoung and Han to giggle.

Sticking my tongue out at him, Wooyoung brought up another question. "Wait, so are we still going to the party or....?"

The four boys looked at me for an answer, but I was deeply conflicted. Despite how deeply frustrated I felt about Hyunjin's behavior, I still wanted to experience going to a party for once while residing in a new country. Part of me wanted to believe him and his claims, but another part of me chose not to and wanted to follow my gut instinct.

With a deep sigh, I nodded. "We're still going. Nothing changes."

"Oh thank goodness! I really didn't want to miss out." Wooyoung said with relief. "That means we're still on for shopping tomorrow!"

Han pointed his whisk at the cheerful male. "Remember you promised you'd buy any pants I want!"

"Alright, alright. Can we focus on the brownies now? We still have a ton to make." I instructed, quickly noticing Wooyoung attempting to sneak extra sugar in the bowl. "WOO. YOUNG. NO!"

A snicker was all it took before I decided to ban him from the kitchen for three hours, earning lighthearted chuckles from the other three males who watched with smiles. It didn't take long for us to finish baking the brownies, making me grateful for the added help.

"So, we finally made 100 brownies. I can't thank you guys enough for offering to help me..." I said softly.

Han rolled his eyes playfully. "Even though I asked you first if you would need any help and you initially told me no, you should've know better to think that I would actually listen to you and not ask the others to help out."

"Han's right Lixie," Wooyoung added, "and even though you banned me from the kitchen, which I might add was not fair treatment but that's neither here or there, we would always be willing to help you no matter what."

"Woo, you were trying to alter his recipe." Yeosang scolded.

"Potato, tomato."

Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. "That's not how the saying goes..."

I giggled. "All I want to say is thank you, and we actually made 105 brownies so...everyone can take one!"

All four boys lit up with excitement as they reached one of the containers a take a piece for themselves.

Yeosang's eyes grew wide as he chewed slowly. "Lix, this is amazing..."

"I agree! Wouldn't you want to sell these or something? You could open your own bakery business with these!" Han added, his mouth stuffed with brownie bits.

Hongjoong sighed. "I give up with him, but Lix, great job."

"Can we have more?" Wooyoung asked, pleading with his eyes.

"Not tonight. Tomorrow, after I distribute them, I should have leftovers. I'll be sure to save some for you all for lunch."

Glancing at the time on the stove, I saw that it was nearing midnight. "I think we should call it a night, guys.

We all collectively agreed, so I packed up two containers and placed them on the counter for easy pickup the next morning.

•••

Deciding to wake up an hour earlier than normal for school, I sat up in bed and looked at the other four bodies sleeping peacefully. Wooyoung was next to me in bed, Han was sleeping in Chan's sleeping bag, and Hongjoong shared an inflatable mattress with Yeosang.

Gently getting up, I tiptoed my way out of my bedroom and walked into the kitchen. The brownies were packed into two large containers, with a total of 100 brownies to share with the class. While checking on them, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

"Good morning <3"-Jake

Instead of feeling excited as I did yesterday when I was talking to him, I couldn't help but feel a bit guarded about his true intentions with me. All I could think about how desperate Hyunjin looked when trying to convince me not to go out with him, and since then I've had doubts.

Mustering up enough courage to ignore the thought, I quickly typed a response before placing the phone on mute. "All I need to focus on is getting through the entire school day without anything going wrong."

"Lixie, who are you talking to...?" A sleepy Wooyoung asked as he stepped into the kitchen rubbing his eyes.

I smiled. "Nobody. I'm just excited for people to taste my brownies and complete my first week of school. Are you planning on making breakfast?"

"Not at first...I was going to take a shower but Sangie beat me to the bathroom..."He pouted. "So, I guess I might as well eat? Are you hungry? I can make something light for the both of us."

"I'd appreciate that, thanks..."

Hongjoong yelled from the hallway, pounding on the bathroom door furiously. "Yeosang! I need to pee! Hurry up!"

Woo and I exchanged curious looks before bursting into giggles. "Joongie! Go use Chan's bathroom!" I yelled to help him with assistance.

"I can't! Han is in there doing who-knows-what!"

Wooyoung sighed while rubbing his temples. "Maybe sleeping over wasn't the best idea...?"

"I disagree. This is the first time in months that my mornings have been so lively." I laughed. "I wouldn't trade this for anything."

"You are one weird child...but I love you too much care."

"YA!"

———————————————————————————

Remember to Vote and Comment,
Both are highly welcomed!