good boy gone bad

by bbokjinniary

Summary:

“If I were there with you right now, holding that chain… would you want a slap? To feel the stinging heat against your cheek from my large hand while you look me dead in the eye? Do you like what you're picturing?”

Felix snaps his eyes open, releasing a sharp gasp of shock. The mere idea of the slap feels
practically real against his skin, and though he had never once considered it before, thinking about Hyunjin’s massive hand—just the mental image alone—makes his erection pulse wildly against his palm.

///

Felix and his newly divorced mother move to a new neighborhood. And Hyunjin is their nerdy next door neighbor.

Notes:

omg so 😬 this thing made me go through an emotional roller coaster of excitement and frustration and i tried my best to not make it 30k long!

so obviously i was insecure asf but thanks to tina and lynx who helped me through this, it is here!!

i hope u don't find it too long or boring, i swear i had to keep everything like this 🙈

twt: @bbokjinniary

Felix scrambles to finish packing his luggage that Saturday morning, tossing the last things into his suitcase with quick, practiced movements. He doesn’t bother telling Jisung to keep his voice down over the phone; the house is practically empty, and the echo is the least of his worries. Downstairs, his mother is wrapping plates in bubble wrap while taking long drags from a cigarette and humming along to a radio song, finally relaxed now that the chaos of her divorce and the move has settled.

It hadn't hit Felix the way everyone thought it would. Not even leaving the house behind, but the idea of starting fresh in a completely different neighborhood and dropping into a new school halfway through the term triggers a sharp pinch of impatience and excitement all at once.

“You’re sure you didn’t leave anything out in the open?” Jisung asks through the screen, resting his chin on his palm with an amused, knowing smirk. “Because if your mom finds that, you’re not surviving the interrogation and the lecture for at least twenty business days.”

Felix scoffs, folding an old hoodie over the final bundle. “Everything is safely tucked inside the box labeled Grandma’s Winter Clothes. I highly doubt she’s going to open that in the dead of summer, so shut up.”

“I don’t even know why you’re hiding it so much. I wish my mom was more like yours—Lina is literally an angel Bess,” Jisung teases, shifting comfortably in his chair. “She’d probably think it’s cool. Honestly, she’d ask you where you bought everything so she could get some for herself.”

“That is exactly why I’m hiding it! Ew!” Felix groans, burying his face in his hands as a hot wave of embarrassment flushes his cheeks. “I am not having that conversation with her. I’d much rather she thinks I’m a complete saint than imagine her asking me for a collar… God, the horror! My privacy remains sacred.”

Jisung bursts into a loud, wheezing laugh that completely distorts the iPad’s audio. “You have a point. Keep it classified. But what about me? You’re leaving me all alone. Who am I going to talk to about all this stuff now? You know the guys at school are a total snooze.”

“I’ll call you every single night, I promise,” Felix replies, throwing a quick wink at the camera as he throws his weight onto the suitcase, forcing the metallic zipper shut. “And my toys are staying locked away until you come visit. Nobody in that place is going to know what I get up to in my bedroom.”

“Felix, sweetie! The truck is pulling out! Bring that down right now or we’re leaving it behind!” his mother’s voice echoes from the ground floor, followed immediately by the harsh, tearing screech of packing tape.

“Coming, Mom!” he yells back toward the hallway before turning his attention back to the screen. “I gotta go, wish me luck. Let’s just hope the neighbors aren’t nosy and annoying.”

“Worry more about finding someone to teach you how to use all that gear, because there was zero action for you here,” Jisung fires back suggestively. “Good luck, Lix. Call me!” he says with one last laugh before cutting the call.

Felix slips the iPad into his carry-on bag last, takes a deep, grounding breath, and drags the heavy suitcase toward the door, making the wheels shriek against the hardwood floor as he hurries down the stairs.

The drive feels strangely liberating. Felix presses his cheek against the cool, tempered glass of the passenger window, watching the towering city skyline recede, gradually replaced by rows of identical houses, perfectly manicured trees, and clean, quiet streets. He doesn’t miss his old house. He certainly doesn't miss his parents’ passive-aggressive kitchen arguments, or the suffocating tension that choked the hallways before they finally signed the divorce papers and agreed to split the property down the middle. To Felix, this neatly gridded, ridiculously silent new neighborhood isn't a punishment; it’s a blank page, a clean slate.

His mother cuts the engine in front of a two-story house with a slate-grey facade, running a hand through her brown hair. She is a young woman, having had Felix early in life, and she grants him a level of freedom that is far wider than what is typical for a traditional Korean mother. Felix loves her too much to have ever considered staying behind; their relationship is the best thing he has, even if he chooses to keep his recently acquired tastes entirely to himself.

“Here we are, Lixie,” his mother says, stretching her arms against the leather seat before popping the door open. “Help me with the lighter bags and small boxes first, the truck should be just around the corner.”

Felix steps out of the car, inhaling a sharp breath of fresh air. The afternoon sun bakes the back of his neck, and the breeze tickles the freckles dusting his cheeks. He shakes out his clothes—he’s wearing a fitted white baby tee with red trim and a small cherry embroidered on the chest, paired with ripped blue jeans. His platinum hair, freshly cut, falls over his forehead in parted, wispy bangs, and he wears his usual stack of silver chain bracelets and a black cord necklace. He’s built lean; physical labor has never been his strong suit and it shows, but he still pops the trunk open to begin hauling out the boxes that didn't fit into the moving van.

The sharp click of a door opening next door catches both their attention. An older man dressed in a polo shirt and Bermuda shorts approaches them with brisk, energetic steps and a warm smile. Behind him, dragging his feet as though he’d rather be anywhere else on earth, follows a remarkably tall boy.

“Hello! New neighbors?” the man greets them, bowing politely the moment he crosses from his lawn onto theirs, extending a hand to Mrs. Lee. “I’m Mr. Hwang, we live right next door. Welcome!”

“I’m Lina, a pleasure,” she replies smoothly, accepting the handshake. Felix is used to his mother; she has always been like this—open, a little disorganized, and prone to treating strangers like lifelong friends within minutes. “This is my son, Lee Felix. We just arrived from the capital.”

Felix offers a polite, practiced bow, but his eyes have already drifted to the figure catching up to them. The boy towers over everyone, even with a slight, self-conscious slouch. He’s wearing a brown-and-white plaid flannel over black trousers, and a light brown beanie that barely contains a thick, messy fringe of dark hair. A pair of thick, clear-rimmed glasses slips slightly down the bridge of his nose. His shoulders are broad, and his legs look a mile long. His gaze is painfully shy; Felix can't help but find it endearing how tightly he clutches the camera slung around his neck.

“This is Hyunjin, my boy,” Mr. Hwang announces, landing a firm, affectionate slap on his son's back that causes his glasses to slide down even further. “He’s in his final year at the district high school. I assume you’ll be heading there too?” Felix and Lina nod with easy smiles. “He’s always buried in those books or that damn camera, doesn't come outside unless I drag him out… some company will do him good.”

“Don’t you worry, luckily my son can talk the ear off a brick wall with the first person he sees,” Lina laughs. Felix pinches her arm, his eyes widening in pure mortification as he hisses a sharp “Mom!” under his breath, drawing a chuckle from everyone except the dark-haired boy.

Just then, the massive moving truck rolls up, rumbling to a halt right in front of the driveway. “Perfect timing! Hyunjin, go on, help the boy carry some boxes inside or they’ll be stuck here until tomorrow graveyard,” his father instructs, giving him a small nudge that makes him startle. Hyunjin quickly pushes his glasses up with his palm and walks over to his father’s car parked out front, placing his camera onto the front seat with extreme, delicate care before walking back to Felix.

He avoids the blonde’s eyes entirely, keeping his gaze glued to his own scuffed sneakers. “Hi, I’m Hyunjin,” he introduces himself, his voice surprisingly low and velvety.

Felix smiles smoothly, feeling an instant, familiar wave of absolute confidence wash over him. He is a social magnet; the whole dread about changing schools was mostly for drama, because he knows the moment he steps foot on campus, he’ll make friends instantly—talking to people is as natural to him as breathing. And this boy, his new next-door neighbor, looks like the easiest target he’s ever encountered.

“Felix,” he replies in his brightest, most melodic tone, flashing a brilliant smile as he takes a deliberate step forward to close the distance between them. “Thanks so much for the help, Hyunjin. I was honestly starting to think my arms were going to snap off before I could get everything inside.”

Hyunjin blinks behind his lenses, and Felix notes with quiet amusement how the boy still refuses to look him in the eye. The transitional boy nods a few times in quick succession and bends down to lift one of the heaviest boxes from the trunk. Felix expects him to struggle, but to his surprise, Hyunjin lifts it with effortless ease, the underlying muscle in his biceps tautening beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. Felix lets out a quiet, impressed hum but brushes it off, grabbing one of the smaller bags and leading the way inside.

“Follow me,” Felix says, brushing a hand through his platinum hair as he guides him into the house.

They repeat the process a few times until it’s time to start bringing in Felix's personal belongings. They step back inside, this time carrying slightly smaller boxes. The house smells of fresh paint and old wood; the space is generous, slowly filling up with every trip they make. Felix leads him up the stairs to the second floor where his bedroom is located, with Hyunjin following close behind, a faint sigh slipping through his lips from the exertion. He is carrying a sealed box with a handwritten Winter label on the top.

“My room is the one at the very end on the right,” Felix indicates, turning halfway to offer another one of his signature social smiles. “Mom said it would have a nice view, but it really just looks directly at your house and a bit of the yard.”

Hyunjin doesn’t answer right away. He pauses at the threshold, his eyes scanning the window. He shifts the box to one hand to adjust his glasses again before speaking. “It’s… a good angle for taking pictures of the sunset,” he murmurs softly, stepping into the room.

Felix’s bedroom is a decent size, washed in bright light from a large window that faces the main street and, true to his word, looks straight into the upper-floor window of the Hwang residence. The hardwood floors gleam, entirely bare.

“You can just drop that one right over there,” Felix says, pointing to the corner near the closet.

Hyunjin nods and leans down slowly to set the cardboard box on the floor. Fate, however, has entirely different plans. Perhaps it’s the accumulated weight, or perhaps the cheap packing tape Felix had slapped on in a frenzy had dried out in the heat of the moving truck, because right before it touches the ground, the bottom of the box gives way entirely with a sharp, hollow rip. The contents instantly spill across the polished wood.

Felix freezes on the spot, the breath trapped tight in his lungs as his heart slams violently against his ribs. Aside from a couple of old hoodies, knit sweaters, and scarves that nobody wore, a heavy black leather collar fitted with steel rivets and a prominent chrome O-ring in the center—connected directly to a matching chain leash—slides across the floor, stopping right at Hyunjin’s sneaker. Right beside it lies another collar, this one a soft pastel pink with a metallic heart at the center and silver studs, along with a small velvet pouch that has fallen half-open, revealing the glint of a polished metal plug tipped with a brilliant blue faux-diamond.

The silence that crashes over the room is so suffocatingly thick it feels heavy on their shoulders.

Felix feels his face catch fire, a dark crimson flush creeping up from the back of his neck. The initial surge of panic isn't over getting caught by his mother—she’s far too busy chatting up the neighbor and moving furniture downstairs to come up now. It’s the sheer, unadulterated humiliation that the sweet, painfully shy boy he just met has uncovered his deepest, most private secret within seconds.

Hyunjin remains utterly motionless, frozen in a half-crouch with his hands suspended in mid-air. His eyes, partially hidden behind the thick frames, lock onto the collar with the leash touching the tip of his shoe. With two curious fingers, he reaches down, hooks the leather, and lifts it slowly. A few agonizing seconds stretch out like an eternity before Felix’s brain finally forces him to move.

True to his extroverted nature, he reacts out of pure desperation to salvage the situation. He drops the bags he’s holding, closes the small gap between them, and snatches the collar right out of Hyunjin's hand, frantically scooping the rest of the items into his arms.

“Oh my god!” he exclaims dramatically, forcing a sharp, high-pitched laugh that sounds incredibly fake even to his own ears. He drops to his knees, shoving everything back into the inverted cardboard box. “How embarrassing! My mom must have packed this with my coats… she, well, she works in theater! Yeah, props for plays and stuff. Total theater geek, super creative woman. She probably just ran out of space in her own boxes, crazy, right?”

Felix talks so fast the words bleed into one another, leaving him nearly breathless. He drops the items into the box as if they burn to the touch, biting his lower lip as he prays to whatever higher power exists that Hyunjin's innocent exterior means he's naive enough to buy it. Even Felix knows the theater excuse is pathetic.

The dark-haired boy blinks slowly, lifting his head. He repeats his usual nervous habit—opening his palm and using his thumb and index finger to push up each side of his glasses, acting with a patient, deliberate slowness that makes the hairs on the back of Felix's neck stand up for reasons he can't comprehend.

“Ah…” Hyunjin murmurs. His expression barely shifts; he still wears the same harmless, slightly bored face from five minutes ago. For a split second, Felix imagines every single cruel, teasing comment that could fly out of his mouth.

“Props… right. Sounds interesting.”

Hyunjin stands up and stretches, taking a deliberate step backward to slip his hands deep into his pockets. Felix feels a wave of relief wash over him when he notices the boy doesn’t look shocked or disgusted in the slightest. He just carries that same initial shyness, his eyes remaining carefully evasive.

“If… if we’re done with this box, I’ll go downstairs and help your mom with the rest,” his voice sounds a bit more grounded now. He offers a small, brief bow, turns on his heel, and steps out of the room, which had begun to feel smaller by the second.

“Thank you!” Felix calls out with exaggerated enthusiasm, watching those broad shoulders disappear down the hallway.

The moment he’s left alone, Felix collapses onto the floor next to the broken box, desperately covering the gear with the winter sweaters before scowling and burying his face entirely in both hands. His heart is still hammering a mile a minute.

“You are an absolute idiot, Lee Felix,” he insults himself in a harsh whisper against his palms.

Ten days are more than enough for Felix to completely claim a space. His bedroom is now thoroughly steeped in his personality, walls plastered with BabyMetal posters and prints of his favorite anime—decorations that bring a comfortable warmth to his chest every time he looks at them.

Monday morning begins with the bitter scent of burnt coffee and the faint, sweet trace of tobacco smoke drifting from the kitchen. His mother is leaning against the counter, draped in a silk robe that has definitely seen better days. She holds a coffee mug in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other, her brown hair a wild, unruly mess. Her expression has changed since the move; Felix thinks she looks more beautiful now, as if the entire upheaval has done her wonders.

“How’s the insomnia going, Lix?” she asks, blowing a stream of grey smoke toward the open kitchen window. There’s no hint of judgment in her voice—there rarely is—just the casual curiosity of a mother who has built a foundation of transparency with her son. “I thought I heard you tossing and turning last night.”

“I’m still not used to the new mattress,” Felix answers, pouring cereal into a bowl at the kitchen island. “And the neighbor has a habit of leaving his lights on until two in the morning.”

Felix rolls his eyes, prompting a raspy laugh from his mother as she taps her ash into a tray. “The handsome boy with the glasses? Leave him be, he’s probably studying to get into a good university. Not like you, glued to your phone talking to Jisung all day,” she teases, taking one final drag before crushing the cigarette out. “Come on, hurry up. I’ll drop you off at school before I head to work.”

The drive in his mother’s car is brief, filled with the sounds of a local radio station playing old throwbacks and the wind rushing through the rolled-down windows. When they pull up to the main entrance of the high school, she leans across the console to plant a messy kiss on his cheek.

“If you make more friends, don’t bring them all home at once, we still don’t have couches,” she winks before unlocking the doors. “And stay safe, Lix. You know what I mean—no substances or weird stuff.”

“I’m always safe, Mom,” Felix smiles, hopping out of the car and swinging his backpack over one shoulder.

Her warning is standard protocol; she knows him well enough to know the kind of crowd Felix tends to attract, and she knows he’s no saint, even if she remains blissfully ignorant of the specific details hidden beneath his bed.

Navigating the school hallways already feels effortless. He radiates confidence, his uniform shirt meticulously styled, his platinum hair freshly toned, and his usual silver accessories accenting his neck and wrists. In less than two weeks, he has half the school wrapped around his little finger. He’s already a familiar face, exchanging casual greetings with almost everyone he passes, no longer walking alone. At his side, Kim Seungmin and Yang Jeongin take it upon themselves to fill him in on all the local school gossip as they make their way toward the courtyard tables.

“I’m telling you, the math teacher’s grading system makes absolutely zero sense,” Jeongin complains, adjusting his backpack strap as he slides onto the wooden bench.

Seungmin lets out a dry snort, tearing open a package of sweet pastries. “It doesn’t make sense to you because you don’t study. Some of us actually put in effort. The only one who finds it easy is Hwang.”

Felix, who had been distracted tracing a smudge on his shoe, snaps his head up at the name. “Hwang Hyunjin?”

Jeongin looks at him, mid-bite into an apple. “Yeah, the guy who sits all the way in the back even though he probably can’t see a damn thing from there. You know him?” Felix nods thoughtfully.

“He almost never talks to anyone. I think he only tolerates Seo Changbin because they go to the gym together, but the rest of the time, he’s a total ghost,” Seungmin says, a faint flush creeping onto his cheeks at the mention of Changbin.

“Your Seo Changbin?” Felix teases with a wicked, playful smirk, earning a sharp swat to the arm from Seungmin, who glances around nervously. “I know him, he lives right next door to me,” Felix explains, resting his elbows on the table. “He helped me carry my boxes the day I moved in. He’s actually super sweet. A bit dorky and shy, but really polite. He turns bright red every time we cross paths and I talk to him.”

Seungmin and Jeongin trade a swift, heavy glance, a cocktail of confusion and deep skepticism that makes Felix arch an eyebrow.

“Hyunjin? Sweet?” Seungmin repeats incredulously, setting his pastry down. “Felix, the guy isn't a dork. He has the highest GPA in our entire year, plus he has this vibe that’s just… a little chilling. It’s not that he’s mean, he’s just… strange. Sometimes you just see him staring off into space, or taking photos of literally everything. But nobody messes with him, because of Changbin, and because he’s basically invisible by choice.”

“Well, he was an absolute sweetheart with me,” Felix insists, shrugging his shoulders as he remembers how the boy had helped him with everything and swallowed his pathetic lie about his mother’s belongings. He wasn’t lying, though—he really did think the boy was cute.

“Well, your sweetheart is currently burning a hole through the back of your neck,” Jeongin murmurs, tilting his chin slightly toward the concrete stairs leading up to the main building.

Felix turns around instinctively, leaning his back against the edge of the table.

About twenty yards away, standing at the top of the concrete staircase, is Hyunjin. His school uniform hangs slightly loose on his frame, hands shoved deep into his pockets, his camera dangling securely against his chest. The morning sun catches the reflection of his lenses, but his head is tilted just slightly, leaving absolutely no room for doubt: he is staring directly at Felix’s table. He doesn’t seem remotely unfazed by getting caught, remaining entirely still with his head cocked. Felix holds his gaze for a few quiet seconds, feeling a strange, subtle shift in the air around them. Quickly, he lifts a hand, offering a bright, friendly wave across the distance.

In response, Hyunjin gives only a barely perceptible nod of his head. And if Felix isn't completely losing his mind, he could swear the corners of the boy's lips twitched upward by a fraction of a millimeter. Then, he turns on his heel and vanishes into the dark hallway, leaving Felix with his hand still suspended in mid-air.

— — — — — — — — —

If there is one thing Felix has never been, it’s a conformist. He’s not the type to just take people at their word, and his friends' warnings about Hyunjin’s supposedly weird, chilling nature only manage to ignite a spark of curiosity that keeps him thoroughly distracted for the rest of the week. Every day, he tried to catch up with Hyunjin after class, but something would always distract him, or the dark-haired boy would quickly vanish into the crowd, not to be seen again until the next morning. But today, he committed to catching him no matter what. The moment the bell echoes through the hallways, Felix bids his friends a hasty farewell, swinging his backpack over his shoulder and darting out toward the front courtyard with the sole purpose of hunting down a certain tall, slouched silhouette.

He spots him near the bike racks. Hyunjin is walking slowly, earbuds firmly in place, his black messenger bag slung across his shoulder.

“Hyunjin! Wait up!” Felix calls out, quickening his pace, his platinum hair tossing with every stride.

Hyunjin pauses, pulling out one earbud to let it dangle as he stops and turns around. Seeing Felix rushing toward him, he adjusts his glasses with that familiar gesture and straightens his posture just a fraction.

“Oh… hi, Felix,” he greets him, letting his hands drop to his sides, his gaze drifting down to the pavement.

“Hey! I’ve been trying to catch you for days, but you disappear into thin air every single time,” Felix says, breathless as he comes to a halt beside him, offering a radiant smile. They begin walking side by side out of sheer inertia. “I thought we could head back together, since we’re neighbors anyway.”

Hyunjin remains silent for a few yards, the roar of traffic from the main avenue filling the space between them. Felix catches a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye. In profile, Hyunjin possesses a sharp jawline, a perfectly bridged nose, and full, plush lips that, honestly, Felix finds dangerously attractive. He’s a good-looking guy—ridiculously so—but all that beauty is diluted beneath his shyness and that aura of a brilliant but antisocial student. Generally speaking, he isn't the type of guy who would capture Felix’s attention, given his rather peculiar preferences.

“I don’t usually wait around for anyone,” Hyunjin says focus, his voice soft, measured, and a little serious. “Sometimes I stay behind to take photos somewhere, or I go to the library. I didn't want to bore you.”

“You don't bore me at all,” Felix counters, stretching his arms behind his head with easy nonchalance. “My friends mentioned a few things about you… that you’re the top student in our year, that you don’t talk to anyone, and that you’re a total mystery. Is that true?”

Hyunjin lets out a low chuckle—the first Felix has ever heard from him—a soft, raspy sound that catches Felix entirely off guard. “I think your friends are exaggerating. I just… rather study. And I’m not exactly great at socializing. Most people just think I’m boring.”

“Well, I don't,” Felix says, giving him a playful nudge that doesn't even budge the taller boy given their size difference. Hyunjin tenses slightly at the contact but doesn't pull away. “You saved my arms from snapping off on moving day. By the way… I’m really sorry about what you had to see. My mom is completely insane for packing that in there.”

Felix drops the line like a subtle trial by fire, watching closely for any reaction the dark-haired boy might have at the mention of the box.

Hyunjin halts his steps just before they reach the street dividing their neighborhood. He adjusts the strap of his bag and blinks a few times before looking at Felix dead-on for the first time during the entire walk. His dark, monolid eyes look clear, completely devoid of any malice Felix might try to detect. Standing this close, Felix notices a tiny mole resting just beneath his left eye.

“The theater props?” he asks in a gentle tone. “Don’t worry about it. My dad always told me that city people tend to have strange, artistic hobbies. It’s totally fine, Felix.”

Felix feels his chest swell with relief and a faint hint of superiority. He really is naive, he thinks, biting back the urge to smile condescendingly.

“Yeah, Mom is… special,” Felix adds with a light laugh, resuming their walk, feeling a little flutter of nerves after having Hyunjin’s undivided gaze on him for more consecutive minutes than he’d been accustomed to since arriving.

The rest of the walk flows much easier. Hyunjin opens up just a crack, offering polite, soft-spoken answers to Felix's questions about school subjects and even throwing in a few study recommendations, until they finally reach the space between their houses.

“See you tomorrow, Felix.”

“See ya, Hyune… can I call you that?” Hyunjin offers a small smile, nodding as he tucks his fingers beneath the strap of the bag against his chest. “Thanks for letting me walk with you.”

Felix steps inside his house with a slightly warmer chest, feeling like he’s entirely in control of the board for now. He notes that it might be a bit harder than with most people, but getting Hyunjin wrapped around his finger is something he will achieve, no matter how much effort it takes. Over the next few days, the dynamic repeats itself. Hyunjin now seems to wait for him in the exact same spot every day, earbuds in, hands tucked into his pockets, and they walk home to the sound of conversations spearheaded entirely by Felix, who can't seem to keep quiet for more than two minutes. Felix has grown to appreciate Hyunjin's reserved nature, finding it supremely intriguing.

It’s Friday night, boredom has gotten the absolute best of Felix, and he needs an escape. His escape. It had been several days since he last indulged in the way he usually does when he wants to experiment a little, following hours of researching things on his iPad or reading books that brought him closer to the things he’d developed a taste for.

His mother went out for dinner with some coworkers, warning him with a laugh that she’d be home late and probably a little tipsy. The house is enveloped in absolute silence. In the safety of his bedroom, illuminated only by the warm glow of a desk lamp and the silver moonlight filtering through his window, he finds—to his surprise—that the window across the yard remains dark.

He kneels down and slides the still-broken box out from beneath his bed. His fingers trace the textures he loves so much. He brushes aside a few items until his hand finds the heavy black leather collar—the very one that had landed near the dark-haired boy's sneakers on his first day—and buckles it securely around his neck. The cool metal of the O-ring pressing tight against his skin sends a sharp shiver down his spine that pools directly between his thighs.

He sits back on his bed, dressed in his pajamas: short shorts and a strawberry-print camisole. Reaching for his phone, he opens the camera app.

Felix loves the concept, the visual play of capturing the stark contrast between his angelic, freckled face and the thoroughly un-innocent accessories he hoards. He has never tried anything with anyone in his life, but he thoroughly enjoys his time alone, usually getting incredibly turned on just by seeing himself wearing pieces like this. Slowly, and with a little help from Jisung, he has been mapping out his likes and dislikes. Through the all-knowing internet, he uncovered practices that made him hard just by thinking about them, but it wasn't until he started buying these treasured accessories that he got a real taste of it. The kinks they talked about so much on Twitter. He has bookmarks overflowing with photos of boys with his exact build wearing collars, using them as inspiration to snap a few photos of his own to admire, or to show his best friend. Nothing more than that; there are still plenty of things he wonders if he’d actually enjoy, but he figures he won't know until he gives them a real try.

Opening the front-facing camera, he tilts his head, searching for the best angles against the dim light of the room. The shutter clicks repeatedly, capturing his neck stretched tight beneath the leather, biting his index finger—photos meant strictly for his secret folder, and maybe for his chat with Jisung if his friend begs hard enough, purely for the gossip and to swap advice. Jisung has been his best friend since elementary school, and together they’ve unraveled things about themselves, anchoring each other through the exploration. The only catch is that they both want the exact same thing: someone to fulfill that missing role.

He gives a gentle downward tug on the leash connected to the metal ring, positions the camera, and taps the screen just as he pokes his tongue out. Lowering the phone to review the shots, he can't stop the rush of arousal pulsing through him. The sensation against his throat is becoming far too stimulating, and soon, a small, firm ridge begins to stretch against the thin fabric of his pajama shorts.

He strokes himself over the material, setting his phone aside as his mouth parts slightly, letting out a soft gasp. A quiet, breathless moan escapes him as he continues to pull at the collar, eventually letting go of the leash to guide his hand to his small, pink nipple, pinching it tightly. For some reason, an unusual thought slips into his mind. Normally, the arousal stemming from his own image is more than enough. But this time, a pair of full, plush lips materialize in his thoughts. Large, slender hands. A pair of sharp, dark eyes hidden behind thick lenses, looking at him with desperate shyness. Felix imagines Hyunjin utterly intimidated by his presence. Biting his lower lip out of sheer nerves, he imagines him watching him touch himself, wearing that confused, innocent expression, pushing his glasses up as his breath hitches.

The image sends a violent jolt of electricity straight down his spine. His hand, already sliding up and down his small erection, feels slick with pre-cum, hot and tight. He doesn't know exactly why he’s thinking about his dorky neighbor, or why the mere thought of him somehow finding out, flushing red, and averting his eyes makes him so incredibly hard—but it does. It rolls over him to the point that he spills into his own hand, with that sharp jawline and the endearing mole beneath the eye locked firmly in his mind.

He pants heavily, his chest rising and falling in rapid succession. Once he catches his breath, he grabs his phone and stands up, his face burning. He can feel sweat pooling beneath the leather strap and is just about to unbuckle it when a sudden light illuminating the window opposite catches his peripheral vision. Paranoia striking instantly, he spins around to see Hyunjin in profile, standing in his room near the glass, wiping down what looks like a camera lens. Driven by pure instinct, Felix practically trips over the leash dangling from his neck to scramble to his window, his heart hammering wildly against his ribs as he yanks the curtain shut.

He presses his back flat against the wall, breathing heavily as his heart slams violently, trapped between the fading euphoria of his orgasm and sheer terror. He turns slightly to part the curtain just a fraction, peering out through the sliver with a single eye. Hyunjin is gone.

Did he see me? Did he not see me? Was he just distracted? Felix thinks, consumed by paranoia. If Hyunjin had caught a glimpse of what he was wearing—or worse, doing… No, no, it’s impossible. The lamp light is way too dim… plus I don't think he’s the type of stalker to stare into other people’s windows… no. He definitely didn't see me.

Felix forces himself to calm down, ripping the collar off his neck and stuffing it back into the broken box, which he shoves nervously under the bed. He climbs onto his mattress and tries, completely fruitlessly, to fall asleep.

The exact same thoughts plague him for the rest of the weekend.

— — — — — — — — —

Monday morning starts in the worst possible way. Felix arrives at school dragging his feet, sporting dark circles under his eyes that he desperately tried to camouflage with foundation. He has barely slept a wink; paranoia has been his shadow all weekend, and the sheer exhaustion caused him to slap the snooze button three times, missing his entire first period class.

He steps through the doors just as the bell signals the first long recess. The hallway is a chaotic sea of students shifting from class to class. Felix walks with his backpack slung over his shoulder, hyper-vigilant, his heart leaping into his throat every time he catches sight of a taller silhouette wearing glasses. He runs into Seungmin near the classroom lockers.

“Well, look who decided to show up,” the brunette greets him, slamming his locker shut with a sharp thud. “You missed a pop quiz. The teacher was in a foul mood.”

“Don’t even talk to me about it, please. I had a nightmare of a night,” Felix says, trying to keep his voice as casual as possible as he leans his back against the cool metal of the lockers, his eyes darting back and forth down the hall, searching through the crowd. “By the way… have you seen Hyunjin?”

Seungmin eyes him sideways, arching an eyebrow. “Hwang? Yeah, I saw him heading toward the gym with Changbin. I guess he dragged him out there again to train. He says Hyunjin has a physique that shouldn't be wasted.”

This time, Felix is the one to arch an eyebrow. “He says?” he chuckles, teasing him.

“Well… we talked a little bit the other day, okay? Whatever,” Seungmin flushes, shoving the books he’d pulled into his bag.

“All right, see ya. Thanks, Minnie,” Felix flashes a bright smile before turning on his heel.

He crosses the central courtyard at a brisk pace, driven by a mix of raw nerves and pure stubbornness. He needs to see Hyunjin’s face, to test his reactions, to see if he avoids his gaze more than usual, or if there’s any trace of awkwardness that might confirm he saw something through the window last Friday.

The moment Felix pushes open the heavy gym door, the sharp scent of iron, rubber, and sweat hits him all at once. The place is entirely deserted, save for two figures at the far end near the fogged-up mirrors. A local radio station plays low through a layer of static.

Felix takes two steps inside and freezes dead in his tracks, the air catching sharply in his throat.

Hyunjin is indeed there. But this is not the Hyunjin who greeted him on moving day, nor the one who sits silently in the back of the classroom every day. He isn't wearing an oversized shirt; instead, he’s in a black tank top that fully exposes broad shoulders and firm, sculpted, incredibly defined arms. He isn't wearing his glasses either, leaving his eyes completely uncovered. His dark hair is damp with sweat, pulled back securely into a short ponytail, though his messy fringe still clings to his wet forehead. In that exact moment, Hyunjin is lifting a heavy barbell, the muscle of his biceps and the thick veins in his forearms straining in a way that leaves Felix’s mouth completely dry.

Beside him, a shorter but immensely muscular guy slaps his shoulder, counting out his reps.

“Just a couple more, Hwang, let’s go,” Changbin encourages, right before catching sight of Felix approaching slowly. “Ah, looks like we have company.”

Hyunjin exhales sharply, dropping the bar onto the rack with a loud, metallic clang, and spins around. Deprived of his lenses, he blinks a few times, narrowing his eyes to focus his vision. The moment he recognizes the platinum-blonde hair, his serious expression completely vanishes. He ducks down quickly, grabbing a towel to drape over the back of his neck while scrambling to find his glasses on a nearby bench, shoving them onto his face in a hurry.

“Felix?” Hyunjin murmurs, taking a step forward as he automatically re-adopts his slightly slouched posture—though his physique is now utterly impossible to hide beneath the clinging fabric. “I didn't know you came to the gym.”

Felix swallows hard, forcing his legs to move forward without trembling as he desperately tries to keep his eyes locked on his neighbor's face rather than his sweat-glistened arms. “I don't, but it looks like you come here… a lot,” he manages to say once he’s standing right in front of them, plastering on a bright, social smile.

“I have to force him to come. Imagine wasting that kind of frame just to be a scrawny weakling. Luckily, his endurance is insane,” Changbin cuts in with a grin, slapping Hyunjin’s back. The taller boy ducks his head a little, hiding a quiet laugh.

“This is Changbin,” Hyunjin introduces them.

“Pleasure, Felix. Hyunjin mentioned something about you…” Changbin says, and Felix feels a violent wave of panic crash over him. Hyunjin looks at his friend with a mildly confused expression—nothing too scandalous—before Changbin finishes his sentence. “The neighbor next door? He said you guys were nice neighbors.”

Felix smiles, pushing the panic aside and letting out a quiet sigh of relief. His eyes, however, thoroughly analyze the dark-haired boy’s face. Hyunjin adjusts his glasses for the millionth time as the sweat makes them slide down, his ears tipping into that exact shade of soft pink that had turned Felix on so intensely. But there is nothing on his face except utter normalcy and casual shyness.

He didn't see a thing, he thinks, feeling his soul practically re-enter his body. He was just cleaning his camera, or he wasn't and I fabricated the whole thing. I’m a paranoid piece of shit.

“The pleasure is mine, Changbin,” Felix replies, crossing his arms as his confidence floods back, shifting effortlessly into a flirtatious posture that comes entirely naturally to him. He looks Hyunjin up and down with a slow, wicked smirk. “Wow… you hid this side of yourself incredibly well. Does everyone know what the star student is packing under his uniform?”

Hyunjin knits his brows in pure confusion while Changbin bursts into a loud, raucous laugh. Felix smiles inwardly, deeply enjoying how easily Hyunjin seems to get intimidated by his words.

— — — — — — — — —

Hyunjin had always harbored a deep fondness for quiet solitude—until Lee Felix moved in next door.

From his window, the world had always been a tedious, grayscale affair; a succession of structurally flawless but entirely hollow frames that he captured through his camera lens just to feel a fleeting sense of connection. But Felix was pure, unadulterated color. His platinum hair practically spun gold beneath the afternoon sun, his raucous laughter routinely sliced clean through the shared courtyard, and he possessed a dangerously bold way of commanding the high school corridors. His style was unique and strikingly beautiful, though Hyunjin had rarely been afforded the chance to see him outside the constraints of his school uniform. Or his pajamas.

Hyunjin possessed rather particular tastes; spending vast amounts of time in his own company had allowed him to map out his desires with clinical precision. Yet, when that sudden accident occurred at Felix's house, his fascination skyrocketed by a full hundred percent. He never actively intended to spy—truthfully, he felt a desperate wave of shyness whenever Felix was around because the boy was genuinely breath-taking—but the raw curiosity was eating him alive. Imagining Felix securely bound in those heavy leather pieces had repeatedly forced him to seek urgent self-gratification in the dark.

Until he no longer had to imagine it. His window had transformed into the absolute perfect vantage point. Where he once waited to document the fading gradients of the sunset, he began capturing a pair of plush, heart-shaped lips with an extraordinary level of zoom. Did he harbor a shred of guilt? Perhaps. Maybe it was entirely depraved, maybe he shouldn't have pushed the boundaries of his lens so far, maybe simply looking should have sufficed. But Felix thoroughly enjoyed taking photos of himself, and one day, Hyunjin would simply share these captures with him anyway. Isn't it perfectly fine that way?

The night he had almost been caught, his heart had nearly seized in his chest. The sheer contrast of a boy so utterly radiant, yet secretly harboring a desperate craving to be thoroughly broken and submitted, drove him wild. He had ducked out of sight instantly, gripping his camera so tightly his knuckles turned white, and forced himself to project absolute normalcy at school. But seeing him every day was becoming an increasingly heavy burden; the casual, clingy affection the blonde frequently initiated felt weightier against his skin. His laughter was becoming infectious, and his bare throat dangerously alluring.

With the days bleeding into one another, their shared walks home became an unspoken routine. On that particular Monday afternoon, they find themselves stepping side by side along the pavement, Hyunjin offering soft smiles to whatever senseless chatter the blonde throws his way. Suddenly, the sky opens up without warning, heavy, icy sheets of rain drenching their school uniforms within a matter of seconds.

“Shit, Hyune! We’re going to freeze to death!” Felix shrieks, instantly hauling his backpack over his head as he bolts toward the narrow awning of a shuttered storefront.

Hyunjin follows at a measured pace, letting the downpour drench him completely. Watching Felix shiver, his plush lips tinting a faint, icy blue and his freckled nose glistening with clear droplets, a tender but fiercely possessive ache ignites deep in Hyunjin’s chest. Without a word, he unzips his bag and pulls out a heavy, dry oversized hoodie.

“Put it on,” he commands, his voice dropping into a register that is slightly more demanding than usual.

“It’s yours. If you get sick, you’re just going to blame me, you fool,” Felix protests, his lower lip trembling as he wraps his arms tightly around his own chest.

“My endurance is higher than yours, and my body heat runs hot. Just move.”

Hyunjin slides the thick fabric over Felix's head. His fingers brush against the cool, exposed skin of Felix’s throat for the first time, and he freezes for a fraction of a second. Feeling the blonde’s erratic, racing pulse fluttering right beneath his fingertips sends a violent shiver straight through him, forcing him to draw his hand back. He finishes adjusting the collar, smoothing the damp platinum fringe away from Felix's eyes while maintaining a comfortable distance, though he intentionally allows Felix to absorb the radiating heat of his frame.

“Thanks…” Felix murmurs, burying himself deep within the fabric. It swallows him completely, smelling heavily of Hyunjin’s scent.

The dark-haired boy simply offers a quiet smile. But his mind is miles away, the tips of his fingers burning with the phantom memory of Felix’s bare skin. And seeing him securely wrapped in his own clothes—looking incredibly small and staring up with those wide, brilliant eyes—only feeds the hunger crawling beneath his skin. The desperate urge to shield him from the world, yes. But also the burning desire to finally hear that deep voice brokenly begging him.

______________________________________

On Wednesday morning, Felix takes his sweet time in front of the bathroom mirror, carefully styling his platinum bangs. Not a single trace of his weekend paranoia remains; he no longer glances toward the neighboring window as if he were some kind of depraved stalker. The absolute relief of knowing that Hyunjin had almost certainly seen nothing has fully restored his usual high energy. He straightens the collar of his uniform shirt and slips his earbuds in, dialing a number he knows entirely by heart.

Jisung answers on the second ring, his voice incredibly raspy from sleep.

“Why are you calling me at this ungodly hour of the morning after ghosting me for days?” Jisung whines over the line, accompanied by the rustle of heavy blankets.

“I am so sorry, Ji, I’ve just been swamped trying to get caught up with everything… it’s a nightmare,” Felix says, stepping out of his room with his backpack slung over one shoulder. His mother has already left for the day. “Anyway… remember that quiet next-door neighbor? The one who hauled my boxes on moving day?”

“The one you thought caught you doing unholy things in your room? What happened? Did he tell your mom?” Jisung teases, letting out a sharp cackle.

“Shut up! He has absolutely no idea,” Felix laughs, pausing at the kitchen island to grab a green apple before slipping out the front door. “The point is, the other day I was running late because of my insomnia, and I caught him in the school gym with his friend. Ji, you literally cannot comprehend it… oh my god. He has these massive shoulders—I mean, I’d noticed them before, but this time they were completely bare and glistening with sweat, and his arms… wow. I was genuinely stunned.”

“Wait, your dorky neighbor who actually swallowed that pathetic theater prop excuse?” Jisung asks, thoroughly incredulous.

“Don’t call him that, Ji,” Felix chides, crossing the street of his block. “Though he is a bit of one… the second I walked up to talk to him, he looked completely intimidated again, and when I paid him a compliment, he got incredibly shy in front of his friend. It’s an absolute tragedy to waste a physique like that, but he is so sweet. I swear, if he were just a little bit more assertive, he would be entirely my type.”

“I don’t know, Lix…” Jisung murmurs, his tone dropping into a thoughtful register.

“It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for.”

Felix lets out a loud laugh as he steps through the main gates of the high school campus, waving across the distance to Seungmin and Jeongin, who are already waiting for him on the concrete steps.

“Please, Ji, and here I thought I was the paranoid one,” he counters, adjusting his backpack strap. “He’s actually incredibly sweet. He literally lent me his jacket when it poured the other day, and he waits for me outside of school every single day. Everything is under absolute control. My tastes are in zero danger of public exposure, which, let me remind you, are your tastes too. I gotta go, class is about to start.”

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying. Keep me updated, and stop abandoning me,” Jisung says before cutting the line.

Felix slides his phone into his pocket and jogs up to his friends, joining their stride as they head toward the building.

“So, Minnie, any more casual encounters with Changbin?” Jeongin teases with a wide grin.

“Actually… he walked me home,” Seungmin mutters. Jeongin and Felix instantly freeze, jaws dropping as they aggressively shake his shoulders, fully aware of how deeply their friend swooned over the muscular upperclassman. “He mentioned he ran into you the other day, by the way. Said you were practically drooling while Hyunjin was working out.”

Jeongin bursts into an even louder laugh, and a bright flush instantly stains Felix’s cheeks.

“Well, you can’t blame me, neither of you saw him,” Felix huffs, crossing his arms in a display of faux irritation. Changbin was vastly exaggerating; he hadn't even stared that much.

When they enter the classroom for Literature, Felix slides into his usual desk beside Seungmin, his eyes automatically scanning the room for a certain dark silhouette out of sheer habit. Hyunjin is seated in the very back row next to the large window, aiming his camera outside to capture the blooming shrubs in the courtyard, carefully tucking it away right as the teacher steps up to the podium.

“Eyes up for your final assignment of the term,” the instructor announces, adjusting his spectacles. “We will be conducting an extensive analysis on contemporary narrative structures. This is a heavy, paired project that will require significant research hours outside of school schedules. It will account for thirty percent of your final grade.”

A collective wave of groans instantly ripples through the room. In the back, Hyunjin remains perfectly still, leaning back against his chair with a look of absolute indifference, quietly waiting for what he already knows is coming.

“You will not be choosing your partners,” the teacher continues, drawing a sharp hiss from the students. “I have paired you based on academic performance to ensure balanced teams.” The instructor begins reading down the roster, eliciting a mix of quiet celebrations and bitter complaints, until he pauses, his eyes searching through the middle rows. “Lee Felix.”

“Yes, sir?” Felix straightens his spine, attentive.

“Since you transferred in late and missed the diagnostic quiz at the start of the month, I have paired you with our top marks,” the teacher states, pointing the tip of his pen toward the back row. “Hwang Hyunjin. Furthermore, I understand from your files that you are next-door neighbors, so there will be zero excuses regarding scheduling conflicts. Hyunjin, I trust you will assist Felix in structuring the framework and getting him up to speed.”

The moment his name is uttered, Hyunjin’s posture shifts entirely. He tilts his head, his dark eyes locking onto Felix’s gaze, which is already fixed on him. They exchange a small, knowing smile.

Once the final bell rings, the journey home flows effortlessly. They walk side by side along the avenue pavement, just as they had grown accustomed to. Beneath the mild afternoon sun, Felix moves with fluid grace, complaining animatedly about how strict the instructor seemed and how thoroughly he despised creating conceptual outlines, utilizing wide, expressive hand gestures. His platinum hair gleams in the light, his delicate features framed perfectly, dusted with freckles that blend seamlessly with the engineered innocence of his radiant smile. Hyunjin matches his pace, hands shoved deep into his hoodie pockets, nodding along to every single word and offering soft, brief responses that barely touch his eyes.

“I was honestly terrified I’d get stuck with someone who didn't have a single clue,” Felix says with a light chuckle. “But with you, I know this project is going to be an absolute breeze.”

“I’ll do what I can to get you up to speed, don’t worry,” Hyunjin soft-spokenly replies. Before he can finish his sentence, a small dog bolts away from its owner, dragging its leash along the concrete. A small Cavalier with floppy brown ears trots directly up to them.

“Oh, look at that!” Felix gasps, halting dead in his tracks. His entire face illuminates, his sharp features softening into an expression of pure, unadulterated tenderness. He drops into a swift crouch, resting his hands on his knees as he coos at the animal. “Hi there, little guy. Why are you running away from your dad?”

The dog, instantly encouraged by the sweet tone, scoops its belly low against the pavement, desperately begging for the blonde’s fingers to scratch behind its ears. Felix lets out a bright, melodic laugh.

From above, Hyunjin observes the scene in absolute silence. His dark eyes, heavily concealed behind the glare of his thick lenses, meticulously map out Felix’s silhouette. He recalls the exact way that strawberry-print pajama set from that night—etched indelibly into his memory—had clung to his thighs, the elegant curve of his exposed throat trapped tight beneath that black leather collar, and his parted lips likely releasing sounds he hadn't been close enough to hear.

“Aw, little guy… at least you have someone to pull on your leash…” Felix giggles, looking up at Hyunjin with an innocent smile, clearly under the impression that the double meaning of the comment would slide right past him. “Isn't he cute, Hyune?”

“Yeah…” Hyunjin murmurs, entirely bypassing the underlying bait. He slowly adjusts the heavy frame of his glasses against the bridge of his nose, his gaze locked unblinkingly on the way Felix’s fingers are currently wrapped around the dog’s collar. “Extremely cute.”

Felix finally stands back up, dusting off his hands with a radiant smile, completely oblivious to the sheer density of the gaze that had just anchored onto him.

They cover the remaining distance of the block to the sound of Felix’s continuous laughter, eventually reaching the boundary separating their lawns.

“I’ll grab a few texts and meet you over there, alright?” Hyunjin murmurs, shifting his bag strap.

“Sure, I’ll wait for you inside so we can get started,” Felix offers a final smile before disappearing onto his porch.

Hyunjin nods, walking over to his own house. The front door opens to absolute silence. He scales the stairs with long, deliberate strides, completely shedding the slouched, submissive posture he routinely forced upon himself.

Stepping into his bedroom, a sharp smile plays at the corners of his lips as his eyes fixate on the massive glass window. He walks directly over to it.

From this vantage point, the perspective was nothing short of incredible. Because his window sat slightly wider than the neighboring one, the blonde’s bedroom was exposed in an almost obscene manner. Hyunjin possessed a partial view of Felix’s desk, and an almost entirely unobstructed view of his bed.

Hyunjin’s fingers sought the shutter of his camera with a sudden rush of excitement. He lifts the device and begins scrolling through his latest captures. Going back a few days, his fingers stop on those exact frames: that soft pink pajama top, the extreme zoom focusing on a pale, elegant throat, and those heart-shaped lips parted with a tongue poking out.

A dark smile forms on his lips. He clutches the camera tightly, snatches a couple of heavy textbooks from his shelf, and heads downstairs, re-adopting that quiet, unassuming posture, thoroughly determined to act on everything building up inside him.

When Hyunjin returns to the Lee residence, the front door is completely unlocked. He steps inside, dragging his feet slightly, but the sound of familiar laughter echoing from the kitchen causes him to pause. Felix is walking right behind his mother, who is dressed elegantly, taking a drag from a fresh cigarette.

“Oh, hello, Hyunjin! It's nice to see you again. Thank you so much for helping Lix, he genuinely needs it,” she says, landing an affectionate slap on his shoulder, instantly noting the solid muscle beneath the cloth. “I just stopped by to drop a few things off, I have to head back out for a meeting. But there are snacks warming in the oven. Study hard and have some fun, alright?”

Hyunjin offers an impeccably polite, deep bow, keeping his eyes lowered. “Pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Lee. Don’t worry, we will stay entirely focused on the assignment.”

Felix rolls his eyes with quiet amusement at the dark-haired boy’s extreme formality, gesturing for him to head upstairs.

Felix’s bedroom feels entirely different from the inside; Hyunjin hadn't stepped foot in here since moving day, though the visual sensation matches the exact view he hoards from his window.

“Just drop the books on the floor, we can set up right here,” Felix says, tossing his backpack aside. He reaches down and unbuttons his school uniform shirt, sliding it off to reveal a tight white tank top that exposes the sharp edge of his collarbones. Hyunjin swallows hard.

They both sit on the floor, diving straight into the research material, silently flipping through page after page of text that might serve their project. But despite being a brilliant student, Hyunjin cannot focus. Not when he is standing this close to finally showing Felix exactly who he is. And while the thought fills him with adrenaline, a faint tremor of fear hits him; he has absolutely no clue how the blonde will react. He steels his resolve anyway.

“I’m going to grab those snacks, I’m starving,” Felix announces suddenly, tossing his pencil onto the scattered papers on the floor as he stands up.

Hyunjin watches him slip out, his heart hammering significantly faster than usual against his ribs. He had mapped out this exact moment a thousand times, but he hadn't fully accounted for the execution. In the end, he only possessed fantasies; his antisocial nature meant he rarely opened up to people. Yet, he knew precisely what he desired, and he believed he knew more than enough about Felix. He also knew that Felix observed him entirely too much, thinking he was completely oblivious to it—and that gave him a massive advantage. His eyes lock onto the box sitting right behind him beneath the bed frame. With a single, swift movement, he reaches down and drags it out into the open.

Felix handles a plate of cookies as he steps through the threshold of his bedroom door, freezing completely dead in his tracks.

Hyunjin isn't sitting down reading. He is resting on his knees right on the floor, the box pulled completely open between his legs. His large hands are holding the studded leather collar with a jarring sense of familiarity—the exact same one Felix had worn only days prior.

“Hyunjin! What are you doing?” Felix’s voice cracks, a muffled shout of sheer panic painting his delicate features as he takes a frantic step forward to slam the plate onto his desk, staring down at him, utterly scandalized. “I… I told you that belonged to my mother, you have absolutely no business touch—”

“I don't think this belongs to your mother, Felix,” Hyunjin cuts in.

Felix cuts off instantly, the words dying a violent death right in his throat.

Hyunjin’s voice is no longer the quiet, hesitant baritone he forces out all the time. It sounds dense, heavy, and impossibly deep. The dark-haired boy stands up from the floor at an agonizingly slow pace, the collar dangling from his grip, as he leisurely adjusts his glasses against his nose with that familiar gesture. His dark eyes pierce straight through him in a way that makes Felix’s breath catch sharply in his throat.

Hyunjin lowers his gaze to the piece in his hands, undoing the metal buckle to spread the collar wide.

“Regarding what you said on the street earlier…” Hyunjin continues, tilting his head with a subtle smirk—one of those barely-there shifts in his expression that thoroughly leaves Felix defenseless. “Didn't you want someone to pull on this, too?”

Felix takes an unconscious step backward, feeling as though the very floorboards were vanishing beneath his feet, his fingers nervously tugging at the bracelets on his wrist. He didn't fully comprehend, yet at the exact same time, he understood entirely too much. His heart was threatening to violently break out of his ribs.

“Hyune…” Felix stops retreating, completely frozen as he watches the taller boy approach him, collar in hand. “I-it was just a joke.”

“I’m not an idiot, Felix,” Hyunjin cuts him off again, stopping right in front of his frame. Felix is forced to tilt his head upward just to maintain eye contact—undeniably the longest, most uninterrupted look he has shared with Hyunjin since meeting him. “Furthermore, I happen to have an incredibly privileged view from my bedroom window… right alongside the sunset. Especially when you decide to wear sweet, cartoonish pajamas and play with these things right in front of your phone screen.”

Felix’s eyes stretch wide, his entire face instantly igniting into a deep, burning crimson as the memory of every single time he’d played with himself alone in his room floods his mind—because he hadn't been anywhere near as alone as he’d thought. And far from terrifying him, a strange, twisted rush of arousal hits him at the realization that Hyunjin had been watching.

What the hell?!!!

“So, why don't you let me see how it looks on you up close?”

The remaining air vanishes from his lungs. Hyunjin’s sheer proximity radiates an overwhelming, crushing heat, and that highly distinct scent belonging to the dark-haired boy—nothing but his natural, clean body heat—utterly blocks Felix’s senses. He struggles to process the shock: the guy he genuinely believed he wrapped around his finger was standing over him, looking at him like an absolute snack. He had been acting like a total fool this entire time, thinking Hyunjin didn't understand a single thing. But the worst part wasn't even the intense humiliation; it was the violent jolt of adrenaline pooling directly between his thighs at the sound of Hyunjin’s altered voice—so deep, questioning yet utterly demanding all at once.

“You… you were spying on me?” was the first thing he managed to stammer out, his cheeks burning hot.

“I was simply in my room, and you left your curtains wide open. My apologies. If only you could see yourself… ah, but you do,” Hyunjin smirks. He doesn't wait for permission, leaving the sentence dangling in the air as he loops the heavy leather band around Felix’s neck. His large, firm hands shift behind the blonde’s nape, easily clicking the metal buckle into place.

Felix lets out a shaky breath but doesn't pull away, completely succumbing to the intoxicating wave of panic. Hyunjin takes a single step back, allowing the chain leash to dangle from the O-ring. His long fingers loop through the metal links, giving a firm, downward tug that forces Felix to arch his throat and look straight up into his eyes.

“You look significantly better than you do through my camera lens,” Hyunjin murmurs, causing Felix’s mouth to part in sheer shock. “Come on, you clearly enjoy looking at your own photos. Or… are they meant for someone else?”

Driven by an instinct he can't even comprehend, Felix submissively shakes his head side to side. Hyunjin loosens his grip on the chain only to gather the length of the leash, steering his steps toward the mattress, forcing Felix to follow his lead. The sensation of the leather tightening against his throat under the steady pull of the leash feels infinitely better than anything he could have ever engineered in his wildest fantasies.

Hyunjin sits on the edge of the bed, yanking the chain until Felix is brought low, hovering slouched between his thighs, his face flushed and his lips parted.

“You took photos of me?!” Felix asks, his voice far too calm for the nature of the question, desperately trying to ignore the intense throbbing against his neck and the striking sight of Hyunjin looking up at him with eyes completely unrecognizable from his daytime persona.

“It turns you on to think about them, doesn't it?” Hyunjin teases, reaching down to grab the camera he’d set on the floor without releasing his grip on the leash. Felix watches him unblinkingly. “I don't blame you, you look beautiful. See for yourself.”

Hyunjin speaks as he scrolls through the device, handing it over once he brings up the few captures from that Friday night. Felix cradles the camera in his small hands. Through the frame of the window across the yard, his own silhouette is visible in the distance. He’s wearing the exact collar he has on right now, his strawberry pajamas, his tongue poking out in a sensual pose. As he clicks through, the frames become increasingly compromising—his hand slipped inside his shorts, his mouth open.

It turns him on. Hyunjin is entirely right. But knowing these were photos taken without his knowledge sends a delicious, violent shiver straight down his spine; he can feel pre-cum slicking against his skin under his school trousers. He can't find the words. He wants to tell him it’s wrong, that he shouldn't have done it, that it was a violation of his privacy, but his mind is just as hopelessly tangled as his body.

“You liked that I watched you too… didn't you?” Hyunjin smiles, wrapping the leather handle of the leash firmly around his palm. “I wonder how many things you like that you haven't even uncovered yet…”

Felix releases a small, high whine as he feels the collar constrict further, the dark-haired boy pulling him closer, forcing him to lean down lower. Those eyes behind the lenses are now locked strictly on his lips. Felix is so incredibly nervous his knees are actively trembling, and he closes his eyes, entirely surrendering to the pull.

“Lix? I forgot the folders I asked you to—” Felix’s mother throws the door wide open and freezes instantly on the threshold, her designer bag slung over her shoulder, car keys clutched in her hand, bringing with her the heavy scent of tobacco.

The scene unfolding before her is bizarre, to say the very least. Her son is practically straddling the dark-haired boy’s lap, his face bright red, his breathing erratic, and a leather collar buckled around his throat. In front of him, Hyunjin is holding the leash connected to said collar. On the floor sits a wide-open box filled with indistinguishable but highly suggestive items tangled in jackets.

An absolute silence blankets the room as both boys look toward Felix’s mother. The blonde is consumed by a profound, agonizing wave of embarrassment; Hyunjin attempts to maintain his composure, though this was absolutely not part of his plan. Felix waits for the screaming. He waits for her to drag Hyunjin out of the house by the collar of his school uniform.

Instead, the woman surveys the entire layout, lowers her gaze to the hand holding the leash at her son’s throat, and lets out a long, thoroughly exhausted sigh.

“Listen, boys…” she begins, using that utterly nonchalant tone that routinely drives her son up the wall. “I genuinely do not have the time for this right now.”

“Mom, it’s not what it looks like, I—” Felix reacts instantly, clawing at the collar on his neck and ripping it off to fling it onto the mattress.

“Sweetie, you know I’m a woman of the world, and you’re practically graduated from high school,” she cuts him off, turning on her heel to retreat down the hallway, speaking over her shoulder as she grips the doorframe. “I am only asking that you please do not consume any type of illicit substances, and clean up before I get back. And lock the door, for the love of God!”

She slams the door shut, and both boys listen to the sharp click of her heels descending the stairs, followed by the heavy thud of the front door and the distant roar of the car engine igniting.

Felix stares at Hyunjin, entirely static. Then, both of them burst into a fit of nervous laughter. Hyunjin’s eyes turn into soft crescents as he presses a hand to his chest, letting out a massive breath.

“Your mother is so cool…”

“I-I think that’s enough for today,” Felix says, his laughter tapering off as the nerves flood back. He stumbles slightly over the box on the floor, quickly crouching down to shove it all back beneath the bed frame.

Felix stands up and yanks on Hyunjin’s arm, forcing him off the bed and guiding him out of the room.

“I think we’ve had enough Literature, uhm, for today. You should probably head home, my mom might—”

“Can I at least have your number? We only ever talk on the walk home and you never gave it to me.” Hyunjin doesn't look annoyed or slighted; he carries that signature calm demeanor, anchored by a small smile. He extends his phone toward the blonde.

“I…” Felix hesitates. He can't think of a single way to reject the idea, because deep down, he doesn't want to. He doesn't even know why they hadn't swapped numbers sooner. But his heart is pounding so violently that there is zero room for rational thought.

He snatches the dark-haired boy’s phone and punches in his digits while aggressively escorting him out of the house.

“Great, thanks for the help, you fucking creep,” Felix huffs, handing the phone back and slamming the door shut the exact millisecond Hyunjin’s sneakers clear his porch steps.

Hyunjin walks back to his house, his heart racing a mile a minute, a foolish grin spreading across his face as he looks down at the screen to save the new contact.

Lix.

That exact night, Felix’s bedroom feels three times larger and infinitely more suffocating than usual. His mother has not returned from her business meeting, leaving the house in absolute, heavy silence. Felix tosses and turns across his mattress, wearing nothing but a pair of short pajama shorts. The leftover heat of the afternoon seems to have concentrated entirely in his room, though he knows full well the real temperature is radiating from his own skin.

He runs his fingers over his throat. The skin tingles sutilmente—not out of pain, but from the phantom pressure of the leather band and the heavy weight of the chain Hyunjin had held so securely.

Unknown: Are you still awake, Lix?

Felix bolts upright on the mattress, his heart delivering a violent thud against his ribs. He types back with trembling thumbs.

You: Yeah. Who is this?

He responds even though he knows perfectly well who it belongs to.

Unknown: The one with the privileged view of your room from over here.

Contact added as: Hwang

Felix swallows hard and, out of pure paranoid instinct, snaps his head toward the window. The curtain has remained firmly shut since he ran upstairs after the afternoon's incident. But knowing that Hyunjin is likely standing at his own window on the other side, imagining him, makes his crotch pulse rebelliously, completely overriding any rational discomfort he should be feeling given the situation.

You: You do realize I should block you for being a stalker, right? What you did was messed up, taking photos of someone secretly is illegal.

Hwang: But it turns you on. I saw it in your eyes when I showed you my camera. You were dripping under your pants, weren't you?

Felix throws the phone onto the sheets as if the metal had physically burned him. He buries his face in both hands, cursing under his breath. The humiliation stems from the fact that Hyunjin could read him so effortlessly after Felix spent weeks thinking he was the one in control—and that out of everyone, it had to be Hyunjin. The phone vibrates twice more in quick succession.

Hwang: Don't ignore me, Lix.

Hwang: I want to know more about you. What else do you like besides being watched?

Felix reviews the messages, thinking it over. Truthfully, he doesn't even know for sure, or rather, he doesn't know how to put it into words.

You: Are you always like this? Why are you acting like this now?

Hwang: Like what? You don't exactly broadcast what you like to do alone in your room either. We're even.

Hwang: Answer me, please?

Felix rolls his eyes.

You: I don't know. I've never actually tried anything with anyone, I just like wearing them and well. You already know.

Hwang: Interesting.

Hwang: Go to the window. Open the curtain just a bit.

Felix bites his lower lip hard. His pride screams at him to tell the boy to go to hell, but his body acts entirely on its own accord. He slides out of bed, dragging his bare feet across the hardwood floor, and approaches the large window. He parts the fabric of the curtain just a fraction, peering out toward the window on the other side.

Hyunjin’s bedroom is completely dark, but the silver moonlight perfectly silhouettes his tall frame, and the faint glow from his phone illuminates his face. His camera is slung securely around his neck.

The phone vibrates in his hand again.

Hwang: That's it. Good boy.

Felix stares at the text for a few seconds before looking back out the window, a delicious warmth flooding his stomach at the praise.

Hwang: Did you like that? You like it when I praise you, noted. Now turn on your lamp and get back into bed. Leave the phone on the nightstand and answer on speakerphone. I'm going to call you.

Felix feels his legs turn to absolute jelly. He returns to the mattress practically floating, completely surrendering to the electric current vibrating through his body at the novelty of the experience. He clicks his desk lamp on, sets the phone beside his nightstand, and a second later, the screen flashes with an incoming call. He taps accept and toggles the speakerphone. He climbs under the covers, burying himself for some reason; now that he knows he’s actively being watched, he is infinitely more self-conscious than before.

Hyunjin’s quiet, steady breathing fills the space before his velvety, deep voice echoes through the small speaker.

“Take the sheets off, Lix. I want to see how much clothing you have on.”

Felix gasps, tightening his grip on the fabric. The digital distortion of the phone makes Hyunjin’s voice sound even denser, as if he were whispering directly into his ear.

“N-no…” he murmurs, doubting his own words even as his hands actively push the thin comforter aside, betraying his conflicting thoughts to expose his bare torso and smooth legs.

“Excellent. You obey even when you think you don't want to, gorgeous,” Hyunjin’s tone is slow, thoroughly savoring the control. “Go to the box. Pull out the pink collar—the one with the heart.”

Felix lets out a shaky sigh. The lethal combination of Hyunjin’s voice and the memory of the afternoon is simply too much. He stretches over the edge of the mattress, slipping his hand underneath to drag the cardboard box out. His fingers, damp with nerves, find the metal heart ornament.

“Put it on,” the dark-haired boy commands through the speaker.

Felix obeys in absolute silence. The sharp click of the metal buckle locking around his throat, the pressure of the O-ring pressing against his windpipe—the entire sensation is amplified simply by the fact that he is being watched this time. It feels criminally good.

“It's on…”

“I see it. Now grab the leash. I want you to pull it to the side with your left hand, until you feel the pressure against your neck. And with your other hand, touch yourself over your shorts. Slowly, Lix. Imagine it's my hand.”

Felix closes his eyes, arching his spine as he yanks on the chain. The constricting pressure against his throat and the friction of his own fingers over his hard shaft force the first loud moan from his lips. In his mind, Hyunjin’s glasses are discarded on the floor, and those sharp, monolid eyes are looking down at him.

“Good boy, let me hear you,” Hyunjin whispers through the line, and in the background, Felix can just barely catch the subtle click of a camera shutter operating in Hyunjin’s hands. From his current angle, Felix can't distinguish anything through the dark window, but a rush of heat floods his stomach knowing Hyunjin is right there.

Mid-arousal, Felix fights a desperate internal battle. A part of his mind—the part that still desperately wants to pretend he dictates the rules—feels entirely overwhelmed by how rapidly he yielded. He didn't think he was built like this, but he is discovering in real-time that he absolutely craves it, and it terrifies him just as much as it excites him.

“You are so fucking beautiful, Felix,” Hyunjin drops praises through the speaker that make his member throb violently. “When I saw you this afternoon in that collar… God, your collarbones and your freckled skin stood out so much. You are completely perfect for this. Keep moving your hand. Do it for me.”

He lets out a sharp whine at the compliments, the heat intensifying below as his rhythm becomes entirely erratic, losing the thread of his own thoughts. He feels thoroughly worshiped, exposed, and trapped within his own space.

“Tell me, Lix… while you're touching yourself, what's running through that pretty little head?” Hyunjin’s tone shifts into a playful whisper. “Think about it, picture it, and then answer yes or no, alright?”

“Nnnhhgg, okay… yeah,” he answers, breathing heavily.

“If I were there with you right now, holding that chain… would you want a slap? To feel the stinging heat against your cheek from my large hand while you look me dead in the eye? Do you like what you're picturing?”

Felix snaps his eyes open, releasing a sharp gasp of shock. The mere idea of the slap feels practically real against his skin, and though he had never once considered it before, thinking about Hyunjin’s massive hand—just the mental image alone—makes his erection pulse wildly against his palm.

“I-I think I do, nnnhhg, Hyune...” he stammers, increasing the speed of his stroke.

“You like the thought of it? I can see it perfectly. You'd turn so red, whining a little, begging for more,” Hyunjin continues the dirty talk, expertly guiding him through his own personal exploration. “What else turns you on, precious? Do you use toys? I didn't see you use any…”

Felix doesn't answer; his body begins to chase the impending orgasm, and he can no longer think straight. And he got cold feet when he tried to use the plug.

“Answer me, Lix. Are you completely a virgin?”

“Mhmm… y-yes, nnnngghh,” Felix nods blindly, hearing another rapid sequence of the camera shutter. His hand moves at a frantic pace, eyes squeezed shut, picturing every single scenario Hyunjin feeds him.

“You must be so incredibly tight. Tell me, could you take my entire cock inside your mouth?”

“Y-yes, yes, all of it… whatever you want…” Felix moans, no longer even certain what questions he is answering or if he’s doing it right; he is simply hovering right on the edge.

“That's it. What a good boy you are. Enjoy it.”

Felix arches his spine violently, ripping a raw, deep moan from his throat that floods the empty bedroom as he comes hard across his own stomach, his toes curling tight and his breathing utterly shattered.

He collapses onto his side, his cheek resting flat against the mattress, his chest heaving rapidly while the collar digs even tighter into his windpipe.

On the other end of the line, a low, satisfied exhale echoes.

“Clean yourself up, Lix. Hide the collar and the box. See you at school tomorrow—and after that, we have a project to continue. You know that, right?”

Felix lets out a muffled “Mhmjmm” with his face still pressed into the mattress. And the line goes completely dead. He is genuinely incapable of processing what this entire day has just done to his brain chemistry.

— — — — — — — — —

Hwang: Button your shirt all the way to the top. You pulled way too hard; you must have a pretty little mark there.

It was the first message he read that morning. His shirt, buttoned tightly to his throat, was already chafing from the heat—because Hyunjin had been entirely right. He didn't even know how he'd managed to leave a faint, pinkish mark, but the sheer heat of arousal had completely numbed the pain. The second hand of the classroom clock ticked agonizingly slow, his knees trembling beneath his desk. He hadn't been able to focus all morning; aside from the steady stream of texts, he felt a heavy, unblinking gaze locked onto the back of his neck, and he knew perfectly well who it belonged to.

“Felix, you’re being incredibly weird today,” Seungmin murmured from his seat, eyeing the restless bouncing of his legs and the way he kept hiding his phone beneath the desk.

“I just… didn’t sleep very well,” Felix lied, his voice sounding a little raspy.

His nerves spiked all over again when the phone buzzed once more. Since early morning, the blonde had been reading and responding to texts; the dark-haired boy was asking him all sorts of questions he’d never even considered before. Some turned him on to the point of almost showing physically, while others instantly pushed his boundaries, yet for some reason, he kept typing back. He flushed bright red when he had to Google a term; he’d thought he’d uncovered quite a bit on his own, but little did he know how much he still had left to learn.

He glanced down at the screen beneath his desk while the teacher scribbled something on the blackboard.

Hwang: You're burning up with heat and yet you still obey. Do you like being a good boy?

Felix swallowed hard, his damp fingers typing rapidly as he kept a watchful eye out of the corner of his eye.

You: Someone could see me and ask questions. You're an asshole for texting me about this during class.

Hwang: It bothers you because you're turned on, isn't that right? You like it, Felix. You need to figure out when you actually like something versus when you genuinely dislike it. For instance, you crossed your legs a moment ago when I reminded you about the slap—you seriously liked that. I can't wait for you to actually feel it.

Felix forced his body not to react, rolling his eyes as he typed back.

You: What makes you think you're going to get to do that?

Hwang: What makes you think you have a choice?

Felix snapped his head up, his eyes stretching wide, unable to stop himself from turning around to look at him. Hyunjin was staring right back, raising his eyebrows innocently, acting as if he didn't have a single clue.

“Felix, do you have something you’d like to share with the class?” the teacher asked, looking dead at him. The sudden weight of every eye in the room caused a burning crimson to crawl straight up his neck.

“N-no, sir,” he stammered, having absolutely no idea what the lesson was even about.

He recalled what Hyunjin had asked him earlier that morning: What do you feel if you think about having to do something sexy but you're not entirely sure? What if I told you to suck my cock in the restrooms?

He’d ended up with an erection that was incredibly difficult to control right in the middle of the hallway. Seungmin had been entirely right about him acting weird; he’d had to sprint to the restroom without offering an excuse just to splash cold water over his face.

Hwang: That's the second time you haven't answered. I take it you like the idea.

Hwang: Look what I uncovered on my camera this morning.

Hwang: [Photo]

The three vibrations right between his thighs sent a rush of sensations straight to parts of his brain he hadn't known could feel anything. An image file downloaded. Felix opened the photo, ensuring he glued the phone directly to his lap, heavily concealed beneath the desk. The moment his eyes hit the screen, blood pumped from his heart to his member in blistering waves.

It was a slightly grainy photograph, somewhat poorly lit, but the only illuminated portion captured him perfectly through his window, the curtain parted just as he had left it. His face was in near profile, his eyes half-closed, and the glint of the heart-shaped O-ring was visible pressed tight against his throat, frozen right at the exact moment of his climax.

Beneath the photo, a final message slipped through:

Hwang: You look gorgeous when you obey. Will you obey me today?

Felix snapped the screen off instantly, his cheeks burning. He shoved the phone deep into his pocket just as the bell signaled the period change and recess, narrowly rescuing him from an absolute mental collapse.

Out in the hallway, the cool air did very little to calm Felix down. He walked alongside Seungmin and Jeongin toward the outdoor courts, trying desperately to salvage his posture and stop acting so bizarrely, when a familiar voice cut through the noise.

“Hey, Seungmin!” Changbin called out, approaching at a brisk pace, with Hyunjin following serenely just a step behind. He had his oversized school sweater slung casually over one shoulder, looking completely different. Felix couldn't quite decipher if it was due to the perverted persona the boy had exposed to him, or if he’d always looked this striking and Felix had simply been blind.

“Hey, glad you heard me,” Changbin spoke to Seungmin first, who offered a timid smile. “I wanted to take you out for ice cream after school, if you don't mind?”

Seungmin flushed as red as a tomato, and Jeongin laughed, nudging his shoulder, but Felix couldn't even bring himself to react. His eyes were glued to the linoleum, completely aware of the way Hyunjin was burning a hole straight through him with his gaze. For a moment, the surrounding chatter faded into absolute static.

“Hey, Felix. Aren't you burning up with that thing buttoned all the way up?” Changbin asked, knitting his brows as he gestured toward his own neck. “Looks like you're suffocating.”

“I’ve been telling him that all morning…” Seungmin interjected, still a little shy.

Felix felt his throat go completely dry, panic seizing his chest. He watched Hyunjin step up just a fraction closer. When Felix raised his eyes, the dark gaze behind those lenses drifted down to his collar, and the corner of the dark-haired boy's lips tilted upward in a microscopic smirk.

“Maybe Felix just enjoys a little bit of pressure against his neck, don't you think?” Hyunjin said, his voice soft but heavily laced with suggestion, drawing a collective laugh from the group.

Felix felt his legs threaten to give out all over again. The sheer audacity of Hyunjin openly provoking and exposing him right in front of his friends left him hovering on the absolute precipice of another meltdown.

“I was just cold this morning. Can't a guy try out a different style? Leave me alone,” he managed to huff out, laughing to mask his anxiety, not because he was genuinely angry. Everything had felt entirely foggy since reading those last text messages.

“Alright, alright. Shall we head to the cafeteria together?” Changbin led the way, and everyone nodded, following his stride—Seungmin by his side, Jeongin just ahead.

Felix lingered behind for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts before taking a deep breath and setting off. He took only a couple of steps behind his friends, the hallway having emptied out almost entirely, when he felt the slide of a hand—large, warm, and heavy—clamp firmly around the curve of his nape. He straightened up instantly, a violent shiver racking his spine.

“Good boy. Keep moving,” Hyunjin murmured, tightening his grip slightly to steer him forward.

He released him the exact moment they stepped out into the courtyard, leaving Felix with a dizzying, intoxicating rush of adrenaline. Hyunjin left him behind, only to glance back over his shoulder with that familiar, unassuming look, as if he had absolutely no clue what he was putting him through.

The texts didn't stop. He spent the entire lunch period staring down at his phone, answering questions, casting frantic glances across the table, and fighting to keep his own body under control. The school day felt eternal, but the final bell eventually rang. And he couldn't stop the sudden spike of adrenaline from cutting through his veins.

He bit his lip, reviewing the dark-haired boy's final text before heading home.

Hwang: I'll catch you in half an hour. You should change into something comfortable; the project might run a bit long today. The curriculum is extensive. ;)

The sharp click of the front door latch echoed through his bedroom. His mother wouldn't be back until well past ten o'clock.

The half-hour wait had been absolute torture. He’d spoken briefly to his best friend, who managed to drop at least five ecstatic 'I told you so's' over the line. The window curtain remained half-open, letting a sliver of the late afternoon sun filter in. He had his literature textbooks neatly arranged on his desk in a pathetic attempt to pretend they were actually going to study. Felix stood right in the center of his room; following the dark-haired boy's implicit command, he had shed his uniform for a white camisole and a pair of loose, incredibly short shorts. His heart was racing frantically.

Hyunjin sets his glasses down on the desk. Stripped of them, his gaze was dangerously sharp, completely devoid of any innocence Felix had previously projected onto him.

“Sit down and open volume one, page 143,” Hyunjin commands quietly, approaching as his eyes map him out from head to toe. “We need to review the syllabus to figure out what we're including. This grade is worth thirty percent.”

Felix swallows hard, blinking in sheer disbelief. Was he serious? After a mountain of texts like that… he was actually going to make him study?

“Sure…” he manages to utter, trying his best to conceal his disappointment while obeying regardless.

Hyunjin steps closer, crouching down behind his chair to drag the box out from beneath the bed. He stands directly over him, his highly distinct scent thoroughly hijacking Felix's senses. Hyunjin extends his arm over Felix’s shoulder, pointing to a specific paragraph in the textbook.

“Read out loud,” Hyunjin orders directly into his ear, his hot breath brushing against Felix’s earlobe.

“C-contemporary literature… encompasses—” Felix cuts off the moment he feels the heavy leather collar slide smoothly around his throat, his abdomen instantly tightening.

“Keep going. You shouldn't stumble,” the dark-haired boy whispers, finishing the buckle at the back of his neck. The O-ring rests against his nape, and Hyunjin expertly winds the chain leash around his palm.

“L-literary works…” Hyunjin gives a gentle tug on the chain, constricting Felix’s throat. “Produced since—nnggh.”

The raw stimulation stemming from the pressure against his windpipe leaves him unable to even see the text clearly. He desperately wants to obey, but the constriction makes it incredibly difficult for his voice to sound anywhere near normal.

“Since the second half of the t-twentieth century, mmh…” Felix feels another sharp pull on his neck, and within a split second, he is staring directly up at Hyunjin’s face from below—reversed, close, impossibly close.

“What's the matter? Are you already so turned on that you can't even read two consecutive words?” Hyunjin murmurs, leaning down dangerously low, tugging the chain to force Felix’s head further back over the chair.

“I… I can't do it like this, Hyunjin…” Felix manages to gasp out in his deep voice, despite the firm pressure against his trachea.

“Hyung,” Hyunjin corrects him, cradling Felix's sharp jawline in his hand, his thumb stroking the smooth skin while his own erection thickens at the sight of the blonde staring up at him with those massive, glittering eyes.

“W-what?” Felix wide-eyed, looking upside down at Hyunjin, who is looking back with a slow, wicked smile.

“Did you think this was just about taking? It’s a matter of give and take, Felix. I want to hear it slip from your pretty little mouth. That's exactly how I like you to address me, understood?” Hyunjin eases his grip on the leash, allowing a sudden rush of air back into Felix’s lungs.

“Y-yes, Hyung…”

Hyunjin lets him go, allowing him to return to his previous posture.

“Good boy, gorgeous. Keep going.” He gives the collar a microscopic shake, urging him to continue, but Felix has zero desire to read anymore.

Hyunjin drops low, bringing one knee down against the rug, his hand sliding smoothly over Felix's body above the thin fabric of his camisole until it lands squarely over his erection, gripping it in the sheer span of his hand, forcing a heavy moan from Felix’s lips right in the middle of his sentence.

“Nhng, please…” Felix begs, looking down at him while still clutching the heavy textbook in his hands.

“Keep going,” he repeats, before slipping his hand beneath the waistband of his shorts, trapping his hard length securely in his bare palm.

Felix gasps, his abdomen contracting from the intense friction as Hyunjin’s hand closes around his hot, throbbing flesh.

“Of the twentieth century, up until… up until the present.”

Hyunjin begins to stroke him up and down, biting his lower lip as he stares up at the blonde, who is completely flushed, the leather collar already starting to leave soft pink marks against the exquisite, pale skin of his throat.

“Characte…rized, nngghh… Hyunji—,” Felix cuts off sharply when Hyunjin gives a warning tug on the chain, silently reprimanding him. “Hyung… faster, please.”

Hyunjin keeps his hand moving in a steady rhythm, but firmly gestures back toward the textbook, indicating he needs to keep reading.

Damn it, just fuck me already. Who gives a shit about homework?

Felix thinks to himself, but he bites his tongue, swallowing down the desperate urge to snap back. What he wants right now is for Hyunjin to please him, and he knows full well he won't get a damn thing if he goes against him.

“By formal experimentation… the diversity…,” Hyunjin’s hand feels incredibly large, blisteringly hot, wrapping around him so perfectly that Felix can feel the impending climax rapidly closing in. “Thematic… nnnnghh!” His core begins to simmer with pure pleasure. He looks down at Hyunjin, who is actively biting his lower lip with a slow smirk while watching him unravel, but Felix can't hold out much longer. He squeezes his eyes shut…

And suddenly feels something he has never, ever experienced in his entire life.

The sensation of the orgasm surges to its absolute peak, he can even feel the initial involuntary spasms, but absolutely nothing escapes. He doesn't reach the release; a tight, agonizing pull grips his lower belly, leaving him completely suspended and entirely unsatisfied.

“Ahh!” he gasps out, dropping the textbook carelessly onto the desk. His hips mindlessly tilt forward, desperately searching for the pleasure that was just ripped away.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

He snaps his eyes open. Hyunjin is no longer touching him; the leather band around his neck suddenly feels entirely loose, and the front of his shorts is noticeably soaked with the pre-cum he’d been leaking. He turns his head around to find the dark-haired boy casually sitting on the floor, sliding an academic book open with a smirk he is barely attempting to hide.

“W-what are you doing?” His voice slips out a few octaves higher than intended, sounding entirely like a desperate plea.

“Mhm? You don't have permission to come, dollface. We haven't finished the assignment yet,” Hyunjin whispers, completely maintaining his composure despite the prominent, aching ridge clearly visible beneath the fabric of his black trousers.

He’s wearing a fitted black tank top beneath an unbuttoned dress shirt, the sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows in a thoroughly disheveled manner.

“But…,” Felix scrambles to his feet, his thighs trembling violently from the near-orgasm he’d just been forced to endure.

The lingering sensation is strangely intoxicating, but the sheer frustration heavily outweighs it.

“I want… I want you to, to…” Felix struggles to articulate the words. His mind is an absolute fog, and he’s deeply embarrassed to demand it so bluntly, but the singular thing he wants right now is for Hyunjin to take him.

“What do you want, dollface? You behaved so well while reading, perhaps…”

“I want you to be… my first time,” Felix flushes a brilliant crimson.

Just in case it wasn't glaringly obvious, you idiot, Felix scolds himself mentally, squeezing his eyes shut in sheer mortification.

“You want to feel my cock for the first time? You want hyung to be the one to take your virginity? This soon?” Hyunjin stands up from the floor, closing the distance at an agonizingly slow pace.

When he finally reaches him, Felix is forced to look straight up into his face. His legs feel like absolute jelly, and his breath catches sharply in his throat. Hyunjin grips his jawline in a firm, unyielding hold that sends a violent jolt of electricity straight down his spine.

“Say it, Felix. Tell me you're dying for your naive neighbor to fuck you. Does this turn you on?” Hyunjin tightens his grip slightly, giving his face a microscopic shake. “Beg for it, be a good boy, and maybe I'll actually let you come this time.” His body is flush against the blonde’s, radiating a crushing body heat that makes his member throb beneath his underwear.

“Fuck me, Hyung… please, p-please,” Felix begs, his voice pitching high into a desperate whine, his eyes glossy and his brows knitted in a pathetic, pleading expression.

“Mmhm,” Hyunjin pretends to ponder the request. He releases his jaw and brings both hands down to the hem of Felix's camisole, smoothly pulling it up and over his head.

Felix raises his arms out of pure inertia, allowing himself to be entirely handled.

“Take off your shorts,” the dark-haired boy commands, stepping past him to sit directly on the edge of the mattress, his long legs stretched out.

Felix obeys instantly, immediately feeling a wave of vulnerability wash over him. He instinctively wants to cover himself, yet he strips completely naked anyway. When he finally turns back around, the remaining air is thoroughly trapped in his lungs.

Hyunjin is resting on the bed, his legs extended and slightly parted, and his member—large… absolutely massive—is entirely free from his trousers. The dark-haired boy strokes himself leisurely while staring at him with those pitch-black eyes. Felix’s mouth goes completely dry; he swallows hard and takes a couple of tentative, doubtful steps forward.

“Hyung really wants to feel that mouth, baby.” The pet name causes his uncovered member to pulse heavily against his lower belly—completely hard, flushed, and erect.

Hyunjin shifts forward for a fraction of a second just to grab the leash dangling from Felix’s neck, giving it a firm tug to drag him straight to the edge of the bed. Felix drops heavily to his knees right between his thighs. Right in front of him.

His mouth is left slightly agape, salivating heavily.

“Do you like it? Can you take all of it, baby?” Hyunjin questions, delivering slow, deliberate strokes to his own length.

The pet name absolutely ignites Felix's core. He plants his palms firmly against Hyunjin’s thighs, slowly creeping forward toward his member. Hyunjin gives a firm downward yank on the chain, guiding his head dangerously close to his erection, the flushed head glistening brightly with pre-cum.

Felix gathers it with both hands, the pink tips of his fingers pressing firmly against Hyunjin’s hot, throbbing flesh, drawing a sharp gasp from the older boy. The sound deeply encourages Felix; he darts his tongue out to smoothly lick across the tip. Hyunjin’s hips hitch upward instinctively in response to the wet heat of his tongue. Felix seals his lips around the head, hollowing out his cheeks to suck down firmly while keeping his eyes locked straight onto Hyunjin's gaze.

“Fuck… Felix…,” Hyunjin pants, staring down at him unblinkingly while keeping a steady, subtle tension on the chain leash.

Felix smirks against his length, his lips tightening securely around the shaft before delivering an incredibly hard, wet pull, groaning around Hyunjin’s size.

“Take it all the way, baby,” Hyunjin commands, guiding the chain downward after a few minutes of hesitant but incredibly delicious suction.

Felix seriously doubts he can manage it, but he opens his throat and allows the thick shaft to slide over his tongue. It barely makes it halfway down before his gag reflex violently triggers. He pulls back instantly, coughing softly as he looks up at him with eyes pooling with involuntary tears.

“You're doing fine, you're being incredible, baby,” Hyunjin reassures him gently, soothing him as he pulls smoothly on the collar to guide Felix up onto the mattress, settling him right over his lap. “Are you alright?”

Felix nods quickly, wiping away the stray tear tracing down his cheek. He feels deeply frustrated, but infinitely, agonizingly turned on.

“Tell me, do you want me as much as I want you? Do you want to keep going?” Hyunjin takes him by the chin, forcing him to maintain eye contact. “You were driving me absolutely insane… your body, your face. I like you so much, Lix.” Hyunjin’s gaze noticeably softens as he brushes the damp bangs out of the blonde's face.

Felix feels a delicious flutter in his stomach at every single word slipping from the dark-haired boy's soft voice, their hard lengths generating intense friction between them.

“Yes… and I d-do want to keep going, Hyung.” The honorific brings a genuine smile to Hyunjin's lips, and he wraps his arms securely around Felix's waist.

“Good boy,” he winks, causing Felix to flush—if it were even physically possible—an even deeper shade of crimson. Their faces draw close until their frantic breathing thoroughly mingles. Hyunjin breaks the remaining distance, trapping Felix’s lips in a deep kiss, pulling a sharp gasp from the blonde before the older boy firmly sucks on his lower lip.

Those plush, heavy lips were finally touching his own; the intense warmth of Hyunjin's mouth against his, and the sheer softness of the kiss made him experience a cascade of emotions he couldn't possibly map out.

Hyunjin tightens his grip on his waist and rolls him over, laying him flat on his back against the mattress. His large hands instantly map out his body, squeezing firmly at his hips. Hyunjin’s palm slides down his inner thighs, parting them wide to leave him completely exposed and vulnerable.

Hyunjin delivers one final, wet kiss before pulling away entirely. Felix gasps at the sudden loss of heat, but the dark-haired boy returns almost instantly, entirely naked and holding a small plastic bottle. He pops the cap, pouring a generous amount of clear, slick liquid directly over his fingers. As he climbs back over the mattress, he is already gently massaging Felix's entrance, slowly sliding his middle finger inside first.

Felix catches his breath at the sensation; it doesn't compare in the slightest to what his own smaller fingers could ever manage. Hyunjin reaches his free hand up to one of Felix's nipples, pinching and rolling the bud in firm, circular motions.

As Felix completely unravels into loud moans and frantic pants against his fingers, Hyunjin ensures he prepares him thoroughly, stretching him as much as possible so he can receive him comfortably. Once he’s satisfied, he slips his fingers out. Hyunjin is impossibly hard; he positions himself over the mattress directly between Felix’s thighs, aligning his flushed tip with the pink entrance glistening brightly with lubricant. Before sliding in, he locks eyes with the blonde. Felix's lips are completely swollen and red from the kisses, the leather collar is squeezing tight against his pale neck, and his freckled chest looks utterly breathtaking.

“P-put it in…,” Felix pants, completely impatient as he thrusts his hips upward, managing to swallow half of the head on his own, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Fuck,” Hyunjin hisses. He grips Felix’s hips firmly with both hands, anchoring him down against his shaft as he drives forward in a slow, unyielding push. Felix lets out a loud groan, this time out of pure, stinging pain. “Does it hurt? Weren't you begging for it, baby?”

Hyunjin drives himself in further, until his balls are resting flush against Felix’s backside.

“It’s… nnghh,” Felix cuts off sharply as Hyunjin pulls nearly all the way out before plunging back in, this time increasing the pace slightly. “It’s… so deep…”

“Of course it is,” Hyunjin groans, feeling Felix's tight walls rapidly adjusting to his size. He retreats to the very tip before driving in hard, letting out a long exhale as Felix violently constricts around him once he is buried entirely inside. “You nearly fainted from having it in your throat, did you honestly think you wouldn't feel it deep down here too?”

Felix doesn't answer; he simply releases a chaotic mix of pained and pleasurable moans as Hyunjin thrusts into him at a controlled pace. He is using less force, yet Felix still can't entirely get used to the sensation of being split completely in half.

“Damn it, baby, you feel so good. So incredibly tight,” Hyunjin growls, accelerating the snap of his hips. Felix looks just as spectacular as he feels—his tiny waist, the scattered freckles across his skin, and the throat Hyunjin loves so much tightly bound by the leather strap. He grabs the leash with one hand, forcing Felix to tilt his head back and look up at him. “You're mine now, Lix… you know that, right?”

The sheer possessiveness behind the phrase strikes a direct chord between his thighs. Felix brings his hands up to cover his face, feeling his skin burning from the rush of blood brought on by the blistering heat and pleasure. It’s entirely too much for him with Hyunjin bottoming out deeply inside him, accurately frictioning his prostate as he shifts his angle slightly.

The way Felix violently clamps down around him has Hyunjin white-knuckling the chain leash, biting his lower lip hard in a desperate attempt not to come immediately inside him. “You liked that, huh?” Hyunjin questions with a smirk, before delivering a sharp, open-handed slap to Felix's free cheek. “Do you like the fact that you belong to me? Do you want hyung to be the only one who fucks you like this?”

“H-hyung—,” Felix moans loudly. The stinging heat of the slap against his cheek sends a fresh wave of raw pleasure straight to his unattended member. His fingers tightly bunch into the sheets as he arches his back and curls his toes, rapidly reaching his absolute limit.

“God, you love it, don't you?” Hyunjin chuckles, taking him by the jaw to gently shake his face.

Felix can't even think of what to say; in fact, he can't think at all. He can only feel every single inch of Hyunjin’s cock pounding into him, and the boiling pleasure pooling in his belly every time he strikes his sweet spot. He can hear the faint rattle of the collar buckle, alongside the wet, slick friction of his entrance as Hyunjin slides in and out of him.

“Hyung… no more… I can't, nnghhh!”

“Yes you can, baby,” Hyunjin whispers, releasing his grip on the chain to let Felix’s head fall back against the mattress, but he instantly hovers over him, delivering another sharp slap to his other cheek. It’s the first time Hyunjin has ever heard Felix's voice pitch that incredibly high and sharp, and he finds it beyond sexy. “See?” Hyunjin coaxes, and Felix props himself up on his elbows just enough to look down at the junction of their bodies. “Look at how beautifully you've been taking me this entire time.”

Felix looks down, tears of pure overstimulation leaking from his freckled cheeks once more; the visual sight alone nearly makes him faint. He can feel Hyunjin absolutely everywhere as the older boy violently increases the speed of his hips, moving erratically, forcing Felix's toes to curl tight. The internal sensation combined with the visual image of Hyunjin’s shaft completely disappearing inside him is overwhelming. “Oh my God… Hyung…”

Hyunjin has been thoroughly enjoying the view as well; the sight of Felix’s completely wrecked expression is exactly what pushes him right over the edge. He reaches blindly over the side of the mattress to snatch his camera, pointing the lens downward and pressing the shutter repeatedly without losing his rhythm for a single second. The captures are incredible—infinitely better up close. He drops the camera back onto the floor.

“Ah—you look so pretty, dollface,” Hyunjin pants heavily, shifting his angle one last time to pound relentlessly against Felix’s prostate. “God, so tight. Are you going to come for me, baby?”

Felix nods frantically through his moans. The sheer force of the orgasm he’d been denied earlier is intimidating—entirely too much for him, far too intense for his very first time.

Hyunjin drops his weight fully over him, wrapping a large hand around Felix’s neck directly over the leather collar, squeezing gently while leaning down to press soft kisses wherever his tears fall, tasting the salt on his skin.

“That's my boy. Give it to me, come all over my cock, Lix. Show me you're mine right now,” Hyunjin buries his face in the crook of Felix’s neck, inhaling the intoxicating sweetness of his cologne, forcing himself to maintain the frantic pace despite how punishingly tight Felix is clamping down. He can hear the muffled, choked moans filtering past his own hand, completely restricting the air in Felix's lungs.

Felix’s entire body shudders violently as he finally releases, his face completely flushed from the lack of oxygen that drove him straight to his climax. Hyunjin continues to fuck him straight through the waves of his orgasm with desperate, friction-heavy strokes. Felix's muscles are already twitching with hypersensitivity when Hyunjin buries himself completely to the hilt in one final, deep thrust. Felix lets out a long, breathless sigh as he feels Hyunjin come deep inside him with broken groans, depositing an unfamiliar but entirely welcome sensation of thick, aching warmth deep within his core.

The two remain with their bodies heavily tangled together for several minutes while the aftershocks of their orgasms slowly recede. Not that Felix could move much anyway; the dark-haired boy’s size—which had never once gone unnoticed by him—completely pinned him down, making it impossible to shift even a millimeter. He rests both hands against Hyunjin’s arms, which are completely drenched in sweat; his natural scent smells absolutely delicious even like this.

Hyunjin eventually props himself up, planting his hands on either side of Felix’s head. He looks down at him, completely dazed. That innocent yet deeply erotic look Felix carries is utterly hypnotizing to Hyunjin. He could easily lose himself in it. He can feel himself going soft inside him, and he knows he can't contain what he just left inside Felix much longer. He pulls out slowly—a visual that Hyunjin tracks with a sudden pang of regret for not being able to photograph it, watching his own semen slick down from Felix’s swollen, pink entrance.

Hyunjin carefully cleans him up and lies down right by his side after unbuckling the collar, revealing a neck lightly marked by the friction of the leather. He cradles the blonde’s sharp face in his large hand, looking at him with a gentle smile, both of them still breathing heavily.

“You do realize I can't risk my grade point average, even though I’d love to do this every single chance we get?” Hyunjin nearly whispers, his thumb lightly brushing over the freckles on Felix’s flushed cheeks. Felix closes his eyes, letting out a weak laugh, barely possessing the strength to chuckle.

“You're so nerd… Hyung,” Felix murmurs. Hyunjin still feels a distinct pull in his lower belly at the sound of the honorific.

“You're going to have to do all the work. I’ve already learned entirely too much today.”

“You just lie there and rest. Hyung is going to take care of absolutely everything, alright?” Hyunjin murmurs, before leaning down to press a soft kiss against his forehead.

Felix feels completely dizzy from the sheer volume of things that unfolded in such a short window of time; his body feels completely drained in the absolute best way possible. And underneath the lingering euphoria of what was undeniably the greatest first time in history, he smiles at the realization that he had the most breathtaking guy he’d ever seen—acting exactly like the boy he’d always secretly wanted—currently doing his homework for him.

I am never closing that curtain again.

— — — — — — — — —

Winter struck the small suburb entirely too fast. They had only a couple of days left before the school's winter break; senior year was turning out to be infinitely better than Felix had initially imagined when he first learned he’d be moving there.

His relationship with Hyunjin had evolved in incredibly wild, yet thoroughly beautiful and precious ways. They had been officially dating for four months now—just slightly less than their friends, as it turned out Changbin and Seungmin had been seeing each other ever since that initial ice cream invitation.

Their relationship was a constant give-and-take of learning. Hyunjin hadn't shed his quiet, timid demeanor in front of other people, but he had expertly mastered that dominant personality that Felix so deeply craved, and Felix couldn't feel luckier to have found someone who understood him so perfectly in that aspect.

The thick scent of hot chocolate completely permeated the bedroom, the window curtains left wide open, though the glass remained shut tight against the chill. But Felix wasn't looking out across the yard; he knew full well there was no one on the other side. Instead, he glared sideways at his notes, deeply frustrated.

“I’m going to start from the top, but if you correct me one more time, I am literally throwing this textbook at your head,” Felix complained, snapping a glance toward Hyunjin, who was lounging comfortably across his mattress.

“You simply mispronounced it, baby. Go on, keep going,” Hyunjin instructed, propping himself up on his elbows.

“An ionic bond occurs when an atom…,” Felix cuts off, catching the tiny chuckle escaping Hyunjin from behind him. “I can't do it like this, Jinnie…”

Felix flushes, the memory of that very first afternoon instantly flooding his mind—how effortlessly he’d lost total control under the sheer arousal of everything Hyunjin knew exactly how to do to his psyche.

Hyunjin slides off the bed, dropping down right beside his chair to hover near his earlobe, his lips lightly brushing against Felix's ear.

“Hyung. You lost the privilege of calling me Jinnie the second you threatened me with a textbook,” Hyunjin murmurs, smoothly pressing a button on the small remote clutched in his palm. Felix gives a frustrated, sudden jolt in his seat. “I figured the toy we bought might help keep you focused. Think of it as a reward system.”

“But it’s literally vibrating straight to my brain. Who can possibly concentrate like this? You are being too strict,” Felix whines, covering his face entirely with the chemistry book as he arches his spine uncomfortably against the wooden desk chair.

Hyunjin loops his large hand loosely around the blonde’s throat, leaning in to kiss him sweetly on the lips, smoothly swallowing down the loud moan Felix lets slip.

The heavy thud of the front door downstairs causes them to break apart instantly.

“Mom’s home early. Oh my God, turn that thing off,” Felix panics immediately.

“You want me to turn it off? How do you ask?”

“Please, Hyung, turn it off right now. It's too high, I can't hide it!”

Hyunjin deliberately presses a button that causes the internal buzz to increase drastically, humming so loudly that it’s audible if one listens closely.

“Ah. That wasn't the button…”

Felix tightly grips the edge of the desk, choking back a loud moan as the sharp click of heels begins to ascend the wooden stairs.

“Hyung, Hyung, please, turn it off now,” the overstimulation was multiplying with every single vibration.

The buzzing cuts off the exact millisecond the bedroom door swings open.

“Sweetie, come down for dinner, I brought fried chicken!” Felix’s mother announces from the doorway, while her son lets out a heavily strained, exhausted sigh. “Are you alright?”

“He’s fine, Mrs. Lee. He’s just a bit frustrated because he has to review the chemistry essay from the top. We’ll be right down,” Hyunjin offers a polite, small bow, smoothly adjusting his glasses with his hand.

“You have an incredibly patient boyfriend, Lixie, you really ought to thank him,” Lina winks playfully at the dark-haired boy, turning back around to head down the hallway. “Don't be long or it’ll get cold!”

The buzzing immediately roars back to life, and Felix violently flinches in his chair, letting out a sharp squeal.

“Hyung!”

“Sorry, that one was genuinely an accident,” Hyunjin scratches softly, clicking the device completely off this time. “We should head down. Your mother will be upset if it gets cold… with you, anyway. She absolutely loves me.”

Hyunjin steps closer, planting a quick kiss on his forehead before daring out the door. Felix stays behind for a moment, taking his sweet time to compose himself.

It was going to be an incredibly long winter.

Notes:

feel free to comment here or on twt!

[twt fic post: good boy gone bad](https://x.com/bbokjinniary/status/2070244710921166969?s=46)