The smell of Tteokbokki filled the building as he walked through the clubhouse door with a small bag hanging over his shoulder. The moment he stepped through the door, he could smell the delicious and spicy smell. Walking to the main room, he saw three of the guys crowded around the table. They were scarfing down food, not noticing Chan walking inside. He snuck around the corner, trying to catch the end of the conversation.
"I just feel like she just wants more." He groaned, stuffing a rice cake into his mouth.
"Well, she does." He interrupted, the guys turning to him. "She has to be willing to give everything she has to be with you. Shouldn't you do the same?" He let the bag fall to the floor, taking Felix's fork.
"But she doesn't have to." He spoke again, shaking his head before falling back on the couch. "I don't understand. No one said anything about marriage." Han, who sat there silently, looked at Changbin before laughing.
"It might be useless, Chan." Han took another bite.
"We've tried already." Changbin shook his head, trying to signal their efforts had found a way to fail.
"Well, I'm sure. He's talking to you two." He chuckled, walking towards the closet. "He should talk to someone who is in a working relationship."
"I did nothing wrong." Felix tried to speak up, having the guys look at him and erupt into laughter.
"Sure you didn't." Chan took out the extra blankets he had. "Are you guys also staying?" He turned to Han and Changbin, who were finishing their food.
"No, mom would kill me. I have a math competition in the morning." Changbin stood up after another mouthful.
"I have studying to do." Han took another bite, staying seated. "I'll leave later, maybe." He shrugged, chewing the rice cake.
Chan took note, taking the blankets and his bag back to the room that he wanted to sleep in. The room that he chose had already been decorated with pictures of him and Soyeon. He dropped the blankets on top of the bed, dropping his bag beside the bed. He opened his bag, taking out his phone charger and toothbrush. He pulled the box he kept in his pocket out, sitting it on the side table before taking out his phone. He opened the phone, pressed the messages, and started a text.
'Are you mad at me?' He sent the text, waiting for a response. He heard the guys out front talking when his phone beeped.
'No.' The text made him smile a little, wanting to end the night differently.
'I want us to talk about what you're feeling. I did not mean to upset you.' His thumbs danced across the screen. He wanted to text more, but she needed time. Chan watched the bubbles flash across, indicating she was working on responding.
'Sure.' The short response made him realize that she might have been more upset than he thought. 'How's the clubhouse situation?'
'I'm not sure. I wanted to check on our situation.' He sent the text, listening to a door close outside the room. He stood, looking out the door to hear the boys talking.
"I'll see you later." Han's voice carried from the front room before he heard the door close once again. His phone beeped again. Looking at the screen, he saw the message icon. He let his thumb unlock the screen, pressing the notification.
'We're good. Call me later.' He looked at the text, knowing that he was not going to get a response if he texted her back. He let out a sigh of defeat and walked to the door.
Chan wanted to open the door, but the only problem was he wanted to figure out where things were going wrong. He knew that Felix was in a tough situation, but how could he help when he was now having trouble? He began to analyze the day, but this morning was good. He thought about when they had lunch, and he didn't really notice a change. He didn't know if he was missing something or if he was just not paying attention to her anymore. The thoughts danced around in his head, but the only thing he could think of was college. She wanted to go to college, but that wasn't a problem. He wanted her to go to college; he wanted her to do whatever she wanted. He just wanted to stay at her side. He heard the footsteps coming to his room, alarming him to open it. The door swung open, revealing Felix standing there.
"Are you just going to stay locked in there?" He sounded annoyed, allowing himself to yell out his frustrations. "Ahh, why are these things hard?" Felix turned back down the hall, flailing his arms. Chan followed close by, watching Felix's overexaggerated movements.
"Okay, tell me what happened." Chan made a move to the far couch, and he sat with his elbows on his legs.
Felix began his story by talking about how he had been playing soccer after school. When he was given the ball, he made a goal before running to celebrate briefly. He shot her a heart, and she would roll her eyes, not wanting to acknowledge him. Felix talked about how they won the game, and he ran out to the stands. He ran all the way to her in the stands and pulled her to the bottom before confessing to her.
"She didn't even acknowledge me, Hyung!" He rolled his eyes, his head falling back. "I yelled in frustration, and she called me childish. Childish?"
"Well, what did you say?" He asked, trying to hold back a smile with his hand.
"Really? Childish? She said she wanted someone who was 'Mature'." He used his fingers as quotation marks. Chan fell over laughing. "Hyung!"
"Sorry, sorry!" He stopped himself from laughing and sat up while he calmed himself. "What happened next?" Felix looked unsure, giving a side eye to Chan before sighing.
"I yelled, 'What? Mature? Are you crazy? I'm totally mature'. Then she got mad and started yelling at me. Then she just left." Chan let out a sigh, correcting his stance. "Hyung, how do I fix it? What more can I do?" He let his body fall onto the couch.
"Well, she told you what she wants." Chan watched Felix sit up quickly.
"But I am mature." He whined, but Chan rolled his eyes.
"Look, you're young, so you don't understand yet. When girls talk about maturity, they want three things." He held up 3 fingers, folding them down and starting to count. "One, a mature mind. You've got to study and set goals. Two, you got to be the knight she needs." Felix was secretly writing each in his brain, his lips moving as he repeated each.
"Okay, then what's next?" He moved closer, waiting with anticipation.
"Well, three is physical." He mumbled a bit, making Felix look confused. Chan decided to stand to show him what he meant instead. "Like, you got to show her you're a man." Chan flexed his muscles, which Felix compared to his. He had not yet tried even to develop any. That was not something he had thought about.
"Hyung, that's it?" Chan nodded.
"When I finally learned, I spent the whole summer working on myself. When I got back to school, that was when I made my move. From that point on, the rest is history." The sound from his voice had actually turned from excitement and happiness as he remembered. He remembered how hard he had worked for his love, but his voice had faded to one with a sad tone. He wasn't quite sure he had completely learned everything. His eyes flashed back to his phone call, thinking of other topics he should mention.
"How about this? You'll go to the gym with me from now on." He flashed a hopeful smile. "I go to the one at my dad's office. Let's start Sunday." He stood up, and Felix followed.
"Really? Thanks, Hyung!" Chan ruffled Felix's hair, making him have to fix it.
"Yeah, and for the summer, I'll see if I can get you a job. Then you can take her on dates. Just make sure you meet me here on Sunday, and you have to do better on your grades." Chan started walking away, Felix standing there completely shocked.
"Thanks, Hyung!" He called out as Chan retreated back to the room.
He walked over to his phone, the screen lit at the sight of his face. He had no notifications, so he picked it up and slid the screen open. Chan pressed the icon for calls, clicking by Soyeon's name and pressing the call button. He waited patiently, looking at the picture of the two on his nightstand. He let the phone ring patiently, knowing that she would pick up soon. When the phone went unanswered, he didn't understand. Had she been that mad at him? He called once more, using the video call this time. He watched the call begin, opening up to her face and making him smile.