??????? ?????????

Minho had been watching the whole thing unfold with barely concealed amusement. Hyunjin was hopeless—truly hopeless. His over-the-top flirting and terrible pick-up lines weren't doing him any favors, and it was clear Felix had started playing his own game of reverse flirtation just to mess with him. But Hyunjin, being the dumbass that he was, didn't seem to realize that Felix wasn't taking him seriously.

Which gave Minho an idea.

The next day, as Hyunjin was gearing up for another round of cheesy lines in the cafeteria, Minho approached with an innocent smile, slinging an arm around Hyunjin's shoulder. "You really want to impress Felix, huh?"

Hyunjin, eyes gleaming with determination, nodded. "Yeah, man. I just need to break through that cool exterior of his."

Minho's smile widened. Perfect.

"Alright, I've got some advice," Minho said, his voice low and conspiratorial. "Felix is a man of... unique taste. If you want to win him over, you've got to do something special."

Hyunjin perked up instantly, hanging on Minho's every word. "Like what?"

Minho paused, pretending to think deeply. "Well, Felix really likes it when a guy can juggle."

Hyunjin blinked. "Juggle?"

"Yeah," Minho said, keeping his face straight. "It's a big thing for him. Shows dexterity, coordination—all that good stuff."

Hyunjin's eyes widened in realization. "Ohhh. Makes sense. I need to show him I've got skills."

Minho nodded solemnly. "Exactly. Just find some stuff around the cafeteria, and show off your talents."

A few minutes later, Hyunjin was standing in the middle of the cafeteria with three apples in hand, trying his best to juggle. Unfortunately for him, Hyunjin had no prior experience with juggling—or hand-eye coordination, for that matter.

As soon as he tossed the apples into the air, chaos ensued. One apple hit a tray, knocking over someone's drink. Another apple flew directly into a nearby student's lap. The third... well, it somehow ended up on the floor, rolling under someone's foot and sending them stumbling into the table.

The entire cafeteria stared, but Hyunjin, bless his heart, didn't seem to notice. "Look at this!" he called out, tossing the apples again and completely missing all of them. "Bet Felix will be impressed by this!"

Minho, standing a few feet away, could barely contain his laughter. This is too good.

Later, when the juggling debacle had thankfully ended, Minho wasn't done. Hyunjin, still determined despite the earlier disaster, turned to him for more advice. "Okay, what else? Juggling didn't seem to work."

Minho nodded sagely. "Yeah, juggling's just a warm-up. What Felix really likes are mysterious men."

"Mysterious?" Hyunjin's eyes lit up. "How do I pull that off?"

Minho grinned. "Simple. You need a cape. Felix can't resist a man in a cape."

"A cape?" Hyunjin looked intrigued.

"Yep. Trust me, it adds a level of drama that Felix can't ignore. Walk around like you're keeping some big, dark secret. It'll drive him wild."

Hyunjin, completely sold on the idea, gave Minho a confident nod. "Got it. Cape, mysterious vibes. Felix won't know what hit him."

Ten minutes later, Hyunjin was stalking through the cafeteria once more, this time wearing what could only be described as a makeshift cape—a large tablecloth he had commandeered from the kitchen.

Hyunjin swirled the cape dramatically, flaring it behind him like a villain in a soap opera, trying to look as mysterious as possible. Students stared, but Hyunjin paid them no mind. He was deep in his role, acting as though he had some grand secret to reveal at any moment.

Just as Hyunjin was about to perform another dramatic cape swirl, Felix walked into the cafeteria, freezing mid-step at the sight in front of him. There was Hyunjin, in all his caped glory, striking what he probably thought was a mysterious pose.

Felix watched, stunned, as Hyunjin threw the cape over his shoulder—only for it to hit a random student square in the face.

There was a moment of stunned silence as the student sputtered, trying to push the tablecloth-cape off their head.

Felix sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oh my god," he muttered under his breath.

Hyunjin, oblivious to the chaos he had just caused, gave Felix a triumphant smile. "Hey, Felix! Like the look?"

Felix didn't respond. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked out of the cafeteria without a word, leaving Hyunjin standing there in his tablecloth cape, looking slightly confused.

Off to the side, Minho had to bite his fist to keep from laughing out loud.

Felix facepalmed as he made his way down the hallway, already dreading whatever Hyunjin would do next. Meanwhile, Hyunjin was still in the cafeteria, trying to figure out why Felix hadn't been impressed by his incredible display of mystery.

Minho, however, was more than happy to continue feeding Hyunjin bad advice. After all, this was far too entertaining to stop now.