Section One: [C h a n g b i n] Awk

It was freezing Monday morning and the trio and Felix had slept at the studio. Changbin woke up, noticing that he had overslept, and he panicked. Checking his phone first, he saw an email from the school. Apparently, classes had been canceled for the district today due to "teacher meetings", so Changbin decided that he would go and get pastries for the others for breakfast. He walked past the room first and waved to Chan and Jisung.

Chan waved and whispered. "You finally awake?"

"Yeah. Did you and Jisung have breakfast yet?"

"No, we didn't have breakfast yet. We were beginning to discuss ideas for the third mixtape. If you get the chance, you can share some lyrics so that we can get started."

"Okay. I'll get you guys and Felix something from the cafe for breakfast. Any requests?"

"Nothing specific. And you, Jisung?"

Jisung looked up in wonder. "Cheesecake?"

"Sure. I'm heading out now. I'll be back in a bit. If Felix wakes up before I'm back, ask him what he wants and tell him to text me."

"Yup. See ya~" Jisung closed the door after Changbin. It was around eight in the morning, and Changbin walked past Felix. Felix was sprawled on the sofa, a blanket spread lazily around his waist. Changbin looked at Felix for a bit before going out the door.

Changbin loved getting lyrics ideas from the cafe in the morning; it was one of the atmospheres he loved the most for lyric writing. Sunlight poured in through the windows, and the tables were lighted in a welcoming fashion. The sound of grinding beans, cups sliding against counters, and the scent of coffee beans and vanilla; it was so relaxing that even someone in a hurry would be tempted to just sit down and enjoy their surroundings. There were not many people, especially since it was a Sunday, but there were a lot of adults that were stopping just before work. To Changbin, it looked like most people were in a hurry and only the tables at the side were filled up. Except for one table; the person Changbin saw sitting at a table in the very middle of the cafe was the last person that Changbin thought he would see at the cafe.

He ordered two coffees for him and Chan, and two vanilla lattes for Jisung and Felix. As he waited for the order, he picked up some cheesecake and various assortments of stuffed and cutely-decorated bread. He tried keeping his back turned to the person in fears of being seen, but unfortunately, that didn't last long.

"Changbin." A cold hand tapped his shoulder.

"Hello, Mrs. Lee." Changbin knew it was visible that he was panicking, and he felt a desire to run away before seeing Mrs. Lee's expression, as though she really needed to speak to Changbin.

"May I talk to you for a bit?"

"Yes." Changbin slowly pulled out the chair across from Felix's mother, looking back at the corner and hoping that the barista would be ready to give the drinks and accept his payment. But of course, the barista had to help the others first, and now Changbin was forced to sit face-to-face with the woman that was spoiling the happiness of the person that he learned to love.

Felix's mother took a sip of her tea. "So I'm guessing my son is staying with you?"

"That's correct."

"And where is that?"

"It's- a recording studio. It belongs to my friend. I basically live there with two of my friends, and Felix makes four of us."

"A recording studio? That explains the CD." Mrs. Lee sighed, thinking about what had occurred. She was finally beginning to think that everything was her fault. "How is he?"

"He's doing just fine." Changbin eyed the counter again; still no drinks.

"So you're part of a rap trio... with who? And I'm guessing that my son is joining you in rapping?" Felix's mother seemed disgusted to mention her son and "rapping" in the same sentence.

"I'm in a rap trio with Chan, who is a university student. There's also Jisung, who is Felix's age."

"Hmm. I see. I actually saw you with Felix yesterday."

Changbin's heart stopped. Felix's mother- watching him and Felix walk around? Holding hands? Talking about personal things? The- kiss? Changbin began worrying about how much Felix's mother had seen. Changbin looked up at Mrs. Lee, but to his confusion, she looked down in contemplation rather than the anger he had expected.

"I've never seen him so... happy." She looked back up and studied Changbin. "You're the only one that can make him smile like that."

Changbin didn't say anything because he didn't know what to say. Felix was just so happy to be with Changbin, that it made Changbin happy too. And Changbin's happiness made Felix happy. It was practically an endless cycle, and Changbin never felt that with anyone else before. And by Mrs. Lee's words, it seems like Felix had never felt it either.

Mrs. Lee continued. "I'm trusting you for now, okay? Please tell him to come home soon or sometime. I need to talk with him. I'm not going to force him to stay home. I think... I think I want him to be happy."

"Yes, I'll tell him." Changbin turned back and finally saw the drinks on the counter. He picked up the box of pastries that he had filled up and he got his wallet out to prepare to pay.

Changbin was already facing away and halfway to the counter when Mrs. Lee got his attention again. "Changbin, wait."

"Yes?"

"If you hurt him-" She stopped herself and looked down. "If- if you... hurt him..."

Changbin didn't want her to break down right in the middle of the cafe, so he already seemed to know what Mrs. Lee was going to say. "I know, and I won't. I promise. I'll take care of him with my heart." Changbin continued towards the counter and quickly paid before looking back to see her looking back at him, her eyes watering. He finally got Mrs. Lee to put a little trust in Felix, but now Changbin had a new mission; he needs to prove to Mrs. Lee that he is completely capable of taking care of Felix. And then maybe she can be happy too.

Maybe Felix and his mother can both be happy.

Changbin couldn't wait to see Felix.

He took the drinks and pastries and shut the cafe door behind him.

Section Two: [H y u n j i n] First Snowfall

"Hey, Seungmin!"

"Hyunjin!"

Hyunjin circled Seungmin. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good. Why did you invite me here?" Seungmin looked around, gesturing to the local park kid's playground. "It's so cold."

"Do you know what today is?" Hyunjin chuckled at Seungmin's confused expression. "Today's going to be the first snowfall!"

Seungmin had never really cared about the first snowfall or the stories behind it, but he was glad that Hyunjin invited him even though he didn't know where Hyunjin was planning to take him or what they were planning to do.

Hyunjin noticed the blankness on Seungmin's face. "You know the story behind it... do you?"

Seungmin shyly shook his head, and Hyunjin grabbed his hand. They moved towards the swings and sat down, fingers still intertwined.

Hyunjin looked up at the sky, waiting for signs of snow. "I swear the snow started a bit earlier, but I'm sure it will continue soon. Well, basically there's a superstition that if you spend the first snowfall with someone that you like, love will blossom in between who you are with."

Someone that you... like?

Seungmin blushed furiously after noticing that Hyunjin indirectly confessed to him. "Well then, I'm glad to spend this day with you." He rocked a little bit in the swing as Hyunjin got up from his swing and hugged Seungmin from the back.

Seungmin realized how cold he was before Hyunjin wrapped his arms around him. "You're- warm."

"Do you want to get some hot food while waiting for the snow to come back?"

"Sure!"

Hyunjin gently released Seungmin and they both started walking.

Hyunjin's phone rang to his surprise. "It's my mom." He picked up quickly. It was so quiet that Seungmin could hear the entire conversation.

"Are you waiting for the snowfall?"

"Yes."

"Who are you with?"

A pause. Mrs. Hwang repeated her question. "Hyunjin, who are you with?"

Hyunjin's grip loosened from his phone. He knew that his mother would get mad if he didn't respond, but she would also get mad if he told her. She continued. "Where are you?"

This was a question that Hyunjin felt obligated to answer. He felt guilty to ignore two questions in a row. "I... We're going to the Nature Bakery."

"I'm meeting you there." The line hung up.

Hyunjin looked nervously at Seungmin. "I'm sorry, but we're going to have another person joining us for food."

"It's okay. She needs to know." Hyunjin's hand grew cold, and Seungmin held it gently between his hands as they headed in the direction of the bakery.

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"Hi, mom." Hyunjin pulled out a seat for Seungmin first before pulling out his own across the table from his mom.

"Hyunjin, you're eating well, right?"

"Yes, I am."

Mrs. Hwang turned towards Seungmin, her eyebrows raising. "And you are?"

"I'm Seungmin. I'm in some of Hyunjin's classes."

"Nice to meet you." They awkwardly shook hands.

"Today is the supposedly the first snowfall, Hyunjin. I thought you were going to spend it with a girl?"

Seungmin gulped as Hyunjin sighed sharply. "Mom, I would just much rather spend today with Seungmin."

"How is he so special to you?" Mrs. Hwang eyed Seungmin, and Seungmin squeezed Hyunjin's hand under the table.

Hyunjin didn't hesitate to start explaining to his mother. "I'm always just more comfortable around him. He's an amazing person and... I just want to spend as much time with him as possible. I feel happier with him." Seungmin's face flushed.

"So he's like a brother to you?"

"No, he-"

"A friend?"

"No-"

"A close friend?" Mrs. Hwang didn't seem to notice that Hyunjin was bubbling with annoyance and anger. "Well, I'm glad you guys are close fri-"

"Boyfriends!" Hyunjin blurted. Seungmin's jaw dropped as everything in the bakery seemed to stop. Hyunjin gripped Seungmin's hands as he kicked out the chairs behind them and they ran. They ran away from their problems.

They were laughing as they sprinted out the bakery; they didn't even bother to look back and see Mrs. Hwang's reaction.

The cold breeze hit their faces as they ran, and the snow started falling again. Pieces of snow danced around them as all they cared about was escaping; He only focused on his own footsteps and the footsteps of the boy that he was in love with.

Section Three: [F e l i x] snowflakes

"Changbin! Can we take a photo here?"

The sun was starting to set, and Felix had gotten Changbin to go outside with him to enjoy the light snowfall near the plaza. Right as they snapped a picture together, the peacefulness of the area was disrupted by frantic footsteps.

"Felix! Changbin!" They looked over to see Hyunjin and Seungmin laughing and sprinting towards them. They came to a stop next to Felix and Changbin, panting for air.

"Woah. What's up with you guys?" Felix asked.

Hyunjin was taking deep breaths and stretching his arms. "It's- a long story."

Changbin noticed that they didn't have any water with them. "Do you guys wanna come to the studio? You guys can rest a bit and tell us what happened. I brought Jisung and Chan some food for breakfast and they were still busy starting the third mixtape and preparing for preliminaries."

A chorus of "yes's" came from the group of boys, and they started on their way towards the studio.

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Chan poured them Coke into cups and rolled them water bottles. "So what happened?" Felix and Changbin were sitting on the seats around the small table, leaning in and listening attentively. Hyunjin and Seungmin were sitting on their legs next to the table, and Jisung was sprawled on the sofa, occupying the whole space before Chan came over and nudged him to get a little bit of space to sit.

After a sip of water, Hyunjin bursted in fast words. "So my parents aren't accepting of me being gay and my mom called and asked me who I was with but I was too nervous to say that I was with Seungmin so she asked me where I was and I said that we were going to Nature Bakery and she said that she was going to meet us there but then when we got there she refused to face that I spent the first snowfall with a boy and she tried reassuring herself that Seungmin and I were just friends but I got mad and I blurted that we were boyfriends and-"

Felix and Chan tilted their heads.

Changbin scratched his head. "Did you guys understand any of that?"

"Basically Hyunjin brought Seungmin to meet his mom, who doesn't accept that he is gay, and he practically told his mom that he was dating Seungmin and then they ran away," Jisung summarized as he offered cheeseballs to Hyunjin and Seungmin.

Chan, who was snickering, was the first to give Hyunjin and Seungmin high-fives. "Proud of you, Hyunjin~"

They sat for a moment before Chan broke the silence. "So, do you guys have somewhere to stay?"

Hyunjin didn't happen to think about that. "Uh... no..."

"You guys can stay here at the studio."

"Wouldn't we cause too much hassle for you? If we stayed it would be six people..."

"No, it's fine. I like having the company. You guys can help us with our third mixtape ideas and watch us prepare for the preliminaries."

Chan was about to stand up when his phone rang. "Hello?"

"Chan!"

"Woojin!"

"Emergency. Jeongin has gone missing."