After thinking for a while, Hyungjin and Taeyang came up with an idea to see who could be the top between Hyungjin and Felix.
It was getting dark. The sun had dipped under the hills, and the night breeze blew gently across the empty side road behind the hospital. A small, rusted tricycle truck stood crooked in the dirt, wheels half-sunk, looking like it hadn't been moved in a decade.
Hyungjin stood beside it, hands on his hips, annoyed.
"So this is your genius idea of testing if I'm the 'top'?" he asked.
Dr. Taeyang, hiding behind a bush nearby, popped his head out. "Yes. The top leads. The top takes control. If you can push this truck all the way to the bend in the road, maybe you're top material."
Hyungjin rolled his eyes. "This is stupid."
"You agreed to it," Taeyang said, sipping from a straw poking out of a juice box. "And you said you were 'the man.' Well man up. Felix will be driving past this road anytime soon. "
With a deep breath, Hyungjin moved behind the tricycle and started pushing.
At first, it rolled a little. But the thing was heavy. Like it had bricks inside. He leaned harder, putting his full body weight behind it, grunting.
"Aghh come on!"
The truck barely moved.
Hyungjin looked up, wiped sweat off his forehead even though it was raining and then he kept pushing. The wheels squeaked like they were in pain.
That's when headlights appeared.
A black car slowed down nearby. Felix's car.
Inside, Felix was sitting comfortably in the backseat with Lang Zi in the front. He leaned forward, squinting.
"Wait," he said. "Isn't that... Hyungjin?"
The driver looked. "Should I keep going, sir?"
Felix smirked. "No. Stop here."
He stepped out of the car, walked straight to the tricycle, and without saying a word climbed into the back and sat down.
Hyungjin looked back. "No! Yo, what are you doing?!"
Felix crossed one leg over the other, cool as always. "Helping you test your strength."
"You're making it worse!" Hyungjin shouted, panting. "You just added like 65kg!"
Felix leaned forward, resting his chin in one hand. "Then show me how strong you are."
Hyungjin gritted his teeth and pushed harder.
"Arghh damn you move!!"
The tricycle didn't budge an inch.
Felix watched him for a while, then finally sighed and stood up. He walked behind Hyungjin.
"Step aside."
"What?"
"I said move. Get"
Hyungjin moved, and Felix bent down "Get on it" he said and then he pushed.
The tricycle didn't just move. It flew forward.
Like a superhero, Felix shoved the entire truck far, far, far off the main road, toward the trees, until it finally came to a stop. His shirt clung to his chest with sweat. He stretched his arms, breathing lightly.
Hyungjin stared. His heart skipped a beat.
He smiled.
"Yo... what is this?" he asked, chuckling. "Watch out. Are you trying to impress me now?"
Felix dusted his hands. "Maybe."
The Next Day,
The hospital was quiet, early sunlight spilling through the windows. Hyungjin was somewhere inside, and Felix had come looking.
He walked through the hall, his steps slow, confident.
At the nurses' station, he found Dr. Taeyang reviewing a chart.
"Where's Hyungjin?" Felix asked.
Taeyang slightly looked up. "I don't know where he is" and then he looked back down.
Felix tilted his head. "Excuse me?"
"I said, " I don't know where he is . I would have told you if I really knew."
Felix nodded slowly, pretending to walk away. But as he passed by Taeyang tried to grab him to stop him and he suddenly grabbed Taeyang's wrist.
Taeyang froze.
Felix turned his head, locking eyes with him. Calm and unreadable.
Taeyang stared back.
But then... something happened.
He panicked. His fingers trembled slightly, and he let go.
Felix walked off.
He opened a random door near the back hallway. It looked like a storage room but inside was a bathroom setup. Half-restroom, half-utility space. And inside, Hyungjin sat on a small stool, shirtless, towel around his waist, scrolling his phone.
He looked up.
"I'm warning you," he said, dead serious. "How dare you just walk in here like that? What if there was a woman in here?"
Felix smiled, leaned on the doorframe. "I'd apologize."
Hyungjin narrowed his eyes. "What if I was taking a dump?"
Felix shrugged. "Then I'd say: nice form."
Hyungjin threw a roll of tissue at him.
"Go away!"
Felix stepped further inside instead.
Hyungjin sighed, rolling his eyes. "You never listen."
"Get out, I want to take my bath." He went outside and waited by the balcony at the back of the hospital.
Hyungjin came for him when he was done.
Felix sat across from him on a small bench. "What's going on with you?."
They sat there for a while. Just breathing in silence. Then...
Suddenly, someone burst into the room panting, frantic.
"Hyungjin!" the man shouted. "It's the snakes! Our snake breeding tanks half of them are dead!"
Hyungjin slowly stood up.
"Wait what?!" he ran behind him then looked over his shoulder with a sly grin.
"Perfect timing."
Felix blinked. "What?"
Hyungjin walked toward the door, calm as ever. "I was bored anyway."
Hyungjin walked into the breeding lab, followed by Felix and the nervous assistant. Inside, tanks lined the walls and sure enough, many were empty, and some had motionless bodies of rare snakes.
Dr. Taeyang came rushing in from the opposite hall. "I just heard. What happened?!"
"We don't know yet," the assistant said. "Something seems to have gone wrong with them ."
Felix walked to the tank, hands in his pockets, inspecting.
Hyungjin didn't even blink.
"These weren't just any snakes," he said. "They were a fake of the real breed. They weren't going to survi
ve long anyway."
He turned and looked at Hyungjin. "Do you even check out these snakes before purchasing them or you just had the money?. " he asked.