Felix had always been quiet. Not because he wanted to, but because the world never gave him much sound to work with. Deaf since birth, he lived in a bubble where silence was the only constant. Still, silence didn’t mean emptiness. He filled it with colors, laughter in people’s eyes, and the warmth of gentle smiles.

That was why when Hyunjin entered his life, Felix noticed him instantly. Hyunjin was soft in every way, his voice, his movements, even the way he tilted his head when he was curious. Felix couldn’t hear the way Hyunjin laughed, but he didn’t need to. The way Hyunjin’s whole face lit up, the way his shoulders shook, the way his eyes curved into crescents was enough.

Felix’s crush was innocent, pure. He would catch himself staring when Hyunjin wasn’t looking, memorizing the way his long hair fell into his eyes, or the way he bit his lip while doodling in his notebook. Sometimes Hyunjin would wave at him across the classroom, and Felix’s heart would feel like it had sprouted wings.

Hyunjin, for his part, adored Felix’s quiet charm. He always made sure to write notes for him in class, his handwriting neat and deliberate: Want to eat lunch together? or I like your drawings. Felix would blush every time, clutching the little slips of paper like they were treasures.

One afternoon, they sat together under the cherry blossom trees on campus. Felix shyly pushed a notebook toward Hyunjin. On the page, written in careful block letters, were the words:

"You look really cute today."

Hyunjin blinked at him in surprise, then broke into the kind of smile that made Felix’s world brighter than any sound ever could. Hyunjin leaned closer, speaking softly so Felix could see his lips.

"And you too."

Felix smiled as he read his lips, and his heart fluttered wildly. For the first time, he didn’t feel like the silent boy in the corner. Sitting there with Hyunjin, he could feel everyone else fading and its just them two, felix smiled and wrote in his notebook

"wanna hang out at lunch?"