Chapter Text
Religion — in Christopher’s eyes — was a hoax, an outdated excuse to limit freedom and act as an impediment for progress in today’s developing society.
The town he lived in was small, and funnily enough, highly religious. He would be dragged to mass, scratching at the nail beds of his fingers and trying his best to zone out — anything to protect himself from the chance to be brainwashed by listening to hours of ‘Homosexuality is a sinful perversion! Be straight or be a disappointment to your whole bloodline!’. A slight exaggeration, but that’s what Christopher felt like he heard anytime he would catch a word of those religious sermons.
At home, the message was no softer. His parents enforced the idea, attempting to mold Christopher into becoming a ‘good Christian boy’. You can only imagine their disgusted disbelief at the sight of Christopher on his bed, an unfamiliar boy in his lap as they made out.
It was a night Christopher preferred not to remember, his ear drums still pounding from the shouts, curses and venom-laced prayers that resonated through the daunting house. It didn’t take much for his parents to decide that the only thing that would ‘fix’ him was a boarding school 3 hours away — one promising to cleanse Christopher’s ‘lustful desires’ and help him take on a more holy life.
—
The principal’s voice was monotonous, and Christopher took on a similar routine to as he did at sermons, deciding to pay little attention. He didn’t need to hear his fake promises and religious ideology.
“You’ll have a student mentor to help you settle in for your first couple of weeks,” the principal continued. “Felix has been with us for 3 years now and is one of our most exemplary students. We trust he’ll set a strong example for you.”
Christopher resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the prospect of some prissy, self-righteous student monitoring his every move. He thought his enrolment would at least spare him from someone constantly breathing down his neck, but if this ‘Felix’ was anything like his parents, then clearly he’d been too optimistic.
A knock was heard at the door, and Christopher felt a wave of relief wash over him — finally, a momentary escape from the principal’s monologuing. That relief, however, was short-lived; whoever was on the other side of that door was likely the student required to follow him around for weeks like a mosquito unable to be swatted away.
With the principal’s permission, the door slowly creaked open, and light footsteps clicked against the wooden floorboards. Christopher didn’t bother to look up — the more he could ignore Felix, the better.
“Um, hello. My name is Felix. I’m your assigned student mentor.”
His voice was deep, but not gravely. It came out smoothly, almost reassuring in a way. However, no words could brace Christopher for the sight that met him once he finally decided to take a glance.
There stood a boy that Christopher couldn’t even have imagined in his wildest dreams. He looked almost elf-like, his ears slightly pointed at the corners, his hair brown, falling just at his shoulders and catching the light from the obnoxiously large windows in the room. But it was the constellations of freckles littered over his face that Christopher found the most ethereal. No wonder Felix was religious, he looked like heaven personified.
“Chris. Christopher Bahng.” His hand caught Felix’s, giving it a small shake — an excuse to feel their skin touching for even a second. Even his hand was soft, pressing against Christopher’s more calloused ones from the variety of sports he took up in his last school.
Despite preferring to not align himself with religion, at this moment Christopher felt like Eve, and Felix was the fruit from the tree that was just begging to be devoured, tempting and teasing Christopher by simply just existing.
”Chris,” Felix repeated, the name sounding utterly perfect on his lips. “I’ll start with showing you around then. Please follow me.”
And at that, Christopher stood up so fast he felt slightly light-headed. He would be a fool to deny anything Felix requested.
Christopher chased after Felix, who had already walked out of the principal’s office. As he caught up, his arm found its way around Felix’s shoulders, which only elicited a small flinch from the boy, shrugging the arm away with a quick motion.
Christopher frowned, but it wasn’t a secret why he was sent here. Of course Felix would react like that. The idea of being near Christopher — with the inevitable rumours that were likely already spreading at his arrival — probably made him feel uncomfortable. Felix was fearful of the same thing everyone else was: the prospect of Christopher somehow ‘infecting’ him with his homosexuality.
“So, Felix…” Christopher spoke up after a moment of silence. It was obvious Felix wasn’t going to initiate anything that wasn’t necessary. “Why are you at this school?”
The question was blunt, possibly offensive from Christopher’s critical tone, but he wasn’t one for subtleties. If anything, Felix may be more like Christopher than he initially thought.
”To strengthen my faith in God.” Nevermind. Felix didn’t seem similar to Christopher in the slightest, but it didn’t stop Christopher’s inquisitions.
”You came here optionally then?” He scoffed before he could stop himself, somewhat in denial. Christopher couldn’t see the appeal in going to a school with hallways lined with portraits of Jesus’s face in big, fancy gold frames.
Felix’s demeanour hinted at his irritation, but the tone in his voice completely gave it away. “Yes. I came here optionally, Christopher. I hope you can learn to appreciate the importance of piety.”
Christopher cleared his throat, trying to steer the conversation to something that might earn him a sliver of favour with Felix — though it seemed near enough impossible at this point.
”You like video games?”
That resulted in an eyebrow raise from Felix, before his expression shifted to one of disappointment. “I used to play a few before attending this school,” Felix began, almost reminiscent. “However, excluding mobile games, we have limited access to video games here. It’s preferred to read a book or spend time outside.”
Christopher gave a small nod, pressing his lips into a thin line. It seemed like no matter what he talked about, it managed to further dim Felix’s mood.
“Do I have to share a room with someone?” He asked, almost reluctantly, Christopher was dreading the answer to that question. The mere thought of having someone invade his privacy in his downtime made his skin crawl in displeasure.
”Oh, that’s right. You’re sharing a room with Yang Jeongin. He’s been a student here for a while, longer than I have.” Felix spoke, seeming to be in thought, unbeknownst to Christopher’s disappointment.
Christopher blinked, taken aback. “I’m not sharing with you?” He figured he’d be able to handle sharing a dorm with Felix, and was half-expecting that to be the case instead of some stranger.
That same uncomfortable expression returned to Felix’s face. “No,” he said, almost too quickly. “The principal said it would be better to not spend all of our time together since I’m your student mentor.”
In other words, the principal didn’t trust Chan to spend so much time with Felix in fear it would only worsen his queerness. Ironic, since Christopher couldn’t take his eyes off of Felix the moment he caught a glimpse.
Christopher didn’t answer, and Felix took that moment to continue. “I’ll take you to your room once the tour finishes. All of your belongings are already in there, you just have to unpack.”
“Can I know where your dorm is too? Just in case I have any questions,” Christopher said quickly, He doubted Felix would agree; he seemed disgusted by him already. The silence only prolonged as Christopher waited for an answer.
”You may,” Felix said at last. ”It only makes sense.”