Archive of Our Own ^beta

Donghyuck presses the smooth leather of his boot against the back of Mark’s ankle, propping his chin on his hand as he smiles. Mark stretches his leg out, just for Donghyuck’s to follow in suit, swaying back and forth as they play footsies under a dressy white table cloth.

“You look so handsome,” Donghyuck says, watching as Mark pours another inch of wine into his glass. It’s a bit dry for their taste, certainly more expensive than they’re accustomed to, but they both drink it anyways. “You know I love you in red.”

Mark smiles, already a bit tipsy. He intertwines their fingers gently, brushing a thumb over Donghyuck’s knuckles. “It feels so expensive,” he says, plucking the silky fabric of his dress shirt with a free hand, the deep burgundy contrasting his milky skin. It was a Christmas gift from Donghyuck, too fancy for regular date nights, simply waiting in the back of his closet like a forgotten trophy. “I thought it made sense to wear tonight. Figured I’d want to look half as good as you. You know I love you in, like, anything.” 

Donghyuck scoffs, but his giggles echo into his now empty wine glass. 

“You’re buttering me up, babe,” Donghyuck whispers, bringing the joined hands to his mouth. “You know you’re getting lucky tonight, regardless, but keep up the good work I guess.” 

A shadow in his peripheral vision interrupts them, a steaming tray balanced impressively in their young waiter’s hand. Their hands separate in anticipation.

“Your entree,” the waiter says, placing their dinners in front of them. He notices Donghyuck’s empty wine glass and points. “Could I refill that for you, sir?” He asks, even though Donghyuck is more than capable to do it himself, the half-full bottle of wine they ordered sitting in the middle of their table. 

“You absolutely can,” Donghyuck drawls, sitting back as he watches. They can’t afford to order another bottle, but he’ll soak up the special treatment while they can.

The waiter leaves after double checking that they’re satisfied, and Donghyuck appraises his dish. He isn’t going to eat most of it anyways, knowing full well when he ordered that he’d fill up on wine and a quarter of his chicken breast. The rest will be leftovers, of course, boxed up and forgotten about until he’s done defiling his boyfriend in every way his wine-muddled brain can think of. 

Then he can have all the garlic breath his heart desires.

“Ew,” he hears across the table, a small displeased noise that catches his attention right away. Donghyuck looks up to find an imperceptible frown across Mark’s face as his silverware scrapes against his plate.

“What is it?” Donghyuck asks, leaning forward to get a closer look.

“It’s like, so rare,” Mark says, face twisting as he pokes the pink center. He sighs. “Whatever, it’s fine.”

“What? No, get that waiter back,” Donghyuck says, ever so casually. “We’ll get you a new one. It’s so expensive, babe.”

Mark looks apprehensive for a moment, before agreeing. He looks around and spots their waiter, waving him over tentatively.

“How can I help you?” The waiter asks, more hurried than the last time they spoke, and Donghyuck’s got a feeling they caught him at the wrong time. Which was simply too bad.

Before Mark can answer, Donghyuck is speaking for him. “Yeah, his steak isn’t cooked right.” 

“It’s not?” The boys asks, brows furrowed. “What seems to be the problem?”

“It’s completely pink inside,” Donghyuck says like it’s obvious, raising a single brow as he waits for a reaction.

“I believe you ordered medium rare?” The waiter says. He stays facing Mark, who’s staring uncertainly down at his meal. Donghyuck’s lips curve into a displeased scowl as he watches the waiter tap his foot impatiently. “There will be a fair amount of pink in the steak that way.”

Mark opens his mouth meekly, already folding under the waiter’s stare, when Donghyuck leans forward and grabs his plate so it hovers in the air. 

“Thanks, we’ve both ordered a steak before. He asked for it medium rare and it’s so bloody it looks like you just shot the cow out back,” Donghyuck says, attracting onlookers as he tips the plate toward their waiter to get a good look. A puddle of blood drips down into his vegetables. The waiter’s eyes go wide, and he looks nothing more than a scared little school boy.

“Okay, understood. I’ll let the chefs know…so sorry about that,” their waiter says, taking his plates and used silverware under Donghyuck’s critical watch. “Would you like me to place you a new order?”

“Yes, what he ordered the first time but correct, please.”

The waiter nods and barely conceals a grimace as he walks back toward the kitchen. Alone again, Donghyuck smiles broadly at Mark, who seems pleased, and takes another sip of his wine. 

“Thanks, babe,” Mark says, reaching for Donghyuck’s unoccupied hand once again to place a kiss against the back of it. “You know I’m so awkward with that stuff.”

Donghyuck hums, leans forward to kiss the shy smile off Mark’s face. “‘Course. That’s why you have me.” 

_________________________________

Sometimes, people ask Mark if he’s ever felt like he missed out only ever being with one person. But it’s not like that at all. 

Donghyuck may be one person, but he isn’t just one thing. He’s a professional boy, who’s loved discipline and a routine since childhood. Piano lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, English tutor Saturday afternoons, and a daily morning jog since he was old enough to remember street names. 

A true perfectionist, his mother would tell Mark, but he could also be incredibly playful. He picks things up on his first try, and even if he fails, he won’t stop until he’s the best, even if by the time he’s done no one’s clapping. 

He’s everything all at once, a giant contradiction. He’s sour but he’s so, so sweet when he’s with Mark. He’s a Gemini, so Donghyuck says the planets intended for him to be like that.

Mark doesn’t know much about the planets, but he knows they led him to Donghyuck for a reason, all the way from New York to a small neighborhood outside of Seoul.

Donghyuck keeps their relationship safe, keeps it exciting, gives Mark everything he needs and wants before he even knows that he does.

They stumble back into their apartment, both tipsy from too much wine and satisfied with the free dessert Donghyuck talked their way into, far too expensive for them have ever afforded on their own. Donghyuck tosses his leftovers on the kitchen island and leads him to their bedroom, presses Mark into the pillows of their bed, mouth watering as he admires the view.

Donghyuck isn’t one to lose composure easily, but he’s still perfectly slutty about it. Mark calls him obscene, sometimes, because Donghyuck will do and say the nastiest things just to push Mark over the edge. Mark can give it as good as he can take it, but he really thinks he must be the luckiest man in the world to have a golden blond Donghyuck on his knees before him, looking up at him like he wants nothing more than to please him. 

His grip is firm when he tugs on Mark’s cock, lithe fingers warm and slick with lube. He rubs his thumb against the head of his dick, circles his tongue enticingly before tracing it down the length of him. He maintains eye contact all the while, because of course he does. He can’t enjoy it half as much unless he knows that Mark is losing it, watching every flutter of eyelashes, every bitten lip, every muffled groan. 

Mark moans long and loud this time. Donghyuck starts jerking him off in long pulls, waits with his mouth fallen open, tongue out expectantly. Mark barely lasts a minute like that, comes all over his tongue and chin, and Donghyuck hums around his cock when he cleans it up. It’s a sight he feels undeserving of every time, so beautifully messy it sends a thrill up his spine. He leans forward to knot his fingers in the back of Donghyuck’s hair, pulls him into a kiss. Eventually, he helps him onto his feet, so the younger of the two can fall into his lap.

Mark grins at him, using his thumb to smudge the come on the corner of his lips. Donghyuck grabs him by the wrist and sucks his thumb into his mouth, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Happy anniversary, babe,” Donghyuck says, languid on top of him. Mark"s hand drops back down to the bed.

"You"re amazing," Mark breathes. He kisses Donghyuck"s top lip like he’s something delicate and rolls him over so he’s on his back. "I"m so lucky to call you mine."

Donghyuck looks at him, blinks slowly. "Mark," he says seriously, "I love you, very much. Now please make me come."

_________________________________

Mark remembers the foreign exchange students at his public school being the most popular kids in class for a whole semester before they were sent back to whatever country they came from. Mark’s experience in Korea is nothing of the sort.

No, he is far from popular. He exists, very quietly, for several months before he ever gets to meet Lee Donghyuck. They have no shared classes, or mutual interests, or any respective friends to have in common. They pass each other in the halls a hundred or two times, eat lunch a few tables away from each other, and Mark steals some special glances of the boy, but it’s no use. Donghyuck doesn’t seem to be the friend type. 

It’s just that, Donghyuck has the tendency to walk with his chin held high, sights set forward with blinkers on, while Mark prefers to stare at his shoes as he walks from class to class. 

Mark can’t keep up. He’s learning brand new curriculum in his secondary language, forgetting all about his previous hobbies and interests and personalities while he’s holed up in a library finishing his homework or studying for a Korean history test. It’s bad. And then the rumors start, and Mark starts to wonder if he should call it quits.

Until, of course, the universe sends him a peace offering. Well — maybe it’s not the universe, maybe it’s God. Maybe all the praying his mom’s been doing for him back home has seen results.

They meet on a rainy Monday afternoon, something they know for sure because Donghyuck writes about it in his journal later that day, his script extra big and slanted from writing so urgently. It’s the first of many times that he’d write the name Mark, lines perfectly straight like he was introducing it extra polite to the rest of the pages. His journals are impressively detailed, a new one for every school year. But this page is extra sentimental, a little more special than the rest, the corner neatly folded over as a bookmark to look back upon.

So it’s a rainy Monday, over halfway through the month, and Mark is being harassed by the same idiots who’ve harassed Donghyuck for the better part of a decade. He’s not sure why he’s being harassed, maybe because he willingly answered too many questions in Algebra earlier that day, maybe because he’s simply an easy target, being relatively new to school and flying under the radar of overworked teachers and entirely passive students. Whatever the reason, two guys he vaguely recognizes find him between classes. 

He knocks shoulders with one of them as they pass each other, even though he swears he was walking in a perfectly straight line, and winces as if his body knows what will happen before his brain does. He flies forward when a pair of hands abruptly land on his back, the force of their push knocking him and his books to the ground. His hands fly out to catch himself, landing in a heap of his belongings, palms burning. He realizes belatedly, vision totally blurred, that his glasses have gone flying, too.

“Watch where you’re going, fag.” The smaller of the two hisses, kicking his glasses as he walks past. 

Mark flinches at the term.

“They don’t say excuse me in America?” The other asks, smug as he watches Mark struggle to his knees to find balance. 

“Sorry,” Mark says, refusing to look up, just hoping he’ll blend in with the linoleum floors and disappear. Tears unwillingly pool in the corners of his eyes as he attempts to collect his papers, a sticky dress shoe repeatedly getting in his way and kicking sheets of paper further away. Mark huffs, becoming frustrated with their game, and gives up trying.

They laugh above him like it’s hysterical. 

He blinks in confusion when a new pair of feet step between them, right under his nose. The laughter ceases immediately, fading into tired groans. The first thing he notices is that these shoes are a shinier leather, clearly a fashion choice rather than obligatory uniform dress code. They’re familiar, but he can’t place from where.

“Are you done yet?” He’s got a unique voice, higher-pitched than the other two. Mark thinks he sounds bored and impatient all at once. “I’m getting second hand embarrassment at how desperate you guys are for attention.”

“I don’t remember asking for your attention, though?” They say mockingly, and Mark can no longer tell them apart, merging them together in his brain as one giant beast.

“Neither did the kid you sent flying into space for grazing your shoulder,” Nice Shoes says. “Are you just picking people at random now, or do you have a formula for these things?”

“Why do you care so much, he your boyfriend or something?” They ask, chortling. “Just mind your business, Lee.”

The stranger takes a step closer to them, seemingly unfazed. 

“I was trying to, but at this point you’ve subjected everyone in the hallway to your business,” he says. “I wonder what your coaches will do when they see the security footage of you pushing an exchange student face-first into the ground.”

“There’s no cameras here,” they say, but Mark can hear the self-doubt creeping into their voices.

“None that you can see. I know the school board has to pretend that they actually care about your violent tendencies, but they’ll probably suspend the pair of you out of obligation, right?”

They scoff, weakly, and Mark tilts his head back to watch their standoff. He flushes when he realizes the scene they’ve caused, some students stopping in their tracks to eavesdrop. 

“You’re bluffing.”

“Think what you want, doesn’t affect me. I’d just be more careful,” Nice Shoes sounds smug, now. “Championships are so soon.”

A pause, then a defeated exhale.

“Jesus, this is why you have no friends, Lee, you know that right?”

“Yup, no friends. Just a mom with Principal Jeong’s personal cellphone number.”

“You better pray I don’t see you out of school, Donghyuck.” They warn him before storming down the hall.

Donghyuck laughs lightly, “That bastard needs juvie or something, he’s really not normal.” 

Mark watches them disappear around the corner, sitting back on his heels. Donghyuck bends over to pick up his glasses, passing them over to Mark gently.

“They’re not shattered, at least,” he says to Mark, shrugging. Mark puts them back on his face, finding them to be slightly crooked. He’s had these glasses since the 9th grade, and now they’re broken. He’s not even aware that he’s crying until Donghyuck is crouching in front of him, his tone sympathetic. “Shh, hey — don’t cry.”

Mark wipes mindlessly at his cheeks, fingers wet. When he looks up, he realizes the person that had rescued him is more familiar than he thought, never able to place a name to the face. Before he can voice that, however, Donghyuck stands up and starts picking up his papers one at a time, muttering thanks, no really, that’s great as fellow students step over his books without helping. 

Donghyuck sighs. “You should really get used to packing up all your things before walking to your next class. Jinho and Yongson have a funny habit of body checking kids at the most inconvenient of times.” 

Mark nods, trying to calm his breaths, but Donghyuck had just confirmed something without meaning to: this would be a regular thing. He’d experienced the glares and hushed whispers for months, but this was the first time anyone put their hands on him. He hadn’t fought with someone since he lived in New York, only once, but Mark put up no fight this time. He fell into tears all over again. He made a huge mistake coming here.

“Oh, God,” Donghyuck whispers to himself. The halls have cleared at this point, lunch time having arrived. He reaches a hand out to Mark. “Come with me.”

Donghyuck is still carrying his stuff for him when they walk into an empty classroom. Mark tries to catch his breath, chest heaving, and the silence of the empty classroom is deafening once the door is shut. He’s unsure what to do as he looks at Donghyuck head on, eyes cloudy with leftover tears. He decides apologizing profusely will work.

“I’m sorry you had to do that, I don’t normally act like this,” Mark says, neck hot with embarrassment. The words slip out before he can help it, “I’m embarrassed.”

“Don’t be,” Donghyuck says simply, dropping their respective belongings onto a table. He sits down on the bench belonging to the room’s grand piano, pressing a few keys gracefully. Finally looking at their surroundings, Mark guesses that they’re in some sort of music class. “We can stay in here until you calm down.” 

“Okay. Thanks,” he says, then remembers his manners, “I’m Mark, by the way.”

Donghyuck turns to look at him briefly from over his shoulder, amused. “I know who you are,” he chuckles. “I’m Lee Donghyuck.”

“Oh. It’s nice to meet you.” Mark stutters, trying to mask his surprise.

Donghyuck turns back to the piano, playing a song Mark can’t quite recognize. “Do you play any instruments?” He asks.

“Um,” Mark says, intelligently, before walking across the room toward the other boy. “Yes. I can play piano and guitar.”

“Really?” Donghyuck asks with interest. “Wanna play me something?” 

Mark squeezes in on the bench despite its narrow width, thigh pressed against Donghyuck’s. He is suddenly lost, unsure what to play as his fingers hover over the keyboard, a little rusty from lack of practice. Muscle memory leads him back to his eighth grade talent show performance of Make You Feel My Love, and he recites it easily, humming it under his breath. Donghyuck listens carefully, nodding along. 

“Oh,” he says, perking up in recognition. “Adele?”

Mark is shocked, but keeps playing. “You know Adele?” He says.

“Of course I know Adele,” he says, affronted. “Who doesn’t?”

“Would you sing, if I keep playing?” He trips over his words a little, trying to keep his posture as confident as he can. He doesn’t really know why he asks, just knows he doesn’t want their moment to end quite yet.

Mark thinks he’d be shy if someone asked him that, but Donghyuck agrees easily.

“Sure, just start over,” he says. “I think I remember the first half.”

Mark does as he’s told, starts from the top. He can’t help but watch Donghyuck while he sings, jaw dropping slightly. He schools his face back to a neutral expression, tries not to stare.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear 

And there is no one there to dry your tears 

I could hold you for a million years 

To make you feel my love

Mark stops playing when Donghyuck stops singing, apologizing and saying, I don’t remember the rest.

“Wow,” Mark says, in awe. “You have such a sweet voice.”

Donghyuck’s voice is sharp when he repeats, “Sweet?”

“Yeah, it’s really beautiful,” he says honestly, unable to be anything but. 

“That’s…nice of you to say,” Donghyuck doesn’t look him in the eye, instead faces forward to keep looking at the keys. He almost looks inconvenienced by the compliment, but Mark can see the slight tremble to Donghyuck’s fingers. “Most guys here just call it girly.” 

“Most guys don’t know what they’re talking about,“ Mark says, allowing himself to admire Donghyuck’s profile. “Unique voices are the most memorable, anyways. How boring would a choir be if every guy had a low voice and every girl had a high voice?”

Donghyuck smiles at him, catching him staring. “You’re right,” he says, biting his bottom lip. “Do you sing, too?”

“Sorta. I’m not professional or anything like you,” he says, and Donghyuck scoffs again. Mark just wants to continue complimenting him if he’s going to keep smiling like that. “I pretty much grew up around music my whole life. My dad is a vocal coach, and my mom’s a music teacher for kids.”

"Really?” Donghyuck asks, eyes lighting up. “My mom’s a teacher, too. She teaches the grade below us. Just math, though.”

“I like math, actually,” Mark says. 

Donghyuck lets an amused noise. “Don’t let other people hear you say that,” he says. “My mom is strict, most kids hate her, so it puts an even bigger target on my back.”

“That’s dumb,” Mark says. “I think everyone’s just jealous of you.”

“Jealous of me?” Donghyuck repeats, eyes wide, like he’s genuinely perplexed. He composes himself after a moment, posture straightened, one finger brushing his chestnut bangs aside. “I mean, they should be. But they’re definitely not, they can’t appreciate my greatness yet.”

“That’s probably true,” Mark says. “Kids here can be pretty simple-minded.”

“That’s an understatement. Sometimes it seems like they’re purposefully ignorant,” he mutters. “A lot of adults have told me it’ll be different when I graduate. That’s why I plan on moving to Seoul. Small town mentality makes people act stupid.”

“It’s definitely different.”

Donghyuck looks at him, “That’s right. You’re from New York,” he says. “Why the hell would you come here?”

Mark avoids the question. He’s got butterflies, all from someone remembering one simple fact about him. 

“How do you know that?” He asks.

“The short answer is, I just know everything about everyone.” Donghyuck says evenly.

Mark can’t read Donghyuck’s expression, but he guesses it easily enough. “And the long answer is, you heard people talking about me?” 

Donghyuck chooses his words carefully. “Sure, I listen in. Doesn’t mean I believe everything I hear.”

“Well, you can believe it,” Mark says, timid. “It’s all true.”

There’s a beat of silence, and for a moment, Mark is scared. He looks up at Donghyuck, who watches him patiently. 

“Did you want me to react to that?” He asks. “I’m obviously not beating my rumors, either.”

It startles a laugh out of Mark, who’s shoulders deflate slightly with relief. “Right. Good to know.”

Donghyuck is blushing again. He clears his throat, going a little awkward. Mark wonders if he’s ever said that aloud to another person. 

“I’m glad I met you,” Mark says. “I wish the circumstances were different, though.”

“I’m glad you met me, too,” he cracks, falling victim to Mark’s fond smile, flustered. “I don’t stick my neck out for many people.”

Mark giggles, like he can’t tell the battle Donghyuck is losing to remain aloof. 

“We should be friends, yeah?” Mark proposes, his hopeful expression making him look years younger. “Only if you want to, of course. You’re funny, and I really miss laughing.” 

Donghyuck studies him, eyes shaking at Mark’s forwardness.

“According to you, I’m funny, I have a beautiful voice, and everyone’s jealous of me,” he says finally. “Is there anything else?”

Mark nods, eyes full of mirth. “You’re pretty, too.”

_________________________________ 

Donghyuck has the uncanny ability to part a crowd no matter where he goes. When he walks into the dingy apartment that Mark texted him the address for, onlookers move aside to press against the wall, allowing Donghyuck to squeeze past easily. 

He’s not overly dressed up, knows that Marks friends are really just a bunch of losers who are hot because they’re over 5’10”. He’s not particularly fond of any of them. They’re loud, and messy, and take up way too much time that could be spent with Donghyuck, in bed or getting food or sitting outside a dressing room waiting for Donghyuck so he doesn’t have to decide if clothes look good on him by himself. But he supposes since he made his own friends, he can’t expect all of these things from Mark. At least not always on the weekends.

He’s late, almost didn’t make it because he couldn’t get his hair quite right. He floats through the crowd until he’s at Mark’s feet, and waits for approximately 3 seconds above the couch before raising an expectant brow at Lucas, who’s pressed shoulder-to-shoulder next to Mark. 

“Move,” he says, exasperated that he even has to say it. He waves his hand in his face when the boy simply sits there looking confused, how and why Donghyuck has no idea. Lucas glances briefly at an oblivious Mark and rolls his eyes before sliding over to make room.

Donghyuck sits down with a contented sigh and Mark immediately curls an arm around him, ducking his head to kiss him in greeting. Donghyuck immediately feels better, relieved that Mark is back to looking at him like he’s something revolutionary after 10 hours of separation with classes and work shifts.

“You look so good,” Mark says, eyes raking up and down his figure, then getting stuck on the thighs of his ripped jeans. Donghyuck can tell Mark’s been drinking, cheeks pink and grin lazy, but his breath smells like the peppermint gum he’s chewing. It’s something like a learned behavior — he knows Donghyuck won’t kiss him with beer breath. “You did your hair different.”

“You like?” Donghyuck asks, confident like he knows the answer is yes, even if he was unsure the whole time he got ready. 

“Of course,” he says, twisting a wavy lock around his finger. “Looks so good pushed back. You want a drink?” 

“Sure,” Donghyuck says. “Vodka soda, please.” 

Mark nods, pecks him on the lips one last time before getting up. Donghyuck realizes after a belated moment that he’s alone with Lucas. 

He’s fine with saying nothing, never one to voluntarily speak to a straight man like his boyfriend does, but Lucas seems to have noticed the silence, too. 

“You havin’ fun?” He asks, full lips pulling into a friendly smirk.

“I suppose the five minutes I’ve been here haven’t been half bad…” Donghyuck says.

“Cool!” Lucas smiles and nods, and Donghyuck wonders if he’s heard what he said. “How’d you two meet?” He asks, no, screams, in Donghyuck’s ear.

Donghyuck presses a finger delicately to his sore ear, scooching away from him ever so slightly. “We met in high school.”

“High school sweethearts?” Lucas asks, then bursts out laughing. “Wait, so, you met in high school and came to college together?”

Donghyuck blinks. “Yes, that’s right.” 

“You guys really must be inseparable.”

“And?” Donghyuck asks, eyebrow arched. “This school was on both of our lists, but it had my preferred unique major. He studies computer engineering, you can do that anywhere. It just made sense.”

Lucas puts his hands up. “Hey, it’s none of my business,” he says. “Don’t you guys get sick of each other, though?”

“Not really. I hate most people, but never him,” he responds honestly, then flings his arm out defensively when someone attempts to sit down in Mark’s spot. “This seat is taken.” He says, glaring at the stranger until they walk away. 

“I guess that whole opposites attract thing is real then,” Lucas says, slurring as he speaks. “Mark’s like, so chill and bubbly. And you’re like…really like, um,” he stumbles his words, realizing the trap he’s gotten himself into when Donghyuck’s brows raise higher and higher on his forehead, as if to say go on, continue. “If Type A was a person.”

Donghyuck smiles, wishes he’d stop talking. “Thanks,” he says. “Opposites do attract, Lucas. Who knows, maybe dating someone incredibly intelligent and well-spoken would be a nice change of pace for you.”

Lucas agrees, then pauses, turning what Donghyuck said over in his head. Before he can respond, Mark finds them again, holding out a plastic cup for Donghyuck. 

“Delivery,” he says, cutely. Donghyuck smiles without thinking. He sucks happily on his curly straw, sinking naturally into Mark’s side when he sits back down, wrapping an arm around his shoulders again. 

“Having fun?” He asks, kissing the top of Donghyuck’s head.

“Yeah, now that I’m with you.”

_________________________________ 

Donghyuck doesn’t like many people, but he came to college with an open heart. He made some of his own friends: queer, artistic, funny. They bond over loving the same early 2000s pop music, and ordering way too much lunch together, and they find Donghyuck’s blunt personality hilarious. Sometimes, they’re even harsher than he is. 

He never thought he’d have a group of friends that understand him so well, a boyfriend he’s absolutely in love with, and a decently priced apartment that sat over a delicious takeout spot. 

So yes, his heart has been open, even doubled in size since he arrived.

His heart loses all available space, however, when he meets Mark’s friends: dude-bros he found in his math and computer science classes, who talk about nothing but sports and video games and girl’s asses while Mark lets them occupy their living room most Saturday nights. 

Mark insists that they’re nice people, super funny once you understand their personalities better, though you could usually hear the wind blowing leaves around outside when they tried telling Donghyuck a joke. He just doesn’t understand how his sweet, studious boyfriend ended up in such a smelly, douchey IT crowd. It kills him. 

He shouldn’t have to pinch Mark’s friend by the ear and drag him out of their apartment because he witnesses him wipe Cheeto dust on their freshly thrifted couch, but he has, and he’d do it again in a heartbeat. 

He shouldn’t have to walk through sticky puddles of beer in his kitchen, or be mansplained the Kpop trainee system for an hour, or lie about relatives visiting early in the morning so that they’ll get the picture and leave. He shouldn’t have to, when his boyfriend is such a catch, and is capable of attracting way more useful people into his life. 

But Donghyuck deals with it, because…well. Because Mark is Mark, and Donghyuck has trouble telling him “no” flat out. 

The last time they’re ever allowed in his and Mark’s apartment, they’re discussing birthday plans. It appears all of his friends were basically born within a 4 week radius of time, so they want to dedicate one night for one big party, between all their studies and schedules. 

They discuss a few different options while Donghyuck makes ramen just a room away, hands propped on his hips as he realizes he’d do a lot for love. Mark convinced him, with lots of cheek-kisses and unrelenting pouting, to make enough food for all of them, with the promise of rubbing his feet later. Donghyuck knows Mark would rub his feet without a tradeoff, such a kind boy, and he agrees knowing how worn out his boyfriend is.

“What about noraebang?” Mark suggests, and Donghyuck clutches his chest at how adorably innocent his boyfriend sounds sometimes. “You can pay a fee at this place me and Donghyuck go to, and you have open bar all night.”

“I’m not much of a singer,” Lucas says. “I do have a few go-to shower songs, though! Amy Winehouse, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber.“

“Okay, no,” Johnny interrupts him, snorting. “I don’t wanna listen to Lucas sing all night. No offense, dude. What about just barhopping?” 

“Hongdae?” Jaehyun suggests. “We could get street food, some beers, and let the night take us somewhere.”

Jungwoo groans, “Fuck that. If we’re doing a joint birthday, I’m demanding Itaewon. I wanna get fucked up. Plus, foreign girls.” 

“Okay, Itaewon then,” Johnny says. “We could definitely do some damage there.”

Donghyuck cringes as he rifles through their kimchi drawer. What the hell does that even mean?

“We should make a pact or something,” Jungwoo says mischievously, voice pitched low. Donghyuck ceases all rifling. He was a born eavesdropper. “We all need to go home with someone.”

The boys erupt into laughter. “Fuck, yes, dude.”

“What about Marky?” Lucas asks. 

“Me?” Mark asks, then chuckles. “I mean, count me out, obviously. But y’know, if you change your mind about noraebang.”

“Hey, dude. We’re not homophobic or whatever,” Johnny says. “We can hit up a gay bar if you want.”

“Wait, what,” Mark lets out a startled laugh. “No thanks, man. I guess I can help wingman if you really want me there, but I feel bad staying out late, anyways. Donghyuck’s a light sleeper, he always wakes up when I come home and then he’s tired the next morning.” 

He hears one of the boys scoff, and they’re probably all rolling their eyes. Mark is absolutely right, though. Donghyuck is a terrible sleeper and will be miserable the whole next morning if he’s disturbed from his sleep. 

Donghyuck grins. He’ll let Mark be little spoon tonight just for that.

“Bro, I feel like I’m talking to my dad right now. Are you guys 55 and married or something?” Jungwoo groans.

“No, we’re building a healthy foundation and respecting each other’s boundaries living together.“

More groans, and a bad imitation of a cracking whip. 

“What?” Mark asks, voice cute after a few drinks.

“Don’t you ever wonder what college would be like if you were single?” Jaehyun asks, like a man with a trench coat in a dark alley, voice quiet and still way too loud. What fucking idiots, he fumes. They think Donghyuck can’t hear from one room away with a basketball game playing at level 5 volume? 

“Not really,” Mark replies, “I actually think it’d be a lot worse if I were. Like, I never even owned a planner before I met him. I don’t know how I used to remember all the school work I had due!” He says, like this is a relatable concern amongst the room.

“A planner? Is he your boyfriend or your mom?” Jungwoo says, sniggering. 

“Hey, shut it!” Mark whispers loudly. “I was just answering your question, it’d be worse if I were single.”

They all make vague noises of disagreement. “I can’t imagine that type of commitment right now,” Jaehyun mutters. “Seems like too much work.”

“It’s not work, it’s simple. We have a routine now, living together, and I think it’s made us even stronger,” Mark says, easy breezy, no idea of the storm brewing in Donghyuck’s head. “It’s fun having a partner, you can do everything together.”

“Dude,” Johnny speaks through a mouthful of corn chips Donghyuck left graciously for them to snack on. “I know you’re all domestic and shit, and that’s great, but senior year comes faster than you think. I spent my time free as a bird, never tied down to anyone. Literally had the time of my life. Just a thought.”

And now you’re gonna graduate single, barely laid, and fingers stained orange with Cheeto dust, Donghyuck thinks to himself, lip curling in disgust. 

He decides he’s done listening.  

“Dinner’s ready,” Donghyuck calls, loud so he won’t have to repeat himself, and switches the stovetop off. Half cooked ramen clumps together inside the pot, unappealing and slightly burnt from when he stopped paying attention. He takes two oven mitts and holds the giant pot by its handles, waiting for the group of boys to appear in the kitchen’s doorway. They gather like flies, hungry and sniffing the air like he’s cooked something special just for them. 

Figures, he thinks. They probably haven’t had anything other than takeout since their mother’s cooked for Chuseok.

His foot presses down hard on the pedal to their stainless steel garbage bin once he has their attention, its top springing up suddenly with a clang. The group of boys look on in confusion, except for Mark, who is already wincing apologetically. 

Donghyuck dumps the noodles upside down into the trash, giving them all a dazzling smile as steam billows between them.

“Hey, I hear Hongdae has some good street foot if you’re really hungry. That, or the 7/11 down the block,” Donghyuck says, dropping the pot in their sink. “Just a thought.”

_________________________________

A lot of people assume Mark puts up with Donghyuck and his attitude. That he loves him in spite of it. 

But Donghyuck knows better, and doesn’t feel the need to correct them, whether their opinions are spoken aloud or simply remain thoughts behind judgmental eyes. Mark loves him exactly how he is, and Donghyuck knows that.

Donghyuck’s tough on the outside, but he’s sweet when he’s with Mark. Gooey and melty, so much so that it used to make him uncomfortable how he couldn’t control himself around him. He just wanted to fall into him, kiss his adorably confused little pout and touch every inch of his body until he got it out of his system. Sometimes he feels like it’s never enough, even still. It was a problem at first. 

When Mark was young, he promised God and his parents that he’d save himself for marriage. Donghyuck promised himself that he’d wait until he left the stupid town he grew up in, far away from his high school and the trolls who inhabited it. His first time would never be with someone from his hometown, but rather someone new and exciting — a man, with a job and a car and a sense of style.

They both ended up breaking some promises, eventually. But unlike most broken promises, there was no real regret. Their first time was special, explorative and awkward at moments, but still perfect in memory. He couldn’t imagine it being with anyone else — some strange man he would have met in Seoul, that could’ve tossed his heart in the garbage on the way out the door. Mark loved him, genuinely, and Donghyuck loved him back. More than any girl his parents would’ve liked to set him up with, or some American boy back home that would never appreciate and value him the way Donghyuck does.

His savior, who walked into his life halfway through high school and gave him not only a best friend, but the love of his life. Someone to hold him through his parent’s divorce, and support him through their college prep, and help him mourn the end of his high school choir days. Someone kind to him, when he’d never known innate kindness, not since he was a child; not since his peers began to understand what it meant to be truly different. He’d feared people his age for so long, not trusting others like a natural reflex, until he met someone who wasn’t afraid to share the target he wore on his back. 

Mark never cared about any of that. He just cared about Donghyuck.

_________________________________

Donghyuck walks out of their bedroom smelling like a walking candle, freshly showered and ready for dinner with friends. He’s in a peach pull-over, newly blond hair parted down the middle, every bit of him looking as put together as he’s not. 

In all honesty, he’s had about one of the worst days since he started the semester, and he’s trying his best to avoid breaking down in front of Mark until he can vent about it for three hours with his friends first. 

Mark is sat on the couch, wearing an oversized grey hoodie, black hair flattened from laying down all day. Netflix is on, but he’s too busy playing Animal Crossing to watch.

“Hey baby,” Donghyuck says, leaning over the back of the couch and puckering his lips. Mark turns his head and kisses him twice, the gloss from Donghyuck’s lips sticking to his own. He rubs his lips together without thinking. “I’m about to head to Renjun-ie’s. Whatcha doin’ tonight?”

“Um,” Mark rests his Switch on his lap. “This? Pretty much. Maybe I’ll order food.”

“I thought Saturdays were for the boys?” Donghyuck asks drily, squeezing his shoulders and watching when Mark picks his Switch back up, his character running through town. 

Mark snorts, but says nothing in response. 

“So they’re not for the boys?” Donghyuck asks, brow raised in interest.

“I mean, sure. But since the ramen thing, they’ve been acting all weird around me. I dunno. I just feel like…you know I’m really sorry for that, right?” He says, pausing again to look at Donghyuck, expression suddenly serious. “I was so embarrassed, and I should’ve told them to stop way sooner. They normally poke fun at me being…in a relationship,” he stumbles with his words, and Donghyuck knows he means they call him whipped. “But I don’t really care? They just talk shit. And I don’t feel that way at all.”

Donghyuck smiles, kisses his cheek. “I know that, obviously.”

“Good,” Mark nods, nodding happily at his screen. “So, because of that, I’ll probably just - I dunno, keep to myself I guess. Maybe I’ll find a new friends next semester.”

Donghyuck’s smile fades. Next semester was still a while away. Mark never had the best of luck making friends in high school, but neither did Donghyuck — they had each other. Now as college students, Donghyuck had his own friends, and they knew Mark as his boyfriend. No one likes a friend who brings their boyfriend everywhere, or so Renjun says. But Mark was the best. He was nice to a fault, the best at giving reactions to stories, and he was always able to make it to a promised plan. And he always paid for coffee. The thought of Mark not having friends to share that with crushed him.

“You had fun with them, though?” Donghyuck asks, rounding the couch to sit next to him. 

“Sure,” Mark says as he gives a gift to one of his villagers. “It was fun gaming together. And we liked the same movies.”

Donghyuck bites his lip. The last thing he wanted was for Mark to feel like Donghyuck held him back from anything. That could lead to resentment, right? The only reason he stopped talking to the dude-bros was because he thought it upset Donghyuck. Well, it did. But a lot of things bothered Donghyuck, and he was good at letting things roll off his back. Donghyuck brushes cold fingers against Marks knuckles, waiting for the boy to hold his hand. Mark does, as always, looking up to meet his eyes.

“I don’t want you to feel like you can’t see them because of me. If they’re not rude to you, it doesn’t bother me,” he says. “Just, not in our apartment, okay?”

Mark looks surprised, but kisses him in thanks. “Okay,” he says. “I’ll talk to them. Thanks, baby.”

_________________________________

It’s the weekend, a rare moment of peace and stillness as they lay crowded on Mark’s fancy leather couch. It’s not the first time Donghyuck’s been over, since it’s so much easier to be here rather than his own house. Mark’s dad is always working, and Donghyuck’s younger siblings still don’t understand social etiquette or personal boundaries.

Donghyuck’s on his back, playing with the strings of Mark’s sweatshirt, while they talk about college and apartments and life outside of high school. Mark’s leaned over him, both of them ignoring the muted drama they turned on forever ago.

“Do you ever miss New York?” Donghyuck asks, tucking his feet under Mark’s calves. 

“Yeah, sometimes,” Mark answer honestly. “But being with you makes it a lot easier.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “Wow, smooth.”

“I’m serious!” Mark says, smiling down at him. “I basically spent the first few months in Korea completely alone. Dad was working all the time, my brother never answered my texts. All I could do was think about what my friends were doing, but the time difference is so big I could never really talk with them much.” Donghyuck frowns, holding him closer. Mark didn’t really talk about life in Korea before he’d met Donghyuck. “Only person I really talked to was my mom ‘cause she’d stay up to talk to me.”

“I didn’t even think about that,” Donghyuck says, voice empathetic. “You must’ve really missed them, especially when you were getting it so bad at school.”

“Eh, it’s okay,” Mark waves it off. “To be honest, when I met you, you reminded me of home. I think that’s why I was so drawn to you.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah,” Mark smiles. “I mean, it"s just different there. People are straightforward, they say what they mean to a fault. But they’re also not overly interested in other people. You can do whatever, dress however, New Yorkers will probably just ignore you,” he says, then laughs. “Unless you piss them off.”

“And that reminds you of me?” Donghyuck asks, unsure if he should be offended or not.

“Don’t pout. The first time I met you, I couldn’t even really see you,” Mark says, the memory a fond one. “I just heard you threatening Jinho and Yongson in a very cool and hot way.” 

Donghyuck snorts. “You fell for my personality. I thought we were both teenage boys. What about my body?”

“I like that a lot, too” Mark says. “I like the whole package. You just say it how it is, and you’re not afraid to be blunt to get what you need. You’re the most real person I’ve met since I got here.”

The tips of Donghyuck’s ears are turning pink, the same way they do every time Mark compliments him. “Oh,” he says, heart pitter-pattering in his chest. “Maybe I was born in the wrong city?”

“Definitely,” Mark agrees easily. “I’ll take you there one day. You can meet my mom.”

Donghyuck is nervous over the thought. He isn’t the best at first impressions…but in general, he’s had more luck with adults than kids his own age. 

“Okay, I’d like that.” He says.

Donghyuck pulls him in for another kiss, and Mark’s lost count of how many they’ve shared today. Mark props an elbow next to Donghyuck’s head, moans when Donghyuck’s tongue brushes his own, tentative, and then pulls back with a teasing look in his eye, nipping at Mark’s bottom lip. 

“Mark,” he whispers, kissing Mark’s cheek lightly. “What happens if your dad decides to go back to New York? Will you go back, too?” 

Mark’s head is cloudy with the breath tickling his ear, but tries his hardest to respond evenly. “I mean, we’ll be in school,” he says. “So, I’d just stay here.”

“After, I mean,” Donghyuck says. “When we’ve graduated. Do you want to live in Korea forever? Or will you want to go home to your family?” 

“I guess I haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” Mark admits. “Like, I am really close with my family. But I like life here, too. I’ll probably try to get a job out of college, so I think I’d stay here.”

Donghyuck seems placated by the answer. “Okay,” he says. “Good. ‘Cause I really don’t want you to leave.” 

“Anywhere I go, you’re coming with me. Or vice versa,” he says, rubbing Donghyuck’s ear in a strangely comforting way. Donghyuck presses his cheek into Mark’s palm.

“You’re so sure about that. My mom says we’re too young to be so serious,” he says. “She’s still in denial we’ll be living together in college. If we get accepted to the same school, anyways.”

Mark hums in thought. “I don’t think age is a big deal. My parents were high school sweethearts, and now they’re together 30 years later, making it work long distance. Sometimes kids know what they’re doing.”

Donghyuck’s mouth falls in open in surprise. “30 years? You never told me that,” he says. “That’s a lot of pressure.”

“I think it’s inspiring.” 

“What’s inspiring is your mother bagging your dad and keeping him for three decades.” Donghyuck says, wagging his brows. 

He giggles when Mark’s jaw drops.

“What?” Donghyuck asks innocently. “He’s a handsome man.”

“You think my dad is handsome?” Mark asks, forehead wrinkling in confusion. 

“Sure, he’s a taller, older you. Isn’t that good? I’ll still think you’re hot when you’re 50.”

“Hot? Now he’s hot?” Mark sits up suddenly. “Okay, that’s it. I’m not letting you meet my brother when we go to New York.”

Donghyuck grins something evil and way too hot. “Oh, but I’ve seen the pictures on the fridge,” he says. “That jawline of yours really runs in the family. I’ve been meaning to ask: who’s taller, you or your brother?”

Mark’s face drops, glaring down at Donghyuck. “Me.” He lies, poorly.

Donghyuck giggles again, pinching Mark’s cheek. “You’re so cute when you lie,” he says, voice saccharine sweet. “Now kiss me, again, babe. I have to meet my tutor in an hour.”

_________________________________

Donghyuck stands in front of their bedroom’s full length Ikea mirror, in nothing but a pair of tight underwear. He inspects himself from all angles, turning to the side, the back, arching his neck to get a good look. He frowns. 

“Oh, my God,” he says under his breath, so quiet, yet it still manages to make Mark look up from his laptop. He pinches the skin on his hip, right above the waistband of his shorts, a small patch of doughy softness. “I’m gaining weight.”

“What are you talking about?” Mark asks over the edge of his glasses. “You look the same.”

Donghyuck turns around to glare at him. “What do you mean, the same? I’ve clearly gained weight. Why don’t we have a scale here!”

“I think we have a small one in the kitchen.”

“Is this that whole, “relationship weight” thing everyone talks about?” Donghyuck asks, voice laden with dread. “How could I gain relationship weight? I’m the one who cooks and you’re the one that eats all my food. You should be gaining weight living with me, yet I’m the only one getting bigger!” 

Mark closes his laptop. “Not that I agree with you,” he says, scooting to the edge of their bed. “But if you were gaining relationship weight, I think that just means you’re happy and comfortable. Which is sorta our goal, right? Plus, everyone gains weight in college. It’s a tradition.”

“My mother will have a lot to say about this,” Donghyuck says, ignoring him completely. He studies his thighs with laser focus. “Mark, be honest. Would you tell me if I was gaining weight? Like, a lot?”

“Honestly? Probably not,” he says simply. “Weight fluctuation is normal, and plus, I see you every day. So I don’t notice little changes like that. You’re sexy regardless.”

“So what you’re saying is, someone who doesn’t see me every day would notice?” He turns around, eyes squinted. “Like my mother.”

Mark sighs. “I mean…it’s a possibility. They love us yet they’re our biggest critics.”

“Great. How much weight would I have to gain for you to notice, then? 30 pounds, 40? By the time I gain that much, it’ll take forever to lose it!” He complains, rushing to their dresser to fish out sweatpants. Mark watched him fondly as his hair bounces in his aggressive pacing. “God, it’s like my body knows when it’s under pressure. Her birthday dinner is in less than a month, now I have to figure this out.” 

“Maybe you can join me on my morning walks,” Mark suggests, smiling happily at the thought. “Or try one of my smoothie bowls for breakfast instead of something with meat.”

Donghyuck stares at him, eerily silent, mouth set in a deep scowl. Mark blinks back, suddenly aware that the air has changed.

“What…?” He asks, voice unsure.

“So you agree,” Donghyuck says, “You think I’ve gained weight.”

Donghyuck was confident in nature, but he had his low moments. Mark didn’t like to let them last very long, and as his boyfriend he would do just about anything to help make him feel even a little bit better. 

This usually meant taking him to a nice dinner, surprising him with flowers, drawing him a bubble bath. Maybe just watching a movie, curled up together on the couch with their phones on Do Not Disturb. Trying to think up a remedy in the moment is a little harder than he remembers it being, brain still fried from his math lab.

“That’s not a no!” Donghyuck shrieks at the lack of Mark’s response. He storms into the bathroom, still muttering complaints to himself. Mark hears the closet door open, a tower of something toppling over. A pack of plastic razors go flying out the door. When Donghyuck walks back into the bedroom, he’s holding a dusty electric scale covered in toothpaste splatter. “I knew we had this somewhere.”

He looks around for a switch, eyebrows pinched in intense concentration, and puts it on the ground when he seems satisfied. Mark sighs, knowing he should stop him, but also knowing there’s a high chance the battery died months ago. 

Anyways, he’s just realized that he shouldn’t have made the smoothie comment. That’s definitely what set him off. 

Donghyuck stops whatever he’s muttering to throw his arms up in disbelief. “Great, it’s dead!”

He wonders how late the restaurant downstairs stays open. Maybe he could get them grilled eel and then see a late night showing at the movie theater nearby.

“You’re not even paying attention,” Donghyuck groans as Mark watches him with poorly hidden adoration. Admittedly, he did zone out for the tail-end of Donghyuck’s complaining. 

He kicks the scale aside and walks back toward their mirror, exasperated that his reflection hasn’t changed.

“My boyfriend isn’t paying attention to me. I’ve let myself go, our passion is dying, soon we’ll stop sleeping together! This is a nightmare.”

“I am paying attention,” Mark says, leaning back on his palms. “And our passion’s not dying.”

Donghyuck glances at him through the mirror. “Your silence speaks volumes, Mark,” he says, dangerously close to pouting. “Smoothie bowls can’t solve everything.”

“I’m sorry, baby, I’m bad at giving advice when my half-naked boyfriend is strutting around the room,” Mark says, getting up from the bed and approaching him from behind, wrapping his arms around Donghyuck’s waist. He brushes his fingers across Donghyuck’s stomach, pulling him in close. “Sometimes it’s hard to think around someone so pretty.” 

“Oh, is it now?” Donghyuck says, attempting to keep his expression aloof.

He places a soft kiss to Donghyuck’s neck, the boy shivering under his touch. Donghyuck curls his fingers gently around Mark’s wrist, already sensitive to his touch.

“It really is,” Mark says. “But you’ve got my full attention now, baby.”

Donghyuck full on pouts. “Well, now I’m shy,” he says after a moment. Mark laughs.

“You’re anything but shy,” Mark says, and he can see Donghyuck bite down on his bottom lip to hide a smile. Mark looks at their reflection in the mirror. “Even when you’re upset, you’re still so pretty.”

“I know,” Donghyuck says, watching as Mark’s hands travel down his body. 

“See?” Mark asks, cupping his dick through his sweats, already twitching in interest. Donghyuck lets his head fall back on Mark’s shoulder. “Not shy. You know you’re pretty.” 

Donghyuck’s hips roll, pressing down on Mark’s hand so he can rut against him. “Shit,” he whispers.

“Good?” Mark asks.

“Yeah, just. Fuck,” Donghyuck mutters, frustrated. “Take it off.” He says, and watches as Mark immediately moves to push his sweats down to his knees. He kicks them the rest of the way off, shimmies his briefs off too while he’s at it, until he’s completely naked.

“Mark,” Donghyuck whispers, watching the muscles in Mark’s forearm flex as he starts jerking him off. Mark’s unoccupied hand sweeps up his chest, brushing over a nipple, and his back arches as a natural response. Donghyuck moans weakly into Mark’s ear, pressing his ass against Mark’s own hardness. “Fuck.”

Donghyuck is a lot of beautiful things, but being patient isn’t one of them. He turns around in Mark’s arms, yanking on the bottom of Mark’s t-shirt until Mark gets the picture and takes it off. He pushes Mark’s shorts down, too, chokes when he realizes Mark isn’t wearing underwear. 

“Fuck, you’re hot,” he says, like he can’t help but to say it, crashing their lips together. He bites hard on Mark’s bottom lip, rutting against Mark’s thigh desperately. “Mark, please, do something. Don’t want you to tease me, I wanna come.” 

Mark nods in perfect understanding, hands gripping the backs of Donghyuck’s thighs to lift him up onto their shared dresser. Donghyuck moans, spreading his legs so Mark can stand between them, arms draped over Mark’s shoulders. 

“Kiss me,” he says, meeting Mark in an openmouthed kiss. 

Mark loves when he gets like this, languid and a little desperate. It only really happens when Mark initiates things, and Donghyuck hasn’t had the time to plan out all his moves, that he forgets to keep his face perfectly sultry, or say all the right things to get Mark excited. Donghyuck hooks his legs around Mark’s hips, luring him in even closer. He runs his palm over the head of Mark’s dick, spreading precome around while they exchange messy kisses, Donghyuck’s tongue hot and insistent. Mark shivers as Donghyuck starts to pull at his cock, the grip a little too dry. 

“Shit, Hyuck,” Mark groans, voice shaky. “Need lube.”

He disentangles them to step back, and Donghyuck looks disgruntled, face reminiscent of being suddenly woken up from a deep nap.

“What, my au naturel hand jobs aren’t good enough for you anymore?” He frowns, but his eyes are heavy while he admires Mark’s naked backside, shifting impatiently as he ignores his own hard-on. 

Mark opens their side table drawer, grabbing a bottle of lube. “I love your hand jobs,” he says simply as he turns back around, eyes raking up and down Donghyuck’s body. “But you’re eager to come, and I want it to be extra good for you.”

“Oh,” Donghyuck looks smug when he grins, spreads his legs a little wider. “You gonna take me on top of the dresser? We haven’t done that in a while.”

“I’m not fucking you tonight,” Mark says, gently. “You’re close and I’ve barely touched you.”

“You used to fuck me on lots of different furniture,” Donghyuck says reverently, watching Mark pour a gratuitous amount of lube over his fingers, warming it up between his hands. He rests one sticky palm on Donghyuck’s thigh, the other grabbing his dick. Donghyuck’s hips jerk, his voice strangled. “What happened to our passion not dying?”

“It’s definitely alive, baby,” Mark says, leaning in to suck on his jugular. Donghyuck shivers. “Did you forget this morning?”

“Oh yeah,” he says distractedly, his memory fuzzy and unclear now that Mark’s got his hands on him. “The shower.” 

Mark grins, tongue tracing along Donghyuck’s jaw before latching onto the shell of his ear, fist moving with practiced ease over Donghyuck’s leaking dick. He gasps, ticklish from Mark’s tongue in his ear — always so sensitive — and digs his fingers into Mark’s back.

“Don’t stop,” Donghyuck says, baring his neck as he tips his head back. Mark drags his hard length against Donghyuck’s thigh for relief, wonders how he could possibly be so horny so fast around his boyfriend all these years later.

“You look so hot,” Mark says, because he fucking does and Mark doesn’t feel comfortable not letting Donghyuck know that constantly. His mouth is stuck open in an almost-moan, eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he’s got the cutest flush high on his cheeks and chest. “How could I ever make you wait? Wanna give you everything right away, baby.”

Donghyuck relaxes the grip he has on Mark’s back, lowering his hands until he’s cupping Mark’s ass, forcing them to be even closer. “Wanna see you come, too,” he says, locking his legs around Mark’s hips to keep him where he is, hands moving back across his chest and down to his dick. Mark hisses, watching as Donghyuck jerks him off, purposely bumping their cocks together until Mark gets the picture and wraps his hand around both of them. “Fuck, yes, like that.”

They haven’t done this in a while, Mark notes, but everything with Donghyuck is crazy good. Now that they’ve learned each other, they pick back up on anything with ease. Mark catches his bitten lips in a kiss, muffling all of Donghyuck’s pretty noises while he cradles his jaw. Donghyuck grinds into Mark’s fist, an urgency simmering beneath his skin as he returns the kiss, lips parting easily.

He moans lewdly into Mark’s mouth, kisses becoming clumsy as they forget anything other than teeth and tongues, both on the brink as they edge closer to release.

Donghyuck pulls away abruptly, a halt in the continuous pace of his hips, and shoves his face into Mark’s neck, crying out. Mark feels him come a moment later, the warmth pooling over his fist, and keeps going until Donghyuck can’t take it anymore. He bats Mark’s sticky fingers away with his own and starts jerking him in long, slow pulls, looking up at Mark through his lashes. 

“You made me come so quick, babe, just with your hands,” he says, blinking languidly as he watches Mark lose his breath. “Next time you should bend me over and take me right here.” 

Mark’s mouth falls open, thrusting faster into Donghyuck’s tight grip. 

“You want that?” He asks, and Mark nods frantically, too choked up to speak. Donghyuck grins, satiated from his orgasm, and leans back so his whole stomach is on display. His fingers move faster, gradually, as he continues speaking. “I’m always so eager for your dick, right babe? You should probably make me come like this first before you fuck me.” 

Mark keens, spreading Donghyuck’s legs further apart so he can press against him completely. Donghyuck holds his breath in anticipation, keeping his grip on Mark a consistent pressure until he’s coming all over Donghyuck’s stomach. Mark groans when Donghyuck lifts his hips off the dresser, the smooth skin of his belly rubbing against the head of Mark’s cock, letting him rut against him until he’s spent.

He sways slightly as his knees go weak, finding purchase on Donghyuck’s thighs as he catches his breath. His fingers tingle with returning sensation while he watches Donghyuck press loving kisses across his chest.

“So sweet,” he says, brushing a hand through Donghyuck’s hair. 

Donghyuck’s front teeth bite down on his bottom lip in a pleased little smile, and he’s so cute, it almost makes Mark forget about the filthy things he’s said minutes prior. 

“Fuck, Donghyuck,” he groans. Donghyuck’s smiles broadens, like he knows what he’s thinking, and Mark pinches his hip. “You’re obscene.”

Donghyuck pushes him back by his shoulders so he can hop off the dresser, still clinging to him as they both stand. 

“Maybe I am,” he says, teeth nipping his ear. “But I meant what I said.” 

“I know you did,” Mark laughs. He leads them toward their bed, falling backwards so Donghyuck can sit on top of him. “You feel better?”

“Mm, so much better,” he says, then like it’s a secret, “You kept grabbing onto my thighs every time you got close, and I started thinking maybe a little bit something extra isn’t so bad. I mean, I dunno. But I really might lose it again.”

Mark nods, nonchalant. “Sure. I’m here for whatever.”

“Maybe I’ll consider going on morning walks with you again. I don’t know,” he says, carefully, like he’s challenging Mark. “I’m not gonna change how I eat, though. What’s the point? I’ve got a hungry boyfriend to feed and apparently he has no indication of my growing size, anyways.”

“Baby, I didn’t lie when I said you’re sexy no matter what.” He says, grinning. 

“Fine,” Donghyuck says, reluctantly. “I believe you.”

It’s unconvincing, though. They sit in silence for a long moment. Donghyuck shifts uncomfortably, but Mark just watches him with a growing smile.

“I still find it crazy that you don’t get how pretty you are,” he says, shaking his head.

“Of course I get it,” Donghyuck says haughtily, rolling his eyes.

“No, but like, really. Most people never meet someone as pretty as you in the natural lives, and I get to live with you.”

Donghyuck’s eyes go wide, smacking his chest pitifully. “Stop trying to fluster me!” He says, cheeks muddled red. “I get it already.”

“Fine, but I’ll keep reminding you.” 

“I take it back, I don’t want you to pay attention to me,” he groans.

“It’s too late for that,” Mark says, sitting up just to kiss his warm cheek. “I’ve fallen for you helplessly.”

_________________________________

Mark stands on wobbly, drunk legs in Johnny’s bathroom. He points to himself in the mirror.

“You are not going to throw up,” he says, frowning in a very serious, sober way. “You didn’t even drink that much and — and you feel totally fine. You’re not gonna throw up.” 

He hiccups. Donghyuck always told him it wasn’t just alcohol that did him in, but the carbonation. 

Well, Donghyuck was always right. He wasn’t even sure how he ended up this many beers deep, but he got roped into beer pong with Lucas and Jungwoo had been handing new beers the moment he finished another, and the drunker the got, the less of a problem he had with it.

He jumps when he hears a knock, and walks toward the door quickly, deciding pizza will settle his stomach and he’ll only drink water for the rest of the night and he’s definitely not going to throw up.

Jungwoo cheers when he opens the door. “Mark! Where you been?”

“Oh, um. Just…took a phone call,” he says lamely.

“Ah, let me guess, Donghyuck?” 

“Huh? No. He’s having a spa night with his friends,” Mark explains. “His phone is on Do Not Disturb.”

He doesn’t know why he just shared that, it’s not like Jungwoo cares much about Donghyuck’s skincare parties. Plus, it’s not even totally accurate information. Donghyuck doesn’t put his chat with Mark on Do Not Disturb, just in case Mark has an emergency problem or needs to make a drunken love confession suddenly. Like last month, when he was buzzed off 4 shots of soju waiting for the train, and FaceTimed Donghyuck just to serenade him his favorite Michael Jackson song, because the acoustics were good in the empty station. Donghyuck had blushed behind his covers while he watched in the dark of their room, telling him to get home as soon as possible. 

“Really? I always thought he might be that jealous girlfriend type, like blowing up your phone and asking where you are on a night out.” Jungwoo laughs. 

“What? Hah, he’s not really like that,” Mark says, checking his phone just to be sure. Nothing in their chat had been sent other than a selfie of Donghyuck making a kissy face with a sheet-mask on and Mark replying with six heart eye emojis. “Plus, I told him I’d be home by 1.”

“Oh, right,” Jungwoo looks around, almost bored. “So he’s not a jealous guy?”

Mark frowns. “Not if he doesn’t have a reason,” he says, unsure why Jungwoo thinks about Donghyuck in that way. His rational brain said he should be offended, but his drunk brain was thinking about how pissed Donghyuck would be if he puked in their bathroom after Donghyuck just painstakingly cleaned it this morning. “Well, I guess he used to be.” 

“Oh, cool…” Jungwoo trails off, following Mark as he wanders drunkenly into the living room, falling back onto the couch and opening the box of pizza that’s been left on the coffee table.

“Jungwoo-ah, your friends still coming over?” Johnny asks from across the room as Mark bites into a slice of pepperoni. 

“On their way, yeah.”

Mark checks the time to see it’s just about midnight. He sees Jaehyun and Lucas playing beer pong again, and considers playing just to pass time and sober up. They’d probably laugh him away if he said he wouldn’t drink, though. 

The front door of Johnny’s apartment opens suddenly, and a trio of guys around their age walk in, all short in stature but generally good looking. Jungwoo sits down on the couch fast, slides in next to Mark. “Yo, those are my friends. That blond one is named Felix,” he says, pointing to the boy with a mullet and platform Doc Martens. “He’s Australian, studying abroad — I thought you two had a lot in common.”

“Oh, I’m from New York?” Mark says, brows furrowed.

“But you both speak English!” Jungwoo says in a rush, smacking his chest. “The guy has a great laugh. He laughs at everything, really, just like you. He makes friends everywhere he goes. Oh, and he’s super gay.”

Before Mark can think of anything intelligent to say in response, he finds the three boys approaching them on the couch. They greet Jungwoo, who’s now standing, enthusiastically. 

“Hey!” He says, exchanging handshakes at random. Mark watches awkwardly from below. “Felix, bro, this is Mark — my friend I was telling you about. Mark, this is Felix.” Jungwoo says, and Mark waves simply, giving the best smile he can in his state. 

“Yo.” He says.

Jungwoo turns to look at the other two boys. “Oh, and also um, this is Changbin and Chris. You guys want beer?” He asks, herding them off to the kitchen.

Felix appraises him as he stands there, giving him a pretty, close-mouthed smile. Mark notices he’s got really long eyelashes, even from far away, and platinum blond hair that stands out in a room of untreated brunettes. He wonders how Donghyuck would look with hair that bright. 

Felix sits down next to Mark with his legs together politely, waving a tiny hand.

“Hey, I’m Felix,” his voice is deeper than Mark expected. “Oh, wait, Jungwoo just told you that.” He laughs sheepishly. 

“Hey. Well, actually, I’m drunk. So it’s probably good to remind me.” Mark says, switching to English.

“Oh, nice to meet you, drunk,” Felix smiles cheekily. Mark pauses, confused, before he gets it. He laughs out loud, genuinely tickled by the joke, smacking a hand on his knee. “Oh, gosh, someone finally laughed at one of my dad jokes.”

Mark recovers, pointing a finger at Felix. “I get it,” he says. He’s so distracted by the realization Felix kind of looks like Tweety Bird, that he doesn’t even notice Johnny and Jungwoo smiling triumphantly at them from across the room.

_________________________________

They’re scattered amongst his and Mark’s living room, all existing separately as Jeno’s phone plays a lo-fi radio station. Donghyuck’s got a hand mirror between his knees as he obsessively smoothes his skin with a jade gua sha, skin shiny from the serum he borrowed from Jaemin.

He’s so deeply concentrated on his jawline that he jolts when Renjun gasps in raw anger, inches away from his ear. Donghyuck drops his stone between the couch cushions, glaring up at the boy at the inconvenience. 

“Oh my god,” Renjun says, in disbelief, as Donghyuck tries to recapture the stone with greasy fingers. “That Aussie skank.” He sneers, mouth twisted in a grimace as he studies something on his phone.

“Jesus Christ, Jun, you shouldn’t go on Twitter anymore if it gets you this worked up,” Donghyuck mutters, cleaning his gua sha off on his shirt. He looks at Renjun expectantly, eyebrow raised, as Renjun gives him a worried look. “What? What is it?”

He says nothing, just sticks his phone in Donghyuck’s face, thumb pressed down on the screen sturdily. He’s on Snapchat, he realizes dully, a stilled image of the back of Mark’s big head (he’d recognize it anywhere) and some blond twink with a mullet. 

Renjun releases his thumb, and the video starts playing, showing a clear angle of said twink leaning so close that he was practically on Mark’s lap. After a belated moment, to his shock and horror, he remembers who he’s looking at.

As if it wasn’t bad enough already, that was Lee Felix. Donghyuck almost laughed, a little hysterical, as it seemed like he couldn’t see enough of this boy. Felix was naturally popular amongst his classmates. Blond hair, cartoonish eyes, an infectious giggle. He couldn’t be less appealing to Donghyuck. 

Felix hadn’t even spoken a full sentence in their History of Korean Music class, let alone proven any scholarly capability greater than Donghyuck’s, when his teacher had split up the class into two teams for a class project, team leaders randomly chosen as Donghyuck and Felix. Everyone other than Donghyuck’s four friends lined up to be on Felix’s side, leaving Donghyuck standing awkwardly on the opposite side of the room with bated breath.

Their professor had to intervene and lasso some people back over to Donghyuck’s side, something so embarrassing he hadn’t even had the guts to tell Mark about it yet. 

He’d sort of thought all the high school shit was behind him, but apparently being gay wasn’t the only thing ostracizing him from his peers now. It had left him in a cycle of self-doubt all day, maybe the whole week. What did Mark really see in him back in high school? How did he even make friends at all? It seemed like whatever it was that made him so unlikable was something he couldn’t even control or stay aware of. Even when he tried his best to be sweet, no one really bought it.

It was just his luck, really, maybe karma, that Felix managed to find Mark within their gigantic campus, even with majors miles apart. Of course his bubbly, blond, Manic Pixie Dream Twink ass was half on top of Mark’s lap. 

Donghyuck frowns at the screen, silent as Jeno and Jaemin crowd around him to get a good look at the screen. 

“Oh — that’s Felix!” Jeno says, face lighting up in recognition. “He’s so….um, I mean. What the fuck is he doing talking to Mark?”

“Exactly,” Renjun says, rubbing his Vaseline’d lips together as he continues through his classmates story. Another video pops up after a few unflattering selfies. There’s a chaotic game of beer pong happening in the middle of the living room, but Mark and Felix are missing from the frame. 

The next video plays, and Donghyuck’s heart sinks. He goes back to rewatch it, and pauses on the still of Mark and Felix lost in conversation to the side, too busy to even participate. He wonders what they were talking about, whether it was in English or Korean. Mark rarely spoke in English to him, even though Donghyuck insisted he could keep up with him after years of tutoring. He guesses that’s his fault, though, usually accusing Mark of trying to confuse him when he’d slip back into English during an argument.

Donghyuck’s bottom lip trembles, fingers clutching onto the fabric of his sweatpants. He locks Renjun’s phone and puts it aside, sucking on his teeth as he considers his options.

“What are you gonna do?” Jaemin asks, eyes wide.

“I’m going to kill them, obviously.” 

_________________________________

“So, you’re from New York?” Felix asks, leaning in closer to talk in Mark’s ear. It’s so loud in the apartment — Felix’s friends, Chris and Changbin, are playing against Lucas and Jaehyun in a game of beer pong, and they haven’t stopped shouting since they started. Mark nods. “I’ve never been!”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to go back,” he says, not even aware how much he meant it until he said it out loud. “My mom and brother are there. But, s’not so bad, me and Donghyuck went after we graduated. We might go again during the next break.”

Felix’s Tweety Bird eyes go wide in recognition, laughing out a soft little, “Donghyuck?” like he may have misheard.

“Oh, yeah sorry — Donghyuck is my boyfriend.” Mark says, waking up his phone to show Felix his wallpaper. It was from when they’d gone kayaking in the Han River. Donghyuck looked particularly tired in his boat, adorned in an oversized life jacket, hair disheveled. He’d fallen out of his kayak five times. Donghyuck hated the picture, but it made Mark smile every time he looked at it.

Felix has stopped all movement, all talking, and possibly all breathing. His face glitches. “Your boyfriend, is…Lee Donghyuck?” He asks.

“Yeah!” Mark smiles. “Do you know him?”

Felix looks completely aghast. “Um, yes, and now I’m scared for my life,” he says. Mark notices he’s stopped speaking in his same soft tone and switched to a much more serious one. He leans in close to Mark so no one can hear, words edging on frantic. “Mark, I didn’t know you were taken, especially not by him. Your friends are trying to set us up!” 

“Set us up for what?” Mark asks, squinting.

“To date, Mark!” Felix says.

“What?” Mark squeaks, voice breaking. “No they’re not! They know I’m not available.” 

Felix sighs, impatient. 

“Well, they don’t see it that way. They told me you were being held hostage in some toxic situationship and that I’d be good for you. I just got out of something similar so I wasn’t keen on the idea, but Jungwoo’s been begging me to come here all night. That’s why we got here so late.”

Mark frowns as he listens, his stomach turning unpleasantly. He tries to think rationally, like Sober Mark might, but his drunk brain gets him a little lost.

“Are you shitting me?” He asks.

“I’m dead serious.” 

“Shit,” Mark mutters, heart racing, realizing how inapt he is to handle this at the moment. “How the fuck do I even explain this to Donghyuck? He’s gonna freak out.”

Felix looks equally clueless. “Maybe just try gently delivering the news to him tomorrow morning, once you’ve had time to think about things?”

Mark looks at him like he’s crazy, unsure if the term “gentle” could truly be used anywhere in this scenario. “I dunno, dude, I don’t think I can wait that long,” he says.

“It’s past midnight, you can’t just sleep on it?” Felix says, completely bewildered. 

“No way, he’s the lightest sleeper! He’ll just look at me and know something’s up.”

“Okay, well, maybe just talk right away then,” Felix suggests. “But try to leave my name out of it, please?” 

“Right, okay. I’ll do that.” 

Beer pong explodes in another fit of raucous laughter, and Mark looks over at them resentfully. What a complete buzzkill this was. He could only think of Donghyuck until then, his reaction and how violent it would be, that he hadn’t even considered how he would have to deal with his friends. Was there even a good way to deal with this?

“I don’t get why they can’t accept it,” Mark says, shaking his head. "I’m happy. Really happy. I feel like my friends just don’t get him, y’know? And they’ve never really tried to get him. Donghyuck"s just Donghyuck. You’ve met him before, so you get it.”

“Yeah, I totally get it,” Felix says, suspicious all at once as he looks around. “Hey, you didn’t notice anyone like, taking pictures with us in the background or something like that, right?”

Mark sighs, not paying attention to his question.

“It’s been like this ever since the ramen.” He says.

“The what?”

“The ramen,” Mark repeats. “Donghyuck heard them saying that I should enjoy single life and he dumped dinner in the trash.”

Felix raises an eyebrow. “Okay, hear me out, but…I think you need new friends,” he says. “They really shouldn’t be meddling in your relationship like this, it’s pretty disrespectful. I would’ve dumped their ramen, too.”

Mark nods, “I know.”

“Have you said anything to them?”

“About what?”

“Y’know, to lay off? Defend his honor, all of that?” Felix says, like it’s obvious.

“I used to, but since that night they haven’t directly said anything about him, just comments here and there, and Donghyuck always tells me not to explain ourselves to anyone,” he says. “But I know it’s been bothering him, he just wants me to make friends and stuff. I guess I’ve just been putting off the inevitable because friends don’t come easy to me.”

Felix nods, looking thoughtful, and puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“You must be a good boyfriend, if Lee Donghyuck likes you. He doesn’t seem the type to date someone unworthy of him,” he says. “But you need to show him you won’t put up with that shit. No one wants a guy who lets people walk all over them.”

“You’re right. He doesn’t deserve that at all.” Mark says, suddenly nervous. He needs to confront them, and it’s not gonna be fun, but he knows he can’t gently deliver anything to his boyfriend until he’s severed ties with these people.

They both jump when there’s a loud knock on the front door. 

Everyone grows quiet, looking to each other for guidance. A knock like that may seem like a noise complaint to others, but to Mark, he knows exactly who that is. It’s just, he’s not sure how it’d be possible. When no one answers the door, it swings open anyway, completely unlocked. 

“Jesus, slow down,” he hears someone say from the hall. “Some of us didn’t run cross-country.”

Donghyuck appears in the doorway like a drunken mirage Mark’s made up in his paranoid mind, except he has a feeling he’s real this time. He’s dressed just how Mark remembers last seeing him, black track pants and Mark’s green Patagonia hoodie, wearing a sour little pout as his eyes seek out someone specific.

His friends close the door behind them and push further inside, and the party returns to a normal volume once they realize it"s not the cops or an angry old lady. Felix barely represses a screech when Donghyuck sets his sights on him, immediately making a beeline toward the couch. 

Felix distances himself from Mark, pushing the boy away hard enough to bruise, and nearly trips trying to get up. Mark barely reacts, standing to greet Donghyuck in surprise, but realizes quickly that Donghyuck doesn’t seem in the greeting type of mood. 

Donghyuck comes to an abrupt halt, Mark’s presence the only thing keeping him and Felix from standing toe to toe. 

“What’s a music major doing at a party full of tech-geeks?” Donghyuck asks, gaze stuck on Felix, arms crossed.

Felix stands in a frozen silence, throat clicking as he swallows. 

Mark brushes his hand against Donghyuck’s back, hoping it can be a calming gesture. Donghyuck doesn’t spare him a glance. His face is scarily neutral, mouth in a straight line as he watches Felix squirm instead.

“Baby,” he starts, softly, willing Donghyuck to look at him. “Hey, Felix didn’t do anything.“

“Oh?” Donghyuck’s eyes flash as he finally looks at him, and for a moment, Mark has no idea what Donghyuck will do or say next. It’s not an unusual look for Donghyuck, but it’s terrifying, because it’s not a look that usually gets pointed at Mark. 

“I’m just genuinely curious, though,” Donghyuck continues, dragging his gaze away to look at Felix. Mark is almost relieved. “Was is the wide selection of cheap beer they have or the charming company that made you want to be here, on a Friday night, of all places?”

“I’m, I — I was invited,” Felix stutters in Korean.

“By who? And how did you end up on his lap in the process?” Donghyuck asks, a brow raised impatiently, intimidating as ever. Felix blanches. “Quickly.”

Mark’s been so focused on what’s happening in front of him that he hadn’t even realized the room’s gone totally quiet again, a Peaches remix on their bluetooth speaker the only noise remaining. 

Felix barely lasts 10 seconds, the awkward silence in the room choking them all.

“Jungwoo told me he had a single friend that he wanted to set me up with tonight and I had no idea you were dating!” Felix blurts all in one breath, taking another step back. Mark can see the cogs turning in Donghyuck’s brain, looking over at Mark’s friends, so guilty they may as well have their tails between their legs. “All we did was talk, I swear.”

Donghyuck looks at Mark. Mark nods, frantic. 

“Really, it’s what he said,” Mark confirms. “That"s what we were talking about when you walked in. Well, we were talking for a while before, but I didn’t even realize it was like that!”

Felix nods in agreement. Donghyuck stays unusually silent, but he relaxes slightly, less defensive. Mark pulls him in closer, whispers, “Can you look at me now?” 

Jaemin stands with hands on his hips as the crowd continues to watch them, whispering amongst themselves. 

“Hey, this isn’t a free show!” He barks. “Go back to being drunk idiots.”

People turn around suddenly. Someone turns up the volume to the speaker. 

“I knew it,” Donghyuck whispers, and Mark sags in relief, believing they’ve smoothed things over in record time. Maybe Donghyuck and Felix can be friends!

“How did you figure it out? My mind is like,” he mimes an explosion. “We were just talking about you and you showed up!”

Renjun sticks his arm out between them, phone at the ready. He plays a video from Snapchat, some shaky recording of Felix leaning over to talk in his ear.

“That looks really bad,” he grimaces, then looks up at Donghyuck, laden with guilt.  “You must’ve thought the worst.”

Donghyuck straightens his posture defensively. “Not really. I knew something was off. It just seemed too random that Felix was here out of every better option on campus,” he says. “I just had to come and see for myself to confirm.”

Jeno snorts. “Totally.”

“I’m serious. It’s not Mark that I don’t trust, it’s the people he was with tonight. I knew he would never do anything,” he says, and looks into Marks eyes like he’s asking for forgiveness. For what, Mark doesn’t know. “I trust you more than anything.”

“Same.” Mark smiles.

Felix clears his throat awkwardly. “Okay. I’m gonna, uh, leave. Bye,” he says, sneaks away with a nervous wave. Donghyuck crosses his arms and watches him leave silently. 

He sighs. “I can’t believe those assholes thought they’d get away with it.”

“Dicks,” Renjun shakes his head.

“I’m gonna talk to them,” Mark promises. 

“We should all talk.” Donghyuck says.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Mark says calmly, at the same time Donghyuck turns away from them and yells, “hey, dumbasses!”

Donghyuck strides toward the corner that they’re hiding in, fixing his sights on Jungwoo, who seems to be expecting him. Donghyuck sticks a finger in his face with conviction. “You think because I dumped your dinner in the garbage that gives you grounds to sabotage my relationship?”

“Woah, chill,” Lucas says, eyes wide.

“Why should I?” Donghyuck asks. “I think you’ve all made it clear there’s nothing off-limits.”

Mark appears behind Donghyuck suddenly, pulling him away before he can stick his finger in anyone else’s face. 

“We should talk privately,” he says into Donghyuck’s ear, then looks up at his friends. “Let’s just settle this, altogether, yeah?” They all shrug and nod, walking together into Johnny’s bedroom, leaving behind a confused crowd of drunk people.

“Listen, I feel like the tension is like, way too high right now,” Jaehyun says, leaning against a metal bunkbed while Donghyuck silently fumes. “Felix made it sound worse than it was.”

“I’m tense just watching you eat food on my furniture, Jaehyun. It’s safe to say I’m completely rigid right now,” Donghyuck says, leaning forward as he speaks. Mark reels him in by the back of his sweatshirt. “And how could he have made it sound worse? Did Jungwoo not tell Felix that Mark was single, then bring him here under the pretense of possibly dating?” Donghyuck asks, awaiting a response. 

Lucas leans back against his desk, crossing his arms. “I guess it sounds bad out loud.”

“It sounds bad any way you put it!” Donghyuck says, incredulous. “You just tried to break us up.”

Jungwoo heaves a sigh. “Mark didn’t even do anything.”

“Because your plan sucked. You put twink bait in front of him when he was drunk in hopes he’d cheat on me,” he says. “You’re disgusting. Why don’t you work on forming your own meaningful relationship before trying to break up two happy people?”

“What’s twink bait?” Jaehyun says, puzzled, but he’s spoken over before he can get an answer.

“He doesn’t look all that happy from where we’re standing,” Johnny says, putting his hands up defensively when Mark shouts an agitated bro! “You might think you’re happy, Mark, but you literally have a curfew! No one your age actually wants a relationship with so many rules.”

Mark glowers at them, “Stop acting like you guys know what I want.”

“He’s right, though,” Lucas says, sparing Donghyuck an offhanded glance. “You can’t take your own boyfriend anywhere, ‘cause he’ll just suck the fun out of the room.”

Donghyuck’s face drops, blinking furiously down at his slippers.

“That’s not true,” Mark says. “Every time there’s an opportunity to get along, you guys just piss him off and embarrass me in the process. Why do you think I banned you from my apartment?”

“We just figured it was Donghyuck who banned us.”

“It was,” Donghyuck bristles. 

“See!” Lucas points at him, accusingly.

Mark rubs his temples, realizing this was futile.

“I’m not fighting with you guys anymore,” Donghyuck says, seemingly on the same wavelength. “I let it go the first dozen times because I thought you were all too stupid to do actual harm. But clearly none of you think you’ve done anything wrong. Mark, this is your fight to finish.” He looks at them all one final time before leaving the room, the door slamming behind him. 

Mark stares at his friends. He puts his arms out. “Guys, what the fuck?” He asks to a mute crowd. “You just fucking set me up.”

“Yeah, with a really cool guy!”

“No, you just tried to set me up for failure! What if something happened, what if he broke up with me?” Mark yells, feeling himself lose his cool now that Donghyuck’s gone. 

His friends look at each other. “Okay look,” Johnny says. “We weren’t necessarily trying to break you guys up.”

Mark’s eyes bug out of his head. “Then what the hell were you doing?”

“Chill. After the ramen incident, we were talking about how weird you two were. Like, you’re pretty weird together, right?” Johnny asks, and Mark can only listen, too stunned to speak. “You’re like, this happy little dude, and he’s like, you know. But then we remembered, you two had been together since high school and Donghyuck was probably the only guy you’d dated. When we met Felix we just thought he seemed super compatible to you, plus we all liked him, too. It’s not that we wanted you to cheat, but maybe get his number and see if there was any potential. We just wanted to see what would happen, ‘cause like, Felix is so chill and his roommates have this crazy sick streamer equipment.”

“Um, okay? If one of you want to date Felix yourself, go ahead and do that,” Mark says, their grand explanation falling short. “I’m happy and I’ve told you guys that, like, a million times!”

“We get it, dude, it’s just — do you honestly think you would have stayed together if you went to different colleges?” Jaehyun asks.

“We would stay together if we lived on different continents,” he says, frustrated, hands shoved into his pockets. “Despite popular opinion I"m not a pushover and I have free will. Like, I’m gonna marry him one day. And then what? You’ll probably try to ruin the wedding at this rate. And I’m definitely not cool with that. So…we can’t be friends anymore. I’m out. Yeah.”

He thinks he hears Lucas call out to him when he leaves, but he lets the door fall shut behind him anyways. He finds Renjun lingering at the end of the hall with his arms crossed. 

“Hey, where’s Donghyuck?” Mark asks.

“He’s outside with Jeno and Jaemin, c’mon, I grabbed your coat. I think. You wear this corduroy thing right?” Renjun asks, shaking it in front of Mark’s face.

“Yeah.” He takes the jacket, gripping it tight, and notices he’s trembling slightly.

“Alright, let’s get out of here,” Renjun says, and they stop short when some guy falls over from an unsuccessful keg stand right by their feet. Renjun gasps, stepping over him and wrenching the door open. “Jesus, Mark, I didn’t realize how bad it was for you here.” 

Mark grunts. “Yeah, I sorta didn’t either.”

“You know, I have some nice friends I could set you up with,” he muses. “I think YangYang likes League Of Legends. Is that a game you like?”

“Sure,” Mark responds numbly, following a fast paced Renjun toward the elevator. 

He’s quiet on the way to the first floor, unable to wrap his mind around what’s just happened. He knew they were sort of assholes, but in a lovable, means no harm type of way. It’s not like he needed them, or saw them integrally in his life past graduation. They were just…his friends. And he hadn’t had many of those since living in Korea. 

“Oh, there they are,” Renjun notes, pushing the double doors to the apartment complex open. Mark’s mind goes blank when he sees Donghyuck sitting on the front steps, eyes rimmed red, looking up at Mark like he’s been caught.

Mark seeks him out immediately, crouching in front of the boy and placing his hands on his knees. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks, cupping his wet cheek. He rarely ever sees Donghyuck cry. Especially not in public, where others could see that he knew how.

His friends give them space, walking toward the sidewalk. 

Donghyuck shrugs, then admits weakly, “I lied.”

“About what?” Mark says, eyebrows steeped in worry. 

“I said I didn’t even think for a moment you’d do something like that. That I knew they were up to something. But that’s not true,” Donghyuck says, sniffing. He looks so mad at himself. “For a moment, when I saw the videos, I actually thought, like, maybe I’d been too confident that you’d never be tempted? Or like, maybe everyone was right. You’d find someone easier. I have classes with Felix, everyone’s obsessed with him.”

Mark moves to sit next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders so Donghyuck is crowded into his chest.

“Not a fucking chance,” Mark assures him. “I love you, like, so fucking much. What’s going on, how long have you felt like this?” And he’s horrified to think it, that he’s neglected this part of Donghyuck’s brain for so long that it’s all spilling out now on the front steps. That something he’s done or said planted this seed of doubt in Donghyuck’s brain.

“Please stop worrying, it’s nothing that you’ve done. It’s my own brain. Lately I’ve been having all of these, like, stupid emotions that keep spilling all over the place. And I really don’t want you to see that side of me, since it’s so different to your perception of how I am,” Donghyuck says, fists curling into Mark’s hoodie. “This may shock you, Mark. But sometimes, I’m really very insecure.”

Mark plays with one of Donghyuck’s loose curls, incredibly fond of the boy in his arms. 

“Donghyuck, there’s no side of you that I don’t know or like. You put up a tough front, and I’ve always admired how unshakable you were by other peoples words. But everyone has moments of insecurity. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t, and if you weren’t human, well…then I probably wouldn’t have met you,” Mark explains, realizing by the end of his statement that he’s still pretty drunk. “And that’d really suck.”

Donghyuck shoves his face into his hands, suddenly crying again, surprising them both. Mark coos helplessly, rubbing circles into his back. Donghyuck’s friends watch from a sidewalk bench, all equal parts confused. His crying ends as suddenly as it begins.

“I hate feeling jealous!” He finally says, looking up at Mark almost furiously. “This is one of my top three least favorite feelings.”

Donghyuck inhales a steadying breath, wiping hard at his face with the sleeves of Mark’s sweatshirt. He looks at Mark again, shoulders slumped with finality

“What are the other two?” Mark asks, curious. “Of your least favorite feelings, I mean."

Donghyuck rests his exhausted head in the palm of his hand. “Getting picked last and being told no,” he answers.

“Well it’s a good thing I’ll never do either of those things to you,” Mark says.

Donghyuck looks at him, the smallest of smiles disrupting his mopey expression. He leans forward and presses a wet kiss to Marks lips. 

“Mark, I really love you,” he says, quietly between them, bony fingers digging into his shoulders. “If you left me for someone with a mullet, I really don’t think I’d ever get over that.”

“Same, but I think the mullet is the least important thing here, babe,” Mark says. “You can’t leave me for anyone, even if they have really, really good hair.”

Donghyuck nods. “Kay,” he says, kissing him again, arms wrapping around Mark’s middle. “But I’m still really serious about the mullet thing.”

_________________________________

Mark holds Donghyuck’s hand as they walk through almost empty halls, ignoring the silent looks from stray classmates they encounter. They stop in front of the auditorium’s double doors, where Donghyuck has to meet with his choir teacher before they leave for the afternoon. 

Mark opens the door for him and leans his back against it so he can walk through. 

“How chivalrous,” Donghyuck muses, kissing his cheek as he passes by, and Mark smiles faintly as he watches him walk down the aisle. He lets the door swing shut, suddenly hearing a dramatic retching noise from behind him. 

Mark rolls his eyes and glances at Jinho and Yongson, who have seemingly appeared out of no where. Their footsteps normally weren’t so quiet. 

Mark says nothing. 

“Tell me you two aren’t actually together?” Jinho asks, sounding deeply disturbed.

“What do you think?” Mark deadpans.

“That it’s nasty, that’s what I think,” he replies. “I wish you wouldn’t do that shit in front of me.”

Mark refrains from telling him that they chose to stick around and watch.

“Yah, I can’t believe Lee actually let you into his pants,” Yongson laughs at him. “I thought the only thing that could fit up his ass was the stick that made him act like such a bitch.” 

“Nah, I’m not surprised,” Jinho says. “No one here would touch Donghyuck with a 10 foot pole, he probably jumped into bed with him the moment he got attention.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Mark says.

“I’d bet Donghyuck takes it up the ass, right?” he continues crudely, “He’s definitely the girl between you two. Not like you’re much of a man anyways, but at least you sound like a dude.”

It’s ridiculous and childish, what they’re saying, but Mark can feel heat creeping up his neck.  He curls his hands into fists inside his pockets. 

They’re talking about Donghyuck like he’s not even human, like they expect Mark not to react or defend him. And he knows they’re trying to get a rise out of him, but it’s hard to think reasonably when they won’t shut up. Because they’re just plain wrong. Mark and Donghyuck haven’t done more than kiss, and he knows Donghyuck would freak if he heard them say that — if his mom heard them say that.

“You two know nothing,” Mark says. “So I suggest you keep his name out of your mouth.”

The boys ooh and ahh, riling him up. Mark’s reaction amuses them, mouths curling into evil smiles.

“How do you even come, bro?” Jinho wonders aloud. “I bet he doesn’t even moan in your ear when he’s close, just insults your outfit and nags you until you finish. Freak.”

Mark knows he’s bright red now, but not from embarrassment. “You seem to be thinking really hard about how he is in bed, you thought about it a lot? You’re like obsessed with him.” He spits.

“I’m not obsessed. I’m not gay. Like you.” Jinho says, casual posture faltering, arms crossed in defense.

“Well that insult’s obvious enough, isn’t it? I’m literally gay, apparently everyone at this school knew that before I even got here. Maybe come up with something more creative.” Mark rolls his eyes. 

“You haven’t been here that long,” Yongson says. “Wait a little longer and you’ll find out what he’s really like.”

“I don’t think I’d be all that different if I was forced to be around you idiots my whole life.”

“The fuck did you say?” Jinho says.

They both get in his face, crowding him against the auditorium doors, breathing hard where they tower over Mark.

“You fuck the kid a few times and now you got an attitude problem too,” he sneers, voice low. “A bitch just like his mom. If I was his dad, I woulda left town, too.”

Mark lunges before he can continue, pushing Jinho hard against his chest until he stumbles backwards. Mark follows him closely, not giving him an inch of space, and grabs his shirt for leverage before he punches him square in the nose.

“Shit!” Jinho cries as he falls onto his ass.

His hand fucking hurts, and there’s blood on knuckles when he pulls back, some splattered on the floor. The doors to the auditorium open loudly, and Donghyuck emerges wearing a worried expression. He forces the doors shut before anyone would be able to see what lays just beyond them, staring at them in shock. His feet lead him to Mark before he can think too hard about anything, grabbing him by the wrist.

“Are you okay?” He asks, checking Mark’s hand for injuries while Jinho writhes on the floor, his friend covering his eyes, faint from the sight of blood dripping onto his school uniform. Mark nods, a little dazed. “Let’s get out of here before someone sees you.”

“They were talking shit,” Mark mutters, getting dragged behind by Donghyuck. “I just lost it.” 

“It’s okay,” Donghyuck says, on autopilot. “Let’s just leave quickly.”

They exit through a side door, and Donghyuck decides for them both that they should skip after school study. They walk to their normal bus stop, and Donghyuck sits them down on the metal bench. 

“Are you mad?” Mark asks, after minutes of silence. “Do you think I’ll get suspended?”

“Jinho and Yongson are too proud to admit they got beat,” Donghyuck says. He takes out an icepack from his lunchbox and sets it against Mark’s knuckles. “They won’t tell anyone.” 

“But, the cameras…?”

Donghyuck blinks, before letting out a soft chuckle. “Mark, I was lying about camera footage that time. I just wanted to scare them, and they’re too dumb to know our school can’t afford that type of security. Not that you’re dumb…” He says, biting his lip. “I just wanted to instill some fear in them.” 

“Oh…well, that’s good,” Mark laughs. “I really didn’t think much before I did it.”

“Were you defending my honor, Mark Lee?” He asks, smiling. 

“I was,” Mark says, clenching and unclenching his fingers like he’s afraid they’ll get stuck. “And I will from now on, too. Promise.”

Donghyuck’s smiles broadens. He shakes his head fondly. “I can defend myself just fine, thanks,” he whispers. “I appreciate you doing some behind the scenes work. But you’ll end up with a lot of bruised fists if you try to defend me every time. It happens a lot.”

“You’re strong,” Mark says. “I don’t know how you put up with them for so long.”

“Eh,” Donghyuck shrugs. “I’ve just always known my self worth, ever since I was little. I sleep soundly at night knowing I’m better than them.”

“You’re better than them, for sure,” Mark lets the ice pack fall aside, resting his hand over Donghyuck’s instead. He squeezes his fingers gently. “I don’t know why they’re so cruel to anyone who’s different.”

“That’s just life, isn’t it? They say I’m a bitch, but they wouldn’t stop heckling me if I was the sweetest little fruit tart in South Korea,” Donghyuck smiles sardonically. “But they’re all bark and no bite. And now I have a boyfriend who bites, so I have nothing to worry about. Right?” 

Mark leans forward, catches his lips in a soft kiss. “Right.”

“Just so you know, I caught the tail end of the conversation, right before you punched him,” Donghyuck says, as they pull apart. “I was standing behind the door and heard what Jinho said. It means a lot, that you took it just as personal. Even if it was about me, or my family.”

“Of course.”

“Also,” Donghyuck whispers, face resting in his neck. “Watching you hit him was really hot. Really. I mean, he’s like at least 4 inches taller than you and you knocked him down.”

Mark’s face is on fire, mouth twitching as he tries not to smile too proudly. Donghyuck tips his head back and kisses him, knotting his fingers in his hair.

“Donghyuck,” Mark gasps, pulling back. Donghyuck kisses his cheek, wrapping his arms around Mark’s torso comfortably, every part of them touching, and looks up at Mark. 

“Yes?” Donghyuck asks, pretty lashes fluttering as he struggles against the sunlight in his eyes. 

“I’ve felt it for a while, but. I love you.” 

Donghyuck’s eyes widen, just momentarily, and then he smiles so wide Mark feels like he’s looking at the sun, too.

“I love you, too,” Donghyuck says, confidently.