Mark and Donghyuck made up quickly after that, just like they always did. Mark had stood outside of his house every day until Donghyuck agreed to talk to him, and once he did, he had apologized profusely and promised to never keep anything from Donghyuck ever again. He had even brought over a little teddy bear as an "I'm sorry" present, because he knew how much Donghyuck loved bears, and the younger boy hated how easily the gift made him fold and forgive Mark.
"So now that I actually know about this whole crush thing you have going on... tell me a little bit about her," Donghyuck had said as casually as he could manage, sitting on Mark's bed and holding the teddy bear in his lap. Mark flushed, rubbing the back of his neck shyly as he spun around in his desk chair to face Donghyuck.
"Well, her name is Seulgi..." he had started, avoiding Donghyuck's eyes, "she's actually a year older because she went abroad and fell behind in school. But that means she speaks English too, so I really bonded with her because she was like the only person I could use my native language with, y'know? Other than my parents, of course."
Donghyuck tightened his grip on the teddy bear and forced a smile, nodding and urging Mark to continue.
"But she's super pretty, like gorgeous, Hyuck... and oh my god, I had choir class with her for a little bit, and she has the most beautiful voice. And she's super nice too! But I don't think she sees me as anything more than a friend, or like... a little brother."
Donghyuck was overcome with the sudden urge to punch his teddy bear in the face. Why? He honestly had no idea. All he knew was that he didn't like this girl, without having any idea as to why, and if Mark didn't stop talking about her soon then he might end up punching Mark in the face.
"That's awesome, Mark, she sounds great," he lied through his teeth, "but even if she doesn't like you back, at least you have her as a friend, right? Don't feel pressured to confess to her or anything if you don't want to or you feel like you're not ready."
"I know," Mark beamed, looking annoyingly pleased with himself, "man, I'm so happy I can talk to you about her now. I didn't realize how fun it is to talk about your crush with your friends. Why did I ever feel the need to keep it from you in the first place?"
Donghyuck laughed awkwardly, hugging the teddy bear tighter to his chest and trying his best to pretend he didn't feel nauseous with all of the anger and bitterness churning deep in his stomach.
┈ ୨ 🧸 ୧ ┈
Months later after their mini fight, Mark found himself standing in the middle school hallway as he had been doing since the start of the new school year, outside of a door that he was now all too familiar with. He shifted back and forth on his feet as he stood outside of the classroom, occasionally glancing down at his watch as he chewed at his lower lip impatiently. A steady stream of unfamiliar students that were very obviously in the lower grades made their way through the hallways around him, shooting him strange looks as they passed, probably wondering why a high schooler with a completely different uniform was lingering in the middle school hallways at this time of day.
A female student exited the classroom he was waiting in front of, and he perked up suddenly, moving himself to block the kid's way. The girl looked up at him, obviously confused, and his cheeks heated up as he cleared his throat.
"Um... excuse me... is there a Lee Donghyuck here?" He murmured shyly, wringing his hands together as he spoke. Recognition seemed to flash across the girl's face, and she gave him a knowing smile.
"You're Mark, right?" She asked, surveying his high schooler uniform with poorly contained amusement. Mark nodded quickly. "Yea, he's in there. He's finishing up an assignment."
"Could you tell him I'm here to pick him up?" Mark asked again quickly, and the younger girl sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically before she tilted her head back through the open classroom door behind her.
"Yah, Lee Donghyuck! Mark Lee is here, he says he's waiting to pick you up." She yelled into the classroom. Mark could hear the teasing snickering of some of the other students in the class, before he heard the loud scrape of a chair being pushed back, followed by quick, pattering footsteps. Mark smiled in anticipation as Donghyuck appeared in the doorway, running up to Mark excitedly with a blindingly bright smile on his face.
"Hyung!" He called happily, running up to wrap his arms around Mark's waist. People passing by them started to stare, but Mark found that he couldn't bring himself to give a shit as he cooed and gently stroked the back of Donghyuck's head, patting down his slightly messy curls.
"Hi, Donghyuckie. Your friend said you were finishing up an assignment?" He hummed, tilting his head as Donghyuck pulled away from him to nod quickly.
"Yup! I can just take it home with me, though, it's not a big deal. I don't wanna keep you waiting too long."
Mark melted. Donghyuck may be a little brat sometimes, but at his core, he was incredibly sweet and considerate.
"I don't mind waiting. Your homework is way more important than me having to stand in this hallway for a little longer, I'm perfectly capable of handling myself."
Donghyuck pouted. "No, hyung, it's really okay! I'm too excited now to finish it anyways!"
Mark couldn't help but laugh a little at that, staring down at his best friend in wonder. How was it that Donghyuck was always so excited to see him, despite them being practically attached at the hip for the majority of their lives? It's not like he had any room to talk, though... he couldn't deny the way his heart inflated with excitement and joy every time he saw little Donghyuckie round the corner, with a big smile on his face, barreling towards Mark with his arms open wide just for him.
"I come by to pick you up every single day. You'd think the excitement would wear off by now," Mark teased, rolling his eyes fondly. "But alright, if you say so. Go get your bag, Duckie."
Donghyuck nodded, happily skipping back into his classroom to gather his things. Mark could faintly make out that the other students were making various remarks, probably poking fun at Donghyuck for acting like a puppy who's owner just came home every time Mark swung by to pick him up after school and walk him home, but the younger boy paid them no mind as he came back out and held on tightly to Mark's hand.
They didn't let go of each other's hands as they walked through the hallways, not even as students eyed them weirdly and whispered under their breaths about them. Mark coming to pick up Donghyuck was such a regular occurrence that the middle schoolers in Donghyuck's year knew to expect him, but it seemed that a lot of people couldn't get past their blatant show of physical affection for each other. Mark tried his best to be understanding and empathetic—South Korea was still very conservative, these kids are just victims of their parents' mentalities, and they're probably just not used to seeing two boys be so unashamed about hugging and holding hands in public, even if there were no romantic intentions behind it.
But at times, he couldn't help but worry about Donghyuck... sweet little Donghyuckie, who pretended to be strong but deep down really cared a lot about what people thought of him. The little boy who needed lots of physical affection and attention in order to feel loved and cared for, who clung to Mark because he was one of the only people in his life that was willing to indulge him and give him as much attention as he needed. Deep down, Mark couldn't help but worry that one day some stupid kids would get inside Donghyuck's head and make him think that the way he showed his love for people was wrong or gross, and that poor little Hyuckie would withdraw back into his shell and make himself miserable by depriving himself of giving and receiving love and affection.
That's why Mark had become much more protective over Donghyuck as they got older—because he had to witness first hand how mean the other kids got when they got even a hint that someone might be different from them, and Mark would rather die than watch his adorable, loving best friend have his kind spirit broken by those same mean kids.
Mark instinctively pulled Donghyuck a little closer up against himself, using his free arm to shove through the crowd of students as he practically dragged Donghyuck out of the building. The younger boy didn't put up a fight, just obediently followed Mark and let him take him wherever he wanted to go, but he still threw a questioning look up at him once they were alone, walking down the familiar sidewalk together.
"What was that all about?" He mused gently, rubbing small circles into the back of Mark's hand once he had noticed how tense his best friend had gotten. Mark instantly deflated, relaxing under the gesture, before he gave Donghyuck a weak smile and shook his head.
"Nothing, Hyuckie. Don't worry about it."
Donghyuck frowned, hugging Mark's arm and pressing his full body weight up against him as they walked. This was a tell that Mark knew all too well... when Donghyuck got clingy like this, it was a sign he was about to weaponize his aegyo to try and get something he wanted. And right now, he wanted answers—answers that Mark wasn't sure he was ready to say out in the open, for fear that once Donghyuck became aware of the way people looked at him, it would shatter him and do the exact thing Mark was desperately trying to avoid.
"Hyung," he whined, in that over exaggerated high pitched tone that he knew was Mark's biggest weakness. "Stop treating me like a baby. I'm only one year younger than you! You can tell me stuff, I'm not a little kid anymore."
Mark stopped walking, making Donghyuck stumble as he almost tripped forward from the abrupt halt in movement. Before the younger boy could bombard him with more questions, Mark turned and took his friend's face into his hands, cupping his cheeks and looking down at him.
"Donghyuck," he started gently, and the smaller boy just blinked up at him, clearly taken aback by the sudden affection, "I want to tell you stuff too, but I also want to be able to take care of things for you because I'm older. I want to be able to baby you from time to time and let you be a kid for as long as you can. I just don't want you to lose that innocence that makes you so bright and happy. So if Hyung has to keep secrets from you sometimes, try not to be too mad, okay? I promise I'll tell you everything you want to know as soon as I know you're old enough to handle it."
Donghyuck stared up at him for a long moment, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth as he listened. He was in the stage of his life where he thought he was much older and more mature than he actually was, so he couldn't help the annoyance that bubbled up at Mark's words, but at the end of the day... he trusted his Hyung more than anyone else in the world. He trusted that his best friend was really just looking out for him, and if he thought it was best for him not to know some things yet, then he would push his curiosity down and wait patiently until Mark finally let him in.
"Okay," he murmured finally, giving Mark a weak smile, "it's not super bad though, is it? The way you're talking about it makes it seem really serious."
Mark gave him a little lopsided grin and shrugged, his hands dropping from his face and finding Donghyuck's hand once more as they resumed walking. "I guess it depends on how you look at it. I'll let you make that decision for yourself in a year or two when I tell you."
"Meanie," Donghyuck huffed breathlessly, straightening his backpack on his shoulders as their two houses came into view. He glanced up at Mark, sly and mischievous, before he inhaled a deep breath.
"Last one to the door loses!" He screeched, suddenly breaking out into a run towards their houses. Mark groaned loudly, still jogging after him and trying his best to catch up with a giggling Donghyuck, who was already halfway to the front porch of Mark's house.
"Lee Donghyuck, you're so dead when I catch you!"