"is your brother really a famous actor?" donghyuck asked in surprise. "yeah, here," doyoung pulled out a picture of he and his brother from back when his brother came to surprise him during summer break. "that's so cool!" donghyuck exclaimed. "that's why my plan is to graduate from here as soon as possible so i can become an actor too," doyoung admitted.
in a matter of four hours, two people can become extremely close. that's exactly what happened to donghyuck and doyoung. after seeing that most of the students were out and there was no way they could sleep with all the excitement going on, they decided to chat in the study.
"do you aspire to be like your brother?" donghyuck asked. doyoung paused, "honestly, no. i want to be a singer, but i gave up on that after my mother praised gongmyung hyung for being such a great actor. she said i would be successful if i could be like him."
the once happy atmosphere of the room died down a bit after hearing the sad truth from the older. "it's okay, i'm sure you'll get there, hyung," donghyuck tried to reassure him. "there you are," a voice was heard from behind donghyuck. "oh my god! you scared me half to d—" a hand was placed over his mouth to quiet him.
"shush! any teacher could hear us!" the voice hissed in his ear. donghyuck nodded in understanding and quietly apologized once the person removed their hand. he turned in his seat to see mark standing there. jaemin was hoisted on his back and jeno was clinging onto his arm like a baby. "are they d-drunk?" donghyuck asked nervously.
he risked a glance at doyoung and saw him rolling his eyes. "this is why i never go to those parties," he muttered. mark also rolled his eyes out of annoyance. "can you help me carry them to their rooms?" he asked. donghyuck quickly agreed and stood up from his seat. "it was nice talking to you hyung. i'll see you around," he waved.
"see you," doyoung showed a gummy smile. "finally a decent junior," doyoung mumbled, feeling a motherly feeling towards the younger male. with that, donghyuck took hold of jeno and basically dragged him to his room. "room 323, this should be it," he stopped in front of the door. "go ahead, open it," mark urged.
his back ached from carrying jaemin, and he was more than ready to drop him off back at their room. though uneasy, donghyuck pushed the door open carefully. he was surprised to see that the light was already on and there was a boy sitting at a desk, drawing a picture. "um, excuse me," donghyuck called, alerting the other.
the boy jumped in his seat before turning to meet eyes with donghyuck. "you room with jeno, right?" donghyuck tilted his head to the side. "yeah, i do," he remained seated. can he not see jeno right next to me? donghyuck wondered. he decided to try a different approach, "i'm donghyuck." he waited for a good minute of silence until the other boy finally spoke. "i'm renjun."
"great, now that we're past formalities, can you help take jeno to his bed. my fr— roommate is waiting outside," he tried to say as politely as possible. "oh, sure," renjun jumped up as if it was no problem at all. "he's a little drunk so be careful," donghyuck warned after he had already passed jeno to him.
the chinese nodded and signaled that it was okay if donghyuck left. donghyuck breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him. "could you have taken any longer? my back feels like it's about to break," mark groaned. "hey, i was trying my best," donghyuck couldn't even hide how annoyed his was back.
he was sleepy, his first day of classes started in a few hours, his only friends were drunk, mark was kind of being an ass, and all he wanted to do was collapse on his mattress and get as much sleep as he could.
without another word, he helped mark place jaemin on his bed and sighed in relief. the older was staring at him as if he was looking for something. the feeling was uncomfortable, so he tried to leave. "i'm going to get changed," he pulled out some pajamas from his suitcase and rushed to the bathroom.
once inside, he stripped of his clothes and put on some more comfortable ones. deciding to complete his night routine then, he brushed his teeth and washed his face. after drying his face with a soft cotton towel, he exited the bathroom. mark was sitting on his bed with a blank expression on his face. when he noticed the younger stepping out of the bathroom, he stood up and entered, closing the door behind him.
donghyuck let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. with mark in the bathroom, he finally felt like he could breathe. using his time as well as he could, he climbed up the ladder of the bunk bed and crept in to bed, sheets cold on his exposed tan skin. his sleeping outfit had short sleeves and shorts. he figured that when the season got colder, he should buy long and warm pajamas.
the male sunk further into his bed sheets until the only part of him left visible was his silky black hair. the smell of detergent was still clear on the covers. he breathed in the smell, finding comfort in it. his first day had been long. it wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't what he was expecting either.
the school was bigger than he imagined. the design was very classic and resembled as well as reminded him of hogwarts based off of the structure. since he was a huge harry potter fan, he liked that detail a lot. donghyuck thought about the male who would come out of the bathroom at any minute. he wasn't rude, yet, he wasn't friendly either. he was just— distant.
whenever he looked into mark's brown eyes, he saw a long history. although he had no clue what the older had been through, he hoped that there would be a day when mark could open up to him, and he would be ready to be there for him. they knew nothing about each other and couldn't even be considered friends, and still, donghyuck wanted to help him out.
the bathroom door swung open, startling the younger as he peeked his head out from under the covers. he and mark met eyes but no words were said. the blonde was dressed in a simple black shirt and grey sweat pants. he quickly disappeared from donghyuck's view as he slipped into his bed, below donghyuck.
the room was pitch black, the light from the cracks through the bathroom door were the only lights that had been visible as mark showered. now that the taller was out, the room was in complete darkness.
"class will be hell tomorrow so i suggest you go ahead and get to sleep when you can," mark spoke up. donghyuck was ecstatic that mark had spoken to him. maybe there's hope for a friendship after all, he consoled himself. "thanks for the tip," he replied, a wide grin on his face as he smiled like a fool through the dark.
---
"it hurts like a bitch," jaemin groaned, clutching his head. donghyuck and all of his dorm mates were sitting on their beds chatting. the adrenaline and nerves from it being the first day made them all excited and awake. "that's your fault for drinking so much," donghyuck stated with a point.
jaemin glared at him, donghyuck sending him a flying kiss with a wink in response. "isn't it time to get ready now?" a boy that donghyuck had learned was named yejun, asked. another one of his roommates, named siwoo, checked the watch on his wrist, nodding in agreement. "i think we should get moving," he clarified.
donghyuck climbed down the ladder, meeting mark's gaze as he did so. the way mark stared at him so seriously was making him flustered, so he diverted his attention to the ground that was nearing. once he was safely on the hardwood floor, he walked over to his personal drawer and pulled out his school uniform.
while some may not like the idea of uniforms, donghyuck loved it. having a uniform meant that he didn't have to worry about how many clothes or clothe combinations he had. he also didn't have to worry about anyone judging his fashion or how many items from adidas he had, as everyone would be wearing the same thing. the uniform consisted of a white polo shirt, navy trousers, a cream colored vest, a navy blazer, and a red and dark blue tie.
donghyuck turned around to see everyone dressing out in the open, so he figured that it was probably best if he learned to adapt to it quickly. he climbed back up his bed with the clothes in hand. being on the top bunk meant that he had more privacy to change. since he was that familiar with him roommates yet, he was grateful to have that perk.
putting on his uniform as quickly as possible, he climbed back down the ladder and entered the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. "hurry up donghyuck!" he heard jaemin's voice calling from outside the bathroom. drying his face as well as he could with so little time, he stepped out of the bathroom, face still damp but luckily not dripping anymore.
he exited the bathroom, barely not tripping over his own two feet. "alright, i'm here," he sighed, stopping a moment to lean over and catch his breath. when he stood back up again, he was face to face with mark. the proximity between them was so small that if the older leaned over a few centimeters, his lips would meet donghyuck's forehead. although the height difference was hardly there, mark managed to look as if he towered over donghyuck. it was intimidating to say the least.
jaemin cleared his throat, pulling donghyuck backwards by the wrist so that the gap between him and mark grew. "let's get going, shall we?" he asked, trying to lift the suddenly heavy mood. "uh, yeah," donghyuck nodded, glad to get out of the awkward position he had been in.
donghyuck and jaemin walked side by side as mark tagged along from behind. everytime donghyuck would peer behind his shoulder to check on mark, he would get reminded of how good-looking the other was. of course, he had already seen mark's face before, but with the neat school uniform complete with a tie, he only got better looking.
mark walked with one hand in his pant pocket, his other hand resting at his side with his phone in his hand. earbuds were connected to the device and one ear bud was inserted in each ear. "stop staring, he'll notice," jaemin whispered from next to him.
donghyuck's face heated up as he played it off, "what do you mean?" jaemin rolled his eyes, "we all know he's good-looking. no need to pretend you weren't staring." the older of the two rubbed the back of his neck cheekily. "fine, i was staring," he admitted. jaemin beamed at him, patting his head, "there you go."
like that, the three continued to walk to the destination where they had agreed to meet jeno. when they got there, jeno waved them over. "we're getting our syllabus now. fingers crossed that the three of us will get in the same class," the puppy like male smiled, motioning towards the three juniors.
should i tell them? donghyuck thought to himself. the boarding school that he was currently in wasn't your ordinary school. boarding schools were already pricey enough, but this one being quite famous and known for teaching many successful celebrities in the past, the expenses were only higher. money like that wasn't something that donghyuck was able to receive. he entered the school through promising grades which meant that he would take a few of his classes with seniors.
while donghyuck was debating whether to tell his new friends the truth about how he entered the school without showing off or possibly even losing friends, jaemin stared at jeno dumbfounded. "lee jeno, do you not have a hang over?" he asked in pure shock. jeno hit his shoulder, silently signaling him to knock it off. "i told you before that i don't get them anymore," he sighed, wondering why jaemin was so surprised by something he had already said multiple times before.
"am i the only one who gets hangovers in this group?" jaemin asked. the way he pouted showed that he was envious of such a skill. "i don't get hangovers for the most part, but it depends on how much i drink," mark spoke up. "what about you, donghyuck?" jeno turned to the ravenette who had been keeping quiet the whole time.
donghyuck froze at the unexpected question. honestly, he should've seen it coming, but how was he supposed to tell his group of friends who were also pretty experienced drinkers, that he had never taken a sip of alcohol in his life? it was embarrassing and while it was something he shouldn't have been ashamed of, for some odd reason, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
jaemin cocked an eyebrow at him before his eyes widened. "don't tell me," he gasped, "you've never drunk before, have you?" donghyuck fidgeted in his place, unsure of how to answer. when donghyuck didn't say anything to add on to the conversation, nor deny it, jeno and jaemin believed it was true and started teasing him for it.
"cut it out guys. can't you tell he's uncomfortable?" mark said suddenly, surprising not only donghyuck but the other two as well. "we're only playing," jaemin huffed. "you know that, right?" he turned to donghyuck instead, concerned whether he had hurt his feelings or not. donghyuck shrugged it off, "i'm fine, it didn't really bother me." using his heel to spin around, donghyuck looked at mark and cracked a smile at him. "thanks though," he mumbled rather shyly.
mark nodded as if to say that it was nothing before plugging his earbuds in again. "say, should we have you try drinking this weekend?" jeno suggested. jaemin nodded eagerly, "we get monday off too since it's a national holiday, so you have three days to drink and can still rest on the last day." donghyuck shook his head furiously, "no, my parents would literally kill me if they found out."
mark sent jeno and jaemin a warning glare from behind donghyuck, telling them not to push the ravenette too far. jeno frowned, thinking that the oldest was boring for ruining what could've been fun. "fine, we won't force you to do anything, but let us know if you change your mind." jeno said sincerely.
"i'll think about it," donghyuck promised.
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word count: 2519
get well soon, hyuck
✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾