mark hummed to himself as he finished his shower. he wrapped a cotton towel around his waist and dried his hair while walking from the bathroom to his bedroom. for a world promotion that lasted three months — five, if you count all of the preparations — mark was in a surprisingly good mood.
his last show of the so-called "tour" had ended a few hours prior and since then, he ate and drank with the members before heading back to their hotel. once he was back in his room, he took a long shower which lead to the current moment.
the currently blue haired male got dressed in comfortable attire and combed his hair with his fingers. then, he began packing his suitcase. within a few hours, mark was meant to be on a plane with the rest of his unit memebers back to seoul. it had been too long since he was in korea and he couldn't wait to be there again. well, also because he would finally get to see his boyfriend, but that was another matter altogether.
just as he was stuffing some souvenirs that he bought to show donghyuck things from his tour, there was a knock on his door. "come in," mark called, zipping up his suitcase. "hey," a voice came only a few moments later.
mark turned around to see johnny entering the room. oddly enough, he seemed slightly fidgety and uneasy which was very unlike him. "is anything up?" mark switched to english upon seeing who it was. johnny shrugged, "i don't know. what do you think?"
the odd behavior was throwing mark off and he didn't know how to take it. "is there something i should know?" mark questioned, suddenly reaching for his phone to check up on social media which he'd been too busy for. "no," johnny answered alarmingly quickly. after recieving a confused stare from mark, he coughed and shook his head. "i was just wondering if you'd heard any big news recently. i haven't been keeping up these days."
mark eyed him, clearly not buying the story. "you know me, hyung. i've been too caught up in work for any of that," he said. "right... right," johnny cleared his throat. "on that note, i'll be leaving now. good night mark."
while the taller tried to escape without further questioning, mark reached out and grabbed his arm. "is there anything i should know?" he asked the same question as before while searching johnny's eyes. the older only blinked at him which wasn't even the slightest bit helpful. mark's heart pounded in his chest as he suddenly felt like something might have happened to donghyuck.
"is...," he trailed off, hesistant at first. in case he was wrong, he didn't want to jinx the whole situation. yet, without asking, he would never know. "is hyuck alright? nothing happened to him.. right?"
for a moment, and only a moment, the look in johnny's eyes changed to sympathy which only made mark more anxious. what could've possibly happened?
when johnny cracked a smile, he momentarily relaxed. "i'm sure he's fine," he said. the tone is his voice was one octave higher than usual, but mark hoped that johnny wouldn't lie to him if the situation was as serious and mark felt like it was.
"just finish packing and try to go to sleep soon, yeah? maybe stay off your phone so your brain won't be stimulated," johnny patted him on the shoulder and there it was again — that look of pity.
"okay hyung," mark said. he wasn't sure if he really meant it or not, but he had a feeling that johnny wouldn't leave him alone until he agreed to it. "good night mark, again," johnny saluted with two fingers. "see you before the sun rises tomorrow," and mark was already dreading the feeling of waking up at an ungodly hour to get on a plane.
you would think that after three months of straight traveling, one might be used to it. but no, mark figured that he would never get used to it.
once johnny finally left, mark completed the rest of his packing and set his suitcases by the side of his door for easy access the next morning. then, he switched off the light and climbed into bed. the canadian lied down and tried to ignore the building feeling of worry in his stomach but it was no use.
his fingers eventually met the cool material of his phone which he had slid under his pillow. did he want to check it or not? did he want to listen to johnny or not? if he picked it up, what would he even be looking for? mark wasn't sure what it was that he wanted to know, but he knew he needed that feeling of sureness before he could go to sleep. he just needed to know that donghyuck was okay.
he pulled of the messaging app and found donghyuck's contact. his finger hovered over it before pressing down and reaching their chat. he sent a quick text about checking in and making sure he was okay before switching the device off.
with access to anything he wanted, mark was worried that johnny was right and that he would learn something that was too much for him at the time, and he would ruin his schedules for the next day. fighting every urge he had and using all his will-power, mark slid his phone back under the pillow and rested his head on it.
he forced the curiosity and questions away, and closed his eyes to sleep. he had a long day prepared for himself and he wan't going to let it get messed up.
---
donghyuck's eyes shot wide open as he gasped and sucked in a breath of air.
from there, the next thirty minutes to an hour was a blur. doctors and nurses swarmed around him as well as many lights being shined in his face. some of the members came in to check up on him but had to leave due to being busy. once all the health checkups were complete and donghyuck came out with positive results to leave, he changed into clothes that kun had brought for him and gathered all his belongings.
kun was only one who managed to stay with him and he broke into a grin when donghyuck dizzly stepped out of the hospital room. "hi hyung," he said, throat dry. kun passed him a bottle of water before speaking, "are you okay?" donghyuck nodded, knowing how much of a lie it was.
"i feel fine," he said, gulping down half the bottle in seconds. kun eyed him skeptically but then proceeded, "there's a car for us outside. are you ready to go?" "yep," the purple haired male said before following kun towards the parking lot.
he purposely didn't ask about what exactly happened when he passed out because he didn't want it to get to his head and ruin his professionalism. all he knew was that he spent the night at the hospital and woke up some time around noon, and he was okay with that. still, he wanted to notify his parents as soon as possible and check his messages from his manager incase he missed out on anything crucial.
he pulled out his phone from his pocket and was surprised to see that notifications flooded his lockscreen, causing him to momentarily panic. a lot of them were from social media which led him to wonder if the news of him passing out had gotten out to the public. "hyung...," donghyuck called out as he stopped walking. kun stopped too and turned around to look at him. "what's up?"his gaze flickered down to the device in donghyuck's hand as he released a sigh. "don't worry about it, okay? i'll inform you on anything that you missed out on as long as you ask the right questions."
donghyuck nodded in agreement as it was probably for the best anyway. he followed donghyuck to their car where kun's manager was waiting and climbed into the backseat. his head was spinning with questions that he didn't even know where to start. well, actually he did.
"does mark hyung know?" he asked, buckling his seatbelt. he could imagine how anxious mark might be when he found out that something happened to him, and the last thing he wanted was mark to not do his very best during schedules and be mad at himself later.
kun brushed his hair back with one hand as the car began pulling out of the lot. "i went ahead and informed most of the members but warned johnny hyung to keep mark in the dark as it would be better for the both of you," he explained. "thanks," donghyuck said gratefully. he knew exactly how much of an effect he would put on mark if the older male knew that he had any kind of health problems.
knowing mark, he figured he sent him a message or two, so he went ahead and checked for anything. sure enough, mark sent him a message from the night before and a couple more the next morning. "shit," donghyuck cursed, eyes widening as he realized what the date was.
water immediately began to blur his vision as he worked hard to stop his tears. "hyung," donghyuck turned to kun who was staring at him worriedly. "i missed two concerts. how could i miss two concerts when i rehearsered so hard and had fans counting on me?" his voice cracked at the end and the chinese only stared at him with more pity.
"haechan ah, you've been working hard non-stop since the beginning of the year. i'm sure the fans don't blame you for what happened and can understand that you're body was overworked. even if you had been able to participate in the concerts, you wouldn't have been satisfied with your performance anyway," kun reasoned. donghyuck knew he was right but he couldn't help but still be mad at himself.
"our fans have been waiting for this concert since the dates were released and i let them down," he muttered while trying to process everything kun had said.
wiping his eyes furiously (relieved that he didn't start crying and managed to hold back his tears), he sent a message to mark saying that he was fine and had only been unable to respond because he was busy. then, he opened up bubble and began writing a long and sincere apology to the fans whom had been wating on him. "does everyone know what happened?" he asked, deleting a few lines from his apology and taking a moment to slow down. kun shook his head. "only the staff present that day, the staff managing our tour, and the members — minus mark."
"what's my excuse for not being present at the shows?" donghyuck asked. "the fans just think you had a fever. meanwhile johnny hyung has been doing everything to make sure mark doesn't check social media and find out," kun told as the car began pulling up to their hotel. "okay, thanks," donghyuck said, biting his lip as he hurriedly typed out the rest of his apology.
he copied the text before sending it on bubble and posting the same thing on his instagram story. right when he finished, the car stopped and he noticed that they were parked near the entrance to the hotel they had been staying at for three days.
"the members will be happy to see you awake," kun smiled, unbuckling his seat belt and pausing the music that he had been listening to. donghyuck nodded and slid his phone is his back pocket, grabbing his over night back and sliging it on his shoulder. then, he and kun — joined by their managers — walked to the entrance of the hotel.
the staff greeted them as they walked by, heading straight towards the elevators. a few people shuffled out when it reached the ground floor, not even realizing that they were walking past two successful idols. then again, donghyuck didn't consider himself any more than a normal person who simply lacked privacy.
the group of four rode the elevator to the fourth floor, met by yuta who was waiting in the hallway, on the phone. "-oh, they just got here... he looks fine to me," he glanced at donghyuck, looking him up and down while waving. "our flight is this evening so we'll see you at the company for the meeting in a few hours... yeah.. yeah.. sure thing," he continued, running a hand through his hair as a mischievous smile appeared on his face.
"haechan and kun," kun's manager said from behind them. "we're running late for a meeting with the rest of the team," he motioned between himself and donghyuck's manager. "we'll trust you don't need anything?" donghyuck's manager asked, checking his watch. "i think we're alright," kun nodded, making sure donghyuck felt the same. "great," donghyuck's manager pat him on the back. "we'll be in room 317 downstairs so just give us a call if you need something. go with yuta when he finishes his phone call," kun's manager instructed lastly. when there were no objections, he and donghyuck's manger went back to the elevator and the two idols watched it go down to the third floor.
right when donghyuck turned back to see how far along yuta was, he noticed the japanese male was staring directly at him. "last thing taeyong ah," he grinned, still looking mischievous. "can you remind mark how much i love him for me? i haven't had time to recently." donghyuck bit the inside of his cheek, eyes narrowing quickly as he glared at yuta.
kun placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed as if telling him to calm down. "thanks. see you later," yuta beamed, proceeding to hang up moments later. he shoved the phone in his pocket and walked over towards kun and donghyuck. "nice to see you with your eyes open," yuta said to donghyuck.
despite the friendly show, donghyuck was still feeling annoyed. scratch that, jealous was more appropriate. "oh come on," yuta chuckled attempting to pull donghyuck into a hug. the younger crossed his arms over his chest, stubbornly refusing to say anything. "it was a joke haechan. don't worry, mark is all yours," yuta was still smiling but donghyuck was not.
"even if i wanted mark i couldn't have him. he loves you and no one else. it's so obvious," yuta said, working hard to convince the purple haired male. "come here," yuta extended his arms, ready for donghyuck to accept his hug.
this time, donghyuck did accept it. he burried his face in yuta's neck and to his dissatisfaction, he began crying. yuta patted his back while kun awkwardly cleared his throat. "i'll take your bag to your room and be back soon," he mumbled quietly.
donghyuck heard kun walk away and he suddenly felt embarrassed for crying. it wasn't just because he had been jealous which is a feeling that donghyuck hates. it had to do with so many things at once. from passing out after the concert, to disappointing his fans and himself. he had let down his members and the hard work that the staff had done for him went to waste. and more than anything, he missed mark. he missed mark so much.
"you'll see him soon, don't worry," yuta said as if he could hear his thoughts. "i know," donghyuck answer, his voice barely above a whisper.
-----
word count: 2600
trying to finish this book before the end of the year so i can write a christmas one shot at the end of it
i also plan on editing this book later next year because there are so many typos lmao
✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾