out of the three promoting units, mark's was the 'main' one. therefore, while the other units had finished work and were relaxing at the dorm or catching up, he was yet to arrive back. donghyuck knew there was an hour left until he got back, so for the first thirty minutes, he caught up with some of the members that shared the same birth year.
he talked with sungchan and shotaro for a while before finding renjun and taeil, two of his favorite people. "why do you look so sad?" renjun had asked him. "he probably misses mark. they haven't been apart for this long since they joined the company," taeil explained.
after talking with them for another fifteen minutes, donghyuck returned to his room, hoping to see jaehyun and confide in him. unfortunately, he wasn't there. excited chatter errupted from the living room but he wasn't in the mood. having nothing to do and not really wanting to talk to anyone, donghyuck crept to mark's room, planning to steal a shirt and leave. despite trying to stick to the plan, after rummaging through mark's closet, things didn't turn out the way he expected.
"hyuck?"
---
"great job everyone," taeyong said first, bowing at a ninety degree angle. the rest of the members bowed too and the staff clapped, showering praises. mark was genuinely grateful for their hard work but he wanted nothing more than to be back at the dorms already.
mark had just finished wiping off his makeup when, "we're running a little behind schedule," his manager said from his side. "the cars are ready outside." mark was thrilled to hear that, running a hand through his blue hair. "let's get going then," his manager said once the word was spread to everyone. the members and their managers walking past the staff that helped with the event, eventually successfully leaving the building.
just as usual, they loaded into three cars. the wayv members headed to the wayv dorm and everyone else, to the 127 dorm. in mark's car was doyoung and johnny. doyoung sat in the very front, in the passenger's seat. meanwhile, mark and johnny sat together in the back. "excited," johnny asked in english once the car had started moving at he noticed mark's busy fingers. whether he was playing with his hair, tapping his thigh, or cracking his knuckles, he couldn't stop moving.
"was it that obvious?" mark answered. the elder smiled, nodding his head, "it's okay. i'm the same way when i haven't had my coffee." mark had to laugh at that as he suddenly felt grateful that it was johnny who sat in the seat next to him. after all, he had always felt close with him from when he joined the company and johnny had helped him out a lot.
"honestly, i'm impressed," johnny spoke up again. "with what?" mark couldn't help but wonder. "idols these days break up so easily. you know what happened with baekhyun hyung and taeyeon sunbaenim or hyuna sunbaenim and dawn sunbaenim. you and haechan have been apart for three months and you're still together," he pointed out. the canadian bit back a smile, getting a feeling of pride.
the thought of breaking up with donghyuck never really crossed his mind. and even if they were to breakup, he would still expect donghyuck to be a part of his life. it just seemed obvious that they would be together no matter what.
they were soulmates
as cringey or cliché as it might sound, that's what mark believed. as if he made a promise to the younger, he knew he would never leave him behind. whatever their relationship became of, donghyuck was such a big part of his life that he knew he couldn't easily leave behind.
"it was hard," mark finally said, memories of the past months flashing through his mind. "that's what she said," johnny interrupted, laughing at his own joke while mark shook his head in disbelief before continuing. "but i knew we could do it." "i never doubted you for a second," johnny added. though mark didn't say anything after that, johnny's words really meant a lot to him.
the rest of the ride passed by quickly and before mark knew it, they were pulling up at the dorm. his heart continued to pound in his chest as he helped unload the luaggage, carry it inside the building, and rode up the elevator impatiently. he couldn't bother to hide his giddiness from the other members which caused plenty of teasing. even with that, he couldn't bother to care. one thought kept running through his mind;
donghyuck
donghyuck
donghyu—
the elevator door opened, snapping him out of his thoughts — well more of one consistent thought — and he stepped out, trying to keep himself composed. the hallway seemed to grow two times longer than before as he walked down carrying one suitcase and a wearing a duffle bag on his shoulder. "we're here,"johnny said, appearing out of nowhere beside him. "yeah," mark breathed, unable to form anymore words than that.
before he could even process what was going on, taeyong was pushing open the door and the members went inside one by one.
there were a few people in the living room already who got up and went to greet the ones who had just arrived. it was good to see taeil and renjun after a long time, but he was disappointed when donghyuck wasn't among the group of people there.
"looking for haechan?" jaehyun asked, surprising mark as he had been busy scanning the room. "yeah," he addmitted sheepishly. "i didn't see him earlier but i bet he's in one of the bedrooms," the taller advised. mark beamed, "thanks hyung." he left his suitcase by one of the sofas and right before he headed to the hallways which led to bedrooms, he turned around again, facing jaehyun. "good to see you by the way, and the pink hair looks really good on you."
he briefly saw jaehyun smile, revealing his dimples, before he headed back in the direction of the bedrooms.
"mark!" a voice that mark hadn't heard in a long time called. he snapped his head up and was met face to face with not only jungwoo, but also yuta. they immediately went in for a hug before taking a step back and grinning at eachother. the whole thing felt like a family reunion with distant cousins.
the youngest of the three could tell that yuta and jungwoo had a lot to talk with him about as he apologetically smiled. yuta caught on to his expression faster than jungwoo, "i saw haechan down here earlier." "thanks," mark gave yuta another free hug. "i'll talk to you both after i find my boyfriend?" the word made his heart leap, knowing that donghyuck was somewhere nearby and not miles away.
"you promise?" jungwoo asked, sounding a little disappointed. "of course," mark smiled. they let him go, waving him off and telling him that donghyuck was barely surviving without him. taking that new piece of information seriously, he continued on his hunt to find the sun-kissed male that stole his heart.
automatically, he assumed donghyuck would be in his own bedroom, so he headed there first. he was rather surprised when he found it empty, but stopped when he saw the luggage opened at the foot of the bed. inside, he could clearly see two teddy bears in a mass of clothes, and on donghyuck's bed was the one he had gifted him months ago before they were anything more than friends.
seeing that only made him want to find him more. he closed the bedroom door and was going to head back to the living room and ask if anyone had seen him when he noticed his bedroom door was ajar.
with cautious steps, he walked to his bedroom. his fingers met the cold knob of the door and he pulled it open wider. he was met with the sight of a tan male with purple hair on his tip toes, reaching for something from his closet. the sight was adorable and he wanted to take a picture, but that wasn't his main priority at the moment.
"hyuck?"
---
donghyuck knew that voice better than anyone else. he spun on his heel instantly and gaped when he saw who was at the door.
meters away, mark stood in the doorway, blue hair neatly done and barefaced. he looked beautiful. although every muscle in donghyuck's body was telling him to go to mark, he stood there frozen; in shock.
the canadian looked like 'the long distance foreigner boyfriend' and donghyuck loved every part of it. when mark's duffle bag slid down his shoulder and eventually dropped to the floor, the older male opened his arms and that was all it took for donghyuck to run to him and wrap his arms around his neck. he jumped up, legs latching around mark's waist and burying his face in mark's shoulder.
mark chuckled, resting a hand on donghyuck's dainty waist and the other under his thigh as he had wanted to for so long. finally, he was holding him, and this time, he was going to make sure he never let go.
"did you miss me a lot?" mark asked playfully, all the built up exhaustion from long months disappearing in a flash. instead of recieving a verbal answer, he felt donghyuck nod his head in his shoulder and his skin became wet. although he didn't want to, he pulled away slightly so that he was still holding donghyuck, but also so that he could see his face. the younger male was crying and it made his heart hurt.
"i'm sorry," mark apologized, somehow feeling like the forced distance between them had been his fault. he kissed the tip of donghyuck's nose, unintentionally giving him butterflies. it had been so long since mark kissed him, and now he longed to feel mark's lips on his. "i missed you so much," donghyuck said, voice barely above a whisper. he wished he could control his tears, but he couldn't.
he didn't even know why he was crying and he felt stupid for it. he had wanted to physically be with mark for so long, but now that they were, he was crying. he should've been happy — and he was happy. but the reason for the tears was so much more than that.
it was happiness, pent up pain and stress, relief, disbelief, and love — so much love.
mark looked at him affectionately, "i know baby, i know." then, what he had been waiting for happened. mark leaned in and pressed his lips to his own. just like the first time they kissed, or the time they kissed after confessing to eachother, or even the times they kissed while making love to eachother, it felt like fireworks and such love that couldn't be explained in words.
of course donghyuck's tears ended up getting mixed up in between their lips, but it made the kiss all the more meaningful. and donghyuck had to admit, that out of all the kisses they had shared; that one was by far his favorite.
-----
word count: 1863
this was the second to last chapter
i can't believe this is really coming to an end
✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾