"Do I look nice?" Donghyuck asked, patting his suit down, feeling a little (okay maybe a lot) conscious about the way the front of his shirt stuck out. It wasn't much, just a sma stomach he gained from the eating marathon he did with Jaemin just a few days ago — the younger had forced him into buying a bunch of snacks and then dared him to eat them all. Mark, the unfortunate soul who was the only one in the apartment, had been dragged along on his journey to find the perfect suit, raised his eyebrow at Donghyuck's antics and told him he looked fine. Donghyuck knew he was only trying to make him feel better and that only made his mood drop even further.
"But look—" Donghyuck huffed out an annoyed sigh. "Don't you see the problem?"
"Donghyuck," Mark said as he rolled his eyes and stood up from his seat. He took slow steps towards the younger, a gentle smile on his face as he placed his hands on Donghyuck's hops and leaned in. "The only problem here is you not looking in the mirror and getting amazed by yourself. You look great okay?"
Donghyuck narrowed his eyes and stared at Mark with disbelief. Mark wasn't the type to hand out compliments unless there was something else included.
"Now can we go?" Oh. Mark peeled his hands off Donghyuck and glanced around the store. "Quickly change so we can pay "
Donghyuck hurried in and out of the cha going rooms, passing Mark his suit and they rushed out of the store, none of them mentioning how Mark paid for his suit. They never spoke about that.
"I'm hungry," Donghyuck sighed, holding a hand to his stomach. Mark scoffed and then commented something about how he's always hungry. "That's because I'm a growing child."
"You're turning 20 soon," Mark pointed out, nudging Donghyuck in the arm, before leading both of them towards a nearby fast food branch. "You know, I'm surprised you never gain weight."
"I do," Donghyuck groaned, bringing his hands up to his cheeks and pinching them. "Do you not see this?!"
Mark laughed and then used his free hand to pinch the other cheek.
"You're the one who said you're a growing child," Mark said, tugging on the cheek and stretched it, holding back a laugh because of how hilarious Donghyuck's face looked. "This is just baby fat."
"Baby fat- What-" Donghyuck shook his head and then turned to the person at the counter, quickly ordering something for the two of them and then took a seat.
They were out shopping for suits, obviously, because it was nearly Jisung's birthday. It was the 31st of January, so they had just five more days left. On February 5th, Jisung's birthday, Donghyuck and all of his friends were going to get dressed in suits, style their hair back, go to the roof, and then fight each other like animals. It wasn't the most ideal thing to do on a birthday, but Jisung wanted it, and so they weren't complaining. They were all getting a chance to beat the other up, so why would they decline that offer?
"Who do you think is going to win?" Mark asked, after placing the fries and burger down on the table. He looked up with Donghyuck with expectant eyes, which were most probably hoping for an answer related to him, and Donghyuck just couldn't help but break it.
"Jeno," Donghyuck replied, nodding his head whilst eating a fry. "He's been working out a lot recently. Either him, or Jaemin...wait maybe Renjun as well."
"What about me?" Mark said as he— he pouted. He poked his bottom lip out and droped his eyebrows so that they were right above his eyelid. Mark knew Donghyuck was weak for that expression, so he used it whenever he wanted something really badly.
"Yeah, you have a chance too," Donghyuck quickly said, feeling his non-existant pride dissolve. Mark immediately beamed at that and stuffed his face with fries, happily smiling down at the table. Donghyuck often wondered how someone like Mark could be the most annoying person in the world, but also the cutest.
***
"Which rooftop are we going to?" Renjun asked, pulling a ready-made tie over his head and then fixing the collars to complete his look. The others exchanged looks and then shrugged their shoulders. "Why are you all so unorganised?"
"Let's just go to the apartment's roof?" Jaemin suggested, seeing how the other six had lost the slight bit of motivation they had to go on with this idea. "It's just upstairs."
Although each of them had loving parents who enjoyed their company, their parents also preferred privacy and less disruption, so they (kicked) let the kids move out into a dorm together, since Mark was old enough to supervise over them all. Their apartment wasn't big, far from it, but it was still two storeys tall, and even had a balcony, which none of them ever used (except for their older friend Taeyong, who liked to feed the cat that would appear there occasionally).
"To the roof we go!" Chenle announced, gesturing for everyone to leave the room so that they could finally get on with the long awaited fight of the decade. Jeno and Jaemin didn't know this, but the others had placed bets on which one was going to win. Surprisingly, they both had equal votes, because Mark refused to vote for someone other than himself, and the amount of money they placed was way too much and they all knew they weren't really going to pay up (because none of them couldn't afford £1000).
"So, do we just start?" Renjun questioned, holding his fists up in front of his face and pushing his legs behind himself, completely ready to fight. They all stood in silence, before Chenle yelled and ran towards Renjun, throwing a fist and actually managing to hit him.
That was when all hell broke loose.
Yells were being heard, faces were getting bruised, Jeno and Jaemin were flirting whilst challenging the other (which by the way, was not what was meant to be happy. Where was all the drama and action?), and Donghyuck decided to creep up on their youngest member, who was seemingly trying to escape the fighting till the end.
"Jisung!" Donghyuck screamed directly into Jisung's ear, causing him to turn around and push whoever it was. At first, it was funny, because of the way Jisung's face scrunched up and he waved his arms around, attempting to place a blow on Donghyuck, who was easily doging every hit. But when Donghyuck felt his foot touch the edge of the roof, his eyes widened and he froze in his spot.
Jisung, who hadn't yet realised what was going on, since he still had his eyes closed, reached forwards and gave Donghyuck one last push. Mark heard a squeak from behind him, and turned to see what it was. He saw Donghyuck jerk his head up and throw his arm forwards for assistance.
"Donghyuck!" Mark called out, running forwards and placing a hand on Jisung's chest to push the younger away. He extended his hand towards the silver haired boy, who was on the edge of the roof, trying to regain his balance, but failed to do so. Their hands barely missed each other and Mark cried out again, repeating the boy's name.
"Help!" Donghyuck said as his feet brushed against the surface of the roof and his body weight leaned backwards. The air pushed against him harshly and he closed his eyes as he saw the world tilt and spin around him. Before he could acknowledge what had happened, Donghyuck felt a sharp pain in the back of his knee cutting through his skin and allowing the blood there to escape.
Within seconds, Donghyuck hit the bottom of the floor, gasping for air which had been knocked out of him from the impact. His vision blurred and he held his hands out, trying to grab something, anything, to help him. Donghyuck heard footsteps around him and then warm arms wrap themselves around his body, pulling him closer and then picking him up.
The world continued to swirl around him, and Donghyuck was unable to make out what the hushed voices (or for Donghyuck at least they were quiet) were saying. All he could pay attention to was the piercing pain in his right leg. By the time Donghyuck regained his senses, he was no longer in a dimly lit area, instead it was so bright he could barely open his eyes, and his clothes had been changed from the suit - which most probably had mud and sweat mixed in it - to a more comfortable thin piece of clothing.
"Donghyuck?" Mark said in a soft voice, hoping to gain an answer from the blonde. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah?" Donghyuck looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, since he could still barely see in the light, and the voice was echoing around him.
"I'm here." Mark placed a hand over his cheek and Donghyuck leaned into the warmth, smiling up at Mark who frowned at his state. "Something happened..."
"What?" Donghyuck looked up at him with confusion, and then tried to sit up, but felt pain course through his body and he fell back onto the pillow with the help of Mark.
"When you fell," Mark took a deep breath, already knowing that this was going to affect the younger in many different ways especially since this was one of the most important things for him. "You broke your right leg really badly, and they said you can't walk for at least 2 months."
**
Donghyuck lay on the hospital bed, pouting as the doctors told him for the tenth time that he had to stay in bed and not do any exercise until his leg had fully recovered. By exercise they meant dancing. You see, Donghyuck was part of a group that performs in front of small audiences, happy with the little fame they have, so if being injured meant having to stay home and not dance, or sing, Donghyuck was more than upset.
"You'll recover soon!" Mark said enthusiastically, leaning back into his seat as the doctors walked away. The others had stayed in the hospital until Donghyuck regained consciousness, and Jisung couldn't stop crying about how he nearly killed him. They were being slightly dramatic about the the incident, as the fall wasn't that big (well it was,but it didn't cause any permanent damage), but Donghyuck still appreciated the concern. Mark offered to stay and give him company, as he knew how boring time at the hospital can be, because he spent a long time there previously, and Donghyuck couldn't say no to that.
"We were going to be performing somewhere big this weekend," Donghyuck sighed, picking his phone up, the one with a large crack over his screen. "Also Jisung owes me a new phone now."
"That poor kid cried his eyes out for you," Mark said, laughing at the shattered screen.
"At least I know that he care-"
"He said he was scared he'd go to jail for murder."
"Murder of his best frin-"
"Of his roommate."
"Do you like ruining my moment?" Donghyuck sighed, choosing to give up his attempts to think that Jisung actually cared -which he did and they both knew, but liked to joke around - about Donghyuck.
"Yes. I love to!" Mark said, closing his eyes in satisfaction and humming to himself. Donghyuck glanced over at him and smiled softly. Cute.
"Anyways, Mark, have you slept?" Donghyuck shuffled down in the bed, getting the assistance of Mark, who picked his casted covered leg and placed it down into a more comfortable position.
"Uh, not really," Mark confessed, returning to his seat and awkwardly looking around the room. Donghyuck face palmed at this, as he already knew about Mark horrible sleep routine, and then moved around on the bed, patting his side. "I can't, if a nurse enters they'll tell me to leave."
"Okay, but." Donghyuck pulled the blanket off of himself and then pat the bed once again. "Worry about that when they enter, not right now."
Mark hesitated and Donghyuck knew he would, since Mark was always the type to think things through at least a hundred times before doing it, not wanting to get into trouble. Donghyuck let out a groan of frustration, and Mark acted quickly. He kicked his shoes off and slipped into the sheets next to Donghyuck, not uttering another word. Donghyuck was facing Mark's back, and even though he was only staring at his back, he felt his cheeks heat up at the idea of sleeping on the same bed as Mark.
They had done this plenty of other times, climbing into each others bed when they were younger, trying to make the other laugh out loud and get caught by their parents in the other room. But ever since Donghyuck had come to the conclusion that he had a big fat crush on Mark, he wasn't able to think of things in a less romantic way.
He saw Mark shift in the bed, and he turned to face Donghyuck, eyes closed, breathing stable. He had fallen asleep. Donghyuck smiled as he saw Mark chew in his sleep, probably dreaming about food like he always does, and then pat his cheek. He was indeed, incredibly in lo- fond of Mark.
That night, no nurse woke them up.