"Stop moving," Mark grumbled, putting his hands on Donghyuck's waist in an attempt to stop him from moving, but it only resulted in making the younger more restless. "Donghyuck...are you okay?"
"Feel bad," Donghyuck replied shortly after, his voice coming out in pants as he felt the world spin despite him laying down. He felt a strange heat in his stomach and the back of his eyes ached. His muscles couldn't stop moving and all he wanted was to take a cold shower, yet not get out of his bed.
"What do you mean by that?" Mark panicked, sitting up immediately as Donghyuck whimpered again. "Donghyuck, should I call someone in?"
"No, no," Donghyuck let out a sigh and shut his eyes, unable to take the bright light of the lamp once Mark turned it on. "Just get me some medicine, please."
"Alright, I'll be right back," Mark jumped out of the bed, running over to the door and swung it open. He rushed out and quickly rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, wondering where the medicine was. He had taken it out just yesterday for Donghyuck and now it was missing again. "Hey, guys!" He called out into the living room and the members replied together. "Where's Hyuck's medicine?"
"In his room," Yuta answered and before he could ask why Mark was in such a rush, he dashed past them, not even sparing a glance at the members and entered Donghyuck's room again. The medicine, in fact, was on his bedside table, decorated nicely in a red and grey box alongside a glass of water.
Donghyuck was still breathing unsteadily but it was a lot better than what he had been like only a few minutes ago. His hair was stuck to his face and his limbs were spread out like a starfish, almost making Mark laugh at how cute he looked. But that wasn't the time for jokes.
Mark took one of the tablets and helped Donghyuck sit up, manoeuvring him so that he was propped up against the headdress. "Here, have this," Mark urged as he held the tablet to Donghyuck's mouth, waiting for him to open up and take the medicine. A few seconds passed and he realised that Donghyuck was falling asleep. "Hey! Hyuck-ie, wake up and have your medicine."
Donghyuck cracked open one of his eyes, forcing them to look up at Mark before he parted his lips slightly, the pain in his jaw making him grimace as water was poured into his mouth. He gulped it all down in own go, letting out a sigh as he realised the hardest part of this whole thing was over, and that he could sleep again.
"Sorry," Donghyuck apologised once Mark had put everything away and climbed back into bed. "I woke you up."
"It's 7 pm, Donghyuck, honestly we should be awake right now," Mark chuckled and placed a hesitant hand on the younger's waist, and when he felt no resistance, he shuffled forward but left enough space so that Donghyuck didn't feel suffocated. "The others were awake, probably worried because of the way I ran out."
"Oh, sorry about that," Donghyuck mumbled and took Mark's unoccupied hand into his own two. He intertwined their fingers and brought his up to his chest, casually placing it against his soft heartbeat that was nowhere as fast as Marks. "Just felt...bad."
"It's okay, Donghyuck," Mark smiled at him, enjoying the way Donghyuck guided his hand up to his cheek and snuggled against it. Perhaps it was because his hand was cold and Donghyuck's body was warm, so he was using it to cool himself down. Or maybe he had taken his hand because he felt better with it in his own, felt safe in a way. As strange as it sounded to others, Donghyuck would say Mark made all his bad feelings, even if he was sick, to go away simply by his touch. Strange, Donghyuck knows.
"Hey," Donghyuck finally opened his eyes properly and looked up at Mark, who returned the goofy smile he had on his face. Although he was exhausted as hell and wanted to sleep, he couldn't miss out on some quality time with Mark. He just couldn't.
"Hi," Mark replied, and Donghyuck fought the urge to pinch his cheeks (as his arms already hurt enough from all the moving and because his body refused to listen to him).
"Remember when we first met?" Donghyuck randomly said, and Mark looked taken aback for a moment. It took him a few seconds to recollect the memory Donghyuck was most probably referring to.
"If you're talking about the coffee incident, I don't want to hear about it," Mark hurriedly made it clear that he didn't want to remember something of his past that still haunt him today. It was something he could never forget.
"But Mark hyung, it's such a good memory," Donghyuck whined, his voice sounding more raspy than usual because of his cold, and Mark nearly interrupted him to tell him to stop speaking so much, but then Donghyuck continued. "That was the day I realised you were going to be my best friend."
"Wait, what? Really?" Mark paused his train of thoughts and looked at Donghyuck with narrow eyes, filled with suspicion. "You thought that we would be best friends after that horrible incident I had the first time we met?"
"Oh, come on. It wasn't a horrible incident," Donghyuck rolled his eyes and then closed them again. "Just think back to it. Now that you look back at it, don't you understand why I think it was such a good memory?"
•••
"My name's Donghyuck," He said as he stuck his hand out, shyly smiling as Mark slide his slightly smaller palm into his and shook it. Handshakes weren't so common where they were from, but after seeing Jeno and Jaemin do the same (and that was probably because they already knew each other from before), they decided to copy them.
"I'm Mark, Mark Lee," The taller boy answered, smiling when Donghyuck nodded at his name. He replayed it in his mind and wondered if he got the pronunciation right. He had heard the name 'Mark' in so many places but he was shocked to know that it was the name of this 14 year old boy that stood in front of him. "I'm from Canada."
The unnoticeable accent in his voice finally came into the limelight as Donghyuck let out a hum of understanding. It made sense as to why his name was Mark and why he was constantly switching between Korean and English without realising until Donghyuck or someone else pointed it out.
"Hey, can someone get me some coffee?" Jaehyun poked his head from the corner of the room, his eyes wandering from Jaemin to Donghyuck before settling on Mark, who beamed at the sight of someone familiar. "Mark?"
"Don't worry, hyung," Mark smiled from cheek to cheek. "I'll get it for you in a minute."
"Thank you so much," Jaehyun let out a sigh of relief before running down the corner again. Donghyuck, who had been watching the two exchange these words in English, stared at the older with a dumbfounded expression. He had no idea what any of them had said, but truth be told he didn't really care much.
"I'll see you around," Mark waved at Donghyuck before hurrying over to the coffee machine that wasn't far away. It didn't make good coffee, or the type of coffee that would satisfy Johnny's taste or even Mark's, but it was good enough to make them more energetic and able to complete their daily practice. He happily hummed to himself as he pressed the button for the hot water, watching it fill the cup quickly.
Mark wasn't their coffee boy. But he enjoyed doing things for the older members. He felt like he was making his time useful, rather than just sitting around and doing nothing. By doing this, he also built up the relationship he had with the older trainees.
Picking the cup of coffee up, Mark spun on his heels and took big steps towards the practice room in which Jaehyun had disappeared off to. As he entered, he realised that Donghyuck had joined them all. They were sitting on the floor, huffing and puffing as Donghyuck introduces himself to the rest.
Just as Mark started to walk toward them, be felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. Clearly, the speed at which he turned around was way too fast and the coffee was that already slashing around the cup flew out. It painted itself over the white shirt of the man standing in front of Mark and a curse left his mouth. He stared at the stain with wide eyes and he could feel everyone in the rooms attention on him.
"Uh-" The man, who Mark had just recognised as Lee Soo-Man - his luck couldn't get any worse, could it - stuttered as he felt his shirt get soaked in the coffee and the boiling liquid attached itself to his chest. "I'll just-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Mark burst out into tears. He sobbed loudly as Soo-Man tried to tell him that what he did was alright and that he understood that it was just an accident. Even though Mark had been a trainee for a whole year now, he still wasn't comfortable with everyone yet, and especially not after this.
"Mark, calm down," Taeyong said as he jumped up from the floor and grabbed onto the younger's arm, but he continued to cry.
Mark had messed up. He had spilt coffee over not just anyone, but Lee Soo-Man. The person who made not all the decisions of the company, but did contribute to the most important ones. He probably wouldn't suggest kicking Mark out for spilling coffee on him but maybe now his eyes would be on Mark to check if he really is a good trainee. And that was why Mark was in tears. He couldn't afford to let him watch over him. Mark was already behind in everything. No matter how hard he tried, he could never be happy with what he saw in the mirror.
His dancing was sloppy, his smiles were to fake, even his serious expressions looked forced. Don't even get Mark started on his singing. He knew he was bad but after recording himself and then comparing it with one of the older trainees, Taeil, Mark felt horrible. After a whole year of practicing day and night, between breakfast and dinner, Mark couldn't get anything right. And now here he was, embarrassing himself in front of not only the older trainees who he had come to think of as older brothers (which was his own way to fill in the empty spot of his real older brother) but also in front of the new trainee, Donghyuck. The day just got worse and worse.
"I'll be back," Mark said, shrugging everyone's arms off him as he ran out of the room, ignoring the calls he received from them all. Without a second thought, Mark hid in the staircase and tucked his head in his knees. He let out soft groans as he recalled everything that happened. It would be very difficult to explain this to Johnny, who happened to be the only one to see through Mark as if he was transparent.
The door to the stairwell opened and someone walked in. Thinking it was Johnny, Mark let out a sigh. He wasn't in the mood for Johnny's lecture. He knew what he had done was immature, but how could he have helped it? He was only 14.
"Hey," Donghyuck said, surprising Mark and he snapped his head up to look at the younger. He ignored the stare Mark gave and sat beside him. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Mark answered, too embarrassed because he had just been caught by someone he had just met. He didn't need comforting from this boy who was younger than him. He would much rather be left alone. "You don't need to be here."
"I'm not here to comfort you," Donghyuck replied and Mark looked at him with confusion. Then what was he here for? "I'm here to say that was hilarious. Thanks for making this day more entertaining than it was before. Honestly, it was so boring the whole day before you did that."
"Oh," Mark muttered. He didn't expect that from him. Mark watched as Donghyuck chuckled lightly as he described how funny Mark looked when he cried after spilling the coffee and how everyone else seemed to be worried just because of what had happened. A few moments later, Mark brought a hand to his face, not to wipe his tears away but to cover his mouth as he laughed. "Oh my god, that was embarrassing."
"It sure was," Donghyuck cackled and Mark playfully pushed him away. "Anyways, they were calling us in to pair us up for our next practice."
"Oh, right," Mark nodded and he got up, the emotion of sadness was long forgotten and had been replaced with happiness and the mood had gotten much better. They walked alongside each other as they walked over to the practice room. Their smiles shocked everyone who sat on the floor and they didn't understand how Donghyuck had managed to do that.
•••
Mark agreed with Lee Soo-Man when he decided to call Donghyuck, 'Haechan'. Donghyuck always managed to make Mark feel better when he wasn't and allowed everyone to relax through constant joking.
"Alright, alright," Mark sighed and opened his eyes to see Donghyuck smiling back at him widely. "It was a good memory, but it wasn't the best! I literally cried my eyes out on the first day we met."
"Then what would you consider the best, hm?" Donghyuck wiggled his eyebrows and Mark fought the urge to poke them. "Our first date?"
"Date?" Mark blinked and shook his head. "Are you talking about our date at the airport?"
"No?" Donghyuck raised his eyebrows and pouted. How could Mark have forgotten about their first date, the day Donghyuck considered the best day he ever had. "You know...when we went to the movies together as trainees."
"Oh!" Mark exclaimed, "That day! Yeah, of course I remember. God...that day was something."
"It really was," Donghyuck giggled, remembering the time he had gone out to the movies with Donghyuck. No one knew about that except for them. And it was meant to remain their secret, but then everyone found out when they played the, 'Dream Vs Dream' game with the others.
•••
"Shh! Be quiet," Mark put a finger to Donghyuck's lips and then looked around the hallway. It was night and they weren't meant to be out of their room, but here they were: standing in the middle of the hallway, their shoes making soft sounds against the carpeted floor and their hair an absolute mess because of how excited they were. It wasn't their first time going out of the dorm alone, but it was their first time leaving the dorm in the middle of the night.
"I'm not even speaking," Donghyuck rolled his eyes and pulled Marks hand away from his lips, instead lacing his fingers with his and pulled him towards the door, not caring about how loud he was as his feet dragged against the floor. "The faster we get out, the more time we have to get snacks."
The two slipped through the door, the dim street lights making it hard for them to navigate through the roads and Donghyuck kept his hand clasped around Mark's, keeping him close by. Mark tried to ignore the way Donghyuck's entire body bumped into his as they giggled down the roads, talking about the other members and other things that seemed a lot easier to talk about with the other.
"Which movie did you pick out?" Mark asked, swinging his hand with Donghyuck's.
"Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children," Donghyuck beamed and Mark's smile dropped.
"What? We're watching that? I don't want to," Mark whined and threw his head back. Donghyuck laughed at his behaviour and clutched onto his hand even tighter. "Out of all the movies we could've watched!"
"Please!" Donghyuck shuffled forward and stood right in front of Mark, pouting as he saw Mark close his eyes in order to avoid his pleading. "Mark hyung, please! I really want to watch this."
After forcing the older to open one of his eyes, Mark looked at Donghyuck directly and immediately broke down. He let out a sigh and allowed Donghyuck to drag him across the hallway, their tickets tightly held in their palms and the cinema was empty. It was a miracle they found one that was open past midnight.
"Let's sit in the middle," Donghyuck suggested, guiding Mark through the rows and hastily sat down once they realised the movie had already begun. Mark sat beside him and looked up at the screen, groaning as he realised he couldn't get out of this one. He felt Donghyuck's arm collide against his on the armrest and nearly pulled away. That was, until Donghyuck intertwined their fingers again, but he wasn't paying any attention to Mark, who kept stealing glances as him.
Mark felt his hands get sweaty and he knew he was going to get teased by Donghyuck for that but he couldn't pull away. The grip the younger had in his hand was too strong and Mark didn't really want to pull away. He liked it.
•••
"I'm surprised I didn't realise I liked you until recently," Donghyuck huffed, his hot breath fanning over Mark, who scrunched his nose up and blew right back. "I mean, I did things on instinct and didn't even question it."
"You did that with everyone though," Mark reasoned, trying to make the younger understand why his actions towards Mark weren't that unusual. "You used to hold everyone's hands, try to kiss them, hug them, cuddle with them."
"I mean, I guess I did," Donghyuck spoke quietly, lowering his head as he felt sleep try to overpower his will to stay awake. "But I always thought about you. Even when I was younger, whenever I wanted to do something cool or fun, you would be the first that came in my mind."
"Same for me," Mark leaned down and tilted Donghyuck's face-up, doing it softly so the sleep that was washing over didn't pass away. "I only thought about you."
To prevent any words of protest or denial, Mark pressed his lips against Donghyuck's, silencing the younger and trailed his free hand down to his waist. He pulled Donghyuck closer to him and sighed when he felt him grip into his shirt. It was a thing Donghyuck did quite often. Whenever they kissed, Donghyuck would bring his hands to either Mark's neck or his shirt, gripping onto it as if he was trying to ground himself. He had previously once said that kissing Mark felt as if he was floating and perhaps the way he reciprocated it showed that.
"Remember our first kiss?" Mark said as he pulled away, chuckling when Donghyuck pouted at the loss of his lips. "It was so awkward...god I cringe at myself."
"It was only awkward because you didn't kiss back," Donghyuck rolled his eyes, shuffling forward and tucked himself in between Mark's arms. "If you did, it would have been more comfortable."
"Well, you said it so randomly!" Mark argued, pulling his head away from Donghyuck's and looked down at him. "And guess what? Taeyong hyung was there after you left. I don't even know whether or not he was there when we kissed..."
"Even if he was there," Donghyuck mumbled, sleep taking away the last bits of consciousness in him. "We didn't put up much of a show."
"Oh my god, shut up," Mark grumbled and closed his eyes. He waited for Donghyuck's to say something back, but when he didn't, Mark pulled away and looked down in surprise when he saw the younger fast asleep. With a smile, Mark placed a kiss on the top of his head before stuffing his face into Donghyuck's hair. "Sleep well, baby."
"How many times-"
"You were awake!"