— chapter three: a pretty boy named donghyuck —
when mark's friend group arrived, the place had long lost its cafe atmosphere and now resembled more a mix between a restaurant and a bar.
mark quickly informed taeil of his friends arrival and the older male told him that he would keep an eye on him just like he had promised mark's father. the younger resisted an eye roll. a usual response whenever someone, in this case taeil, would mention his father. it was best to not think of this man, especially not right now when mark wanted to have fun.
now however mark's thoughts weren't on his father but rather on his friends which he was currently sitting with. they had a small booth just for themselves. when mark looked at them he smiled. they were all there, jaehyun, johnny, taeyong and yuta. they were all alpha's with the exception of taeyong who was a beta. but he was strong enough to easily keep up with the rest of them.
the mood was fun and relaxed. even though they usually resided in fancier bars or clubs even, none of the guys complained. they however did laugh when mark threw a raging fit while telling them why he was staying here now.
"mark in an apron. i would love to see it." yuta sneered. mark gave him the finger but was quick to put it down again when johnny gave him a stern look. the oldest of group had the reputation of being quite brotherly and that's also what mark's relationship with him felt like.
"sorry hyung. you didn't see anything." mark apologised. johnny laughed and ruffled the boy's hair. with everyone else the younger alpha would've probably thrown them to the floor by now but since it was johnny he let it slide. it was known that johnny had a soft spot for him and he didn't want to hurt him.
"anyway who's giving out the first round?" taeyong asked.
"it's on mark. we are here because of him, aren't we?" jaehyun said with his deep voice. mark gave his hyung a pained smile. johnny seemed to sense that mark was somewhat uncomfortable since he stood up and said "nah, first round is on me. gotta treat my babies."
"you're literally a few months older than me..." taeyong complained but johnny just shushed him and walked to the bar where he ordered the drinks.
"so anything happened here yet? i bet it's weird working as a waiter huh? a big difference to your office job." jaehyun casually asked with his deep voice.
"tell me about it. it's exhausting actually and i only did it once. yesterday i was so tired after." mark said. he blushed faintly remembering what also happened yesterday after he finished but of course, he wouldn't mention that. especially not to his hyungs.
"i'm glad that we don't have to work like that. i don't think i could handle so many drunk people at once. also the amount of scents in here.. jesus, i would kill anyone who looks at me the wrong way." yuta said, nodding his head along to the music which was coming out of the boxes all over the place. taeyong grinned at the japanese "we all know you wouldn't kill them, just fuck them for the night."
the corner of yuta's mouth switched as he tried to suppress
a chuckle. he was about to reply to taeyong, without doubt something not appropriate, but luckily enough johnny appeared with drinks for all of them. they had been going out for so long already that he knew everyone's orders by heart.
"mark, since you work here" johnny spoke up and mark looked at him "do you happen to know the man at the counter?" johnny asked. mark looked over to check the person which johnny had pointed out. it was doyoung.
"that's doyoung-hyung. he's the other owner of this place." mark informed him and raised his eyebrows "why are you asking?"
johnny smiled mysteriously and hummed "oh, it's all fine. i was just asking." mark nodded at that and let the topic go despite suspecting a reason for johnny's question.
for the next hours the five males had fun. the later it got the more alcohol was intoxicating them. luckily alphas could handle alcohol better than betas or omegas. soon enough though taeyong was out as he was the only beta at the table. he could keep up with the others powerwise but when it came to alcohol he was a lightweight.
as taeyong started giggling at everything and everyone and complaining about his life whilst still desperately claiming to be sober, marl knew taeyong had to go home. but since he wasn't in the condition to make his way home alone someone had to go with him. the other four alphas played rock paper scissors and jaehyun lost. the grumpy alpha guided taeyong out the building to get him home while mark, johnny and yuta went for another round.
due to all the drinking mark had to go and relieve his bladder. he left johnny and yuta behind at the table to go to the restrooms. his sight was a bit blurred and he felt tipsy but else he was fine.
as soon as he entered the restroom the intense smell from yesterday once again filled his nose. although now the sweetness was mixed with fear. mark shook his head, trying to get rid of his focus on the smell. he quickly relieved himself and was about to leave when he heard winced from the last stall. he neared himself, unsure of what to do.
the alpha hesitated for a moment but then knocked and questioned "hello? everything alright?"
there was no response but mark was certain he had heard a sharp breath from inside the stall. since the scent was oozing out of it, he was pretty sure whoever was inside was the owner of it.
suddenly the door opened, causing mark to jump back. out walked one of the two guys he had seen yesterday at this very same place. it was the man called jungwoo. he eyed mark up and down, growling at him lowly. then however he turned away but whispered "you can have him. but i'm warning you he's such a brat."
mark stared at him in confusion. the man turned to the door and left, leaving mark and whoever he had been talking about behind. carefully mark peeked inside the stall.
there, leaning onto the wall, was a small male. he seemed young, even younger than mark. it was obvious that he was the owner of the scent and mark also easily recognised him as the other male that had been with jungwoo yesterday.
he neared himself, leaning onto the stall door. he could hear small sobs from the other but was unsure whether and if yes, how to approach him.
"hey. are you alright?" he asked, loud enough so that the petite male would hear him over his sobs. the person flinched horribly and looked up at mark with widened eyes.
the sight knocked the breath out of mark. to say the boy was pretty would be an understatement. he had brown hair which almost reached his collar at the back. it was fluffy but covered the forehead of the boy so that his eyes were almost hidden.
(a/n: he's so pretty omfg)
his widened eyes stared up at mark and the boy tried to move his body away from mark as far as possible. he looked incredibly scared and smelled like it too. it hurt mark to see the tear-stained cheeks and the plumb lips which were quivering.
mark held up his hands and whispered "i'm not going to hurt you. don't worry. why are you crying in here?"
the omega stared up to him for another few seconds before once again breaking out in tears. with each cry the boy's body was trembling horribly which hurt mark's heart. the man, surprised by his own actions, slid down the wall and sat down next to the omega. there was still a big gap between them but he was definitely closer than before.
"can i help you somehow?" the alpha asked once again. he got a head shaking in response. completely helpless mark just sat there, telling the omega it would be alright.
suddenly someone else was standing at the stall door. an elderly looking man was watching the two, obviously concerned. mark could identify him as a beta.
"you two alright in there? what's going on?" he asked.
"oh-" mark exclaimed, trying desperately to come up with an explanation "my friend just got his heart broken so i'm trying to calm him down." he lied.
"is that so? so you're not his mate?" the beta asked further. mark eagerly shook his head and replied "no! he's really just a friend."
the beta nodded and walked off but due to his amazing hearing sense mark could hear the man mumble "just friends? i could've sworn... their scents.. hm."
the alpha tilted his head in confusion at those words but pushed them back for later to think about as right now there clearly was a bigger problem at hand. the omega next to him had finally stopped crying but was still obviously shaken up.
he turned to mark who felt caught in staring at the omega. the boy opened and closed his mouth quite a few times before hoarsely saying "you smell good. you have a nice scent."
it took mark his whole will to not scoot over and squish the boy's cheeks as he looked and sounded completely adorable just now. instead he tried to nod cooly and said "yours too. didn't expect it in a bar, it's very sweet."
the petite boy looked down, his face hidden but mark could see his ears glowing brightly red. he smiled but immediately stopped when the boy looked up again.
"do you feel better now?" mark asked.
"a bit. thank you for getting rid of that beta." the omega replied and gave mark a small smile. the alpha could feel his heart combust at the sight but tried to ignore his racing heart. instead he stood up.
"no problem. you look tired so let's get you out of here, shall we?" he replied and extended his hand for the other to take. the omega hesitated for a moment, looking at mark's hand but finally took it and let himself get pulled up by mark. the latter had slightly flinched when their skins head touched. it was like a small electric shock had shot through his entire body as his hand had touched the other smaller one.
when the omega tried to wiggle his hand free, mark realised he was still holding it. he quickly let go, trying to ignore the heat that was spreading on his cheeks and ears.
whilst exiting the bathroom, nobody said a word. mark could see johnny and yuta at the other side of the big room. the two didn't seem to miss him and were instead playing around with their soju bottles, trying to stack them as high as possible.
mark tapped the omegas shoulder and cocked his head towards the exit. the omega seemed to understand and followed mark until the two had left the stuffy room. outside it was cold as the spring had just begun and the nights were still freezing. mark could feel the omega shivering next to him so he took off his jacket and put it around the omegas shoulders.
"can i call you a taxi?" he asked.
"oh, that would be nice! and thank you." the omega replied whilst blushing at mark's action.
"no problem." mark smiled. internally he paused for a moment. since when was he smiling at strangers? since when was he giving strangers his expensive jacket? since when was he so caring towards strangers? he could easily admit to himself that this was not like him at all.
despite this realisation he called the omega next to him taxi. it arrived within a few minutes which were filled with silence. mark had desperately wanted to say something, to talk to the omega but he didn't know how so he just kept his mouth shut. when the taxi had arrived, the omega thanked him again before getting in.
mark waved his hand in dismissal and reassured that it was nothing. he hesitated for a moment, already holding the door of his taxi in his hand, ready to close it so the taxi could start.
"by the way, what's your name?" he finally asked. the omega looked up at him in surprise but replied "donghyuck. my name is lee donghyuck."
mark nodded. it was a pretty name for a pretty boy.
"have a safe ride home donghyuck." he smiled and closed the door. watching as the taxi started and disappeared into the night traffic of seoul he only thought one thing. this wouldn't have been the last time he would meet the omega, he had to meet donghyuck again. whatever it would take.