Don't be a pussy.. Mark reminds himself. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply through his nose, managing to muster up enough courage to walk towards the vending machines adjacent to the entrance of the school.
In his time observing Donghyuck, Mark had come to realize two things. The first was that Donghyuck only ever walked the halls of the university alone. He'd see him speak to faculty and staff occasionally, but otherwise he was by himself.
The second was that, before heading to his first class of the day, Donghyuck always stopped at the vending machine for cookies and an energy drink.
He hoped, with any luck, that he wouldn't choose today to break the cycle and leave him looking like an idiot.
After thinking over what to do with the folder the previous night, Mark had decided — with input from Taeyong, Yuta, and Jaehyun — that he would "coincidentally" run into Donghyuck at the vending machines and give him back the folder. It was a pretty simple plan considering it had taken them a whole weekend to come down to, not including all of Saturday and Friday night that Taeyong had spent consoling Mark.
With another calming breath, Mark crosses the space with his head ducked down, carefully avoiding the other student's eyes and makes sure to stay out of anyone's way. He makes it without having to spare a glance at anyone and just in time for when Donghyuck arrives. Said male is dressed in black from head-to-toe, the only exception being the sunflower sticker on his cheek. Mark finds it odd, but only because he doesn't look ridiculous with it.
Mark gulps, feeling the weight of the folder in his bag now that he was less than five feet away from him. Not wanting the boy to think he was watching him — though he clearly was — Mark digs out a five dollar bill from his pocket and pretends to be searching the machine with his eyes. Donghyuck casts a sideways glance at Mark, eyeing the money in his hand and he gestures to the machine with a nod of his head.
"You can go ahead if you already know what you want."
His voice is softer than Mark anticipated and he curses himself for blushing at the sound. He shakes his head, unconsciously crumpling the bill in his hand. "Th-That's okay. I'm s-still deciding."
Donghyuck nods, not seeming to mind Mark's stutter as he turns back to the machine.
The sound of chatter is heard behind them. Mark feigns interest in the snacks in front of him, stealing glances at Donghyuck the entire time, while Donghyuck watches Mark through the glass of the machine with a small smile.
"Did you ever plan on giving me my folder back?"
The words make Mark tense, his mouth slowly falling open in shock as Donghyuck turns to face him with a smug smile. "Well?" He asks with an eyebrow raised in a teasing manner.
"H-How did you—?"
"—know you had it?" Donghyuck finishes and Mark nods dumbly in reply. "I overheard this guy talking about someone liking me. I didn't hear the first part of it, so I didn't get a name, but when I caught on to you following me around for the past week, I figured it was you that he was talking about. I also figured, purely on a hunch, that you weren't going to talk to me yourself anytime soon. So I took some initiative and left my folder on my desk by accident so you'd have a reason to."
Mark was dumbfounded and more than a tad bit embarrassed. He stares at Donghyuck with his eyes wide, a blush creeping up his neck. Not only does Donghyuck know he likes him, but he also knew that Mark was following him and never said anything.
Worst of all, he knew Mark didn't have the balls to talk to him on his own.
"So you set me up?"
"Pretty much." Donghyuck giggles. He fucking giggles, and Mark's convinced that he prefers the sound to any of his favorite songs after hearing it the one time. "I gave you the nudge you needed. Great job being discreet by the way."
