exasperated ；rensung

xxii

Later that night, after everything was settled and all of them made sure that Mark was nicely tucked in his bed and was perfectly safe and sound, they went their ways back to home.

Jisung had never imagined that the walk from the gate to his bedroom door would be that tedious. He felt he'd fall over with each step but luckily, he held on and crashed on his fluffy mattress.

Day came by swiftly and the sunlight pricked Jisung's eyes open. Too tired, he whined and grumpily got up to close his curtains and cut off any source of light that could possibly disturb his precious sleep.

Happily, he went back to sleep, giving no worry to the havoc that was about to be brought upon him.

Sleep was not an easy option for some that night. Mark stayed up all night staring at his ceiling. He knew he shouldn't have worried his mum and others like that but the cause was something he couldn't take, not without shedding a few tears.

They say you should not grieve over a person who doesn't know your worth but this was different. Had it been that Sicheng cheated on him or just left him with bad intentions,he would try but not when he himself was the one suffering through all their relationship.

Mark had never had a serious relationship ever. His friends, however, were the best people he could ever meet and considered himself a very lucky man. But falling hard for one of his "extremely" cute friend was not in his wish-list. Heck, he was so embarrassed to even realize the emotion. He thought it was just adoration for the older male or maybe infatuation was what he felt later when Sicheng stopped rejecting his attempts of skinship and actually made time to be with Mark.

It was one hell of a weird situation for him. He was an awkward guy and the last thing he'd want was to get in a similar situation with one of his closest friends. The others in his friend group would often tease him for it, especially Johnny. He would always start and others would hop in to join the fun. Mark did have very interesting reactions that all found adorable. Sicheng was the same case.

Sicheng never really showed much affection but he loved all of them to pieces. He had been the person everyone was whipped for. Because the male was always like a cute little brother to them, even younglings treated him like that. Mark was no exception to this.

But the difference came when Sicheng caught on Mark's feelings for him. Both knew how they felt for each other and it did feel weird but the older felt compelled to put Mark at ease. He got way cooler with him. Sicheng would flirt with him occasionally, touch his ears like Mark always did, ruffled his hair, and pinched his cheeks.

But that wasn't enough for Mark to confess. It took time but he did express his feelings for the older male and to his surprise, Sicheng smiled knowingly and hugged him.

That was how it all started, but it couldn't last long as how they both envisioned.

Sicheng had mentioned quite a lot times about his baby brother and how much he misses him and wants to bring him back home. But for that, he needs to be there first. It was one of his goals to convince his father to let the younger be with them again. Mark only then realized that Sicheng was one secret holder. He had so much going on but he never said anything to them.

Mark came to know a lot about Jisung, or just how much Sicheng himself knew about his sibling, which wasn't much to begin with. Mark had always supported Sicheng and comforted him about this matter but he could see the other getting more and more anxious with time.

Sicheng drowned himself with studies, paying utmost attention to finishing his major. He might have to leave soon, Mark thought. But that came too soon for them.