What if...? || Markhyuck

-65-

[june 2021]

[minhyung]

Donghyuck recently returned to outside work. Marco has been giving him some small away orders so far but the lèse-majesté has clearly passed. Or he just had new plans for brunet, which didn't want to share with anyone. I found myself starting to look for a hidden agenda and potential threat in every little gesture of our boss. However, with the passage of time and Hyuck's slight remarks I realized more and more how dangerous and suspicious it all was. I was beginning to understand what Donghyuck wanted so much to protect me from. It turned out that from my own incompetence. But it's hard to be rational when it comes to the person you love. I've never been rational on this point and I've always done terribly stupid things with the potential to regret it for the rest of my life.

Anyway, Perez was mumbling something about a big trip to Chicago next year. The three of us made an appointment at the coffee shop so Steven could introduce us to the subject. It might seem that, at least until then, we would all be safe if nothing unexpected crossed our lifeline. At least that was the hope that I started each day with. However, when I arrived, a business trip became a matter of secondary importance due to other disturbing visual content that awakened the primitive man inside me. Steven was sitting alone, cut off from the world, with nose deep in another internet game. It wasn't anything new or suspicious, at least I didn't care a bit. On the other hand, Donghyuck was talking to some tall black guy at our table. And that wasn't right anymore. I furrowed brows in surprise as stepped closer.

"Okay, give me your number then" asked the stranger smiling broadly to slightly flushed Hyuck. I was pissed.

"He won't, fuck off," I cut coldly into their conversation. I grabbed Hyuck's wrist, taking phone away midway.

"Mark, for god's sake," Steven muttered under breath, only shaking head from side to side. At the same time, he didn't even take eyes off the game. He didn't see what I saw.

"Who are you, anyway, dude?" guy laughed brightly, a little confused but still cheerful. He was dressed simply but gave me that underground vibe as if he was playing in some garage rock band. He wasn't trustworthy, though, and the way he looked at Hyuck was definitely unacceptable.

"His possessive boyfriend," I said bluntly, to which Steven only laughed. Donghyuck also smiled. He took phone from me gently but also very firmly. If he hadn't stroked my cheek an instant later, I might have concluded that I'd be seriously fucked.

"Minhyung, get your shit together, please" he asked in a calm way, even with a little amusement. It's great that my jealousy was so funny. It's just a pity that I completely didn't share it. "Taylor is an old friend of mine. Don't embarrass me more then I already am, hm?" he muttered under breath, patting my butt lightly. I cursed internally but refrained from commenting further. "Here, save yours, I'll call you," Donghyuck suggested, making eye contact with Taylor-guy, which was, at least, weird. As if they were exchanging information completely different from the subject of the phone number. Someone might accuse me of nitpicking. But when it came to Donghyuck, all this might already be true at this point. There were no rules of rationality.

"Cool" Hyuck's friend laughed happily, typing something briskly on the brunet's keyboard. But he did it so skillfully that I had no idea if it was definitely just a phone number. "We'll catch up later," Taylor shrugged and tucked Hyuck's phone into the brunet's front sweatshirt pocket. I didn't like it. A handshake would be sufficient.

"Cool" Donghyuck smiled at Taylor, grabbing my hand discreetly. "I'm sorry for him," he whispered theatrically, wrinkling nose as if apologizing to the headmistress for his son doing something against the school's statute but not significantly violating it.