bite me | markhyuck

23

— Chapter Twenty Three —

The silence was louder than anything Donghyuck had ever heard. It was only disturbed my Mark's sobs which Donghyuck soon attended to, crouching down next to the man without looking at the body in front of him. He didn't want to see it, didn't have to to know what happened.

"She's dead. I killed her, Donghyuck," Mark's voice was so broken, Donghyuck felt as if the broken pieces of Mark's heart were scattered all around.

Donghyuck didn't know what to say. He was usually good at consoling people but this was different. "You didn't kill her," he whispered, hands running through Mark's hair as the man cried into Donghyuck's chest, "You ended her suffering. She would have turned out a zombie within the next few minutes. You did the right thing."

"I killed her," Mark whimpered and pulled Donghyuck closer by the waist so that the man fell forward and right into Mark's arms. They stayed like this, still and sad. Mark's cries were the only sounds ringing through the quiet and Donghyuck hated how broken the man sounded. Hesitantly, he laid his hand on top of Mark's head, the other man slightly turning into the touch. He seemed to like it as the sobs slowly ceased when Donghyuck petted his hair.

"It'll all be okay," Donghyuck whispered, "I promise it'll be alright," It was a lie. Donghyuck was making a promise that he couldn't keep. He had no idea whether everything would be alright or not but he was not about to show Mark that. The man was at his weakest point but necessary for Donghyuck's survival (and maybe, just maybe, Donghyuck simply liked him too much to bear him looking so heartbroken).

Mark cleared his throat, pulling back and Donghyuck finally got to see his face. Somehow, despite his swollen eyes and red face, Mark still looked incredibly beautiful. Donghyuck raised one hand, letting it wipe away the last tears that threatened to roll down Mark's cheek.

"Thank you," the man said but Donghyuck just shook his head. "Nothing to thank me for," he whispered, keeping Mark's face close. He really wanted to just bend down and kiss the man but he knew that this wasn't the time so he settled for a peck on Mark's nose.

"Any idea on what to do now?" he asked and Mark tilted his head, a very small but still visible smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I guess we will stay here just like we planned to. Follow the plan for now and if anything changes we adjust it."

"You think we can do it," Donghyuck hesitated, "Without her?" He tilted his head towards the dead woman a few meters from them. He saw Mark gulp, was scared that Mark would break out in tears again but the man just took a deep breath and then nodded his head.

"We should be able to do it, don't worry," he told Donghyuck who hummed and finally let his hand drop from Mark's face.

They settled down. Akira's corpse stayed untouched, neither of them had the heart to even move the body. Donghyuck knew they would be gone by the next morning so they wouldn't have enough time to even give her the honour of a peaceful resting place.

Mark didn't look at her and Donghyuck tried to do the same as well. The two stayed at the back of the supermarket, sat down in between two isles filled with sweets and alcohol. The bottles looked very tempting but Donghyuck ignored them. He knew if he just started with a sip, another would follow and then another. As enticing as it sounded to get drunk, this was definitely not the moment.

Mark spread out the map they had taken with them. He marked down the supermarket that they were staying at with an arrow before studying the map further as if something had changed from the last time he had looked at it at home. Donghyuck realised that it had become home for him in a way, no wonder with all those days or rather weeks spent in the apartment. Now he couldn't help but miss it.