𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴'𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁│𝗡𝗖𝗧 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺

FӨЦЯ

Mark sat at the edge of his bed, forehead creased in worry. He was too deep in thoughts to remember he was supposed to be cleaning his room. To caught up in his own mind to notice the sauce dripping from the white plate in his hands, causing a puddle to form on the carpet. That would be a bitch to clean up later. The lights were turned on suddenly, and Mark's eyes closed unconsciously, blinking rapidly as they tried to get used to the brightness.

"Milk, look what I found on the balcony."

Mark turned his head, smiling when he saw Haechan standing at the bathroom door with a white cat in his arms. "It looked hungry, do you have any food?" Mark scanned the room before remembering the food in his hands, he placed the ceramic plate on the puddle of sauce. "I have some leftover fish."

Haechan skipped over excitedly, placing the cat on the ground, stroking its back lovingly. Mark grinned, ignoring the fact that the cat was making a huge mess. A knock was heard at the door, Renjun's voice called asking if he could come in. Haechan picked the cat up hurriedly and dived into the cupboard, Mark sending the fish bones one last glance before opening the door.

"Are you done cleaning? Jeno is complaining about how many dishes he needs to wash."

"Serves him right," Mark grumbled under his breath as he helped Renjun carry a stack of dirty dishes to the kitchen. Renjun was pouring the leftover food into a bin. Mark furrowed his eyebrows, he was sure he and Haechan always finished all the food Jaemin (very kindly) passed him every day.

"Let's go." Mark followed Renjun mindlessly down the hall to the kitchen. "Jeno, here are more plates. Thank you." Jeno whined loudly, glaring at the stacks of dirty dishes. Mark heard the vacuum cleaner turn on, and watched Chenle chase Jisung around the living room, threatening to 'suck him up' if he didn't run fast enough.

"We'll go out for dinner once the dorms clean," Jaemin stated when he entered the room, ushering Mark back into his room to clean out his cupboard, claiming it was "way too messy to be owned by a grown man".

Once the door closed shut, Haechan came out with the cat, setting it down on the floor to play. Mark watched from the door, biting his lips in worry. Maybe Jeno was right. Mark didn't know what to think anymore. He was surprised Jeno wasn't sneezing or coughing since he was allergic to cats. Pushing the thought to the side, he crouched down on the floor instead, letting the cat come over and wrap itself around his hand, licking at it excitedly. Mark could feel the smile Haechan was sending him.

That was when it hit him.

They didn't have a balcony in their dorm.

"Is everyone ready to go?"

Jisung and Chenle were fighting with a pair of wooden chopsticks, stabbing each other in the tummy. The manager stopped looking around the house to break them apart in case one of their eyes got poked out, so Jaemin took it upon himself to make sure everyone was ready.

"Jeno, have you seen Mark?" Jaemin's boyfriend shook his head as he slipped into his white canvas, pulling his jacket on at the same time. "Still in his room, I guess." Jaemin groaned, quickly running through the corridor to call Mark. Not bothering to knock, Jaemin assume he was already dressed and probably just fell asleep on his bed.

He did not expect, however, to see Mark holding a steak knife, pointing it at the wall while screaming for someone (or something) to not come closer. "Mark?" Mark's head whipped around, but the steak knife was still aimed in the wall's direction. His expression was fierce, but Jaemin saw the way his pupils trembled, his hand shaking. "There are two of you?"