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"Yo Taeyong! Are you in here?"
"Yes Joshua, this is my studio."
"Are you hiding?"
"What? No! I just have a lot on my mind, and I'm waiting for Mark."
"You're totally hiding," Joshua laughs softly, sliding behind the sound system to sit with Taeyong.
"Fine, maybe I'm hiding a little bit."
"Ok, now why are you hiding?"
"It's just- like- the younger kids in this school that don't know us keep staring, and I just know that they're all talking about me and my soulmates."
"You know what, Taeyong?"
"What?" Taeyong asks, turning towards Joshua.
"It doesn't matter what they think. I'm assuming you read my article. It doesn't matter how any soulmates you have, all that matters is that you love them and that they love you. So, whether you do the interview with me or not, you just need to remember that there are plenty of people that will support you no matter what, including me, Jeonghan, Seungcheol, and the rest of our boys."
"Thanks, Joshua. Where are Jeonghan and Seungcheol anyways? They're usually with you, right?"
"Seungcheol had to go find Chan and Jeonghan is helping Seokmin with his lines for the next play," Joshua glances at his phone as he gets a text from Seungcheol.
"Oh. So you came to find me?"
"I did. I came to see if you'd decided yet."
"On the interview? Or about showing my marks?"
"Both, as I've stated, I care about you and you're one of my best friends."
"You're one of my best friends, too, and I think I'll do the interview, but I'm not sure about the marks question yet."
"That's alright. Why don't we schedule the interview for next week? That way you get some more time to decide."
"Ok. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Joshua side-hugs Taeyong as the door opens. "I'll go now since Mark's here."
"Alright, see you later."
"Bye."
Joshua leaves the room, nodding at Mark as the younger boy goes towards Taeyong.
"Hey Tae," Mark greets as he sits where Joshua was sitting. "You good?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I really don't know what to do, though."
"About our marks?"
"Yeah."
"That's alright. I think you need a break, so why don't we go get Johnny and whoever he's with and go to the park?"
"Ok. I'm pretty sure Johnny is in the cafeteria."
"Alright, wanna go there or text him to come here?"
"We can go there."
Taeyong stands, pulling Mark up with him before they leave the room.
Mark holds tightly to Taeyong's hand as they walk through the halls. He can see people staring at them and even some whispering as they watch intently.
"Don't mind them," Mark whispers. "Let's just get to the cafeteria."
They make it to the cafeteria and head straight to Johnny after they get through the doors.
"Johnny," Taeyong whines and pulls on the bottom of Johnny's shirt. "I need a hug."
"Me, too?" Mark adds.
"Aw, my poor babies. C"mere." Johnny pulls both boys into his arms and lets them tuck themselves into his sides. "What happened?"
"People won't stop staring," Mark whines. "I just want to walk through the halls in peace."
"I know you do, honey. We can always just drop out if you want."
"Johnny! That's not an option!"
"Hm, I think it is."
"No."
"Yes."
"Yes!" Mark chimes in.
"No, we're not dropping out."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Good, now come with us to the park, Johnny."
"Alright. Let me grab my stuff and we can go."
"Ok."
Taeyong and Mark release Johnny, instead linking arms with each other. They wait a couple of minutes while Johnny says goodbye to his friends.
"Is anyone else coming?" Johnny asks.
"Well, we thought you'd be with more of our soulmates," Taeyong starts. "But since it's just you, us three can go together."
"Alright, let's go."
The three walk to the park, not seeing a need to take the car for a two minute walk.
When they get there, Mark runs straight for the swing set with Taeyong just a few steps behind him.
They play on the empty playground together for half an hour before Johnnt gets a phone call from Lucas.
"Hey Lucas, what's up?"
"Hi hyung, have you seen Mark? He didn't show up to class after lunch."
"I have him, don't worry. He and Taeyong just needed a break."
"Ok, you might want to text Yuta because Hendery said that Shotaro told him that Yuta was freaking out because neither of you were there but he didn't want to bug you in case it was nothing."
"Alright, we'll be back in time for rehearsal."
"Ok be safe, bye!"
"Bye."
Johnny hangs up before sending a text to Yuta, letting him know that they're ok.
Johnny watches Mark and Taeyong run around for a little bit longer before he gets them to go back to school.
"Thank you Johnny," Taeyong says softly.
"You're welcome, but what for?"
"For coming with us and making me feel better."
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