The World Stopped Moving {MarkRen} | complete

treize

So... This week has been... eventful... There's so much going on in my head right now. I watched the dream show on beyond live and, no I couldn't really afford it, but it was the best £41 I've ever spent :D I cried a lot and am still emotional, so I can tell you that this chapter looks very different to the original draft oops it gets a bit sentimental towards the end.

I hope you enjoy <3

𓆩♡𓆪

"That'll be 120,000 won." The woman taps her fingers on the counter while Renjun muffles a curse and fumbles for the card in his pocket. He aches from sleep deprivation and struggles to form a coherent thought.

Coming to the shop was a mistake. A coping mechanism, sure, but definitely a mistake, even as he walks out onto the street with arms full of brand-new paintbrushes and watercolours. His creased, beloved tote bag has never been so heavy, and he has to remove the pad of premium watercolour paper he's sure he got ripped off for to carry it in his other hand instead, shoulder soon complaining from the nuisance.

He makes it back to the dorm just as the clouds decide to empty their wrath onto the unsuspecting pedestrians, so has to dodge past a group of girls that squeal about not having an umbrella. Then he traipses along the corridor that's still just as long and stuffy as the first day. He releases a sigh when he inserts his key in the lock. There's an assortment of crushed beer cans and an empty bottle of vodka stacked by the door opposite. They must be the product of the party that kept them all up until the sun was nearly rising. Jisung had paced the living room, and it took a crushing hug from Jeno and two mugs of herbal tea from Renjun to get him to settle down. He never copes well with lack of sleep, especially when there's an exam nearing.

"On a spending spree, I see?" Chenle eyes the new art supplies that Renjun unloads onto the kitchen table. His fluffy brown and white pyjamas hang off his frame, the yellow bear on the front crumpled, and his hair is damp and cheeks are flushed from a recent shower.

Renjun snatches a carton of chocolate milk from the fridge and hopes Jisung won't notice. "Something like that," he mutters. He feels regret settle into his brow, and Chenle furrows his own in sympathy.

"You should have asked for all that for your birthday," Chenle says.

Renjun is grateful for the offer, even though the moment has long passed. He wants to go back in time, anything to save his bank account from the overdraft that looms far too close for comfort, but pride stiffens his jaw, tells him he can manage just fine. He can't. And if he skips more meals next month or avoids calls from his parents, he prays the others won't mention it.

Chenle fixes his gaze on him. His knees are pulled to his chest, shins against the edge of the table, then he fiddles on his iPad through the silence. Renjun finishes his chocolate milk and hopes the sugar will hit him soon. Sleep has been scarce for the last week, even when there hasn't been a party in their building. Since Mark told him about his heart. Uncertainty never does him any favours and, despite his soulmate's attempts to cheer him up and lighten the mood with rambles about his favourite books, it doesn't erase the desperation that wrecks his own heart. Sometimes it physically hurts. And when it isn't his heart pounding, it's his head instead.

He doesn't know why he thought buying overpriced art supplies would help him, but he bought them anyway. Nothing about that fits with his student budget. Yet he scoops it all back into his bag and bids goodbye to Chenle, leaving for Mark's place in search of something that would actually help him.

When he's not in a lecture or seething over an assignment, he's curled up on Mark's sofa. Physical touch is still kept at a minimum, but it's nice to spend time together and Jungwoo works around them, cheery as always and glad to see a new face in the apartment. Jaehyun visited Tuesday evening and brought pizza with him, so the four of them spent the evening together. With Mark curled into his side after a few beers, the glow of the couple's soulmate dust didn't bother Renjun and he laughed at all the jokes.