payphone | markhyuck

☏ - 023

   monday came and minhyung found himself avoiding donghyuck. he swore to his friends that the next time they encountered, he would ask the said male out. therefore, in order to avoid what made him miss crucial hours of sleep the night before, minhyung decided that it was logical to staw away from him instead.

   tuesday slipped by in the same manner. minhyung was caught staring at donghyuck, but his friends didn't have to hear about that. donghyuck took notice in minhyung's strange behavior and thought it was indeed weird. renjun convinced him that minhyung was waiting for when he least expected it to pull some horrible stunt which donghyuck easily believed. it did make sense after all. 

   wednesday was unnecessarily awkward for both minhyung and donghyuck. at this rate, they were both avoiding each other. even with that in mind, they would sneak glances at one another and try to keep track of where the other was at all times. "for safety purposes," they would continue to tell their friends.

   thursday was less awkward, but filled with more tension. renjun was now confused to what minhyung was really doing as it didn't seem like he was planning anything horrible. he didn't let his guard slip though, and escorted donghyuck to every class he could, "just in case." jaemin and jeno were getting fed up with minhyung's pathetic excuses as to why he had yet to ask donghyuck out. they began threatening that if he didn't do it by friday, they would convince renjun to do it instead.

   friday went by too quickly, and before donghyuck or minhyung knew it, the school day had ended. donghyuck hung around the art room, working on solo pieces while minhyung played basketball outside. both of them had been waiting it out in hopes that the other would go home, eliminating the possibilities for them to run into each other.

   donghyuck locked up the art room feeling relieved, just as minhyung finished switching his basketball shoes. some how they ended up walking to the school gate at the exact same time. when the realization dawned upon them, they both froze in place, immediately looking elsewhere.

   silence fell until donghyuck realized the silliness of it all and let out a quiet giggle. minhyung slowly looked up, surpised by the sound. he couldn't help but crack a smile too when he looked at the younger male and thought about it as well.

   donghyuck found the confidence to say, "i was wondering where you were all week," breaking the silence for good. "i was avoiding you," minhyung admitted.

   "i know," donghyuck nodded, "you weren't very good at keeping it a secret." minhyung and donghyuck made eye contact before laughing again. "aren't you curious why i was avoiding you?" minhyung then asked once the laughter died down. donghyuck shrugged, "i honestly didn't think about it much," he said which was a straight up lie. "but yeah," he cleared his throat, "why were you avoiding me?"

   "because i promised my friends to tell you something the next time i talked to you."

   "what did you promise to tell me?" donghyuck asked. he was interested but scared at the same time. what if renjun had been right all along and minhyung was about to prove that hunch? he didn't have time to finish considering the possibilities when the older spoke again.

   "i promised to say sorry."

   donghyuck's eyes widened in surprise. he still wasn't sure whether all of it was a big joke or not. "sorry?"

   minhyung nodded, eye contact not faltering. "i'm sorry. i'm really fucking sorry, actually. for everything i've done and said. i'm stupid and inconsiderate, and i never manage to express myself well enough which leads to me doing things out of frustration or for attention," he paused, flushing, "...in other words, i bully you for your attention."

   donghyuck only blinked. the entire situation wasn't making sense to him. "why would you bully me for my attention?" he asked after struggling to get the words out.

   "because i like you," minhyung said. there wasn't a hint of hesitation in his voice which made donghyuck turn red. he didn't know how to reply, and luckily, he didn't have to because minhyung began speaking again, "and when you like a person, you tend to do stupid things...," he trailed off, hand reaching out towards donghyuck's hand.

   he linked their pinkies together gently, seeing that donghyuck wasn't making a move to stop him.

   "so are you willing to make a slightly, but hopefully-not-so-stupid decision and give me a chance? well... what i'm trying to say is will you go out with me to the kukje gallery tomorrow?"

-----

is this a good enough apology?

✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾