THE LITTLE COPY ⋮ markhyuck

Chapter 𝟮𝟳

Mina heard their conversation for sure. She knew how long the guest planned to stay, and so did Donghyuck. But it seemed like Mark dwelled on time on purpose. He didn't take his meds for quite a while, and even when his sister-in-law scolded him, he ignored her and gave his full attention to the younger.

"How old is your cat? I asked Dongchan, but he didn't tell me."

"Seven months," Donghyuck replied, then urged Mark to take the drugs too.

Mina handed him a glass of water, but he grimaced.

"The water is too cold."

"No, what are you saying? It's warm."

"I'd like to drink it with another cup of tea."

The sister-in-law narrowed her eyes, scanning Mark up and down, perhaps, already aware of his intentions. But it wasn't like Donghyuck didn't catch it. He, too, saw that Mark tried to hold him up as the younger could only leave if the sick planned to sleep after taking his medicine.

"Fine. I'll get you tea, but that's your last request."

But even when he got the tea, he got things he wasn't satisfied with. At first, he said it was too hot, then proceeded to ask Donghyuck questions and did that for so long that the tea got cold. Both Donghyuck and Mina groaned as they saw that coming.

"That's it," the woman said, pushing the younger man out of the bedroom. "Donghyuck has to go. Only a few hours left until 1 PM."

"But I didn't take my meds, and I'm wide awake..." Mark trailed off.

"So take that goddamn pill, or I'll shove it down your throat myself."

She then turned to Donghyuck, who got startled and apologized.

"I'm not usually like this, but Mark can easily get on one's nerves when he's stubborn."

"That's... fine."

They locked their eyes on Mark, who just swallowed the pill and then fixed his pillow. He laid down after a few seconds and moved so much, trying to get comfortable that Mrs. Lee stepped in to help him.

"Finally," the woman sighed. "Was it this hard?"

"Yes," Mark retorted childishly. Then he shifted his eyes on Donghyuck. "Could you sit here, at the end of the bed, until I fall asleep?"

Donghyuck nodded and sat down. Since Mina was still there, he felt awkward. He didn't know where to look. Luckily, she left the room soon as she guessed Mark would blame her that he couldn't fall asleep. So, only the two of them were left, but it was no longer awkward as the older one gave in to the fever, or maybe it was Donghyuck's presence that let him fall asleep easier.

📚

Nyx was a good cat, therefore when Donghyuck returned home to take a look at how she was doing, he found her waking up from sleep. That's what she was usually doing anyway. Sleeping.

Thanking God for such a great cat, Donghyuck grabbed his wallet and then left the house again. Overflowing with joy, he drove off to the closest coffee shop and bought Dongchan a few pastries.

He only bought a cup of hot coffee for himself, but then, glancing at the pastries, he returned and bought one crepe. He just started craving it for no reason.

Since Donghyuck had time, he had lunch in his car, in the coffee shop's parking lot. Looking at people who passed by, he only then realized that spring was coming to an end. Everyone was in short-sleeved clothing as if preparing for summer. It was very warm outside, and the only escape could be a shadow under a thick tree. Thinking of that, Donghyuck couldn't believe it was his son's third month at school. Well, the time really went fast when his monotonous life had more variety for the past few weeks.