❝ stop it, jeno. please. ❞
jeno had been bugging mark ever since he came out of the room, pestering him to tell him about what the caretaker told him. mark didn't want to break the news of their dead parents to jeno, especially when he had been so excited to go home when he agreed to help him find it.
it was winter, when mark heard his first goodbye, disguised as something as sweet as a 'happy birthday', as his own mother threw him away. the poem his mother chanted to him every single night played in his head once again, and it sounded unusually...soothing—
mark really wanted to tell jeno, he thought it would be for his own good, so they could finally stop all the searching of something mark didn't find the need to achieve in the first place. he didn't understand why jeno wanted to return back home so badly.
but he knew him and the other boys weren't safe in the orphanage, either.
" you're a brave boy, mark. the bravest boy i know, and you'll grow up to be even braver. "
mark sniffed, his nose runny from the chilly air. all he had on was a thin blanket wrapped securely around his frame, his shirt loose and his pants torn. he nodded at his mother, and the woman smiled.
" that's my boy. " she gave him a pat on the head, before standing up and turning her back towards him.
" where are you going, momma? "
mark had his eyebrows furrowed and breathing heavy, getting more and more annoyed by jeno with each passing second. he was cutting off the flashback, the one flashback that actually seemed important to him.
it was a nice one; no headaches, no ringing in his ears. just like a calm movie playing in his head.
" hyung? "
" hold on for a minute, jeno. please. "
—the woman froze in her spot, a little reluctant to turn around. but in the end she did, and she forced a smile for mark to believe. he was way too young to worry about what was fake and what was not.
so he returned the smile, with a genuine one of his own.
" mark, son, i need you to forget everything...about me, about your father, about the family. everything but yourself, is that alright? "
" where are you going, momma? " mark repeated, almost realizing the situation in front of him.
" you're such a brave boy, mark, " she said, tears collecting in her eyes, as she re-wrapped the blanket around mark—
" hyung— "
" just shut up! " mark snapped, causing jeno to wince at the unexpected reply.
but mark was too preoccupied in his thoughts to notice jeno's sudden drop of his smile. his arm released mark's, and he simply stared at him in confusion. mark let out a groan, clasping his hands behind his neck and hanging his head low.
" s-sorry... hyung, i didn't mean to— " jeno cut himself off, distancing himself from mark little by little.
he was...scared of mark.
