TIME ─ JAEYONG

026⸰

— hand and hand is the way taeyong wanted to start his new beginning

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the two pulled their worn out hoodies over their heads as they approached the border. taeyong reminisced the times where he would wander these trash-filled streets looking for a measly job and something cheap to eat. he shivered at the spine-tingling memories.

"yuta said he's still at sicheng's house so we have time to visit mark first." jaehyun whispered, stuffing his phone far into his ripped jeans front pocket.

with one look at the expensive phone from one of the bystanders, their cover would be blown. taeyong saw how fast jaehyun could run earlier but if it came down to a fight he wasn't too sure on his fighting ability.

"okay but don't pull your phone out again." jaehyun made a face of realization before nodding and pulling his hoodie down farther to hide the outline of it.

"right. sorry." without much of a problem or suspicious looks they made it to mark's neighborhood. the familiar sound of mark's laughter rang through the air as they approached his front lawn.

he was sitting out on the lawn with a sun-kissed boy who seemed no older than mark. taeyong undid the latch on the gate and entered the yard. mark stopped laughing, his expression shocked. his mouth hung open, his body frozen like a mannequin. to taeyong, it seemed like the younger boy had stopped breathing.

"hi mark." the younger took small steps forward before running full force into taeyong's welcoming arms. "i missed you."

"i can't believe you're here and still alive!" mark pulled back from the hug and motioned towards the front door. "please come in!"

"aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" the boy rose from his seat with a small smile. he set his hand on mark's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

"i'm donghyuck. i recently moved schools and met mark there. we're already pretty close." a rosy color spread across mark's cheeks. taeyong laughed knowingly.

"nice to meet you. i'm taeyong and this is jaehyun." they shook hands. mark cleared his throat then looked at donghyuck expectantly.

"i'll be leaving now. i can see this reunion is important. bye mark." donghyuck waved and left out the gate. mark turned quickly, pulling taeyong alongside with him. jaehyun followed behind awkwardly.

"so, donghyuck huh?" taeyong teased. mark groaned from inside his kitchen. "hey it's fine mark. get yourself a man."

"i'm not gay taeyong. you know this. i'm dating hyejeong." mark set down three ice-cold lemonades on the circular glass coffee table then took a seat on the couch's armrest. "hyuck is just a friend. possibly best friend."

"we'll see how close you two get the next time i visit." mark rolled his eyes.

"anyways, tell me everything! how's the rich life? you look happier. spill the details." jaehyun leaned back into the couch and listened quietly as taeyong and mark talked and caught up on everything they missed in each other's life.

overtime jaehyun zoned out the two, not necessarily interested in the time mark kicked the soccer ball into their coaches face because of his bad aim. his phone buzzed from a text from yuta saying he and sicheng were finally on their way to the coffee shop.

jaehyun didn't want to interrupt their conversation but due to his shifting taeyong shifted his attention to jaehyun. he made a motion towards the text and suddenly taeyong remembered the sole purpose of visiting mark.