Mid Summer

twenty eight,

As Jaemin predicted, there was nothing severely wrong with Jeno's leg. It was just a sprain because he twisted it the wrong way near the end of the game, and should be healed in about three weeks. Sure, he couldn't practice for those three weeks, but Jeno quite literally begged the coach and team captain, a really nice guy in their third year named Kim Jungwoo, and they agreed to let him keep his position on the team because of his passion.

Mark just thinks he got lucky.

Meanwhile, Donghyuck thinks that Jeno is stupid. Still.

And Jeno isn't complaining, he likes Donghyuck pampering him, (which the younger has started doing out of worry that Jeno would injure himself again) not that he'd ever admit that out loud to the younger.

Classes weren't a problem for him, he was still able to walk, but Donghyuck still insisted he carried Jeno's bags and whatnot. And who was Jeno to stop him?

"Jeno hyung, I'll take that for you."

Sometimes it made Jeno want to laugh, how helpful Donghyuck was when he thought Jeno was in severe pain and couldn't function without the help of someone else.

Normally, Donghyuck wouldn't spare him a second glance, only paying attention to Jeno when he wanted cuddles or kisses. Not that the elder minds.

But it's a nice change, how Donghyuck was behaving now... Jeno didn't mind it.

"Donghyuck, I think Jeno can manage on his own," Mark sighs, knowing very well what Jeno was doing, but decided to keep quiet about it once the younger had given him a pleading look.

Donghyuck simply glares at Mark

"Jeno is injured."

"Jeno isn't dying," the elder stresses, playfully shoving Jeno, watching with an eye roll how Donghyuck screeches tends to Jeno again.

"Stop being an ass," Donghyuck grumbles. "Go make out with Jaemin or something."

"I would," Mark sighs, kicking a pebble in the way of the path. He, Jeno and Donghyuck were walking back to latter two's dorm; Mark wanted to hang out. "But he's really busy with an Anthropology paper."

Donghyuck scrunches up his nose at that.

"Anthropology. Nasty," he comments, turning his attention to Jeno, who he has an arm around the waist of. "What does he study anyways?"

"Korean literature," Jeno answers.

"Anyways, he's way too busy for me," Mark sighs. "So I'm leeching with you guys. I expect kisses. Mark gets lonely too," the eldest says, trying to be cute, when in reality, Donghyuck cringes and Jeno just tries to erase the memory from his head. "Okay, you guys are assholes."

Soon enough, the three of them make it to Donghyuck and Jeno's dorm room, Mark raiding the fridge while Donghyuck tucks Jeno into bed.

"You guys have any rice cakes?" Mark mutters, loud enough for the other two of hear him.

Jeno raises an eyebrow at the elder.

"Do we look like we're swimming in money?"

"Whatever," Mark says, settling on eating an apple. "Which one of you are free right now? Mark wants cuddles."

"Stop talking like that," Donghyuck groans, throwing a wad of paper at Mark. "Jeno's free, I'm working an homework."

Not even waiting for Jeno to deny or confirm, Mark immediately throws himself beside the younger on his bed, carefully wrapping his arms and legs around Jeno's entire body.

"Thanks for asking," Jeno mumbles, not really complaining. Cuddles were always allowed, and always welcomed.

"Mhm," Mark hums, tiredly pressing his face into Jeno's neck.

Suddenly, a thought made its way into Jeno's mind. He giggles, which sparks Mark's attention. The latter pulls his face out of Jeno's neck, looking at him curiously.

"What is it?" He questions.

"It's just," Jeno starts, smiling his attractive smile where his eyes turn into crescent moons. "You're not my boyfriend."

Mark gapes, and Donghyuck pretends like he isn't listening, in favour of the conversation actually continuing.

"What?" The eldest asks.

"I don't cuddle people I'm not involved with," Jeno says, using a matter of fact tone. "Ask me out."

Mark is scoffing inside his head, new to Jeno having this amount of audacity.

But he doesn't mind, and it's not like he was going to say deny Jeno's request, not when attraction and admiration for the younger laid deep inside him.

"Jeno Lee," Mark starts, still laying on his side, wrapped around Jeno. The latter giggles, anticipating what Mark was going to say next. "Cute, handsome, incredibly talented at soccer, Lee Jeno," he teases, relishing in the way a low blush crawls onto the younger's cheeks. "Will you be my third boyfriend?"

Jeno giggles openly at the question he's asked, whereas any other person would be offended.

However Jeno is simply amused, nodding his head to answer the question.

"Sure. Now you're my third boyfriend," he says, kissing Mark's forehead.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Donghyuck's voice sighs, cutting into what Mark would've labeled as 'their moment'. "Now please shut up so that I can work."

Mark rolls his eyes, but doesn't dwell on what Donghyuck says for long. He reverts his attention to Jeno, who's looking at Donghyuck fondly, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

It may have been out of the heat of the moment, but suddenly, Mark really wants to kiss Jeno's lips.

They weren't full like Donghyuck's lips, and they weren't as thin as Jaemin's lips. Mark would like to say that they were in between, his upper lip being thin like Jaemin's, whereas his bottom lip was full like Donghyuck's.

"You're staring."

The voice of his new boyfriend rips Mark out of his thoughts, eyes moving up to look at Jeno in the eyes instead of his lips.

The younger looks smug, and it might've been impulsive, but Mark really wanted to get rid of that look.

So he does the first thing which came to mind,

Kiss Jeno.

It feels better than he expected, feels right.

Jeno kisses back, and Mark gets the taste that the former doesn't back down easily, something which Mark thinks would be a different dynamic for him.

And he isn't complaining.

Different and change was good, especially when it was Lee Jeno.

When Mark pulls away, his eyes catch something in his peripheral, and he's quick to divert his line of vision to that.

Staring back at him, almost mockingly if you will, as if asking him why he hadn't noticed it until
now, is his own name calligraphed along Jeno's collarbones in blue ink.

"When did you get my tattoo?" Mark gasps, eyes then fleeting to Donghyuck to see if he had an answer, (Donghyuck wasn't paying attention) before settling back on Jeno.

"The night I had my first date with Donghyuck," the younger answers, smiling lightly.

Mark smiles, pecking Jeno's lips twice more, happy that now Jeno also has his name on his body.

In the back of the mind's of all three boys, realization settles in.

All of Mark's soulmates reciprocate, as in, all of Mark's soulmates have his name inked somewhere onto their bodies.

And somewhere really far back in the three boys' minds, they all realize that Jaemin isn't there with them, and they all realize that Jeno and Donghyuck still don't have Jaemin's tattoo.