𝙃𝙊𝙐𝙎𝙀𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙔

part two

mark groaned as he tossed over in his spot feeling uncomfortable. somewhere in the night he ended up under the duvet. he was still wearing a sweater and a cardigan on top plus the blanket; he was sweltering. he kicked off the blanket allowing the cool air to take over his body. he rolled over and peeked at his phone with one eye. mark rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his sweater in an attempt to adjust to the light. he watched as the his phone displayed two a.m. in bold numbers.

the black haired boy rolled out of bed with a groan and stumbled towards the bathroom. after brushing his teeth, mark navigated towards the kitchen the best he could in the dark. he turned the lights on and pulled out random ingredients from the fridge to start cooking breakfast.

mark's entire sleep schedule was a mess. he'd sleep around five in the evening and wake up anywhere between one to three in the morning. this was all simply so he'd have time to see his mother. mark's mom worked a night shift from the evening to past midnight. she slept during the day while mark was at school. there were only a few hours in a day during weekdays where their schedules overlapped and mark was determined to make the most of it.

mark removed the eggs off of the stove and sat at the small tatami table he used as a dining table waiting for his mother to get home. mark pulled out a book, his eyes skimming the page, not really paying attention to the content. soon enough mark heard the front door push open. he watched with sad eyes as his mother slid off her trench coat, lightly hanging it on the coat rack. she moved slowly with a strain, almost as if she was wading through thick honey.

his heart ached as got up and gathered his mother into a hug, placing a butterfly kiss on her forehead. he stayed like that for a while, holding his mother's thin, fragile figure in his arms, never wanting to let go. when she pulled back she gave a weak smile that both warmed the black haired boy's heart and destroyed it at the same time. he looked into her dull eyes. the eyes that once shown with such youth and brightness that even the stars envied. but now all there was left were lifeless orbs that hadn't seen rest in months. even her once youthful hair began aging under stress.

"my little prince," her milky voice was weary and came out as a soothing whisper. her hand caressed his cheek lovingly. "be strong for me alright?"

mark nodded lightly as held his mother's hand against his cheek. he felt his body tremble as tears slipped down his face. he lowered his head in shame wanting to stay strong.

"i promise."

❧

mark's mother had gone to sleep after eating the small meal her son had managed to cook leaving the young man all alone to think. mark scrolled through his phone aimlessly looking for a distraction. he didn't want to think about the present. he didn't want to think about how his life was turning to shit. he just wanted to ignore everything and live on a different planet.

the black haired boy's phone vibrated in his hand and a notification flashed across the screen.

'lee hyuck is in the house'

the name stirred something inside of mark and the boy couldn't help but wonder why the name seemed so familiar. seconds later mark's phone vibrated again.

'lee hyuck wants to talk'

'lee hyuck is calling you'

mark ignored the call thinking it was most likely some classmate he barely knew that got a little to drunk at some frat party. however the stirring started again because mark knew no one would be out partying the weekend before finals. when the phone vibrated for the third time, mark picked it up. he opened the app and almost instantaneously, 'lee hyuck' joined his chat. when the call connected, neither of the two said a thing. the other screen was pointed upwards to a ceiling so mark still had no idea who exactly he was talking to. after a few seconds the black haired boy spoke up hesitantly.

"hello?"

"..."

in return, all he got was silence. mark waited and was about to hang up thinking it was just some random freshman pulling a pointless prank before he heard it. it was soft and light, barely audible but it was there. a sniffle. and then another one. a few more before a deep shaky breath. mark listened intently and came to the conclusion that the person on the other line was most definitely crying. after a few more agonizing seconds the boy let out a hoarse raspy whisper.

"hey."

mark's heart leaped in anticipation. he didn't know this call was making him so anxious. the call went silent again and mark knew he would have to be the one to speak up or the level of awkward would only intensify.

"um, so, h-how was your day?" mark managed to stutter out. wrong choice. honestly what was he expecting? here he was, asking a total stranger about how his day was, after he had been clearly crying just moments before.

"great," whispered the boy on the other line. mark heard him shuffle a little, obviously wiping his nose before sniffling loudly. he finally picked up the phone and facing it towards his face allowing mark to finally identify who exactly was the crying boy that had called him at three a.m. the boy sniffled again and quietly mumbled under his breath, his eyes darting away from the camera. "actually, not that great."

mark's eyes widened as he looked at the boy that had called him. it was that same dewy skin and honey hair. those same eyes that sparkled, but maybe this time it was from the tears rather than happiness. the boy's cheeks were flushed and tear-stained and the tip of his nose was a bright red. mark's head thumped as he made connections he was too dumb to realize from the beginning.

this is the same kid that's friends with dolphin boy. dolphin boy only hangs out with jisung and a boy named donghyuck. hyuck must be short for donghyuck. his surname must also be lee. he's the cute boy in my literature class.

oh lord, i'm on the phone with lee donghyuck. fuck.

—merry belated christmas and happy new year. hopefully 2019 brings nct vision with it.