drivethru [nct dream]

s1e9

wednesday. jisung's third day working at sonic. he thought that because his first two days weren't very busy, then none  of them would be very busy either.

well, he was wrong.

it seemed that once one car drove away from the drive thru, hundreds more came in. he was at least thankful that his shift wasn't too long today. but even with this upside, it seemed that time was going by slower than molasses. he frequently checked the clock, but that only made it worse for jisung.

but if anyone was more stressed out than jisung, it was mark. doyoung was not in that day, meaning he was in charge. and usually, days like these were a breeze.

but for some reason, most of the customers were extra rude today. and to make things worse, he wasn't really feeling so good.

but he couldn't go home. he didn't want donghyuck to be at the counter all alone.

jisung found that the only thing getting him through his shift was each time he would hand an order by the counter.
either it was jaemin or it was chenle. both of them made some joke or said something to lift his spirits up. he figured that it was because jisung was working at his station alone.

either way, he found it really nice of them.

meanwhile, mark's condition was just getting worse by the hour. his head was throbbing in pain, to the point where he was having troubling keeping his eyes open. ever now and then, he'd squeeze his eyes shut, in hopes the pain would go away.
on top of the throbbing pain, his head felt all stuffy at the same time. his stomach felt like it was trying to escape out of his body, and he just couldn't take it anymore.

at this point, it was becoming hard for mark to stand up straight. he knew he needed to lay down and rest, but he also knew he couldn't do that.
mark held onto the counter tightly, leaning over with an unsteady breath.

donghyuck noticed this, now a bit concerned.
"mark, you good?"

said boy looked up at him, putting on a smile for the younger.
"yeah, i'm okay, hyuck." he assured.
but donghyuck wasn't all that convinced.

"you sure?" he asked, not aware that a customer had just walked up to the counter.

"hyuck," he gestured to said customer that was waiting impatiently. "come on..."

"sorry, ma'am," donghyuck apologized with a sheepish smile. "you ready to order?"

as the customer was placing her order, and donghyuck punched in what he needed to on the screen, he side eyed mark who didn't look like he was okay at all.

"i'm gonna be right back," mark mumbled. "gonna get some water..."

💫

"jisung! i got an order for outside for ya!"
jeno called from his station.

jisung lunged over to grab the next bag, shuffling over near the counter. when he did, he noticed that mark wasn't standing at the counter with donghyuck.
he also noticed donghyuck and chenle talking about something that seemed to be serious. as donghyuck punched in a customer's order, he watched chenle start to take off his skates while leaning against the counter.

"here's the next order...?" he greeted, causing the two to whip their heads around at him.
"am i not giving this to him, or...?"

"chenle's gonna work the counter while i check on mark," donghyuck explained.
he then pointed to the entrance door, where jaemin was starting to skate towards.
"when jaemin comes back in, give it to him."

jisung nodded as an okay, and donghyuck was already making his way to the counter.
chenle stepped in his place, placing the order than donghyuck started to punch in.

💫

"mark,"

said boy turned around swiftly, yet tiredly, when he heard the backroom door swing open.
"hyuuuck, go back to work!" he whined.

but donghyuck just shook his head, as he sat down with the older.
"are you really okay, mark?" he asked.

"i told you, i'm fine," he insisted, leaning back against the wall. "i think it was just too hot in there for me."

but he was still unconvinced. by just looking at mark, he knew he wasn't alright. mark's face was flushed, and he looked like he was about to pass out.
donghyuck figured that maybe he was sick, so he placed a hand on the older's forehead.

as expected, he was burning.

"if you were okay, then why are you burning up?" donghyuck challenged. to this, mark heaved a sigh.

"you should go home, mark. get some rest." the younger suggested. but mark shook his head, groaning.

"but hyuucck," he whined.

"no, i don't care. you need to go home and rest." he simply said, to which mark just groaned again.
the older turned his head to face him, still leaning against the wall.

"but you'll be all alone..." mark whined again, dragging his words out. he pouted as he spoke, which donghyuck couldn't help but smile at.
he also couldn't help the way his heart fluttered at mark's actions. he did his best to ignore that warm feeling in his chest.

"mark, you being here is, like, some health hazard," he said simply, trying to brush aside his feelings. "you can't be around the food if you're sick."

"but i'm not sick..." mark whined once more.

"gosh, you're so annoying!" donghyuck groaned, leaning against the wall with mark.

"i'm not leaving the break room until you go home, mark."
he then felt mark's head against his shoulder, and the same warm feeling returned to donghyuck.

"you'll be here for a while then.." mark mumbled, giggling a bit as he spoke.