flipped :: markhyuck

3 | [full] sun

'three

"mark's got the racks!"

"huh?" haechan still failed to comprehend most of the 'seoul city' terminology despite having lived there for a few years already. "what did you say, jeno?"

"he's got a girlfriend, sunny boy," the latter stated matter-of-factly. "he's not even fourteen yet and already has one..."

"who's the girl?" haechan frowned, and jeno replied, "what did you think i meant by 'racks'? clearly it's jiwoo!"

"jiwoo?" he mumbled to himself as jeno turned to some other people whose attention he caught. the quiet boy furrowed his eyebrows.

mark must have gotten together with jiwoo very quickly, or they could have been secretly meeting for a while, because haechan barely saw them together prior to jeno's announcement. the only way he could find out was by questioning him.

♔

"hey mark!"

"uh, i'm busy haechan," he replied as he quickly brushed past the curious boy through the crowded school hall, making him sigh.

this had been going on for days; haechan constantly tried to approach mark to ask about his new girlfriend, but every time, mark would pretend to ignore him, avoid eye contact, claim he was doing something or not even head towards him in the first place. it irked haechan, but he couldn't do anything about it.

he planned to lay off mark until one day after school, when haechan was heading home. just as he was exiting the building, he spotted mark and jiwoo standing face-to-face next to the school office. they seemed tense, so haechan stepped back and hid behind the door as he listened in on their conversation.

"you've been dating me just so you could get some kid off your back?!" jiwoo scoffed, folding her arms. "you're ridiculous."

"who told you that?" mark asked, shaking his head. "i mean, it's not true, but—"

"you know what, mark? i don't have time for this," she sighed. "let's break up."

"jiwoo! how many times do i have to tell you that it's not true? why do you never listen to me—"

he was interrupted when the girl slapped his cheek, and haechan had to stifle back a giggle.

"all i've done is listen to you," she sneered, turning on her heel and storming off.

the atmosphere never shifted as mark stood there alone with a red cheek. he sighed and checked his phone for something, and haechan didn't know what to do.

he obviously couldn't approach him now. no matter how funny the situation was to him, it was probably tragic for mark, so haechan quietly exited the building and walked past the boy without looking once. mark looked up from his phone and watched the latter wordlessly pass by him, and he pursed his lips.

haechan finally exhaled as soon as he turned the corner, and even though he knew he wouldn't be able to see mark, he looked back. he smiled as the sun glowed around the school block, illuminating its orange, pre-sunset brilliance.

most people used his nickname 'sunny boy' to tease him for his country-side origin, but ironically he liked it. how could he feel inferior when he was compared to something as beautiful and extravagant as the sun?

with his optimism and brightened mood, haechan grabbed his bag straps and walked home happily.