'seventeen
"you're not going to read those books?"
mark looked up at his grandpa in surprise. he never started casual conversations with anyone, let alone mark, so as he watched the older man peer at the abandoned stack of haechan's books, he felt compelled to reply.
"dad doesn't let me."
"your dad tells you not to. there's a difference."
he sat at the kitchen table, digging into his oats. "so i should go against my dad's words?"
"you should learn to voice your own words."
"i do."
his grandpa didn't reply, and instead headed towards the living room to sit in his chair. mark sighed, standing up and putting his empty bowl in the sink before grabbing the books along with some other rubbish bags. he wore his shoes and slung his school bag over his shoulder, and headed for the front door.
"mark, i think i saw—"
"i'm leaving, grandpa," he interrupted. he didn't know why, but he felt irritated. he wasn't in the mood to hear his grandpa's voice. he swung open the door, only to gasp and step back as haechan stood on the other side, fist up and about to knock.
"oh, i'm sorry—" haechan squeaked, before pausing as his eyes drifted down to what was in mark's grasp. as he came to a state of realisation, mark tried shoving the rubbish bags behind the door, but everything happened too fast and he was already too late.
"wait..." the latter didn't know how to word his shock. "are those... are you throwing away my books?"
mark was unsure of whether to lie or admit to the brutal truth, so he simply stood there quietly, letting the guilt consume him whole. this only irked the younger boy.
"did you even read them?" he questioned, paying no attention to the new book that slipped out of his hand which was meant to be for mark. "you know the woman who lives next door to me? she pays for my books, mark. for no reason whatsoever. if you thought i only put effort in for you, you're wrong. i don't waste my time and effort for my books to be thrown out."
his eyes welled up as his voice cracked with his final words, and he hated himself for it. but mark hated himself even more because he was all-too-familiar with haechan's tears.
"hyuck... i don't know what to say. i'm—"
"don't say it," he was interrupted as haechan mustered up whatever he could make into words. "i don't want to hear it."
with that, he turned and stepped off the porch of the house, wiping his tears furiously away and quickly disappearing across the road into his home.
mark's heart ached, but never had it suffocated like this. the guilt he felt, the dread that encapsulated him... even he knew it wasn't the typical suffering towards someone who he felt was just a friend.
mark was starting to fall for haechan, but for all the wrong reasons.
YOU ARE READING
flipped :: markhyuck
Fanfictionafter years of being avoided by mark, haechan realised he could have been wrong about the love of his life; but mark realised he could have been wrong about the latter, too. [2019]
