𝙃𝙊𝙐𝙎𝙀𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙔

part six

mark hadn't been sitting in the dining room for long when his phone lit up with a notification. donghyuck was still upstairs in the older's room. mark hadn't heard any shuffling recently so he assumed the younger had fallen asleep already. mark took another bite out of his sandwich and rose his phone to eye-level with his free hand. after seeing it was a text message from renjun he clicked on it reluctantly.

junnie- where are you??

mark rolled his eyes at that and typed back a response.

mork- you were late so i left

junnie- i'd be hurt rn but i know you're lying

mork- ??

junnie- something must've came up bc you wouldn't leave without getting you're book back

at this point mark had stopped eating his sandwich, genuinely shocked by the younger's intuition.

mork- whatever just come over and don't ring the doorbell

mark powered off his phone not waiting for the brunet's response, he got up to the kitchen deciding to brew some tea even though he knew renjun already had a cup of coffee that morning. perhaps some extra caffeine wouldn't hurt. as mark was waiting for the water to boil he heard light knocks against the door. the black haired boy set down the array of tea bags he had been choosing from and walked towards the entrance.

mark pulled open the door and sent a weird look to the boy on the other side. "isn't it a ten minute walk from the park?" he questioned, scrunching his nose at renjun. in reply, the brunet gave a sheepish grin, his hand finding its way to the nape of his neck.

"i sort've was already on my way here when i messaged you since you weren't at the park."

mark chuckled at his response and stepped aside to let renjun in. as soon as mark closed the door, renjun's mouth opened to announce something. however, before he could make a sound, mark had already brought a finger up to his lips shushing the younger.

"you got to be quiet, loser," mark spoke in a low voice. renjun's mouth formed an 'o' and leaned in closer so that he could hear mark better.

"is your mom still here?" mark shook his head making renjun lean back, tilting his head in confusion. "then why are we whispering?" the older sighed and turned away from renjun so that he could re-enter the kitchen. the brunet had followed him and was now sat on top of the counter watching mark brew the tea.

"it's complicated?" mark offered over his shoulder, trying to give the younger his sweetest smile. renjun, who was clearly not amused, raised his eyebrows at the younger.

"spill. there's no reason for us to be quiet right now if your mom isn't here unless—," renjun gasped, his eyes widening. "oh my god. is someone here?" the brunet's whisper began to sound aggressive even though his intentions were anything but. mark dropped the earl grey tea bag he had in his hand and spun around to face the younger.

"w-what? no! never. impossible. wh—" mark had become a sputtering mess, spewing out random nonsense. renjun hopped off the counter, stopping in front of the older the place his arms on his shoulders, gently shaking him so that he'd stop talking.

"who is it?" renjun asked trying to mask his excitement. usually when the two were together they'd barely talk. they simply enjoyed each other's company as they read a good book or sipped on their coffees. that's just how their friendship works, so this was a rather invigorating situation. mark's eyes dashed around the room not being able to look renjun in the eye's. he was mentally preparing himself from what he was going to tell the younger.

"d-donghyuck."

"what?!" renjun cried a little too loudly. realizing his mistake, renjun's voice dropped back down into whisper. "what's he doing here?!"

"i found him at the park. he was just sitting there in the cold, obviously not wanting to go home so i brought him here to warm up." and this point mark began panicking and his voice had risen in tone. he knew he shouldn't have told his friend.

"lord bless your soft ass heart," renjun brought his fingers to his head, massaging his temples while letting out a long sigh. "you can't just bring strangers into your house, hyung."

"he was crying, junnie! i couldn't just leave him out there. especially in this cold," renjun couldn't read the older's expression. it was a mixture of pain and desperateness, a look the brunet had never seen on mark in all the years he'd known him. even when the older spoke of his mother he hid his emotions but for some reason everything had changed.

renjun decided not to push it and let out a final sigh before looking up at the older. "i'll let you deal with this yourself and take my leave. i'll send you chenle's number just in case you need it. okay?" renjun gave the older a fond smile before pulling him into quick hug. "take care."

"you too," mark mumbled in reply but the younger had already left leaving mark alone in a room with two untouched cups of earl grey tea.

❧

donghyuck had finally awoken around five in the evening and emerged from mark's room with bloodshot eyes. his cheeks were still tear stained and strands of his golden hair were sticking out in all directions. when donghyuck reached the bottom of the stairs, mark's eyes shot up upon noticing the younger's presence. the black haired boy opened his mouth to greet donghyuck, but the words got caught in his throat as soon as he looked at the younger.

"a-are those my clothes?" donghyuck looked away, his face flushed red as mark just stared at him, mouth agape. the younger was in a pair of mark's track pants and a plain t-shirt and the sight inexplicably caused mark's insides to churn.

"y-yeah my button up was uncomfortable and my jeans were too tight to sleep in. i found these folded in a basket." mark recalled forgetting to put back the laundry he had just done."s-sorry, i shouldn't have—"

"no, no! it's fine, i was just a little shocked," mark interrupted mumbling the last part so the other wouldn't hear. "anyway, are you hungry?" mark offered a grin. donghyuck nodded sheepishly, he was pretty sure he hadn't eaten in nearly two days.

mark walked into kitchen to cook some eggs and provide other snacks for the younger who was watching him similar to how renjun had done a few hours ago. when he was done, he placed the food at the dining table with donghyuck right behind him. the boy immediately began scarfing down the food and mark chuckled at the sight.

mark decided to pull out a book and pretend to read it, not wanting to make donghyuck uncomfortable by sitting there and watch him eat. the two had started small conversations here and there but for the most part the house was silent and neither could deny that it was rather awkward. however, when donghyuck finished all the food he had been given he spoke up. his cheeks were puffed out with all the food he still had in there and mark couldn't deny how cute the younger looked, almost like a baby.

"i should probably be leaving soon" donghyuck mumbled through the food in his mouth. mark's heart warmed the younger's cuteness, he was suddenly feeling really soft. the two both stood up heading towards the door.

"are you sure? you can stay longer if you need to," mark felt uneasy about leaving donghyuck alone again.

"i'm fine, really." donghyuck offered the older a smile, mark knew it was fake but he couldn't much. as the younger turned away to door, mark grabbed onto his arm.

"wait!" mark gulped, "where will you go?"

donghyuck turned back around, tilting his head at the older. "chenle's." and with that, the honey haired boy slipped his arm out of mark's grip and exited the house, not even giving the older a second glance.

—wow this took way too long to write lmao. anyway i finally figured out how i want to end this book so it's safe to say this book won't exceed ten parts so yeah. anyway thanks for reading and have good day/night where ever you are!! uwu