flipped :: markhyuck

24 | star-crossed

'twenty-four

haechan finally believed he was recollecting himself. things were gradually getting back on track for him.

and it all started with renjun asking him out to the formal.

the school event had completely slipped the young boy's mind as it seemed irrelevant compared to the dilemmas he faced in the last few weeks. but now he had someone to go with, so what was the harm in enjoying himself after a roller-coaster of emotions?

so despite hesitating at the unexpected request, he happily embraced his best friend.

"i'd love to go with you," he nodded, pulling away. "we're an interesting mix, don't you think?"

"i don't even want to guess what you're implying by that," renjun deadpanned. haechan laughed loudly, and as they turned to head to class, he caught glimpse of someone staring straight at him. he faltered as he checked, only to meet mark's dominating glare.

"you're just rude," he muttered to renjun as he quickly looked away. he felt a surge of both strength and defeat as he saw mark walk away through his peripheral.

"are you okay?" renjun frowned, noticing his sudden change in mood, and haechan quickly nodded.

"nice to see you caring about me," he recomposed himself, making the chinese boy roll his eyes.

"come here, you little-" despite his small figure, renjun lunged forward and pulled haechan back. the two started punching each other.

in between fits of giggles, they slowly simmered down their fight as they walked to class, but a large commotion in the middle of the hallway caused them to instinctively peer at what everyone was surrounding.

and suddenly haechan's optimistic mood crumbled like a cookie with one glance.

mark was standing between two beautiful, tall girls, kim hina and shin jiyeon, amidst a cat fight over the boy himself.

people were shouting, but he wasn't sure what about. the noise thumped its way into a headache, but haechan couldn't even pull himself away from the futile situation.

"i asked first," hina's loud voice echoed through the halls as jiyeon raised an eyebrow.

"you sound like we're in the second grade. who cares?"

"oh please, you only say that because you know you've lost your chance."

"let's find out." the two, along with the rest of the jeering crowd, turned to face mark.

"what do you say?" jiyeon asked, an undoubtedly attractive smile overtaking her features. "i'm sorry for all this commotion..."

hina sighed. "mark, it doesn't really matter. if you're uncomfortable, decide later."

he didn't want to look at either girl. he didn't want to be limited to options he didn't want. he didn't even find himself that attractive! it didn't cross his mind as to what could cause people to fight over him.

so he avoided their expectant glares and instead scanned the crowd. he knew he wouldn't be content with anyone except one person, but he never found the almond orbs he searched so desperately for. he only saw renjun's red hair as he turned and disappeared from the scene hurriedly.

mark realised that haechan saw everything.

"sorry," he muttered, right before shoving through the crowd. the two girls remained frozen, bewildered, as within a split second the shouting erupted once more. mark escaped the circle and darted down the hallway, and he didn't notice his feet quicken with pace until he found himself running, following the echo of renjun's movement. he turned a corner before finding him peering from class to class.

"renjun," mark called out, catching the latter's attention. "where is he?"

"i don't think he wants to see you right now," he frowned. "sorry."

"it's important," he begged. "please."

he sighed. "i can't find him. can you think of where he would go in the science block?"

mark frowned and shook his head no. "i'll check the labs."

he turned in the opposite direction and, akin to renjun, checked every room in the corridor. he finally approached the last door, slowly opening it and groaning at the empty room. he didn't want to give up on searching, but he was panting and couldn't find haechan anywhere.

"hyuck?" he tried calling. "it's only me."

after a pause, he dejectedly turned to leave. at that instant however, he heard the faintest sniffle from the back, one which could have easily been missed had he made the slightest noise. a wave of relief overcame him as he jogged to the back bench, finding haechan under the table with his head buried in his arms.

"it's only me," he repeated in a whisper, squatting down and observing the boy who refused to look up.

"i don't want to see you."

"can we talk?" mark murmured, unmoved by haechan's lack of response.

the two sat in the dim room, the only sound being haechan's sniffles every few minutes. mark only wanted to see his face. he needed to look straight at haechan to do what he wanted to do.

but it was the wrong time. it was never the right time when it came to the two boys, whose relationship was almost star-crossed in its circumstances. mark needed to learn to stop screwing up before he could get the latter to open up to him.

so he suppressed all his instinctive desires and instead gently caressed haechan's soft hair, before muttering, "i'll go get renjun."

it wasn't until he heard mark's footsteps disappear down the hallway that haechan broke into a choked sob, a cry that was so restricted because of the heaviness of the pain it held.

his loneliness had reached it's optimum. haechan had reached the extent of hating mark so much that he merely craved for his attention.

and that was the greatest level of isolation he could reach.