flipped :: markhyuck

33 | one twenty-seven

'thirty-three

"hyuck, get up. hyuck."

haechan stirred in his bed, engulfed in both the warmth of his blanket and the darkness of his vicinity. his eyes fluttered open as he arose from the pit of his black sleep, but it took him a while to realise that it wasn't the gentle pattering of the rain that woke him up.

"mark?" he whispered, the silhouette of the boy being enough for haechan tor recognise him. "what... what time is it?"

"one..." he muttered, checking his phone. "... one twenty-seven. get up."

"i can't," he replied, holding onto his blanket. "i'm sorry."

"i want to talk to you," he pleaded quietly. "can i turn the lamp on?"

haechan didn't reply, but instead squinted as he reached for the switch himself and flicked it on. he gasped, covering his mouth as he scanned mark's bruised face.

"i'm okay," mark reassured, finding haechan's hand and holding it in his own cold palm. "can we please go out? i'll bring you back before dawn."

haechan pursed his lips. "mark... i can't trust you. i really can't."

"let me prove it to you," mark spoke in a low voice. "let me prove my worth to you."

he contemplated for a bit before sighing, throwing his blanket off of himself and sitting up. "it's so cold."

"i'll get you your clothes." mark stood up and opened haechan's closet, reaching for a black long-sleeve tee and jeans. he placed them on the bed as haechan whined, "i don't want to wear jeans."

"wear them for me," he said, looking at haechan with an amused smile. he then pulled out a winter jacket and closed the closet, reaching for the hem of haechan's shirt. "can i undress you?"

haechan nodded as mark slowly pulled off his shirt, careful not to touch his warm skin with his cold fingertips as haechan whimpered at the icy temperature of his room. he lifted his arms as mark swiftly tugged the shirt off and quickly replaced it with the tee, not before staring at haechan's toned stomach.

"i'm cold," another whine sounded from him as mark laughed softly, dressing him again; but haechan would've been lying if he said he didn't enjoy mark's lingering eyes on him.

he stood up as mark pulled his shorts off and quickly helped him into his jeans, warming the pants for him by rubbing his palms against haechan's thighs.

"is that better?" mark asked, and haechan looked down.

"i guess so."

"good." mark handed haechan his coat and held his hand. "let's go."

the two treaded down the stairs noisily, but they disregarded their incapability to remain silent as they tiptoed out of the house. haechan whimpered again at the cold, and mark wrapped an arm around his waist.

he quickly turned on the engine as they shuffled into the car, reaching for the heater. "you'll be warm before you know it."

haechan said nothing as they drove off quietly, the serenity of the late-night silence washing over them. 

"i cried a lot yesterday," he mumbled after a while, leaning against the window. "i don't want to victimise myself, but all i could think about was you. all that went through my mind was your well being, and when i finally saw you, you were a stranger. i thought i lost you."

"you can never lose me," mark replied. "i have no right to be the one you lose."

"good," haechan muttered, snuggling into his jacket. mark glanced over at him.

"i'm sorry for so many things," he said. "my dad said that if anyone saw the two of us even look at each other, he'd make the entire family move cities. that was the condition for me being able to stay in school."

haechan pursed his lips. tears brimmed his eyes, and he couldn't speak in fear that he'd choke up and start crying. he didn't want mark to feel guilty anymore; the bruises that littered his skin were more than enough.

"are you okay?" mark muttered, but haechan wiped one eye and suddenly he found himself muffling his sobs into his thick winter coat.

mark couldn't do much considering he was driving in the blinding dark, so he let haechan cry quietly by himself. he turned on the radio to a low volume, the murmuring of the audio drowning out any tension.

"don't cry, hyuck," mark said as soon as he heard haechan's cries turn to sniffles. "i deserved it. i've been a bitch to a lot of people, including you, so don't feel bad. at least neither of us have to feel burdened to each other now, right?"

haechan nodded quickly, and mark smiled. "we're going to hongdae. let's experience the nightlife in seoul."