ᴀғғᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ-ʟᴇss | ᴍᴀʀᴋʜʏᴜᴄᴋ [ᴇᴅɪᴛɪɴɢ]

16

Donghyuck pulled the blanket close to his chest, the light of the TV reflected off Mark's glasses and burned into his eyes as they stared at each other. The noise of the members discussing what they were going to have for dinner in the back went ignored as Donghyuck frowned.

"Just give up," Mark chuckled, his eyes widening as he smiled at Donghyuck.

"Never," the younger replied.

Mark brought a hand up to Donghyuck's cheek, pinching it as he leaned close, his breath fanning against the younger's face. "It's been 30 seconds and you're already ready to break?"

"Shut up," Donghyuck finally let out a groan, slapping Mark's hand away from his face and he blinked painfully, the sting from keeping them open for a while was present. "I'm normally better at staring contests."

"Sure," Mark rolled his eyes, throwing the blanket off himself as he got up from the sofa. Donghyuck's hand shot out to grab onto his wrist as a confused expression masked his face.

"Where are you going?" He asked, feeling nervous at the thought of being left alone in a room with the other members. It was strange since Donghyuck trusted the older members and loved them with all his heart, but at that moment he wasn't prepared to meet any of them. "Are you going to sleep?"

"No, just gonna get some water," Mark said as he ruffled Donghyuck's hair, a fond smile on his face. "I'll be right back."

Donghyuck watched as Mark walked over to the kitchen, casually engaging in the conversation they were having. They were all smiling. Donghyuck felt sick. Had they already moved on from his situation? Then again, did they even care about it in the first place? At the start, they had all been persistent to try and amend their issues, but Donghyuck had been reluctant. And now that he was ready, it seemed as if they had given up.

They couldn't have, could they?

"Donghyuck," he heard his voice from behind him and he slowly turned to face Johnny. "Can we talk?"

The older placed a hand on his shoulder, the touch so gentle and so not like Johnny it felt weird. He pulled him towards himself and Donghyuck caught sight of Mark from his peripheral vision. Donghyuck was sure Mark could practically feel the nervousness radiating from him, and he sort of hoped the latter would come and save him. But this is what he wanted, right? He wanted to talk to the members and now was the time.

Ten's voice echoed in his mind. Communication.

"Yeah," Donghyuck smiled, a little uneasy and Johnny noticed it but returned the smile. "Let's talk."

Donghyuck heard the door to the room close and realised that the others had left to give them some privacy. Even Mark had gone, and Donghyuck didn't know why his heartbeat rose knowing that the older wasn't present.

"Mark gave us an idea why you were so upset," Johnny started, taking a seat beside Donghyuck. He shrunk into the corner of the sofa and that action had guilt seep into Donghyuck's heart. "He told us about how we messed up." Seeing Johnny look scared, or worried — Donghyuck couldn't tell what emotions he felt, Johnny was too hard to read — made Donghyuck feel the same. Ever since Donghyuck was a trainee, Johnny had been there for him, as an older brother that he could always trust.

Being the oldest in the family meant that Donghyuck never got babied much by his parents, and he never took mind of that. If anything, Donghyuck enjoyed being the oldest, having the most authority and being allowed to tell his younger siblings off whenever he wanted to. However, when he got set as the maknae of 127, he had never felt more like a child before then.

Johnny was always dotting on him and choosing Donghyuck for every little thing. Sometimes, he would show his love for Donghyuck through playing games with him at odd hours in the night. Other times, he would take the younger out and buy clothes for him. Donghyuck only realised that everyone had different ways of showing affection after they had a falling out. Not everyone likes hugs and kisses.