ɴᴄᴛ ᴏɴᴇ sʜᴏᴛs/ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs | ʀᴀɴᴅᴏᴍ sʜɪᴘs

ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ ʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴘᴛ. 2

because I can't handle tragedies

markhyuck

Mark first met Haechan when they were both seven. It was Haechan's birthday, and Mark had moved in next door just the day before. Haechan's mum, annoyed at the fact that her son had no friends, knocked on her neighbours door and asked if her son could talk to their child. Mark's dad immediately said yes, dragging Mark out of the house and dumping him at Haechan's house. When Mark entered, he instantly regretted it as he saw the seven year old boy, curled up on the sofa, staring at the screen which played some cartoons.

Mark wasn't a social child. He had a fixed five friends and didn't like talking to other people. So when he saw the boy, he felt like leaving and not turning back. But the boy looked up at him, and a massive smile got plastered over his soft face. He jumped up from the sofa and asked Mark if he was here to be his friend.

Haechan had friends. It's not like he didn't have any, but they were all pretty horrible. They had forgotten the fact that it was Haechan's birthday, and didn't get him a present. He honestly didn't care about getting a present, even though he spent his whole allowance on getting gifts for his friends and low-key expected something at least, but all he wanted was a birthday wish.

So when Mark blinked a few times and then mumbled a small, "happy birthday", that made Haechan's day. He grabbed Mark's arm and took him to his room. Haechan offered Mark if he wanted to play games with him, and then they did, for a good couple of hours. That's when Mark realised Haechan was amazing at games.

Then, by the time they both entered high school, they had become best friends. Mark had introduced Haechan to his friends and the group immediately accepted him. He fit in with the kids, and he broke off his fake friendships with the people from his old school. When they all go put into the same class, except for two since they were younger, they were all over the moon.

Mark remembers the way Haechan's eyes lit up and he happily turned around, playfully pushing Mark and telling him that he was going to have to suffer a whole year in school with Haechan in his class. That obviously wasn't the truth, since from the start, the two enjoyed their time together.

But then, in the last year of highschool, Mark got asked out by a girl. Seeing the way she nervously told Mark she liked him, and then ducked her head down, too scared to hear the rejection, it hurt Mark. And so, he awkwardly put his hand on the girls shoulder and told her that he also liked her, even though he didn't even know what her name was. She immediately brightened up and then wiped the tears that were near the edge of her eyes. Mark watched as she ran away and Haechan approached him, nudging his arm and asking him what that was about. When he told Haechan he now had a girlfriend, Haechan laughed at first and then slapped Mark's arm, congratulating him. What Mark didn't notice, was that Haechan then walked away with a bitter smile.

Mark wasn't sure about his feelings for Haechan at first, since they had been best friends since forever, and the way Haechan acted around him, being all flirty and romantic, was the same way he acted around the other members of their group. So, Mark concluded that he wasn't special.

Once University started, Mark decided that it was finally time to end the relationship he had with the girl. She hadn't realised that Mark didn't really like her, since he would praise her on the tiniest things, and hang out with her. She didn't know that all of the things he did were simple, as he did it with all of his friends. When she heard the words, "I think we should break up", her heart dropped and she refused to believe it. Mark attempted to calm her down, but she wasn't taking it well. Before she could do anything else, such as harm Mark, Haechan entered in on the situation, as he happened to be in the cafe they were in, and told the girl that she doesn't need to cry over this. He somehow managed to explain to her that she deserved better and that she shouldn't be crying over a guy. Mark, at first, was annoyed when he heard Haechan tell the girl that Mark wasn't worth it, but then understood he was only saying it to make the girl stop liking him.

"Thanks, I guess?" Mark said, as he watched the girl walk out of the cafe, already feeling a lot better after Haechan spoke to her. Haechan shrugged his shoulders and then slumped down on the seat the girl was previously on.

"You were with her for a whole year." Haechan pointed out, sighing as he thought back to how she used to sit with the group at lunch. It wasn't weird, but a little awkward when the guys would talk about stuff they wouldn't normally talk about in front of girls. "You must've really liked her."

"I actually didn't." Mark said, staring at the door behind Haechan's head, slightly scared to see the reaction. After a few moments of silence, Haechan stood up and hit Mark on the head.

"You're such an idiot." Haechan said, before taking a seat again. "You led her on, that's not cool."

"I know I know, I'm sorry for it but, she doesn't need to know. She thinks I liked her that whole time." Mark replied, lowering his head and watching the cream in his voice dissolve in the hot liquid, before creating a swirl in the cup.

After that day at the cafe, Haechan and Mark spent even more time together, since Mark didn't have to visit his girlfriend every other day to check if she was alright. Haechan started to touch Mark more, brush their hands, give him kisses on the cheek, which he would sometimes avoid, and tell Mark that he loved him.

The others in the group all laughed off his behaviour, saying that he was like that with everyone, because he was, but he never said that he loved them, and that let him feel a little bit more important than the others.

"If only I confessed when I had the chance." Mark said, as he sat outside the waiting room in the hospital. He had rushed to the hospital Haechan was admitted in, as he later got a call from them, and apparently Haechan still had a low probability to live. It wasn't high, not from a mile, and he was most probably going to have a scar that was going to stay for years, but all the mattered, was that there was a chance.

"Lee Minhyung? A nurse called out, reading the name on the hospital bills and looking around the room. Mark jumped up, running over to the nurse and nodding. "Lee Donghyuck has regained consciousness, do you want to see him?"

"Yes!" Mark exclaimed, pushing through the doors and hurrying to Haechan's side. It had been a whole two days, and Haechan's parents were not in the country, leaving Mark to take care of him. "Donghyuck..."

Haechan lay on the bed, breathing slowly and looking up at Mark with half open eyes.

"Mark." Haechan smiled, raising his shaky hand to hold Mark's. "I love you."

Mark froze, hearing those words again made his heart flip, and he tightened his grip on Haechan's hand, returning the same and then saying,

"I love you too."