ɪ sᴀʏ ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇsɴ'ᴛ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ (ʙᴜᴛ ɪᴛ's ᴋɪʟʟɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ɪɴsɪᴅᴇ)

3|| ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ɪs ᴅᴀɴᴄɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ

The first (and probably last) time Donghyuck approached Mark in public was when the younger had just entered high school. Everything was still new to him, he hadn't been able to make any friends yet, and it was his first day. Mark clearly remembers how Donghyuck entered the lunch hall, nervously playing with his fingers as his eyes darted around the room, trying to find a certain someone who was hiding between his friends. A few moments went by and Mark saw from the corner of his eye as Donghyuck walked around with a curious look on his face. The younger got lunch before standing by the door, his eyes still searching for Mark.

"Mark hyung, your mum-" Donghyuck had started, after finally finding the older and escaping from his awkward spot in the middle of the hall, but before he could say anything else, Mark's friends stopped him.

"Oh! Who's this?" They teased, nudging Mark and then turned to Donghyuck. "Hey kid, what's your name?"

"Uhm," Donghyuck had shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of a table full of people (and a bunch of people on other tables - who knew Mark Lee was still going to be popular in high school as well?), and he looked at Mark with pleading eyes, hoping he could help him avoid the awkward conversation that was going to come, but when the older averted his eyes, he lost that tiny bit of hope. "My name's Donghyuck."

"Donghyuck, huh?" One of the guys and Mark thinks it was Felix, said, grabbing onto Donghyuck's arm and tugged him down to sit with them. The tense look on his face went unnoticed by Mark, who had glued his eyes to the table, and Donghyuck got bombarded with questions.

It was clear his friends were going to do that, especially since Mark was so closed off with his whole personal life, choosing not to tell them anything in case he ever slipped up and told them he was engaged to his former (yes, former) best friend. A few minutes later, with unsatisfying answers, Hyunjin, apparently, the only smart one there, decided to ask the question they all forgot about.

"So what are you, Mark's best friend?" And with that Mark's eyes snapped up, immediately locking with Donghyuck, who smiled softly and him and then nodded.

"Yeah, we're best friends, and we're also-" Before Donghyuck could finish his sentence, Mark slammed his hand down on the table, causing everyone to flinch, including Donghyuck, who looked up at him with a confused look, wondering if he had said anything wrong. He hadn't, but he was going to.

"Donghyuck, we need to talk."

The noises Mark's friends gave out were pretty unnecessary, especially the, "Oo, Mark's pissed for once", was not needed at all. Donghyuck got up from his seat quite slowly, which was odd because he was so uneasy just a while ago, but now he wasn't willing to join the only person he knew in the school for a talk (which wasn't going to end well).

"What happened?" Donghyuck asked as soon as they got out of earshot, but were still under the gazes of the guys on the table. "Mark hyung?"

"Don't call me that here," Mark grumbled, folding his arms and looked away, thinking about a gentle way to let Donghyuck down. The younger, catching a hint that Mark wasn't exactly in the mood for any arguments, nodded and then waited for him to continue, and his stomach twisted every time Mark shot him a look (of disgust). "Listen, Donghyuck, I know we were friends," Upon hearing the word 'were', Donghyuck's faint smile dropped, and his back straightened, almost making Mark feel bad. Almost. "We don't really have the same interests." A big lie, because the two had so much in common it was crazy that they were so similar and perhaps they could blame it on the fact that they had grown up together, and so their habits rubbed off onto each other. "And my friends," Mark gestured to the guys sitting a few feet away, eagerly watching the two converse from afar, "They're not like you."