Golden Days | Markhyuck

1 | Nostalgia

"Let's stay friends forever." That's the promise Donghyuck and Mark made to each other a long, long time ago.

The two have been best friends since before either of them can remember. They grew up in houses across the street from each other, constantly hanging out, and all Donghyuck knows is that by the time they were in middle school, they were near inseparable.

Donghyuck honestly doesn't get it. Mark is a total nerd, nose-deep in books, his uniform always absolutely pristine, never breaking a single rule in his life, while he's the exact opposite, to his parents' dismay. They bicker about it a lot. Mark keeps telling him how irresponsible he's being, and Donghyuck fires back about how boring he thinks he is, but at the end of the day, neither of them mean it. They're best friends, bros, the peanut butter to each other's jelly, with their own special handshake and everything.

Things are going well.

At fifteen, it all starts going to hell.

It's just another day at first. They finish up their work at school and race each other back home, with Donghyuck winning and teasing Mark about it, as usual.

"Not fair, you had a head start," Mark says, attempting to catch his breath. Donghyuck's no better, but he can't help feeling at least a little smug. Yeah, he took off first, but that's just his thing.

"Quit whining. So that makes four months in a row?" Donghyuck remarks, still wearing a smirk on his face. Mark throws him an angry look, but he's about as intimidating as a sad puppy.

"Whatever. I'm going home to do homework," Mark says, standing up straight and adjusting his book bag.

It's moments like these when Donghyuck wonders why they're friends. He's so proper. If things weren't the way they are, he would have just disliked Mark for being an annoyingly perfect teacher's pet. But he pushes the thought out of his mind with a practiced ease. At the end of the day, while he wouldn't admit it, he cares about him.

Mark's crossing the street to his own house, but as soon as he's on the other side, he looks back to Donghyuck, raising his eyebrows.

That's when he hears a voice in his mind say, "You're gonna stay there?"

Donghyuck snaps back, alarmed.

That wasn't his voice. That...

That was Mark.

Loud and clear, as if he was standing right next to him.

But when he looks up again, he's still across the street, his face confused.

"Hyuck?"

That sounded as it should. So...

...what in the hell?

Mark's face takes on an edge of worry, so Donghyuck shakes his head a bit to clear up his thoughts.

"I'm fine," he lies.

Mark's sitting at his desk, quietly scribbling away. Donghyuck took over Mark's bed as he usually does because it's soft, and he'd decided a long time ago that if he's doing something as unpleasant as his homework, might as well be comfy while doing it. Except this time he can't even force himself to focus on it. He's still shaken up.

Your mind's playing tricks on you, he reminds himself for the hundredth time, returning to staring at the words in his textbook. You just know Mark too well.

But it doesn't work. After a bit, he just gives up, deciding he'll do it later that night when he returns home.

"I'm bored. Wanna watch a movie?" Donghyuck says.