𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀; nct dream

twenty three

Chapter 23: The Art of Balance

To say Mark was shocked would have been an understatement. Was he angry? No. Upset? Not at all. Overjoyed? Hell yes.

Him and Donghyuck had been talking, sharing their thoughts with each other, something that they didn't do often. Donghyuck claimed to have missed his boyfriend over the past few weeks, and Mark would be lying if he said he didn't miss Donghyuck too.

A certain distance had been kept between the pair, but there was no argument or reason for this, it made fixing up their flawed relationship slightly difficult.

They hadn't lost the bliss yet though, and were still madly in love as they had been for quite the while.

Why was Mark so happy though? He had been told the night before of yet another successful recruit.

Park Jisung.

The problem now though, was that there was some form of a conflict occurring between the other three boys, and each of them hadn't been present much, and if they were, they were quiet...all looking at each other.

Mark, Donghyuck, Chenle and Jisung didn't have the slightest notion as to why the trio were acting this way, but knew of the complicated relationship they had.

Chenle had shared his idea with the boys who were in on the crazy idea of leaving. The Chinese boy knew that if they were to make the three buckle and join them, they would have to talk to the centre piece of the trio, Jeno. He was the one they had to convince, 'cause they knew the other two would come running like lost puppies.

Their standing problem was that Jeno had shown Mark support for his plan, but never truly wanted in.

He was a scared, as he should be. This was a risk, but hadn't they been through enough hell to take the risk?

Apparently this wasn't the case for Jeno, who even after hours ozn

CD. f attempted persuasion, had still given them all a firm 'no'.

With hope lost between the four boys as they sat in the sunroom, a silence was shared in the small space.

Donghyuck, who had taken a brief walk around the room, had come back a few moments later to give Mark a bunch of 'flowers'.

Chenle and Jisung shared a look as they glanced at the thin air that Donghyuck was offering Mark, but the eldest still smiled and planted a chaste kiss on the younger's cheek before taking the 'flowers'.

When Donghyuck looked away, Mark shot the pair a look, telling them to not mention this to Donghyuck.

Mark was actually relatively happy with this. It had been the least harmful hallucination that Donghyuck had shared with him in weeks.

The younger sat on Mark's lap, his arms wrapped around the older's back while he hugged his boyfriend.

"I love you," he whispered quietly, his cheek against the older's chest as he let his eyes close.

"I love you too, Hyuckie."

Jisung watched from afar, his heart aching as he glanced at Chenle.

Would they ever be like that?

Sorry this chapter was so late. I finally finished the damn exams...for now 😌😅

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to update soon! 🦋

~Aofa