Ships Passing In The Night ｜Markhyuck (OT21 AU)

Chapter 54

Chapter Warning: Gaslighting and Emotional Abuse. See the AO3 version for more detailed notes on this.

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"Long enough..."

The mirrored screen of Hyojin's phone glinted ominously as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, stepping away from the door frame as her fingers played absently with the device in her hands. It didn't really look like she had been using it—he got the impression that it was out more for dramatic effect than anything else—but the fact that she could have entered the room and listened in, without any one of them noticing her, made Donghyuck's stomach clench unpleasantly.

"I'm not going to be able to convince you to just walk away, am I?" As he spoke, Donghyuck could feel at least one body stepping up behind him, like they might be able to protect him from Hyojin's answer, but he ignored them and took a decisive step towards her. The resolute set of her jaw had already answered his question well enough, and he knew that his time was up. This was happening right now, whether he liked it or not.

Hyojin didn't even bother to offer him a verbal response, turning on her heel and stalking from the lab without a second glance. He sighed, taking another step towards the door, and then turned back to see that Jeno and Renjun now flanked him on either side. Jeno looked ready to rip Hyojin's head clean off, hands clenched into tight fists at his sides, while the icy expression gracing Renjun's face promised that no one would ever find the body. Mark wasn't far behind them, concern and anger clouding his features, but Donghyuck forced himself not to focus on any of that at the moment.

"I need to go talk to her," he announced to the room softly, his voice easily carrying over the uneasy silence. He hoped that it wouldn't betray the nervousness he could feel building in his gut, as his mind cycled impossibly quickly through all the ways this impending confrontation could go horribly, miserably wrong for all of them. Renjun opened his mouth to say something, fury glinting dangerously in his eyes, but Donghyuck cut him off before he could speak. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"It's not you that I'm worried about," Renjun spat out, brows knitting together as he frowned at the newly vacated entryway. "Well it is , obviously, but not just you." He tore his eyes away from the door and glanced up at Donghyuck, squarely meeting his eye. "Say the word, and I'll make her regret her entire existence."

"And I'll help!" Jeno agreed, sounding so enthusiastic that it temporarily distracted him from what was waiting out in the hall.

"I—" Choking out a startled laugh, caught completely off guard by his friends' offer, he almost forgot what he'd started to say. It took him a second to recover, Renjun's lips curling up into a proud smirk as he watched on, but then Donghyuck shook his head. "I love you both for that, I really do, but I think I'll pass this time."

"You sure?" It was Jisung who spoke this time, which seemed to catch everyone off guard. He didn't look half as angry as Renjun or as intimidating as Jeno, which wasn't a surprise given the stark contrasts between the three of them, but his eyes darted back and forth between Donghyuck's face and the door to the classroom as he spoke.

"I'm sure." Donghyuck reached out to ruffle Jisung's hair affectionately, then dropped his hand resolutely back to his side. He forced an easy smile onto his lips, despite the ill-ease still churning his stomach sickeningly, and made eye contact with each of the seven boys present, one by one. "I'll be back in a few minutes, don't you worry. This hopefully won't take long."

"We'll be right here, waiting for you."

Donghyuck was already walking away as Mark spoke, and he forced himself not to look back. If anyone could convince him to stay, it was Mark, so he stoically ignored the urge to turn tail and hide behind his friends, crossing the short distance to the open door and stepping out into the hallway.