best friend ꒱ markhyuck

three

Mark and Donghyuck made up quickly after that, just like they always did. Mark had stood outside of his house every day until Donghyuck agreed to talk to him, and once he did, he had apologized profusely and promised to never keep anything from Donghyuck ever again. He had even brought over a little teddy bear as an "I'm sorry" present, because he knew how much Donghyuck loved bears, and the younger boy hated how easily the gift made him fold and forgive Mark.

"So now that I actually know about this whole crush thing you have going on... tell me a little bit about her," Donghyuck had said as casually as he could manage, sitting on Mark's bed and holding the teddy bear in his lap. Mark flushed, rubbing the back of his neck shyly as he spun around in his desk chair to face Donghyuck.

"Well, her name is Seulgi..." he had started, avoiding Donghyuck's eyes, "she's actually a year older because she went abroad and fell behind in school. But that means she speaks English too, so I really bonded with her because she was like the only person I could use my native language with, y'know? Other than my parents, of course."

Donghyuck tightened his grip on the teddy bear and forced a smile, nodding and urging Mark to continue.

"But she's super pretty, like gorgeous, Hyuck... and oh my god, I had choir class with her for a little bit, and she has the most beautiful voice. And she's super nice too! But I don't think she sees me as anything more than a friend, or like... a little brother."

Donghyuck was overcome with the sudden urge to punch his teddy bear in the face. Why? He honestly had no idea. All he knew was that he didn't like this girl, without having any idea as to why, and if Mark didn't stop talking about her soon then he might end up punching Mark in the face.

"That's awesome, Mark, she sounds great," he lied through his teeth, "but even if she doesn't like you back, at least you have her as a friend, right? Don't feel pressured to confess to her or anything if you don't want to or you feel like you're not ready."

"I know," Mark beamed, looking annoyingly pleased with himself, "man, I'm so happy I can talk to you about her now. I didn't realize how fun it is to talk about your crush with your friends. Why did I ever feel the need to keep it from you in the first place?"

Donghyuck laughed awkwardly, hugging the teddy bear tighter to his chest and trying his best to pretend he didn't feel nauseous with all of the anger and bitterness churning deep in his stomach.

┈ ୨ 🧸 ୧ ┈

Months later after their mini fight, Mark found himself standing in the middle school hallway as he had been doing since the start of the new school year, outside of a door that he was now all too familiar with. He shifted back and forth on his feet as he stood outside of the classroom, occasionally glancing down at his watch as he chewed at his lower lip impatiently. A steady stream of unfamiliar students that were very obviously in the lower grades made their way through the hallways around him, shooting him strange looks as they passed, probably wondering why a high schooler with a completely different uniform was lingering in the middle school hallways at this time of day.

A female student exited the classroom he was waiting in front of, and he perked up suddenly, moving himself to block the kid's way. The girl looked up at him, obviously confused, and his cheeks heated up as he cleared his throat.

"Um... excuse me... is there a Lee Donghyuck here?" He murmured shyly, wringing his hands together as he spoke. Recognition seemed to flash across the girl's face, and she gave him a knowing smile.

"You're Mark, right?" She asked, surveying his high schooler uniform with poorly contained amusement. Mark nodded quickly. "Yea, he's in there. He's finishing up an assignment."