Don't be near Mark/ Markhyuck

Part 25

"You see, that's why I don't talk to Jaemin anymore," Jeno said, "well, that's why nobody talks to him anymore."

"I'm so disappointed," Donghyuck sighs, "he was almost one of my best friends."

Both are at their monthly Starbucks outing. Since it's too expensive, they only go once a month. Donghyuck tells Jeno everything that happened, how Jaemin doesn't talk to him anymore and sent him a lot of messages.

"I didn't get in the middle of their 'non-existent' relationship", sighs Donghyuck," and besides, I have no interest in Mark. It's just that, since we speak the same language, it's nice to talk to him from time to time."

"But you know, Jaemin caused trouble to all of us because of Mark," Jeno finally says, "that's what started to break our group."

Donghyuck turns to Jeno; it's the first time the other has alluded to what could have divided them. He looks at Jeno with great interest; he's finally going to find out.

"Jaemin started arguing with me because Mark and I used to argue a lot, more than now. Then he argued with Jisung and Chenle because he found them too clingy towards Mark, but at the same time, he thought they didn't show enough gratitude towards Mark."

Donghyuck nods, listening to every piece of information Jeno is sharing.

"So, Jaemin only spoke to Mark," Jeno continues, "then there was the incident that landed Mark in prison. I won't go into details, but he did something serious to help Renjun."

Donghyuck is curious about what this 'serious thing' could be, but it confirms his theory of why Renjun and Jaemin seem to dislike each other even more than the others.

"Renjun defended Mark for what he did, but at the same time, he was so traumatized by what happened that it was hard to see. I was very mad at Mark for traumatizing Renjun so much, but then we argued because Renjun said Mark made the right choice, and I said he didn't."

Jeno takes a sip before continuing.

"Jaemin got angry at Renjun and insulted him with all sorts of names, saying he put himself in danger just to attract Mark," Jeno sighs, "Chenle and Jisung don't like conflicts, so they just stopped talking to us. Well, they were more on Renjun's side and not at all on mine, so we also argued on certain points."

Jeno stirs the straw in his drink, not sure if he still wants to drink it. Remembering everything hurt him, he loved his friends so much in the past..

"Mark asked everyone to stop talking to him, telling he was a bad person and that he will only cause us trouble" Jeno continues, "Jisung and Chenle quickly agreed, which annoyed Renjun and Jaemin. They started saying that their friendship was worthless, and that's the last time we all talked before continuing our lifes separatly."

"Jaemin is the one who broke the whole group," Donghyuck says.

"That's what I thought," Jeno says, "but now with hindsight, we all broke the group. We all argued a lot with each other when initially, we thought we were inseparable. We should have tried to understand everyone point of view but we were too young"

Jeno seems nostalgic about that time, and it saddens Donghyuck. He places his hand on Jeno's and squeezes it gently. Jeno thanks him with a small smile and shakes Donghyuck's hand.

"You know, deep down, I'm ready to reconcile with everyone," Jeno says, "I'd like to find my friends again."

"Even Mark?" Donghyuck laughs.

Jeno tenses at those words.

"You know, I think Mark has calmed down a lot in prison. He has changed," Jeno finally says, "he's not the same as before since he's on medication to control his impulses. He's almost nice now, so maybe even Mark."