Tidal Wave ✔️

21

Mark and Haechan stayed a little bit longer on the orphanage, just to hang out for awhile with Jisung, Jeno, and Jaemin. They left at nine. Mark rolled all of his car windows down, letting the refreshing Saturday morning breeze flew in.

Haechan rested his elbow on the window, hand propping up his chins. He zoned out, he didn't even sing along with Michael Jackson when Mark turned on the tape.

"Haechannie?" Mark asked when they stopped because of the traffic light.

"Hmm?" Haechan responded, but his eyes still glued to the road outside.

"Is there... something you want to tell me?" Carefully, Mark caressed his brown hair, not wanting to piss the guy off.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Haechan smiled towards Mark, just to look outside again. There must be something that was bothering him.

The drive to Haechan's dorm was silence. Aside from the sound of the other cars and the tape, none of them bothered to start a conversation. Mark tried to figure out what was wrong. Haechan was fine at the orphanage, they played Uno Stacko together with the boys. The mood shifted when they drove away from the orphanage, though.

So, when Mark parked the car on the parking lot of Haechan's dorm, Mark held Haechan's wrist. Stopping him from getting out of the car.

"Okay." Mark locked the doors, closed the windows, and turned his position so he was facing Haechan. "Tell me."

"I don't have anything to tell you." Haechan sighed. "Will you please let me go now, Mark? I want to make sure they didn't use my bed to hook up last night."

"No, tell me." Mark insisted, "Or else I'm not going to let you go."

Haechan gulped, his eyes turned away from Mark to a random point outside the car.

"I had a good sleep last night, thanks." Haechan started.

"The feeling is mutual, thank you too."

"It's crazy." Haechan chuckled. "We're crazy. The world has gone mad. What are we doing, Mark? Why can't you let it slip? Your past, I mean."

"I can't. I'm incomplete without it."

"You're incomplete, but at the same time you're alright. If you remembered every single detail of it, you'll be like me, perhaps. Being haunted by it every night." Haechan muttered. Mark had calmed him down when the nightmare came twice. It must had been tiring for Haechan, to not be able to rest well at night.

"Why can't you just tell me what happened?" Mark asked.

"I mean, I can, but someone also wants to meet you. He wants to see you, without you having any idea of what happened." Haechan looked at Mark for a few moments before he looked away and his ears turned red. "Besides, I'm just being selfish. I wonder what it would be like to spend time with you now. It felt the same."

Mark ruffled his hair. "You're a nice guy, Haechan. It's been fun for me too."

"Tell me, though," Haechan said, "When you found out what happened tomorrow, will you leave us again? Us, as in me and the kids in the orphanage?"

"No, of course not!" Mark exclaimed. "How can I?"

"Okay, stick to your statement. Don't change your mind tomorrow." Haechan said before Mark could add anything else. "Now, can you please let me go?"

"Can I follow you to your room, though? I don't want to go home yet." Mark retorted. He received twenty missed calls and fifteen texts from his mother, asking him where he was last night. Mark just replied "in a friend house", and informed that probably he wouldn't be back until Monday. He didn't want to be near his parents, hours before he found out the truth. Mark was afraid he would chicken out, because all this time, his parents had been protecting him from it.