Tidal Wave ✔️

27

Mark crossed his hands in front of his chest, foot tapping the floor impatiently. He wasn't allowed to go inside, his grandfather was fighting to stay alive inside. Mark hadn't talk with him for a month now, and it felt odd. There was no days that he did not spend with his grandpa, since he arrived here in Seoul from Canada.

"Minhyungie!"

Mark turned his head towards the source of the voice. Donghyuck was running down the hallway, still wearing his school uniform. Behind him, Jeno, Doyoung, and Jungwoo followed. They all looked as grim as Mark was.

"Hey." Mark forced a smile, embracing Donghyuck as the younger kid wrapped an arm around Mark's torso.

"We're going to stay here with you." Jeno informed, he lost one of his front teeth. Mark usually would laugh at it, but he couldn't.

"Don't you all have school tomorrow, though?" Mark raised an eyebrow, he asked the question towards the Kim brothers.

"Don't worry about us, Minhyung." Doyoung ruffled his hair.

Kim Jungwoo was a year older than Mark, while Kim Doyoung was three years older. They both got dropped off to the orphanage when their mother died when Doyoung was four years old. Doyoung understood how it felt when you were on the edge of losing someone. He said nothing else to Mark, he knew it wouldn't change a thing. Instead, he pulled Jungwoo and Jeno to sit on the bench in front of Mr. Lee's room.

Donghyuck still wouldn't let Mark go.

"Minhyungie?"

"Yes?"

"I know you must be sad because your grandpa is going to leave. But don't cry too much or I'll cry too."

Mark squeezed his shoulder. "Or we can cry together."

"But I don't want to get my eyes puffy. I'm going to be ugly."

"Donghyuckie, you're always cute in my eyes."

"Minhyungie stop." Donghyuck nuzzled his head on the crook of Mark's neck. He was embarrassed whenever Mark said cheesy stuff.

"What? You are!" Mark giggled. "Hyuckie, you're not going to leave me, right?"

"Nope."

"Even if Jeno ask you out?"

"Minhyungie, he's my friend." Donghyuck snorted. Neither of them understood the real meaning of "asking out", but Mark said it anyway. He saw them in movies.

Donghyuck went to sit next to Jeno after he got tired of standing. Mark eyed him as he laid his head on Jeno's shoulder. He shouldn't be jealous of his friend for it, but he was.

Fifteen minutes, and Mark started to pace back and forth in front of the room. He couldn't visit his grandfather inside, and the sight of Donghyuck laying down on Jeno's thigh wasn't helping. Mark felt like he was being ignored. Jungwoo offered him his seat, but Mark refused.

All of a sudden, the door of his grandpa's room was opened. His mother walked outside and immediately pulled him into a hug. His mother wasn't crying, but Mark knew that his grandpa had left them.

Mark couldn't do anything except for crying and clinging to his mother. He hadn't said goodbye. He hadn't pecked his grandpa's cheek to say goodnight. He regretted not saying anything to him for the past month. He regretted not visiting him.

"Ssh. It's alright, Mark. He's up there, he's free from his sickness. Grandpa is okay." His father caressed his hair.

They waited for the hospital staff to bring Mark's grandpa to the morgue. His grandpa left the room, being pushed by the staff in a bed, body covered with white cloth. His parents and his whole family rushed to follow them.