Tidal Wave ✔️

32

Mark and Haechan got sent upstairs by Mr. and Mrs. Lee, so they could have some rest. They decided to have another conversation the following morning, when Mark had already calmed down and Haechan wasn't so taken aback.

Mark had locked himself in his bathroom for almost ten minutes, washing his face with cold water to get rid of his puffy eyes. He looked like a mess, but he regretted nothing. He could proudly say he knows himself now. Probably not all of the memories got revived back, but Mark got a hang of it.

He wiped his face with a towel and finally came out of the bathroom. Haechan was laying down on the right side of his bed, playing a game on his phone.

"Took you long enough." Haechan said without looking away from the screen.

"I look ugly after I cried." Mark threw the towel to the laundry basket and laid down next to Haechan. None of them scooted away, they were getting accustomed by each other's presence on bed.

"You look ugly every single day."

Mark snorted at Haechan's remark. Still sassy as ever, even after he joined Mark, weeping in Mr. and Mrs. Lee's hugs.

"But you really like me." Mark wiggled his eyebrows.

"Sadly, I do."

Mark didn't know how to respond to Haechan's words. He didn't know what the younger one meant with that, and he regretted saying the word 'like' instead of 'love'. He couldn't distinguish the difference between a friendly 'like' and a 'more than a friend' like.

"Well, I like you too. You're very warm, and easy to be teased. You turn red when you're embarrassed and you don't hesitate to speak your mind."

"You mean, my words can hurt another person."

"Yes, but I like that. You don't say shit behind people's back, people rarely do that now." Mark snatched Haechan's phone away. "Yah! Pay attention to your husband."

"I did not accept your proposal, and you are not my husband." Haechan pouted. "Minhyungie, please give me back my phone."

Mark nearly gave up when Haechan started to look up to him oh so cutely with his doe eyes and pouted lips. He sighed, but still put the phone away. He silenced Haechan's protest by pulling the guy into his chest and trapped him with his arm.

Haechan didn't dare to say anything, but at the end he put his hand on Mark's waist. His fingers fiddled with the cotton t-shirt Mark was wearing.

"Isn't this comfortable?"

Haechan hummed in response, already tired from their long day.

"You know, now my parents know we're back to being friends... I guess it'll be easier to set things up, so you can come with me—"

"Mark." Haechan looked up. "No."

"Why, though? If you're going to use Jisung as your reason, I can't accept it. I won't accept it. Hell, we can take Jisung, Jeno, and Jaemin there. I have my relatives and friends there, you guys aren't going to be lonely. You'll get better education."

"I don't think I belong there, that's all." Haechan finally said it. He didn't hope Mark would understand, but he couldn't keep lying.

"Donghyuck-ah, why would you think of that? Wherever I go, you belong there too. You're... I care for you, that's why."

Haechan sighed and looked away from Mark. He was unsure, he didn't want to be reckless and move with Mark. To be honest, Haechan would love to. There's nobody in this world who could affect Haechan like Mark did. It just wasn't wise to leave everything behind with someone you just got reunited with. Haechan still didn't know the grown-up Mark, and he wasn't ready to leave Seoul. He didn't know where he was born, but he was raised here. Mr. and Mrs. Choi, Jisung, Jeno, Jaemin, Juju, Eunji, and the other orphans. He couldn't leave his family behind. He wasn't ready.

Not yet.

Mark could sense that the younger guy was thinking hard about it. He didn't mean to jeopardize Haechan's mind when he asked him to come to Canada. He wanted to keep Haechan as close as possible with him.

"I get it. You don't want to leave. That's alright, Donghyuck-ah. I'm sorry I asked in the first place." Mark pulled Haechan even closer to his chest and pecked the top of his head.

"It's okay, Minhyungie. I'd really love too, but I have people here and things that I have to do. Thanks for asking." Haechan's eyes fluttered close.

Maybe Haechan wouldn't join him in Canada, but Mark was really grateful that he finally remembered him. Mark completed his mission of remembering his past... What about Haechan, though?

"Donghyuck-ah?"

"Hmm?"

"Now that I remember... How can you forget everything that has happened?"

Haechan's eyes shot open and he frowned. Ah, he said he wanted to forget something, that time when they met at the lavatory in House of Beer.

"I don't want to forget everything that has happened. It is impossible and without those memories, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I love the present day Donghyuck, I don't want to lose myself. What I wanted to forget is our past years of being distant. Don't you get it, Mark? I just want my childhood friend back. I want to forget that we parted for ten years or so. To me, you've always been my best friend, my brother, my enemy, my everything. Yes, I do care for Jisung, Jeno, and Jaemin but you're... different. It has been always like that since we got first introduced to each other. I don't know, it's an abstract feeling of mine."

Mark pursed his lips. "I wish I can say beautiful things like that to you, but it's harder for me. Not all of my memories flooded back, but I do care for you too. No offense, but I just met you again two weeks ago and now we're tangled in my bed. That sounds wrong and probably gives the wrong idea, but I'm talking about facts. My point is, I can't just leave for Canada and forget you."

"Why are we so complicated?" Haechan chuckled, the sound he made made Mark smiled.

"Life itself is already complicated. This world isn't real. Look at how jumbled things are. Being complicated isn't a flaw, it's natural. The universe and everything inside or outside of it are disastrous. There's no light without dark, no kindess without evil, and definitely no regularity without chaos."

"Oh my goodness, aren't you philosophical."

"One of my cousin in Canada once said that to me. He's going to pick me up in the airport once I got there."

Haechan nuzzled his face into Mark's torso. "I hope you get there safely. Say hi from me to your cousin, I really like his words."

"Sure, anything for you, Donghyuck-ah."

Only a few days left until December 31th 2018. You guys know what it means.