Head Down

◤fourteen◢

Mark is at the park again. He should've known Donghyuck would be there too. He curses himself in his head for believing that there would be one day where Donghyuck wouldn't be at the park, but if course he is.

Mark is tempted to leave, but the setting sun captures something Mark wouldn't have been able to notice with just his naked eye.

The tear tracks are concerning, but what's even more concerning are the small purple slivers sticking to his jeans. Mark thinks it's weird how whenever he sees Donghyuck, he's surrounded by flowers somehow, in some way. He's sniffling, Mark can tell by the way that his shoulders shake, and how his breaths are ragged. He has half the mind to turn around and go back home, pretend like he never saw Donghyuck here in the first place, but Mark's been raised better than to ignore someone who's upset.

So he pushes aside all his issues with Donghyuck, and sits down beside him without saying a word. Donghyuck keeps his head down, and Mark doesn't even bother looking at the younger.

"Why are you always here?" Mark asks nonchalantly, staring at the little kids on the swings. "Don't you go home?"

"I don't wanna go home," Donghyuck mumbles, nose stuffy and voice raspy from his tears. It sounds childish, and Mark clicks his tongue at the younger's words.

"Fine. Then sit here."

Donghyuck doesn't say anything to that, and he doesn't even know what he would say to that. He is going to sit there, and he is going to continue to wallow in his own sadness. What he doesn't understand, however, is why Mark is still next to him. Given their relationship and their previous encounters, Donghyuck expects Mark to leave once he realizes that the younger is just going to sit there, stubborn. But he doesn't, and that makes Donghyuck confused. He just sits there, leaning back on his palms.

Somewhere inside, it makes Donghyuck angry, because he just wants to be alone. But somewhere closer to the surface, Donghyuck doesn't want to be alone. He's tired of dealing with everything alone. He just what's someone who will stay by his side through all of his shit, someone who doesn't mind his baggage. People like that are hard to come across, and Donghyuck is angry because he wants to take advantage of Mark right now. Mark who isn't leaving, Mark who seems like he doesn't mind Donghyuck and his baggage. But he knows that isn't true. He knows Mark, and he knows that Mark doesn't like him one bit. He'd even say that Mark can't stand him.

But those thoughts don't stop him from grabbing the other's hand, holding onto it tight between the both of his.

Mark's first instinct is to rip his hand away, but he doesn't, only because he decides to assess the situation a bit more first. He's about to open his mouth and ask the golden question of why, but Donghyuck is speaking before he can.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this Mark Lee. Just like how I saved Na Jaemin, I can ruin you."

And it's not that Mark is scared of Donghyuck, scared of someone who's he couldn't care less about, but he still keeps shut.

And if he likes the way that Donghyuck's warm hands feel around his, that's a bonus.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Did you know that Jeno and Donghyuck are stepbrothers?"

Mark feels as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice on him. He freezes, mid way, knife coated in peanut butter mere inches away from his bread. He recovers quickly though, slathering his toast in peanut butter before shoving it in his mouth, as he puts away the jar. When he turns around to see Jaemin, the younger is simply standing in the archway between the dining room and kitchen, a look of curiosity in his features.