Ships Passing In The Night ｜Markhyuck (OT21 AU)

Chapter 11

When he made it to the cafeteria on Thursday at lunch, Donghyuck quickly spotted Renjun and Jaemin. They sat together at a small, otherwise-empty table beneath a large window that looked out over the parking lot. The table was situated about as far away as was possible from the one that usually housed Donghyuck's ever-present retinue, a choice he suspected wasn't by accident. The sun streaming in behind them painted the pair with a rosy, warm glow, and he felt the urge to join them.

He hesitated, torn between following Hyojin and the other Drama Society students to their table and doing what he really wanted to do, which was abandoning them without a second thought in favour of his brothers. Seeing his plight, the girl in question rolled her eyes at him but waved him away with a flick of her wrist, disappointed but not surprised anymore. He knew that all of these supposed friends of his were baffled by his sudden friendship with the two students well outside their social sphere, but he found he could muster very little guilt over his behaviour.

None of them had dared to actually ask him why he was spending so much time with Renjun and Jaemin, and he hadn't offered up an explanation. It wasn't like they'd believe him anyway, so he was using his status as de facto Queen Bee--or whatever he was to them--to his advantage. Hiking his bag higher onto his shoulder, he hurried over to the far side of the cafeteria and sank down onto the bench next to Renjun.

"Hey, Hyuck." Jaemin greeted him, not taking his eyes off the mound of food in front of him, but Renjun glanced up at the vibration caused by his heavy landing and offered him a smile.

"Do you need help with the literature assignment?" the smaller boy said in greeting, before passing Donghyuck half of his sandwich. Taking it gratefully, he dug into his bag to retrieve his own lunch, offering it to Renjun to share in exchange.

"How did you know?" he asked, as Renjun scooped out a spoonful of rice from Donghyuck's Tupperware box and stuffed it into his mouth. Holding up a single index finger, Renjun indicated for him to wait as he swallowed.

"Figured it was the first thing I'd forget how to do if--," Renjun glanced across the table at Jaemin, who was watching them intently, "--you know."

"As it turns out," Donghyuck said quickly, keen not to bring attention to how weird that sentence must have sounded to Jaemin, who was probably only just starting to get over the fact that he believed Donghyuck was delusional and made up fanciful stories about alternate realities--even if those stories were actually true. "I do need help. Thanks, Injunie."

Renjun flashed him a smile, holding out a hand. A moment later, Donghyuck dropped his Korean literature workbook into it, and Renjun tucked it away in his own bag. "Hey!" Jaemin muttered, frowning at the two of them across the tabletop. "Why do you do his homework and not mine?"

"Because I like him," Renjun spat, without any real bite to his words. "You just annoy me." Donghyuck snorted with laughter, elbowing Renjun lightly. Jaemin joined in after a few seconds of silence, but Donghyuck caught the genuinely hurt look that crossed his face before he did so. He knew Renjun didn't mean what he'd said, but he made a mental note to suggest that Renjun was a little nicer to the younger boy, before he went too far with his teasing at some point.

"Whatever." Jaemin turned his attention back to the sugar-heavy snack pack in his hands, their previous conversation forgotten for the time being. "So, are you going to the game tonight, Renjun-ah?" His words were light, but Donghyuck noticed that his fingers were pale as they gripped the small, plastic tub a little too firmly.

"What game?" Donghyuck asked, glancing between Renjun and Jaemin. He took a bite of his sandwich, happy to find that Renjun--or more likely, Renjun's mom--had made his favourite. He wondered if that was a coincidence, but that seemed unlikely. He took another bite. He'd have to thank her at some point soon, once Renjun finally got around to telling her that they were friends again. He hoped she wouldn't hold the past against him for too long, once she found out.