Ships Passing In The Night ｜Markhyuck (OT21 AU)

Chapter 16

The next few weeks passed quickly for everyone, as both classes and extracurriculars started to ramp up in intensity. Donghyuck still ate lunch and hung out after class with Renjun and Jaemin, on days when he didn't have a meeting to attend or too much homework to do, but it felt like, whenever he stopped to take a breath and have fun, there was always a dozen other things demanding his attention.

He found himself questioning daily why he was working so hard, making sure that his grades didn't slip and that his homework was all submitted on time, but the answer remained the same. He could selfishly justify manipulating some things, for the sake of forging and repairing relationships with his members--morally, that too was still up for debate, but he tried not to dwell on it too much. He would not, however, allow the other Donghyuck to return to a world in which his future prospects had been ruined through his apathy or lack of effort.

No matter what his doppelganger was like as a person, everyone deserved the chance to graduate high school, he reasoned, so Donghyuck did his best to make sure that would still be on the table, even if it ultimately slowed down his search for the rest of his family. As a result, he seemed to spend more time in the library than with his friends, as a few big tests were already looming that he needed to make sure he was ready for.

Renjun was as supportive as ever, helping him with homework wherever possible, but Renjun couldn't actually attend every class for him and he had his own classes to worry about. He did make an excellent cheerleader though, as did Jaemin, who was mostly useless for academics but seemed to have an unending supply of snacks and coffee whenever Donghyuck needed it most. The three of them solidified their friendship into a tight bond as time marched on and, for that, Donghyuck was grateful.

Following his little revelation that weekend, Jaemin had taken to trying to pretend he wasn't remotely interested in Renjun romantically whenever Donghyuck was around. This, unfortunately for him, only made it more obvious, and Donghyuck was amazed that the other boy hadn't noticed yet. Renjun was either completely oblivious or a very good actor, because he continued to blithely bicker with Jaemin at every opportunity, much to his chagrin, and seemed to enjoy nothing more than winding the younger boy up to the point where he turned beet red in the middle of the cafeteria--much to Donghyuck's delight.

Donghyuck hadn't been able to see much of Chenle outside of Drama Soc meetings, but he cherished every moment he got to spend with the adorable freshman. He had only grown more tactile with Donghyuck over time, something the older boy was definitely not complaining about, and he would often drop his head onto Donghyuck's shoulder or flop down dramatically across his lap as the group engaged in discussion after discussion about auditions, rehearsals, lighting, stage design and the other hundred things that went into staging a show in high school.

From Wednesday that next week, some of the dancers had started turning up to their lunchtime meetings, offering their input and suggestions to help enhance Dejun's vision for the musical. The older boy had roped in a few teachers to help too, from across the arts faculty, and things seemed to be starting to take shape. He'd mentioned that he wanted to organise auditions soon, and Donghyuck had happily offered to put up flyers and yet more sign up sheets when the time came--this time with some of his own flair, unlike the drab monochrome the Drama President seemed to favour.

Jaemin, in particular, had been very vocal about opportunities to best integrate the dancers into the show. He had impressed both Dejun and the Dance leader--whose name Donghyuck had missed the first time it was mentioned, and had since forgotten twice to ask Jaemin about--with his ideas, and Donghyuck couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as he watched his friend take centre stage in the debate.

Jisung had turned up to the very next meeting. He was still as timid as ever, and he'd taken to following Jaemin around the drama studio like he was auditioning for a role as his shadow. Donghyuck hadn't tried to approach him after that first time in the auditorium, but Chenle had no such hesitations. So far, his attempts at conversation hadn't yielded many results, but Donghyuck could have sworn he saw Jisung almost crack a smile at one of Chenle's jokes in their latest session, so he was still holding out hope for a miracle.