Ships Passing In The Night ｜Markhyuck (OT21 AU)

Chapter 43

In hindsight, Jaemin probably should have figured out something was going on before he found himself locked inside the art studio on Thursday afternoon, fifteen minutes after every other student had already left for the day. Donghyuck had--uncharacteristically, now that Jaemin gave it more than a fleeting thought--volunteered their group to help tidy up the storage cupboard towards the back of the studio, claiming that it would be a good bonding exercise.

He'd reluctantly agreed, especially when his three other friends had all done the same--with varying degrees of enthusiasm, because not much fazed Yukhei when he was in a good mood--and had gotten to work restacking boxes of paint onto the shelving units that lined one wall of the small box room. He'd been so focused on the task that, initially, he hadn't even registered the shout of surprise from Renjun, followed by the slamming of a door somewhere nearby.

In fact, it wasn't until he heard Jeno calling his name that he shifted his attention from the box of powder paints at his feet, wiping his dusty fingers off onto the seat of his school trousers as he straightened up from a crouch. Frowning at the mild alarm in Jeno's voice, he stuck his head out from inside the cupboard and immediately found two fewer people in the art studio than he'd been expecting.

"Hyuck, let me out!" Renjun was over by the other door, the one that led through to the hallway outside, and he was banging furiously on it with a trembling fist. Jeno stood somewhere between the two of them looking vaguely constipated, although he smiled kindly at Jaemin when they made eye contact. "This isn't what I meant and you know it."

"What's going on?" Jaemin asked, eyes flicking rapidly from Renjun to Jeno and back as he spoke. Through the partially-frosted glass panel in the door, Jaemin could see a vaguely Donghyuck-shaped silhouette, backlit from behind, which he assumed was the object of Renjun's ire. Jeno just shrugged, confusion evident in the way his lips pressed tightly together and his brows furrowed under Jaemin's questioning gaze.

"No idea, but I think Renjun does." Jaemin was inclined to believe him, as the boy in question pounded furiously on the closed door again, repeating his futile protests a second time. Through the glass, he saw the silhouette slowly shake its head, and then Donghyuck's muffled voice floated in through the barrier between them.

"You asked me to give you a push, Injun-ah," Donghyuck said calmly, sounding for all the world like trapping three of his friends inside a classroom together was normal friend behaviour. Jaemin wondered for a moment if this was a prank, some weird, misguided plot that Donghyuck and Renjun had concocted to try to scare him and Jeno, but then Renjun groaned heavily and he quickly reevaluated that theory. It was a pained sound, one that tugged instinctually at Jaemin's heartstrings, and he knew then that Renjun wasn't faking anything.

"Hyuck, I can't--" Renjun broke off with a small sob, breath hitching bitterly in his throat, and Jaemin saw Jeno take a step towards him, arms outstretched. He made it less than two paces, however, before Renjun rallied and continued to speak. "I can't do this. I'm not brave enough."

"So, I'm really confused..." From somewhere out in the corridor, Jaemin heard Yukhei's bewildered exclamation, before it was swiftly silenced as Donghyuck disappeared from view for a moment. There was a tiny, distant yelp of indignation, then the figure reappeared, one hand pressed to the glass in front of him.

"Injunie," Donghyuck said slowly, making sure that Renjun had time to process every single word. "You're one of the bravest people I know. You've carried this with you for so long, but it's time to take the leap. You deserve to be happy." Renjun seemed to freeze in place, the room so silent that Jaemin thought he would have heard a pin drop, but then he slowly lifted his hand to place it over the shadow of Donghyuck's palm on the glass.