mask | DODAM

DOYOUNG

exams were just around the corner, in one and a half weeks, and doyoung was more busy with school work than ever. it almost felt as if the teachers were cramming the rest of their lesson for the semester into one week so the week before exams could be spent on reviewing information about the topics that were taught in class.

maybe business management wasn't as bad as studying medicine, the first year university student could admit that, but it was still difficult and busy. all the students of yg university were pretty much jam packed all week, with loads of assignments, last minute projects and tests, and cramming in more information into their already filled brains.

the younger was starting to grow more and more exhausted, and this time, for once, it wasn't because of his mom. the extensive packets of work given by the teachers that would all be due the next day after they were given and more work after that being distributed by the teacher was taking up twenty-four hours of doyoung's time in a day, and it was too much to bear for him.

the business management student found himself visiting yedam at his faculty less and less with each passing week because of having to spend so much time preparing for exams, but honestly, the masked male seemed just as busy. yedam had told the younger that he had to compose his own song and perform it to the class for his music composition class, and the last time the first year university student heard from him, which was about five days ago, the older had said that he had to start over because he lost the flash drive with his song written on it as a result of getting bullied again.

although that was about two weeks ago, the masked male had told doyoung that composing a song takes up a lot of time, almost as much time as the business management student was spending on his homework for his classes. in conclusion, not only was the first year university student preoccupied with tons of stuff from school, but everyone else was as well.

the one thing doyoung enjoyed was that the older could now freely talk about his allergy or bullying instances to him because the younger was now aware of his baby powder allergy. despite the topic not really being a good thing, it usually became a daily conversation starter back when the two were still able to see each other everyday for about a week after yedam had confided in doyoung about it. it seems as if the bullies of the masked male were also getting busy since there seemed to be less instances where the older would talk about them. plus, the second year university student hadn't been to the hospital in almost two weeks now.

doyoung felt bad that he couldn't do much to help yedam with the bullying issue other than listen to the second year university student rant about it and try to help the masked male's older brother figure out who it is, which the two of them and yedam's other friends have been unsuccessful at. the bully and his friends usually do a good job at giving the eleven of them no lead when it comes to finding out who they are, and it makes doyoung frustrated. although yedam had told him that he didn't need to do much for the masked male except stay by his side, the younger still wanted to help in some way because now that he was in yedam's life, it became a goal for him to protect the older from anything that can be harmful to him, essentially wrapping him in bubble wrap.

"doyoung!" a voice from behind the business management student called towards the said male as he was making his way to his faculty building. the first year university student turned around to see yedam running towards him with his arms open, the younger instinctively following his gesture.

hugging each other as a greeting became a thing for the two boys. neither of them were able to process how they got used to it so fast, but it was most likely to make up for lost time, since they both spent a while with seven feet of distance between each other.

or maybe it was the fact that the touch of the other was addicting, at least to doyoung. he always found himself wanting to hold yedam and be in the older's arms, especially if he's having a very stressful moment with school related activities and just wanted to relax. sure, they might be in an overt place and their interactions may be blatant, but that didn't stop either of them from wrapping their arms around the other when the masked male threw himself to doyoung.

the first year university student missed the touch of the older male. it had been five days since he had last seen him, mainly because of the fact that the masked male went to his faculty early in the morning and stayed there until late at night to compose his song that he had to start from scratch with, all while still attending all of his classes. doyoung was surprised to learn that the second year university student was already nearly done with the new composition of his song for his exam and that all it needed were a few fixes here and there. if yedam wasn't a genius, then he didn't know who was.

pulling away from their hug, doyoung took in the features of yedam's face. it was pale with heavy and prominent eye bags that contrasted his skin, which made it obvious to the younger that the other was using too much of his time to focus on composing that he hasn't taken care of himself well.

"take care of yourself better. look at your eyebags. you must be exhausted," doyoung commented, holding yedam's cheeks with his hands and turning his face from right to left, observing the dark circles underneath the older's eyes. although half of his face was hidden from view of the first year university student, it didn't take a genius to know that yedam was exhausted.

"you should go home and sleep."

"but it's only four," yedam counterargued, thinking that it was way to early in the afternoon to sleep. the younger just shook his head before removing his hands from the masked male's face and dropping them back down to his sides.

"it doesn't hurt to take a nap once in a while," he commented, wanting the older of the two to watch out for his health more. sure, the exam was important, but the wellbeing of the masked male was more significant than anything else.

yedam just gave a nod, eventually agreeing with doyoung's point. "i'll sleep earlier tonight, then. okay?"

the second year held out his hand with his pinky up and wiggled it, telling the younger to interlock his. looking at the other with wide eyes and tilting his head slightly to the side, doyoung couldn't help but smile and shake his head at the cuteness of the older male and give in, locking their pinkies together in a promise, and yedam had returned the smile of the business management student.

the two boys stayed in that position for some time more, looking nowhere else except each other's eyes and feeling the cool breeze of the winter air flying through their hair. it was almost as if it was a scene straight from a drama, where nothing else around the boys mattered other than each other.

it would've been the perfect time for the first year university student to confess what he had been feeling towards the masked male. doyoung had the perfect chance to say three words, no more than eight letters, and possibly take their relationship to the next level, and it was beneficial that the surrounding ambiance was supporting the decision as well.

but rather than confessing his strong feelings towards the older male, doyoung just smiled and removed his pinky from yedam's hold and dropped it back down to his side. "shall we go? i think i promised you dinner whenever both of us would have free time."

the second year university student nodded his head, agreeing with the younger's decision, and turned around as the two walked out of the boundary of doyoung's faculty. yedam instinctively held onto the younger's hand and interlocked their fingers, another thing they were both used to doing by this point, but for some reason, it felt different to the first year university student this time.

yedam's hand that was interlocked in his felt like a sign to the younger male, a sign, a telling, that doyoung should've confessed just moments before when the opportunity was right there. a sign that was telling the business management student that he had missed his chance to make his feelings clear to the older male, because yedam's hand that fit perfectly into his was signaling to him that the masked male felt the exact same way as doyoung.

and it made doyoung regret letting go of his one opportunity to confess.

[DOYOUNG]