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Mark and Donghyuck took a yoga class together on Mondays. They did everything together anyway, so when Mark signed up for the class, Donghyuck quickly followed. It wasn’t something that either of them enjoyed, but it had become habit. They’d lay down their mats before class started, and Donghyuck would splay himself across them with his head in Mark’s lap. He’d look at Mark with those puppy dog eyes that he despised so much until he’d start running his fingers through Donghyuck’s hair. When class started and the instructor called for all of them to go back to their mats, Donghyuck would pretend to be asleep. It never worked, Mark always pushed him until he gave in.
After Shavasana, they sat back on their heels with their eyes closed. The teacher always told them to breathe, and to think of something, thank someone. She’d tell them to be grateful, to themselves, someone else, to their bodies.
“Find your place of safety and comfort,” she said, and so Mark thought. He thought of good memories: the park on his birthday with Donghyuck, ice cream on the last day of school with Donghyuck, reading in his bedroom with him during winter break, and sliding down the halls in fuzzy socks to their favorite songs and rocking out on the air guitar. He thought of Donghyuck. Over and over again. Listening to his favorite songs in the car with him singing under his breath and his head leaned against the passenger side window. Having snowball fights and making snow angels until their noses were bright red and their fingers were nearly frostbitten. Early mornings on his roof watching the sunrise or having already fallen asleep before the stars smudged red into the skyline. Donghyuck was in all of them.
Mark opened his eyes. The lights were off and everyone was still. He looked at Donghyuck and he thought. He didn’t stop thinking. He thought of everything good, and that’s what Donghyuck was. To Mark, he was everything good. Donghyuck’s shoulders lifted as inhaled. Their breathing was synced, but Mark held his while Donghyuck exhaled.
Mark snapped his eyes shut when the instructor started speaking.
“One last deep breath."
They ended the class and he rolled up his mat. He was moving too slowly, thinking too slowly, but Donghyuck clung to him as soon as he stood up, and they walked out together.
Mark leaned his head against the driver’s side window and scrunched his eyes shut. The window was cold against his forehead as he exhaled frost onto the glass. Donghyuck pressed play on their newest playlist and slid his fingers between Mark’s.