Chapter Text
Mark let out a sigh as he melted into the corner of the booth he was sitting in, allowing himself to relax a little. The purple and blue lights of the bar went easy on his, Office-LED irritated, eyes but Mark still closed them and leaned his head back letting out yet another sigh.
“Hey, hey, no sleeping now, old man. We just got here,” someone said from above Mark and sure enough, when Mark opened his eyes, Jeno was grinning down on him, kneeling on the seat. Mark rolled his eyes and sat up, stretching to get a bit of the tiredness out of his system. Jeno slid Mark's ordered Paloma over to him on the table while taking a sip of his own Cuba Libre.
“I know we came here to relax for a bit and get our mind off of work,” Jeno grinned and sat down like a normal person would at Mark's nudge to his legs, “but I didn't think you'd relax that fast. How can you even do that with this loud as shit music?”
Mark shrugged as he took his drink and downing a good swig of it, welcoming the slight burn in his throat. He wasn't one to drink a lot but sometimes he just needed it to clear his head and forget work for a few hours. Or maybe just forget everything but the moment with how shitty he'd been feeling the last few weeks.
It wasn't like anything bad in particular had happened, it was just that nothing good had happened either. Mark had gone to work and back home even on Saturdays. And on Sundays, he wasn't able to sleep in, always waking up at 5 am with no idea what to do. He tended to his four houseplants and then spent the whole day doing nothing, feeling like he was wasting his precious free time by lying on the couch all day.
Jeno had decided enough was enough and had made Mark make use of his copious amounts of overtime to take Friday off and allow himself not to work on Saturday. This way, Mark was well rested enough to get dressed decently and accompany Jeno to the bar they used to visit often during college days. It was called Empathy, a quite fitting name for a gay bar. Mark would've never thought of it, for sure.
Mark had picked Jeno, who had been working, up using the means of public transport since both of them would get at least a little drunk and would rather call a taxi than drive while intoxicated.
The bar was bustling with people which was to be expected considering Friday was the day everyone wanted to forget about work with whatever means necessary. However, Mark also knew Jeno had chosen this bar not only for old times' sake but for a much more living, silver-haired, human reason.
“So,” Mark began, grinning at his friend, “how's it going with your Loverboy? Still stumbling over your words when ordering and staring at him in awe whenever he so much as exists near you?”
Jeno shot Mark the best glare he could muster, sipping on his drink some more before replying, “First of all, he's still not my Loverboy, his name is Jaemin. Second of all, I'll have you know that I did not stumble over my words today and he beamed at me with a smile that could bring about world peace so my staring was justified.”
Mark only hummed and nodded, patting Jeno on the shoulder. The crush his friend had been harbouring for the past year or so was something Mark thoroughly enjoyed teasing him with, if only to somewhat comfort himself over the fact that he didn't even have someone to crush on.
Mark's last relationship ended over three years ago and he'd just not found someone to be with since then. But considering Mark was just a tiny bit of a romantic and liked meeting people in real life first compared to using apps like Tinder or Grindr or anything of the sorts, it wasn't that much of a surprise. The people he already knew were colleagues, friends and his own family, none of which he was even remotely attracted to. Not to mention that most of his friends were already in relationships and Mark kind of hated a lot of his coworkers.
Next to Mark, Jeno was shuffling around and ended up leaning against the older with his back, probably to get a better view of the bar. Almost automatically, Mark wound his arm around Jeno's middle, placing his hand on Jeno's stomach to prevent him from sliding down and ruining his posture.
Jeno sighed and Mark could hear the pout in his voice as he mumbled, “Seriously, how is he so beautiful and why do I have to have a crush on him? I mean, come on, can't I have reasonable standards?”
“Hey, your standards are reasonable enough. You're really handsome and cute and kind. If anything, he's probably thinking you're out of his league.”
Jeno turned his head to look at Mark with a blank face. Mark only raised an eyebrow in return, which Jeno responded to with another sigh and turning back to looking at the silver-haired bartender. Rolling his eyes at his friend's antics, Mark grabbed his drink and took a sip, letting his eyes roam around the bar.
There was a well-populated dance floor, people moving around and against each other to the ever changing tunes, waiters trying to navigate around the dance floor and people just standing and looking to deliver drinks and food to the people sitting in the booths. Mark feared, one day, someone would knock a waiter over and fries drenched in ketchup and mayonnaise would end up on someone's fancy shirt. Not to mention that the waiters didn't even really wear a work uniform, the only thing that gave them away was the engraved cufflinks on their whatever-colour shirt and when their sleeves were rolled up, they were basically undercover.
The same was true for every bar employee, including the bouncers which was fun to watch when someone made trouble and, not knowing the bouncer was the bouncer, got themselves into even deeper shit at insulting or even hitting an employee. The hitting part wasn't fun but the aftermath definitely was.
Mark for one, had been to the bar so often back in the days that he could name every single staff without a problem. However, since he hadn't been here so often in the last few years, Mark was sure he barely knew anyone as he could only spot one or two vaguely familiar faces.
Jeno's sigh brought Mark back to reality, prompting him to ruffle his friend's hair, receiving a protesting whine in return. Jeno's hands flew up to take Mark's away from his head, while he tilted his head back to look up at the elder. The scowl on his face made Mark grin and coo at Jeno. He just looked too cute when he did that.
“Stop it,” Jeno pouted, shoving at Mark's face like a cat, “I'm not some kid you can swoon over.”
Mark, with his face squished between Jeno's hands and lips in a fishlike position, replied, as best as he could, “But you are. Someone I can swoon over, I mean.”
“Mark!”
Jeno blushed and sat up normally to slap at Mark's chest. His brows were furrowed and his lips pulled into a pout but Mark could only laugh and pull Jeno into half a hug. He was just so cute all the time, it was impossible not to love him, whether it be platonic or romantic love. Jeno half-heartedly shoved at Mark, grumbling, “Why am I friends with you? You're so annoying.”
Mark only hummed, giving him a final squeeze before letting him go, immediately grabbing for his glass to drink a bit more. It was getting empty in a short time and Mark wasn't too sure he should be drinking this fast but it wasn't like he would actually get drunk, considering they had to get back somehow and Mark always felt bad when he had to make his younger friends care for him. Granted, he had a total of three younger friends, one of which was his cousin and the other not even a week younger but still, it didn't feel good.
Taking a glance at his almost empty glass, Jeno, the bartender, Mark came to a decision. He wouldn't call himself the best wingman of the whole world but he was definitely a good friend. And so, he downed the rest of his drink, tapped Jeno's arm, lifted his glass and asked, “Could you get me another one?”
Jeno's face basically lit up as he took Mark's glass from his hand and beamed, “Of course, everything for you.”
Mark rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless, happy to see the eye-smile make an appearance. He watched as Jeno got up and sauntered over to the bar again, confident as if he wasn't going to mumble a few words into Jaemin's general direction and then proceed to stare at him like a lovesick fool. With a fond shake of his head, Mark turned his eyes towards the dance floor again.
When Jeno came back, he was almost stumbling over himself, the drinks just barely not spilling over. Mark's eyebrows shot up as Jeno made his way into the booth to sit down and set the drinks on the table all the while swearing like a sailor.
“Oh my fucking shit. God fucking shit fuck, oh my heck. Fucking hell.”
“What the actual fuck, Jeno?”
“Someone fucking flirted with me.”
“Ah,” Mark grinned, laying a hand on Jeno's shoulder and catching a good look at his friend's red face. That explained a lot. While Jeno might seem all manly, unmovable, emotionless to others, not that Mark had ever thought so, he was actually a big ol' softie and he just couldn't handle people flirting with him. It didn't matter whether he thought they were attractive or not, his face would, without fail, take on the colour of a tomato and he'd only be able to stutter out a few words in response. The more attractive Jeno found the person, the worse it got and judging on this reaction-
“You embarrassed yourself didn't you?”
Jeno nodded, his face in his hands and shoulders pulled up. His ears were almost glowing and when Mark gently touched them with his hands, they were so hot, he was pretty sure Jeno felt like he was burning up.
“He was so pretty and fierce and smooth and I just got the drinks from Jaemin so I was already, you know, trying to keep myself together because he talked to me and our fingertips brushed. Anyways, I turn around, brain almost goop and almost bump into someone. Naturally, I apologized and just as I wanted to continue on he says 'Hey handsome, no worries. Need a little help there?' And then he fucking touched my arm.”
Jeno almost screeched the last part, though his voice was still muffled by his hands and Mark had to lean closer to hear him clearly. Mark patted Jeno's back as some semblance of comfort, chuckling, “Let me guess, you just stuttered, squeaked and ran over here?”
“Yeah,” Jeno whined, lifting his face, turning to Mark with a pout. “What do I do? He was so pretty.”
Shrugging, Mark continued to pat Jeno's back until his face wasn't as red anymore and he was calm enough to take a few sips of his drink. With a sigh, Jeno leaned against Mark again, his head on Mark's shoulder.
“Should I talk to him?“ he asked, staring straight ahead but eyes unfocused, “He's still at the bar and I kinda wanna talk to him more. But it's probably gonna be so awkward with what I just did.”
Mark hummed, a small smile on his face as he stroked Jeno's hair. It was almost a miracle for him to even suggest approaching someone first, however, that was exactly why Mark said, “I think you should. I'm pretty sure he'll overlook what happened considering your handsome face. And pretty ass.”
Jeno scowled at Mark and sat up again, crossing his arms and tilting his head as his facial expression relaxed again. Mark took the time Jeno was silent to drink a bit, mentally applauding Jaemin for his mixing skills.
“By the way,” Jeno began after a while, “you've only ever been with women, right? Then, whom were you attracted to to, you know, be bi? No offense, but you know even I was attracted to a woman the first time in college so I thought maybe you liked a man already as well. 'Cause, like, shouldn't you have been attracted to a man to know you're bi? But you've never told me about anyone, so...”
“Dude, you know I'm bi as shit. I mean, look at all the singers I like. It's just that I... have a preference for...” Mark trailed off as his eyes caught sight of the most beautiful person he had ever seen. The man was dressed in a simple white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and black ripped jeans. From what Mark could make out, his hair was dyed a dark purple, pushed out of his face with a few strands barely hanging over the man's forehead.
Mark gaped, his eyes almost automatically following the stranger as he made his way over to the bar. He only came back to when Jeno decided he had had enough and frantically waved his hands right in front of Mark's face. Blinking rapidly, Mark declared, nodding into the stranger's direction, “I now have a preference for dudes with purple hair who look like CEOs in manhwa do. Like, god damn, he's ethereal.”
Jeno, in all his nearsighted glory, even though he was wearing glasses and it wasn't exactly hard to look as far as the bar, squinted in the general direction Mark had nodded to.
“Which one exactly? Purple hair? Dude, you gotta be more specific, there are, like, three dudes with purple hair in that direction.”
Mark sighed and, for a second, had the urge to point at the man but that would feel rude and childish so Mark settled on describing him, mumbling, “He's wearing a white shirt, black trousers. Uh, his hair is swiped up.”
“Ah, the one talking with Jaemin right now? Don't they seem a little close?”
“Oh.” Mark blinked. “Yeah, a bit. Maybe he's a regular or something. Oh my god, he's laughing.”
Jeno made a face and turned to look at Mark again, saying, “Dude, you saw him for the first time a few seconds ago and you're already swooning over him laughing? Even I wasn't as bad with Jaemin.”
“Shut up. Who was the one who just came over here all flustered because of a few words and a simple touch?”
Jeno just stuck out his tongue at Mark but he was blushing a bit again. Mark grinned and slung his arm around Jeno's shoulders, pulling him closer to ask, “So who's the one that got you in that state?”
Glancing at Mark for a second, Jeno seemed like he was considering not telling Mark but when the elder raised an eyebrow, daring him not to, he sighed and jerked his head to the left. Mark lifted his gaze and found a few men he'd classify as pretty and fierce but he tried to look at it from Jeno's perspective. Who would be able to turn Jeno into such a mess he would spit out the weirdest combination of swear words?
His gaze landed on a man with dark hair, sitting so that Mark could only make out his side profile. On the ear that was facing them, glinted a few piercings and a dangling earring and it looked like he was wearing a necklace. He was wearing a loose green shirt, seemingly revealing a lot of his upper body, and black trousers.
For just a few seconds, he turned his back to the bar, now facing their direction fully and Mark understood how Jeno had ended up like he had. The shirt actually was revealing, the man's collarbones making an appearance, somehow accentuated by the dark necklace he was wearing. From his right ear several silver earrings were dangling, looking like chains going from different parts of the shell of the ear to the ear lobe. It looked kind of badass if Mark was being honest. From what Mark could tell, the man had pretty sharp features, from eyes to his mouth, with his face on the slimmer side, along with his body.
Mark nodded, patting Jeno's back again.
“It's the fox-like one isn't it? He looks like he'd make you a mess with one look.”
“He's wearing a green shirt,” Jeno mumbled, if in confirmation or as a hint because he didn't know who Mark was talking about, Mark didn't know. So he just smirked and replied, “I know.”
“I hate you.”
“You love me.”
Scowling at Mark once again, Jeno opened his mouth but Mark cut him off before he could even make a sound.
“Just go, Jeno. Talk to him, dude, please. For your and my sake. Please.”
Jeno sighed but nodded, grabbing his drink and squeezing Mark's shoulder before scuttling off. Mark watched like a proud mother hen as he approached the fox-like stranger, apparently spoke a few words to him, as his mouth moved and the stranger turned to look at him, and took a seat next to him just a few seconds later. The conversation seemed to flow without problem, though Jeno looked a bit awkward.
With a smile, Mark took a swig from his new drink and his eyes landed on the purple-haired stranger. He was sitting at the bar, scrolling on his phone, not looking like he was with someone or was planning to get up any time soon. Both of the seats next to him were empty.
Come on, Mark, he thought to himself, if Jeno can do it even though he literally just embarrassed himself, you can do it too. Let's do this.
“Hey,” Mark said as confidently as he could, sliding onto the stool next to the man a few minutes later. Said man quirked an eyebrow and responded, in a somewhat cautious voice, “Hey.”
Mark rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly getting shy as he could see the stranger from up close. Not only did he really, actually, look hot but he was wearing thin gold-rimmed glasses, something Mark hadn't been able to see from afar. This was a problem because it just made the man look even hotter. He had a few little moles on his face and neck from what Mark could see, a cute button nose and very, very pretty eyes, evident even with the reflection on his glasses. God damn, why did Mark have to like beautiful people all the time?
“Um, my name's Mark.”
“Donghyuck.”
Donghyuck took Mark's outstretched hand, gave it an appropriately strong shake before retreating his hand again. Mark mustered a small smile, taking a sip of his drink for some more liquid courage before apologizing, “Sorry for coming over here out of nowhere it's just, um, I, uh... My friend left me for the bar a while ago and I was beginning to feel lonely, I guess. Sorry again.”
Donghyuck shook his head and made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
“It's okay,” he replied, a slight grin on his face, “happens to the best of us, doesn't it?”
Mark nodded, only half having heard what Donghyuck had said, too distracted by his voice. It was neither high nor deep, just very unique with a nice timbre and almost sounding like he was talking in a mixed voice, how some singers belted their impressive notes but softer and constant.
With a deep breath, Mark took a few big gulps of his drink, watching as Donghyuck's eyes landed on his phone again. He didn't want their conversation to end here. Actually, he wanted to get to know Donghyuck better and maybe even connect with him a little bit. What was a question he could ask to start a conversation. His last name, his age, the weather. No, all of that was weird. And then Mark, with his eternally dumb, and now tipsy, brain, decided to ask, “So, do you come here often?”
It took Mark about half a second to realize the mistake he had made but that half a second was long enough for Donghyuck to look up from his phone, raise his eyebrows and the one end of his lips to twitch up into half a smirk. Mark groaned and immediately raised a hand, waving it frantically as he tried to fix the situation.
“I mean- it wasn't a pick-up line or anything I genuinely meant it. I'm so sorry, I sounded like some douchebag who'd spike your drink if you didn't show any interest in me. Ah, just forget I asked, please.”
Donghyuck chuckled and put his phone away, instead swirling his drink with his straw, never taking his eyes off of Mark.
“No, it's alright,” he answered, mirth dancing in his eyes and Mark couldn't help but blush. “I didn't think you had any bad intentions or anything. As a matter of fact, I do come here quite often. Honestly, I didn't even plan on showing up today but my friend called because of a, uh, feelings emergency so here I am.”
“Oh.”
Mark slumped in his seat, glancing over to where Jeno sat still chatting with the fox-like stranger at the mention of a friend. Jeno's eye-smile was working full force as he ever so slightly leaned towards the stranger.
“Shouldn't you go to your friend then? I don't want to be a nuisance or bother you or anything.”
“Nah. I can see my friend from here and it's more of an emotional support situation from afar than anything else anyways. Don't worry, if you were a bother, I'd let you know but you're rather cute.”
Again blushing at Donghyuck's words, Mark took a few swigs from his Paloma, noticing the glass getting dangerously empty. He wasn't too sure whether he should get another drink, considering he was already feeling just a tiny bit lightheaded but at the same time, with the way Donghyuck was cockily grinning at him over the rim of his glass, Mark wouldn't last another few minutes without the help of more alcohol. Tapping the bar top in consideration, Mark had to force himself not to stare at Donghyuck and give himself away too much. It wouldn't do to have the other notice just how much Mark liked how he looked. Mark raised his hand.
“Can I get another Paloma over here?”
Mark and Donghyuck fell into some sort of small talk, not really getting to know each other well but not talking about nothing at all either. With the help of well-timed questions and offering of not too personal information, Mark learned that Donghyuck liked the colours red and black, liked eating Samgyeopsal, loved to play Overwatch. Mark listened intently as to not miss a single detail, reveled in the sound of Donghyuck's voice from time to time. He emptied half of his new drink in the span of maybe half an hour, he wasn't exactly looking at his wristwatch.
At some point, it got hot suddenly so Mark took the liberty of getting rid of his T-shirt, but not to worry, he had a tank top underneath. When he had chosen his outfit, Mark had only wanted to wear the shirt at first but then Jeno had reminded him, they would probably get home sometime in the morning so it would get a little colder and he should wear something under it just in case.
“So yeah, I really- what are you doing?” Donghyuck's voice was muffled as Mark pulled his shirt over his head, careful not to bump into anyone or anything as he did so. Pausing to gather his thoughts and answer, Mark, hoping to speak loud enough for Donghyuck to hear, exclaimed, “I'm getting rid of my shirt. It's so hot in here.”
After a few seconds of silence from Donghyuck, Mark shrugged, finally taking his shirt off enough to be able to straighten his tank top before getting the shirt off fully and bunching it up, unsure of what to do with it now.
“Don't you have a bag or something?” Donghyuck asked, mustering Mark in a way he hadn't before. Mark had no idea what that meant but with the way Donghyuck was looking at him, his skin began to tingle and his face heated up even more. Silently, he shook his head. Donghyuck quirked an eyebrow.
“How will you pay then? I don't suppose you have cash in your phone or, worse, in your jeans.”
“My friend's paying. We're going out for the first time in a while so he's treating me.”
“Your friend?”
“Yeah, that one that ditched me. We've known each other for quite a few years now,” Mark said, nodding to himself. 'Quite a few years' might have been an understatement considering Jeno and he became friends way back in kindergarten but he was too lazy and hazy to correct himself. “Actually, my friend-”
“And, you know, he wanted to be a firetruck when he was older. It's so cute isn't it? He wanted to be a truck, not a firefighter like everyone else would say. Do you know why he said he wanted to be the truck? So that he could rush to help people in need. So fucking adorable.”
Mark wasn't exactly sure for how long he'd been speaking but his throat was getting sore and Donghyuck had a somewhat weird look on his face. Allowing himself a break, Mark gulped down whatever was in his glass, peering into it after to make sure it actually was empty. Before he could order another one though, Donghyuck's voice came from his left, “You really seem to like your friend.”
Mark's eyebrows shot up and his head started nodding enthusiastically all by itself.
“Of course! Jeno is, like, the love of my life! Platonically of course, we don't like each other that way. Though if I didn't know him for as long as I do, I'd probably give it a shot or two. Speaking of- can I get a few shots of vodka over here?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Mark could see Donghyuck furrow his brows. A slightly rough hand landed on Mark's wrist and Mark swore his heart had never beaten as fast as in that moment. Maybe.
He immediately took a shot of the ones which just arrived. Donghyuck tapped Mark's wrist softly, commanding his attention. Without his consent, Mark's head turned to look at Donghyuck, catching sight of slight worry but also amusement. Which was a funny combination. Mark giggled.
Donghyuck tapped Mark's wrist again, his eyebrows furrowed as he asked, “Are you okay? I don't think you should be drinking this much. Should I get your friend over?”
“Nah,” Mark said, making a dismissive hand gesture, “I'll be completely fine. Look, I'm not even seeing double yet.”
Mark wasn't sure how many glasses were standing in front of him. It alternated between three and seven and every number in between. At least Mark was sure that all of them were empty. He didn't exactly know in which direction Donghyuck was anymore either but he still managed to hold a conversation with him.
“Are you sure you're okay, Mark? You seem a little out of it. I should probably really call your friend over- hey, don't drop your shirt!”
Mark watched Donghyuck hop from his stool and reach for something on the ground but the only thing he could think of was how pretty Donghyuck's hair was. Donghyuck lifted his head and then his hand, holding a white bundle of clothes as he asked, “This is proof that you should really not drink that much. Come on, I'll help you over to your friend.”
“Actually- oh.”
Mark saw the world tilt before he felt it, landing safely in a pair of warm, strong arms just a few seconds after. Looking up, Mark spotted a cute beauty mark and chocolate brown eyes behind glasses looking down on him.
“Jeno!” Mark cheerfully exclaimed, too enthusiastic even to his own ears, “I didn't even notice you coming over. Did you have fun with your fox earlier?”
Jeno only hummed in response before helping Mark into a more upright position. Mark let his hands stay on his friend's forearms to steady himself, noting how Jeno's skin was surprisingly soft, definitely softer than it normally was. Softly caressing Jeno's arm, amazed at the softness, Mark mumbled, “Your skin's so soft today. Did you use my lotion again?”
“You should really get home,” Jeno said, instead of actually answering Mark's question, his voice somehow distorted. Mark hummed, leaning more into Jeno, pressing his burning cheek to Jeno's cold skin somewhere in the chest-area. At least that was where he thought he was leaning. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was. Mark didn't exactly know.
With a groan, Jeno got Mark to stand up as straight as he could, which was about as straight as his sexuality, before leading him along a seemingly never ending line of people on barstools. Mark wasn't really sure where they were going so he just clung to Jeno like his life depended on it with one arm slung around Jeno's shoulders and the other clasping his hand.
They stopped for a while and Jeno talked with someone before trying to let Mark let him go. However, Mark only whined and tightened his grip. He didn't want to let him go, he was warm and comfortable and smelled like peaches. That reminded him-
“I didn't get to say bye to Donghyuck! We have to go back and tell him,” Mark said, slightly shaking Jeno and wanting to drag him back, whichever way that actually was. Jeno shook his head, replying, with slight amusement in his voice, “I promise you, Donghyuck's fine. You don't have to say bye to him.”
Mark pouted but stopped tugging at Jeno, instead slumping into his side again. He felt like a little kid as he waited for Jeno to stop talking to whoever it was and start taking him home instead. Jeno nodded a few times before taking his phone out while freeing his hand from Mark's and instead winding it around his waist and pulling it closer.
With his eyes closing, Mark leaned his head against Jeno's shoulder and breathed in his wonderful scent. He mumbled something under his breath he didn't even understand himself and then they were moving again.
“Dude, how do you do this without falling flat on your face? He's heavy as a rock, like he's purposefully making it harder for you,” Jeno said at one point. They were already outside, making their way home on the sidewalk. Mark scowled.
“Who're you talking to? And why aren't we taking a taxi?”
Jeno tapped Mark's waist twice with his hand before answering, “It's not that far from here and you need a bit of fresh air. If we got a taxi, it would probably take longer anyways.”
Mark hummed and pressed himself even more against Jeno, shivering a little. That was when he noticed that he didn't have his shirt on anymore and that Donghyuck had had it in his hands last so he stopped dead in his tracks, forcefully pulling Jeno back as well.
“Where is my shirt?” Mark asked, looking around. “Donghyuck had it last. Did you ask for it back from him? Oh god, does he still have my shirt? Please tell me he doesn't.”
“I have it here,” Jeno answered, nodding down and sure enough, when Mark looked down as well, he saw his shirt slightly tucked into the pocket of Jeno's jeans. Before Mark could grab it though, something else came to mind, distracting him so much so that he didn't even notice Jeno letting go of him.
“Hey, by the way, I didn't tell you who Donghyuck is, right? Well, he's the one I saw today at the bar. When you went to talk to your fox friend, I gathered the courage to talk to him as well and we really got along well. He looks even better up close, Jeno. With glasses and moles and tan skin and a really handsome face and generally just so beautiful. His voice is so nice and he seems so interesting. I wanna get to know him better but I don't even know how old he is or- oh god- what if he's in a relationship? Then all of my hopes would be crushed.”
Mark rambled on and on, even as Jeno pulled something over his head, making his world dark for a second, even as Jeno arranged their limbs again, even as they started walking again, even as the ground came closer a few times. He just had so much to say about Donghyuck, he couldn't imagine stopping.
However, he had to when Jeno came to a stop in front of a door, cutting him off by asking, “Where are your keys?”
“In my right front pocket like always,” Mark mumbled, throat feeling a little sore and his mouth dry. Still, he still had enough snark to grin, “What, did you forget your keys? When you're the one always making fun of me for forgetting mine?”
Jeno's eye roll was almost audible as he carefully stuck his hand into Mark's pocket.
“You could say that.”
“Oh, how the turns have tabled, my dear Jeno. How the turns. Have. Tabled.”
Mark glanced at Jeno and could see the eye roll now, though he was smiling so Mark couldn't care less. The keys jingled and Mark only noticed Jeno had let go of him, when the younger opened the door and stepped into the house without Mark automatically following. And so, Mark stumbled after him, up the stairs and coming to a stop again at their flat's door.
Jeno needed longer than usual in opening the door but Mark supposed he wasn't too sober either so he could forgive his friend.
And, even though Jeno wasn't sober, he still forced Mark to drink water, do everything he had to do in the bathroom, though Mark didn't shower, only wiped himself down, and get dressed in a pair of comfortable pajamas.
“Come on, Mark, lie down,” he gently coaxed but Mark only pouted and clung to Jeno's arm even more. He wanted to talk more about Donghyuck and ask Jeno how it had gone with the fox. But Jeno only gently pried Mark's fingers off his arm one for one, carding one hand through Mark's hair.
“You should go to sleep. You've had way too much to drink.”
“Okay,” Mark conceded, scooting down on his bed and laying down, “but you have to stay here until I'm asleep, okay?”
Mark couldn't make out much in the dark but Jeno sounded fond when he pulled the covers up to Mark's chin and mumbled, “Okay. Have sweet dreams.”
“Love you,” Mark murmured, eyes already closing.
Waking up was a challenge. Mark's limbs were heavy and his head was killing him. At least Jeno had been smart enough last night to pull the curtains closed, so that the sun didn't also try to kill Mark.
He hadn't felt like this in a while, especially not since he had started working. Last night only came in fragments for the last few hours but he supposed he hadn't forgotten anything important. With a groan, Mark sat up, spotting the glass of water on his nightstand.
Mark smiled, downing the whole glass in one go before slowly making his way out of his bed. First things first, he wanted to find Jeno and thank him for taking care of him even though he was a hassle when drunk.
Since Mark could hear sounds coming from the kitchen, he supposed that was where Jeno was so he slowly made his way out of his bed, through the hallway and towards the kitchen. As he had thought, Jeno was sitting at the counter, shoveling cereal into his mouth.
“Thanks for saving me from splitting my head open on the ground and taking me home yesterday,” Mark groaned, as he stepped into the kitchen, shielding his eyes against the sun coming from the windows, “I'm glad you didn't drink as much or we would've had a problem.”
Jeno frowned, pausing halfway through shoving the spoon into his mouth and setting the utensil down into the bowl instead.
“What are you talking about? I didn't save you from anything and I didn't take you home either. I thought you would've realized that by now.”
“What? Wait- what? Then who did? I'm certain it was you, though.”
“Nah, I stayed in the bar until almost four in the morning. Your ethereal sun god took you home, Donghyun or whatever his name was.”
Mark, despite having seen his life flash before his eyes and feeling the nausea rise again, took a seat in front of Jeno by the counter and pressed the heels of his hands to his temples. This couldn't be right. Jeno had to be lying. There was no way Mark gushed about Donghyuck to Donghyuck, someone who was basically a stranger, someone Mark was interested in.
So, as any man holding onto the last straw would do, Mark protested, “He doesn't even know my full name, let alone our address, how would he bring me home? And by foot at that. And his name is Donghyuck, thank you very much.”
For a second it seemed like Jeno was grinning before he put down the spoon he had picked up before Mark had spoken, again, reaching out to pat Mark's shoulder.
“I think the fact that you're more concerned about him not knowing our address than him being a literal stranger to you is very telling. But rest assured, I gave him our address and he delivered you safely so he did bring you home. And before you say anything, it's not stranger danger if we know each other and I made him facetime me all the way home.”
Jeno snorted and all Mark could do was gape. Swirling his cereal in his bowl with the spoon, Jeno continued, grinning, “My favourite part was you calling him Jeno the whole time, like, goddamn, that isn't even 'Call Me By Your Name', that's 'Call Him By My Name'. What kinda storyline awaits those gays? Find out next week when the longsuffering best friend and the protagonist who can't tell people apart when drunk go to the bar it all started in to hopefully meet Renjun again.”
“I'm too hungover for this,” Mark only mumbled, letting his head fall onto the countertop, a wrong move in hindsight as it only worsened his headache. Scrunching his face, Mark whined and brought his hands up to his head again with Jeno laughing in the background.
They fell silent after that, the only sound filling the room being the crunching of Jeno's cereal as he finally got to eat it with Mark suffering right in front of him. Granted, Mark got himself into this mess just a little bit as he had, firstly, drunk too much to handle and, secondly, apparently confused someone who he had barely known for his almost lifelong best friend.
“I already called Xuxi and Dejun over to, I don't know, give you a pep talk or something. I mean, they weren't there so they didn't see you calling a technical stranger by my name for some unknown reason and stumble over nothing five times while someone was literally holding you up.”
“Can you stop bringing it up over and over again? You know fully well that I was drunk as hell. And who the fuck is Renjun anyways?”
Jeno crunched on his cereal a few more times before a hand landed in Mark's hair, gently caressing it. It soothed Mark just a little bit, both his headache and the feeling of not knowing anything even though he just missed a few hours. A kiss was pressed against the crown of Mark's head.
“I'll tell you everything later. You have to rest now, okay?” Jeno murmured against Mark's hair and Mark nodded against the countertop. Humming, Jeno retreated his hand and went back to eating his cereal. Mark furrowed his eyebrows.
“I swear, if you didn't wipe your fucking mouth before you kissed me-”
After a few more hours of dozing, drinking water and taking medicine, Mark was functional enough to take a shower and wash his hair, rinsing it as thoroughly as never before. Jeno and he had a conversation on the living room couch about what happened the night before and that was a ride.
It turned out Mark had mistaken Donghyuck for Jeno and wouldn't let go of him. When Donghyuck had dragged him over to Jeno, the two of them had recognized each other from the same study group in college so they were friendly acquaintances at least and Jeno trusted Donghyuck enough to tell Donghyuck to bring Mark home but had made him facetime him so that Jeno could check on them. Jeno hadn't wanted to leave the bar as he had had a wonderful conversation with the fox-like stranger who's name was Renjun.
Renjun was apparently friends with Donghyuck as well as Jaemin, vouching for the former and being the one accompanying Jeno home when he finally left at four in the morning. They hadn't exchanged phone numbers as Jeno hadn't been able to think about that but they had hit it off very well so now Jeno was hoping to see him again next Friday by going to the bar again.
“But don't you have to have Donghyuck's number to facetime him? Can't you just ask him to give you Renjun's number?” Mark asked, his head in Jeno's lap, getting his hair played with. Jeno rolled his eyes as if the answer to Mark's question was obvious and Mark should have known it from the very beginning of time. But before Mark got his answer something else came to mind.
“Wait a second, if you knew Donghyuck already why didn't you get his name right earlier?”
Jeno shrugged.
“I thought it would be funny-”
“Your favourite person is here!” Jeno was cut off by a booming voice coming from the front of their flat, immediately followed by aggressive shushing.
“Not so loud, Xuxi. They're gonna get a noise complaint or something.”
“But it's well in the afternoon-”
“Just keep quiet. Please?”
Mark and Jeno looked at each other with matching grins as they listened to their friends', now quiet, little argument that mostly consisted of Dejun's chiding and Xuxi whining in response.
“Should I call out to them?” Jeno asked but Mark shook his head, feeling fond even just hearing his friends like that. It was a common occurrence with them but every time, Mark felt like a mother watching her kids grow up.
It took a few minutes of Jeno continuing to play with Mark's hair and Mark relaxing in Jeno's lap with closed eyes for Dejun and Xuxi to show up in the living room, announcing their arrival by Dejun ruffling Jeno's hair and Xuxi smacking a wet kiss right on Mark's forehead.
Mark made a face, his eyes snapping open as he loudly complained, “Eww, Xuxi. That's so disgusting! Now I have your drool on my fucking face.”
He sat up, wiping at his forehead while the other three laughed, enjoying Mark's misery way too much. Xuxi made himself comfortable on the armchair next to the couch and Dejun wedged himself between Mark and Jeno, for some reason loving to sit in the middle.
Jeno slung an arm around Dejun's shoulder and leaned into him as he asked, “Why are you guys so late? I called you, like, five hours ago.”
“I got you some quality food from your favourite place,” Dejun answered, shrugging. “I put it in your fridge so we can heat it up later and eat together.”
“We also got distracted by a pet shop and by the time we got out, the traffic was bad,” Xuxi tagged on while trying to fit his long legs completely onto the armchair.
Mark raised an eyebrow. Both Xuxi and Dejun had talked about getting a pet for a while now but since they weren't home for weeks on end sometimes, it would be hard to take care of one. But since they got distracted once again, maybe the time was finally near.
“Anyways, what was it I heard about Mark embarrassing himself to the max and you wanting to make him suffer even more?” Xuxi asked, facing Jeno and Mark groaned, burying his head in his hands as Jeno laughed. Dejun, who probably already knew the whole story judging by his nonchalant reaction, only softly patted the back of Mark's head.
And so, Jeno recounted the entire story again, this time also including his plans of going to the bar again next week to meet Renjun again and take Mark with him to let him see Donghyuck again and thank him or something.
“You should go with him,” Dejun said, popping a cherry, from the bunch he had brought over during Jeno's retelling, into his mouth and chewing it nonchalantly. Xuxi nodded, agreeing, “Yeah, with the way you're going in life, you're gonna whither away before you even turn thirty. Working all the time isn't good and you haven't dated in how long? Years?”
“Three years,” Mark grumbingly replied, “but work is piling up and I can't afford to hang behind. They need me for stuff to go smoothly so-”
Jeno hit Mark upside the head, reaching behind Dejun to do so, the elder cutting himself off in favour of glaring at his friend.
Unbothered by Mark's attempt of killing him with looks, Jeno stated, “Health and personal life are as important as- no scratch that, they're even more important than work. You've been working yourself dead lately and you'd be lying to yourself if you said you wouldn't want to have a change of scenery again. And, look, Donghyuck is right there, just try your luck with him since you seem to like him a lot. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out but you can't keep holing yourself up in the office and neglecting yourself.”
Mark frowned and crossed his arms, folding himself into the corner of the couch. Jeno was right, all of his friends were. He needed to take breaks from work, at least enough to allow his body to relax for a while and when Mark was dating, the amounts of serotonin as well as dopamine his brain releases is almost overwhelming. Mark has always liked pleasing people and making them happy and he also liked when someone else did the same for him. At work, Mark pleased people but most of them didn't express it or appreciate him so all Mark was was stressed, trying to somehow get someone to notice how much he was actually doing.
Still, going into this thing with that sort of mindset felt wrong to Mark, like he was using Donghyuck for his own benefit. Sure, he definitely liked the way Donghyuck looked but that was about it. He didn't even know what his full name was or what he liked and disliked, except for the most basic things. Even Donghyuck's personality was almost a mystery to Mark considering Mark had done a lot of the talking last night and Donghyuck had just sat there. Mark only knew that Donghyuck was younger than him by about a year because of Jeno. The only thing he knew by his own power and without an indirect sentence by Jeno was that Donghyuck was kind enough to bring clingy strangers, who got way too drunk in the presence of non-friends, back to their own home and tuck them in.
Mark sighed. He guessed that was what dating was for. To get to know someone better.
“Fine, I'll come with you. But it has to be either Friday or Saturday,” he finally conceded and Jeno presented him with a smirk.
“I fucking knew you'd agree. You're a slut for dating pretty, interesting, kind people.”
“I hate you.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
Mark's head hit his desk on Tuesday evening after almost everyone left already and he was alone in his room. Why hadn't he asked Jeno for Donghyuck's number? How had he just thought of that?
That way, it would have been possible to talk to Donghyuck without having to face him again too soon. They didn't even know if either Donghyuck or Renjun would be there when they would go to the bar again, so why had he agreed?
Sure, Mark could still ask Jeno for Donghyuck's number, even if it would kind of hurt his pride now, but he had already promised to go with Jeno and he didn't like breaking his promises, especially when Jeno had looked so happy under all that teasing. Groaning, Mark silently wept for his sanity, already anticipating the next time he'd visit the bar to be hazardous.
He'd just have to hope that Donghyuck was there, thank him for taking him home and muster up enough courage to ask for his number before getting out of there as fast as possible. He'd wait for Jeno in a nearby café or something.
“What happened to Jaemin anyways?” Mark mumbled to himself, forehead still pressed against the cold desk, easing his headache a bit. It only occurred to him now that Jeno had basically been in love with Jaemin up until Friday and he wasn't too sure what happened to him now that Jeno was going on and on about Renjun. Had the younger just forgotten about him or something?
But it would be hard not to meet him in the bar or, if Jeno succeeded with dating Renjun, meeting him literally anywhere since Jaemin and Renjun were friends, apparently.
Mark frowned against the desk. Maybe he should ask Jeno about it but he felt like it wouldn't be too easy for the younger to answer.
“Mark? Are you alright?”
Mark shot upright at the tentative words, turning just in time to see his boss enter his room, quietly closing the door behind him.
“I'm fine, Taeil. I was just feeling a little tired, I guess,” Mark answered, smiling.
Taeil was a few years older than him, not that Mark knew his actual age, and endorsed a very relaxed work environment without a lot of difference in position. From the very first day, he had refused to be addressed by 'boss', disapprovingly staring at anyone who dared to do so. Mark liked him a lot.
“You should go home then, Jeno was already fidgeting in his seat back there,” Taeil smiled, motioning towards Jeno's room with his head. “Is he trying to get you to work decent hours or why hasn't he left yet? Tell him, I can start throwing you out at a fixed time if he wants me to.”
Mark frowned, releasing an offended, “Hey.”
Taeil laughed and shook his head before clapping Mark's shoulder. He wasn't very tall but he was definitely strong. Mark could already feel the sting.
“Seriously though, you should go home. You've basically been overworking yourself lately. I promise, I'm hiring someone to lighten your load,” Taeil said, somewhat apologetically. Mark only shook his head, smiling as he replied, “No, it's fine, really.”
Taeil frowned and shook his head.
“It's not and we both know it. Come on now, turn off your computer and free Jeno from his agony.”
Mark complied without talking back because Taeil could be scary when he wanted to and Mark wasn't up to be on the receiving end today.
As Mark was packing up his things, Taeil and he made small talk, Taeil asking him whether he had fun on Friday and receiving a somewhat vague answer in return, Mark unwilling to share his current dilemma with even more people.
Jeno showed up at Mark's door just as he shouldered his backpack, the determined look on his face being replaced by surprise as he spotted Taeil and Mark standing together. Taeil grinned, saying, “Ah, there you are. I made your work a little easier. I already told Mark but if you want me to get him out after a specific time, just say the word.”
Gracing Taeil with an eye-smile and making Mark roll his eyes, Jeno replied, in a honey voice, “Thanks, I'll keep it in mind.”
“Come, Mark, we have somewhere to be,” he then spoke in Mark's direction, waving his hand like he was calling a dog. Mark, though confused, bid Taeil good bye and followed after Jeno. He wasn't aware of any plans but maybe Jeno had spontaneously decided to do something.
“Dude,” he began, barely keeping up with Jeno's pace, “where the fuck are you going this fast? Chill out a bit. You didn't tell me anything anyways.”
“Donghyuck just texted me, saying that Renjun's at the bar. And since I know for sure, we're going today, not Friday,” Jeno replied but slowing down enough for Mark to catch up and not get left behind again.
Mark scoffed.
“You're lucky you drove us today. I wouldn't drive all that way for you to meet a dude you're way too enamoured with.”
Jeno let out a short laugh, unlocking his car, the only one still in the garage except for Taeil's, and getting in swiftly. Mark joined him, throwing his backpack onto the backseat. He buckled his seat belt just as Jeno started the ignition.
“First of all, that's a lie. Second of all, you're way too enamoured with Donghyuck and I'm not saying anything, am I?”
“You're trying to set us up,” Mark reminded him but only received a glance and a grin in return.
They sat in comfortable silence after, soft music playing from the radio. It was Jeno's Playlist since it was his day to choose the music but they didn't have too much of a different music taste so Mark also enjoyed listening to it.
It was only when they were a few minutes away when Mark remembered something. He mulled it over in his head but ultimately decided to ask since Jeno should know to be able to talk with Mark about whatever comfortably.
“So,” Mark started, unsure of how to ask exactly, “it's pretty obvious you like Renjun.”
Jeno nodded, keeping his eyes on the road and turning on the turn signal as he answered, “Yep”, overly popping the 'p'.
“And you don't like Jaemin anymore or? You still like him? Is it a different kind of like?”
At that, Jeno stayed silent for a little longer but Mark didn't mind. Either way, it wasn't exactly an easy question so he was content enough to get an answer from his friend at all.
Jeno sighed and threw an arm over the back of Mark's seat to park, immense concentration on his face evident. Mark offered him a smile, hoping to somewhat make Jeno feel more at ease. It made him remember the days Jeno first came out to him as gay then a few years later as bi.
Jeno had said the second time hadn't been as hard but probably more nerve-wracking as he had been nervous to be judged for identifying 'incorrectly' for years. Mark had told him that thought was bullshit and it took time to figure oneself out, no matter in what aspect.
Mark laid a hand on Jeno's bouncing knee. The car was parked and the engine turned off, their seat belts unbuckled but neither of them were making any moves to get out. As gently as possible, Mark assured Jeno, “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'd just like to help you, you know? I'm not gonna judge, no matter what you're gonna say, okay?”
Jeno nodded, releasing a long breath.
“Okay.”
This time, it was completely silent in the car, no music playing in the background. Mark couldn't even hear himself breathing.
“I like Renjun,” Jeno stated, staring ahead. Mark nodded, squeezing his knee in encouragement. “and I also like Jaemin. Both in the same way. I've talked more with Renjun but I've known Jaemin for longer and I'd like to get to know both of them better. Dejun says it's called polyamory. Liking more than one person at a time, I mean.”
Again, Mark nodded, a smile spreading on his face. It wasn't exactly what he had expected, considering he hadn't even actually expected anything but the mention of Dejun meant Jeno had thought about this more deeply than he had let on. Mostly because Dejun was basically a walking encyclopedia and everyone went to him at one point or another if they had concerns.
“Come here you little squish,” Mark cooed, pulling Jeno into the most comfortable hug he could manage with both of them sitting in car seats. Jeno let out a heavy breath, nuzzling against Mark's shoulder and lifting his arms to hug Mark back.
They sat like that for a while, Mark mumbling into Jeno's skin, “I love you either way, okay Jeno? Because you're you no matter your attractions. Talk to me about them like you did with all of your crushes. I like it when you're all cute and excited over that stuff. And if either of them hurt you just say the word and I'll have his head.”
Jeno gave a wet chuckle, pulling away to run at his eyes and nose. Mark handed him a tissue from the backpack he painstakingly fished from the back.
“I doubt you'd be able to take either of them on,” Jeno said before blowing his nose and Mark crossed his arms, acting offended.
“I can take on anyone for you. I could even take on Xuxi if he ever made you sad.”
That made Jeno laugh, mostly because they both knew Xuxi couldn't hurt a fly and even if he could, Mark would lose against him miserably.
When Jeno had calmed down and looked presentable again, they finally got out of the car, only having to walk a bit before standing in front of the bar.
“Do you think he's still here with all the time we spent in the car just now?” Mark asked, opening the door for Jeno.
“He better be,” Jeno replied with an almost-pout, making his way into the bar. “I didn't cry just for him not to be here anymore. He was part of the reason after all.”
Mark snorted and followed after Jeno, the younger immediately heading over to the bar, seemingly confident in finding Renjun there.
It turned out Jeno was right in his approach, Renjun sitting and nursing a drink by himself, typing away on his phone. The seats next to him were empty but the bar wasn't as full as it had been on Friday anyways.
Today, Renjun was wearing a purplish, again loose, shirt, though his collarbones weren't showing this time. His accessories also weren't as excessive, only a few hoops on the shell of his ear and ear lobe. Still, he looked good doing basically nothing. Mark could understand what Jeno saw in him.
Speaking of, Jeno made a bee-line towards the man, again almost leaving Mark behind.
It only occurred to Mark that Renjun and he had never even actually seen each other face to face except for when Mark had been drunk off his ass and didn't even realize it. He really hoped Renjun didn't care too much or at least didn't say anything about it.
Jeno tapped Renjun's shoulder when he arrived, prompting him to turn around and look up. The smile that spread on his face was so bright, even Mark could see Jeno wasn't the only one interested in this relationship.
“Jeno,” Renjun said with a pleased voice. “what're you doing here?”
Jeno shrugged like he hadn't gone a completely different way than he normally had just to see Renjun.
“Just swinging by. I brought Mark with me as well.”
It was only then that Renjun's gaze fell onto Mark and Mark almost felt nervous but Renjun's smile, though not as big anymore, was still genuine as he held out a hand towards Mark. Mark took it and Renjun grinned, “It's nice meeting you sober. Though you were pretty cute clinging to Donghyuck like that.”
Mark blushed and pinched the bridge of his nose. No one was ever going to let him live it down, huh?
“Thanks,” he decided to say and Renjun gave a short laugh, a quite fun sound in itself.
“Do you guys wanna talk for a bit?” Renjun invited them with his eyes on Jeno again, “As you can see, it's pretty empty in here and we've got enough available seats on all sides.”
To Mark's surprise, Jeno shook his head, though he was smiling that soft smile reserved for people he liked romantically. It was quite endearing and Jeno's voice was as soft as his smile when he replied, “No, we should get home soon. But I wanted to ask you for your number. If it's alright with you of course.”
Renjun's eyebrows shot up but he returned Jeno's smile with one of his own, so wide, it showed his canines. Since his phone was already out, he opted to give it to Jeno instead, answering, “How about you give me your number and shoot yourself a text while I say something to Mark real quick?”
Jeno nodded eagerly, probably not even fully processing the words as he took Renjun's phone but they took Mark by surprise. What would Renjun want to talk about with him?
Renjun turned his fond look from Jeno to Mark, some kind of deeper emotions lingering in his eyes.
“As I understand it, you quite like Donghyuck?” Renjun asked and Mark nodded silently, wondering where this was going. Renjun sighed and leaned back against the bar top, resting his elbows on it. “Donghyuck may pretend to be cool and all but he's actually a bit sensitive. He doubts easily and he tends to project his thoughts onto other people at times. Right now, he's interested in you, I think it's safe to say that. But you were apparently already kinda drunk when you approached him for the first time and he isn't too sure you like him even when you're sober.
“So if you do, and I advise you this as one of his best friends, you'd better talk to him quick. Just to ensure he doesn't make himself give up on you when you're actually interested as well.”
Mark nodded, though he was a little doubtful, making sure, “Are you sure you can tell me this? We're basically still strangers, you know? Shouldn't you, like, want what's best for your friends?”
Renjun barked a laugh just as Jeno wanted to hand his phone back, the man throwing his head back as he did so. Jeno, who had probably not listened to one word that had been said, looked like a lost puppy, eyes flicking between Renjun and Mark.
“He's a fully grown man, I think he can take care of himself,” Renjun finally answered, taking his phone back when he spotted Jeno's outstretched hand. “And you seem really nice. Not to mention that you're friends with Jeno which is basically enough to earn my approval anyways.”
Mark hummed before shrugging and smiling at Renjun. The man seemed fun to be around, exactly Mark's kind of people so he hoped things would work out for Jeno. For both of their sakes, kind of.
Jeno slung his arm around Mark's shoulders outside, leaning heavily into him. He was basically glowing, the eye-smile making even Mark feel giddy.
“Isn't it great?” Jeno cheerfully asked. “I mean, it seems like you're already approved of. The only thing you need to do now is get to the dating part.”
Mark scoffed and shook his head, complaining, “You sound like I've never done this before. You think I can't ask someone out on a date or something?”
Jeno shrugged as well as he could, saying, “Well, you've never asked a man out, have you? It is a bit different than with some women, especially the ones you've been with. You shouldn't depend too much on what you know.”
Mark mulled it over, coming to the conclusion that Jeno was probably right to some degree. The women Mark had dated all were pretty shy, timid characters. From spending just a bit of time with Donghyuck, Mark knew that was definitely not the case with him. He also didn't know what Donghyuck liked so taking him out on a generic coffee date might not suffice. That being said, Donghyuck could also be the one to suggest what to do on the date, maybe he was used to it as well. Not that women couldn't do that, it's just that Mark's exes hadn't.
It took Mark thinking all the way back home to finally come to a conclusion.
Just as Jeno turned his keys in the lock and opened the door to their flat, a metaphoric lightbulb went on in Mark's head. How had he not thought of this before?
“I'm just gonna ask him if he wants to go on a date and then invite him to decide what we're gonna do. That's basically dividing up the work. For some reason, I'm sure he won't have anything against it at least,” Mark claimed, which was true. It didn't mean it would work out but he'd burn that bridge when he got to it.
“Do what you will,” Jeno replied, already having taken off his shoes and removing his coat. He didn't seem too thrilled or supportive but Mark could see the small smile curling his lips so he gave a satisfied huff before getting rid of his backpack, jacket, shoes.
He would definitely get this done by the end of the week. Donghyuck had said he was at the bar very often after all.
But, since Mark didn't know when Donghyuck would be at the bar, he basically had to get there as soon as possible, for as long as possible, cutting his working hours short and making him more anxious the less Mark saw of Donghyuck.
Because Jaemin was there almost every night and Jeno couldn't or didn't want to accompany Mark to the bar, either because of work or because he thought Mark was stupid for going so much out of his way for Donghyuck. Mark then took to reminding Jeno what they had done on Tuesday and the younger shut up but he'd still not go with Mark.
At the end of the week, Mark still hadn't even got a glimpse at Donghyuck and he was beginning to wonder if he had lied to him. If he'd just said it out of fun but with no truth behind it and if Jaemin told him about Mark sitting all alone at the bar, nursing his drink for hours on end.
Mark made the decision to go one last time on Monday, since Taeil had given him a forced off-day on Friday, seeing how half-hearted Mark was doing his job even though he was finally leaving on time. And if he didn't run into Donghyuck then, he'd stop looking all together.
The first half of Monday was spent on the couch, debating whether Mark should really be chasing after a guy he had met once and mostly liked because of his appearance.
A few hours after that were consumed by Mark showering, choosing an outfit and styling his hair. He didn't know why but he had a good feeling about this and he didn't want to look too shabby asking Donghyuck out on a date.
And in that last hour before the bar opened, Mark decided to walk over there. It didn't have a particular reason but he figured it wouldn't hurt to get some fresh air and distract himself a little as he was walking around.
Dejun called just as Mark slipped into his shoes. Mark raised an eyebrow. Normally, Dejun texted, saying it made him a bit uncomfortable to call so whenever he did, it was either important or interesting enough for him to forget all about the uncomfortableness.
“Greetings, friend, you've reached Mark Lee's mailbox. He's currently not near his phone, asleep or dead. Leave a message after the beep and find out in a few hours or something,” Mark impersonated the tone of the mailbox message he had set as soon as he had gotten his phone but there was no fooling perfect pitch Dejun.
“I know it's you, dumbass,” Dejun snorted, “your tone wasn't even slightly the same.”
“Well excuse me,” Mark retorted, putting his phone between ear and shoulder as he tied his shoelaces, “I haven't listened to my own message in years. It's a wonder I even got all the words right so cut me some slack, man. Xuxi would have fallen for it.”
Dejun laughed, the sound also bringing a smile to Mark's face as he finished up with his shoes, taking his phone into his hand again and taking his keys with the other.
“So, what did you call for? I doubt it was to make fun of me.”
“Yeah, you're right. I just wanted to tell you not to be discouraged if you don't run into Donghyuck today. Jeno told me you'd be trying today for the last time.”
Mark raised an eyebrow, a bit confused by Dejun's statement as the other mostly didn't care too much about others personal affairs, be it his friends or not. So for him to be like that was rare to say the least.
Still, Mark only shrugged, locking the door as he replied, “Nah, don't worry. I don't think I should keep trying to force something with someone I barely know. If it's not supposed to happen, it's not supposed to happen. We're all adults here after all, not some teenagers blinded by their first love or something. Like, sure, I'd love to date him and get to know him and, this is gonna sound weird, have him to myself for a bit. But if it's not gonna happen, I won't be extremely sad or anything.”
Dejun hummed. Mark made his way down the stairs, outside and along the sidewalk as he waited for his friend to say something. Dejun would talk when he had thought it through.
“You know,” he finally began, “sometimes you're way more mature than you like to make people think. And don't start with your 'Well, I am an adult' speech again. I'm aware. We're all adults.”
Mark chuckled, almost able to hear Dejun shake his head. While neither Mark nor his friends were very mature a lot of times, all of them had their moments. And Dejun was the one who seemed the most like an actual adult on a daily basis.
“Thanks for your concern anyways, Dejun. I'm sure it'll work out one way or another so don't worry your pretty little head over it.”
“Oh, I won't. Hope you choke on nothing while asking him out. Love you.”
“Love you too, greet Xuxi for me.”
“I will. Bye bye.”
And with that, Dejun hung up, leaving Mark to giggle to himself. Dejun was just so cute sometimes, when he showed his Tsundere tendencies.
Taking a deep breath, Mark put his phone in his pocket and stretched as he walked, a few bones popping. It made him feel somewhat liberated, a bit better about the stress he had put upon himself the last few days.
The walk to the bar really wasn't as long as Mark had thought, maybe half an hour, and it wasn't that bad not to drive everywhere anyways. Sure, it was almost bustling with people, especially since a lot of them were getting off work but it wasn't anything Mark wasn't used to.
As Mark approached the bar, he spotted a tall figure standing out front, watching people pass by, occasionally looking up at the sky. Mark squinted, making out familiar features and that curled default smile. A grin made its way onto Mark's face.
“Johnny!” Mark called when he was close enough, stepping up to the tall man. “What's up?”
Johnny's face lit up as his eyes met Mark's and he replied, just as enthusiastically as Mark had greeted him, “Mark! How are you, man, I haven't seen you in a while. Work's the same as always, nothing too interesting happening. With my personal life though, whoo, I could tell you stories, dude.”
Johnny chuckled and Mark joined in. He was glad to have met Johnny after a few years of not seeing him since the two of them had clicked back when Mark used to frequent the bar.
“We definitely have to catch up,” he said, smiling. “I was here the week before last. On Friday. How come I didn't see you around?”
“The week before last? Oh, I was on vacation on Friday. But, hey, did you come here with Jeno? Did he threaten you or something?”
Mark laughed. Jeno had told him about Johnny asking about him the first few times Mark didn't come with him anymore.
“You could say that, yeah,” Mark agreed. “Hey, we should exchange numbers or something, what with- dude, is that an engagement ring?”
Johnny lifted his left hand, looking down at it the way Mark was. On its ring finger sat a thin silver band with a single gem inside. It was quite pretty, not exactly something to wear just for decoration. Grinning, Johnny answered, “Yeah, well spotted. It's one of the things that happened in my personal life. Look, I'll give you my number, how about you text me later and we'll meet up sometime soon?”
“Sure.”
Mark readily took out his phone to hand it to Johnny. He'd always quite enjoyed talking to him and he would definitely not let this opportunity go to waste. As Johnny put his number into Mark's phone he asked, “By the way, are you here to see Donghyuck?”
“I- How'd you know?” Mark asked in return, baffled. Johnny only shrugged, handing Mark's phone back.
“Jaemin texted the group chat on Friday, saying Donghyuck had a crush on the dude who came with Jeno. And since you came with him I just assumed, you know?”
Mark nodded absentmindedly, mind running a mile an hour as he as no idea what the fuck was going on right now. Johnny, apparently not noticing Mark's intense confusion continued, “I have to disappoint you, though, he's on vacation 'til Friday. Didn't he tell you?”
Slowly, Mark shook his head, replying, “No. Uh, to be honest, I didn't even know he works here.”
“Oh,” Johnny breathed, blinking. “Well, I guess you know now. He's security, like me. I wish you luck with him, he's a bit snarky but he's actually really cute once you get to know him. I hope to see you more often-”
“Johnny!” someone exclaimed breathlessly, barely catching themselves as they barrelled out the door. “Come quickly, we've got a brawl in the back and Jaehyun's been dragged into it.”
Johnny nodded, presenting Mark with a small smile as he already turned to go inside.
“It was nice talking to you again. Text me!”
And with that, Johnny was gone, leaving Mark on the sidewalk feeling like his head would explode soon. What did he mean, Donghyuck worked here? What did he mean, Jaemin said Donghyuck had a crush on him? What did he mean, he wished Mark luck?
“Really sorry to disappoint, but I wish you the best of luck. See ya, love ya. Tell me everything!”
“Dude!” Mark called after Jeno who was rushing out the door, way too excited to just hang out with Renjun and Jaemin at the same time. Apparently, it was a last minute thing and Mark would have liked some support from Jeno but he guessed it was important for him to bond with his boys too.
Sighing, Mark grabbed his phone, dialing Xuxi's number to recruit him for back-up in place of Jeno.
The week had passed by way too fast and now it was Friday and Mark finally wanted to get it over with, what with the whole asking Donghyuck out thing.
He had texted Johnny to double check that Donghyuck would be there and had received a positive answer along with a winky face. Apparently, Mark had just gotten himself another troublesome friend. One who knew Donghyuck better than he did.
“Mark, bro, what's up?” Xuxi excitedly shouted in greeting after taking on the call, causing Mark to hold his phone away from his ear.
“Tone it down a little, dude, I don't wanna go deaf so soon,” Mark responded, not unkind. He just really didn't like it when people were loud into his ear. Xuxi mumbled a quiet sorry and Mark felt bad so he immediately continued, “Just be a little quieter next time. Or scream away from the phone or something. Anyways, I need moral support.”
“I'm here,” came the immediate answer and Mark smiled. His friend's genuine want to help him always made him feel warm inside.
“Can you meet me at Empathy as soon as possible? Like, literally right now? I wanna ask Donghyuck out but he's probably working and I don't know how that affects his attitude.”
“Yeah, yeah sure. I need maybe half an hour if traffic isn't too bad.”
“Thank you, I'll be waiting for you outside, okay?”
“Okay, see you!”
“See y-” Xuxi hung up even while Mark was talking but he had sounded so excited, Mark didn't blame him. He always loved being there for his friends and being by their side like a support puppy. It was cute.
With a fond shake of his head, Mark put on his shoes and grabbed a fanny pack to store his keys, wallet and phone in. He was wearing almost the same outfit as he had two weeks ago just that his hair wasn't styled and he had opted for his glasses instead of contact lenses since his eyes had started hurting a while ago and he didn't want to make it worse.
After making sure once more that he had everything, Mark made his way out of the flat and towards the bar for the second time this week and hopefully the last one as well. He was almost ashamed of showing up so often the last few days and just wanted to stay away from the bar for a while.
When he arrived, Xuxi's car was nowhere in sight yet and it was getting full in the parking spots so he would have to find somewhere further away if he didn't come any time soon. Mark leaned against the wall, scrolling through his phone for nothing in particular, only trying to pass the time.
A door slammed shut and Mark lifted his head just as Xuxi's car drove away, Dejun waving after it before turning and approaching Mark.
“He brought you along?” Mark asked instead of a greeting, hugging Dejun quickly. Dejun nodded.
“He didn't wanna be left alone after you get your date. Come on, let's go inside. It's gonna take him a while to find a spot.”
“You guys are awfully confident this is going to work,” Mark said as he followed Dejun inside and straight to the bar. “Like, yeah, Jaemin might have said he had a crush on me but that doesn't confirm anything.”
Dejun shrugged but he was smirking, everything in his body language screaming confident, from the way he sat down to the way he leaned against the bar top.
When Mark had asked him last time about how he had known Donghyuck wouldn't be there, Dejun had only answered that he had his sources but if even Xuxi was in on this, something was going on.
“Hello,” someone interrupted Mark's thoughts, namely the bartender for the night. It wasn't Jaemin as he was out there somewhere, hopefully having fun with Jeno and Renjun.
This bartender had black hair with bangs almost hanging into his eyes. His face was slim and reminded Mark a little bit of Renjun but his facial features were rounder than Renjun's, softer. Still, he looked quite handsome. Was that a requirement to be able to work here?
“What can I get you guys tonight? I apologize, it's a bit busy at the moment so it may take a while,” the bartender said with an apologetic smile but Mark shook his head, smiling back.
“It's okay. Um, for me, a coke would suffice. Nothing alcoholic today,” he stated.
“I'll go with a Piña Colada,” Dejun ordered with a smile and the bartender nodded, wiping his hands on the towel attached to his trousers.
“I'll have it ready for you. Name's Guanheng, by the way,” Guanheng tagged on, looking straight at Mark. However, he turned and left to greet more patrons before Mark could answer. Mark's eyebrows shot up but when he looked at Dejun in question, his friend only shrugged.
For a few seconds they sat in silence, Mark taking in the loud atmosphere and already searching for Donghyuck with his eyes, before Dejun got up suddenly, excusing himself with a short, “Sorry, gotta be somewhere for a sec.”
Slightly thrown off, Mark stared after Dejun, getting distracted soon enough as his gaze caught on a familiar, purple-haired figure.
Donghyuck looked the same as two weeks ago, the only difference being that his black jeans weren't artfully ripped but cleanly whole. Maybe ripped trousers weren't allowed on the job.
“He's so into you,” someone whispered right into Mark's ear, startling him and causing him to slap his hand over his ear.
“Fuck, Xuxi,” he swore as he turned, taking his eyes off of Donghyuck, Xuxi laughing brightly, not slightly bothered by Mark's offended tone. “What was that for?”
Xuxi rolled his eyes and took the, now empty, seat next to Mark with a smile, tapping the bar top as he said, “I wanted to surprise you. And tell you that he's totally into you if the way he's glancing into your direction every minute is any indication. Like, I've literally been standing by the entrance for a while and he can't keep his eyes off of you. He literally found you in this massive-ass crowd. You should really just ask him out already. Didn't you say that Renjun said so as well?”
Mark lifted an eyebrow. Xuxi was normally a very oblivious person but he spoke his mind and he'd never lie to anyone. Not to mention that Jaemin said Donghyuck had a crush on him. Even if it had been meant as a joke, there was probably even a tiny bit of truth in it.
“I don't know, Xuxi. What if it's more of a one-night stand thing, like, his interest in me? Or worse, what if you're just imagining things?”
“Even if I am, it wouldn't hurt to ask him. Even if you get rejected, that's just how it is and if it hurts you more than expected, I can take you home and we'll watch some Marvel and eat out of ice tubs. Sounds good?”
Mark sighed but Xuxi was still smiling his gentle, coaxing smile and Mark was weak. It sounded reasonable as well, still, as he jumped from his bar stool, he said, “I'll make you do that with me either way.”
Xuxi laughed again but nodded, clapping Mark on the shoulder.
“You got this, dude. I'm rooting for you.”
After taking a last deep breath, Mark felt like he had enough courage to do this, almost taking strides towards Donghyuck in an attempt not to delay this any longer.
Donghyuck was standing against the wall with his arms crossed, watching the dance floor but as Mark approached, he could see his eyes wandering and landing on Mark. A look of surprise crossed Donghyuck's face before it settled into somewhat of a grin.
Mark's breath was knocked out of his lungs when he finally stood in front of Donghyuck. He had known him to be beautiful of course but it just hit him fully once again, this time sober and with a clear goal in mind, just how good Donghyuck looked. Though he wasn't wearing glasses today, he was still insanely handsome.
“Mark,” Donghyuck greeted him, still grinning. “I'm glad you seem to be doing better.”
“I, uh, yeah,” Mark stuttered out, trying to gather his thoughts. “Thank you for bringing me home. It must've been a hassle.”
Donghyuck shook his head, a genuine smile shining through as he uncrossed his arms and pushed away from the wall.
“Not at all. I was glad to be of help. You were very cute even though you thought I was Jeno.” Chuckling his last few words, one of Donghyuck's hands came up to his mouth, covering it. There was a twinkle in his eyes that trapped Mark and wouldn't let him go.
It was now or never. He had to get the words out or he would forever be too ashamed to do so.
So, with great difficulty as he noticed that he had no idea what to say, Mark stammered, “Do you- May- I would, um, can I ask you on a date?”
And there was the grin again, almost a smirk as Donghyuck said, “Not to be that guy and pull a teacher move but, can you?”
Mark pouted and furrowed his brows. He was pretty sure Donghyuck was teasing him but he wanted a not so straight but forward answer and two could play this game.
“Oh wow, thanks,” Mark muttered, sulking. “Suddenly I don't wanna go anymore.”
“No, no, no, sorry. I would very much enjoy going on a date with you,” Donghyuck responded with a slight laugh, his hand lightly landing on Mark's wrist. Mark's breath hitched at the soft touch and when he looked up, Donghyuck was way too close.
“Cool,” he managed to squeak out, trying not to pay too much attention to the close proximity. “Could I have your number then? Since you're working right now, and I don't wanna distract you more than I already have.”
Donghyuck nodded, letting go of Mark to reach into his back pocket instead and hand Mark his unlocked phone. Mark took it, entering his number and texting himself a smiley with an emoticon heart.
“We'll text then?” he asked as he handed Donghyuck his phone back, unable to fight back a wide smile.
Donghyuck nodded again, a smile of his own, replying, “You better know we will, cutie.”
Mark blushed, ever so slightly shoving at Donghyuck's shoulders and spinning around to get back to his friends with Donghyuck laughing behind him. This was not going to be easy for him, huh?