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Maybe the issue came when Donghyuck decided to blabber his mouth about the cafe he’s working at looking for someone to play easy music on the weekends whenever they’re available. Or instead of the issue happening because of this, it spurred the issue into becoming worse. Donghyuck really needs to learn to keep his mouth shut.
“If you stare at him any longer, he’ll probably combust and disappear,” Renjun tells him as he passes by with drinks.
And wouldn’t that be interesting.
Not that Donghyuck wants that—no, he’s too in love to want that to happen. But maybe, just maybe if that scenario did take place, Donghyuck wouldn’t have anyone to be in love with and he could move on peacefully with his life and have no issues.
The more he thinks about it, the more it starts to sound more and more appealing.
Donghyuck straightens up, grabbing a broken dasik from the case and shoving it into his mouth to hopefully ease all of his problems. It fails when said problem walks up to him, baggy jeans, oversized hoodie, glasses and all.
Donghyuck seriously needs to get a grip.
“Just, uh, my normal please,” Mark says, staring down at his phone as if it caused cancer.
Maybe it did.
Donghyuck nods, spinning the tablet around for him to pay and walking over to get started on his drink. When he comes back, Mark’s still staring down at his phone in horror and Donghyuck’s still wishing he would turn his attention on him.
“Are you coming in this weekend?” He asks, handing his coffee over and a bag of broken dasiks.
“Ah, maybe, I’m not entirely sure yet,” Mark says, finally looking up from his phone to grab his things. “Oh, thanks man!”
“We need to get rid of them,” he reasons, holding out a hand as an explanation and ignoring the sound of Seunghan letting out a shout as a plate clatters to the floor in the back house. He smiles at Mark.
They don’t need to, not until closing and Yangyang will probably yell at him when he gets in later to see there’s only a few, but Donghyuck is well—it’s Mark.
Donghyuck’s best friend since they were 5, and although they don’t share an apartment together and had a gigantic fight in the summer before first year of high school, they’ve kept the best friend title running for over a decade. Donghyuck thinks he can spare some broken pastries.
“We should do a movie night this Friday,” he says before Mark can walk away. He bites the inside of his cheek to keep anything that borders desperation from coming out of his mouth.
He’s in love with Mark, not insane.
“I have to see if I’m free, but sure,” he agrees, smiling up at him sweetly. “I’ll send a message out to—”
“I was actually thinking it could be the two of us,” Donghyuck says, cutting him off. “Like a date— friend date! Like a friendly, platonic, just two-guys hanging date because it’s been a while since we’ve hung out.”
Mark blinks at the onslaught of words, but nods anyway. “Yeah, sure,” he says, smiling over at him again although it’s small. He’s probably wondering if Donghyuck’s gone insane. “I’ll let you know later if I’m free.”
“Great,” he exclaims, voice acting up a little. He clears his throat, forcing himself to get a grip. “That sounds good, but you’re bringing food.”
“I brought food last time!”
“Ah, Markeu, I slave myself away to be able to give you coffee and you won’t buy food?” Donghyuck shakes his head, clicking his tongue while his friend lets out a series of aborted words and offended sounds. Donghyuck laughs at him, watching him pout and wanting to just squish his cheeks. Chenle wasn’t wrong when he said Mark was the cutest out of all of them. And that’s some tough competition—Donghyuck is literally breathing and living.
And Jaemin, but mostly Donghyuck.
“I’ll see you later, Hyuck,” Mark says when a person walks into the shop. Donghyuck hums, watching him leave before turning to the new customer.
His eyes trail the back of Mark’s head as the door closes behind him, but the person in front of him asks to pay and he shakes his head, getting out an apology and continuing with the order.
“That was pathetic,” Renjun says, taking a large bite out of an apple as he leans against the counter to watch him make the drinks.
“Why aren’t you working?” Donghyuck gets out, jamming the portafilter into the latch a little too roughly.
“Hey, are those plates good to go?” Shotaro asks, peeking his head in and looking at the plates sitting on the counter.
“You need to tell him,” Renjun continues, handing the two plates over to Shotaro with a smile. “Like, seriously, this is pathetic.”
“Mind your own business, Injun,” he grouses.
“I’m pretty certain he’s in love with you too.”
“Mark’s too oblivious to know anything.”
“Then be obvious.”
“Yeah, sure, let me just go up to him and say, ‘Hey, I’ve been in love with you since we were 14, maybe a little longer, especially when we shared bikes to get to the creek we played at as kids. Point is, I love you, do you love me?’ Real smooth, Renjun.”
“I was thinking something a little more refined, and like, good , but sure, that works too.”
“Now that’s just rude.”
Renjun hums, tossing his pit in the trash and going to the cashier as a group of girls walk in. Donghyuck tries to push his words away, but Renjun isn’t exactly wrong. It’s been years and if he had a dollar for every time he’s thought about, or wanted to, confess to Mark, he’d have enough money to put down a payment for a house.
Thing is, Donghyuck’s a coward, and it’s moments when Mark walks into his house with a box of pizza on Friday, settling down on the couch next to him that Donghyuck really wants to tell him he loves him.
Because Mark is so peaceful and happy, laughing as they fight over a movie to watch and allowing Donghyuck to tangle their feet together under the blankets. He hisses when Donghyuck sticks his toes between his thighs to warm them up, but only shifts to accommodate them and Donghyuck’s ready to get down on one knee.
But, Donghyuck was also right.
Mark is oblivious as shit and despite how obvious Donghyuck is, he still hasn’t caught onto the fact his best friend is irreversibly in love with him. Donghyuck wants to call him stupid, tell him to open his eyes wider, but—
But Donghyuck is also just a coward.
He’s not too proud of it.
He goes through the thought of unfriending Yangyang and tossing him to the curb five times a day. It’s a constant war of thanking Renjun for introducing them and forcing them to become friends because it was, “too hard to keep hanging out separately,” and wanting to kill Renjun for introducing them and forcing him to become friends with this nuisance.
At the end of the day, it’s apparently Renjun’s fault.
Despite that, it's an ongoing battle between the two sides because as much as he loves the boy, he’s very tempted to just strangle him right now.
“He’s going on a date,” Yangyang repeats. “Apparently he really likes her. I mean, she’s really cool, I share my marketing class with her and she’s great. Maybe a little too cool for him, but I digress.”
Renjun hums, eyes trailing over to him, but Donghyuck shoves the portafilter under the hot water to rinse out while Seunghan drops another dish in the back.
“Who is she?” Renjun asks.
“Heejin,” Yangyang says casually, as he should but,
Donghyuck drops the filter, burning himself on the way as he tries to grab it and hitting his hand on the edge of the espresso machine when he rips it from the water. He’s quick to shut the water off and falls to the floor as he shakes out his hand because he’s nothing if not dramatic.
"You good?” Yangyang asks, sharing a look with Shotaro as he peeks his head out from behind the kitchen.
“I’m good,” Donghyuck wheezes, getting up from the floor.
“You’re bleeding,” he notes.
Donghyuck snatches a rag up, ignoring the urge to snap that he’s very much aware, and walks to the bathroom as quick as he can. It’s not quick enough because he stops when Mark calls his name, rushing from the entrance to hurry over to him.
“What happened?” He asks, looking down at his hand.
“Ah, I just cut myself on the machine,” he says, squeezing the towel around his hand. “It’s nothing really.”
“That doesn’t look like nothing,” Mark says, looking up at him. Donghyuck wills his stupid heart to not take his worry and run ten miles with it. This isn’t Mark professing his love to him, this is Mark being worried for a friend. “Let me help you clean up.”
Donghyuck allows him to lead him to the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit from the cabinet between the two restrooms before they lock themselves in one of them. Donghyuck takes a calming breath as he sits on the toilet, letting Mark take the towel off with delicate hands. He hisses when the water hits the wound, fingers flexing in an attempt to not pull back, and Mark sends him a sympathetic look, pulling out a fresh towel from the kit and some cream to put on it.
“What are you doing today?” Donghyuck asks, watching as Mark cleans him up.
It takes Mark a moment to say anything, his eyes trained on his hand, and Donghyuck can’t tell if it’s him focusing too hard or not wanting to say anything.
“I have a date later,” Mark eventually says, voice quiet in the bathroom. “I’ll come in tomorrow to play though.”
“Ah, yeah, Yangyang was saying something about that,” he says, looking away from Mark’s face and down at his hands. “Where are you taking her?”
Mark seems a little startled at the fact Donghyuck knows who it is, eyes darting over to him, but his hands are still gentle as he rubs the cream over his cut and digs around for a band aid. “Heejin was saying something about this market with a bunch of food stands a while back, so I figured that would be a good spot to go.”
“Yeah, she’d like that,” he agrees, deciding not to mention the fact that this might not go past a second date. Mark has a tendency to have a pretty bad record with dates and dating, and after multiple nights of sitting on the floor against the couch and talking, they’ve decided Mark’s just better at being friends with most of the people he tries to date.
It took a while for Donghyuck to convince him he’s not a bad boyfriend, he just hasn’t found the right person, using the fact he also has a pretty bad dating history. Mostly because he’s in love with his best friend and after many trials of trying to get over him, it hasn’t gone away, so really, this is a sign they should just date each other.
"It’ll go good, Mark,” Donghyuck tells him with a bright smile, because it will. He’s sure of it. Heejin is fantastic and Mark is—he’s Mark so Donghyuck will always think he’s incredible, and they’re bound to be good together. “Also, if you screw it up like normal, maybe she’ll agree to not tell everyone about it. It’ll save you the embarrassment.”
Mark lets out a laugh, throwing the towel at him and telling him he’s fine. Donghyuck smiles because as much as it hurts to see Mark go on these dates, he’s happy. He’s happy throughout the time and Donghyuck knows that at the end, he’ll be in careful hands to help put him back together because Donghyuck will always do that.
When three weeks go by and Mark predictably calls it off because he feels that they’re better as friends, Heejin takes the news like a champ. She doesn’t stop being Mark’s friend like people in the past have and even if Mark is undoubtedly gloomy for the next week, Donghyuck makes sure to make him breakfast and give out free coffees and bug him until that cheery smile and those affronted words come back, all while ignoring the urge to just reach out and tell Mark he’s right here. That he can be so much better than every past person he’s dated.
He’d be a shit friend if he were to say any of that, but it doesn’t stop the selfish need to say it.
“You should tell him,” Renjun says again, like he normally does.
Donghyuck ignores him, instead keeping his eyes on Mark as he plays, voice ringing out into the bakery. Donghyuck shouldn’t have told Mark the owner would be interested in allowing him to play live because it’s doing nothing to his heart, but well, he never claimed to be the smartest when it comes to Mark.
Jaemin certainly didn’t, but that’s really besides the point.
Donghyuck’s eyes widen at the next song Mark plays, cheeks darkening when he looks over at him and gives Donghyuck a knowing smile. His fingers clench on the countertop as Mark looks down at his guitar, the first words ringing out, different from the original but so much better in Donghyuck’s opinion.
He hasn’t heard this song since his birthday when Mark played it for him because he knows how much he likes it. When they found the DVD in middle school, deciding to give it a go despite it being a 00s romance movie, something most 12 year old boys did not enjoy by any means, Donghyuck didn’t expect the song to become his favorite. But it did, and most of it was due to being there to watch Mark learn the song on guitar and sing the words whenever he did, dramatically or not, getting a laugh from Mark every time and causing him to stop playing. Donghyuck wasn’t really concerned about that, not at the time, but as he grew older and the song was played more, it started giving him false hope every time Mark would look over at him with a little knowing smile, making his heart do stupid things.
Maybe that little hope, that little feeling in his stomach as he meets Mark’s eyes, isn’t bad and isn’t wrong. Maybe he can work with it, work with what Mark is singing right now and how his eyes only dart between the guitar and Donghyuck.
“You should tell him,” Renjun sighs, coming to stand in front of him.
Seunghan lets out another groan as a dish clatters in the sink and the yell from the kitchen for him to stop breaking their dishes doesn’t take away from the song.
Donghyuck decides now, peeking around Renjun to get one last look at Mark as the song finishes. He’s a coward with Mark, but maybe there’s some things he can do to not be one.
“Alright, fine,” he decides, looking at Renjun. The other raises an eyebrow and Yangyang nearly drops the coffee filter he’s prepping.
“You’re going to tell him?” Yangyang asks, eyebrows disappearing under his pink hair. He, unfortunately due to the mess that Donghyuck caused the day he was talking about Mark’s date with Heejin, found out about Donghyuck’s crush (definitely more than crush at this point) and made the three of them sit down one night to talk about it while Renjun sat behind him and dyed his hair.
"No, I’m just going to be even more obvious to the point that he won’t have an option but to see it,” he tells them.
“How much more obvious can you be?” Yangyang questions, going back to measuring the coffee grounds in the filter.
“I’m not sure.” Donghyuck looks back at Mark to see him chatting with some of his friends and lets out a long breath through his nose. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Yeah, you do that.”
“This is going to fail,” Renjun mentions, shaking his head. “You should just tell him.”
Donghyuck makes a sound, trying to find something to busy himself with as Renjun takes the customers that walk up. He’s still a coward, so telling Mark flat out has him bridled with frantic energy, but he does want to get it across to Mark somehow.
He doesn’t know how, but he’s going to need to become a lot more obvious than what he already is.
His first step is researching because what good ever came out of not researching?
Apparently a lot because what he finds is absolute garbage and worthless. No way is he treating Mark to a candlelit dinner or professing his love through some romantic gesture at night like holding a teddy bear and boombox.
Once again, he’s in love, not insane.
Also, the whole talk of ‘being honest’ and ‘remember this can change your friendship’ and ‘be sure to be prepared for rejection’ has Donghyuck exiting out of every single website. He’s already thought of all of this. It’s the whole reason he’s held off as long as he has.
When he stumbles across an article discussing how he can flirt with his crush, he knows he’s truly lost all hope in the internet. His way of flirting is annoying Mark to the point the other is ready to strangle him.
Shocker, it’s not really flirting.
So, after a whole day wasted of trying to find out any way to be even more obvious to Mark than he already is and good ways to drop low-key hints, or even seduce Mark into confessing first, he seeks his research out in the real world with real people.
Donghyuck has the thought that it won’t really help, but it’s worth a shot.
He completely skirts Renjun since he’ll probably just tell him to buck up and tell Mark to his face which isn’t something he’s willing to do, and the last and final time he went to Jaemin about something Mark-related, the other just laughed and called him stupid, so he’s completely off of the radar.
So now, he corners Yangyang in the campus cafeteria, sitting down across from him while his three other friends continue talking.
“How would you tell Renjun you like him?” He asks in what he hopes is a quiet voice. Judging by the way one of his friends instantly burst into a fit of laughter, he fails.
Yangyang on the other hand starts choking on his sandwich, pounding a fist to his chest as tears spring in his eyes. Donghyuck leans back, eyes squinting as the other finally stops dying and takes in a large breath of air.
“Wha—What are you talking about?” He asks, eyes darting around as if Renjun is going to magically pop up and give him a good scare.
“Yangie isn’t going to tell Renjun anytime soon,” one of his friends (Dejun?) says, earning a harsh slap from Yangyang and more laughing.
“I don’t have a crush on Renjun!”
“He’s in denial,” the person sitting next to Donghyuck supplies.
“Ah, so you’re useless with this,” he concludes, grabbing his bag to stand up.
“I am not!” He protests, but Donghyuck shrugs, grabbing his water bottle and leaving the table. “Donghyuck—wait! Donghyuck!”
Yangyang catches up to him, grabbing his wrist and dragging him outside to the courtyard. He comes to a stop under a tree, turning around with a huff and crossing his arms.
“What’s up?”
Donghyuck lets out a sigh, looking off to the side. “I’m trying to figure out a way to tell Mark without actually telling him.”
“Renjun said to just tell him.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you should listen to Renjun,” he grouses.
“I’m not in love with Renjun!” Yangyang shouts, earning some looks from people. His cheeks instantly darken and Donghyuck resists the urge to reach out and pinch them. “Look, maybe just do something small, but more meaningful. Like, give him some gifts or something. Mark-hyung’s pretty sentimental, right?”
“I always give him gifts,” Donghyuck protests.
“You give him free desserts from the bakery and tell him to make up for it by buying you food,” Yangyang counters. “Not exactly the way to win someone’s heart over.”
“I do other small things! Like the ramen he likes, every time I go to the convenience store I pick him up some,” he points out.
“That’s good! Now, do something like that, but more intentional and don’t annoy the socks off of him.”
“You have the weirdest analogies,” he mumbles but sighs, rubbing his hands down his face.
“It doesn’t have to be big, but maybe some flowers,” Yangyang suggests. “Tell him you saw them and they reminded you of him. Knowing him, he’ll probably look into the meaning, so get something that represents love or something like that.”
“That’s actually…not horrible,” he reasons, staring at the boy and wondering when he became so romantic.
“Thanks, I have my moments,” he says proudly.
Donghyuck lets out an aborted laugh, rolling his eyes at the other. “I’ll see you later, Yang.”
“Yeah, definitely!”
“You know,” he says before he can leave. “You should get some for Renjun.”
“I don’t like Renjun!”
“Sure.”
“Donghyuck,” Yangyang calls as he starts to walk off.
“He really likes orchids!” He shouts, skipping off before Yangyang can get in another word.
Donghyuck goes to his next class, eating his lunch through it and researching different flower’s meanings while taking notes, deciding to take a trip to the flower shop Shotaro likes to frequent because of a certain cutie. Yangyang’s plan isn’t half as bad as what he thought it was going to be and really, who doesn’t like gifting cute boys pretty flowers?
He’s sure he can spin the story some way when he gives them to Mark.
“Hey, Sungchan,” he greets, smiling at the boy who’s carting in a large plant from the back.
“Hyuck! What’s up?” He asks, setting the plant down by the front before wiping his hands off and heading over to the counter.
“I was wondering if you could help me put together a bouquet?” He asks, taking a glance at the little succulents on the counter and debating if he should buy one. He shakes his head, turning to Sungchan as the other nods.
“Yeah, definitely. Kun-hyung just got some new flowers that we’ve been putting out, so you kind of came at the perfect time,” he tells him with an easy smile. “Do you want to look at the pre-made bouquets, or were you looking for something specific?”
Donghyuck takes a breath, thinking back to the flowers he researched in class and the way his heart almost gave out before he decided on the flowers he wants. It’s racing now and he wouldn’t be surprised if it jumped from his chest, but he clenches his fists and continues on anyway. It’s for Mark. Donghyuck can face the scariest things for Mark, even if it’s himself.
“I was thinking about doing something with alstroemerias,” he says. “And lilies.”
“Ah, interesting choice, but I love it,” Sungchan says, grabbing his gloves from his apron pocket.
“Preferably red,” he adds, curling his fingers when Sungchan raises an eyebrow, tugging his gloves on.
“Is this for someone special?”
Donghyuck lets out an uneasy laugh, wringing his hands together. “You could say it’s something like that.”
“Well, let’s make it the prettiest bouquet ever,” Sungchan says with a happy smile, getting one back from Donghyuck as he feels himself calm down and grow warm at the thought. Sungchan leaves to the back, so Donghyuck decides to take a look around at the store.
The shop is cute, with large windows to allow sunlight to come through and plants everywhere. He can understand why Shotaro likes to come here a lot, if not for the worker he harbors a little crush on. Said worker comes back after a few minutes with the bouquet, asking if he likes the flowers before arranging them in a better manner and sticking them in a paper sleeve, tying a neat little bow with brown twine.
Donghyuck nearly has a heart attack at the price, but he pushes it aside as he inserts his card, reminding himself over and over about how much Mark will like this. It’ll be nice for him to give the boy something nice since he normally over compensates for his feelings and teases him endlessly. It’s also just fun to watch Mark get all flustered, but still.
“Thank you so much,” Donghyuck says after Sungchan rings him up.
“Of course, have a good day!” He calls as Donghyuck walks to the door. “And Hyuck,” he calls, earning a hum from him as he turns around. Sungchan gives him a winning smile, holding out a thumbs up that makes him feel a little more warm. “Good luck with whoever it is.”
“Thanks,” he calls, smiling at him before exiting the flower shop to get home.
He stops by the store to pick up some food he’s running low on and when he cuts by the campus, he startles when he sees Mark there, nose buried in the book he’s currently reading as he leaves from his afternoon class. Donghyuck swings the bouquet behind his bag, dropping his bag of food in the process and causing Mark to look up at him.
“Shit,” he curses, bending down to grab the items and nearly ramming his head into Mark’s. He lets out a strained sound, pulling his hand back before it can touch Mark’s.
“Hey, you good?” Mark asks, standing up after him and holding out the bag.
“I’m good, yeah,” he rushes, taking it from him. He clears his throat, looking down at the bag as he situates it on his arm.
“Who’s the flowers for?” Mark questions, looking at the bouquet.
Donghyuck’s fingers nearly wrinkle the paper before he can stop himself. He curses internally, wondering how he could’ve forgotten about Mark’s afternoon class and wishing he would’ve just taken the train straight home. He could’ve given himself more time to come up with a way to give them to Mark, but well, here he is.
“Ah, um, they’re…” His voice fades out, looking between Mark and the flowers and wondering how he can disappear at this moment. Maybe he can just shove them at Mark and run away?
Mark looks at him expectantly, hair dripping down to his eyes that stare at Donghyuck, book held in one hand, a finger marking the spot where he left off. Donghyuck feels like he’s going to die.
“They’re for you!” He says, deciding to just be upfront about it as he holds them out. Mark’s eyes widen and he looks down at the bouquet quickly. “I uh, yeah, they’re for you.”
“For me?” He asks, taking the bouquet from him carefully.
“Yup! I—” Donghyuck stops because he can’t just say he researched every type of flower known to mankind to pick out the exact ones he wanted to get his message across. “I saw them at the store and they reminded me of you.”
Mark blushes, which Donghyuck expected, but now he feels like dying on the spot because how was this a good idea? Donghyuck doesn’t exactly do crazy, super nice stuff out of the blue. Normally it’s riddled with teasing or some form of payment because he’s terrified Mark’s going to catch onto his feelings. Sure, he gets him a coffee from the gas station, or serves him first when they’re eating dinner, but he doesn’t…get gifts like these.
“Really?” Mark asks again, looking down at them, cheeks as red as the petals. “Uh, thanks man.”
“Definitely,” he gets out, voice breathy as he starts regretting everything. “I was actually thinking about getting Renjun some orchids,” he rushes out because he’s stupid . “So, you know, it’s just a friend doing something nice! Yeah, nothing crazy or anything.”
Something seems to dim in Mark’s eyes, but he’s smiling afterward, shifting the flowers in his hold. “Well, thanks, Hyuck. These are super pretty, so I’ll be sure to take good care of them.”
“Yep,” he breathes in a high-pitched voice. Donghyuck watches Mark walk away before letting out a large breath and booking it to his apartment. Renjun’s sitting on the floor of the living room with a cup of tea and materials to make something when he gets home.
Donghyuck doesn’t spare him a single look, instead dropping the grocery bag on the counter and heading to his room. He slams the door with too much force, but throws himself on his bed and lets out the loudest scream he can.
“Yangyang’s plan failed,” he says two days later while working the night shift.
“Okay, it would’ve gone fine had you not brought up Renjun,” he defends.
“How would you confess to someone?” Donghyuck asks, looking over at Shotaro where he’s wiping down the bar.
“Uh, I’m not sure,” Shotaro says, looking over at him. “Maybe just tell them? Or take them out to dinner?”
“Wouldn’t getting them flowers be a good way to build up to it?” Yangyang asks.
Shotaro’s hand slows on the coffee machine as he thinks and Donghyuck doesn’t think getting someone who works at a flower shop flowers is the best form of confessing, but who knows, maybe Sungchan is a flower type of guy.
“I would think so. Have you gotten him flowers?” Shotaro asks, looking over at Donghyuck.
“Yeah, but I freaked out after,” he tells him. “It was just too weird. I don’t normally do stuff like that for Mark, so he probably thought I’d gone crazy.”
“Maybe not.” Shotaro muses.
“I thought it was a perfect build up,” Yangyang mutters, earning a rag thrown to his face by Donghyuck.
He goes out to the main dining area to clean up the mess out there, starting to close down the shop for the night. When he goes outside with Yangyang to bring in all of the chairs, there’s a slight breeze that hints to spring fully taking place, but it’s nice enough to where he doesn’t feel the need to zip his jacket all the way up.
“Hey, did you guys close the kitchen yet?”
Yangyang leaves quickly with the umbrellas when Mark walks up and Donghyuck shoots him a glare before turning to him.
“Depends on what you want,” he says.
“I was hoping to just get dinner,” Mark tells him. “I was going to head to the campus library to do some studying, but I wanted to get something that was filling.”
“I’m sure the kitchen can make something real quick,” Donghyuck says, handing some chairs to him.
“It’s not an issue if they already closed the kitchen,” Mark says, following him inside.
“Hey, I need two grilled cheeses with tomato soup please!” He calls to the back, looking at Mark to make sure he’s fine with that and ignoring the looks Yangyang and Shotaro give him.
“Uh, we’re almost done—” Seunghan closes his mouth when Donghyuck glares at him, eyes widening before he ducks down behind the bar.
“Do you mind waiting here while I finish closing?” He asks, turning to look at Mark. The other nods, taking a chair at the bar across from the counter and pulling out a book.
“Tell him,” Yangyang says as they walk into the main dining area that’s separated from the lobby by a hallway. It’s the only reason he doesn’t launch a chair at him.
“Or just enjoy dinner with him at the library,” Shotaro suggests with a smile.
“I’m going to listen to Taro,” Donghyuck decides. “You gave horrible advice last time.”
“My advice was amazing!”
Donghyuck hums.
“Just go have dinner, study with him, and maybe tell him in the library or when you’re walking back,” Shotaro suggests. “Or, bring up doing something together, but make it obvious you want it to just be the two of you and have it hint towards something more romantic.”
“That…might work,” he reasons, thinking it over. “I could possibly do something like that, and then tell him at whatever it is we do.”
“That will be perfect,” Shotaro tells him with a smile, laughing when Donghyuck attaches himself to his side, digging his head in his shoulder and cooing over him.
“This is just rude,” Yangyang says, following them out to the lobby.
“Go cuddle on Renjun,” Donghyuck tells him. Yangyang opens his mouth to say something back, but decides against it and instead walks to grab his things.
“Here’s your sandwiches,” Seunghan says, setting the two boxes on the counter. “You know this is just pushing my time back to when I can leave, right?”
“You have help back there,” he says, grabbing the box of broken desserts. “Here, take that.”
Seunghan lights up like a Christmas tree, grabbing the box quickly and hiding back behind the counter.
“Are you guys fine if I leave?” He asks, grabbing two juices from the fridge.
“Go,” Shotaro says, waving him on. Yangyang gives him a horrible wink and thumbs up, causing Donghyuck to laugh and walk away.
“Ready to go?”
Mark looks up from his book, a smile taking over his face as he stands up. “You don’t need to finish here?” He asks, looking back at his coworkers with worry.
“They’ll be fine, come on.”
Mark hums, following him out of the bakery and taking the drinks from him. They start talking about their days on the way to the library, deciding to find a spot in the back where they can be hidden from view of the librarian to eat their sandwiches and get started on their work. He’s got a worksheet that’s really a packet and due in two days, but he’s finding it really hard to focus on that when Mark’s right across from him, eyes intent as they look between his notebooks and laptop, hand constantly spinning his pen before bringing it up to his mouth. It would be so easy for Donghyuck to just lean across the table and kiss him, finally experiencing what he’s been dreaming about since he was 14.
Mark looks up at him, meeting his stare, and the pen slips from his hold. Donghyuck looks down at it, picking up his own and going to do his work. He takes in a silent breath, calming himself for what seems like the nth time this night. He glances over at Mark to see him flipping through the pages and watches his careful hands, trailing his eyes up to Mark’s face, and he freezes when he sees Mark looking at him.
“What’s up?” Mark asks eventually, voice low and quiet, and Donghyuck really shouldn’t be this affected.
“Nothing,” he mumbles, shaking his head and hopefully all of those thoughts from his head. He needs to focus on his work, but the seed that Shotaro planted in his head takes hold eventually. “Actually,” he starts, looking up at his friend and setting his pen down. Mark does the same, looking at him with curious eyes. “Would you want to do something tomorrow?
“Mm, sure,” he agrees. “Like what?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Donghyuck tells him, biting his lip.
Mark nods, seeming to find that perfectly normal. “Just us?”
Donghyuck opens his mouth, every possible scenario running through his head. Shotaro and Yangyang are yelling at him to say yes and suggest a date, while Renjun is just shaking his head and telling him to confess already. At least here they have to be quiet, so if Mark finds him absolutely disgusting and horrid, he can’t scream about it.
This is his chance to ask Mark on a date, or something similar to a date though. They can go out to the river tomorrow to walk around and Donghyuck can stop him at some point. He’ll turn to him and grab his hands and then confess. Hopefully Mark will reciprocate it and then kiss him, or at least gently let down Donghyuck, but mostly he hopes to kiss Mark and hear those words spoken back to him.
“I can ask the chat if they want to do something,” he gets out, tilting his head in question. “Maybe pizza and some games?”
Mark nods, smiling a little, and then goes back to his work.
Donghyuck ignores the urge to bang his head into the table. This is going horribly. Seriously, how much more does Donghyuck need to do to show him he’s in love with him? Why can’t he just say those words to Mark? Why can’t Mark just say no, he doesn’t want everyone else there, and instead wants it to be something just between them?
Donghyuck picks up his pen, biting back tears of frustration and forcing himself to get back to work.
When Yangyang and Shotaro arrive at his and Renjun’s apartment, he gives them a strained smile.
“Guess it didn’t go the way we wanted it to?” Yangyang guesses.
“Not really, yeah,” he agrees, looking back out at the living room at Mark who’s sitting next to Jaemin while they battle each other on his switch. Yangyang rubs his shoulder with a hand and Donghyuck takes the comfort where it’s offered.
“You’ll get there.”
Donghyuck hopes he does, but with the way this is going, he’d be better off just leaving this whole thing alone and going back to how things were originally.
After that failed attempt, he started scrolling Instagram when he came across a post of a girl making chocolates for her boyfriend. It was cute enough to spur him into going to the grocery store to pick up some things to make it. Whether it’s going to be gifted to Mark or himself is still up for debate, but he might be leaning more towards himself with the way things are going. Perhaps he can spend the night watching a bunch of cheesy rom-coms and shove a bunch of chocolates in his mouth while he wallows and laughs.
He’s deciding between dark chocolate and milk when Mark’s roommate suddenly runs up to him, scaring the life out of him as a basket is thrusted in front of him and the boy drops into a bow.
“Please go check on Mark,” he says, popping back up afterward. “I would, but I really have a lecture to get to, but I also don’t want him to like, die. I know you two are best friends, so could you go check on him until I can get back and actually take care of him?”
“I—sorry, Mark’s dying?” He asks, staring at him incredulously. Mark is a lot of things and he always finds some way to surprise Donghyuck more than he thought he could, but he never thought Mark would be on the brink of death.
“He’s sick,” his roommate explains. “I would go there, but I really have a lecture I cannot miss, so could you watch over him until I can get back? Or at least drop these off?”
Donghyuck looks at the basket to see a bunch of soup and medicine in there. He takes the basket in his hands, setting his own down on the ground.
“Thank you so much,” his roommate says. “I’ll give you cash to pay you back later.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he says, waving him away and watching him run off.
Donghyuck purses his lips, heading to the tea aisle to pick up some things. He sets all of the microwaveable soups back to go pick up ingredients for chicken noodle soup. He supposes if Mark’s mother can’t be here to nurse him back to health, he’ll just have to find a way to bring her to him. After he’s gathered everything up so he doesn’t have to deal with an even more whiny and pouty Mark that’s going to try to say it’s fine, he heads to the checkout and freezes when he sees Jaemin browsing the drinks in the little fridge.
“Donghyuck, why are you trying to feed a village?” He asks, looking at the basket with curious eyes as he grabs two small coffees.
“Mark’s sick,” he tells him with a shrug, moving to walk to the kiosk to start checking out.
Jaemin hums, moving next to him. “Well, tell him I said to get better and I’ll stop by sometime to drop off some food.”
Donghyuck gives him a little smile, nodding and looking firmly at the stuff he’s ringing up when Jaemin walks away. He calms his shaking hands, paying with his card and then loading everything up in his hands so he can make his way to Mark’s apartment. The place is silent when he gets there, so he sets everything down on the counter and heads to Mark’s room to peek inside.
A smile takes place on his face when he sees him buried under his blankets, only an arm and his hair being visible. The TV is running, so Donghyuck backs out of the room to grab some gloves and a mask before heading back in to clean up a little. He shuts the TV off, picking up the cups and pile of tissues on the nightstand to carry out to the kitchen. He grabs one of the cooling patches that stick to a person’s skin, peeling the wrapper off and feeling Mark’s forehead lightly before placing it on. Mark doesn’t move, instead dead to the world, and Donghyuck smiles further, pushing his hair back. He leaves after turning the fan on, setting out to grab his laptop from his bag to listen to the videos his teacher posted while he starts working on the soup.
It’s quiet while he’s working, only the sound of his cooking and teacher’s voice breaking through the silence. When he hears the toilet flush, he turns the pot on low and pauses his video to go make some tea with a crap ton of honey since Mark is insane before going to check on him. He’s sitting in his bed, looking around in confusion before he spots Donghyuck pulling on a mask and stepping into his room.
“How’d you even get sick?” He questions as he steps further into the room, setting the mug down on the nightstand. “It’s March.”
Mark groans, crawling under his covers and turning the TV back on. “I don’t know, it’s going around the writing department right now.”
Donghyuck hums, taking a seat on the bed. He grabs the thermometer, forcing Mark to look over at him so he can stick it in his mouth. “I’m making soup right now.”
Mark looks over at him with hazy eyes, his lids drooping as he tries to keep them open. Donghyuck takes the thermometer from his mouth, checking the temp to see it is still high. He sighs, setting it off to the side and running his hand over Mark’s forehead to push his hair back.
“Let me grab you a popsicle. I bought those ones that have the vitamin C in them,” he tells him.
“Hyuck, you don’t have to be here,” Mark tells him, flipping his head to look over at him. “You’re going to get sick.”
“Aish, don’t give me that,” he tells him, smacking him lightly on the head. “I even dug out the recipe your mom gave us for soup.”
Mark groans, burying further under the covers.
“Let me take care of you, hyung,” he says, collecting everything he needs to take back out to the kitchen.
Mark doesn’t say anything as he leaves, or when he comes back with an ice pack and popsicle, so neither does Donghyuck. He pours a bowl when the soup finishes, walking back into the room and forcing Mark to sit up so he can eat.
“Thank you,” he gets out in a raspy voice.
Donghyuck smiles, sitting on the bed to watch him. He knows Mark doesn’t mean just for the soup, but for taking the time to come over here to take care of him, but Donghyuck will always do this for him. He’ll be wherever Mark needs him at the drop of a hat, no questions.
“It’s alright, I don’t mind,” he tells him. He gets up after a moment to go clean the kitchen up and when he finishes that, he heads back into the room to find Mark laying back down. “Should I get anything else before you go back to sleep?” He asks, sitting down on the edge of the bed again.
Mark shakes his head, turning on the side so he’s near Donghyuck, head not on his lap but close enough to it that Donghyuck runs his fingers through his hair. Mark closes his eyes, bringing a hand up near his face, so Donghyuck reaches over to grab the remote to power off the TV.
“You’ve been acting weird,” Mark whispers, surprising Donghyuck since he was sure he had fallen asleep.
“What do you mean?” He questions, resuming to run his fingers through his hair.
“Just…weird,” Mark decides. “Like jittery and like you have something you want to say. I don’t know.”
Donghyuck doesn’t say anything, the only motion letting onto the fact that Mark is right is the pause in his fingers.
“I was supposed to meet up with this guy today,” Mark tells him.
“Really?” He asks, combing Mark’s hair back.
“Yeah, but…” He trails off, signaling to how very much sick he is.
“He didn’t offer to come over to take care of you?”
“No, I didn’t want him getting sick.”
Donghyuck hums quietly, staring off at the wall. He doesn’t say anything, forcing his body to stay calm. If he was the guy, he still would’ve come over to at least get Mark set up for the weekend, but that’s just him.
“I think I’m going to take a little break from dating,” Mark tells him. “Or at least going out on dates with people.”
Now Donghyuck’s fingers do stop. And they pull away from Mark’s head although Mark doesn’t seem to notice. “Really?”
“Yeah,” he says. “It’s not doing too much, to be honest. I’m kind of tired from it anyway.”
“That makes sense,” he agrees, controlling his heart from either going crazy at the fact that Mark doesn’t want to go on dates with random people he knows or dying from the fact Mark doesn’t want to date at all.
“You should get some sleep, Mark,” he says, starting to get up from the bed.
Mark wraps a hand around his wrist, opening his eyes to look up at him. Donghyuck stops, cursing his stupid heart for picking up.
“Thank you, Hyuck.”
Donghyuck hums, smiling down at him. “I told you it wasn’t an issue, hyung.”
Mark seems like he wants to say more to that, but Donghyuck tells him to go to sleep and he lets go of his wrist. Donghyuck leaves the room quietly, settling on the couch with his laptop after washing his hands. It’s a few hours until Mark’s roommate comes back, thanking him endlessly for helping out. Donghyuck waves him off, telling him he’ll stop by tomorrow after his class to check in on him.
Donghyuck leaves quickly after that before his heart can jump from his chest and bleed out on the floor. When he gets home, Renjun looks over at him curiously and Donghyuck decides,
“I don’t think I can tell him.”
Renjun stares at him, face blank for a long time that makes Donghyuck start questioning himself, and then he launches a pillow at him. Donghyuck shrieks, falling to the floor in an attempt to escape the assault that comes from all of their pillows.
His world truly explodes when he finds Mark and Jaemin sharing a chocolate bar, shoulders brushing each other and heads leant close to each other to talk as he’s leaving his afternoon class, mere days after Mark’s back from the dead and after he told Donghyuck he’s taking a break from dating. It’s not a big deal, no, not really at least. They’re friends— they’re all friends, but,
Donghyuck could spend days writing an essay analyzing Mark and Jaemin’s relationship, and by the time he’s finished, he still won’t have a concise thesis over what their relationship truly is.
Still, it’s not a big deal and Donghyuck turns quick on his heel before they can spot him, booking it back to his apartment as fast as he can. Donghyuck gets an hour before he has to leave to work and he drags it out as long as he can, but when he’s walking to the bakery, he runs into Jaemin and feels the urge to start crying.
“Donghyuckie,” he starts, that creepy grin that he wears when he knows things other people don’t know appearing.
“Nana,” he says, coming to a stop.
“I heard about your little expedition to tell Mark-hyung,” he says, walking with Donghyuck to the bakery.
Donghyuck eyes him carefully, taking in the easy smile on his face. “Really?”
“Mm, yeah, it didn’t take long to put two-and-two together,” Jaemin tells him. “Hyung is just slow and refusing to see it, but mostly slow.”
“Huh.”
“Are you taking any recommendations on how to tell him?”
“That depends on what you’re going to say,” Donghyuck tells him, eyeing him carefully and coming to a stop. For all Donghyuck knows, the little devil is going to make him do something completely absurd and use it as blackmail for later.
“I wasn’t going to suggest anything crazy,” Jaemin says, reading him perfectly.
“Then what were you going to say?”
Jaemin takes in a breath, visibly holding back an eye roll. “I don’t know how you haven’t thought of this earlier.”
“Jaemin, hurry up, I have work in like five minutes,” he snaps.
“What is Mark’s favorite thing?”
“He has a lot of favorite things.”
“Fine. Favorite thing to do. What he’s literally known for.”
“Being an idiot?” He guesses, getting the full eye roll from Jaemin this time. “Fine, I don’t know, music. Playing his guitar.”
“And what is it that your bakery has him do whenever he’s available?”
“Play…his guitar?”
Jaemin smiles brightly at that, patting him on the arm harder than he needs to and then walking away with a wave. Donghyuck watches him, drilling holes into his back until he understands what he’s trying to get at.
When he does, he wants to place a rule to withhold all of his future coffees.
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea,” Renjun says later during his shift, cleaning out the trays in the glass box that holds their cold desserts.
“Oh! Pick that song from the drama we’ve been watching,” Yangyang suggests from the bar.
“Aw, are you gonna play the guitar in it?” Donghyuck asks, looking over at him.
“Hey, just because I said I was learning doesn’t mean I’m any good,” Yangyang tells him, holding up a hand. “I know this freshman that’ll play for you though.”
“Mm, yeah, send his number over,” Donghyuck says. “That would be good if he’d be down playing the song for me while I sing it.”
“Who’s playing a song for you?”
Donghyuck nearly lets out a scream when he turns around to see Mark standing there, card held out in his hand.
“Oh, uh, I don’t know,” Donghyuck says, punching in his order. “Yang said there’s this freshman that’ll play guitar for me if I want to sing this weekend. I might take some of your time to sing, but we’ll see.”
“Why didn’t you ask me?” Mark questions, eyebrows pulling together like he’s actually offended. The thought that he’s jealous runs through Donghyuck’s head, but he quickly bats it out of the way because there’s no way it’s that.
“Uh…”
“Just send me the tabs and I’ll learn to play it for you,” Mark tells him, putting his card into the reader.
“Yeah, sure, definitely,” he agrees, cheeks going a dark pink.
Mark nods, moving to stand off to the side while Yangyang reaches over to yank the order number from besides him to start making the drink.
“Well now you have to do it,” Renjun says when Mark leaves. Donghyuck lets out a strained laugh, quickly skirting from the counter to run to the back house and close himself in the fridge. He lets out a yell, shaking his arms and jumping around to get rid of the energy coming from the sheer giddies he feels from this, before he opens the door calmly to leave, ignoring the look Seunghan sends him.
Renjun’s waiting for him when he gets out, phone held out the tabs for the song from the drama, and Donghyuck takes a breath before sending them off to Mark.
Maybe Jaemin was onto something with this.
And maybe he’s not out for Donghyuck’s blood or embarrassment like he presumed he was.
Mark sends him a thumbs up and they spend the rest of the week practicing the song separately because Donghyuck comes up with an excuse every time Mark tries to set something up. He firmly believes that if he were to be there while Mark practiced the song and he had to sing it, his heart would be done for.
Completely done for. Dead. No longer beating.
It’s why when they meet up at the bakery, Donghyuck has the day off and Mark is nervously tapping his fingers against his case while he waits.
“You realize this is a song at a bakery and not a concert hall, right?” He asks with a smile, walking up to the table Mark’s at.
“Yeah, but it seemed like a pretty important song,” Mark says, standing up.
“Ah, you read the lyrics?”
Mark nods and they stand in there in some silence before Donghyuck gestures to the little area in the corner they’ve cleared out. He helps Mark hook up everything and adjust the settings before pulling up a stool to sit on, passing one over to Mark in the process.
“Are you ready?” Mark asks, adjusting his guitar on his lap.
“Whenever you’re ready,” Donghyuck says, holding the microphone up.
Mark smiles over at him before looking down at his guitar, the first notes of the song ringing out. It garners more people’s attention, some from the main dining area moving out lobby as the music filters in from the speakers. Donghyuck sings the first words, tone soft and careful, and when he looks over at Mark, he hopes he feels the intention and love sung into them.
Yangyang wasn’t messing around when he suggested this. It’s the perfect balance between bitter and sweet, and saying the words Donghyuck wants to while keeping them at bay. He makes sure to put the emotion he wants into it, images of memories portraying these exact words taking hold every time he closes his eyes.
He looks over at Mark when a break comes up, the only thing sounding through the area being Mark’s skillful playing that sounds like warm days, embarrassed smiles, and home. Mark’s already looking at him when he looks over, eyebrows hinting that he’s thinking hard about something while he studies Donghyuck.
Donghyuck looks away before he can find what he’s hoping to, glancing over at Renjun and Yangyang who are watching behind the counter. Yangyang gives him two thumbs-up with a wide grin while Renjun gives him a smaller smile and looks over at Mark purposely. Donghyuck smiles, rolling his eyes before closing them as the next words come out, this time singing the height of what he feels. Mark’s playing matches perfectly and Donghyuck can only hope it means the same as him.
He feels too bare and exposed when they finish, a large breath rushing out of lungs and then back in. He looks over at Mark to find his eyes on him and he clears his throat quietly, smiling and thanking their crowd as he gets off the stage.
“That was amazing!” Yangyang says when he gets up to them. Donghyuck gives him a smile, looking over at Renjun for any words, but his friend’s mouth closes as quickly as it opens, eyes darting behind him.
Donghyuck turns around to see Mark standing there awkwardly.
“That was really good, Hyuck,” Mark says with an earnest smile. “I mean, you’re always good, really good, but…yeah.”
“Thanks, Markeu,” he says, forcing a teasing tone to his voice that causes him to blush. He waits a moment for him to say anything else and when that drags on too long, the people standing behind them deciding to move themselves to a corner, Donghyuck decides to call it quits before he can do something crazy like scream or throw himself in front of a bus.
“I’ve got some errands to run and you should probably get back to playing, so I’ll,” Donghyuck trails off because he doesn’t exactly know what he’ll do. Wait for Mark to catch on? Scream? Cry? All of the above? “I’ll catch you later.”
“Yeah, definitely,” Mark agrees, stepping out of the way. He looks seconds from saying something else and that’s the only reason Donghyuck hesitates to leave, but then he awkwardly clears his throat and Donghyuck gives him a tight smile before leaving the restaurant.
He barely registers Jaemin standing by the door watching him, too focused on making it out of there and to his apartment before the rest of him can fall apart. When he does get to his apartment, he throws himself on the bed with the decision to wallow for the rest of time.
It doesn’t sound too bad when he thinks about it more.
The next thing he does is hide out. From everyone. If anyone asks, he can just play it off as distance makes the heart grow fonder, but in reality, he’s over this whole confession thing. Mark is still as oblivious as before and Donghyuck’s laid too much of himself out for too many people for it to be healthy.
Well, in reality, he tries to hide out.
Renjun only gives him a week to wallow, so he begs Shotaro with dinner to take his shifts for the whole time and whenever he’s not in class, he’s at home in his bed doing homework and wanting to cry. It’s a struggle and he really deserves compensation for it.
Preferably from Renjun for putting the stupid idea to tell Mark in his head in the first place, but he’ll also be fine with anyone giving him money at this point.
“Hyuck.”
Donghyuck looks up to see Renjun standing in his doorway, looking around his room like he expects to find it in disarray. Donghyuck may be in immense sorrow, but he’s still insane when it comes to how he wants things, so his plants are still out, his clothes in the bathroom hamper, the area around his computer for gaming cleaned up, and the curtains drawn back to let in the morning sun.
“What’s up?” He asks, setting his laptop aside.
“I’m about to head into work, but can you pick up some flowers from Kun’s?” Renjun asks, looking over at him. Donghyuck raises an eyebrow, causing his roommate to roll his eyes and explain, “he has some flowers he’s willing to give me before they go bad and this place is too sad for me to handle any longer.”
Donghyuck groans, dropping back on the bed. “Why can’t you do it?”
“I have work, so thank you for doing this for me, you're the greatest roommate or whatever. I’ll pick up some dinner tonight,” Renjun says before leaving the room.
Donghyuck stares at the door before huffing and pulling himself from bed to get ready. When he’s deemed himself socially acceptable to head out into the world, he decides to walk to the flower shop since the sun is out and shining brightly. It’s truly a wonder what the sun can do when you decide to go into doomsday hiding. Maybe Renjun had some hidden motive to get him out and moving since he feels like a flower being moved into the sunlight after staying hidden in a dark room, finally being given room to blossom.
It’s a nice walk and he’s tempted to take care of dinner for Renjun being so nice, but maybe he’s also tempted to commit homicide because when he gets three shops from Kun’s he finds Mark walking to the flower shop, hand reaching for the door before he spots Donghyuck.
Donghyuck goes to turn on his heels, but his nemesis spots him and takes quick steps towards him.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting flowers for Renjun,” Donghyuck says carefully, eyeing him up and watching the way Mark’s face instantly drops.
“Oh. So you’re finally asking him out?” He asks, looking off to the side as he shoves his hands in his pockets and digs a toe into the ground.
If this is a physical slap, Donghyuck feels like he’s instead been punched.
“Getting—asking Renjun—” Donghyuck stops, trying to fully process what he was just asked. “What do you mean I’m finally asking Renjun out?”
“I, well, I thought you liked,” Mark trails off, starting to question himself. “You’re not getting Renjun flowers?”
“No, Kun said he had flowers for him, but he’s at work right now,” Donghyuck explains.
Mark’s eyes widen exponentially. “Oh. Wait, so do you like Renjun?”
“Renjun’s my best friend.” Donghyuck raises an eyebrow, taking a step back. “Who are you getting flowers for? Jaemin?”
“Not Jaemin, no,” he says softly, cheeks going a firetruck red.
“Okay, well, what are you doing here?” Donghyuck asks, keeping the bite from his words the best he can.
“I was uh, getting flowers for you?”
“For me?” Donghyuck eyes him up and down, taking in his shy state. “That sounded like a question.”
“Aish, Hyuck, I don’t know! I think you’ve been trying to tell me you like me for weeks now and I know that I love you, but I thought you've liked Renjun this whole time!” Mark rushes out, seeming to just be spewing words at this point. “It’s why I’ve had such a hard time making relationships last, but Jaemin kept telling me I was being an idiot and then after last weekend at the bakery I looked up the meaning of those flowers, and then the song, I just thought…” Mark looks up at him, words finally catching up to him. “I thought, yeah, never mind. I don’t know.”
Donghyuck stares at him, not blinking at all as he absorbs everything. Slowly, a smile starts spreading over his face and it does nothing to lessen the fierce blush Mark is sporting.
“You love me?”
Mark rolls his eyes, scrubbing a hand to the back of his head. “Of course I do. I have since like, I don’t know when.”
Donghyuck feels a laugh escape him before he can control, tucking his face into his hands and turning to the side.
“What?” Mark asks. “What, Hyuck, what is it?”
“Yah, I love you too, you idiot,” he says, smacking him on the shoulder.
Mark blinks, completely taken aback, and Donghyuck starts laughing even harder. “You do?”
“Jeez, yes, I do,” he repeats, his laugh tapering out but his smile still ever present, wide and full.
“But what—?” Mark blinks, eyebrows pulling together as he glances down at the ground between them. “What about Renjun?”
Donghyuck shakes his head, stepping closer and pulling his attention back to him. “Renjun is my best friend, but you are my person, Mark.”
“You’re mine as well,” he says after a moment, a hesitant smile starting to take hold.
“Then goodness, ask me out already!”
Mark laughs fully this time, ducking his head down.
“I’ve been trying to ask you out this whole time and you just kept watching me,” Donghyuck whines, hitting him again.
“I’m sorry I’m so slow, it was just hard to believe,” Mark says, grabbing his arms to pull him closer. “I’m sorry, let me try this properly.”
Donghyuck lets Mark take him in his arms, feeling like he’s going to explode in the best way possible.
“Can I be your boyfriend, Hyuck?” Mark asks, bringing a hand up to push his hair back gently.
“Of course, you idiot.”
Mark smiles, rolling his eyes fondly before they close and he grabs Donghyuck by the jaw, pulling him in for a kiss and completing everything Donghyuck has ever wanted.
Donghyuck’s hands cup the sides of his neck, fingers trailing up to his face, allowing himself to experience what he’s dreamt about for a little over a decade. He’s dreamt about kissing Mark since he was fourteen, wondering what his lips would taste like if he ever did and if they’d be soft, but kissing him in real life beats out any fantasy he ever could’ve thought of.
“Finally,” he breathes when they pull away, relishing the soft breath that hits his face when Mark laughs.
“Yeah, that was pretty great,” Mark agrees.
“It better have been.”
Mark leans back in to capture his lips in another kiss, pulling Donghyuck back in easily, and if kid Donghyuck were here, he’d be blowing fuses from how happy he’d be.
“Let me take you on a date now,” Mark says, pulling back and taking Donghyuck’s hand in his. “Come pick out the bouquet you want and then I’ll take you wherever you want.”
“Ah, so this is what I’ve been missing out on,” Donghyuck muses.
“Yeah, it’s pretty great to date me.”
“I don’t know, I might have to ask Heejin what you did to make her run for the hills.”
Mark shoves him softly, pulling on his arm to get him moving. Donghyuck stops him, his wide smile still on his face as he pulls Mark back and into another kiss.
Maybe Donghyuck really should’ve just listened to Renjun when he said to confess. He probably would’ve been able to kiss Mark a whole lot sooner and hear those words that make him feel like everything is right in the world, but well, he got there eventually and he doesn’t think it’s going away anytime soon.
“I love you,” Mark says when they pull away.
Donghyuck laughs, cheeks heating up quickly as he pushes Mark towards the shop so they can go on their first, non-platonic, date.
Donghyuck doesn’t know if he can last, but Mark’s smile is too sweet to refuse so he follows him into the shop happily.