He’s leaning against Joshua’s building, looking at him as the taller boy shuffles on his feet. Joshua’s face is pink, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he avoids Jihoon’s eyes.

            “I’m sorry.”

            His eyes snap up – warm and soft and deep pools of brown. They’re like open books, baring his soul to the younger boy. “Sorry?”

            Jihoon shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant. “Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

            “I’m not uncomfortable.”

            But he shuffles around, causing Jihoon to snort. He tries not to appear hurt, but really, he’s not that lousy of a kisser, is he?

            “We don’t have to talk about it, Joshua. I’ll just grab my stuff.”

            He’s walking past him towards the building when he feels a warm hand close around his elbow – the one with Seungcheol’s name on it. He winces lightly, looking up into those expressive eyes.

            “I want to talk about it.”

            Jihoon shrugs, quickly averting his eyes. He hates it how a small tiny part of him is thinking about Seungcheol and how quickly the older boy had followed after his mate after the events of the talent show. He had only stayed long enough to glare at Jihoon and Joshua before quickly scraping his chair back and looking for his mate.  

            He sees that look on Seungcheol’s face – the heated, angry glare – and he hateshateshates that it hurts him.

            “We kissed, it doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

            “But it is,” Joshua groans, stepping away. He walks back, leaning his head against the wall as he groans once again. “This is so messed up.”

            Jihoon lets out a small smile. “I know.” He brushes his elbow. “We’re not mates.” He states this like a fact, because it is.

            Joshua runs a hand over his chest, where Jihoon knows that Jeonghan’s name lays. “We’re not.” He peeks at him from under his lashes. “But we’re not meant to be with our mates, you told me that.”

            Jihoon leans against the door. “This is ed up,” he echoes. His eyes find Joshua. “But I do like you, Joshua. You’re my best friend.”

            Joshua smiles sadly at the floor. “You’re my best friend too.” His fingers absently brush at his mark. “You make me forget sometimes – that everything is wrong. It’s like we’re broken or something. Being mated to someone who doesn’t belong to us – its our flaw. But I still like him. Jeonghan, I mean. I’m still drawn to him. How about you?”

            “I’m not drawn to Jeonghan,” Jihoon tries to joke but Joshua gives him a long stare, causing Jihoon to let out a slow breath as he clutches his elbow. “Yes, I still like Seungcheol. I probably always will. It’s the ing bond.”

            “But we’re not meant for them.” Joshua takes a deep breath, as if he’s collecting courage. “I don’t want to be alone – pining over someone who’ll never love me.”

            Jihoon feels his heart pound. “I don’t either.”

            And Joshua doesn’t say anything, just extends an arm towards Jihoon, who reaches out to take it. Joshua has pursed lips, a confused look in his eyes as he gazes down at Jihoon, who is inches away from his chest. Jihoon knows why he’s uncomfortable. Joshua is not all that experienced with dating, since Jihoon knows that Joshua has been faithful to that mark on his chest since the minute he got it.

            So Jihoon, in a surprisingly soft way, reaches out to touch Joshua’s cheeks. Joshua chuckles as Jihoon tilts his head lower, his eyes wide. Jihoon knows that Joshua still likes Jeonghan, just like he still likes Seungcheol. But this is the hands that they have been given, and they are going to play them to their liking.

            And this time – when Jihoon pulls Joshua down and presses his lips against Joshua’s – there’s no mistaking that Joshua kisses him back.  His hands are placed a bit awkwardly, as if he doesn’t want to push Jihoon’s boundaries, but his lips are soft and hard on Jihoon’s.

            Behind his closed lids, Jihoon pictures Seungcheol – if only for a second.

            (And he doesn’t know this, but Joshua runs his hands through Jihoon’s hair and pictures Jeonghan – if only for a second.)

⚘❁⚘

            Seungkwan, for the first time in his life, shows up to work thirty minutes late on his first day back. This is not the strange thing that makes everyone pause to look at him. No – the strange things is that he walks in bundled up in sweaters, with a thick scarf around his neck and hiding the bottom of his face, and a wool hat covering his hair.

            Joshua glances at the door, where he sees a few people outside walking in a sweater, but none like Seungkwan. Joshua partially understands, since he knows that late January is a bit chilly. The other half of him, however, is confused.

            Everyone – Soonyoung, Mingyu, and Joshua – pause to look at Seungkwan as he shuffles in. Nobody speaks as Seungkwan walks behind the counter and presses on the computer, clocking in for his shift. His eyes glance over towards everyone and Joshua isn’t sure if he’s smiling or not but his eyes twinkle in amusement at the curious looks everyone is giving him.

            Soonyoung is the first to speak. “Everything good?”

            But what he, and everyone, really wants to ask is, Did you get a mark?

            Seungkwan is going back towards the kitchen to hang up his coat, but he throws a quick thumbs up toward his boss. The three remaining workers all glance at each other and shrug before turning back to their job.

            The last customer of the hour has just left when Seungkwan is pushing past the doors, the thick scarf still wrapped around his neck and hiding his face. He seems to ignore that it’s there, because he leans his hip against the counter and turns to face at everyone else.

            “So,” his voice is muffled by the scarf, “what did I miss?”

            “Uh,” Mingyu glances towards the other boys with an amused look, “well, where do we start?”

            Seungkwan looks interested, Joshua groans, and Soonyoung exclaims, “You can’t seriously expect us to speak to you with that thing covering your face, Seungkwan.”

            “I’m cold,” Seungkwan offers defensively. He crosses his arms over his chest and looks towards Mingyu, raising a brow. “What exactly happened?”

            “Well,” Mingyu chirps in excitement, “Joshua hyung is dating Jihoon.”

            Seungkwan coughs, Soonyoung quickly patting the other boy on the back. Soonyoung, trying to be slick, starts tugging at the back of the scarf, but Seungkwan pulls it higher and tighter, glaring at his boss. He turns towards Joshua with wide eyes.

            “You’re dating Jihoon hyung?” His fingers clutch at his scarf as Soonyoung continues to tug at it. “That’s great! You know, you have to thank me at your wedding, I set you guys up.”

            “We’ve only been dating a week,” Joshua says tensely. He ignores Mingyu, who is helping Soonyoung and tugging at the other side of Seungkwan’s scarf. Seungkwan bats their prying hands away.

            “Yeah,” Mingyu agrees, “but it’s cute hyung. We all ship it." He tugs at the scarf, but Seungkwan slaps his hand away. Mingyu doesn't give up, and says in a relieved tone, "Thank god you’re over Jeonghan.”

            And Joshua taps his fingers against his thighs, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Yep,” he says in a high voice, “completely over him.” Deciding to change topics quickly, Joshua adds to Seungkwan. “Also, you’ve missed Mingyu and Wonwoo doing that weird flirty thing where they look at each other like this.”

            Joshua lowers his brows over his eyes, making his lips go in a straight line like Wonwoo does. Meanwhile, Soonyoung, stepping away from Seungkwan, makes his lips stretch into a flirty smile as he winks at Joshua, copying Mingyu.

            Seungkwan giggles. Mingyu snorts as he rolls his eyes.

            “We don’t flirt like that,” Mingyu says, and then he’s reaching out to grab Seungkwan’s hand and pulling him closer. Seungkwan’s eyes go wide as he stumbles into Mingyu’s chest, the taller boy wrapping an arm around Seungkwan’s waist. Mingyu pushes one side of Seungkwan’s scarf down to touch his cheek, lowering his head towards the other boy and letting his voice fall to a husky whisper as he informs everyone, “We also flirt like this.”

            And then before Seungkwan can protest, Mingyu is pulling his scarf off.

            “No! Don’t!”

            And Joshua finally sees what he was hiding. His lips drop open in surprise, as does everyone else’s. Mingyu freezes with the scarf still in his hand, Soonyoung falls against the counter in surprise, and Seungkwan is looking at them with narrowed eyes as he grabs the scarf back, one hand covering his neck.

            Because there, on the side of Seungkwan’s neck and completely visible, in bold, cursive print is the name Hansol.

            Seungkwan tugs the scarf out of Mingyu’s hand, who lets it go easily. Seungkwan’s cheeks are pink as he mutters angrily under his breath. Instead of covering the mark, he holds the scarf in his hands, glaring harshly at it.

            “I’m sorry,” Mingyu blurts.

            Seungkwan’s voice is tense in a way that no one has heard before. “It’s fine.”

            “Seungkwan,” Joshua speaks softly, “are you okay?”

            “Okay with the fact that I’m marked now?” Seungkwan taps the side of his neck, right over his mark. “Yep, perfectly okay.”

            Mingyu shuffles in his spot, looking towards the other boy before he speaks. “I’m sorry, but I’m confused.” Seungkwan glances at him. “I thought you and Vernon were already dating?”

            “Something like that.”

            “So I don’t see what your problem is.”

            Seungkwan snorts, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. “Of course you wouldn’t understand, Mingyu.” Seungkwan narrows his eyes. “You don’t know anything about commitment or mates, so you wouldn’t know how terrifying this is.”

            Mingyu become tense, his chest flaring in anger. “What are you trying to say?”

            “I’m saying,” snaps Seungkwan, “that you can’t keep it in your pants for more than two minutes, so it’s no wonder you don’t have a mate.”

            There’s a loud bang as Mingyu slams his fists on the counter, glaring harshly at Seungkwan. His breathing is hard, his chest rising and falling quickly. “Take that back,” his tone is hard, angry and hurt. “Take that back, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “Oh please, we’ve all seen you go through people like they’re dirty tissues. Even Wonwoo hyung –”

            “You don’t know anything!” Mingyu shouts. It causes Joshua and Soonyoung to flinch, and they quickly reach out towards both boys to keep them away from each other, before things get ugly. “You don’t know anything about me or my mate! Because, news flash Seungkwan, I have a mate! AND HE DOESN’T WANT ME. Do you know what that’s like? Of course you don’t, because you’re lucky! Your mate wants you!” Mingyu points to his right hipbone  as he speaks and everyone watches in surprise as he starts untucking his shirt, almost as if he’s going to show everyone his mark.

            Joshua, who is grabbing onto Mingyu, tugs him back. “Hey, stop it, Mingyu. You don’t have to do this.” But he can’t hide the surprise in his voice. Mingyu has a mate? And he never told anyone?

            Mingyu looks frustrated, but he spits out words to Seungkwan. “So don’t tell me I don’t understand anything about mates.”

            Seungkwan blinks at the taller boy, his face white as his eyes start to water. “Oh god, Mingyu. I… I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”

            And everyone visibly deflates.

            It’s quiet for a while, and then Seungkwan speaks.

            “He kept texting me, you know, during my time off.” Seungkwan leans against the counter, his eyes dazed as he remembers. “He called me a lot too. I didn’t want to talk to him ‘cause – I knew. I knew he was gonna be my mate. I could tell by… by the way he held me, the way he kissed me.” His fingers brush his lips and then he winces, dropping his hands. “I know it sounds corny, but it just felt… right.”

            “Seungkwan,” Soonyoung is saying, but Seungkwan interrupts him.

            “I didn’t answer him, not until it was my birthday because he kept calling and calling and calling. He talked on the phone for a long time, I barely said anything, and as soon as the clock struck twelve, he wished me a happy birthday and he,” Seungkwan takes a big breath, “he told me loved me. It hurt a lot, getting my mark, and I had to hang up the phone but I knew – before I even looked up – that it was his name.”

            He glances at Soonyoung. “You and Seokmin make it look easy, but I was so scared. I already loved him so much, I didn’t think it was possible to love him more. And I’m barely eighteen! I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with him and I’ve barely even lived my own life. How am I supposed to share it with him?”

            “Seungkwan,” Soonyoung shuffles closer to the young boy, who is sniffling loudly and is in tears, and puts an arm around him. “No one is telling you that you have to be with Vernon right now.”

            “But I want to,” Seungkwan stresses, “I want to be with him and that scares the out of me. What if I regret things later on? What if I regret never knowing anyone other than him? We’re so young – we change our mind at least five times a couple of minutes after we wake up – and what if we grow old together and decide that we aren’t what the other wants? What then? All these years wasted?”

            “If that happens, you’ll deal with it. No one knows for sure what's going to happen, not even the mark.” Soonyoung shrugs, wiping away Seungkwan’s tears. “It’s okay to doubt your mate. I doubted mine.” He smiles as everyone looks at him in surprise. “What? You’re shocked? Come on guys, when I got my mark, Seokmin was barely seventeen. I had barely gotten out of school and he still had growing up to do. I wanted us to like each other for who we were, not because some mark told us to. I told Seokmin he could do and be with who he wanted.” Soonyoung shrugs. “What he did during our time away isn’t important to me. The important thing is that he came back to me, and he was sure that’s what he wanted. It’s perfectly normal to be scared.”

            “Really?” Seungkwan asks in a small voice.

            Soonyoung nods, a large smile on his face. “Definitely.” He wipes the rest of Seungkwan’s tears away. “Now, don’t cry. It’ll all work out.”

            Seungkwan lets out a watery laugh, glancing towards the other two boys. “I’m sorry guys,” he speaks to Joshua and Mingyu. “Here I am crying about my loving mate, and you guys are…” he winces, not finishing his sentence. “I’m sorry.”

            Mingyu glances at Seungkwan, his lips in a straight line. He reaches out and claps Seungkwan on the back, showing that all is forgiven. Seungkwan looks at Joshua next, who smiles and shakes his head, because he has nothing to forgive.

            His phone rings in his pocket, destroying the quiet moment of peace they had in the café. Joshua winces, clumsily reaching into his pocket to retrieve his phone. “Sorry,” he mutters, glancing at the screen and wincing. He blinks at the name on the screen, and he doesn’t know why he lies and says, “It’s Jihoon.”

            “Answer your boyfriend, hyung.” Seungkwan sniffs. “We’ll be okay without you for a couple of seconds.”

            Joshua smiles at them in thanks, already pushing past the kitchen doors. He can hear them talking behind him as he steps into the kitchen, their voices hushed. His smile falls as he glances at the name on his screen once again and his heart pounds hard in his chest as he places the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

            It’s quiet for a while, and then a soft, velvet voice flows into his ears. “Hi Joshua.”

            Joshua swallows harshly, clutching the phone harder in his hands. “Hi Jeonghan.”

⚘❁⚘

            Jihoon is going on his lunch break when he feels a hand close over his bicep, pulling him into an empty hallway. Jihoon blinks as he stumbles into the wall, his eyes narrowing as he looks towards the person who tugged him away.

            “What do you want?”

            Seungcheol is staring down at Jihoon with a hard jaw, his fists clenched at his sides. “You’ve been avoiding me since the talent show.”

            Jihoon snorts, crossing his arms over his chest and stepping away. Seungcheol being so close to him is clouding his senses, and he needs a clear head when he talks to the older boy. “You’ve been avoiding me too, and besides, I’ve been busy.”

            A tick jumps in Seungcheol’s jaw as his eyes form slits. “Oh? Too busy with your new boyfriend?”

            Anger swells in Jihoon by the way Seungcheol says the word boyfriend. His voice is harsh as he snaps back. “Yes, actually, I have been busy with my boyfriend.” He lets out a huff of breath, flashing his teeth in a harsh smile. “As I’m sure you’ve been busy with yours.” Jihoon lifts his head, attempting to walk briskly by Seungcheol as he says, “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

            But a strong hand closes around his bicep again, stopping him from going anywhere. Jihoon sighs as he looks back at Seungcheol, who looks heated beyond belief.

            “What are you doing, Jihoon?”

            Jihoon sharply pulls his arm away. “That’s none of your concern,” he says coolly. He’s already walking back when he feels warm hands around his wrist and then – it happens very suddenly – he finds his back being pressed against the wall, his hands on either side of his head. Seungcheol is holding him to the wall, his eyes narrowed as he pins Jihoon by his wrists.

            He’s entirely too close now. This close, Jihoon can see the faint freckles that cover Seungcheol’s nose, can see the sparkle of anger that lights inside of his eyes. He can see and sense everything – Seungcheol’s body heat making Jihoon want to curl closer but instead he tries to push him away.

            He claws at Seungcheol’s hands. “Let me go,” he snaps.

            “No,” Seungcheol snaps back, just as heated. He lowers his head towards the younger boy, his eyes never leaving his. “What are you doing with Joshua?”

            Jihoon breathes harshly, his face flushed. “I told you, it’s none of your business.”

            Seungcheol smiles in a twisted way and Jihoon’s protests are weak as Seungcheol starts to tug at his sleeve. Seungcheol doesn’t listen, and he gives the sleeve one sharp tug until the inside of Jihoon’s elbow is exposed, flashing his mark.

            Seungcheol’s eyes hone in on the mark. Jihoon watches, defeated, as Seungcheol reaches out to brush a finger over his name delicately. His touch is soft, making Jihoon shiver. Seungcheol’s eyes snap to Jihoon, his gaze unreadable.

            “As long as you have this,” Seungcheol presses a thumb against the mark, causing Jihoon to inhale sharply, “it will always be my business.”

            And then Jihoon watches as Seungcheol bends down and presses a soft, tender kiss to the mark.

            Jihoon shivers in excitement and anger. His face is hot and he kicks his legs out to try to get Seungcheol to let him go. He thinks it’s stupid honestly, the way his eyes want to water. But here he is, blinking back tears.

            “You gave up the right to make it your business when you chose him, Seungcheol.” He drops his voice to a whisper, his next words hurting. “I’m not yours Seungcheol, I never was. You made sure of that.”

            Seungcheol looks sad, if only for a moment, before he smiles softly. He brushes the mark again with a sad smile. “You’ll always be my business, Jihoon.” He steps back, and Jihoon lets himself slump against the wall. Seungcheol glances down at him, his eyes unreadable again.

            “Jeonghan is going to invite you over on Saturday because it’s our anniversary. I would like it if you came.”

            Jihoon watches him walk away, a bitter feeling in his chest. He calls out to Seungcheol weakly. “I won’t be there,” he says harshly, “I won’t.”

            But Seungcheol just glances back quickly before he continues walking and Jihoon presses a fist to his mouth as he closes his eyes, knowing full well that, come Saturday, him and Joshua will both be there.

a/n: so... surprise! seungcheol has known all along about jihoon's mark. please don't hate me.