This is was honestly stressful to write since we had little free time but here it is. Sorry it took us so long. We've been really busy with school. TT And we apologize for some overlooked errors. This chapter is lengthy (11.7K words wtf) and we were too tired and too lazy to reread it. Lol. Comments are always loved! Enjoy.

The day that they were having was one of those very unusual days; their teacher had fallen sick and had taken the week off to recover, leaving the special class with no homeroom teacher, and that could only mean one thing; they were free from their first to second period classes. The heavens seem to have heard the students’ prayers of the said class for exam week was coming sooner than they could imagine and they were getting busier by the day and all they wanted was to have a day off or two. They were thankful for every free period that they could get to prevent further deterioration of their brain cells from all the never ending examinations they were pressured on to pass.

To keep themselves preoccupied before their next class, four boys had gathered themselves at the back most part of the room, talking amongst each other. Their conversation ranged from the latest happenings of the series they were watching to the latest music released by their favorite artist. Everything seemed normal.

Okay… so maybe not.

Lee Jeno was his usual self.

This is what everybody will say upon interacting with him, but Mark says he’s not, he knew better than to fall for the other’s facade. Jeno had his typical smile plastered on his face but if one would look really closely, there was something off; something in the younger’s eyes that the older had detected yet could not pinpoint what it is exactly.

This had been bothering Mark for the past three days since the party. The older can still vividly remember that dead look Jeno had on before he left the gathering. This had made Mark want to question the younger about it, to ask him what was bugging him to make him act like that, but for some paramount reason, he just couldn’t find the right timing to do so. Mark tried, okay, he did. But some things weren’t just working out for him. Jeno has been acting weird and Mark can’t live with himself if he allowed his best friend to stay like that.

“Sup Mark? Are you alright? You seem pretty distracted.”

His train of thought was interrupted when Winwin had attempted to break him out from his own world and reeled him back into reality.

Mark blinked twice, turning his attention to the older that was to his right. “Uh, sorry. I was just spacing out,” he explained shortly.

Winwin looked like he was about to add something, probably to question him more on his unfamiliar behaviour but was beaten to it when they both heard Chen Le say something directed to Mark’s best friend.

“Hey Jeno-hyung, I forgot to ask this, but who was it that you were talking on Ten-hyung’s house’s hallway at the party?” the younger asked with interest.

The question itself did not only perked up Mark’s attention  and although the latter found the sudden question to be quite rude, he cannot help but be thankful for what the youngest had brought up for it distracted Winwin’s attention somewhere else— he doesn’t know how to answer the elder’s previous query. But on the other hand, it also made him curious on how Jeno would react to the interrogation; it might help Mark solve the mystery beyond that barely unnoticeable, lifeless expression hidden in Jeno’s eyes.

The latter hadn’t anticipated the sudden shift of interest that the other three males in front of him showed; it made him a little conscious before he managed an answer to fill their curiosity. “I, uh, didn’t get his name but, uh we just bumped into each other that’s why maybe we seemed like we were talking?” he stuttered with his words.

Mark almost didn’t sense it— almost, but he did. Jeno can lie to anyone whoever he wanted— just never Mark. The older immediately noticed those small yet timid movements that Jeno does only when he’s agitated; tugging on his left ear, putting both of his hands inside the pockets of his slacks and even the way his lips would slightly tremble for a fraction of a second. Mark was familiar with those gestures— they weren’t best friends for nothing after all, and he knew right then and there that Jeno was lying; that the younger is guarding his self from something.

But from what? Mark was curious.

The older then took notice of the sudden change in the younger’s demeanour even though he was smiling. Mark was drawing various deductions in his mind on what could have happened. But it would seem like that his best friend would rather not talk about with anybody else, even him, unless he’s feeling like it. And maybe, just maybe, it is a part of, or worse, even the whole reason why he appeared to be in a sour mood before leaving the party that night.

Still having his mind diverted to somewhere else, his peripheral vision had somehow caught sight of Chen Le; he noticed the younger mumbling something like staring intensely while he had his brows furrowed. Mark wasn’t entirely sure if he read his lips right because the youngest of the four seemed to be in a state of daze, and well, Mark wasn’t a master at lip reading.

That night of Ten’s birthday, Chen Le and Winwin had gotten themselves separated from both Mark and Jeno. He didn’t know how it happened but yeah, they got separated. There were a ton of people there, the whole place was packed and for the same reason, the youngest had gone astray again and lost sight of Winwin as well. Chen Le tried looking for his friends, he tried, but it was hopeless. He was small and there were just a lot of people that he had a difficult time. He came upon the garden at the back most part of Ten’s house when he was in the midst of looking for the older Chinese male— thinking that he would be the easiest to find because of his mop of blonde hair, but he didn’t saw him there; Chen Le saw someone else.

“Hyung, by the way,” Jeno interrupted. “I saw you that night at the party together with Kun-hyung. I was at the veranda on the third floor and accidently saw you talking below. You and hyung seemed lovey-dovey with each other but don’t worry, I looked away right after I saw him lean in for a kiss,” the latter said in a teasing manner, even wiggling his eyebrows at the oldest which made Winwin blush furiously in return after recalling the memory.

Without paying attention to the possibility that Winwin had managed to have a much more decent love life compared to him, Mark frowned deeply.

You’re out of character Jeno. You clearly are guarding yourself, trying to get the attention away from you, the older thought while observing his best friend with a frown still intact on his features, for he knows that even though he was Jeno’s best friend, the latter won’t easily tell him everything and that was bugging him. C’mon, they’ve been friends for years yet how come it feels like Jeno doesn’t trust him enough to tell him what was bothering him instead of keeping it all to his self and make the older worry and make a fuss about it?

But don’t get Jeno wrong, he wants to tell Mark, he really does. But somehow, he can’t think of the right words to say to the older if he did. Telling him that he was still affected by the fact that that Nana guy wasn’t the Jaemin that he expected seemed like a pretty lousy reason. He didn’t want his best friend to think indifferently of him.

And why was he affected anyway?

I just expected that it would be him, nothing more, he decided.

“Are you two dating or something?” Jeno continued joshing the older, which would have been joined by the other two immediately– for this spectacular view of their Winwin-hyung blushing was a rare sight– but they didn’t since they were too drowned in their own thoughts, making the eldest glad for whatever it is that was keeping the two at bay for not teaming up on him. Even though he had seen this coming, he really can’t take all the teasing that was yet to come if they ganged up on him.

Chen Le, on the other hand, who is sure enough that he won’t be able to get a proper answer if he asked either Jeno or Winwin, since he was too busy being embarrassed over the fact that they found out that he has now a boyfriend, turned to Mark who seemed lost in his thoughts like he was.

At first, he didn’t want to disturb the older— he seemed preoccupied, and the youngest was pretty certain that he’ll probably receive a glare of some sort from the older but he needs answers right away. Being glared be damned.

“Uh, hyung, I’m sorry for bothering but I have a question that I’ve been meaning to ask,” after saying these words, he hoped for the best; for the older not to glower at him or be mad.

Chen Le was kind of relieved when Mark turned to him with his usual poker face but with no evidence of a scowl on his features attached, and assumed that it was a clear sign for him to go on and elaborate.

“Would it be possible to stare deeply at a person whom you know nothing of, even his name? For two people who are complete strangers to lock intense gazes?” he asked; voice full of interest and pure curiosity.

Chen Le would be lying if he said that what he saw that night at Ten’s garden didn’t confuse him even at the slightest. He knew both of them, both were his friends yet why do they seem like they’re strangers to one another?

Oh right, maybe because they were.

Chen Le had almost forgotten; Jeno and Jaemin had never met each other before. They belong to the same group of friends, true, and yes, it was weird, but they really haven’t met yet. Knowing Jeno, the latter doesn’t socialize much and when their older hyungs would arrange a small party or gathering for their group, he usually wouldn’t attend and if he did, Jaemin would be the one absent. What a huge coincidence, right?

Mark was quiet for a moment, gathering his words before he retorted, “that depends though. Maybe they were flirting or something or they’re awestruck with each other which don’t happen usually nowadays, but yeah that’s only what I can think of in those cases for strangers.”

But still, it doesn’t answer Chen Le’s previous question; if both Jaemin and Jeno didn’t knew each other, why would they look like each other like the way that they did? Their gazes were both intense and gentle at the same time and it was giving the younger mixed signals.

What is it with those two? Chen Le was puzzled.

The younger nodded profusely as if he was enlightened by the elder’s reply even though he wasn’t completely satisfied and then smiled brightly to the older and said thanks as a sign of gratitude. At least he wasn’t that confused anymore.

“But why are you asking anyway?” Mark probed, wanting to make sure if what his intuition was telling him was true; that what Chenle had just asked was something related to a teenager named Lee Jeno.

“About that hyung, it’s because—” the bell then rang, signalling the beginning of their third period. It made Mark cuss lowly– not being able to hear fully what the younger was supposed to tell him– when their teacher walked in through the door and the boys scattered to get back to their seats.

--

Both boys at the other side of the high school department building had just finished eating their lunch and were back to their classroom, seated on their respective chairs, minding their own business, and honestly, Donghyuck is not having a pleasant time at all. A person named Na Jaemin and the subject entitled MATH, namely Trigonometry, being the culprit of it all.

“Tell me. Tell me why would he look at me like that?” Jaemin fumed before he took a rather large bite of the chocolate bar he had in his hand, teeth gritting as he chewed forcefully.

“Jaemin, eat,” Donghyuck told him, trying to block out his best friend’s annoying voice as he was in the core of solving his math homework that he had forgot to bring home last week which will be passed in today’s class. Why of all things that he had forgotten about, it had to be about Math?! And to think that this was his weakest subject!

“I mean, what did I do wrong to deserve that?” his best friend continued, indifferent of what the older was doing since he was already done with his homework and couldn’t care less of the elder’s struggles. Well, it was his fault for not doing it in the first place, Jaemin decided.

“Just eat quietly please,” the older pleaded because he was now starting to get vexed at both the guy seating besides him– who had been doing nothing except rant instead of letting him copy from his own answers– and the notebook that was front of him. Why did Math have to be so hard? (A/N: Fun fact. I’m a Math Major and Axidreiin’s a Stat Major so we know what we are talking about here. XD)

“I can’t just ignore Ten-hyung because it was his birthday, okay?” but his request seemed to have been ignored by the younger as he continue rumbling about who knows what. “It was not my fault!”

Donghyuck groaned, almost at the peak of his patience.

“I knew that we were doing just fine before that, before I went to meet Ten-hyung. I was even ready to tell him who I was! But then why did he have to look at me like that?”

The older had now covered his ears, to shield himself from the ruckus the younger was making, and to maintain his focus on their assignment since he was almost at the end of it. Once he was done, he could finally relax and shut the hell up of Jaemin.

“I still can’t figure him out! I hate it! I hate him! And I hate the fact that I don’t know why he gave me that look!”

Okay… Enough was enough.

“Na Jaemin, shut up, okay?! Can’t you shut up for a second here?!” he exploded, slamming his hands on the table, causing the younger to jolt on his seat. “Three days! Three days Jaemin! You’ve been at it for three days already! You’ve been moping and ranting nonstop and I still have no idea what had happened to you to be like this and who is the person behind it all, so do me a favour by telling me everything about it so that I can understand what you’re feeling from your stand point cause I really don’t!” Donghyuck cried in one breath as the glared at the younger, unable to contain the obstructive feeling brought about by everything he was handling at the moment. Math was already tough enough, why was Jaemin adding to his misery?

The latter just ogled at him for not less than a minute before dropping his head, feeling guilty for getting Donghyuck furious like that, tightening his grip on the chocolate bar, and spoke, “I’d rather not talk about it.” in a quiet voice, then stood up from his seat and transferred to another one at a corner and sulked by his self.

Glaring heatedly at his best friend is the only thing he can do because his knuckles might come in contact with the other’s face if he comes any closer. He badly wants to knock some sense into that brain of Na Jaemin.

Donghyuck heaved a loud sigh after staring into the defeated stance that Jaemin had, his back turned to him, avoiding any possible eye contact. The latter’s shoulders were hunched and his head was still hung low, he looked so vulnerable and fragile in that sort of position that Donghyuck thinks the younger might break down any moment if comes near him. And if the older wasn’t so pissed right now, he would be the protective best friend that he usually is to the younger and try to ask him what was wrong. He knows getting mad at the younger was pretty idiotic of him but he couldn’t control it. It was getting on his nerves. And Jaemin won’t tell him anything. What could he do if didn’t know a thing at what the younger was going through?

Well, he could always ask. Jaemin would tell him anything if he pressures him to. But he knows it was the worst time to do something like that, especially when the younger was in that current state of his.

He needed space, Donghyuck decided.

And he doesn’t know why exactly, but he gets this idea that Jaemin is probably reflecting. And strangely enough, the rather cold aura that he had was somewhat alike to the air that Jeno had around him when he went to bid goodbye to both him and Mark before he left the party. The thought made Donghyuck ran an upset palm on his face, clearly telling everyone who was looking at him that he was distraught about something.

Sighing once again, he fished out his phone inside his pocket and texted someone that he thinks might be able to listen to him and understand, resting both his arms on the desk as he typed a short message and pressed send.

<< We need to talk. Rooftop now before lunch break ends.

After sending the text message, he hadn’t said a word to his best friend before he shot to his feet and left the room.

--

Okay, so maybe he had let his hopes soar up too high this time.

After receiving that text message from Donghyuck, Mark made a quick run towards the rooftop– leaving his friends behind the room without saying anything as to where he was going– only to find out that the said boy merely called him out just to have someone to vent out his frustrations on about his best friend who had been acting completely out of his reach and is way beyond understanding.

Even though Mark came to where they had agreed to meet, the every instant the younger had asked for his presence– with an anticipation of a completely different reason in mind, he was still happy that the younger chose him out of so many people he could discuss it with aside from the older, nonetheless. The idea made him smile, thinking that he was the first above anybody else that came to Donghyuck’s mind.

It had to mean something, right?

“He’s leaving me completely at the dark and it’s not pleasant in any way! I just can’t believe him! Ranting about something then when asked what he is talking about, he’ll sulk!” he huffed. They were seated beside each other on the rooftop’s floor, back leaned against the cold concrete wall.

“He’s been like this for three days straight and I think it’s no longer healthy for him and for me also! I know he’s stressed but why does he drag me into it? Dang! It stresses me out every single day whenever I try to decipher what ancient language he’s talking about! That stupid Jaemin!” the younger spoke so fast that it almost sounded gibberish to Mark’s ears but the older still decided to hear the other out.

Donghyuck was obviously upset as he continued on raving to the older about what Jaemin had put him through. Mark had noticed that people are less attractive when they are mad since their facial expressions becomes all rough and tends to stiffen but somehow, looking at a frustrated Lee Donghyuck made Mark chuckle softly.

He found the younger to be quite adorable.

“Hey Mark!”

Before he knew it, he was lost in his own thoughts again, and Donghyuck was waving a hand in front of his face, trying to get his attention.

The older looked at him, smiling.

“Why are you smiling? Are you happy that this is all happening to me right now?” the younger asked, brows furrowed while making exaggerated hand gestures to explain how burdened he felt.

“Oh no, it’s nothing like that—” the older was about to explain futher but Donghyuck had cut him off even before he could finish.

“Then what? My gosh, Mark! I called you out here to listen to me but yet you are getting all spaced out!” he sounded disappointed.

Okay, he was really getting stressed about it and the older doesn’t want him to be.

“It’s not that, seriously,” the older answered, trying to reassuring him that he was still on the younger’s side regardless of anything else. “It’s just that, I’m happy that I was the one you wanted to talk to about this out of so many people you know of,” he added, then gave Donghyuck what seemed like a sweet and comforting smile before rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed of what he just said. But he was never gonna take it back, especially when he saw Donghyuck had widen his eyes.

Seeing the younger’s reaction, a pink blush spread across his face, even reaching the tips of his ears, Mark was pleased.

“And coincidentally, I’m having the same issues with Jeno right now.” The smile Mark previously had slowly turned into a frown at the thought of his best friend.

“Jeno too? Why what happened?” the younger asked, still feeling giddy about the elder’s words from earlier but chose to not show too much emotion for he would be found out.

“How should I put it? Remember he went home early on Ten-hyung birthday party right?”

The younger cleared his throat first before answering, “Yeah. What about it?”

“You see—”

“I don’t,” Donghyuck then smirked and Mark just rolled his eyes at the former’s idea of a joke.

Sometimes, Donghyuck was bad at finding the proper timing to pull up a joke or two but Mark doesn’t mind. Donghyuck was Donghyuck, nobody could stop him.

“The day after that, Jeno gave the impression that he was fine, like what had happened the night before, whatever it was, didn’t occur at all,” he explained. “It seemed like he doesn’t want to recall what happened then.”

Donghyuck tilted his head to the side, trying to comprehend what Mark had just said. “Wait. That sort of thing can happen though. Maybe he’s just really not feeling good that night that’s why he left?”  

“That can’t be the reason, Donghyuck,” the older countered. “As introverted as he is, Jeno won’t just leave a party because he feels sick. And if he did, he would most likely just go to some quiet place where he can rest or where no one he doesn’t know of can bother him. I really suspect that something did happen at the party without my knowledge or with any of us knowing for that matter. It has been bugging me since he knows he could tell me anything yet he wasn’t told me anything.”

Even though it was vibrant as the afternoon sky above them that the older was dismayed, the younger couldn’t help but be astounded at how calmly the older let the words out from his mouth even though he had a frown on his face.

“Well, uh, maybe it’s not that big of a deal?” he proposed.

Donghyuck may not know much about Jeno but it was a possibility that Mark was just overreacting, same goes for him about Jaemin.

Mark shook his head, disagreeing with the younger. “He’s avoiding the attention, passing it to another person whenever the topic of whatever happened in the party is brought up. Meaning, he’s guarding himself from everybody else. And it’s obvious to me that he doesn’t want to talk about it or give it even the slightest thought. You’re kind of lucky with Jaemin, at least he’s a little vocal with you about not wanting to talk about it. Jeno is just silent and it’s killing me not being able to help him out.”

Donghyuck was silent the entire duration that Mark was pouring his heart out on him. It would seem like Mark had a lot of worries when it comes to his best friend than more than meets the eye yet he could still managed to form a small smile when he looked over to Donghyuck. He suddenly felt bad. The younger just wish he could do something to ease the discomfort that he was going through, to assure him what everything was doing to be fine.

“Uh, sorry?” He didn’t know what to say.

It might have been rude if it were other people that the younger is talking to but Mark understood Donghyuck meant it nonetheless— even if it was just a single word, which made him smile once more.

He shook his head. “Don’t be sorry Donghyuck. I’m afraid that this might get out of hand, out Jeno’s control and will cause bigger problems to him one day,” he sighed, thinking about the possibilities and the short-comings the younger was bound to face if this issue wasn’t solved as early as possible. “I just hope that he’ll be able to sort it out himself sooner. I’ll always be behind him whenever he needs me.”

Both were silent for a while, Donghyuck was quietly observing him for a few fleeting seconds, admiring the conviction and love the elder had for his best friend.

“Jeno’s so lucky to have you Mark,” those words left the younger’s lips without much remorse as he stared at the older in awe. Mark was so mature, he knew how to handle the situation about Jeno well unlike he was. Sometimes he questions why Mark had chosen him out of other people who were more compatible with him.

A small smile tugged on Mark’s face at the younger’s assertion. “So are you,” he responded, voice visible with affection as he saw the other flush.

Donghyuck hadn’t muttered a reply after that, still dumbstruck at Mark’s rather bold statement. Mark really knows how to make a person swoon for him. The younger had his head hung low, both arms wrapped around his knees but his reddened face was still visible for Mark to see nonetheless.

Other people tend to forget that despite Donghyuck’s rather blunt and straight forward personality, he was still human, capable of getting embarrassed at various occasions. Mark had known the younger for a few years now and to be honest, this was the first time that Donghyuck hadn’t come up with a response, an insult or even just a lame joke. It was quite unusual yet it warms Mark’s heart to know that he could leave the usually noisy younger male speechless with his advances.

This goes to show that I have a bigger changer at him than I first thought, Mark believed.

The older stood up first and dusted his pants off. “Come on, lunch breaks almost over.” He held his left hand out, wanting to help the younger get up to his feet so they both could head on back to their respective classrooms.

Without second thought, the younger accepted the hand and was pulled up by the older. Both boys smiled at each other warmly before they went out the door and made their way together towards their classrooms side by side.

Before parting ways as their classrooms were on different directions; he stopped his tracks, an idea suddenly made its way to Mark’s mind.

It was brilliant.

Why wasn’t he thought of this before?

The younger noticed that the older had stopped walking and halted as well, turned back to face him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Donghyuck, how about we let those two finally meet today after class?”

“What do you mean?” asked the latter, somewhat confused, not getting the full grasp