Mark waited outside of Donghyuck's door with Renjun and Jaemin. The freshman seemed to be taking his sweet time opening a door for them. By the time he actually opened it, Donghyuck burst out of the room. Renjun and Jaemin couldn't hide their slight laughter as they see Donghyuck in a green face mask. 

"What?" Donghyuck asked.

Mark looked a little stunned and unable to answer so Jaemin was the first to answer. "What planet are you from?"

"I'm sure he's the Golbin from Spiderman," Renjun teased.

"Hello hyungs," Donghyuck greeted. He didn't expect Renjun and Jaemin to be here with Mark.

"What's on your face?" Mark asked. His tone doesn't sound very nice.

"Go away, I'm in my zen mode right now," The freshman pushed the sophomore away. 

"Don't make fun of him," Renjun tried to stop his laughing. "He's running for rep so he has to take care of his skin."

"Still ugly," Mark commented.

"So are you," Donghyuck replied back. 

Jaemin and Renjun just stood on the sideline. They're totally enjoying this interaction. Not only had Donghyuck got on Mark's nerve, but also, their arguing made a very pleasant show to watch. 

"Can I ask you to give some notes of mine to Wendy?" Mark held up the files of papers. "I have to go somewhere to study and she might need it for her class."

Donghyuck really couldn't say no as Mark pushes the papers toward him. "When will she come back?"

"I don't know but I can't wait for her," The sophomore answered. Suddenly, Donghyuck held out his palm. Mark stared at it confused until he got the idea. Then he looked up at Donghyuck with an are-you-serious face.

"I don't do it for free," Donghyuck smirked through the green face mask. Jaemin smirked on the side to Renjun as they are totally enjoying the fact that a freshman is giving Mark a hard time.

"What you want? Frozen pink milk?" Mark finally said. Donghyuck, as well as Jaemin and Renjun, is anticipating what Mark will do. The handsome sophomore reached into his pocket, hoping to find something that's doable to be the payment and found it. "Take this."

Donghyuck looked down at the pack of M&M that was placed in his palm. Before Donghyuck could say anything, Jaemin jumped in the conversation. "Hey Mark, that's a necessity for our studying."

"I'll buy you a different one later," Mark rolled his eyes at his friend. 

"You can come with us if you want," Renjun said to Donghyuck. 

"It's ok, hyung," Donghyuck politely declined. "I can go out looking like this."

"Just take the mask off," The caramel skin sophomore suggested. "You can read your mangas while we study."

"Wait, then who's gonna give the notes to Wendy?" Mark pulled the attention back to the main topic.

"Oh yeah, then you have to stay here," Renjun shrugged and pouted.

"Uh, since you already got your payment, make sure to do your job," Mark said before turning around and leave. "I'm gonna go now."

Donghyuck waved at the trio as Renjun waved back and Jaemin walked backward to waved at the freshman. Before the trio can make it to the stairs, Donghyuck called out to them. "Hey!"

Mark was the first to stop and turned around. "What is it, shortie? Still, want that pink milk?"

"No..." Donghyuck smiled shyly. "I just wanna say... Good luck with your studying."

Mark suddenly smiles slightly. "I'm too smart to fail the class."

Jaemin and Renjun side glanced at Mark as they know what's going on in the handsome sophomore's head. Mark turned around to leave again as Jaemin and Renjun waved goodbye to Donghyuck. When the trio finally leaves, Donghyuck went back into his room and waited there for Wendy to come back. After losing in his video game and wander around his room, he is officially bored. Donghyuck found himself looking at the top of a drawer where he kept all the pictures of Mark in his high school days. 

There are five pictures in wooden frames. Two of them were the personal pictures that Donghyuck "accidentally" took. The other three were bought from Mark's fan club in high school. Sitting in front of those pictures is a small velvet box. Donghyuck walked over to open the box up. It had been a while since he looks inside the box, which holds a tungsten black bracelet. A rather unpleasant memory popped up every time he looked at the bracelet.

Donghyuck held the velvet gray box and letter nervously as he walked down the hall of the 12th-grade classes. His fingers were trembling like crazy. This must be how those girls in the anime feel when they're confessing to their crush. That is what Donghyuck is doing anyway. He finally got the courage to do it, especially after the lectures he got from Chenle. He walked toward Mark's class. It's after school so he was sure most people had left, but hopefully not Mark. 

"I'm not," Mark's voice made Donghyuck's heart beat a little harder, knowing he's gonna confess soon. "Could you just stop?"

Donghyuck peeked in the room through the open door to see Mark, Renjun, and Jaemin. All of them are sitting on the desk and there's no one else around. Mark looked a little frustrated while Jaemin smiled brightly, like usual.

"We just wanna make sure," Jaemin grinned.

Donghyuck didn't mean to eavesdrop but he couldn't stop his curiosity. He waited for Mark to continue whatever it is they were talking about. "Jaemin, I say this for the last time. I like girls."

"Really? So if a boy like you, you wouldn't give him a chance?"

"No way, just thinking about it gives me goosebump." 

"Are you sure, Mark?" This time, it was Renjun who asked.

Donghyuck didn't want to hear anymore so he ran away. Even he accidentally knocked over an empty box on top of the paper recycling bin, Donghyuck ignored it and continued to run to the nearest bathroom. He knew tears would about to come out so he went to the bathroom to splash his face with water and cleaned his big glasses to erase the tear stains. 

In order not to think about him, all I could do is take good care of myself, Donghyuck sighed as he reminisced about his sad past. 

"Thanks for the ride," Wendy's muffled voice came through the walls, breaking Donghyuck's train of thoughts.

The freshman quickly got up and grabbed the notes he was given to deliver. As he got to the door, he hears Mark's voice as well and it stops him from opening the door. "That's ok. It's dangerous for girls to walk alone at night."

When he finally decided it's time to make his appearance known, Donghyuck turned the doorknob and walked out to the dorm hall. Mark is leaning against the wall next to Wendy noona's door and the two of them are chatting. They looked over to him until Mark noticed the papers in the freshman's hand. "Oh right, I left your notes with the freshman since I wasn't sure I could see you before tomorrow."

"Oh, thank you, Donghyuck," Wendy smiled at Donghyuck, who could barely look at the two without a frown on his face. 

Mark just walked over to the freshman to get the notes since Donghyuck hadn't offered them up yet. He handed them to Wendy. "Just go in and get some rest. You're too smart to be tired during class."

"Same to you, Mark," Wendy said back. "Being on top must be exhausted, maybe I'll take your place during the next test."

"Ok," Mark laughed. "I'm gonna go find Renjun and Jaemin now. Good night."

"Good night, Mark," Wendy said and walked into her room. "Good night, Donghyuck."

Mark thoughts that Donghyuck would have gone back to his room already but the freshman is still standing there with an angry expression on his baby-like face. "What with the face?"

Donghyuck didn't answer. He just glares at the taller sophomore. 

"I wasn't trying to mess with you," Mark explained. "I wasn't expecting to see Wendy at the library. Then she asked me for a ride home and I couldn't refuse. Are you angry with me?"

Donghyuck still gives Mark the silence treatment.  He had enough of the sophomore so he turned around and went back to his room.

"Come on, shortie!"

"My name isn't shortie," Donghyuck yelled to Mark's face. All the anger he felt is slowly leaking out. 

"I said I didn't know," Mark replied.

"Why?!"

"Why do you have to be so angry?"

"Forget it!"

"No, I'm not gonna forget it, what's the matter with you?" By this time, Mark already grabbed Donghyuck by the collar of his t-shirt. Donghyuck looked away to avoid staring into Mark's eyes and being so close face-to-face. "I thought we could befriend."

Mark pushed Donghyuck away and walked down the hall to the staircases. Donghyuck just looks from behind with a lump in his throat from holding back a cry. The night was rough as Donghyuck tried to hold himself back from crying and fell asleep in a very uncomfortable emotional state. By the time he went to breakfast the next morning, Chenle noticed this.

The two friends are eating at the cafeteria. Chenle is actually eating while Donghyuck just pushed the meatballs around. The Chinese male tried to get a reaction out of his friend by stealing one of the meatballs but he got nothing. Donghyuck looked extremely down in the gutter and Chenle couldn't figure out why. 

"What's wrong?" He finally gave up guessing in his head.

Donghyuck finally looked up to show his sullen face. "Is Mark single?"

"I think you mean fresh," Chenle grinned. "With a face like that, I bet a lot of girls already jump his bone."

"I said single, not fresh," Donghyuck got defensive. "He's a person, not seafood."

Chenle smiled as he got some kind of emotion out of Donghyuck. It's better than having the boy depressed and quieted. "Single? I don't know. But I heard-"

"Heard what?"

"All the girls love the male reps so the male reps have a lot of babies."

"Shut up!" Donghyuck went back to being emo again. 

Chenle mentally sighed and added on. "But I've heard that many people say that Mark hyung only wants to be with from the same department."

Donghyuck's brain went into overdrive because of what Chenle said. He analyzed every single thing he knows about Mark and every interaction they had. The sophomore went through so much trouble to help Wendy. Maybe she's the one he's after. "Chenle! I'm not going to rep practice today."

"Wait, why? I wanna ditch too," Chenle replied. "We can be sick together."

"Tell them I'm dead," The depressed boy stood up and ran away. 

"Yo, where you going?"

Donghyuck sat by himself in the park, near the pond. He has been throwing rocks into the pond for a while now. Rep practice should be starting soon but he didn't care anymore. Donghyuck picked up another medium-size rock, about half the size of his palm, and raised it up, ready to throw. However, a hand stops him.

"Hey, that's enough," Donghyuck looked up to see Jeno, in his casual clothes, different from the one he saw the engineering sophomore wore when they talked on the roof. "Trying to kill all the fish?"

"Hi hyung."

"Hey," Jeno sat down next to him. "Why do I always run into you when I have a craving for chocolate? What's wrong this time?"

"Did I disturb you again, hyung?"

"I was over there," Jeno pointed to the food stand, over by the tree path. A motorcycle stood next to a picnic table. "So what are you doing here? I was afraid you might kill all the fishes so I had to stop you."

Jeno looked in his pocket and pulled out a rectangular white packet and held it up to Donghyuck. It looks like a cigarette packet. "Thanks but I don't smoke, hyung."

"It's not a cigarette," Jeno laughs. "The seller made his own chocolate and his packaging was really bad because it looked similar to a cigarette packet. I told him to change it but he hasn't. Try it, it's good."

"But it's yours."

"Just help me. I can't eat them all."

Donghyuck pulled out a stick of chocolate bar and took a bite. "Thank you."

"Whenever I feel bummed, I always like to come here," Jeno said as Donghyuck nibbled on the chocolate. "The atmosphere is pretty nice. With chocolate, it really calms your nerve. It's a better habit than smoking."

"Maybe smoking wouldn't be so bad."

"Hey now, don't you go and get yourself addicted," Jeno pulled on the freshman's ear slightly. "You're a rep. You'll ruin your image by doing that."

"I'm just a little bummed."

"A little bummed should not ruin your life. What are you bummed about? The girls are fighting over you too much?"

"It's not like that, Jeno hyung," Donghyuck replied quickly. 

"Then you shouldn't be stressed," The sophomore scolded the freshman. "The college's rep last year was much more depressed than you."

"You Jeno hyung?" 

"Nope, I got my chocolate to calm me down and girls don't find me that attractive," Jeno laughed. "Try again."

"... Mark hyung?" 

"That annoying Mark. It's hard to believe someone as perfect as him exist because he doesn't. Mark, like everyone else, had to try hard to get where he is. Yes, he is blessed with good genes and a rich family but he doesn't depend on them for everything."

Donghyuck was surprised to hear about this side of Mark. From the day he started college, Donghyuck always thought Mark is a stuck-up meanie who loves to torture younger students, specifically him. Maybe Jeno can help shed a little light on the situation. 

"Mark can simply look at a girl and she will immediately think of names for their children," Jeno laughed again. "Last year, two of the female reps fought over him. It was a bloodbath. The person that was most negatively affected was, ironically, Mark. Those girls got disqualified. Mark got a lighter punishment because of favoritism. That left a bitter taste in his mouth. That idiot always thinks of others instead of himself."

"I didn't know about that," Donghyuck was ashamed of himself for thinking his life was a mess. Listening to Jeno's story really hit the nail on the head for the freshman. 

"Wanna go back now? I know rep practice will be starting soon."

"Now that I know that, I got to go back."

"Come on, I'll give you a ride."

Donghyuck picked up his bag and followed the sophomore to his motorcycle. The vehicle wasn't anything fancy but it's still pretty cool. Donghyuck put on the helmet as Jeno starts the engine. The freshman thought it would be a long ride but it took less than 10 minutes to get back to school. 

"Thank hyung," Donghyuck gave Jeno the black helmet back.

"No need," Jeno ruffled the kid hair. "Just buy me dinner tonight as payment for that therapy session."

"Ok, hot pot?"

"Hotpot it is."

Jeno watched as Donghyuck quickly run to the rep practice area. The sophomore has a hint of fondness in his eye as he smiled at the disappearing freshman. 

"College of Art?"

"Here!"

"College of History?"

"Here!"

"College of Science?"

Both Chenle and the female rep of the Biology, Yeri, look around worriedly. Both of them are looking for Donghyuck as the boy hasn't shown up yet.

"College of -"

"Here!" Donghyuck burst through the door and ran to his spot, behind Yeri, who sighed in relief and raised her hand as well. "College of Science is here."

As the staff continues to take roll, Chenle and Yeri knocked Donghyuck's head of being late. They quietly lecture him for a bit before turning their attention back to the staffs. After the roll call, everyone does the usual practice. Dancing and walking for an hour with a little break then filming to help promote the school. After all that stress, Donghyuck finally got to sit down as he was one of the first to finish filming.

"How's practice?"

Donghyuck looked up to Jeno staring down at him. "Oh, hyung."

"It wasn't so bad, was it?" The sophomore smiled at the freshman.

"No," Donghyuck answered with a shrug. "What are you doing here?"

"Just passing by," Jeno got his phone out. "And I forgot to ask for your number."

"Why?" The freshman asked as he put his number in Jeno's phone.

"So I can be your knight in shining armor when you cry." 

"I didn't cry, hyung."

"Did so," Jeno teased the kid.

"Hey, Jeno."

"Oh Mark," Jeno reluctantly looked away from Donghyuck to acknowledged Mark's sudden appearance. "What's up?"

"Renjun wanted me to find you."

"Oh sure," Jeno answered and looked back at Donghyuck. "I'll text you later."

"Ok," Donghyuck smiled, still ignoring the fact that Mark is slightly glaring at him.

It wasn't until Mark directly talk to him that Donghyuck finally looks at the guy. "You got up late or something?"

"I didn't," Donghyuck knew that Mark was referring to the fact that he was late today for practice. "Don't you have an exam?"

"This afternoon."

"Ugh."

"Ugh, what?"

"Just ugh!" Donghyuck still doesn't get why Mark insisted on irritating him. The guy is so annoying. 

Seeing the freshman's reaction, Mark left the conversation as it is and walked away. Donghyuck glared holes into the sophomore's back as he sat down. He barely had a moment to breathe before Chenle sudden appears out of nowhere in a speed of light.

"Donghyuck!!!" Chenle slid into the seat and bumped the said boy's shoulder. "It looked like a damn k-drama."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Mark. He's hella jealous."

"Are you crazy?"

"I don't know. I just said what I saw," Chenle enjoyed this drama much more than he should and he isn't ashamed to say it out loud. "If Mark is jealous then that's big news. You are the target of affection for the sweetheart of the Engineering Department and the king of the Medicine Department. Talk about drama."

"You watched too many American movies," Donghyuck replied back, unwilling to believe in what his friend is saying. 

"I just speak my mind," The taller male grinned. He handed Donghyuck a pink frozen milk tea. "This is for you."

"What are you bribing me for?"

Chenle chuckled at his friend's suspicious thoughts. "It's from Mark."

"He bought everyone drinks again?"

"Nope, just you this time," Chenle wiggled his eyebrow. "The guy sure knows a way into your pants. He gave it to me when you weren't here."

Donghyuck stared at the drink for a bit before suddenly getting up. "I'll be right back."

Chenle watched Donghyuck ran out of the building with a knowing smirk. The taller male could read his friend like an open book. His prediction was correct when Donghyuck ran toward Mark, who's just got to his car and unlock it.

"Wait!"

Mark turned around to face Donghyuck with tiring eyes. "What you want, shortie?"

"I..."

"Not angry again?"

Donghyuck's face turns pouty without him knowing. He didn't know he left such a hard impression on Mark that the older guy would think he gets mad everytime they talk. 

"Look, I wasn't trying to mess with you," Mark said calmly. "I really didn't know I would see Wendy last night. But that's fine. You can be pissed all you want. I'm tired of trying to reason with a brat like you."

"You're going to take a test, right?" Donghyuck asked out of the blue. "I hope you pass it."

Mark was surprised to hear this. He walked toward the freshman to see if there's any hint of snarky tone or bratty attitude. There are none of those. Donghyuck is feeling a little out of place with Mark's eyes on him so intensely. He had to look elsewhere every second to avoid blushing, which fails miserably. 

"The test score comes out immediately after the exam," Mark explained. "if I get the top score, what will you do for me?"

"Chocolate?"

Mark slightly chuckles and shake his head no. The sophomore walked closer to the freshman until they're close face to face. "I like fresh food. How about sushi?"

"O-Ok."

"It's a date then," Mark smiled and walked back to his car. 

Donghyuck watched as Mark waved before driving away. There's a hint of fondness in his eyes as he gazed at the disappearing car. That is until the beeping of his phone broke his train of thoughts. Donghyuck quickly takes out his phone to read the text message.

Jeno: Meet me in front of the hot pot place. Don't worry about money. It's my treat. :)

Oh ...

This chapter is longer than usual but that's not a problem is it? How did you like it? Did you expect it at all? Tell me!!! I like knowing your thoughts while you read. Question for Y'all: how many time do you guys see some kind of "don't ualize minors" post about NCT dream members? It's a bit annoying to me. Yes, I know they mean well but they are actually giving those post more publicity, which is a backfire. If they want to stop people from doing that, they should ignore those posts. By letting people know there are other individuals thinking about the same things (aka ualize minors), then it will only give them a reason to band together to make them stronger. Honestly, giving them attention only make it worse. 

P.S I finally know how idols feel when they see fans ship them with each other. It feels really weird but that's not gonna stop me from shipping.

FIGHTING!!!