One year later.

Mark leans on familiar brown mahogany doors, a smirk set on his lips in satisfaction as he listens to the commotion in the director’s office. (He really needs to do something about this eavesdropping habit).

“We’re very sorry for changing our minds, Heechul-ssi. We hope we didn’t cause you any inconvenience.” The sixteen year old boy’s smirk widens as he hears this. He quickly pushes himself off the door and skips a few steps backward into the hallway. 

Wiping the smug grin off his face and replacing it with an innocent blank look, he slowly walks forward, pretending as though he was just walking by when the doors swing open.

He halts when he makes eye contact with Heechul and gives a slight bow. Heechul is sporting a stinky eye back at him but acknowledges the boy anyway. He is about to leave when the director calls him back.

“Meet me in my office in ten minutes, Mark. Just you.”

“Yes sir~” Mark playfully sings in response, knowing all too well why he was called. Heechul scowls a little at the boy before turning towards a rather young couple and escorting them to the exit. 

Once the adults were gone, Mark bursts into fits of laughter. He hears an all-too-familiar giggle from behind him and turns on his heels to see Jaemin standing by the door of Heechul’s office. Said boy was sporting a short, blue babydoll dress complete with the ugliest pink ballerina flats Mark has ever seen. But in all honesty Jaemin still looked good in that get up. Too bad that narrow-minded young couple thought that dresses were only meant for little girls.

“Well hello there, Miss. Haven’t seen you around here before.” Mark teases the younger boy.

Jaemin rolls his large doe eyes and smacks the other boy in the arm. But his face breaks into a large smile once again anyway.

“Shut it, Marco. I look fabulous and you can’t deny it.” The pretty boy attempts to flip his rather short hair in Mark’s face and playfully struts past him towards his room. Mark clutches his stomach from laughing too much, however still sniggering as he followed after Jaemin.

“Hey wait up Jaeminnie Mouse!”

-

Propped in a ridiculously uncomfortable grey leather armchair, Mark examines the room he was sitting in. He takes in the shelves and cabinets filled with files and documents arranged on the left side of the room. His eyes then flitter to the right side, where little drawings clearly done by kids were plastered all over the cork board. 

His attention is caught by one very familiar art work pinned to the lower left corner of the board. The white paper was painted with nothing but of grey and black. He motions to take a closer look but he hears the door open and close behind him, so he forces his back onto that nasty armchair. He is welcomed by the director leaning against the desk in right in front of him.

“So how did Jaemin’s adoption go?” Mark asked innocently, but he already knew the answer, so he bites back the urge to smirk once again.

There is a short silence before Heechul speaks up, sighing.

“How long are you going to keep this up, Mark?” The man asks, slight disappointment laced within his words.

“What are you talking about, Mr. Kim?”

“You know very well what I’m talking about, Mark Lee!” Heechul bursts, standing up straight and towering over the young boy seated in front of him. “Why do you keep messing with the boys’ opportunities in finding a new family? Are you perhaps jealous of them, young man?”

Oh, that was not the case. Mark was most definitely not jealous of the boys. No no. He liked to believe that he was doing a good deed. He was protecting his friends. Besides, he had perfectly good reasons for coming in between all those adoptions.

Like the first time he actually intervened on one was because of his two Chinese gems, Ren Jun and Chen Le. It was only three months after he first met the other four boys, and he could safely say that they were getting along really well. Even his daily schedule had changed, and he was actually looking forward to getting out of bed every morning.

He doesn’t even need to execute his pranks alone anymore. Why do that when you’ve got four others to help you out? But damn was Mark amazed by how well they worked together despite their personality differences.

When it came down to the planning, Jaemin and Mark himself were the masterminds. They would come up with the most time consuming yet satisfying set ups ever. Like that one time they stuck hundreds - no, thousands of post it notes all over the orphanage building. Even on the rooftops and the private rooms. It took them a week to execute, and more than a week to clean up.

Jaemin was someone who was definitely on Mark’s frequency, except the younger may come off as a little on the feminine side. But you can’t deny that boy could fool anyone with his big, sparkling eyes, slim nose and bright smile.

The boy was loud, cunning and very playful. He is most definitely not afraid to speak his mind, sort of resembling a little diva in Mark’s view.

Meanwhile Jisung was a master at persuasion. Being the youngest, he was thought to be the most innocent. The one who would cause the least of trouble. Maybe even be against their large scaled pranks.

But boy were they wrong.

With a cute face like that, he was often used as bait to distract the adults as they wreaked havoc behind their backs. However it didn't just stop there. Jisung was quiet, but the words that come out of his mouth could burn a building. (In which they almost did, but that’s a story for another time).

From the past year that Mark has spent with the four boys, he absolutely cannot overlook the bond between the two Chinese boys. Like Jaemin mentioned when they met, Ren Jun and Chen Le really were glued at the hip. Wherever one went, the other would follow. To put it bluntly - they were inseparable.

Which brings us back to the reason why Mark came between an adoption case for the first time - Huang Ren Jun and Zhong Chen Le should never be separated.

Chen Le was crying. No, he was practically wailing. This was the loudest Mark had ever heard from Chen Le. (If the boy was a singer, he’d definitely nail those high notes.)

Mark didn’t even know why he was crying so hard. He was playing a game with Jisung when the boy suddenly burst into the room alone (which left Mark quite confused because Ren Jun was always with him), red faced and eyes b with tears. Even after an hour when Jaemin returned from doing errands, Chen Le was still sobbing loudly into Jisung’s shoulder.

“Chen Le what’s wrong?” Mark asked wearily as he gently pat the boy’s head. “Where’s Ren Jun?”

Upon hearing his gege’s name, Chen Le wailed even louder, burying his face into one of Mark’s Finding Nemo pillows. Mark was beyond shocked. He didn’t know how to deal with crying boys, let alone Chen Le. It was usually Ren Jun who calmed him down when the younger would sob over the smallest things.

Mark looked over to Jaemin who was sitting on the bed, raising his brows as if to ask if he knew where Ren Jun was. The latter just shrugged.

“Chen Le?” Jisung tried coaxing the boy this time, poking his chubby cheeks in hopes of getting a response. The boy lifts his head and rubs his very swollen eyes, hiccuping as he tried to speak.

“Jun-ge… Leave… Le-Le.” His Korean was broken but it was enough for the other three boys to understand what he was trying to say.

-

The boys later found out through more eavesdropping that a young couple had applied for an adoption a week before and innocent boy Ren Jun had been shortlisted.

And poor little Chen Le was the first to know.

Hence with the good in his heart, Mark had come up with a plan to make sure that his two Chinese boys will not be forced apart. The young couple who wanted to adopt Ren Jun didn’t know a single word of Mandarin, so Mark offered to help “translate” whatever was said during the meeting.

“Since when did you learn Mandarin, Mark?” Henry had asked him before the meeting.

“Oh, I have my ways, hyung.” Poor naive little Henry believed the young boy.

Of course Mark had felt a little bad towards the young couple, seeing them storm off red-faced when Mark told the husband that what Ren Jun said in Mandarin was “I wonder how you’ve survived living with that (his wife) for the past few years.”

The couple was so shocked that something like that came out of a thirteen year old. Meanwhile the two boys remained oblivious and kept their innocent faces on as the director profusely apologised to the couple.

The boys got an earful from Heechul that night but Mark didn’t care. Especially not when Chen Le was all smiles since then, hugging his ge ge to sleep with the biggest grin on his face. But most of all, looking at these boys, Mark has never felt such a strong sense of belonging. And he was going to do everything to make sure he didn’t lose them.

(He liked to think he was doing it for the boys, because they looked so happy at the orphanage surrounded by each other. But deep down inside, he was selfish. He just didn’t want to end up alone again.)

-

Back to the present, Mark closes the door behind him. Heechul’s warnings of “not doing these things ever again or you will suffer the consequences” ringing in his ears. But was Mark going to listen to him? Hell no.

Entering his their now shared room, in which the boys managed to convince Heechul to join three rooms into one so they could all sleep together, he is welcomed by the four of them huddled around the small table behind the couch.

“What are you guys up to?”

“Hyung!” A now blond Jisung pops his head out upon hearing Mark’s arrival. (Mark bleached the youngest’s hair because the man that once planned to adopt the baby chick wanted a pure boy. He hated piercings, dyed hair, tattoos and all that jazz.) “Look what Chen Le stole from Henry hyung!”

Chen Le mumbled something in Mandarin before pouting, and everyone glanced at Ren Jun waiting for a response. The two Chinese boys had been working on their Korean the past year and Ren Jun’s understanding in the language had become significantly better, leaving him to translate almost everything that Chen Le has difficulty in saying.

“He said he didn't steal them, he found them lying in the hallway.”

Mark made his way through the boys and stares at the two blue files sitting idly on the table. Each file was labelled with a picture and a name on the cover. Lee Donghyuck and Lee Jeno.

“What are these supposed to be?” Mark questions, but he kind of already knew what they were. He’s seen these files before. And way too often at that.

“Apparently these two are coming in tomorrow!” Jaemin answers him a little too excitedly. “Don’t know why no one told us earlier though.”

“Maybe they didn't want us to know?” Ren Jun shrugs.

“Eh whatever! But I call dibs on this one! He’s cute!” Jaemin points at the file nearest to him, labelled ‘Lee Jeno’ with a picture of a boy who seemed to be around his age. Said Lee Jeno was blessed with good features and the most unnecessary eye smile. The boys obviously knew why Jaemin called dibs.

“Of course you’d call dibs on any guy with a face like that, hyung.” Jisung retorts, rolling his eyes. The other boys giggle, seemingly excited to recruit more people into their small team.

-

The five boys wake up to a commotion coming from downstairs, hearing unfamiliar voices. They look at each other with sleep still in their eyes, Jisung almost falling off his bed.

Confusion filled the air as they scratched at the mess on their heads in attempt to remember any forgotten appointments that morning.

“OH MY GOD THE NEW BOYS!” Jaemin was the first to shoot out of his bed. He grabs his towel and dashes to the bathroom, obviously wanting to make a good impression on someone.

His loud, voice brings the other boys back to reality. Their eyes widening in realisation that yes, the two new boys were there already, and they didn’t manage to prepare anything. 

This sends the whole room in a frenzy, the boys running and panicking in all directions trying to get ready for the day, occasionally banging on the bathroom door screaming at Jaemin to hurry up.

And when Jaemin finally emerges from the bathroom looking way too dressed up and smelling as though he took a swim in perfume, the boys hear Heechul calling them from downstairs. They didn’t even have time to fake a gag at Jaemin trying too hard as they rushed to get ready.

Jaemin checks himself out one last time in the mirror before strutting his way out the door.

-

When Mark finally meets Donghyuck and Jeno, he was in awe at how good looking they were at their age, with them being just a year younger than Mark himself. Jeno looked as dreamy as Jaemin would have said, but Mark wasn't going into details. Besides, Jaemin already called dibs.

His eyes travelled to the other boy - Donghyuck who was busy discussing some things with Heechul. He couldn't really make out what they were saying for he was distracted. 

Distracted by the glow of Donghyuck’s slightly tanned skin. How his sleepy eyes made him look like an adorable puppy. How his fluffy brown hair made him want to just reach his hand out and run his fingers through the soft locks.

“What are you looking at?” Mark is pulled out of his trance when he hears himself being called out. He blushes a little when he realised he’s been caught.

“I uh… I..” Damn it, why am I stuttering all of a sudden?

“He thinks you’re cute.” Mark’s cheeks turn an even deeper red. He turns to a smirking Chen Le and gives him a glare. The boy just sticks his little tongue out in response. That little rascal.

Donghyuck laughs. (And sweet Jesus why does it sound so heavenly in Mark’s ears?)

“Why of course. I am kwiyomi, and boy you are ugly.” Donghyuck sings teasingly, complete with a ridiculous attempt of swag-looking hand gestures.

The whole room erupts in fits of laughter. Mark freezes. He has never felt so embarrassed and attacked. No one makes fun of him. No one. He’s the oldest there, he should be respected! He feels something bubbling up in his chest as he tries to spit out a comeback.

“W-well ye.. yeah! Well you’re… You’re so d-dark it’s weird!” Mark stutters out a well, lame, response in attempt to shade him but everyone just laughs even harder. The other boys have never seen Mark that red before.

Meanwhile the director sighs and shakes his head, wondering what he’s done in his past life to have to deal with such strange children. He gets up and leaves the room, but not before telling the boys to not make a mess.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Donghyuck scoffs. Mark doesn’t say anything, not wanting to embarrass himself again. “Cat got your tongue?”

“Alright alright.” Henry breaks up the little feud between them, but it was evident that he himself was trying not to laugh as well. “Go settle in your rooms and come down for breakfast.”

The boys scramble to welcome Donghyuck and Jeno to the house and bring them to their large shared room. Especially an eager Jaemin who grabs a shy but otherwise smiling Jeno by his hand, pulling him up the stairs to the rooms.

“Come Jeno hyung! I saved you the bottom bunk!” Jaemin excitedly squeals as he brings Jeno to the room, ignoring Jisung’s protest of hey I’m the one who sleeps there!

However Mark doesn’t move from his spot. Too busy trying to reflect on the bad decisions in his life. He wants to just crawl into a hole and rot. Or maybe kick Donghyuck into a hole instead and let him rot.

He feels a light flick on his forehead and he looks up to see Donghyuck staring at him with those sleepy eyes of his.

“Aw don’t look so sad, bub. I was just kidding.” Donghyuck attempts to coax the boy, but he laughs again. “You’re not that ugly.”

He flicks Mark’s forehead again and walks away before the latter could say anything. Mark grumbles lowly and rubs his reddening forehead.

It was there and then that Mark Lee had decided - that Lee Donghyuck was the epitome of annoying. He didn’t know how he was going to live with him from then on. 

Screw his beautiful tanned skin and melodious laughter. Lee Donghyuck was the very bane of his existence.

But why was his heart beating a little quicker than usual?

-

Waa Donghyuck you meanie AHAH but yay chapter two is up! Thank you so much for all the subs and the comments I'm really touched :') Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! It's going to get more interesting soon ;) Also I realised there isn't THAT much fluff but I'm working on it heokheok~ Comments are always welcomed <3

Also updates are going to be every Sunday and Wednesday/Thursday from now on hehe. Do follow me at @sehunmytype on twitter for lames rants and noisy fangirling if you guys have got suggestions or questions or you guys wanna see sneak peeks in between updates hehe :> Thank you all for the love!

xoxo