Mark Lee was a good kid. No, really, he can say that with utmost confidence. He never came home late since he hardly went out at night anyway; he got good grades and was usually in the top ranks of their class; he was captain of the badminton varsity team even when he just moved back to Korea a few years ago; he generally got along with everybody. Well, almost everybody.  There’s just one person in the entirety of Neo High School who didn’t like him, and whom he didn’t like back.

He didn’t get along with a certain Lee Donghyuck.

Of course, this bit wasn’t his fault. Clearly Mark’s records showed that he was a good guy. 

Which means that yes, it was definitely Lee Donghyuck’s fault. They’ve been classmates for a solid two years straight, which meant their animosity towards each other has been for that long, too. Mark didn’t even know what he did wrong, but Donghyuck was the first one to initiate dislike towards him. As far as the Canadian boy was concerned, he was just trying to live a normal student life. According to the younger boy, Mark had stolen things from him in the process of doing so.

Such things like being top of the class—Donghyuck was the youngest one in their year since he was accelerated one batch, which meant getting high grades was as easy as pie for him with his so-called whiz kid brain. Ever since Mark came along though, his streak had been exchanged with a sort of rivalry instead. Sometimes, he’d be higher than Mark in some subjects. Sometimes, it would be Mark. It was, honestly, usually Mark. 

Donghyuck couldn’t stand that.

There was also how the younger boy was the captain of the soccer team. Mark didn’t even try and join the soccer team, nor did he go anywhere near them, but for some reason, Donghyuck blamed him entirely when the soccer team lost some of its members. Even more so, when a handful of those lost members ended up in the badminton team. Really, was that still Mark’s fault? He certainly didn’t think so. 

What made matters worse was how they had the same group of friends.

Mark blamed Jaemin for everything. 

Na Jaemin, one year younger, star player of the badminton team (next to Mark, anyway) and also bane of Mark’s existence. He was good friends with soccer star player, Lee Jeno. Which, of course, meant that Jeno was friends with Donghyuck. For some reason, the two decided to completely ignore the rivalry that Mark and Donghyuck had with each other for some sad attempt at friendship. 

Mark thought it was an even sadder affair that it actually worked.

To some extent, they were friends, maybe. They spent lunch together at the same table with the rest of their group of friends—that meant the other foreign transferees, Renjun and Chenle. Also Jeno’s childhood friend, Jisung, who was the youngest of them all. Mark had to admit, it was a good group of friends to have, honestly. If only Donghyuck wasn’t perpetually out to get him.

“Donghyuck, what’s with the angry look on your face?” Jaemin asked with a cheerful, almost teasing smile when the other boy stomped his way back to their lunch table. 

Donghyuck all but slammed his lunch tray down on the table before glaring at Mark.

“Minhyung here got the last juice box. It was my favourite one.”

Mark flinched at the usage of his Korean name. He was fine with it to some extent, but he did tell everyone he met that he preferred being called Mark. Of course, once Donghyuck heard of this, he made it his personal goal to only call Mark by that name. Needless to say, the dislike for the name grew tenfold just because it came from the other boy’s mouth. Still, he was pretty sure he didn’t get the last juice box. There was at least three more left when he got one.

“Did not,” he replied calmly, taking a sip of the juice box for extra measure.

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”


“I said you di—“

“Guys,” Renjun said, intervening before they ended up attracting the attention of the whole cafeteria. “Relax. Donghyuck, did you see Mark take the last juice box?”

“No,” Donghyuck grumbled.

“Mark, did you?”

“I already said I didn’t.”

“Then, there’s no reason to fight,” Renjun said, beaming that he had manage to play peacemaker between the two of them once again. Honestly, he just wanted a quiet lunch without the two fighting, but that was too much to ask for. Beside him, Chenle dropped an extra juice box into his bag. What they don’t know won’t hurt him. Jisung had long since given up on going through a day without the two fighting.

Mark likewise returned to trying to enjoy his lunch in peace. 

He also tried to enjoy the rest of his day in peace, but with Donghyuck in his classes that was pretty much impossible. He could practically feel the younger boy’s hot glares on his back since Donghyuck sat directly behind him, probably still bitter over his juice drink. Typical. They only had an hour of literature left