No new messages awaited him the next morning. He hadn’t even realised how much he had hoped for one until the crashing realisation came that Mark Lee hadn’t messaged him.

“Any reply from Mark, yet?”

Sighing and putting his phone away, he shook his head in response to his best friend’s question. 

“Things will sort themselves out,” Renjun said, pouting slightly at him and Donghyuck found himself feeling slightly less lonely as he waited for Renjun to organise his locker.

“Jeno and I were talking last night about the person behind everything…” He started, cautious since the person behind everything very well could be the one person who had access to his phone: his best friend. “Maybe…maybe they’re someone in the club…”

“Jeno said this? Maybe he’s hinting at something?” Renjun asked back, pulling out a mathematics textbook. “Like, maybe he knows something we don’t?”

“I don’t know…I don’t know anything anymore…” He admitted, feeling lost before his phone made a small ding! simultaneously with Renjun’s. “What now?”

“Seems like the website,” Renjun whispered, hesitantly opening the notification as Donghyuck did the same, dread flowing through his veins in replacement to his blood. He saw a small sentence underneath a picture of the popular clique: Mark Lee sitting in the bottom right of the screen, his face taking up almost half of the picture as he stared at someone beyond the rest of his friends that were featured - Yukhei, Hina and Yeri’s faces were all blurred slightly with their mouths opened in frozen glee as Yukhei held a phone that didn’t seem to be his. Donghyuck even noticed his own friendship group in the background - Jaemin patting Jisung’s head, Chenle laughing at Jeno who was in the middle of chewing and the star couple of their friendship group conversing happily. His own face was the only one that wasn’t slightly blurred other than Mark’s. 

But what was worse was the smug look on his face that caused his mind to remember that one moment that began it all.

The exchange. 

Hello, again! The news team really doesn’t bring in a lot of the latest news, does it? To spice things up, here’s a little picture that was shared to me by a very VERY dear friend of mine - she truly is an angel. This was during the texts that they were sharing and I think it’s so adorable! But that’s not what I’m here for. Mark Lee and Lee Donghyuck, you two are surely confused over who would have done this right? After all, not everyone goes around recording conversations and going into the broadcast room which is why the picture below is such a blessing! For those of you who don’t know, the broadcast room which was used was the news team’s and each member has their own key. You might think that I stole this one but I didn’t. The owner gave it to me willingly and we’re actually pretty close! I don’t think he’s noticed that I’ve never given it back yet.

Below that paragraph, was a picture of half a girl’s face - someone who looked oddly like someone he had seen in passing in Mark’s grade - smiling, a key being held up as she smiled widely to the camera with the name of one of his dear friends. 

What is Jeno’s key doing with…oh no…

“Hyuck, you know he would never-“

“Then explain the picture, Jun!” He interrupted, raising his voice as the students in the halls turned towards him. “That’s his key! That’s his handwriting!”

“I’m sure Jeno has a very good reason-“

“Well then, it seems like I might not have to hear it,” He stated coldly, turning away and walking towards the library where Jeno usually went in the morning to study with Jaemin and Jisung. With every step he took, a new surge of anger rushed over him and Donghyuck found himself reading into Jeno’s uncertain look the night before.

He had known something that I didn’t…he still knows something that I don’t.

“Lee Jeno!” He screamed once he opened the door to the library, his anger blinding him as he spotted the other calmly explaining an english question to Jisung and Jaemin. “You ing traitor!”

“Donghyuck? You never come here-“ He interrupted the other by grabbing his collar, bringing Jeno’s face closer to his own as he screamed as loud as he could to feed the hunger that was in the people behind their lens and not caring about his whereabouts.

“Your key! Why the is your key with someone else?!” He screamed, glaring at the other who simply stared back in confusion. “The person who broadcasted Mark and Yukhei’s conversation was able to because of your key! All of this started because of you!”

“My…my key?” Jeno echoed, even more confusion ghosting over his face as Donghyuck heard Renjun call out a warning to him by the entrance of the library. 

“Yes your ing key! Some dimpled chick has it and now Mark is suffering because she had access to the PA system!” He screeched, seeing realisation slowly make itself known in Jeno’s eyes. “I hope you’re ing satisfied with how you ruined your supposed best friend’s school life here at SM High. You’re the absolute worst, Lee Jeno. I didn’t think you’d be this fake.” He let out a sarcastic laugh before bringing his eyes to meet the other’s. “You’re just like them.” He saw how shocked Jeno was - the other boy not even moving as he stared at him with wide eyes, on the brink of tears - but the look of betrayal on Jaemin and Jisung’s faces were too much for him to bear. 

“Donghyuck, you know this is a mistake-“ He ignored Renjun’s reasoning by turning shaking his head and walking out of the library, hearing whispers of ‘I’m sorry, hyung…but I don’t think I can look at you the same from now on’ and ‘don’t look at me, Jeno. Mark-hyung’s my best friend too and I can’t believe you instigated this’. He heard Renjun shout after him just when the door closed and was just about to run to an isolated area of the school before his best friend grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the one set of bathrooms that barely anyone went to.

When they entered th