“I just…why?” Donghyuck shook his head in response to his best friend who had now draped himself over Jeno in the name of ‘better hugs’. “She was perfect.”

“We don’t know, Jun,” he admitted, swallowing when Renjun cried harder and further soiled Jeno’s shirt.

“Hyung…” He heard Jeno say, the other staring at the door and causing him to look and see Mark Lee – the Mark Lee – staring at him with wide eyes. Donghyuck found that he couldn’t help but stare back, his eyes never leaving Mark’s form as the older quietly made his way towards the crying pair – Jeno biting his lip lightly as Renjun wiped his tears all over Jeno’s shirt.

“It’s okay, it’ll be okay,” Mark whispered, his voice being the only comforting thing in the room and Donghyuck cursed himself when he felt his heart squeeze at the sight of Jeno and Renjun in the elder’s arms. “We’ll get through this together,” Mark continued, his eyes straying away from the pair for a second before they found his, making Donghyuck’s breath get caught in his throat at the determination in the other’s eyes. “All of us. Together.”

“But Soeun…” Renjun began to hiccup, his eyes red and puffy from his tears – Donghyuck felt worse at the tug of his heart strings when Mark directed all of his attention to the Chinese boy. “She-“

“Was forced to do it. She’s just a victim, just like we are.” Mark’s response had been so calm, so rehearsed, so natural… What would it be like if he was comforting me?

“Hyung, Koeun-noona…how could she?” Jeno piped up and Donghyuck couldn’t take it anymore, his hands had become clammy and he felt as if he was going to vomit. Cringing at the sound of his chair scraping against the floor of the art room, he hurried outside with his heart pounding and finally calmed down when he reached the end of the corridor – just shy of the main hall that was filled with bustling students.

Why the hell am I jealous? They’ve been through so much more and-

“Uh…hey.”

Looking up, Donghyuck gulped when he noticed the face of the awkward Mark Lee who coughed to clear his throat.

“I…um…I’m sorry, I really am…I shouldn’t have-”

“For the record, you’re dumb, oblivious and care too much for your own good,” he said, not being able to stop his mouth once it had started. “You can be selfish, you can be heartless, and you can be incredibly frustrating, you know that?”

“I…no, I didn’t know…” The older replied, shock on his face as Donghyuck took another deep breath in, the urge for contact overwhelming him despite not having been close to Mark Lee before. “I’m-“

“God, why are you so annoying?” He didn’t bother holding back, didn’t find the energy to care about what the other would think before he confidently wrapped his arms around the other. “I know it’s stupid because we don’t really know each other but…I missed you, Mark Lee.” Donghyuck smiled when he felt Mark’s heart rate speed up at his words, pushing his nose against the other’s chest even more.

Donghyuck grinned the widest he had in weeks when he felt Mark’s hands bring him closer and giggled.

And if there was one thing that Donghyuck knew he barely did, it was giggling.

“I missed you too, Lee Donghyuck. Or rather, Haechan.”

Fitting, but I missed you so much, Caster Meow.

“Mark-oppa?” He heard a female ask to his left, one of the popular kids – Hina, the Japanese one if he remembered correctly – was standing there with wide eyes as she stared at them both. “Oh, thank the ing heavens you two are safe.”

“She cares about me?” He asked, glancing up at Mark who simply snorted and pinched his cheek in response. Whining and screwing his eyes shut, he nearly missed the quiet ‘of course she does’ from the older.

“Hina, what’s up?” Donghyuck observed the girl, her lips turning from an in-awe open mouth to a tight smile.

“I…just looking for someone…um…” Hina bit her lip after she looked around, a more genuine and smaller smile making its way onto her lips – confusing Donghyuck beyond belief. “You two go back to whatever you were doing.” He had taken half a breath before Hina was gone, her figure disappearing among the crowds in the main hall next to them but Donghyuck noticed her enter the female bathrooms with a hand over . He felt someone’s heavy gaze weigh down his soul and turned to see Mark staring at him as if he were the only one who mattered in his world.

“I still think you’re an idiot,” he stated to counteract how the elder’s gaze made his stomach turn in on itself as blood begged to rush to his cheeks. “A really, really big one,” he added on just in case he was actually blushing.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Donghyuck would be lying if he said that he hadn’t expected Mark’s question but even if he knew, it didn’t stop the surprise that spread within him. “That you were the one texting me