IV

“What’s that?” Donghae mumbled as Siwon put a big rectangular heavy thing down his table.

Siwon stopped managing his things for a while and looked at Donghae. “My… laptop?”

Donghae nodded in confuse, but he pretended that everything was okay. He went back to focus at his mini bowl of sushi rice (or whatever it is, Hyukjae called the food so, and Hyukjae told him to eat a lot), but the small voices of Siwon’s laptop distracted him, even though Siwon was sitting on another armchair and he was sitting on the sofa.

It was around eleven at the morning when Hyukjae finally took a bath (well, it’s a holiday) so Donghae nearly had nothing to do except to sit down and eat. Well, the television was played so it filled the house’s emptiness, but still he was a little bored. But once Siwon brought his laptop, Donghae turned out a little curious until he forgot to listen to someone singing in the TV.

Siwon glanced at Donghae and said, “You wanna see?”

Donghae slightly nodded.

Siwon let out a chuckle. He juxtaposed a little and patted an empty spot beside him; thank God that the armchair was quite large. “Come here, I’m working on my office’s document.”

Donghae slowly stood up and walked towards Siwon. He was hesitating at first, but seeing Siwon’s steady pats on the armchair, he slowly braced himself to approach. Siwon grinned seeing the scene of Donghae sheepishly approaching him.

The screen was so bright with some squares Donghae couldn’t stand. He took a small seat beside Siwon and continued examining the laptop. The small squares on the screen had varied numbers, and even though Donghae hadn’t read anything for a moment, he still recognized them.

“This is for my office’s monthly report,” Siwon murmured and scrolled downwards.

“What do you do?” Donghae asked with his eyes still on the screen.

Siwon thought for a while before saying, “Well… I work for a… computer factory, can we call it so? I’m analyzing the data for next month’s products,” he pointed at a column and continued, “So we can make catalogues or decide the best products.”

Donghae nodded although he could only understand the beginning. “Is it great? Do you receive much money?”

A chuckle escaped Siwon’s mouth, and he scratched his head. “No, I assume it’s not really good…”

“Stop saying bulls, will you?” Hyukjae suddenly walked out of the bathroom and laughed. His hair was still wet and his towel was still wrapped around his shoulders although he had worn his shirt. Siwon scoffed lightly as Hyukjae switched the bathroom’s lamp off.

“Siwon is the one who feeds you, I mean by the money he can buy almost anything. His company is really big and cool though,” Hyukjae continued without looking at his talking opponents.

Donghae looked at Siwon hopefully, “Is that true?”

Siwon chuckled and shook his head. “He’s exaggerating. Hyukjae is a doctor though, and he gains more money than me!”

“I’m only a part time doctor!” Hyukjae spoke as he went nowhere Donghae didn’t know, maybe to hang the towel or something.

“But still,” Siwon answered as he turned back to focus at his laptop with a grin, working on his data again. “You’re always busy though. I don’t think normal part time doctors work that much, so I assume that you gain more money.”

Donghae was imagining about the amount of money they got from working. Could they buy him a lifetime package of foods? How many houses could they buy?

Could it help him?

Hyukjae pulled him out of his imagination when the older man said, “Donghae-ya, if you want to take a bath, go borrow my shirts.”

Hyukjae was definitely kind, he even casually called Donghae with the friendly language with a ‘ya’. No wonder he produces much money, maybe other doctors like him and give him money. Donghae thought as he nodded at Hyukjae’s statement.

Siwon looked at Hyukjae for a while and said, “Shouldn’t he just borrow mine? Yours are fantastically too small!”

Hyukjae casually raised his shoulders and glanced at Donghae. “Go pick a nice sized one then. I’ll accompany you, come on.”

Donghae slowly stood up, following Hyukjae to enter his room, specifically the room where he found himself staying a night and waking up at. The room had a wooden wardrobe on the left side, and Hyukjae approached it to open it.

The clothes were varied from the elegant, formal ones until thousands (well, tens?) of white boring man camisoles. Hyukjae moved away some hung clothes which hid normal T-Shirts behind. He glanced at Donghae and grinned, “Mind to choose?”

Donghae nodded with a grin and he approached the wardrobe to pick. Siwon was right, Hyukjae’s were quite small. Donghae randomly took one and said to Hyukjae, “Does this seem to fit?”

“Hmm. I don’t know,” Hyukjae mumbled and took the shirt. He normally told Donghae to turn around, and Donghae did so because Hyukjae wanted to decide whether he should borrow Siwon’s instead or not.

Hyukjae opened the shirt wide and put it on Donghae’s back. It was likely one inch too small from each shoulder, and Hyukjae lifted his eyebrows. He slightly fixed the shirt’s position from Donghae’s back and mumbled, “I don’t think…”

Right at that time, his index finger brushed Donghae’s nape and lifted Donghae’s tips of hair as Hyukjae managed the shirt’s collar. Donghae immediately jerked a little with a gasp, which made Hyukjae’s heart beat in surprise and him looking at Donghae in surprise as well.

“What’s wrong?” Hyukjae murmured in surprise and confuse, his widened eyes were directly staring at Donghae’s green shocked orbs.

“N-nothing,” Donghae lightly stuttered. “I guess I s-should borrow Siwon’s instead.”

In an instant Donghae left the room, leaving Hyukjae alone with a shirt on his hand. Hyukjae watched as Donghae ran away, closed the door, until there wasn’t any sound, even the sound of his own breath because Hyukjae held his breath.

The sight of a slight black and white thing on Donghae’s nape. The between angry, surprised or scared reaction from Donghae, it was clearly telling him.

So that time, he didn’t see a hallucination?

…

V

Donghae slowly stepped inside under the shower. His palm lifted the shower on, and in an instant, water dripped from the top of him, making his hair all wet and his body partly wet.

He sighed, letting the water drained for a moment of silence. Donghae wiped his face with his wet palms to let it feel water as well, and then he turned around to grab the shampoo bottle.

I shouldn’t do that, he thought as he pressed the bottle to let some bubbles out along with the liquid. Donghae applied it all over his hair, and then his fingers lightly touched his nape. He had to say sorry as soon as possible to Hyukjae for responding like that, but he wasn’t sure that he would have the courageous.

He should have just let Hyukjae know about this small difference –or this small flaw. People with his ‘species’ or his kind have spread and luckily they were accepted, even though some people still stare at them differently when they told the others so. And Hyukjae seemed kind, so he should’ve accepted it nicely.

The barcode was the sign of a species –or a group or a pack?– which was portrayed on Donghae’s nape. He was cursed, or rather unique. But he claimed himself as someone who was cursed, different, unusual, and rare –at least a person who made a mother locked her own child.

People with barcodes have many commotions and difficulty in their lives. That’s what Donghae hated, especially the feeling where he wanted to do things with his ‘friends’ but his mom always refused that idea and forced him to go to his room, sleep, and dream nice dreams when his actual nicest dream was to live outside until midnight with some ‘friends’, play all day without have to worry and get scared of getting locked again.

Well, I am cursed. Aren’t I?

Donghae brushed away the shampoo’s foam all over his hair. Again, his palm deliberately wiped the foam on his nape, specifically his barcode, as well. No matter how hard he scrubbed or scratched the barcode away, it wouldn’t disappear. It has stuck on his skin, maybe even it was the part of him and his body, and he had no idea how to stop the curse.

The bigger thing was that he had no idea how to change people’s perspective of the uniqueness.

a/n:
first of all happy anniversary for suju kry!! ily <3
btw i will feel really appreciated if you guys are willing to spend some time to click the upvote button in the foreword-
thanks for those who had read, subscribed, commented and upvoted!!

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