dear jenny

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[iwrotethisforjenny]

The Days We Deemed Dull - Markhyuck

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Summary: mark and donghyuck spend one trial week battling for a job as doyoung’s secretary.

mark is so undeniably hardworking, but donghyuck, the clumsy and quick-witted college student, has a charm that makes the tedious work days of the office workers that bit better.

and maybe, he’ll be all it takes to make the office a family again.

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13k

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read here on ao3

[iwrotethisforjenny]

YOUR MARKHYUCK SOULMATE AU IS AMAZING!!!!! THANK YOU FOR KILLING ME IN PART 3 :’))) KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK BBY💞💞💞💞

JSHSJSHS THANK YOU FOR READING IT ILY 💞💞💞

[iwrotethisforjenny]

I just finished reading "where were you?" and honestly I wasn't expecting the angst, I cried like a baby tbh (Ｔ＿Ｔ). But I liked it very much!! I'm definitely gonna read some of your other fics hdsjdjs btw how was mark's life before all of this happened? Who where is friends (if he had any) and what happened to them after the accident? I'm just a little curious about that hdhsjd

aaaah I just saw this,, sorry I didn’t answer sooner but I’ve actually been wondering if anyone would ask this hehe so thank you.

originally mark thought he didn’t have a soulmate, because of the obvious lack of his soulmate tattoo. he spent his life coming to terms with his solidarity and eventually accepted that there was no one destined for him in the world. unlink donghyuck, mark gave up. quite soon, actually. he was just going to college when he decided there was no point to pursue something he could never be sure of anyway.

sure he dated people in his time, some people like donghyuck who were waiting to meet their soulmates, but it never lasted. always, mark kept a strip of his wrist covered by a plaster so no one would know he was alone. this helped so when the people he dated broke up with them didn’t feel too bad about it, as they thought he’d meet his soulmate eventually too.

as for friends, he had a big group of them, but they were far from close-knit. he could go days, weeks or months without them hearing from him and they’d never ask a thing. besides, they were a close group without him, he was more of a secondary character, kinda like the shruggers in victorious, (idk if you’ll get that, but it’s the only way I could describe it) and they all presumed he had better things to be doing.

uhhh like killing an innocent man that just so happened to be his soulmate while ruining and tainting other happy lives in the process.

maybe half a year after the crash, he got a call from one of these friends asking what he’d been up to. honestly, mark felt it go to his head a little, at the thought of someone actually thinking and being concerned about him, even though it had been 6 months. the time of grief wasn’t over for his newfound friends, so it was hard for any of them to really keep up with each other, which is why he agreed to meet up for coffee with this friend. the breaking point was probably when he was stood up, and when his number was blocked by all of his old friends. guess the news got out that he was a murderer. real friends stick around even after you kill or get killed. (whatchu gon do)

the time space before he discovered donghyuck was rough for him, he was falling into a boring routine which was highlighting his loneliness and doing nothing for his usual productivity. mark was always a good person at leaving his problems at the door, or washing away the day in a hot shower, but in those few months leading up to the crash, he’d been lacking in more ways than one.

he didn’t really see his family often, they were back home in canada awaiting his skype calls on the weekend. mark presumed it would be okay, but when he wasn’t able to make friends that easily in korea, he began to regret his decision to move there. the times when he was homesick he’d have to leave his dull apartment for some retail therapy where he’d buy expensive things he didn’t need with the huge amounts of money he didn’t necessarily even need to earn. those feelings stopped when he found family in donghyuck, and the homely and safe environment in donghyuck’s apartment that he thought he may never feel again.

i guess mark just presumed it was nice to belong somewhere where you shouldn’t even be welcome, and he just went with it.

i hope that makes sense aaaa and thank u again for asking and SORRY again for not seeing it hhh

[iwrotethisforjenny]

There You Are - Markhyuck

Sequel to “Where Were You?”

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Summary: Mark and Donghyuck are together at last, and it’s nice to finally meet the person you’ve fallen in love with.

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read here on ao3

[iwrotethisforjenny]

The Forfeit - Markhyuck

Summary: Renjun, Jaemin and Mark play a game and whoever loses has to pay a forfeit.

A/N: just something tiny and shitty I wrote to stop me from falling asleep lmao

It was no secret that Mark liked Donghyuck.

He’d always be giving him heart eyes, checking up on him in his room, and letting him lie on his lap while watching the TV just so he could run his fingers through Donghyuck’s silky brown hair.

In actual fact, he was fully capable of keeping his feelings in. From an outsider’s point of view, one could consider the fact that Mark might even dislike Donghyuck.

That was because Mark knew when he could let his guard down. Everyone in the dorms knew - even the managers. The problem was in the public eye, it wasn’t ideal for him to be swooning over the younger boy.

He’d push him away, ignore his questions and just generally avoid him. He knew it wouldn’t confuse anyone - it wasn’t like they were all truthful about everything in front of the fans.

However, it was a complete secret that Donghyuck liked Mark back.

No one knew, and no one could guess; because Donghyuck made sure he didn’t do anything to Mark that he wouldn’t do to Taeyong.

And he most certainly wouldn’t look lovingly at, cuddle up in bed with, or kiss Taeyong.

Donghyuck was good with managing himself.

There was a reason he kept his feelings to himself, even when he knew Mark reciprocated them. It was simple. He was scared.

As scared as anyone would be of their first love. It was intimidating - the big first relationship. Donghyuck knew that whoever it was with, he would have to remember it forever. The first boyfriend, the first kiss, everything.

That’s why he was terrified out of his wits when he saw Jaemin making kissy faces at him while pointing to Renjun from inside the kitchen.

He’d walked into the room to three giggly boys - Jaemin, Renjun and Mark - sitting at the kitchen island with a deck of cards settled in between Jaemin’s fingers.

Donghyuck just wanted a glass of water, for fucks sake.

-

Mark wasn’t exactly sure why he agreed to this. Jaemin was always making strange bets and deals that often involved some form of his own embarrassment, so he just pinned it down to his own boredom getting the better of him.

The rules were simple. He and Renjun would play a classic game of poker. Whoever lost had to do a forfeit chosen by Jaemin himself.

All went well and Mark won the game with no problem.

All was well, until Mark heard the forfeit.

Renjun’s forfeit.

“Kiss Donghyuck?” Renjun and Mark questioned in disbelief, and Jaemin stayed nodding his head smugly.

Up until now, Mark was fine with never being able to actually act on his feelings. But if there was a chance that he could kiss Donghyuck without the consequences? He should have it - and not Renjun.

Renjun glanced at Mark for a moment. Although it wasn’t a secret that Mark liked Donghyuck, it wasn’t exactly mentioned. It was unspoken, exactly how the feelings were unrequited.

And that was exactly the moment that Donghyuck decided to walk into the kitchen, empty glass in hand.

Mark could hear Jaemin’s kissy faces to Donghyuck before he even had to look.

Renjun stood up and walked over to Donghyuck, with a surprising amount of confidence. He tucked a stray hair behind Donghyuck’s ear and then let his hand rest at the side of his neck.

He stepped in really, really close.

“What’s going on?” Donghyuck asked quietly, barely moving his mouth for fear that his lips would brush against Renjun’s.

He was extremely phased by the proximity of Renjun, who before now, had expressed zero romantic interest in him. That, and the fact that it looked kind of like he was about to have his first kiss - and it wasn’t going to be with his crush.

“We played a game, and the loser had to do a forfeit, and the forfeit is kissing y-“ Renjun tried to whisper seductively, but Donghyuck pushed him away, his once wide eyes rolling in annoyance.

“Bitch,” he started loudly, once Renjun was at a safe distance. “I am not the forfeit. Who won this game?”

Jaemin and Mark, who had got up from their stools for a better view of the action, exchanged a glance. Jaemin lifted his hand to point at Mark.

Renjun and Jaemin raised their eyebrows at each other, mouths in matching “o” shapes, when Donghyuck made his way towards Mark.

He wrapped both his arms around Mark’s neck and leaned in close, smiling softly when Mark’s hands instinctively landed on his hips.

“Bitch, I’m the prize,” he swooned, and pressed his lips to Mark’s.

Let’s just say Mark was taken aback. Not so much that he couldn’t kiss back, but he was definitely pleasantly surprised.

Renjun and Jaemin, on the other hand, were freaking the fuck out behind them.

Jaemin hadn’t even expected Renjun to get that far, let alone Mark and Donghyuck to actually - finally - be kissing.

He didn’t know about Donghyuck’s crush, but he knew they were destined to be together - whether Donghyuck had realised it yet or not.

Clearly, he had.

Mark and Donghyuck pulled away after a solid six seconds of Renjun and Jaemin losing their minds.

Donghyuck grabbed his empty glass and placed it in Mark’s hand.

“Get me some water, boyfie!” he smiled, and teetered away towards the couch, completely drunk off Mark’s intoxicating taste on his lips.

Mark was frozen for a moment - and then snapped into action, immediately turning on the tap to the highest setting and accidentally splashing a load of water into his face.

Anything for his “boyfie”, he supposed.

Renjun and Jaemin stared, holding each other, so unsure of what had just happened, as Mark handed the glass of water to Donghyuck and sat next to him on the couch.

They guessed all Mark’s questions and prayers were answered when Donghyuck leaned over and placed another, longer kiss to Mark’s lips.

Donghyuck was happy with his burst of confidence. The second Renjun was up in his face and about to kiss him he realised he didn’t want that with anyone else but Mark. And Mark wanted that too, so he went for it.

And here he was, on the couch, with a glass of water and his hydrated lips pressed against Mark’s slightly chapped ones, as their tongues danced in a silent harmony.

Maybe he should consider changing his rule about Taeyong...

Mark hummed in contentment. It happened so fast, but hey, it happened, and he couldn’t be more happy with the boy in front of him finally being his.

Donghyuck would always be the prize.

-

[iwrotethisforjenny]

Jaemin’s Night Shift - Norenmin

Summary: Renjun goes to Jaemin’s apartment while he’s working his night shift, what he doesn’t expect is Jaemin to already be home, and with another man.

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It was late, but not too late. Late enough for the stars to be out, but not late enough for Renjun to grab the keys to his car and drive to Jaemin’s apartment.

It had been a while, that much was true. Jaemin had been busy with his new job, the same way Renjun was busy with college.

It was okay, really. The time apart didn’t seem to be doing much damage to their overall relationship. Whenever they did get the chance to meet it was savoured. Nothing big, but the drawn out kisses and hands in each other’s hair meant everything to Renjun.

Jaemin had told Renjun that he was working his night shift, so Renjun had decided to go to his apartment, turn on the heaters and maybe make a cup of tea for Jaemin to come home to. After all, it was one of the very few occasions when Renjun wasn’t busy, so it was the least he could do.

Renjun rocked back and forth on his feet inside the elevator, fiddling with the keys to Jaemin’s apartment. He had been gifted with the keys a long time ago, when Jaemin had finally gotten too lazy to open the door for him every time he came over.

He quietly let himself in, and was immediately met with light spilling out into the corridor. He would’ve questioned it, had there not been voices in addition to the light.

Shutting the door quietly behind him and not even bothering to take off his pea coat, he tiptoed silently through the hallway. He was sure Jaemin had said he was working from 8pm to 5am tonight, he was complaining about the shift, that’s why Renjun was here.

Jaemin’s apartment had a small entrance hallway and then a door to the main room, where his kitchen and sitting room were combined. Renjun stood outside of this door and listened. It was definitely Jaemin’s voice and one other person. He was talking so softly and quietly, why? Renjun pushed the door open and looked in from the gap.

Jaemin was leaning against the island with a jet black haired man that Renjun couldn’t see the face of because of it’s proximity to Jaemin’s. The man’s arms were wrapped around Jaemin exactly the same way Renjun’s would be, but somehow it was completely different. Their noses were touching and their lips were so close. Renjun felt his blood boil.

His eyes filled with tears before the fists he didn’t realise he had clenched started shaking. He pushed open the door and let it bang loudly against the wall, and stormed into the room.

“I didn’t know your new job was being a fucking escort!” Renjun yelled, and slammed his keys down on the island. There were cuts on his palm from gripping them too hard, but Renjun didn’t notice. Tears were streaming down his face slowly, but his fuming gaze overpowered them.

The two had pulled apart faster than Renjun had walked in, and they were both wearing matching guilty and shocked expressions. Renjun looked at the man, and squinted before he realised who it was.

“Jeno?” he questioned in disbelief, exhaling sharply in shock and looking anywhere but at the two of them. Jeno was an old colleague of theirs, when all three of them worked similar shifts at a corner shop before Jaemin got his new job and Renjun quit to focus on college. He had always been a nice guy, so Renjun was more than surprised to see that he was caught in this situation.

“Renjun- Baby, I love you, I really do, I-“ Jaemin started, but Renjun cut him off.

“Shut up, Jae,” Renjun near-whispered. Once the situation had dawned on him, the anger began to subside until he was left with just the tears. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger in attempt to stop the flow.

“Injunnie, this was a mistake, I love you, baby-“

“Sh-shut up Jaemin!” Renjun cried in frustration. His mind was buzzing, he just needed Jaemin to listen. “I know,”

“You know? You know what-“

“I know you love me,” Renjun said plainly, but Jaemin knew that wasn’t the end of it, “I also know this was definitely not a mistake,”

“No, Renjun, you’re the one I love, really-“

“Do you really think I didn’t know the way you looked at him? The way you stuttered around him the way that you used to when we started dating? You could see it in your fucking eyes how wrong you knew it was, to want someone as much as you want the person you’re dating. I tried so fucking hard to make those feelings go away, because I felt them too,”

Jaemin stood, completely stunned by Renjun’s confession, but still he was silent.

“So don’t stand here and say this was a mistake, that you don’t like Jeno. Don’t fucking lie to my face and tell me you wouldn’t make out with this man if you had the chance, because I sure as hell fucking would,”

Renjun took this moment to turn to Jeno, who was completely frozen but was pinching his lips together to stop a smirk from forming.

“Don’t you dare smile,” Renjun warned, but Jeno couldn’t help it, and let his face mould into the perfect eye smile that Jaemin and Renjun had both secretly longed for.

Jaemin let out a soft and breathy laugh, like a sigh of relief except Renjun wasn’t amused, or at least, he didn’t look like he was amused.

“Did you kiss him?” he asked quietly, and then liked his teeth with his tongue through closed lips.

“No, we didn’t- HEY!”

Renjun had took the opportunity and literally sprinted towards Jeno, pulling him by his neck for a chaste kiss which was cut short by both of their smiles being to big to continue.

“I was so worried that I was caught in the middle of something,” Jeno finally spoke, after recovering from the spotaneous kiss with Renjun.

“No, you’re definitely caught in the middle of something,” smiled Renjun, and with a hand still wrapped around Jeno’s neck, he pulled Jaemin in for a very intimate kiss, directly in front of Jeno’s face. Jeno watched in awe as they deftly made out only inches away from him.

Jaemin opened his eyes to look at Jeno and guided Renjun to hold his tongue outside of his mouth. Jeno inhaled sharply as Jaemin licked a stripe on Renjun’s tongue as they both stared at him.

“Oh my god,” he breathed, and Jaemin took the chance to detach himself from Renjun and finally kiss Jeno’s lips.

They pulled apart panting, a string of saliva connecting them which Renjun immediately got rid of, looking at the two with a raised eyebrow before walking over to the other side of the kitchen.

He turned back to face them a bit, and smirked as he could see their eyes staring directly at his red and swollen lips.

“Tea anyone?” he offered. “And we can talk about how Jaemin is apparently skipping work,”

-

[iwrotethisforjenny]

Where Were You? - Markhyuck - Part 4

Summary: Soulmate au where the first thought your soulmate has of you is tattooed on your wrist.

[Part 3]

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The two returned back from the bathroom after Mark had been cleaned up. Only Renjun and Jeno were sitting there, as Jaemin had gone after Jisung.

It was hard for Mark to look either in the eye, when he knew that Chenle was about to tell them who he was to Donghyuck. Part of him was thankful that Chenle had offered to say it, as Mark couldn't bare to do it again, but the other part of him was terrified of their reactions. They hadn't said anything when Jisung punched him, so maybe they both secretly wanted to do it too. Either way, Chenle was the most understanding out of all of them, and even at that it had been a nightmare to tell him.

So yeah, Mark's nerves were kicking in again.

Renjun wouldn't look up from the ground, and Jeno was the opposite, glaring holes into everything with a look on his face that made Mark wish he never got a driving license in the first place.

"Mark is Donghyuck's soulmate" Chenle announced before Mark could back out.

Jeno's face immediately softened, but then he furrowed his eyebrows and he grabbed for Mark's wrist, being a bit more careful when the Mark flinched back in fear. Jeno shut his eyes tight when he realised that, of course, there would be no tattoo. He bent over and sighed into his hands, not really sure what to do or say.

"How do you know?" asked Renjun plainly, with his jaw pushed forward and staring straight ahead of him with glassy eyes. That wasn't a good question to ask someone who had found out about their soulmate by murdering them.

"Renjun," Chenle sighed as he took Mark in for another hug. Chenle could see that Mark was replaying the accident in his head. What he didn't know was that it had been replaying over and over ever since it happened, and Mark wasn't escaping the guilt anytime soon.

"So what," snarled Jeno, sitting up and matching the hateful expression on Renjun's face, "You were his soulmate. He's dead. You fucking killed him,"

Mark swallowed thickly and then took a deep breath in, but he couldn't stop another wave of tears from overcoming him.

"All I wanted to say was I'm sorry, and I wish I could've met Donghyuck and loved him before it was too late. I'm so sorry, I'm so fucking sorry," Mark began to walk away, shutting his eyes tight when Chenle gripped his arm for him to stay.

"Mark, at least come to the funeral, it's on Monday at 11am," he asked softly.

Mark let more tears run down his cheeks, "I'll be there," he said.

Walking away, Mark felt cold. The tears dried and stuck to his face in tracks down his cheeks. His eyes, lips and nose were swollen and he couldn't stop sniffling, despite how many times he tried.

When he returned home, he ran himself a hot bath and washed himself thouroughly for half an hour, not stopping to relax. When he was finished, he was entirely clean, but somehow the blood still wasn't gone.

-

The funeral came around faster than anyone wanted, which was too soon for anyone to see Donghyuck's body for the last time. They had decided to hold it in a small funeral home, because they knew how even though Donghyuck was quite outgoing, he never liked big affairs.

About 70 people showed up, including Dongyuck's family, friends and coworkers. Donghyuck's family sat up at the front row, with his friends sitting in the row directly behind them. People walked by to shake hands and give their apologies to the family, but none of it felt like it meant anything.

Mark had showed up, but he hadn't made any contact with the friends or family, out of basic manners. It was more or less common sense not to speak to the people who's lives you had ruined, especially not at the funeral. He sat at the back, watching as if he were only a distant friend or a cousin twice removed.

When the ceremony was finishing up, family and close friends were allowed behind the curtain to see Donghyuck's coffin be opened. Everyone else began to leave the building to wait outside, and Mark went with them.

Donghyuck's parents were the first to step up to the open coffin. They were there only a minute before they forced themselves to go. If they hadn't, they never would have left.

The rest of Donghyuck's family passed through and shortly, it was time for the five friends to go in.

The scene was painted so painfully. It was never something any of the men standing there would have thought they would have to face. The thick velvet curtains showed the red colour that once may have been in Donghyuck's cheeks, or his lips. Now, a ghostly green was present, and the look of emptiness that felt purely raw.

No, this was always there, inside everyone. But it felt to soon to be around, so weak and fragile that the five feared Donghyuck's skin would wither at the touch. He was so close to them, but he was so long gone.

They stood in a semi circle around the casket, their last time together as six. It was hard to compare an expression like Donghyuck's to one of peace. It was more one of unrest, and unfinished business. Like a phone that was still ringing inside his lungs, to see if anyone was still there, anyone who could still fulfill the many things that he had yet to do. But nobody was home. Nobody to answer the call, and wake up to finish a life cut short. Donghyuck was gone, he wasn't coming back.

Renjun fell to his knees, the thud echoeing through the empty hall and masking the chatter outside for a split second. It reminded him of being in a school classroom while everyone was playing outside. Exciting, you'd think, until you were actually there, because then, it was cold and lonely and all you'd want to do would be to leave. Renjun felt his mind walking to the doors leaving the school, beginning to run as the doors came closer in sight, faster and faster and just so eager to leave.

A loud sob found its way past Renjun's lips. None of them deserved this, especially not Donghyuck. They were supposed to stick together forever, since they were 15. Renjun hated this kind of grief, everything he and Donghyuck had ever done together racing through his mind all at once. The relevance of Donghyuck's soulmate in all of their lives had been no exaggeration. In a world where everyone has their other half by the time they're 18, Donghyuck just had to be the exception. And even though Renjun was mad, he had to remember that this was about Donghyuck, and that Donghyuck and Mark both deserved closure.

He took a deep breath and got up, leaving the room as fast as he could. The decision had been made, and he was going to find Mark in this crowd somewhere. In the end, Renjun found him leaning against one of the walls, staring into space. He straightened up at the sight of the younger man, but Renjun hadn't come to talk.

Mark followed Renjun quietly back into the funeral home. It would have been rude to decline the offer, and plus Mark felt like he needed to be there.

Chenle and Jaemin were still in there. Donghyuck's parents had sat back down and were hugging each other while the rest of the family went outside. Renjun stood with Mark on the side as they waited for the two to leave.

Jaemin left first, but Chenle remained inside, staring at the corpse as if it was anything more than skin and bones. When he left, he went out the opposite side that Mark was at. Mark felt nervous as Renjun gestured for him to go in.

Mark could see more now than he could from the back of the room. There were flowers, and photos, and letters that mark couldn't bare to look at or else he would be reminded of how much he fucked up these people's lives. Donghyuck was wearing a suit. The jacket was very thin and the sleeves were rolled up. The first three buttons were undone leaving his wedding tattoo on full display. His hair was combed back from his face, showing his softly closed eyelids and expression so far from that of a sleeping person's.

Mark felt an indescribably heavy feeling in his throat and in his chest, similar to how he had felt only a week ago when he was crying in the middle of the street over this very person. He felt as though he could swallow the lump in his throat, so he tried, and it was still there, but it felt different.

His gaze wandered to Donghyuck's hands which were crossed over his chest. They looked quite bony now they weren't covered in blood. Mark reached out to touch one. He held in firmly even though he was so scared of how delicate Donghyuck was. No one was watching, so he leaned down to place a soft kiss to Donghyuck's forehead. Mark mentally berated himself. That had felt weird. No one kisses a fucking corpse, what made him feel like he had a right to, anyway? Letting go of Donghyuck's hand, Mark took one last look at his soulmate, a stranger, and walked away.

Six heads looked in his direction as he emerged from behind the curtain. Donghyuck's five friends and his dad, Mark guessed they would be the pall bearers. He began to make his way outside with everyone else before he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Donghyuck's dad, looking intensely into his eyes. Mark knew by the look on his face that he knew who he was, and Mark had never felt so vulnerable in his life.

He was pulled into a firm hug and Mark couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his face. He buried his head in the man's shoulder as he didn't feel like seeing the sorrowful faces of Donghyuck's friends staring at him. As he pulled back from the hug, he decided to brave it and gave them all, especially Renjun a sympathetic and thankful look before leaving the building quietly.

Watching the six men carry the coffin on their shoulders gave Mark a feeling that he knew no one else in this crowd had, maybe no one else in this world. He wished they could understand, or try to understand how it felt to be the murderer of your own soulmate, at the very first time you met them.

Mark was invited to go to the graveyard with them, but he felt like he was miles away. He missed every word they said, instead focusing on the curves of the letters on the headstone, the dirt being thrown onto the coffin, and the tears in people's eyes who didn't know who he was, or what he had done. It felt terrifying.

As he left the graveyard half an hour later, five men approached him in forgiveness.

"We talked it over," said Jeno, "We know Donghyuck wouldn't have wanted us to hold grudges, especially not from you,"

"Yeah," continued Jisung before sighing and pointing vaguely at Mark's face, "I'm sorry for punching you,"

Mark shook his head. They didn't need to apologise for anything, especially not something as small as that.

"It's fine" he breathed and Chenle opened his arms for a hug, a group hug. Mark felt Jaemin's arms wrap around his neck, and Jeno's on the other side of him. He felt such an unbelievable relief.

"We'd like to be friends, if that's okay," said Jaemin on behalf of the group. Mark hadn't really had any contact with Jaemin when he first approached the five, so this was actually the first time he had spoken directly to him.

"It's more than okay," smiled Mark. He was so happy to be forgiven, even when he did the most unforgivable thing. "and if you wouldn't mind, I'd really like you to tell me about Donghyuck."

-

The first time the five got in contact with Mark again was two weeks later. They had exchanged phone numbers for whenever they wanted to plan a meetup.

Mark had learned that Jaemin's way of dealing with grief was talking, the same way Jisung's was punching people. Mark had met them all outside a small cafe, which he soon discovered belonged to Jeno and Renjun, and as they started walking with Chenle leading the way, Jaemin had talked the most. Really, he was quite thankful because at least there wasn't an uncomfortable silence hanging among them.

After about ten minutes of walking and Jaemin nattering on about anything and everything, Chenle announced where they were actually going.

"I'm taking you to Donghyuck's workplace. He was a tattoo artist and he spent so much time on each individual tattoo, especially his own, I though you might like to see them."

Mark was looking forward to it, but at the same time, he was so nervous. It dawned on him for the millionth time how much of a stranger he was, how he shouldn't become complacent as there was so much that he didn't know, so much things he couldn't and would never be able to claim. But when he stepped into the tattoo parlour, he felt an overwhelming sensation. A feeling that told him that this was right, that Donghyuck was most definitely his soulmate.

Jeno didn't go inside with them, he said the smell reminded him of Donghyuck, that he smelled exactly like this. Mark made sure to take deep breaths and remember the scent. It smelled quite inky, like paint and bleach, but there was also an underlying scent of dust and candles and soft fabrics that Mark couldn't really pinpoint. The smell enveloped him, and made him feel warm.

"Did Donghyuck give good hugs?" Mark asked quietly. He knew it mightn't be the best thing to ask, but if they were willing to take him here, he hoped they'd be willing to answer his questions.

"Yeah," smiled Jaemin, closing his eyes as if he were picturing every moment he and Donghyuck hugged, "It's like coming home from a long and busy day, or after getting out of a really bad problem and dropping your shoulders. It feels like a relief when you hug him, like he really cares and values just you in the moment. I never really thought about it before now, but Donghyuck gives- gave really good hugs,"

Mark smiled at Jaemin and patted his shoulder before he was gestured by Renjun to follow him. He led him down to behind the counter and took out a folder and began flipping through it.

"I don't know where the person who's supposed to be on their shift here is, but I'm sure they wont mind us doing this. All of the designs of Donghyuck's tattoos are in this, the ones on him. He drew them all himself. You might like to see them because they're all about you,"

Renjun handed the folder to Mark and told him he could keep it, but that he should look at them later so he could take them in properly. Chenle came over and told him that his favourite one was the hot air balloon on page eight. Mark made a mental note to remember that.

-

The next time they met up was a Saturday night, a month later. They were going to a bowling alley, and all Mark was told was that he was going to be on a team with Chenle and Jeno.

Everyone seemed to be in a good enough mood, no one was too peppy, but no one was down in the dumps either, except for maybe Jisung. He skipped a few of his turns and gave them to Jaemin because he insisted Jaemin was better and would get them a strike, but even an idiot could see his mind was elsewhere. It was when Mark stepped back from his turn and sat next to Jisung that he opened up.

"Every month, we used to come here. It was kind of like a tradition. We always had the same teams," he confessed, making Mark feel uncomfortable knowing that he was filling Donghyuck's spot.

Jisung smiled faintly at Jaemin and Chenle who were hugging and high fiving over the strike Chenle just got. They were so excited that it almost looked like the first strike Chenle had ever scored in his life.

"Tomorrow was supposed to be me and Chenle's wedding." he sighed and paused before continuing, "It's fine, though. We can do the wedding anytime, we're not in a rush or anything."

Jisung looked at Mark as if he was debating whether or not to say something. He opened his mouth, but then closed it again, furrowing his eyebrows and swirling around the remains of a drink in the glass he was holding.

"Donghyuck was meant to be Chenle's best man, that's the only part we can't really have anymore. I guess that's why Chenle's reluctant to plan it again... He doesn't want it if Hyuck's not there,"

There was a pause while Mark let everything sink in. No doubt Donghyuck would've been Chenle's best man if they were best friends, but he hadn't known about the wedding in the first place. Mark cursed himself for showing up too soon, but then he cursed himself for thinking about Donghyuck dying after the wedding. Either way he was dead, either way they all lose.

Jisung stood up, knocking back the rest of his drink and heading to the bathroom. Mark followed shortly after. He needed to say something, or at least do something.

It was kind of ironic, how the man that caused the bruises Mark's face was hugging the man that caused all of Jisung's inner pain. Jisung sobbed in the bowling alley's bathrooms and Mark held his head on his chest. It was the least he could do.

-

Four months it had been now since Donghyuck's death. The time between Mark's meetups with the five had become shorter and shorter, until eventually they were meeting up almost twice weekly. They had mainly been hanging out at Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin's apartment instead of having to find a new place to go each time.

On this particular day, the five took Mark to Donghyuck's apartment before the landlord insisted that it had to be emptied so he could put it back on the market. It was a nice enough place, honestly, Mark wasn't surprised that Donghyuck lived in style. It was a small single bedroom apartment overlooking the best parts of the city, no wonder the landlord wanted it back up and running. He said they had a month to sort things out and clean up before he put it up.

The first time they all went there with Mark, no one did much cleaning. Instead, they all ended up sprawled across each other on the couch watching all the DVD's that Donghyuck had stored in a small cabinet under his telelvision. mark loved hearing the little "this was Hyuck's favourite part"s and "hyuck loved this song"s. Mark felt welcome at Donghyuck's home. His home was his friends and his favourite things, and Mark started to feel at home too.

-

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come here," Mark apologised. Six months had passed since Donghyuck's death, but only now Mark was here alone, standing in front of his grave.

It was a nice, single grave with grey rocks and a polished headstone. Mark had brought fresh flowers to replace the ones that had died, but it seemed he needed to do a bit of stem cutting to get them to fit in the vase that was there. He kneeled across the even rocks six feet above the body of his soulmate and began to arrange them.

"My name's Mark," he said softly, smiling as he sniffed one of the flowers, "But I assumed you already know that. You've been watching over us, right? That strike that Chenle got during the first month, I'm sure that was you. You really got his hopes up didn't you?"

Mark thought back to how pissed off Chenle had been the next month they went bowling when he got gutterball after gutterball instead of a strike like last time. Yeah, that was definitely Donghyuck.

"I thought I'd come and say hi, pay my respects a bit," he continued, cutting the leaves off of a particularly big flower, "I've heard so much about you, from your friends and from all the videos and pictures they showed me. They told me a lot of stories about you, I felt like I needed to talk to you myself,"

Over the past six months, the friends really had talked abou Donghyuck maybe too much, but Mark loved it all. He heard everything from Donghyuck and Chenle's first kiss to the time Donghyuck tried to cover all his tattoos with a foundation that didn't even match his skin tone.

The Donghyuck that Mark had pieced together through all these stories wouldn't mind this casual visit to his grave. Mark didn't want to be a stranger anymore, he didn't want to feel like he was doing this all for nothing. Mark wanted to know Donghyuck, he wanted to love him.

"So since I know so much about you, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about me, just so we're even for all those embarrassing stories that Renjun and Jeno told me when we found all your old school pictures in a box in your apartment,"

Mark laughed as his mind was transported back to all the awkward photos he'd seen, and how Jisung and Jaemin had reacted when they saw them, because they had never seen them either. That had made him feel like less of an outsider, but that was before he realised that everything he was foing was in attempt to do that.

"Oh, speaking of your apartment, I'm actually moving into it, I hope you don't mind," Mark had talked to the landlord and he agreed to let Mark take it instead of putting it on the market to rent again. He had pointed out the fact that no one would want a dead guy's apartment anyway, and he knew by the look on the landlord's face that he had won.

"I kept all your paintings and furniture, they're pretty snazzy. But I'm painting the wall in the sitting room no mattter what. Bright orange with the green rug? Donghyuck were you out of your mind? The place looked like a carrot!"

Mark chuckled a bit, finishing up with the vase of flowers that were now arranged beautifully underneath Donghyuck's golden engraved name. He cleared up all the leaves and stepped back to admire his work.

"Not bad," he commented, tilting his head to see it at a different angle, "I used to work in a florist before I became a supervisor. I've always loved every job I had, I guess it's got to do with me loving being busy all the time. I want to learn to be good at everything I do,"

Mark stopped talking so he could go and move the vase to a more central point in front of the headstone.

"I got you tulips because I don't think anyone ever asked you what your favourite flower is. I would've got you sunflowers, but they'd be a bit too bulky for a grave."

He realised then that the flowers didn't have any water yet. Some florist he was. He took a bottle of water out of the plastic bag he carried them in and emptied its contents into the vase taking care not to spill any on the rocks so it didn't ruin the aesthetic.

When mark was done, he sat back down on the rocks and fiddled with his thumbs before lying fully back on the grave. He played with the stones in one hand while he sheilded his eyes from the sun with the other.

"I know we can't be lovers, but can we maybe be friends?" Mark asked, "unless you want me to kiss the rocks and just hope they're in line with your lips," he started laughing, but slowly it turned into crying.

"I'm sorry, I promised myself that I wouldn't cry, I wanted this to be a happy meeting," he sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "It's been a while since I've had people to talk to, like your friends- like our friends. I told them that I was gonna stay with you guys forever because I'm probably never going to find anyone as amazing as them. Sometimes no one else matters though, because the only person I'll ever want to fall in love with is you, and I'm okay with that. I feel like I'm already there,"

Mark was still crying, but he still had more to say. He sat up and looked down at the rocks underneath him. It felt like they were changing colours, and they felt warm in the palms of Mark's hands.

"I'm okay with living alone, Donghyuck. I promise I won't try to follow you, but I'll be with you when my time comes. For now, we can be friends. I'll visit as much as I can and you keep watching over us, maybe give Chenle another strike if you can," Mark smiled and his tears stopped. He laid back down for another bit while he watched the clouds move in front of the sun until it was too cold to stay outside.

It wasn't the ideal situation for soulmates, but Mark would make it work. He'd live for Donghyuck, and make sure he was never forgotten.

-

[iwrotethisforjenny]

Where Were You? - Markhyuck - Part 3

Summary: Soulmate au where the first thought your soulmate has of you is tatttooed on your wrist.

[Part 2]

-

Mark panicked. He hadn't seen the pedestrian run in front of the car until it was too late, and Mark had possibly killed him, so what did that mean? He didn't know anything about the laws if you accidentally kill someone.

No, he wasn't dead. Mark needed to think positive. He didn't kill anyone. He didn't.

The man was unconscious on the floor, and it was Mark's fault. People were staring in horror, some people were crying, traffic had stopped and right now Mark needed to do something, to do anything.

"You," he called out to a man approaching them, "What's your name?"

"Johnny," the man responded

"Johnny, go call an ambulance and tell me when you're done,"

Johnny immediately took out his phone and began calling. Mark kneeled down in front of the unconscious man and checked for the rise and fall of his chest, then he checked his pulse. It was so, so slow.

Shit.

Tears started spilling out of his eyes. This man probably had a family, a wife, children, parents, friends and instead of living, he was dying, and it was Mark's fault. It was all Mark's fault, he should have been watching, he should have been driving slower.

Johnny returned to tell him the ambulance had been called, and then he left, probably because Mark was in no place to make conversation.

Mark stared at the man through his blurred vision. His shirt soaked up Mark's tears as they fell. He had fucked up bad.

He noticed the tattoos across the man's arms, all of couples, presumably the man and his soulmate. One that caught Mark's attention was the couple in a hot balloon together. Had all these things actually happened? Had Mark caused the worst ending to a love story? Mark held his hand, and turned it around to see his wrist, of course the man has a soulmate just like everyone else.

Wait.

"Shit"

No. That wasn't possible. This man couldn't be Mark's soulmate, Mark didn't have one, Mark didn't even have a soulmate tattoo.

It suddenly struck him. Mark didn't have a tattoo because he had just killed his soulmate. His soulmate would never wake up, would never see him, would never think about him.

Mark couldn't help himself, he unbuttoned the man's shirt a bit, and sure enough, there were more tattoos. A wedding scene, an archway of flowers, the wedding that he would never be able to attend.

He distracted himself by searching the man's pockets. The ambulance would need as much information about this man as he could find, so he got his wallet and took out his ID. His name was Lee Donghyuck, and he was a year younger than Mark. Things were piecing together more than Mark wanted them to.

Mark couldn't breathe, the pain in his heart was becoming too tight and rough for him to think anymore, so he just cried into Donghyuck's chest and ignored the people crowding around them in panic.

They didn't understand. Mark had spent his life wishing he got a tattoo like everyone else, praying that there was someone, just one person in the world destined to love him. He gave up on that dream long ago, but here he was, watching his soulmate die in his arms.

He wrapped his hands around the back of Donghyuck's head, feeling the lack of resistance and watching as his head flopped lifelessly as Mark moved.

"Lee Donghyuck," Mark cried into Donghyuck's neck, holding him as close as he could. It was so hard for Mark to process that he had a soulmate, and that said soulmate was dying in his arms.

Donghyuck's blood was on his hands, quite literally, but Mark didn't care, he just cried and screamed as he felt Donghyuck's life trickling down his wrists and staining him forever.

"Lee Donghyuck, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," he choked out, cradling the man in his arms. He was broken far beyond repair, his once coloured shirt now completely red from the other injuries it was covering. Even if Donghyuck somehow lived through this, he would never be the same. Not that Mark knew what that was, anyway.

All he could do was cry and wait and spend probably his only moments with his soulmate as Donghyuck's heart was stopping, and Mark's was breaking with him.

The ambulance arrived, and they separated Mark from Donghyuck, much to his protests. He watched as they checked his vital signs and stripped Donghyuck of his shirt, revealing more and more tattoos, covered in blood and bruises.

They took Donghyuck into the ambulance, and Mark came with them, saying that he was his soulmate but leaving out the fact that they had never met before. They hadn't declared him dead yet, and as they say, no one dies in an ambulance, so Mark still had time.

He held Donghyuck's hand, ignoring everything but his soulmate. He kissed the back of his hand, because he didn't have the right to kiss anywhere else.

Mark traced the pictures on Donghyuck's cold skin, and lowered his head in shame. Donghyuck wasn't married and he didn't have kids. He was waiting to be found by someone who wasn't looking.

He knew that if Donghyuck really was his soulmate, then he had fallen in love with him a long time ago, and Mark wanted to fall in love with him too. He couldn't see him properly, behind the blood and pain and the inhuman mask of death, and Mark knew he would have to accept that he'd never see more than that.

He held Donghyuck's hand close to his face, crying into their intertwined fingers and shutting his eyes, praying that when he opened them, Donghyuck would be awake.

Mark hugged Donghyuck again, ignoring the people telling him to stop. This would be his last chance, and he wasn't letting go until he had to.

The ambulance arrived at the hospital and Mark watched as the paramedics hurried Donghyuck down the hall. He took one last look at Donghyuck as he was swept away from Mark. The cold and sickly look of death covered any part of life left in his face, and it would be the only way Mark would ever see him. Everything felt silent except for Mark's own sobs.

He was left standing at the reception staring down the hall, long after Donghyuck had completely disappeared from sight. Mark didn't bother waiting for the news, he knew Donghyuck was dead, even an idiot could've seen it in his face.

Mark left the hospital and sat on the steps leading up to the front entrance. He put his head in his hands and cried, and cried, and cried.

-

Chenle was the first to hear the news from Donghyuck's mother. He was finishing up his shift when his phone rang. He answered immediately, concerned as to why she was calling him.

The first thing he heard from the other line was the heart wrenching sobs of a grieving mother, and his heart dropped.

Jisung came over the second Chenle ended the call and hugged him as hard as he could as the older man cried silently in pain and disbelief.

"Jisung," he sobbed, getting saliva and tears all over his fiancé's shoulder, "Donghyuck is dead."

Jisung stopped to look at Chenle. He didn't believe it, Donghyuck had been with them two days ago. He couldn't be dead.

"A car knocked him down," Chenle choked out, returning to Jisung's arms for comfort, tears dampening Jisung's shirt as if he had been caught in the rain. Jisung remained silent.

"Where is he?" Jisung asked weakly, in a hoarse whisper.

-

The five met at the hospital Donghyuck had been rushed to. Renjun had also received a call from Donghyuck's mother, and as the three lived nearer, they arrived about ten minutes before Chenle and Jisung.

They found the three of them in the waiting room with Donghyuck's parents. Renjun was hugging Donghyuck's mother and the look on both of their faces could only be described as pure sorrow. Jaemin was kneeling on the floor sobbing his heart out while Jeno held him from behind, crying just as hard, but silently. Donghyuck's father was talking to one of the nurses, and it was clear how hard he was trying to hold back his tears.

Chenle and Jisung immediately came over and gave a hug to each of the people there in speechless understanding as they suffered the same loss.

Donghyuck's father was silent when he returned from talking with the nurse. Then, he coughed and spoke to the group.

"The nurse said there was a man here earlier. Said he was Hyuck's soulmate,"

The group reacted slowly, unsure of who that man might have been. Was he actually Donghyuck's soulmate?

"Where did he go?" asked Jeno, sniffling.

"They don't know, all they said was he was a brunet and covered in blood. He left without saying anything to anyone."

Confusion spread through the group, coupling painfully with their grief and giving at least half of them headaches. They all knew Donghyuck had never met his soulmate, it had almost become a defining part of his personality. So who was this man that had slipped into his life so suddenly, and left just as fast?

"Let's focus on planning the funeral first," said Donghyuck's mother, which sparked another wave of tears over the group. Funerals and removals and death, it was all so new to them, they shouldn't have had to worry about this for years.

"We also need to figure out what we want to do legally about the driver," Donghyuck's father added, "As far as they know, Donghyuck walked out in front of the car, and he was hit,"

Jaemin sobbed harder into his hands at the mental image of his best friend bleeding out alone in the middle of a road. His horrific thoughts matched Jeno's horrified expression as the two held each other closer.

Jisung has walked to the other side of the room and was staring out of the window, his hands shaking. Renjun went over to try and comfort him but he was pushed away.

Grief affected people in different ways.

-

One day passed and everything had changed. Donghyuck' apartment hadn't been touched and there was a gaping hole in evryone's life. It was unbelievable, really, how much you take someone for granted until they're not there. That phrase never really had meaning until you've lived through it.

The removal was scheduled to be on Thursday and the funeral was to be Monday, but one was ready for it.

As Donghyuck's parents planned everything, the five grieved in each other's company but rarely talked. They spent most of their time at Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin's apartment, as it was the biggest. Although, at this particular time, they were sitting outside of the hospital, waiting for more details on Donghyuck's death, which none of them really wanted.

A brunet man approached them with bags under his eyelids, and he was blinking fast and forcefully, while simultaneously trying to calm his fidgeting fingers.

"Um," he started, barely grabbing the attention of the five mourning men in front of him. "My name is Mark Lee, and I-" he cut himself off to facilate a large sob mixed with a hiccup.

He covered his eyes with one of his hands that were shaking uncontrollably. Even compared to the others, he was a mess.

'I'm the one who knocked down your friend, I'm so sorry," the words tumbled out of his mouth so fast that the men weren't sure if they had heard him correctly.

"What," someone said quietly. None of them had expected him to come forward and say that, let alone to them of all people.

Instead of keeping quiet like he had been the past two days, Jisung stood up and walked over to Mark and punched him once in the face, and then twice, harder. Mark let out a scream of pain as Jisung inspected his knuckles. It had been a good few punches, and would definetly leave something for Mark to learn from.

"Jisung!" the others scolded their youngest friend. They were adults, they shouldn't be solving their problems like teenagers.

"You can't do that," Jaemin warned as Chenle ran over to Mark to see the damage.

"Are you okay?" Chenle asked as he friend to move Mark's hand that was covering his face. Mark started crying, and it wasn't because if the pain.

"Jisung, what the fuck," Chenle cursed. It was very unusual for him to swear, which was Jisung's first hint to how mad he was. "You know Donghyuck was in the wrong on that road, this isn't Mark's fault"

"He fucking deserves it," Jisung spat, shaking with anger, "So what if Donghyuck ran out on that road, he still killed him!"

"Jisung," Jaemin warned, placing his hands on the younger shoulders, only to be violently pushed away.

"Get off me!" Jisung yelled, walking away. As he passed Mark, he shoved him harshly on the shoulder and growled "murderer!" before storming off, clenching and unclenching his fists as he went. Jisung was being irrational, but grief was clouding his judgement.

None of the men knew what to do except look back at Mark who was staring with wide eyes at the floor, tears falling everywhere they could reach, and sobs haunted with the weight of someone's life.

"I'm sorry, I deserved that, I'm so sorry," pleaded Mark, choking out sighs and almost falling over as he attempted to somehow steady his breathing and regain his composure. He attempted to get away from Chenle, who had a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, I'm going to leave now"

It was clear, and not just from his words, of how sorry Mark was. He was shaking and crying, and he looked like he hadn't slept a wink since the accident. The man was probably in shock, and he was trying to make things right.

"No, Mark," said Chenle, refusing to let go of him, "At least let me help you clean up your face, Jisung shouldn't have punched you like that,"

"I can't accept that," choked Mark, covering his face so the others didn't' have to see him cry over a stupid hit, when Donghyuck had died because of his injuries. Injuries that Mark had caused him to get.

"Yes you can," confirmed Chenle, dragging Mark away from the group and into the bathrooms inside the hospital.

When they were safely indoors and it was just him and Chenle in the bathroom, Mark began to calm down. He let out a deep sigh and steadied his breath while Chenle dampened a cloth.

"Let me see," requested Chenle, tilting Mark's head up and inspecting his face. "You've got a split lip, and your eye is bruising, fuck"

Chenle sighed, "I'm so fucking sorry for Jisung, he really shouldn't have done that. I know it wasn't your fault. Donghyuck was my best friend and running out in front of a car is the exact thing he would do"

Chenle was trying to comfort Mark, but he could tell it was only hurting him. Mark felt like he had ruined their lives, like he was a monster. But here he was allowing the man he killed's best freind to clean a stupid cut on his lip.

"Jisung is my soulmate, so I'm stuck with him," joked Chenle, trying to change the subject. Soulmate. There was that word again. "He'll come around. He'll apologise to you, I promise,"

"He doesn't need to," Mark disagreed with a lump in his throat.

"Mark, would you stop disagreeing with me?" Chenle whined, as Mark hissed at the contact of the cold water against his split lip. The two fell into a silence as Chenle finished washing up the blood.

"I'm also..." Mark began quietly, trying to gauge whether or not this was the right time to say it. "Donghyuck's soulmate. I'm Donghyuck's soulmate."

Mark began to panic again as the reality of his words sank in, and as Chenle stared at him in shock and surprise.

"You are?" he asked "Were you the one with him at the hospital?"

Mark nodded meekly. It felt wrong for Mark to be claiming such a title from Donghyuck. The man in front of him was his best friend, probably had been for years, and it seemed a little arrogant to try to and top that. Either way, he deserved to know.

Chenle covered his mouth with his hands as tears started spilling out of his eyes faster than Mark could see them. He tried to wipe them off the younger one's face but was instead enveloped into a huge hug as he felt a damp patch grow on his shoulder. Chenle was a silent crier, Mark observed. It matched his positive personality, but it made Mark wonder if he usually ever showed weakness.

"He's been waiting for you for so long... I didn't know if you were even real," Chenle cried, hugging Mark tight. It was comforting, but it didn't soothe the cold feeling that had been sinking heavy in Mark's chest from the loss of a love he would never know.

-

[Part 4]

[iwrotethisforjenny]

Where Were You? - Markhyuck - Part 2

Summary: Soulmate au where the first thought your soulmate has of you is tattooed on your wrist. [Part 1]

-

Chenle and Jisung had decided to get married. The friends had helped Jisung propose, figuring out everything from the ring to the proposal itself. Donghyuck’s job was to go to work with Chenle as normal and Jisung would go to work early, waiting for them to arrive.

When they got there, Donghyuck said something to make Chenle laugh just as they walked in the door and Jisung, reenacting how they first met, asked him politely to shut it. Then, Jisung subtly moved his hand so Chenle could see the words “Will you marry me?” written on his wrist.

Chenle had screamed, and Jeno, Renjun and Jaemin climbed out from under the table to see his reaction. They had insisted on being there while it happened even though their adult bodies could barely crouch the same way they could when they were teens.

Jisung practically jumped over the counter when Chenle said yes (even though he wasn’t really sure what else he could say, because they were soulmates) and enveloped him into a huge hug before they kissed eagerly. Jaemin pretended to vomit, but Renjun flicked his forehead, insisting that it was cute.

The wedding was to be in late June. Jisung had proposed in February, so they didn't have to wait long. Chenle was more than excited, he always wanted a summer wedding, and he was finally getting one. Since Jisung had proposed, every day seemed to be a good day, another day he could spend with his perfect fiancé. (He knew the novelty of marraige would ware off quite soon after, but he wasn't willing to admit that to himself yet).

The friends began to plan the wedding in advance, planning everything from the venue to the colour of the invitations. Jisung rang his mom the second Chenle accepted his proposal to tell her the good news. She had come over and was helping them with the planning.

Jaemin and Jisung's mom got on surprisingly well, spending a lot of their free time on the wedding organisations. They both wanted it to be perfect for the couple.

While Jisung and Chenle described their perfect wedding, Jaemin and Jisung's mom worked hard to make it a reality. They found the perfect venue; a fancy hotel with a ridiculously gorgeous garden for the ceremony. They also took it upon themselves to find the cake perfect for Chenle, as they knew that was nearly the most important part for him. They ended up picking out the most delicious chocolate cake they could find, and when Chenle discovered it, he almost literally jumped for joy.

Jisung didn't seem to have any strong preferences for the overall ceremony, rather he was enjoying seeing Chenle so happy living out his dream life. Of course, Jisung did make small inputs, in fact, he was responsible for planting the idea of a chocolate fountain in Chenle's brain. This was going to be one incredible wedding.

-

The preparations were going well, and time was ticking steadily past. Before Donghyuck knew it, he was trying on suits with Chenle in a fancy shop in the middle of the city.

First, Chenle was to try his suit, and then Donghyuck. They wanted undivided attention on the suits to make sure they had the right ones.

As soon as Chenle stepped out of the changing rooms, Donghyuck knew that Jisung was going to faint. Chenle, the boy he had witnessed sneeze into his coffee on numerous occcasions, was a man now, and holy heck did he look good in a suit.

Chenle laughed at Donghyuck's awestruck look and turned to look at himself in the big mirror on one side of the room.

"I think the sleeves might be a little-"

"No, no, its perfect," interrupted Donghyuck before he actually listened to what Chenle had to say. "Actually wait, they look a little tight, sorry,"

Chenle just laughed again and waited as Donghyuck left the room to get a bigger size for him. Chenle could almost hear the thoughts whirring around Donghyucks head. He knew it was a big thing, marraige and all, and if Donghyuck was feeling like they were only 15 yesterday, then Chenle was feeling the exact same way.

"It feels like we were only 15 yesterday," Chenle said, vocalising his thoughts as he looked in the mirror with the bigger blazer on. "I can't believe I'm getting married,"

Donghyuck shifted in his seat, sighing, "I can't believe it either," he said softly, and amusedly, "We've been friends for what, fifteen years now?"

"Holy crap," laughed Chenle, tearing his eyes off of his reflection and looking at Donghyuck's equally entertained face. Chenle took off the suit jacket and draped it over one of his shoulder, returning his eyes to the mirror and experimenting with different poses.

"Speaking of," Chenle began, clearing his throat, "I've been meaning to ask you something, sorta to do with how long we've been friends,"

Donghyuck nodded slowly, and slightly nervously, but he let his friend continue.

"We've really grown up together, all six of us, but especially you, Renjun, Jeno and I. And I've just been thinking about the wedding and everything, and how much you all mean to me. I feel as though you and I, we've always had a close bond, maybe even closer than the others, and really, you're like an older brother to me, and you've been here for me for so long. I just-"

Chenle cut himself off, he knew he was rambling. He took a deep breath and looked Donghyuck in the eye.

"You were right next to me when I met Jisung, I want you to be right next to me when I marry him. Hyuck, will you be my best man?"

Donghyuck was taken aback. He genuinely hadn't remembered that they needed a best man, but he was still surprised that Chenle chose him over the others, it really touched him.

It was quite sentimental for Donghyuck too, watching his best friend grow up, and get married to the person he had been in love with for years. Donghyuck felt truly happy for Chenle, he deserved the best in the world, and there was no doubt that Jisung could give it to him.

"Of course!" Donghyuck squealed as he took Chenle into a big, bone-crushing hug. He didn't let go until he realised that he should probably be minding the suit in case it wrinkled, but even then he still held Chenle by his shoulders, and looked at him and the person he had become. He was so proud of him.

It was really starting to hit him now. The reality that Chenle was actually getting married to the man he was bound to, and it felt overwhelming. When Chenle looked back at this moment, he would remember not to tell anyone that Donghyuck had cried just a little.

"Let's get the best man into a snazzy suit then!" Chenle exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. Donghyuck took Chenle's suit jacket off of his shoulders. He didn't want to think about the probability of Jisung doing the same on their wedding night.

Donghyuck hung Chenle's jacket back up as the latter returned with a suit for him. Donghyuck pulled the curtain of the changing room closed and began to put the suit on.

It felt a little stiff, but that was okay. He knew it was just the starch and hopefully it would be gone by the time the wedding came around. He stepped out and Chenle immediately gasped, dragging him to the nearest mirror to let him admire himself.

Donghyuck didn't usually asses himself in front of a mirror, so this was quite new to him. He took one overall look before focusing in on the smaller details. Overall it looked okay, not amazing but not terrible. Chenle must have just been being nice by gasping like that, it wasn't much of a sight to behold. Donghyuck felt a bit too uptight and stuf, he didn't really feel himself.

Chenle must have noticed his expression, because he came up and stood next to Donghyuck in front of the mirror, speaking coolly.

"You know, it is just our wedding, you don't have to be too formal," Chenle smiled, raising his eyebrows. Yeah, Donghuck definitely knew what he meant.

He looked back in the mirror and took off the jacket. He went back into the main part of the shop and returned with a much thinner one. He put it on and rolled the shirt sleeves over it, pushed it up to his elbows and looked again. Better, but not quite perfect. He turned to Chenle who had sat back down on one of the chairs to the side of the mirror. He was smirking up at Donghyuck, and Donghyuck knew why.

He sighed through a gentle smile and unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt. He pushed the collar to the sides, revealing one of his favourite tattoos which he was placed in the centre of his chest.

It was a wedding scene. Donghyuck remembered the countless hours he would lie awake thinking of how perfect it would be to finally marry his soulmate, and he remembered settling for his most frequent drawing to tattoo across his chest.

The scene was two blurrry figures in suits holding hands in front of an arch of flowers. Donghyuck never fully explained to anyone why he never drew the face or shape of his soulmate, but now he realised. It didn't matter, because Donghyuck wasn't drawing his soulmate, he was just drawing love, and right now that love was Chenle and Jisung.

Chenle smiled at him through the mirror. He had always been the biggest supporter of Donghyucks tattoos, he genuinely thought that they were really cool. He was there when Donghyuck got this particular one, and he remembered how Donghyuck had asked to hold his hand even though it was his 6th tattoo already, he just hadn't gotten used to the pain.

As if on cue, Jaemin entered the fitting rooms just as they were checking themselves out in the mirror.

"Woah," he said plainly, stopping in his tracks at the sight of his two friends who were both now suddenly handsome. He was holding a small cake box in his hands, and Donghyuck hoped to god that he wouldnt drop it anywhere near something they might have to pay for.

"Chenle, dashing as always," he complimented, walking towards them, "but Donghyuck, man I haven't seen you look this good since that time you wore a dress,"

Chenle chuckled at the memory and Donghyuck rolled his eyes.

"But seeing your neck out like that, mmm," Jaemin began to moan, coming closer, "I just want to bite-"

Jaemin came so close to biting Donghyuck's neck that if he hadn't been pushed, he probably would have done it. Donghyuck heard the sound of Jaemin's teeth snapping together as Chenle pushed him away and guided him to set the cake box down on the chair before he could do any damage. Jaemin was just chuckling at his own antics.

"Anyway," he said, opening the cake box and licking his fingers that he had somehow got icing all over, "Sorry, I'm late for this, Sharon and I were testing out some more cakes while we planned the rest of the decorations for the venue. I figured I would make it up to you guys by bringing you some,"

"Hold on, who's Sharon?" Donghyuck asked, looking over at an equally confused Chenle.

Jaemin had shoved a handful of cake into his mouth and was now talking with his mouth half full. "Oh, see I don't actually know Jisung's mom's name so I just made one up." he swallowed the cake and looked and the two as if it was the most obvious thing to do if you didn't know someones name, "Sharon is a mom name, right?"

Chenle and Donghyuck exachanged a glance, before their gaze was averted by Jaemin shoving a piece of cake into Chenle's mouth, and all over his face with his fingers.

Chenle hummed angrily in disagreement, and Donghyuck's hands im mediately flew to his chin to stop any crumbs from getting onto his shirt.

"Ew, Jaemin," scolded Donghyuck in a tone that matched the look on Chenle's face. "Go wash your hands and then come back to try on your suit,"

Jaemin pinched Chenle's cheek and left for the bathroom, bringing his grubbiness with him.

"How on earth do Renjun and Jeno live with him?" Donghyuck joked while helping Chenle clean his face with a wipe he had sourced from the bag Chenle had brought.

"I think they needed a break. They knew whe would be bringing the messy cake so they both went to get their suits with Jisung. Sneaky, but not smart enough" Chenle sighed, after swallowing the cake that would've tasted nice, had there not been the underlying flavour of Jaemin's sticky fingers.

"They love me," corrected Jaemin, reappearing in the dressing room "They're getting ready together like schoolgirls, and I'm the boyfriend they want to impress,"

"Whatever makes you sleep at night," smiled Chenle.

"Where's my suit?' asked Jaemin, ignoring Chenle and returning to the main part of the shop to look for it.

-

After that, Jaemin seemed to be showered with even more affection from the two men. There was no doubt that Jaemin had told them what he overheard in the dressing room, and Donghyuck envied his honesty.

He was happy, though, that Jaemin was being loved. Especially by Jeno, who had recently taken to giving him flowers and making him "special hot chocolates" at the end of his shift at the cafe while Renjun cleaned up. It would seem unfair to Renjun until you saw first hand the amount of work he did when Jeno wasn't around.

The wedding was coming closer and closer and now there were only a couple weeks to wait. Jisung had asked Jaemin to be his best man, and the look of Jaemin's face had been priceless. It was no secret that Jaemin had a soft spot for Jisung (well, he had a bit of a soft spot for everyone, but Jisung in particular), so he was absolutely over the moon at the news and it only added to his excitement when he found out that Donghyuck would be Chenle's.

Chenle and Jisung had scheduled their breaks from work, which had been difficult to sort out, as they worked in the same place. Renjun had recommended they go on a cruise for their honeymoon, so they could travel and see loads of places instead of just one. So after that was all sorted out, the only thing left to do was, well, get married.

The monthly bowling night of June was coming up, and Jaemin made a point of saying that it would be their last time bowling as unmarried men. Donghyuck shuddered at the thought.

One of the most lame parts about their bowling nights was that they really made it a big deal. They all had their bowling ball and designated bowling clothes that they would only wear on these nights. Jaemin's outfit was especially eye catching. He usually wore a black sweater and black skinny jeans, but at the back of them there wa the word "JUICY" written in bright pink sparkling letters. He claimed that he would be able to focus more if he was sure that everyone was looking at his ass rather than his bowling skills. Donghyuck thought he just looked like an idiot. A practically middle aged man wearing teenage girl pants in a bowling alley on a Saturday night? Donghyuck was embarrassed to be seen with him.

Compared to that, Donghyuck's outfit was quite plain, a white short sleeved button up shirt and black jeans. Very simple but very classy.

This night was different to the others, as the group stayed in the bowling alley so late, that everyone had already left. The tired worker had asked them politely to start wrapping up their game, but a slightly tipsy Renjun shushed him in favour on focusing on getting a strike.

The worker just let him get on with it, he had probably seen this a million times before and was just set on getting them out as fast as he could, if that meant he had to let them finish up first. When Renjun got his strike, Jaemin and Jisung cheered for their team. They had won this time.

"We win!" he exclaimed and the three started dancing around like the dumbest idiots on the planet.

"In a way, don't we all win?" Jeno joked, putting his hand on his heart, "Isn't the fulfilment of being together as a group more important than any game-" Jeno was cut of by Donghyuck shoving him playfully and Jisung's prolonged "eww".

"Don't be like that, Jeno," mocked Jaemin, pouting at Jeno and leaning in for a quick kiss. Donghyuck wondered if Jaemin knew exactly what Jeno's lips had done when they were drunk. Probably, and probably Renjun too. There was a severe lack of privacy in this group.

"No we don't," the worker chimed in even though no one invited him to talk, "we don't all always win, we don't always get what we want,"

The mood in the room instantly dropped and it became so awkward you could physically feel it in the air. Everyone had known Jeno was just joking.

"Can you guys please just leave, I wanna go home," pleaded the worker and the friends nodded and left immediately, the last to leave being Jisung, who patted the worker on the back and said "Life is pain,"

When they got outside they all let out the laughter they had been trying to hold in.

"That guys has some serious issues," Chenle squeaked and Donghyuck laughed. Whenever Chenle got even slightly drunk he would laugh ten pitches higher than his normal one. It was impossible not to laugh at that.

"Okay kids," said Jeno after they all stopped laughing. The worker was probably sad after something terrible happening in his life, but the friends were too ignorant, or rather, too oblivious to understand, and didn't realise that they probably shouldn't have been laughing at the man's depressing and negative state.

"We're gonna head," Jeno spoke on behalf of his boyfriends, "It's cold and late, so see you all later,"

The trio stumbled away giggling in the opposite direction to where the other three were heading. Walking home in the dead of night wasn't the best idea, but sure, no one would mug someone with a laugh like Chenle's.

"I can't believe you beat us again, Jisung," Chenle complained. Renjun, Jisung and Jaemin's team had been on a bit of a winning streak the past few months, and Chenle was starting to get pissed. The poor man had never gotten a strike, not even once, but he was still determined to beat them.

"It's natural talent, Chenle, you'll understand when you discover yours," Jisung teased, "Hyuck, you got like ten strikes in that game, seriously I was impressed,"

"Yeah, I'd say we would've won if it weren't for Zhong Gutterball over here," Donghyuck responded, earning a flick on the shoulder from Chenle and a laugh from Jisung.

They reached their apartment block in less than ten minutes, they were quite lucky it was such a short walk from the city centre, none of them really needed to drive if they could walk everywhere. But it was always an ambition of Donghyuck's to own a motorbike one day, and it would be easy to keep in the parking area of the apartments.

In the elevator, Jisung started falling asleep leaning on Chenle. It was quite entertaining, as after all these years, Jisung was still taller than him.

"We won't be taking the bus with you to work on Monday morning, by the way," whispered Chenle, even though Jisung would have to wake up anyway to walk down the halls, "We have a meeting with the holiday adviser for our honeymoon, so we'll be late to work, but we'll get the bus back,"

"No bother," smiled Donghyuck as the two got out of the elevator, Chenle waving a small goodbye as the doors closed. Finally, peace.

-

Monday morning came too quick and Donghyuck was still worn out from Saturday night. He had spent his entire Sunday sprawled out on his couch watching movies, drinking tea, and googling scone recipes. His mother had called him asking if he wanted her to make scones for him as she recently found a recipe that was brilliant. Donghyuck wanted to find a better one and surprise her when she came to stay over for the wedding.

Today, Donghyuck's first appointment was with a young girl getting her first tattoo, so he wore a colourful short sleeved button up to show off his own stylish tattoos for her.

He checked his phone and realised he was already running late, and he had missed his bus. He would just have to walk.

He left the apartment block and was halfway there when he had to stop and the crossing, which was currently on a red light. There didn't seem to be any cars coming, he could j-walk, right?

Maybe he was a bit too hasty, he shouldn't really rush on a busy road. The problem was, he realised that a little too late. He realised when there was an indescribable pain is his hip from the strong impact of a car, and when his head hid the concrete below him with an audible crack. When pedestrians panicked from every angle they had of the sight of thick blood pumping out from his head, flowing steadily across the pavement, and when Dongyuck's vision faded completely to black.

It was too late for him to realise when the driver, a man named Mark Lee, stepped out of his car to come face to face with his dead soulmate, and the guilt of killing him.

"Shit"

He thought.

-

[Part 3]

[iwrotethisforjenny]

Where Were You? - Markhyuck - Part 1

Summary: Soulmate au where the first thought your soulmate has of you is tattooed on your wrist.

A/N: I’ve posted a slightly edited version of this fic onto ao3 if you’d rather read it there or if you’d rather read the edited version

Since Donghyuck was 9 he had the word "shit" tattooed on his wrist. It was quite funny, actually, that out of anything anyone could think about him, it was just one simple word, that needed quite a bit of context to explain.

His parents had told him firmly that it was a bad word, and that he shouldn't use it, but Donghyuck thought, if his soulmate did then surely he could too.

It became Donghyuck's new favourite word, much to his parents disappointment.

-

When Donghyuck turned 14 he started covering his tattoo because people kept making fun of it.

"Wow, even Donghyuck's soulmate thinks he's shit,"

People were mean, but Donghyuck never let it get to him. He had always thought it was funny, and he wasn't going to let anyone change his mind. Besides, this person was his soulmate. Of course they'd love him.

Most people had quite generic things like "She's so beautiful," or "His eyes are incredible," or whatever else a sappy person in love would think. Donghyuck was glad his soulmate wasn't sappy. Donghyuck's soulmate was cool.

-

Donghyuck formed a stable group of friends when he was 15 and moved schools. He wore a plaster on his wrist every day to cover his tattoo, and now only his close friends knew what it said. Donghyuck was glad they found it funny too.

Donghyuck's friends also had funny tattoos, not as "vulgar" as Donghyuck's, but still entertaining. Jeno had "eye smile," tattooed on his hand three times. Chenle's said "OH, that kid is LOUD," and Renjun's said, quite simply, "my wig,".

There were times that Donghyuck wished there was more of an explanation to his tattoo, but he knew he would find out when he met his soulmate. His soulmate was cool, after all. He would definetly tell him straight away.

-

The night Donghyuck turned 19 he laid awake on his bed and looked down at the faded tattoo on his wrist. Recently, his friends had all been meeting their soulmates. Chenle met Jisung and Jeno and Renjun met Jaemin (no one was surprised at that, Jeno and Renjun had been together since birth so by default they had to be soulmates).

Donghyuck caressed the four letters with one finger and looked back up to the ceiling. Whoever he was, he was going to be amazing. Donghyuck had figured out a while ago that he was gay, so he was more than certain his soulmate would be a guy. He wondered if his soulmate was as impatient as he was, he hoped he would be good enough for him. Donghyuck didn't want to disappoint his soulmate, but he knew that once he found him, it would be worth the wait.

Sometimes Donghyuck liked to doodle on his skin when he thought of his soulmate. He'd draw them both, walking through a huge house with a big garden that was home to them and three friendly corgis. Donghyuck loved dogs, so he was sure his soulmate did too.

But sometimes Donghyuck wanted to meet his soulmate so much that he realised he wouldn't mind if they didn't have the perfect life.

He drew what it would be like if they owned an apartment above a hairdressers and made friends with all the workers. He drew what it would be like if they decided not to spend too much money on a house, and instead travel the world together with no fixed abode.

Maybe they'd go out to parties and bars and clubs every weekend for no reason other than to make out and ignore everyone else. Maybe they'd be one of those couples that forget everyone else when they're together. Donghyuck was sure of one thing, that whoever his soulmate was, he would love him.

Donghyuck's favourite part of drawing him and his soulmate was looking in the mirror afterwards to see all the drawings. Obviously, because he didn't know what his soulmate looked like, he always drew him with his face blurred. Donghyuck had put so much time into a person he had never met, but every time he looked at the drawings decorated across his skin, he'd remember that his soulmate was probably thinking about him too.

Donghyuck always smiled when he looked in the mirror. He knew he looked good, but when he was covered in stories and dreams of his soulmate, sometimes it felt quite overpowering. He wondered how his soulmate would feel if he saw Donghyuck like this, standing in his bathroom in his boxers with storylines littered along his skin creeping in every direction, down his fingers, and up his thighs. He hoped that his soulmate would think he was beautiful. Donghyuck already knew his soulmate was.

The worst part was showering. It was quite sad for Donghyuck to watch his work wash itself away down the drain. In a way it felt like it represented something, like how Donghyuck had spent so long waiting, long after everyone had met their soulmates, and that he should just give up and let himself forget it all. He never could, though.

-

It was a shame, really. Donghyuck knew he couldn't keep living his life waiting for something that seemed like it would never happen. He couldn't keep spending his time thinking about something he had no control over. However, it was still a part of him.

When Donghyuck turned 25 he got his first tattoo of him and his blurred and shadowy soulmate in a colourful hot air balloon together. Donghyuck drew the design himself, and although it wasn't uncommon for people to get soulmate tattoos, the tattoo artist was very impressed with his work.

2 years later and with a total of 17 tattoos of him and his soulmate across his body, Donghyuck quit his job to work as a tattoo artist.

-

Donghyuck loved his job. He couldn't imagine a life without it now, and he felt like a bit of an idiot for not realising how perfect the job was for him before. His unique designs and style became incredibly popular and he became one of the most renowned tattoo artists in his area, bringing popularity to the name of the once small tattoo parlour where he grew up.

Of course there were times where Donghyuck felt unbelievably ridiculous, having grown and shaped his whole carreer around a person Donghyuck wasn't even sure existed anymore. He was always very aware of the fact that his tattoos were permanent, and although he sometimes couldn't even look at them with the shame of his own loneliness, he didn't regret having them, as they were a part of his story whether he liked it or not.

As the years had passed, Donghyuck matured. He no longer daydreamed about his soulmate, instead living his life as a single adult and only dipping back into the mind of his 19 year old self when the topic of soulmates was mentioned.

Donghyuck never had a face or a name for his soulmate, and he was troubled by the fact that if he did, he'd no longer be in love with it. He loved the idea of his soulmate, but if it was taking so long to find him, there had to be a flaw. Maybe that flaw was just Donghyuck's impatience.

-

Some things would always stay the same, though. Like how he, Chenle, Jeno, Renjun, and now Jaemin and Jisung were still friends. It was never really awkward with them, given the fact that they were all in relationships, because they made sure that Donghyuck was never left out. Donghyuck presumed that's why they stayed friends, mainly because they all cared so much for each other, and were especially cautious about Donghyuck's sensitivity on the topic of soulmates, so the PDA within the lovers of the group was next to non existent.

Donghyuck wished he didn't have to stop them enjoying their relationships, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't bother him when they showed their affection. He was almost 28, and still as single as ever. He hoped that one day he would have the strength to move on, and live his life as a solo act, but it was so hard to let go of something he had held onto for so long.

Chenle and Jisung lived in the same apartment block as Donghyuck, and they both worked at a veterinary clinic down the road from Donghyuck's tattoo parlour, so they took the bus together every morning and evening. Donghyuck was happy at this convenience, as he felt as though he might have drifted apart from the couple had they not had the chance to chat on a daily basis.

Donghyuck wouldn't have said it to anyone, but Chenle was his favourite out of all of his friends. If he was being honest, he was surprised that Chenle worked at the vet's because Donghyuck knew how dramatic Chenle could be at the sight of blood in any form. He remembered the infamous story of Chenle and Jisung's first meeting, how Chenle had screamed in laughter at a joke Donghyuck had made as they walked into the clinic on Chenle's first day of work (which Donghyuck had kindly offered to escort him to as he knew Chenle would rather a familiar face around as he got his barings in the new environment) and Jisung, the receptionist at the time, had asked him kindly to quieten down, which Chenle did abruptly at the sight of the receptionist's wrist reading his mind.

These days, Donghyuck loved to tease Jisung about how fake he was, and how unfortunate it was that they all knew what he was thinking even though he tried so hard to be polite to his newest coworker. He would never take it too far, though, as he was always very aware of the kindness the couple always showed him and he didn't want to hurt them in return. On the bus one would always sit next to Donghyuck instead of them pairing off and leaving him alone. Small things like that were always the things that made Donghyuck's days better, and he hoped that one day he could genuinely show his gratitude to them.

-

Since they met, Jaemin had always been very open to Donghyuck's presence, never trying to hog Jeno and Renjun away from him, or belittle him for his relationship status. Donghyuck guessed it was because Jeno and Renjun had warned him, but even if it all was just for show, he never once dropped the act.

Donghyuck hadn't met someone like Jaemin before. Whenever he was upset, Jaemin was there. Whenever he just wanted to hang out, Jaemin was there. Jeno and Renjun always were too, but with Jaemin it felt a bit more natural. It was like it was his secret mission to make sure no one was uncomfortable. At first, Donghyuck barely noticed his efforts, as they were so subtle, but after he learned to be a bit more vigilant, he saw how Jaemin went out of his way to be nice to Donghyuck.

He had a differnt approach to it, that was for sure, different than Jeno or Renjun's, who would usually try to avoid saying anything that might upset him, and instead just stay quiet on anything related to soulmates. When Donghyuck turned 20 they had realised this was perhaps the best way to deal with it, but now he was 28, they were certain that the topic should not be mentioned or commented on at all. They knew how disappointed Donghyuck was to have missed his chance to spend his late adolescence and early twenties with his soulmate, as it was always said that those would be the best time. Renjun would never forget the look of sorrow and pity he shared with Jaemin when Donghyuck had cried that he wouldn't be able to grow old with his soulmate if they were already too old to grow anymore.

The three cared so much for Donghyuck as though he was their child, even though they were all the same age and nearing their thirties. Jeno and Renjun had had a private conversation after they introduced Jaemin to Donghyuck about how lucky they were to have a soulmate who clearly already cared so much about their friend. Jeno was always secretly relieved that Jaemin knew how to handle situations when people, especially Donghyuck, were upset. Jeno always felt a bit awkward in those situations, even though he knew he should just suck it up and try to be there for his friend, it was so hard to. He always tried to put himself in the shoes of the person on the receiving end of his comfort, and imagine what Jaemin would to do handle the situation. There had been numerous times that Jaemin had comforted him when he was worried sick about his final exams, and he always admired Jaemin's ability to deal with people's feelings.

For example, one time Donghyuck was alone in his apartment after a long day of work on a very big project for a young couple who wanted large matching tattoos. It really wasn't their fault that it had personally affected Donghyuck so much, but that night he found himself lying on his couch, crying his eyes out and cursing the young couple for having found each other so soon, and for being so obviously happy and in love.

That was when the trio showed up, letting themselves through Donghyuck's unlocked door. Jaemin came rushing into the living room at the sound of Donghyuck's sniffles and was the first to envelope him into a big hug which Donghyuck melted into. Jeno and Renjun followed close behind, tetrising themselves onto the couch to join Jaemin in hugging Donghyuck.

With Jaemin, Donghyuck never had to explain what was wrong. Jaemin was a very observant person, immediately noticing the work Donghyuck had open on the coffee table in front of him, of drawings of starfilled night skies, matching constellations and Donghyuck's famous flawless calligraphy.

"Hyuckie, you might think you're lonely, but you always have us," Jaemin comforted, lifting Donghyuck's head up by his chin and looking into his eyes.

"We'll be your soulmates, right guys?," he smiled, tugging Donghyuck up onto his lap and kissing his forehead. Then he got Jeno and Renjun to kiss both of his cheeks at the same time before Jeno picked him up and carried him to his room where they all cuddled on Donghyuck's usually empty king size bed. Donghyuck fell asleep with his and Jaemin's hands intertwined, Renjun running his fingers through his soft hair and Jeno's warm breath on his neck and arms around his waist from behind. They always made sure that Donghyuck never forgot he was loved.

-

All six of them had maintained a strong friendship throughout the years. When everyone else went to different colleges in different countries and forgot about their old friends from school - they never did. Maybe it was the need of close friends at a time where everything was so busy that you could lose them all. It seemed unnecessary for Donghyuck to go out and find the right people when, in all honesty, he actually already had. Maybe that was because some of them shared soulmates within the group, but Donghyuck knew he didn't need it to be written in any constellation for him to be bound to them.

At this time, Donghyuck saw more of Chenle and Jisung because of their working schedules. Jaemin was training to become a teacher which everyone was excited for as Jaemin was well aware that he'd collect some gems of stories in the classroom. Renjun was a bit all over the place, working small jobs here and there just to make enough for a living. Currently it was the summer, so he was working on the beach teaching small kids to swim - it may or may not have been what sparked Jaemin's interest in teaching, mainly because Renjun had been doing it for so long that he had learned to love the stories during the summer. Jeno was working on opening a small cafe, so he could co-own it with Renjun and grow a small business together. Things were really looking up for them.

In their spare time, which there wasn't much of, the group liked to go out or stay in someone's apartment. Once a month, they all went bowling in the city centre. Jisung, Jaemin and Renjun were on one team while Donghyuck, Jeno and Chenle were on the other, and they competed to see which team could score the most points in total. After that, they all went out to eat in a place of the winner's choice and the losers would pay for their meals.

Donghyuck hardly ever thought about his soulmate anymore. Most people met theirs by the time they turned 18, so he started to blank it out of his mind for the majority of his days. Of course, it would come creeping back up on him when he least expected it, like in TV ads or on the internet or more specifically, in movies. Although it was never said, that was the main reason why Donghyuck's and his friends never went to the cinema.

It only happened once, but once was enough for them all to get the message that cinemas were clearly not Donghyuck's scene. It was quite late at night and they had decided to go see midnight screening of a horror movie. They didn't realise it had such a sappy and ridiculous sub-plot of paranormal soulmates, and halfway through the movie Donghyuck got up and left the theatre. On his way home, he stopped at a 24 hour chemist to buy some foundation. When he took it home he locked himself in the bathroom and undressed in front of the mirror, before proceeding to cover his arms and chest and thighs in the makeup. It didn't cover his tattoos fully, it just put opaque smears across his art.

Then he started crying, because he couldn't cover it up, because his feelings and dreams were always on display and it messed up his friend's ability to live their normal lives without having to think twice about his emotional state. He got into the shower, maybe too fast as the water ran cold across his torso, and then burned impossibly hot. He let out a small cry, and that was when he realised he wasn't alone in his apartment anymore, that his friends had let themselves in and were standing outside of the bathroom arguing about whether they should go in or not.

After half a minute, there was a knock on the door and Donghyuck watched helplessly as the lock undid itself. Curse Jisung and his stupid magic escapologist tricks.

Renjun entered on account of he was the one that had "seen Hyuck naked the most". He slid it and shut the door, squinting through the steam of the shower and grabbed a towel from one of the cupboards.

"I'm showering," said Donghyuck plainly, turning away from Renjun and continuing to let the boiling water turn his skin red.

"No you not, get here," replied Renjun, holding up the towel in his open arms and gesturing for Donghyuck to just get out. Which he did.

The water turned off rather abruptly, which exposed the chatter outside of the room which had been previously masked by the sound of the motor. Donghyuck stepped carefully out and let Renjun dry him off with the towel. Tears were still streaming down his face, but he hoped they could pass as water from the shower.

"What the fuck," whispered Renjun, taking the towel back from Donghyuck's body and staring at the parts of the foundation that had yet to be rinsed off. Renjun ran a finger across Donghyuck's back, as if to check if his friend was actually melting from the heat of the shower.

"It's just foundation," Donghyuck reassured, and Renjun looked at him perplexed before his eyes travelled to the ground where a large almost empty bottle of foundation sat. He threw the towel back on Donghyuck and picked the bottle up, holding it up and raising an eyebrow at him.

"I wanted to cover my tattoos," Donghyuck admitted blankly, knowing there was no point in trying to hide it when Renjun was the one with the power to keep him naked in this bathroom forever. Renjun motioned for him to continue, Donghyuck's explanation was clearly unsatisfactory.

"I don't want to be reminded of it anymore," he choked out, allowing himself to fall into Renjun's open arms as tears began to stream down his face again. "I see it everywhere, and it stops you guys from doing normal things. You guys do so much- I do so much to avoid anything that reminds me of it but I realised that I'm the biggest reminder there is,"

Donghyuck was fully aware that the rest of them probably had their ears pressed right against the door, and he was okay with that. He wanted them to know.

"I'll get over it, Renjun. I'm twenty fucking eight for Christ's sake, I shouldn't be blubbering about a stupid soulmate for my whole life. I shouldn't stop myself, and everyone else, from just enjoying life as it is. I've been ridiculous, I know. I just wish I didn't have a fucking soulmate, I wish I never had any stupid tattoos and I wish I never spent so much time thinking about it. But I did, and now all I wish is that I never meet my soulmate, and his stupid shitty thoughts,"

"You don't meant that," said Renjun, but Donghyuck was full on sobbing into Renjun's shoulder and he couldn't speak anymore. Renjun was left trying to articulate what he should say or what he should do. In the end, he just didn't say anything and instead opted for helping Donghyuck back into his clothes after he dried off.

Renjun just shook his head at the others who attempted to ask questions when he opened the door. With Donghyuck's head facing the ground, they walked together to his room and Renjun tucked him into his bed, giving him a kiss on the forehead. He didn't know what else to say, so he left.

Fifteen minutes later the door opened again and Jisung walked in. Out of the whole group he was probably the least close to Jisung, so this came as a bit of a surprise. He walked over and sat at the side of his bed and began stroking his hair. Donghyuck opened his eyes to look up at Jisung who was staring thoughtfully at him.

"It's not my place to tell you what to think or wish and I trust that you'll sort that out on your own but," he brushed his hand through his own hair and looked away from Donghyuck before continuing, "Whatever you need us to do, we'll do it. If you want us to stay in your apartment and never go back outside then we will, because we're a team and we love you. We love you more than any soulmate ever could,"

Donghyuck was touched, and it made him cry, so he sat up next to Jisung who held him and whispered to him that there was nothing they wouldn't do for him.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this right now but," Jisung began, taking a deep breath and looking right at Donghyuck, "I don't think you should give up on your soulmate. I don't think you can either. We all know he's out there somewhere, I just wish you'd stop spending so much time thinking about him, and just let it happen,"

Donghyuck nodded into Jisung's chest, where his head had relocated to shamefully hide his tears. He was 28. He shouldn't cry over a soulmate, he probably shouldn't cry at all. All his friends were functioning adults with jobs and plans and Donghyuck was just a 28 year old tattoo artist that people would eventually lose interest in.

Jisung left Donghyuck's room when he fell asleep, leaving the blanket off of him because he was still quite hot from the shower. The five friends left the apartment at three in the morning, and locked the door behind them.

-

Donghyuck always had an subconscious feeling that he annoyed his friends with how much he cried and complained. Lately, as he was approaching 30, he had stopped. It took him an embarrassingly long time, but he had learned to separate his feelings from his friends, and he was able to watch movies with them no matter the genre.

Jeno still held his hand at the cliché first kiss moments and Jaemin still fed him popcorn to disctract him, even though he didn't need it. They all still cared, but they had learned to be much less cautious around Donghyuck, who was emotionally maturing.

Better late than never, Donghyuck supposed.

Donghyuck's 30th birthday was a big deal, to his friends, anyway. Renjun and Jeno had already turned 30, and Jaemin had planned them a massive double birthday party where about half of the city showed up (Jaemin knew a lot of people, it got quite weird). Donghyuck had asked them not to have a party like that, because he just wasn't comfortable with that many people.

They ended up having an amazing night out at a fancy restaurant, and then going back to Donghyuck's apartment to get drunk and play wii sports. Donghyuck couldn't remember the last time he got that drunk with his friends, but he was so drunk that he probably wouldn't remember this time either.

His friends left the next day when they all woke up grumpy with hangovers and Jisung was not-so-sarcastically complaining about being friends with three 30 year olds now instead of two.

They all left, except for one.

Jeno was still half passed out on Donghyuck's couch with some drool dripping down the side of his face. Pretty disgusting, if you asked Donghyuck. He shook his friend awake and just as he opened his eyes, Donghyuck remembered.

They had definetly drunk kissed each other last night.

Jisung and Renjun had began an instense match of wii tennis, each with one very loud and drunk supporter, also known as Chenle and Jaemin. Jeno had scooted closer to Donghyuck on the couch and held him in his arms before cupping his jaw with one hand and kissing him firmly on the lips. Donghyuck was quite drunk and didn't think about anything other than wow Jeno's lips are so soft.

Jeno was quite skilled with his tongue, it took Donghyuck by surprise more than once in the five minutes they had been making out for. It only ended when a whiny Renjun who had lost the tennis game came over and sat on both of them. Donghyuck quickly got up after he was challenged to the next match against Jisung, and just like that, the kiss was forgotten until the next morning.

It seemed as though Jeno remembered too, as he started smiling weirdly and stumbling over his words, asking if Donghyuck remembered too. That was partially because of the hangover and partially because of the awkwardness of making out with one of your best friends in front of both of his significant others.

Donghyuck laughed and threw himself back on the couch, letting it all come back to him. It had been a while since he kissed someone like that. He had been saving it for his soulmate, but the affection, even though he couldn't remember that well, had felt really nice. He told Jeno he was sorry and the he would apologise to Renjun and Jaemin when he got the chance. To his surprise, Jeno declined his apology.

"I actually asked them if I could do it," he said, to Donghyuck's surprise, "Not while we were drunk, obviously, it was a conscious decision. But I don't know what I was thinking, I'm really sorry. You probably hated it and it probably reminded you of- I'm sorry,"

"It's okay," Donghyuck laughed at Jeno's rambling, "it was nice, really. And honestly, I wouldn't mind doing it again,"

Jeno was very surprised at that and he started smiling again, finally wiping the drool off of his face.

"But we won't," Donghyuck concluded, "I know you want to give me the affection I deserve or whatever, but I don't deserve it from you. Renjun and Jaemin do, so go and give it to them. You don't need to protect me, Jeno, I'm a big boy now. I can handle this myself."

Jeno smiled harder at Donghyuck, clearly glad of how his friend was still maturing and learning from him. Donghyuck was right, though, he had just wanted him to feel loved in that way, because he had known him for so long and he knew the only kiss he ever had was with Chenle when they were 16. It really would be a shame for Donghyuck's soulmate to kiss someone with the only experience from a 16 year old Chenle.

Jeno nodded and stood up, fixing the cushions on the couch and went into the kitchen to hold his face under the tap because he was too lazy to get a glass. Donghyuck was still sitting on the couch when the door closed behind Jeno and he was on his was home to Renjun and Jaemin. Donghyuck had done the right thing.

Just as Donghyuck was about to get up, the door clicked open again and Jeno returned, walking speedily towards Donghyuck before placing a quick peck on his lips. He gave his friend a hug and then looked him in the eye.

"You really do deserve it, though," he smiled and hugged Donghyuck once more before leaving again to actually go home this time.

-

[Part 2]

[iwrotethisforjenny]

Doctor Hyuck - Markhyuck

Summary: Mark thinks he might have an STI, so he goes for a visit to a doctor named Donghyuck.

-

"Mark Lee?"

Mark nods at the (obnoxious looking) secretary and stands up. He never really enjoyed doctor's waiting rooms, but then again who did. They were always full of weird people that smelled like vomit and coughed down the back of Mark's neck. He was so glad to leave the room and join the doctor alone in his office.

As he walked, he felt the pain from the tightness in his bladder that he had been holding in order to give a urine sample today.

"Hi, Mark," greeted the doctor with a smile, inviting Mark to sit down on a very worn and grubby chair that Mark wanted more than anything not to sit down on. He did anyway, and the seat was warm.

"Hello, doctor," Mark replied, feeling very, very awkward, and very, very uncomfortable. Maybe it was on account of the fact that, 1) the pressure in his bladder was building, 2) The reason he was here was quite embarrassing, and 3) The doctor looked like he was around his age, and maybe Mark found him just a little bit cute.

He had never been to this doctor before, and so far (apart from the slightly attractive doctor) it hadn't given him the best impression.

He shifted in the grubby chair, and places his hands under his thighs to stop himself from fidgeting.

"No need to call me doctor, Mark" he smiled, "My name is Donghyuck, although I would prefer if you called me by my newest nickname, Doc Hyuck"

If Mark had laughed, he would have peed right onto the ugly chair (which mightn't have been a bad thing), so instead he just stared blankly with his mouth hanging open, and exhaled quickly out of his nose.

"Doc Hyuck- I mean Donghyuck" Mark started, accidentally calling the doctor by his ridiculous nickname. The man was a bit off his noodle, but Mark had to admit, the nickname was catchy, maybe even a bit genius.

Doc Hyuck frowned at the absence of his nickname, but he did not press. He knew Mark would eventually warm up to the name, just like the secretary had.

"Doc Hyuck," Mark started again, seeing the frown on his doctor's face which was quickly replaced by a contented grin, "can I sort out my urine sample now? I forgot to do it in the waiting room"

"I mightn't need it, depending on your symptoms, so let's just go through those first," Doc Hyuck suggested, but Mark knew it wasn't really a suggestion. These people ran tight schedules and didn't need him emptying his bladder for fifteen minutes in the middle of it.

"Alright," Mark sighed, crossing his legs in attempt to relieve the pain.

"Okay, now, what are you here for?" Doc Hyuck asked staring into Marks eyes with concern.

"Uh, well, I think I might have an STI," Mark said shamefully, looking down at his hands.

"Okay, and are you currently sexually active?" Doc Hyuck asked, making notes on his clipboard. He didn't seem to be phased by Mark's problem, which was quiet a relief, because Mark had been worried he would be judged by the doctor. He knew now how silly that was of him to think. This was this guys job.

"No"

"When did you last have sex?"

"A few months ago, but it was my first time and I will probably never see them again," Mark answered, trying to get comfortable with talking about it.

"And did you top or bottom?"

Mark froze at the question. Was that really relevant? He decided not to question it.

"Uh, top?" he was unsure of what Doc Hyuck wanted to hear from him. He just smiled and looked at his clipboard again.

"Did you use a condom?" he asked without looking up.

"No..." Mark felt a bit ridiculous. It was his first time having sex and he didn't even think to use a condom, and now he was in this situation. He just hoped to god the girl didn't get pregnant. That would have been a mess.

"Okay, and did you ask him if he was clean?"

"Why do you assume it was a he?" Mark snapped, becoming more and more uncomfortable with the situation.

"Oh I don't know, I was getting a gay vibe from you. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable by assuming it was a she. I'm sorry if I offended you, I guess I thought people were more accepting these days"

Mark's ears perked as he realised that the doctor thought he was being homophobic.

"What? No! I'm not- I didn't mean-" Mark could have hit himself for saying something so ambiguous with such a sensitive topic.

"I'm bi," he blurted, as if it could excuse his rudeness. Doc Hyuck grinned, nodding at them to continue with their professional conversation.

Doc Hyuck had already made Mark uncomfortable several times, but he didn't mention it. After all, he was the one going to be prescribing him medicine that may or may not kill him.

"Anyway, your symptoms?" Doc Hyuck continued when Mark didn't answer.

"Oh uh- there's just discharge..." Mark said quietly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. It wasn't every day you had to admit something like that to your insane (but oddly charming) doctor. Mark never wanted to be in this situation again.

"Okay," said Doc Hyuck, making more notes on his clipboard that Mark was sure was just filled with doodles. "I'm gonna need that urine sample"

Mark was overjoyed. He grabbed the little cup from Doc Hyuck the second he took it out of the drawer and ran towards the bathroom.

"I trust you haven't urinated for two hours prior to this, Mark!" Doc Hyuck called after him.

"I haven't peed all night, Hyuck," Mark replied, half yelling as he shut the bathroom door.

Doc Hyuck may have been a strange doctor, but he did have some consideration for the fact that there were other people in the building, so he went up close to the bathroom door to speak a bit more quietly to Mark.

"That's Doc Hyuck to you, Mr. Lee" Doc Hyuck practically growled through the door. He was met with a groan from the other side, presumably from the relief of his patients bladder, but in any other context Doc Hyuck would have enjoyed himself a lot more. He didn't often have attractive patients like Mark, he might aswell have some fun.

When Mark returned he handed the pee to Doc Hyuck. It was warm in his hand and he felt like chucking it out of the window, but he had to do his job.

Mark watched as Doc Hyuck fumbled around with some paper and his vile of pee at the other side of the room. He was relieved that his bladder was finally empty but now he was just a bit worried that he might actually have an STI.

Doc Hyuck turned and smirked at Mark, who blushed and looked away. Now that he didn't have to focus on his bladder anymore, he was feeling the embarrassment of his growing crush on his doctor, who was holding a vile of his pee.

"Well Mark, I must say, you have very clear urine," Doc Hyuck stated.

"Um thank you? I drink a lot of water" Mark replied. He wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not but he didn't want to seem rude.

"I'm sure you do," Doc Hyuck put the vile in a plastic ziplock bag and put it in the cupboard under where he was working. He removed the gloves he was wearing and sat back down in the chair across from Mark. Mark didn't fail to notice how much cleaner and comfier Doc Hyuck's chair looked compared to his.

"I have the results," he said looking straight into Marks eyes. Mark gulped and stared back.

Doc Hyuck leaned closer, and Mark's heart skipped a beat. He came closer and closer, until their noses were an inch apart. Surely this was illegal? A doctor couldn't do anything even borderline romantic with a patient?

Mark was frozen. Yeah, he thought Doc Hyuck was quite attractive, despite his craziness, but that was part of his charm. But Mark didn't want to get in trouble. Maybe if they had met at a different time, in a different place. Maybe if they met at a coffee shop, after mixing up their orders, maybe if they met in school where they passed notes to their friends about their crushes on each other, maybe if they were in a famous kpop group and shared a room as well as a love for each other. Maybe another universe where they could be together, where Mark wouldn't ever have to remember the story of how they met, how he peed in a cup and how his doctor broke the law because he thought Mark was attractive. Oh god, what was Mark thinking? This was his doctor, not his destined soulmate.

"I was joking earlier," Doc Hyuck almost whispered, and Mark could feel his breath on his lips. This was too close.

"You can call me Hyuck," Doc Hyuck bit his lip and moved closer, "I think we're close enough now"

Mark just stared blankly into Hyuck's eyes, not daring to move for fear of what could happen. This wasn't just in Mark's head anymore, Hyuck was actually flirting with him. Mark didn't know if he should flirt back, this seemed to be his only chance.

"O-okay, hyuck," Mark managed to mumble out, still stuck in position.

"Anyway," said Hyuck, "your diagnosis"

Hyuck shifted himself to sit on Mark's lap, a leg on either side of him. Mark instinctively put his hands on Hyuck's hips. He found himself under Hyuck's spell and could only focus on their bodies pressed together and the feeling of Hyuck's warm breath on his lips.

Hyuck put one hand on Mark's neck and another on his hip and leaned closer, moving his face from in front of Mark's and instead biting and licking his neck and ear on Mark's left side. Mark trembled at the feeling of Hyuck's teeth and tongue on his skin, and goosebumps quickly covered his body. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he also didn't want it to stop.

Hyuck took his mouth away from Mark's neck and hovered over Mark's ear.

"You have chlamydia," Hyuck cooed seductively into his ear.

That was the point that Mark pushed Hyuck off of his lap and stood up. The doctor had landed on his ass on the floor with a thud but seemed to be ignoring the pain in favour of laughing.

Mark was bright red, embarrassed at himself for enjoying being romantic with his doctor. He wished he pushed Hyuck off sooner, he wished he knew it was just a joke.

Hyuck hadn't bothered to get up from the ground, he was too busy laughing at Mark's reaction. As much as Mark hated himself for thinking it, Hyuck had the prettiest laugh he had ever seen, and a small part of him wished that the flirting had been real.

"I'm never coming back to this place again," Mark stated, running his hands through his hair and feeling how hot his face had become.

"Good," Doc Hyuck said, smirking that smirk of his again and picking up the clipboard that had fallen to the floor. Mark could see that the clipboard was indeed covered in doodles and there were approximately zero notes about his actual condition.

Hyuck ripped the page of doodles off of the clipboard and wrote down a number. He handed the paper to Mark.

"That means I'm not your doctor anymore, so would you like to go for lunch, maybe tomorrow?" he asked, looking slightly nervous, an expression Mark hadn't seen him wear since he entered the room. Mark's heart pounded in his chest. So the flirting had been real? He was so confused, but all he could do was accept the offer.

"Okay," Mark agreed, exhaling a soft chuckle as he took the page from Hyuck and folded it. He hadn't expected anything like this to happen from a doctor's visit, but he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to have lunch with someone like Hyuck.

"And here," said Hyuck, handing Mark another piece of paper.

"What's this?" Mark asked, inspecting the paper.

"It's your prescription," Hyuck replied with a smile, "for your chlamydia"

Mark blushed. He had forgotten that he actually had chlamydia, and was pretty embarrassed that his new possible love interest knew all about it. He sighed and put the perscription in his pocket along with Hyuck's number. He was definetly going to use both.

Mark still stuck to his statement of never wanting to return. Honestly, the chair was his main deterrent, right after the fat crush he had just grown on the doctor. He gave Hyuck a shy wave goodbye and left without saying a word to the secretary.

-

[iwrotethisforjenny]

The Only Time - Markhyuck

Summary: Mark gets drunk and has some new thoughts about Donghyuck.

A/N: Loosely based on a song called The Only Time by Nine Inch Nails, good for you if you know it ily, but you don't have to know it to read this

This gets a bit spicy, more implied than anything but it's really vague and all in Mark's head, but if you don't like that then this may not be the fic for you.

-

Mark had never done this before, well, not really. Usually on Saturday nights you would find him in his room, writing lyrics or playing his guitar, but never in an unfamiliar bar on a side of town that Mark had never seen. He wasn't really sure how he had ended up there. Maybe letting his feet take him wherever the wind blew was a bad idea, taking into account the fact that he had no idea how to get back.

The reason he left was actually quite ambiguous, considering the strong move he made by coming to the bar in the first place. Being a lyricist, it was kind of ridiculous that he wouldn't be able to put how he was feeling into words if you asked him.

Mark was a lightweight drinker. So when only after a few drinks of god knows what, he began to feel slightly dizzy and decided to rest his head down on the counter.

Thoughts flooded into his head, his regrets, his decisions, everything that made him come to this bar on this night.

His, now ex, boyfriend, Lucas, standing in front of him, rejecting his attempt to hold his hand, to apologise for the things he thought Mark had done. It had been weeks ago, but the memory was still fresh in his mind, playing over and over in his mind as he was hidden away in the dark of his room on the nights he couldn't sleep.

-

"How can you love me if you're all over someone else," Lucas had said through gritted teeth, tears threatening to fall down his face. Mark had been caught at the wrong time, while he and Donghyuck were fighting on the couch over the remote control for the TV. Mark really hadn't thought what it would look like to someone walking in, which is why he was very confused when Lucas began yelling.

Mark couldn't blame him. He saw the reflection of Donghyuck's constant borderline romantic behaviour in Lucas' eyes. He could tell this had happened before, it just seemed like now it was the last straw.

In fact, Mark hadn't really done anything wrong, Lucas was really just overreacting at the sight of his boyfriend "canoodling with another man". He made sure Mark knew this because even Donghyuck was in tears by the end of his rant.

At first, Mark thought that Lucas' clingyness was just his way of showing his love, but Mark had began to realise that it wasn't. It was overbearing possessiveness and jealousy that drove Lucas to do these things, which stopped Mark from living his life, and from having friends like Donghyuck.

Donghyuck had been a good person in his life much longer than Lucas had, and Mark was almost ashamed to admit it had taken him so long to sort out his priorities. Even though his relationship with Lucas was now permanently damaged, Mark couldn't find a shred of regret inside himself, which was a very new and powerful feeling.

Lucas had yelled, made Donghyuck cry, and hurt him, which may or may not have resulted in an injury that Mark might never know about because of the way Lucas may have damaged his and Donghyuck's relationship. Mark would never be able to explain the fury he felt as he looked between Lucas and Donghyuck, who was quietly attempting to leave as fast as possible, trembling in fear from Lucas and everything he had said.

"What are you doing?!" Lucas had questioned, slamming his keys onto the counter top behind the couch where Mark and Donghyuck where previously laughing together as they fought for the remote.

Donghyuck was lying on top of Mark, reaching for the remote in Mark's hand which was held high above his head. The two exchanged a confused glance and Donghyuck rolled off of Mark in attempt to diffuse the situation. He stood up noteably far away from Lucas. It was no secret that Lucas had a short temper, but still, he was incredibly scary when he was mad.

"We weren't doing anything, Lucas," Mark tried to explain.

"Bullshit!" The word exploded from Lucas' mouth and shook the walls as well as causing both Mark and Donghyuck to jump in fright at the sudden burst of volume. Lucas was staring into Mark's eyes in betrayal and anger and complete misunderstanding.

"Honestly, Lucas we were just fighting for the remote-" Donghyuck had pleaded, upset to be caught up in this mess.

Lucas' angry stare had slowly moved from Mark to Donghyuck, who gulped at Lucas advancing towards him in slow steps. He shot a frightened glance at Mark who was still on the couch, but staring at the two in front of him warily.

"You know better than to mess with people who are taken," Lucas spat at Donghyuck who was now visibly shaking.

"So why do you do it? I see you constantly all over Mark, constantly touching him, talking to him, trying to make him want someone other than me," Lucas was talking to both of them now, and Mark had stood up trying to calm his boyfriend down.

"Mark don't you realise? I'm the only one who loves you, why won't you ever be happy with me? You're an ungrateful brat. I give you everything I have but you just fuck off with Donghyuck. Do you think I'm an idiot? Did you really think I wouldn't figure this out?" Lucas took another step towards Donghyuck and shoved him harshly to the ground, a scream coming from Donghyuck as he hit he back of his head off the TV stand.

"Get up and leave!" Lucas yelled, pointing towards the door, "And never touch my boyfriend again!"

Donghyuck ran off, tears spilling down his face and Mark, who was frozen in shock, spoke up.

"What do you mean 'your boyfriend'?" Mark hissed at Lucas, his voice cracking in disbelief at the scene that had unfolded in front of him. Mark was sure now, what this meant, what he had to do.

"You're not seriously breaking up with me after you cheated on me" Lucas growled.

"I didn't fucking cheat, you just don't fucking listen. I should be allowed to have friends, I should be allowed to have fun with them and I should be allowed to break up with your possessive ass if I want"

Lucas was raging, breathing heavily through his nose as Mark watched his, now ex boyfriend, lose control. He slapped Mark across the face and kneed him in the stomach which caused Mark to keel over. He looked up to see Donghyuck's timid face peeking though a crack in the doorway. Mark was ashamed. He didn't want Donghyuck to see how weak he was, how he couldn't fight back against Lucas, a person he was supposed to be equal to.

He got up slowly, ignoring the pain in his stomach, and walked towards the front door, leaving Lucas fixed in the same spot, staring at the place on the ground where Mark had fallen.

He hadn't intended for anything like this to happen. One minute it was so normal and then next it was all fucked up.

Mark had never once thought about being unfaithful to Lucas. Their relationship did have its ups and downs but nothing that Mark would ever consider cheating on him for. In truth, Mark had never had any thought about Donghyuck that he didn't have about his own mother. Never in his life did he think he would be accused of being with him, let alone cheating on someone with him.

Looking back, as Mark was sat in that bar on god-knows-what street, Mark decided he would have to do better. For his friends like Donghyuck, who was innocently dragged into this mess, and for himself, so he would never go blindly into such a controlling relationship again.

Just then, the pop song that had been playing quietly on the speakers changed, and the room was filled with a song that Mark could only describe as alternative rock. He felt his ears focus on the music and lyrics instead of wallowing in pity inside his mind.

I'm drunk.

Mark laughed. He hadn't expected the lyrics to match with his own life, but then again he was in a bar, where people are typically drunk, so perhaps this wasn't all that much of a coincidence.

He thought about how Donghyuck would be so disappointed in him right now, if he knew that he was wasting away his hours with his head pressed against a bar counter as drunk as he could be without vomiting. Donghyuck had never appreiciated the idea of people drinking at this age, saying that he would wait until he was 25 or something. Mark remembered the night Donghyuck had watched he video of him trying to do the Red Velvet Red Flavour music while he was tipsy. Donghyuck had laughed so hard at his friend embarrassing himself in front of those people.

Mark missed that. He missed something as simple as one of his best friends laughter. After the fight and the whole break up scene, he hadn't spoken a word to Donghyuck. Not because it was what Lucas wanted, because he was well out of the picture, but because Mark was scared and ashamed. He didn't want to face Donghyuck out of the pure embarrassment of having your own boyfriend accuse you of cheating with one of your closest friends. Donghyuck hadn't approached Mark either, he was probably too shocked at the actions of Lucas that Mark had allowed to happen, and didn't want to get caught up in any of Mark's personal problems again.

Mark felt it sting, and it really stung, knowing that one of his best friends was suffering because of his lack of good judgement. He should've seen it coming, he should've never dated Lucas, but now he knew that he would never date anyone like him again. Mark just wished it hadn't cost him so much to learn this lesson, he really felt like he had lost his best friend for good, every ounce of his being wanted him back but he had lost all courage and energy. He just wanted things to go back to the way they were, without Lucas. He wanted Donghyuck by his side, he wanted to laugh with him again, he wanted to fight over stupid things again. He would appreciate him more, he would protect him more, from people like Lucas, and he would give him the TV remote every damn time he wanted it.

And right now I'm so in love with you.

Love? Hadn't Mark already clarified that he had never had a romantic thought about Donghyuck before? Suddenly Mark took his comment about the lyrics applying to his life back, as it was clearly no longer relevant.

Mark paused, as it dawned on him that Donghyuck had nothing to do with this song. Why had his mind instantly gone to his friend upon hearing "love"? Mark blamed it on the fact that he had already been thinking about him, previous to that specific line in the song. Sure Mark loved Donghyuck, as a friend, but he wasn't in love with him.

But now, Mark was only human, and as the thought of being in love with Donghyuck had entered his mind, visuals came too. Suddenly Mark was sitting next to Donghyuck on the couch again, how they had been before the fight over the remote. But now, instead of looking at the TV screen, he was looking at Donghyuck, who was looking back. Mark saw a smirk begin to form on Donghyuck's lips, and it was then that he realised where exactly he was staring, and quickly averted his eyes back up to Donghyuck's. Apparently it seemed Donghyuck didn't mind Mark's wandering gaze as his own eyes were lingering over Mark's lips too.

With that mutual understanding, Donghyuck leaned in and pressed his lips gently to Mark's, as if testing the waters. Mark quickly kissed back, pressing harder on Donghyuck's lips and wrapping his arms around his waist. Mark slid his tongue across Donghyuck's bottom lip, asking for entry which he was swiftly allowed. Now they were properly making out as their tongues danced together hungrily, eager to taste more and more of the other person. Donghyuck combed his fingers through Mark's hair as Mark held tightly onto Donghyuck's waist. It happened the same way as before except slower, with Donghyuck pushing Mark gently back onto the couch behind him, and properly climbing on top of him and continuing to kiss him passionately.

Mark slowed down, and began pressing small kisses from the corner of Donghyuck's mouth, down across his jaw and stopping in a comfortable spot at his neck. There he began sucking at Donghyuck sweet skin, biting and licking at the younger boy with greed. Warmth began spreading through the pit of Mark's stomach and as Donghyuck sighed softly in his ear, he knew he could feel it too.

And I don't wanna think too much about what we should or shouldn't do.

Mark ran his fingers lightly up Donghyuck's spine, lifting his shirt a bit as he explored the expanse of soft skin purely by touch. As he sucked more hickeys into Donghyuck's neck, he felt hot breath on his own. He felt as though nothing could ruin this moment of bliss. They rejoined their lips, picking up pace quite quick, and Mark flipped them both over so he was hovering above Donghyuck as they kissed. Donghyuck's hands began to explore the way Mark's had, except he was a bit more daring and went much higher, and much lower than Mark had.

He brought his hands up to Mark's shoulders and parted their lips for a moment to lift Mark's shirt over his head and discard it to the floor. Mark did the same with Donghyuck's, except much swifter, as he was eager to feel the youngers skin against his own. They continued this for a while, with Donghyuck giving Mark some hickeys too, and soon they were both panting into the others mouth, covered in small marks and bites. Mark pressed his lips to one corner of Donghyuck's mouth, and to the other, and joined their lips again slowly, tasting and savouring every part of it. That was when Donghyuck slid his hands from Mark's hips to down the back of Mark's jeans, grabbing his ass and pushing it downwards so not only their torsos, but their crotches were pressed against each other. Mark bit at Donghyuck's ear while he listened to the soft moans coming from the younger while he grinded rhythmically down on him.

Mark felt amazing, being with Donghyuck in this situation. He had never felt anything like this with Lucas, never done things so bad, felt things so good. It felt so wrong, so good, Mark coudlnt decribe it.

Nothing quite like the feel of something new.

New. Mark had his mind set. He wanted this. He wanted to kiss Donghyuck, he wanted to touch him, he wanted Donghyuck to know that he was the first person to ever make Mark feel this way. He wanted more with Donghyuck, now he knew that he wouldn't never be able to change his mind. He wanted Donghyuck, in a whole new way.

This revelation was quickly hidden by the tickling sensation of small kisses going down his chest. Mark ran his hands through Donghyuck's hair as he guided his head lower and lower. He felt Donghyuck's hot breath once more in places he never thought it should be. With his mind fogged with pleasure, his thoughts were louder, screaming Donghyuck's name so he could never forget who had made him feel this way. He heard, or more, felt Donghyuck humming against him, and then he came back up and reattached himself to Mark's neck.

This is the only time I really feel alive.

The two moaned in unison as they continued to touch each other in ways they had never done before. Panting, Donghyuck positioned himself to look Mark in the eye. Donghyuck looked amazing. His pupils were dialated, his lips wet and swollen, and his rough breathing caused the slight movement of his chest against Mark's. He smiled, and Mark melted, catching the youngers lips in a soft kiss before continuing without a doubt.

I swear I just found everything I need.

Mark suddenly sat up, the song after ending and the bartender giving him a weird look. Mark held his head in his hands as he tried to control the dizziness from sitting up too fast. Had he really just consciously imagined a sexy scenario with his best friend out of his own will? Sure, Mark had thought impurley about some of his friends at some point, but it had never been about Donghyuck. He hadn't expected it to feel so different, but then again he had never imagined anything so vivid. With Donghyuck, all the feelings, the lust and the love had felt so real.

But that was a perfect world. Where they had never fought over the remote, where Lucas had never walked in, and where Mark was with Donghyuck.

Mark took his hands down from his face and stared out of the window of the bar. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't even look Donghyuck in the eye again, not after seeing the same eyes in such a compromising position.

Mark sighed. He and Donghyuck - they weren't even talking, but Mark had hoped that one day it would go back to normal. Now, in his half drunken state, he decided that there was no way he could continue without Donghyuck, that he just had to say something. He had to apologise on behalf of Lucas, something he should have done weeks ago.

Mark honestly couldn't believe how stupid he had been, how Lucas had blocked him from seeing the person he really cared about. All Mark wanted to do was run back to the dorms, to find Donghyuck and to experience everything for real.

Nothing had changed, really. Mark would never tell Donghyuck about what had just ran through his dirty mind. He just knew Donghyuck made him feel something amazing, never wanted to let something as amazing as Donghyuck go.

-

[iwrotethisforjenny]

Donghyuck's Weed Adventures - Markhyuck

Summary: Donghyuck gets weed off a strange man, and Mark doesn't know how to deal with him.

A/N: I won't ever understand why I write these things.

-

"Mark Lee, you're back," Donghyuck called from the bathroom as Mark stepped wearily into the hallway, staring into the open door at the end.

Donghyuck was kneeling in front of the bath with his sleeves rolled up, swishing the water around with his hand.

It was eerily quiet at the dorms. Mark guessed the hyungs were all out, but then why was their maknae, the loudest member, so quiet except for the swishing of the bathwater?

-

It started like this. Donghyuck was supposed to be going to the shop with one of the managers, but somehow got lost along the way. He would have tried to find his way back, but he was never very good with directions, and he was never usually out on the streets anyway.

"Hey, kid" he heard a voice say from behind him. He looked around, but there was no one else in sight.

He turned to the source of the voice.

"Me?"

"Yes you, gay boy" The voice came from a person, a man dressed in baggy and slightly grubby looking clothing.

"I'm not gay?" Donghyuck stated, as if he were asking a question. "I'm lost," Donghyuck said plainly, "I lost my manager, and I don't know my way around-"

"Alright, kid" sighed the man, putting an arm around Donghyuck's shoulder and leading him into an alleyway "You have much to learn"

And that was how Donghyuck met his soon-to-be best friend: weed.

-

"Donghyuck, what is this?" Mark asked, walking towards the bathroom, which Donghyuck quickly ushered him out of, closing the door behind him.

Donghyuck's eyes were red, and he was staring at Mark with a look that made Mark believe that suddenly his friend had all the answers of the universe.

"It's a surprise~" he whispered into Marks ear and started laughing soflty, sending shivers down Mark's spine and putting goosebumps on his arms.

What the fuck is happening?

Donghyuck are you okay?

Are you there?

Donghyuck had leaned back on the door and was blinking slowly, not sure if Mark's voice was coming from inside his head or outside. He had began hearing Mark's voice in his head a long time ago.

Donghyuck gently took Mark's hand and brought him to sit down on the couch in the sitting room. Mark just watched in bewilderment. Something was definetly up with Donghyuck and he had a sneaky suspicion of what. He just had no clue what Donghyuck was hiding in the bathroom.

"I'll be back..." Donghyuck cooed, letting go of Mark's hand and walking back to the bathroom.

"Donghyuck wait, are you-" Mark stood up from the couch and tried to follow Donghyuck, but he was stopped and pushed back to the couch by the younger.

"I'll be back," Donghyuck repeated and Mark accepted. He didn't know what he was supposed to do with his friend now. He was on some sort of acid trip, for sure, but what the fuck was the planning? All Mark could do was wait, so he did. He sat on the couch and waited.

Fifteen minutes later Donghyuck returned carrying a large bin bag filled with plastic wrappers which Mark could not make out the labels of. Donghyuck had tears streaming down his face, but he didn't look upset - in fact, he looked almost happy. He put the bag outside and headed back to Mark, taking his hand once more and leading him to the bathroom.

The tears on Donghyuck's face seemed to have been dried by the wind outside, but his nose was still running. Mark didn't have time to wonder because the second Donghyuck opened the bathroom door, Mark had his answer.

A strong smell of herbs and spices hit them and Mark's eyes began to water along with Donghyuck's. Due to the tears making Mark's vision blurry, he couldn't really see what was going on, until Donghyuck guided him to kneel down on the floor in front of a larger red bucket.

"This will help," Donghyuck informed Mark, before taking the older boy by the shoulders and dunking his head into the bucket - which Mark now knew contained ice water.

Mark yelped in pain from the coldness of the water which was now trickling down the back of his neck. He didn't see how it was supposed to "help" because he was still snivelling over the smell, he just had a shit load of cold water all over him.

"Donghyuck, what the fuck-" Mark began but he cut himself off when he began to adjust to the smell, and could properly see.

Now clearly, in front of him was their bath, full of ramen noodles, floating around in the water as if they were in a regular plastic pot.

"Surprise" Donghyuck said, his voice cracking. When he didn't get a response, he looked over at his friend. Mark's mouth was hanging wide open as he stared at the sight in front of him.

"Get in," Donghyuck said calmly and put his hands on Mark's shoulders, pushing him forward.

"Shit, Hyuck, what the fuck are you doing?" Mark almost yelled, resisting Donghyuck's push.

"Get in," Donghyuck repeated, much louder, and began shoving Mark more violently towards the bath.

"Why don't you get in?!" Mark shouted, bewildered at the force that Donghyuck was using to try to get him into the noodles.

"GET IN!" Donghyuck screamed and shoved Mark once more, causing him to lose his balance.

Mark grabbed onto Donghyuck and they both tumbled into the noodle filled bath. Thankfully, neither of them hit their head, but Mark hit his elbow on the side, causing him to yell out in pain.

Donghyuck, who had fallen on top of Mark in this bath, heard Mark's yell directly next to his ear.

"Mark, shut up!" He whined, splashing the flavoured water into Mark's face.

They were both soaked, and Mark felt so weird being surrounded by noodles in this situation. He was only wearing t-shirt and shorts, so the noodles were able to get everywhere.

Donghyuck, on the other hand, was wearing a hoodie and tracksuit pants so he unfortunately didn't get the full effect of his creation.

"Donghyuck for fucks sake, our clothes smell of chicken, now" Mark complained, attempting to get Donghyuck off of him, but he was just pushed back down. His face was almost completely under the water

"Would you rather we were naked?" Donghyuck asked and Mark rolled his eyes while he tried to get a stray noodle off his face, "Didn't think so"

"Donghyuck can you please let me get up now," Mark asked.

"No"

"Why the fuck not?" Mark asked, getting angry.

"Because," Donghyuck said, scooping some noodles up in his hands and rubbing them all over his torso, "I'm washing me in my clothes,"

"Okay, hyuck, how high are you?" Mark asked, stretching his back in attempt to get comfortable under the stubborn boy keeping him hostage in this noodley nightmare.

"No officer, it's hi how are-"

"DONGHYUCK"

"I'm not THAT high, compared to earlier, when I got this idea," Donghyuck was bullshitting this, Mark could tell, but he must have had some sort of self control in him, because he wasn't eating the noodles yet.

Donghyuck started laughing, but his hand slipped and he fell to the side a bit, on top of Mark's shoulder.

Mark took his chance and flipped them over, splashing the ramen water all over the bathroom floor, but succeeding in dunking Donghyuck's whole body into the water, including his face.

Donghyuck came out of the water after being ambushed, and spat the water he had accidentlally taken in his mouth at Mark.

"Ugh, Hyuck! I don't want your saliva all over my face," Mark complained, trying to wipe it off of his face with his free hand, and not slip like Donghyuck had.

"Want it directly from the source?" Donghyuck asked, wiggling his tongue, and holding Mark in place with his hands which were gripped tightly around his friend's waist.

"No thanks," Mark smiled, attempting to leave again, but Donghyuck had a really, really, tight grip. So much that his nails might have been digging into his skin.

"Ow, Hyuck," Mark whined, whacking the younger in the face, which resulted in him slipping exactly how Donghyuck had.

"Haha!" Donghyuck laughed flipping them over again, but Mark wasn't having it, and flipped them back.

Suddenly they were full on wrestling in the ramen-filled bath, getting water everywhere and not giving a shit.

"IM- bvhghbvghbg- WASHING ME- bhhvkjhgkhb- IN MY CLOTHES- bvjvjhkhjh" Donghyuck yelled as he went in and out from underneath the water.

Mark just laughed as he got repeatedly splashed. He knew he should be concerned about his friend but he may aswell have his own fun while he was at it. Plus with Donghyuck in his sight, he couldn't get up to anything weird.

Anything weirder than what the were already doing, that is.

They stopped wrestling when Donghyuck got a mouthful of bath noodles. Mark laughed again, but quickly stopped when Donghyuck spat them onto his face.

"Hyuck, seriously, stop spitting on my face!" Mark whined, regretting stopping while Donghyuck was above him. At least he could wipe the noodles off without slipping. Not that it would do much good, they were both covered completely in noodles and herbs and soaked to the skin in ramen water.

Donghyuck was still struggling to get all the noodles out of his mouth. Turns out eating is a lot harder when you're trying to remove the food instead of swallow it.

What caught Mark's eye was a particularly long noodle hanging from Donghyucks mouth and tickling his face as Donghyuck moved above him.

"Hey Donghyuck," Mark smiled, taking the end of the noodle in his mouth and wiggling his eyebrows at the boy fishing a one inch long noodle out from the very back of his mouth.

"Huh?" Donghyuck grunted in confusion before he realised what Mark was doing. He chuckled and started eating from his end of the noodle, and watched as Mark did the same.

When their lips met - they weren't even kissing properly because they were laughing too much.

Mark was wriggling in disgust from the taste of the noodle that had been in the same bath as their whole clothed bodies. Donghyuck was clearly feeling the same as they both spat it out in sync, except this time Donghyuck intentionally tried to avoid spitting at Mark.

Mark let out another laugh at the sight of Donghyuck's disgusted expression, and flipped them both over again, this time trying to kiss Donghyuck instead of splash him.

Donghyuck caught onto this, and decided to play hard to get, by submerging his whole face in the water. Mark couldn't see past the noodles so he pushed them to the side with one hand and leant down to press his lips to Donghyuck's.

By now, Mark was definitely aware what happens when you only have one hand to support you in a bath, which is why he wasn't surprised when he fell to the side again.

This time, Donghyuck didn't climb on top of him, he just turned to the side, placed a hand on Mark's neck and continued kissing him as if they weren't both half submerged in the ramen.

It was the most disgusting, but most memorable kiss either of them had ever had, even though it was quite short, because neither of them dared to open their mouths for fear of the ungodly ramen noodles getting anywhere near the inside of their mouths again.

Maybe when the hyungs got home, they would think they were crazy, or maybe Donghyuck would get in trouble for getting high. They would both definetly be in trouble for destroying the bathroom, but right then and there, they were as content as they could be in a bathful of ramen.

-

I'm writing the older member's reactions on twitter if you wanna check that out here okay cool thanks for reading.

[iwrotethisforjenny]

I Broke A Nail - Markhyuck

Summary: Mark has writers block.

A/N: I have no idea why I wrote this but I love you if you get the reference.

-

Mark was struggling. Maybe it was lack of sleep, or maybe he hadn't eaten his vegetables that time when he was five.

Either way, he couldn't, for the life of him, write any lyrics. It wasn't that he had no inspiration, because he had plenty, it was just the feelings that he was trying to get across were jumbling themselves up in his mind and coming out as a mess on the paper.

Haechan was lying on his bed, keeping him company by being completely silent and playing on his phone. However, when Mark sighed his deep sigh of fatigue and frustration, he got up from the bed and walked over to his friend.

"Whatchu got, hyung?" he asked, leaning over Mark's shoulder and looking into the small notepad.

"Nothing, go away," Mark mumbled, but Haechan was already grabbing at the notepad and opening it at the page Mark had been writing on.

"Haechannie, I don't want you to read-"

"No one's gotta know, bro, oh no, please don't go," Haechan read tonelessly scrunching his face in confusion, "Mark what is this bullshit?"

"I told you not to-"

"This fucking better not be about me I swear to god Mark," Haechan interrupted, tossing the book back to his friend.

"Haechan, when have I ever written a song about you?" Mark asked, fixing the pages on the notepad that Haechan had bent.

Haechan looked at Mark. He took a deep breath and stared yelling at the top of his lungs.

"BABY IS IT ME OR ARE YOU-"

He was quickly silenced by Mark pushing him lightly, but because this was Haechan, he fell dramatically backwards onto the floor while screaming out like Georgette from Oliver & Company.

"aahhHH!" He shrieked, sighing and lying flat on the floor, "I broke a NAIL!"

Mark was startled but not surprised, he shook his head and laughed at his how ridiculous Haechan was being.

"What are you even doing?" He asked.

"Giving you inspiration?" Haechan stated, like it was the most obvious thing. Like Mark would get inspiration from his friend being a dumbass.

He then sat up and put his hands in front of him, like he was vidualising some kind of billboard, "NCT 127 new mini album, title track: My Roommate Broke A Nail"

Mark scoffed and threw a pillow at him.

"Can you not?"

-

[iwrotethisforjenny]

Magnets - Markhyuck

Summary: Or alternatively, The Ass Grabbing Fic.

A/N: Sorry about this literally every second word is ass. Also I added in them singing Playboy by EXO bc the video of them at the SM Rookies show is my favourite thing ever.

-

Neither of them could say when it started, or where it started, just that it probably wasn't ending anytime soon. Honestly, the ass grabbing itself wasn't the problem, more the consequences of said ass grabbing.

For months, it had just been cheeky slaps or squeezes here and there. Like when Mark was standing on a chair to grab something up on a high shelf, and Donghyuck walked past, casually stroking his friends ass as he went. Or when Donghyuck was singing loudly while waiting for the kettle to boil, and Mark "helped" him reach the high note by aggressively pinching his ass.

But perhaps the best example of how common these events were, was when NCT 127 were asked to line themselves up shoulder to shoulder in order of age. And Mark and Donghyuck had both extended their hands at the same time reaching for the other's ass. This ended up, of course, in both boys laughing softly at the situation, not daring to give themselves away by looking at each other.

It happened so often, that Taeyong had to approach the two about their behaviour, which really, was when the situation became a problem.

"Mark, Haechan, a word?"

"What's up?" asked Donghyuck, while Mark innocently put a reassuring hand on his ass.

"That," said Taeyong, pointing to Mark's hand which was not-so-subtly connecting them. Mark retracted his hand quickly.

"I don't know the implications of your relationship but I know at this time, you two might feel desires to touch each other or whatever but, I think it might be better not to let the fans know of your involvement with each other. It's clear that they're already catching onto it and because I'm your leader and you are kids, I just want to make sure you two don't make any mistakes in the public eye, and that you know we are all so supportive of you" Taeyong rambled in one breath, as if he had rehearsed.

Mark just stared in shock, slowly comprehending exactly what Taeyong had said. Everyone thought they were dating because of the ass grabbing?

"Ahh~" Donghyuck sang, breaking the silence between the three, "Thank you for accepting us, hyung, we were so worried! But honestly, I would keep my hands on Markie's squishy behind all day if I could! Maybe, I'll have to, for all the times I won't be able to in front of the fans anymore..."

Mark stared at Donghyuck in confusion, until it dawned on him that maybe he should play along.

"As if you could do that, babe," Mark flirted in response, "If anyone, it would be me who couldn't keep my hands off of you"

"Really? I bet you I could keep my hand on your ass for longer" Donghyuck stated, dropping the act they were keeping.

Mark raised his eyebrow and loudly smacked Donghyuck's ass, but leaving his hand there. Donghyuck smiled sweetly and slid his hand into the backpocket of Mark's jeans.

"We'll see, babe" he challenged, using the pet name Mark had called him earlier.

Mark just made a face back at Donghyuck and whisked him away by the hand on his ass, forgetting about Taeyong, who was struggling to comprehend what had happened.

-

Mark was making dinner, about an hour after the conversation with Taeyong, and the bet was still on. It was hard cooking one handed, so he did have to ask Donghyuck for help a lot. However, it wasn't until Johnny strolled into the kitchen with a smirk that they realised their mistake.

"Taeyong told us about your little competition," he said, opening the fridge and taking out a can of sprite, "I had to see it for myself"

"Also," he said, putting a hand on both of their backs, "I'm happy for you guys" And then he left.

"Well shit" whispered Donghyuck, voicing both of their thoughts.

"You should probably tell them" Mark suggested, pushing Donghyuck forward by the hand that didn't seem to be leaving his ass.

"Mark, I'm not doing it, and anyway, you'd have to come with me" Donghyuck replied, gesturing to the hand he still had on Marks ass.

"Okay, let's just sort this out quickly"

They walked right into the next room, prepared to let the other members know that it was a joke, when Chenle and Jisung appeared out of nowhere, arguing while trying to congratulate their friends.

"We're glad you two are happy," Chenle smiled, "but PLEASE use a condom, you don't wanna get infected"

"Chenle, pregnancy is not an infection" Jisung chimed in, "and boys don't even have to use condoms, what are you saying"

"Yes they do! I saw it in a yaoi-"

Mark just shoved them aside, ignoring the question of why they were even there, and started looking for Taeyong in the living room, but instead he was met with a shitload of cheering from the other members. And of course, they were cheering for Markhyuck, finally setting sail.

"Fuck," breathed out Mark.

He really didn't want to disappoint the older members. It was so rare that something this interesting would happen in their group, and everyone seemed to be enjoying it so much.

"How about, whoever loses this bet has to tell them," whispered Donghyuck in Marks ear. "We can pretend until then, right?"

The idea seemed ridiculous to Mark, but he really, really did not want to tell them now, so he agreed.

-

"We're gonna have to lie on our fronts if we wanna have any feeling in our hands," Donghyuck stated, staring at the bed.

They had both just come back from dinner, and were both worn out from sitting weirdly so they didn't squish each other's hands.

"I'm more concerned of how we're gonna get changed," Mark said, looking at his friend.

"You can take your hand off my ass if you want" smiled Donghyuck

"Yeah, no," Mark 'smiled' back, "This is so ridiculous, just look away"

Donghyuck rolled his eyes and looked over his left shoulder, away from Mark. All he could do was listen to the ruffles of Marks clothes wondering how he could do the same without falling over. Although it sounded like it was working for Mark, it really wasn't. He was struggling to get even just his tshirt off, and when he had it over his head, he realised he needed to move his hand to properly get it off.

"Agh- it's so hard" he whined.

"I don't wanna know that," Donghyuck said, shuddering for extra comedic effect.

"Fuck you," Mark retorted "That's not what I meant. This is just really difficult to do"

"You can take your hand off my ass if you want" Donghyuck repeated.

"Nope," Mark replied simply, while switching the hand that was on Donghyuck's ass so he could get his tshirt off properly. Next were his pants, which were a lot easier to take off than his tshirt, but Donghyuck didn't think so.

"Ewww I'm gonna have to touch your bare ass," he whined.

"Get over it," Mark retorted, scrunching his face up at the feeling of his friends hand on his asscheek.

"Wait, are you completely naked right now?" Donghyuck asked, chuckling slightly towards the end.

"Yes, don't look" Mark said, reaching for his tracksuit bottoms.

"Not looking, just feeling" Donghyuck smirked, giving Mark a small squeeze.

"I'm gonna slap you across your face if you don't shut up" Mark replied.

"Yeah sure, just take your hand off my ass and do it~"

"DONGHYUCK"

"Try not to scream my name like that, people might get the wrong impression"

Mark wasn't looking at him, but he could imagine the smirk spread across Donghyuck's face.

"Alright I'm finished," he sighed, "Your turn"

Donghyuck was a lot faster than Mark, sorting his pants out first, and then moving onto his shirt, and they were done in no time.

"Wow Mark, I can't believe you struggled so much with that" Donghyuck teased, and Mark hit him across the head with his free hand before carefully lying down on his bed next to Donghyuck.

"It's because I made it less weird for you," he said.

"Or maybe it was because you liked touching my bare ass" Donghyuck replied, laughing, and turning his head away from Mark.

"In your dreams, Hyuck" Mark sighed, before turning away to go to sleep.

-

The next day was spend struggling through daily tasks as the members tried to enjoy their free day. Which is, surprisingly, very hard when you're glued to the person who annoys you most - while you're pretending to be in love. Which actually wasn't a problem until one of the older members brought it up.

"You two don't have to hide in front of us anymore," Doyoung said, looking over at the two boys who were sitting awkwardly on the couch so they didn't squish their hands underneath each other. "I mean, look at them"

Doyoung pointed to a couple of unrecognisable NCT members which were violently mauling onto each other on the couch across from them.

"Of course," Donghyuck smiled innocently "We're just so used to it, thanks for reminding us"

He then turned to his side and pressed a soft kiss to Mark's cheek while the older squirmed in disgust but smiled at Doyoung like he loved it.

"You know this is only making it harder for when you have to tell them, right?" Mark whispered in Donghyuck's ear.

"Don't you mean when you have to tell them, Markie?" Donghyuck whispered back, pinching Marks ass again to remind him that his hand was still there.

"You two are so cute~" Doyoung mused as the two whispered back and forth, before getting up and walking to the other end of the room to very obviously point out how cute they were to Taeil.

-

The next obstacle was showering.

"Maybe we just don't need to shower," Mark suggested, knowing full well that they had a schedule tomorrow which they could not leave for looking like gutter rats.

"If you don't wanna do this, you can just take your hand off-"

"ALRIGHT," Mark almost yelled, "Come on, let's be quick"

Neither of them had showered for about three days, which was getting pretty gross for both of them seeing as they were practically inseparable.

It was awkward at first, stripping in the bathroom while trying not to make eye contact. But soon, it just seemed like a normal shower with the addition of another person who's ass needed to be held for the duration of said shower. The two boys washed quietly, opening the caps of their shower gels with their mouths and trying not to injure themselves.

Donghyuck broke the silence by starting to hum. He was used to singing in the shower a lot, so being in complete silence was pretty weird. Mark looked over at him and tried to recognise the song.

"Playboy?" He asked and Donghyuck nodded, continuing to hum softly.

Mark smiled. He remembered when he and Donghyuck had performed that song for an SM Rookies show when they were younger, and how fun it was to walk up and down the aisles of the audience. He recalled how Donghyuck looked when he was singing, and how it was in comparison to the boy in front of him. Donghyuck hadn't really changed, apart from his hair, but other than that, he was still the same annoying bastard that he was in SM Rookies. Mark suddenly felt that maybe he and Donghyuck would be annoying each other for a very long time.

He was broken out of his reverie by Donghyuck, who had began singing the words instead of just humming. Mark joined in, by repeating the English words at the end of each sentance. They sang it almost exactly the same way they had when they performed it. Passing the words back and forth to each other as Donghyuck sang while Mark rapped.

"Gwaenchanha, gwaenchanha," Donghyuck sang, sarcastically serenading Mark.

They kept going, regardless of how funny it was, and soon the highnote came.

"My babyyy~" Donghyuck sang perfectly and loudly, but by then it didn't matter because they were both singing like they were giving the best performance of their lives.

"Play, boy. Play, play, boy," They both practically yelled, forgetting the structure of how they had done it before, and just enjoying the song as it came to an end.

The two were in a good mood then, finishing up, putting on their towels and heading back to their room to get dressed. It was a faster process this time, as Mark had gotten more practice.

After that, it was dinner. The other members weren't even surprised that the bet was still going after 24 hours, but that didn't stop them from commenting on it.

"We heard you guys in the shower earlier, I see this competition has no exceptions?" Johnny had pointed out. Donghyuck and Mark blushed, they were standing together against the counter, waiting as Johnny plated their meals. Mark caught Donghyuck's eyes and they exchanged a look which highlighted that neither of them had even considered exceptions.

Mark didn't know what came over him. He pushed Donghyuck against the counter, putting both hands on his ass, before leaning in and kissing him. Maybe it started out that he was only trying to make it harder for Donghyuck to tell the other members when he lost, but Mark found himself enjoying it, and judging by the reaction, Donghyuck was too.

There they were, standing in the kitchen, with their hands on each other's ass, with their whole team watching them kiss like they had never done before (which they hadn't). Mark let his tongue slide over Donghyuck's bottom lip, and suddenly they were properly making out, ignoring the awestruck silence from the other end of the room. If the other members hadn't already been bewildered by the suddenly intense PDA going on in front of them, then they were definitely shocked by Donghyuck, who was slowly moving his hands away from Marks ass to cup his jaw.

Mark smiled into the kiss as he felt Donghyuck's hands finally somewhere other than his ass.

"Maybe let's just not tell them," Mark mumbled against Donghyuck's lips, moving his hands from the younger's ass to his waist, and pulling him closer. There was a hum of agreement in response from Donghyuck before he pulled back, leaning his forehead against Mark's and breathing roughly.

"I guess we both lost," Donghyuck muttered under his breath, so no one but Mark would hear.

"No, technically you moved your hands first, so I win," Mark smiled, "I know you've been dying to let go of my ass all this time"

"Oh please," Donghyuck teased, "It's like a magnet. My North," he said reaching his hand up as high as he could, "Is just attracted to your South," and he brought his hand back down to give Mark's ass another cheeky squeeze.

-

[iwrotethisforjenny]

Fic Masterlist

NCT

MARKHYUCK

•Whipped

Summary: Haechan likes Mark, but he can't stop embarrassing himself.

•Pocky

Summary: Pocky. That's it.

•The Downside Of Being Friends With Mark Lee

Summary: Soulmate au where an inside joke between you and your soulmate appears as a tattoo somewhere on your body when you turn 18. (plus lots of dick jokes sorry)

•Magnets

Summary: Or alternatively, The Ass Grabbing Fic

•I Broke A Nail

Summary: Mark has writers block.

•Donghyuck's Weed Adventures

Summary: Donghyuck gets weed off a strange man and Mark doesn't know how to deal with him.

•The Only Time

Summary: Mark gets drunk and has some new thoughts about Donghyuck.

•Doctor Hyuck

Summary: Mark thinks he might have an STI, so he goes to visit a doctor named Donghyuck.

•Where Were You?

Summary: Soulmate au where the first thought your soulmate has of you is tattooed on your wrist.

-Part 1

-Part 2

-Part 3

-Part 4

CHENSUNG

•Late Nights

Summary: Chenle has a huge crush on Jisung, and Renjun helps him deal with it

-Part 1

-Part 2

NORENMIN

•Jaemin’s Night Shift

Summary: Renjun goes to Jaemin’s apartment while he’s working his night shift, what he doesn’t expect is Jaemin to already be home, and with another man.

YUWIN

•All We Need

Summary: Winwin and Yuta aren't in love, and they both have to accept it.

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[iwrotethisforjenny]

The last line of your new fic,, I CAN'T I DIED LAUGHING "your penis is for me" LMAOOOO I love ur writing

Omg!! Thank you so much that actually means a lot lmao & I'm glad you like itttt