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mark sighs as he steps through the doors of neo culture high. another day of school, another long day of droning voices and assignments. he weaves through the throng of students, huffing in relief as he reaches his locker. he swings open the locker door and stuffs his bag into it, taking out only books for his first three classes and stationery. he smiles upon glancing at a photo taped to the back of the locker door, the photo being one of his favourite ones ever, filled with 6 of his favourite people.suddenly, a familiar pair of arms encircle his waist, and he feels a weight on his shoulder. he smiles, knowing who it is already. he says softly, “hey.” “hey yourself,” the red-haired boy mumbles at him. mark turns around to face the other boy, who’s already pouting at him. his face is lightly freckled, a sign of how much he’s been outdoors, and his big eyes are shining brightly with hope and energy. they haven’t seen each other for two weeks now, with mark gone for the holidays to canada. nonetheless, mark still feels that familiar spark of electricity tingling and that swarm of butterflies in his stomach as he shyly looks at his boyfriend, none other than lee donghyuck.mark reaches over and holds his hands, gripping them tightly, and placing a feather-light kiss on the knuckles. donghyuck’s cheeks are dusted a sheen of red, and mark knows his absence during the holidays will be excused. “haven’t seen you in a long time,” donghyuck mumbles, shuffling his feet and ducking his head. “i’ve missed you too, babe. canada wasn’t that fun without you,” mark replies, a smirk evident in his tone, knowing a pet name does wonders.sure enough, the blush on his boyfriend’s face flushes even darker and the younger boy steps closer to hug mark. he snuggles his face into the crook of mark’s neck, and places a kiss there. mark slowly strokes his red-dyed locks and smiles. they stay like that for a while, until the first bell rings.mark is a grade above all his friends, and it’s kinda hard sometimes.
especially now
“so, what are your plans after graduation, mr.canada?” renjun asks from where he’s trapped in jeno’s embrace and legs propped on jaemin’s lap. mark pauses, not knowing how to reply. his future is murky, not because it’s dark, but the exact opposite. he has too many options, too many choices, but not enough time. he needs more of that essence, so he can fully cherish his last few months of being a teenager and basking in rebellion, before it is stripped bare from him. most importantly, he’ll get whisked away from his friends, especially donghyuck. chenle and jisung are sprawled on the grass, hands interlocked. they’re the youngest in the group of friends, and they often whine about being left behind while the others graduate first. nevertheless, life goes on, and they understand that. donghyuck looks up from his lunch, glancing at mark. he takes a bite of his sandwich and says, “didn’t you say you wanted to try producing?” mark nods, but he sighs, “i don’t know. i told my parents, but they’re...reluctant, to say the least.” donghyuck nods in understanding, and he reaches over to take mark’s hand. he gently rubs the pad of his thumb against his hand, caressing it. “it’ll be alright. things will work out. we’ll be behind you, always,” he says with a soft smile. mark’s heart swells with complete love for the red-haired boy sitting in front of him, and a warm feeling dances in his stomach. a wave of emotions rush through him, a mix of happiness, reluctance, sadness, adoration. he feels so lucky, with loyal friends behind him and the love of his life by his side, always. it’s only been a little over a year since donghyuck and him have started dating, but the latter has never felt happier than ever with how they are now. “yea, go for it. it’ll be risky, sure, but what matters is you’re doing what you love,” jeno pipes up from cuddling renjun, his brown-orange hair hanging over his eyes. jaemin hums in agreement and pats mark’s head. he plants a kiss on renjun’s forehead and says, “the future’s scary, but hey, we have each other.”while the others groan and jokingly throw clumps of grass at jaemin for saying such cheesy words, mark just smiles and thinks,
yea, we do.
“mark! over here!”, a voice calls out. confused, mark looks up from his phone and grins when he sees a familiar group of friends heading his way. it’s been ages since he’s saw them, for they’ve been busy with college, university, their love lives. it’s good to see his seniors again, all bearing bright smiles on their faces and eyes shining with unadulterated happiness. mark walks over to them, hugging taeyong tightly when he sees him. the latter has always been an inspiration to him, talented in all ways possible and never failing to work hard. it’s been a while since mark has saw him, taeyong being busy producing music for his record label and flying everywhere to meet artists. they do keep in contact though, and taeyong mails him a postcard occasionally. “it’s been ages since i’ve seen you. you okay, bub?” taeyong pats his head. mark nods and smiles, eyes crinkling. it’s true, he’s okay, more than okay. he’s with people he loves, living his life and moving forwards. it’s a long road ahead, but he’ll make it. at least he hopes he does. he looks behind taeyong and grins as he sees doyoung and jaehyun smiling at him, hand in hand. both of them have been dating for god knows how long, and they’re engaged already. no one knows how they got together, it just happened after both of them got paired together for a group project. nevertheless, they’re undoubtedly one of the cutest couples in the friend groups. oh look, they’re smiling stupidly at each other again. mark steps front and hugs the two guys, also fist-bumping with johnny who’s standing next to the couple. beside him is ten, his boyfriend, a cute short dancer equipped with a sassy mouth. it’s been ages since he has last talked to johnny, with the latter being his confidant back in high school. lucas and jungwoo are there too, and mark shoots them finger guns when he spot their intertwined hands. yuta, as usual is draped over sicheng, who just shoots his boyfriend a fond glare. taeil is backhugging taeyong and they gently sway back and forth, humming a tune together (probably a new ty track song). kun is texting on his phone, and his eyes crinkle up as he reads a text message on it. cute, mark thinks. the younger ones soon arrive with a whoop and everyone hugs each other and it’s a perfect reunion. after mingling around, it’s time to head to their old hangout spot : red flavour diner. lucas especially loves it there, and he makes a point to coo at the owners, irene and seulgi, about his fondness for their strawberry milkshakes and it always ends up with joy rolling her eyes and whipping one up for him on the house. jungwoo smacks his own forehead in embarrassment every single time it happens.“holy shit, it’s been a long time since all eighteen of y’all showed up together huh,” wendy raises her eyebrows as the rowdy gang crashes through the glass doors. taeyong sheepishly grins and rubs the back of his head as yeri leads them to several already joined tables. all of them scuffle around choosing seats, and it ends up with the couples sitting in pairs and threes. yeri goes up to them, her mouth already babbling their orders and smiles when they applaud her for getting every single item right. she bows playfully and goes behind the counter to punch in everything. whilst waiting for the food, mark turns to the boy beside him and smiles upon meeting his doe-eyed gaze. donghyuck rolls his eyes at him, but his lip ends curl up and his ears blush a subtle shade of red when mark pecks him on the mouth. “kids nowadays, so whipped for each other,” yuta teases them while twirling his straw. “like you’re any better with sicheng hyung,” chenle snarkily banters back, and the only hint of humour is dancing on his lips in the shape of a smile. sicheng rolls his eyes and ruffles the other chinese boy’s blonde hair. yuta can only whine and snuggle against his boyfriend’s side. donghyuck chuckles at the banter and mark’s heart once again swells with affection for the tanned boy. he loves him so much, and he would do anything he can to make the boy happy. the best thing is, he knows donghyuck would do the same for him.his boyfriend flicks his straw at him, laughing when a drop of banana milkshake hits mark’s cheek. mark swats his shoulder, and reaches for a tissue to wipe the liquid off. donghyuck acts faster then he does, and in a flash he’s literally a few centimetres away from mark’s face, tantalisingly wiping off the drop slowly. mark blushes, and he decides to kiss donghyuck on the mouth, whispering, “two can play at this game.”donghyuck sits back down on his chair with a blush so red dusted on his cheeks. mark grins trumphiantly.the eighteen of them are sprawled across the grass, eyes fixated on the night sky. rumour has it that there would be a meteor shower in the sky today, and taeyong decides that it’s a good moment to catch it. as a result, they all crammed into two cars and drove all the way to the cliff where all of them hungout after school, a long time ago. ten is impatient, whining every now and then to johnny about how much he wants to go home and watch a gilmore girls marathon. johnny, being the sappy guy that he is, promptly shuts him up with a kiss every time and his boyfriend just slaps his cheek lightly before looking up to the night sky again. doyoung is frankly, quite the opposite of ten. he’s extremely enthusiastic about the meteor sighting, even more than taeyong. jaehyun laughs every time his boyfriend squirms around, impatient to see a meteor. he smiles upon seeing doyoung so child-like, so excited, and it’s been a long time since he has seen full-blown smile on his boyfriend’s face (that hasn’t been caused by him). university has been hard of them, but their love has never faded, instead growing stronger each time they overcome an obstacle. renjun, jeno and jaemin are lying next to mark and donghyuck, the three of them cuddling together. jaemin is fighting to keep his eyes open, and jeno smiles fondly everytime his eyes droop and renjun kisses him awake. the three of them are obviously in love with each other, sharing the same heartwarming adoration and affection. people might look at them weirdly for having this kind of relationship, but fuck it, because love is love no matter what and love wins in the end, always. “it’s here! it’s here!” doyoung suddenly exclaims, making everyone snap out of their conversations. “woah,” mark gasps in amazement as trails of light zoom across the sky in arcs. it’a absolutely breathtaking and it’s also slightly magical, a sight that is rare but ethereal. “make a wish, everyone,” taeyong mumbles from his spot next to taeilmark closes his eyes and clasps his hands together.
i wish that all of us are going to stick together till the end of time. as a family. i wish everyone will receive happiness, both in love and in life. i hope one day, even when we’re all apart, fate will bring us all together again, and it’ll be like now. eighteen of us against the world.and i hope donghyuck is joyful always, for he deserves the world.
mark opens his eyes and smiles as he watches his boyfriend’s lashes rest against his cheek, hands still clasped together.it’s happening. it’s finally happening. i’m actually graduating, mark thinks. he feels a slap on his shoulder and jolts. he turns around and smiles as his boyfriend rolls his eyes at him. donghyuck is clad in a dress shirt and slacks, light brown hair styled. he looks absolutely ravishing and mark can’t resist planting a kiss on his boyfriend’s forehead, whispering a compliment. “c’mon, it’s almost time,” is all donghyuck says before he marches down the stairs. mark chuckles as he watches his boyfriend’s scarlet ears. • “graduation boy!” jaemin throws his arm around mark’s neck, headlocking him until his cap falls to the grass. “c-can’t br-breathe!” mark gasps and jaemin lets go off his hold with a grin. “stop murdering my boyfriend. renjun’s rubbing off you,” donghyuck glances pointedly at said boy. the chinese boy feigns ignorance, only opting to wrap his arm around jeno’s waist as jaemin skips over to them and hugs them both. chenle and jisung run over to mark and hug him, one from the back and one in front. they whine as they do, complaining that they’ll never get free cafeteria lunches anymore, earning a flick on the forehead each. “ungrateful little kids,” mark sniffles and jisung only giggles while chenle says you know we love you. “hey, i think it’s time for you to sit in front,” donghyuck tugs the sleeve of his boyfriend’s graduation gown and points to the first row of chairs that are slowly filling up with the other honour roll students.mark nods and plants a kiss on donghyuck’s mouth before running to the front to sit down. • “...mark lee, salutatorian of class ‘18, please come up to give a speech,” a monotone voice reads out. mark exhales loudly, hands shaking as he slowly steps onto the makeshift stage towards the podium. he’s practised this speech so many times, but this is the real deal, no fucking up this time. he lays his script on the podium and inhales another deep breath. he smiles as he spots his graduated seniors standing behind the rows of chairs, all giving him silence encouragement, especially lucas who suddenly shouts his signature “fighting haeyadwe!”, eliciting curious glances from the seated students. mark can only giggle in embarrassment as jungwoo tries to placate a very excited lucas hopping up and down with his fist skywards. he’s glad he has friends like lucas, always there to support him. mark leans forward towards the microphone and clears his throat, catching everyone’s attention once again. “students of neo culture high, teachers that i love yet kinda despise, good morning to you all. as my fellow friend lee taeyong once said, you’re never considered a failure unless you like pineapples on pizza. i like to think of it as an encouragement, a motivation to fight against pineapple pizza haters, for i love pineapple toppings. we, as students, should keep this mindset in mind too. no matter what we do or how much we try, there will always be people that look down on us or in a more relatable manner, teachers that give us B pluses..” •“that was amazing!” doyoung embraces mark in a warm hug, squeezing him tightly. “coming from a valedictorian, that’s high praise,” mark says with a laugh as a sign of thanks. doyoung rolls his eyes and lets go of mark, letting him fall into donghyuck’s arms instead. his boyfriend smiles at him and says, “i can’t believe you dared to pull that off! my boyfriend finally has a sense of humour.”mark scoffs and wraps his arm around donghyuck’s waist, pouting. donghyuck laughs at his boyfriend’s ways and kisses him square on the mouth, making the salutatorian’s mouth quirk up and kiss him back. it only lasts for a few seconds and they break apart at the sound of their friends sarcastically clapping. donghyuck only rolls his eyes and pecks mark on the cheek one more time.after the eighteen of them grab dinner after graduation at the same ol’ diner, they slowly trickle away. pair by pair they leave, apart from renjun, jeno and jaemin that skip away together to renjun’s house to play games. all that’s left is the sound of the light breeze and two teenage boys standing at the doors of the diner, hands intertwined and heart on their sleeves. “let’s go to the playground,” mark tugs donghyuck towards the park, eyebrows furrowing when the other just nods and sullenly follows him.weird, he was fine before. they sit on the swings, swaying back and forth gently, the only sound being the chains of the swings creaking. donghyuck still has his head ducked, and he fidgets with the hem of his shirt. mark is undoubtedly concerned and he asks softly, “hey, babe, you ok-” before mark finishes, donghyuck suddenly bursts into tears and cradles his face into his hands. his body shudders violently, tears flowing down his cheeks like waterfalls. mark hurriedly comes down from his swing and kneels in front of his boyfriend. “hey, hey babe. look at me now, c’mon,” mark murmurs gently, hands softly prying donghyuck’s hands away from his face. donghyuck’s hands eventually fall away from his face, dangling by his sides. mark’s heart breaks as he looks at the love of his life looking so utterly sad. his cheeks are still streaking with fat tears, eyes glistening with sadness and reluctance. donghyuck sniffles and shuts his eyes, taking deep breaths before opening them again. “babe, what is it?” mark carefully asks his boyfriend. “i-it’s nothing,” donghyuck shakes his head while using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away his tears.mark sighs and takes donghyuck’s hands in his. he gently rubs his thumb against the latter’s hand in gentle strokes, and toys with his fingers. he looks up in donghyuck’s eyes and once again, he feels something inside him shatter as his boyfriend’s eyes look back at him with unadulterated sadness. “you okay to talk about it now?” mark asks him. donghyuck just exhales loudly and nods. “it’s just silly, but-” his voice threatens to break and he feels another wave of emotions wash over him. mark presses a kiss on his temple, telling him wordlessly that it’s okay, it’s okay. donghyuck’s entire body tenses and he pulls mark closer to him, hugging him tightly. mark complies, hand patting donghyuck’s back and whispering hey, i’m here, i’m here, and he eventually calms down, save for the occasional hiccup and sniffle. “it’s just, you’re actually leaving soon. you’re gonna go to college, university, heck, you’re gonna go out there to do great stuff. and i’ll be here. in this town. i won’t be able to be with you every step of the way like i used to, i’ll only be able to watch you through a fuckinf pixelated screen. and for god’s sake, i’m scared. i’m scared that you’ll find someone new, in university, someone better, someone that’s no-”“hyuck. babe. love of my life. my boyfriend. i’m never gonna leave you. okay? i’m not gonna find someone new, someone better, because you, lee donghyuck, are already perfect and enough for me. you’re everything i asked for. ever since i saw you in that ugly tshirt and ripped jeans, i liked you. heck, i love you so much it’s insane.” at the end of mark’s love-filled babble, he places a slow kiss on donghyuck’s lips, a sign of his love and affection. donghyuck returns the favour, capturing his lips with his own. he wraps his arms around mark’s neck and pulls him closer. he threads his fingers through mark’s dark locks, tugging them slightly. mark slowly pulls away, smiling softly as he looks at donghyuck. their foreheads lean against each other and mark admires the light coat of eyeshadow on his boyfriend’s eyelids, how they shine brightly like his kind soul. oh, to be young and to be in love like this. “listen. you, lee donghyuck, are the love of my life. my glowing sun. my sunshine. and my life is complete with you in it. i’m never gonna leave you. i swear on my life,” mark murmurs. donghyuck only nods, but his eyes give him away. his eyes are still holding a hint of sadness, but they’re also filled with happiness and joy, the joy of being in love with mark lee. the future’s fucking scary, but fuck it, they can get through this. together. “i love you,” donghyuck says to mark with a smile. “i love you too,” mark kisses him on his forehead.a year later “...yea, i know how to get there. babe, stop worrying. i’ll be fine,” donghyuck says to mark through the pixelated screen in front of him with a sweet smile on his face. mark brushes back his hair, eyes shining with mirth. “i know, i know. i’m just excited to see you,” he says to his boyfriend. “always the cheesy one. alright, see you in a bit, babe,” he replies with a laugh. “no goodbye smooch?” mark jokingly pouts into the camera. “you’ll be seeing me in an hour, idiot,” and he hangs up with a grin.•donghyuck parks his car in the guest spot, sighing with relief. he never knew college campuses were this filled with cars, but thank god a kind soul pulled out as soon as he made his third round around the area. he gets down from the car and takes out his phone. scrolling through their chat history, he soon finds mark’s dorm number. he pockets his car keys and jogs towards the dorm building. stepping through the glass door, a gust of cold air kisses his skin and he involuntarily shivers. greeting the receptionist, he asks for the location of mark’s dorm and smiles in thanksbas the lady directs him. mina, her name tag says. he takes the elevator, inhaling deep breaths and feeling jittery. it’s been months since he has seen mark in the flesh, their only way of communicating being video calling. he longs to cuddle mark, kiss mark, hug mark. nevertheless, good things come to those who wait and look, he’s meeting the love of his life now. he arrives at the designated floor and walks towards mark’s dorm following the signs. he soon reaches room 127, and he inhales another deep breath before knocking on the wooden door. the door swings open instantly, and mark’s grinning face greets him. donghyuck stills. mark, even after years of knowing him, still takes his breath away. his shining eyes, full of passion, stare back at him, and his cheekbones appear along with his cheshire grin. there’s a new dangly earring on his ear, one donghyuck vaguely remembers from one of their video calls not so long ago. it looks absolutely amazing on him. mark is only clad in an oversized hoodie and sweatpants, but he looks so adorable that donghyuck just wants to kiss him right there. and he does, surprising mark. mark kisses him back, his patience wearing thin as he brings donghyuck closer by the neck, savouring the taste of his lips against his own. donghyuck pulls away, gasping for air and holds mark by the waist. he looks up at the canada-born boy, and smiles abashedly as the latter pecks him on the forehead. “come in,” mark tugs donghyuck into his dorms. donghyuck obliged and steps into mark’s room. it’s sparsely decorated, save for the photo wall beside his bed. it’s filled with so many pictures, some featuring the seven of them, some with taeyong and the others and some of them are just polaroids of him and mark on their casual dates. there’s one that catches his eyes, and he steps closer to take a look. he gasps slightly as he realises who it is. it’s him. it’s lee donghyuck, sitting on the lawn of their high school, sun rays shining down on his face and his eyes are glimmering. he was captured mid-laugh, eyes crinkled and mouth wide open in happiness and his hands are blurred, showing his habit of clapping. the thing is, this picture was when donghyuck had black hair, which was three years ago. “um yea, you were too pretty that day. i had to take a picture,” mark chuckles sheepishly to himself while back-hugging donghyuck. “you harboured a crush on me for so long?” donghyuck asks, feeling slightly embarrassed. mark only hums, signaling a “yes”. donghyuck laughs and pats mark on the head, telling him, “i had a crush since i was four, you idiot.”mark visibly sputters in shock, not knowing this fact. he can’t believe he made this gorgeous boy wait for so many for him, a nobody. hearing this makes him love donghyuck even more, as if he doesn’t enough already. donghyuck sits down on mark’s bed, kicking off his shoes and snuggling into mark’s pillows. he pats the space beside him, saying, “so are we gonna watch to all the boys i’ve loved before or what?” mark laughs and joins his sunshine.“oh my god, hyuck, babe, lo-,” mark stops as he looks at donghyuck, who’s already knocked out dead beside him, snoring softly. mark chuckles and removes the boy’s phone from his grasp. he slowly pulls up the blanket, making sure he’s warm before slowly inching towards the edge of the bed to go to the toilet. before he even manages to move an inch, donghyuck’s hand shoots out and grabs him by the waist. startled, he falls back into his boyfriend’s embrace. he feels donghyuck shift a little, adjusting his body so he’s spooning mark. donghyuck’s arms are casually thrown over mark, hugging him and their legs are tangled with each other. mark feels the latter’s breath of his neck, making him shiver. he’s never been so conscious of donghyuck’s presence before, being in a new position of intimacy. nevertheless, he enjoys the feeling of his boyfriend’s arms wrapped around, feeling like a little baby for once. he shuts his eyes and wills himself to sleep.
thank you, lee donghyuck, for you have made my life so much better