colorful led lights shined in the dimmed living room. energetic music blasted through the speakers of the spacious house, making the three boys vibe to the music.

"BREAK THE WALL", mark sang loudly and passionately into the microphone, feeling like a member of ateez.

"THE GUERILLAS", jaemin added loudly, holding a microphone in his hand while bopping his head to the music.

"WOAHHH", donghyuck hit the highnote, clenching on the microphone and having his jongho moment.

the three of them sang karaoke, currently performing the song guerilla by ateez.

chenle and jeno were jumping to the music, hyping the singers up while yejoon and jisung danced the choreo of the song.

the rest of the friend group sat on the couch behind the people who were vibing, singing and dancing to the music.

haewon recorded proudly the dancers while sooyun filmed the singers screaming into the microphones. (rip the neighbours)

in the meanwhile, renjun and jieun talked casually about drawing regardless the chaotic environment. they started bonding about their mutual interest in art and the male was being introduced to the connections of art, design and fashion. they weren't bothered about the loud mess around them.

it was finally new year's eve and the drama club members attended the party hosted by chenle at his house.

the parents of the sophomore were not at home as they attended a new year's party of a friend too.

besides, they trusted chenle enough to let him organize a party and sleepover. nonetheless, they told him not to be that noisy with his friends unlike halloween where they received five complaints.

well, here they are, singing (or rather screaming) their souls out to guerilla, a total banger.

how many complaints will they get from the neighbours? we'll see, stay tuned and feel free to place your bets.

[ 🎭 ]

hours passed by and they had received seven complaints by now.

especially donghyuck's solo when he sang beyoncé and michael jackson songs (feat. chenle's and renjun's adlibs) drove the neighbours insane.

that's why the group decided to stop singing karaoke for the sake of everyone and do other things instead. (they still ended up being loud but not that noisy to receive another complaint.)

it was just one hour apart before midnight and they all wanted to go outside to chill there and witness the fireworks.

the friend group set up camping chairs in the garden and brought blankets, drinks and snacks along.

jaemin and jeno created a campfire in the middle of the garden which was surrounded by chairs.

chenle and jisung got sticks, marshmallows and more stuff to roast the food at the campfire.

"hey guys, do you know where sooyun is?", donghyuck asked his friends, searching for the blonde girl.

"i think she went to the restroom", yejoon answered and stole sneakily a marshmallow from chenle. "why are you asking?", he questioned grinning, raising an eyebrow while eating the treat.

"just wanted to ask her something", the purple haired boy muttered and tried to play it off, however, his cheeks were tinted pinkish.

"anyways, i will go back inside to warm myself a bit up. i'm kinda freezing outside", he informed him and felt a cold shiver running down his spine.

"alright, but come back before it's midnight! okay, honey?", yejoon insisted and sat down on a camping chair, looking at the older boy with an amused smirk.

donghyuck cracked a smile and nodded. "of course, bae", he agreed giggling and sent him a flying kiss.

"there is no straight explanation for that", haewon added laughing when she passed by them, sitting down next to yejoon.

"get a room!", chenle called and pretended to gag, causing jisung to chuckle at his extra self.

yejoon and donghyuck laughed in amusement before the older boy went back inside.

the purple haired boy didn't tell yejoon the whole truth.

it was true that he was freezing outside and wanted to warm himself up.

it was also true that he was looking for sooyun and wanted to ask her something.

however, donghyuck wanted to do more than ask her something. he wanted to confess to her.

hyuck had finally realised that his feelings towards her meant more than friendship.

he had seen signs of himself being in love with her. his heart warmed up at her sight and at the same time, beat crazily when she looked at him, talked to him and was close to him.

particularly their fake-dating made things more difficult for him. he got to know her better, got to spend more time with her and grew closer to her.

it made him fall harder for her, harder than expected.

however, the purple haired boy never wanted to admit it and kept on denying his feelings for her.

until he was sick of it, sick of denying and pretending, sick of keeping his feelings to himself.

he was surely afraid to ruin their friendship; afraid that his confession might destroy their bond and be a consequence of his selfish acts; afraid that it would lead to awkward interactions.

however, he wanted to go into the new year with no regrets.

something inside him prompted him to confess. some would say he was acting impulsively, but it was a little fire that sparkled inside him and encouraged him when thinking about admitting his feelings to her.

he might have watched too many romantic k-dramas, nevertheless, he couldn't keep his feelings hidden. he wanted to confess before it was too late.

donghyuck was looking around, searching for the blonde girl. he went upstairs and peeked into rooms where she could possibly be.

as soon as the male arrived in the little, dimmed lounge of the floor, his eyes spotted the blonde hair.

"it's my chance", donghyuck thought to himself, encouraging himself not to back down as fear tried to take over him.

he glanced at the blonde, her back was turned to him while she faced the window. the purple haired boy took another deep breath before approaching her slowly.

"hi, it's hyuck", donghyuck began but glanced on the floor to avoid eye contact, shyness was present on his face.

"before you say anything, please listen to me first and don't turn around... i, well, i need to tell you something", donghyuck asked sheepishly and glanced back at the blonde.

she didn't move at all nor said anything, indicating non-verbally for him to elaborate without her turning around but listening to him.

"okay, so... how should i start?", donghyuck began quietly, feeling nervosity and anxiety slowly crawling up inside him.

"do you remember the moment we met? you were the one approaching me, asking what i was handing out", the purple haired boy continued, feeling his cheeks getting flushed.

"the moment i first saw you, i was mesmerized by you. i had these unknown sparkles inside me. you were gorgeous in my eyes, you seemed so magical", donghyuck added and glanced shortly at her before shifting his gaze back to the floor.

"it reminds me of our cinderella play. you as cinderella while i was the prince. the way prince charming sees and feels about cinderella is the way i feel about you...", hyuck admitted, feeling his heartbeat speeding up.

"you know...", the purple haired boy looked up to glance at the blonde, "i still have these sparkles like we just met." a shy smile appeared on his lips as his cheeks turned pinker.

"i know it's really cheesy but...", he paused for a moment to collect himself, mentally preparing himself for the next words.

"i really like you, sooyun", donghyuck confessed, scared about her reaction. his heart was acting up while his mind was driving him crazy, making up the worst case scenarios in his mind.

"wait a minute, WHAT??", a deeper voice than expected called out in shock, the person turning around and locking eyes with him.

"WHAT THE FUCK???", donghyuck shouted in confusion and surprise to see none other than his friend facing him with a blonde wig on his head.

"MARK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??? AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING A BLONDE WIG???", the younger boy exclaimed in shock, jaw dropped to the basement.

"i lost a bet against chenle and he forced me to wear it and well... i have completely forgotten about taking it off, my bad", mark explained sighing, grabbing his wig and removing it from his head.

"uhm... sorry for causing the inconvenience... i... uh... didn't want that to happen", the older boy apologized ashamedly and averted awkwardly his gaze. his cheeks were tinted pink in embarrassment.

"it's okay... i'm just embarrassed that i've confessed to the wrong person... oh god, that only happens to me", donghyuck mentioned and shook his head in disappointment, feeling his face getting flushed.

"i'm such an idiot, i should've been more careful", hyuck critisized himself and wanted to punch himself for that mistake, "you must have cringed at my cheesy words, right?"

"a little bit", mark answered chuckling and looked at him. "but it was a sweet confession. even though i wasn't the person you meant, my heart flattered at your words", the canadian added and gave him a soft smile.

the purple haired boy laughed ironically at his situation. it was his first time confessing to someone but he still managed to screw it up.

"sooo... you have a crush on sooyun?", mark asked cautiously, wanting to ensure that he heard right after donghyuck's accidental confession.

the purple haired male nodded in embarrassment, covering his face by hiding behind his hands at the mention.

"oh my god, that's so embarrassing. i want to disappear forever", the younger boy muttered, not daring to glance at the canadian.

"it's okay. your secret is safe with me", mark reassured gently and placed his hand on hyuck's shoulder, "i can tell you a secret too. then we would be even."

the junior removed his hands from his face and glanced at the black haired boy in surprise. "you don't need to do that, mark. don't feel forced to tell me just because you know my little secret."

the older boy smiled sweetly at him, shaking his head. "it's alright. i know that you are trustworthy and that my secret is safe with you", he added calmly, pulling away his hand from his shoulder.

"well, i have a crush too...", he confessed calmly and witnessed donghyuck's surprised and shocked facial expression, making him smile a bit.

"no one has known about it, not even haewon", mark admitted and looked at the purple haired boy, "you are the first one to know about that."

"what?? you have a crush?? how come i have never noticed that?"

"well, guess i'm good at hiding."

"i don't know if that's a good thing, mark."

"to be honest, me neither."

an awkward chuckle from mark followed afterwards while shock was still written on hyuck's face.

"anyways i can help you out, i can be your wingman", mark suggested supportively. donghyuck's face beamed happily, his eyes lit up and sparkled in joy.

"you really want to?", the younger one asked once again to ensure himself.

"of course! always love to help you out", the black haired boy agreed happily, causing hyuck to smile genuinely.

"you're so sweet, mark!!", the junior commented joyfully as an idea crossed his mind, "omg then i can help you getting together with your crush!"

"nahhh, i don't think so. i don't think it's possible", mark declined his suggestion, scrunching his nose as he put his hands into his jacket pockets.

"huh? why?", the purple haired boy questioned confusedly, not clearly understanding it.

mark looked away to stare into the void. "they are... well... far away from me. not in a literal way. but they are too far away from me to reach them somehow...", he sighed as he lowered his head, "they are into someone else who isn't me. they've made it quite obvious."

"oh...", donghyuck muttered sadly, his heart was breaking for his friend, "i feel so sorry for you."

"it's okay. i know that unrequited love sucks but that's just the way life is. i gotta move on... even though it's hard. but i can do it somehow... i think. as long as they are happy, i will be happy too", the canadian mentioned and smiled a bit to reassure the younger one not to worry about him.

"oh mark, my guy...", hyuck commented sulking and gave him a bear hug as comfort, "i'm here for you if you need someone."

mark was taken aback by the random hug, nonetheless, reciprocated it.

"thanks hyuck, i appreciate it", the older boy whispered and cracked a little, genuine smile before releasing him.

"well, i hope you don't have to experience unrequited love. i really hope it works out for you", mark expressed cheerfully.

"let me help you out as good as possible! this is gonna be my new year's resolution - to help you get together with your crush. how does it sound for you?", the senior suggested and nudged him with his elbow, making the younger one giggle.

"you're the best, mark", donghyuck flashed him the sweetest and brightest smile ever. the older boy couldn't help but smile too.

"i always got your back, hyuck."

[ 🎭 ]

the two headed back to the garden where everyone was already gathered. only a couple of minutes were left until new year started.

"hyuck!!", sooyun called happily the moment she spotted him, waving him to her and gesturing him to sit next to her.

donghyuck's face lit up with a smile spreading across his face as soon as he saw her and heard her voice. he made his way to the empty chair and took a seat next to her before chatting excitedly with her.

mark walked to the only left seat and sat down between renjun and jeno. he was sitting across donghyuck who was giggling and smiling with sooyun.

the bonfire, the roasted marsmallows and the chattering created a cozy and comfortable atmosphere. laughters engulfed the cold air as well, warming everyone's hearts up.

mark looked around and noticed all the beautiful smiles his friends were wearing. everyone was looking forward for new year.

the first fireworks blew up from the neighbours. only a few seconds were left until it was midnight.

"omg guys, it's soon new year!!", chenle exclaimed and was totally hyped.

"let's do a countdown y'all", yejoon suggested excitedly and the sophomores and jisung started to count down.

everyone joined their counting, waiting in exhilaration for the moment to occur.

"three, two, one... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!", the group of friends shouted in sync, beaming in excitement as the brightest fireworks lit up the dark sky, shining in their beautiful, glamorous colors.

they all cheered loudly and celebrated the transition to the new year. some began to sing, some started to dance and some ate food and just talked to each other.

mark glanced at his friends once again and noticed their joy and happiness written on their faces.

however, his eyes stayed glued on donghyuck who was beaming the most; whose presence was as comfortable and cosy as the atmosphere; who wore a smile brighter than fireworks and whose laughter was as soft and tender as the marhmallows.

all mark could do was watch him and think to himself, smiling lightly by himself.

"if he knew."

━━━ ☆★☆ ━━━

[ author's note ]
🤭

funfact: i stayed up until 3am on christmas day to write that because i was simply too invested in it HAHAHAH

anyways there will be two updates today because i won't be able to update next weekend since i'll be in spain with my class <3

pray for my class and me that everything goes alright and that the weather will be nice and warm 🕯🕯🕯