" bitch, i'm offended "

。。。

the next day, donghyuck woke up to the sight of a sleeping, disheveled, and fuCKING ADORABLE, mark. memories from the night before flashed through him mind on a whim, giving him glimpses of what had happened during the storm.

visions of the storm outside his window, the warmth of someone holding him tight in their arms, then the soft singing of lullabies. mark helped him last night, and it worked.

he slept well, being as that this was probably the best sleep he's had in ages.

just having someone next to him, sharing their warmth with him made everything seem like living on a fluffy cloud. to say the least, he liked this. he liked this a lot.

scooting up a bit, being careful not to wake the other up, he laid face to face with mark. donghyuck's eyes traced over each and every feature on mark's face, imprinting it into his own mind and memory. he then noticed bags under the elder's eyes.

'did he stay up for me?' he questioned himself, kind of not believing that fact itself. 'why would he stay up for me?'

all his life, he was pretty much alone except for the presence of the head councilor from time to time. either than that, he wasn't used to such treatment.

the feeling of being cared for and thought of as another living being and not some failure. it was all so new, yet so nice. it made donghyuck feel all warm inside, and he loved the feeling that mark gave him.

he never wanted it to end.

"good morning, hyuck. did you sleep well?" though mark was groggy, a spring of energy shot through him when he opened his eyes to the sight of an adorable fairy staring at him.

getting mildly shock, donghyuck replied with a shy yes.

"that's good to hear." mark then proceeded to play with the strands of hair atop of the younger's head.

"hyung?"

"hm?"

"you didn't have to stay up for me you know? you could've just let me deal with it on my own--"

"not a chance, hyuck. i couldn't just let you suffer of your own like that. it's just not right."

that left donghyuck shocked. he had suffered so much on his own, it was so shocking to hear such things. donghyuck never wanted to be a burden to anyone, as they already hate him as it is. then mark came waltzing in into his life saying that it was okay to lean on him.

this was too good to be real. it had to be a really freaking good dream and donghyuck was going to wake up to his bed at home in a few minutes now.

but he didn't wake up in his bed at home. he was still in the elder's embrace, with slivers of early morning sunlight peeking through his curtains.

he wouldn't mind losing his wings for someone like mark.

this was worth more than the privilege of wings that would only serve him the ability of flight, and nothing more.

"thank you, hyung. really, you have no idea how much this means to me right now."

"how so?"

"it's just...being treated with such kindness--i-i've never really felt that before. where i came from, i was just known as a failure and nothing more." it felt weird talking about his insecurities out loud like this, especially to a person he knew for about two or three weeks now.

mark felt bad for donghyuck. such a nice boy yet no one seemed to see that about him. for whatever reason they thought of the younger as a failure, mark wanted to prove that he wasn't a failure at all.

"well, you're here now. i won't treat you as a failure and i'm sure the others won't either. we're all prone to mistakes, hyuck, but that doesn't give them the right to call you that."

donghyuck then smiled, happy that someone thought of him more than a failure. mark's heart warmed at the sight of the younger smiling. though a small one, he could tell donghyuck was happy.

-☀️-

the doors of the bakery door opened, causing the bells attached to it jingle lightly.

at the moment, hana had called mark out for a little hang out. it was a while since the two had hung out, but this time, mark really just felt like this was a hang out between friends. nothing more.

spotting the female at one of the tables near the front, he approached the table and took a seat the opposite of her.

"hey hana, long time no see huh?" mark started, feeling a tad awkward.

hana returned with a bright smile, "long time no see indeed." her smile then was replaced with a more nervous yet serious expression. "look, i wanted to talk about something that has been on my mind these days. you wouldn't mind listening right?"

"of course not." the male answered blindly, totally unaware of what's to come.

"i really tried to move on mark. i really did, but i just can't seem to shake the thought of you off of me. to put it in more understandable terms, i like you. i've been liking you since who knows when, and i just needed to let that out before it drives me insane." mark was in a state of shock.

so all this time, hana liked him back?

instead up jumping up and down, and being extremely exuberant about it, he felt nothing. if only hana had admitted this earlier, then both of them would be content.

but sadly, timing just wasn't on hana's side.

"i-i...i liked you too hana, but since i thought you didn't like me back i pushed myself to move on. and i kind of did move on, i'm sorry."

hana smiled sadly, "it's okay. i was too late, and i can't really force you to like me back huh? i'm hurt and i'll admit that, but i'm sure i'll get over it. getting that off my chest really helped though, so thanks for listening and answering me honestly."

"i'm sor--"

"no no, i'm not going to make you think that you're to blame for here mark. it's okay, i'm going to pass through this stronger than before, and maybe i'll find someone else that makes my heart beat at the speed of light."

"look at you, being a grown up and all." mark teased, trying to lighten up the heavy atmosphere.

"shut it lee. just watch, i'm gonna find myself a person that can actually cook." hana retorted, a playful smirk adorning her features.

"bitch, i'm offended."

"you should be."

-🦁-

double update? uh, yes please.

also, my queen hwasa gonna be snatching wins left and right with that freaking amazing bOP.