It was the time of the month where in their class, they would once again change their seating arrangements. It was so that the students would strengthen their bond as a whole. Some were cheering in excitement as they got to sit right next to their friends, but Jeno was part of the people who had their day ruined by the sudden change. Mark, on the other hand, was glad that he finally had to distance himself from his nosy friend. He couldn't focus on figuring this situation out.

He knows. Donghyuck knew that they traveled back in time.

But why did he act clueless? It was as if he had no idea what Mark was doing and treating him as if he was crazy.

Now that the truth is out, Mark can't let this pass. He needed answers, he needed someone to go through this problem with him. He needed Donghyuck.

"How do I get him to talk to me?" He has to come up with a plan. Since Donghyuck slipped and made it obvious about what he was hiding, Mark is a hundred percent sure that he's going to get ignored in every opportunity he gets.

But that wasn't enough of a reason for him to give up.

"Still on to Lucas' boyfriend, Huh?"

A voice snapped him back to his senses, disturbing him like every other day. Mark clicked his tongue and opened the book he had on top of his desk. "Go back to your seat, Jeno."

"You don't get to order me around." The said male told him, smirking at the chance he got once their teacher went out and gave the time to do whatever they wanted. "Now, explain."

"What is there to explain?" Uninterested, Mark turned his back just to avoid his friend from squeezing out some information in him.

"Come on! Since when do you ever keep secrets?" Jeno couldn't help but show a frown. Ever since the incident that one morning, he noticed how this guy right here always seems suspicious. "You are not even good at it. It's obvious you like Donghyuck."

Annoyed, Mark noticed a familiar person sitting on his opposite side. He then took this chance on trying to snitch his friend. "And you like Renjun—"

A hand quickly went over to Mark's mouth and shut him up in a matter of a second. However, a name was already mentioned. It caused the owner of that name, a Chinese transfer student whose seat is just a couple of rows ahead of them, to turn his head towards their direction. Luckily for Jeno, this person heard nothing else other than his name being called.

"May I help you?" Renjun, the Chinese transfer student in question, wondered why he was involved in their conversation.

Being blunt about it, "My friend wants to date you." Mark said without feeling a pinch of guilt that he just exposed his friend.

Jeno got flustered and defended himself immediately. He was shaking his hands right across his chest frantically as he denied that statement. At the same time, in a crisis, what the latter had said might also be true. "I... What? No... I mean, yes, but no... What I mean is—"

"Renjun!"

A group of classmates, that's already by the door, called out the Chinese's name. It cut the interaction that Jeno has been dying to have towards this transfer student. It was so unexpected that Mark was going to pull this card of embarrassing him, he couldn't find the right words to say.

Meanwhile, Renjun felt like they were just playing with him so he decided to leave them be. "Excuse me."

While Mark went back to reading his book, Jeno nodded his head slowly and watched him walk away. It was just then that the transfer student left the room that he clicked his tongue in annoyance and groaned in regret. Jeno nudged his friend beside him, accusing him that it was all his fault.

"You owe me for that." Jeno argued as he knew he won't be able to sleep tonight while thinking how stupid he might have sounded a while ago. "Tell me!"

"I don't owe you anything." Mark insisted, still looking uninterested in hopes that this pest will go away if he doesn't give much attention to it.

"Sure, embarrassing me in front of the cutest guy in class is nothing for you." A painful groan was once again heard from Jeno. "Just at least tell me why you dragged Donghyuck during that day. I had no idea you guys knew each other."

Mark shrugged his shoulders. "I just wanted to greet him on his birthday."

"Greet him, my ass." Jeno commented, not believing a single word he had just heard. "You're bad at remembering birthdays, Mark. How on earth would you know it's his birthday? You don't even remember mine!"

"Fifth of February." Mark told him with pure confidence.

However, that only resulted in the latter being disappointed. "That's Jisung's!"

Blinking with blank thoughts, Mark then gulped at how he was setting his own self up. Years of friendship and he still forgets his friends' birthday. "I thought it was on the twenty-third of April."

"That's my birthday, dumbass!" The longer their conversation went on, the more frustrated Jeno got.

This sight amused Mark, "Right! I remember now." It made him slip from his thoughts, "You had a party and I was assigned to bring the cake. It had Jisung's name instead of yours. I really am sorry about it, I'm just not good at remembering birthdays. Luckily, your boyfriends were there to calm you down."

It was then the silence had come to remind Mark that he was telling a story from the wrong timeline.

Mark had just realized when he saw how confused his friend's face was.

"When did that even happen?" Jeno asked with his brows meeting and forehead creased. "And... Boyfriends?"

Coughing his way out of the situation, Mark looked away with his eyes closed and hoped for the day to immediately end. Though, it was still no use since he can still be bombarded with questions once they get back to the apartment that they share. "As I was saying, his friends gave him a surprise at the cafeteria. Didn't you see it? They were getting all the attention. That was when I knew that it was his birthday."

Quick to move on from the random scenario that his friend came up with, Jeno got back to being curious at what his first motive was before they talked about birthdays and him wanting to date the cutest guy in class. "But why would you bring him alone? You could have said it at the cafeteria. I would have gone violent too if I were Lucas."

"You talk too much." Mark already ran out of words to say. He just wants to stay silent before he would expose himself again.

"Because you're keeping things from me!" It was shown that Jeno is genuinely hurt at how he is treating him. "I thought best friends aren't supposed to do that."

His words suddenly pierced Mark right through his chest. He had a point, and Mark wasn't even the type to just put his friends aside. They mean a lot to him. He would never hurt them in any way. It also hurt him to see that he was being selfish this time around just because of the situation he is in. Even if he thinks about it, he has no idea how he can explain it to them without the timeline being ruined. A part of him wanted to rant and just tell them his struggles, but at the same time he was also thinking of the possibility that what if he won't ever go back. He will stay here forever and things will change as soon as his friends get to know about him being from the future.

Mark can't be reckless. He needed to think things through.

Sighing, Jeno noticed the latter being silent. This was a hopeless case. He's getting tired. Maybe his approach wasn't effective enough. However, his intention wasn't even wanting to know whatever his friend was hiding. He just wanted to slap some sense in him. "I'll just tell you one thing, Mark. Donghyuck is Lucas' boyfriend. That guy is taken, and they seem to be a happy couple together."

Mark hated to be reminded of that.

But they were. Even remembering it from before, Mark saw how perfect their relationship was.

"I really am not against you liking someone, but it just concerns me that you are interested in someone that already is in a relationship." Jeno said, trying to let him understand. "To make matters worse, you're even making a move towards him."

That isn't supposed to be Mark's intention. He just wanted to make things clear because he believes that he's not the only one stuck in this situation.

Though, he can't help but think that it's his husband and not just any other student he had come across during his high-school years.

"Unless they break up." Jeno doubts that it will happen because they looked like they were in a healthy relationship, "You have to move on."

That's right.

It gave Mark an idea.

It has something to do with finding who Lucas is supposed to end up with.

— to be continued