"Are you okay?"

Donghyuck had his fist clenched while biting his lower lip. He screamed all the curse words inside his head. He was already thinking of how to strangle a certain someone that just had to coincidentally be at the same place he was at. Did he actually overhear the conversation that Donghyuck had with his boyfriend? That idea made the male scoff in disbelief, somehow finding this person quite hardheaded. He really can't leave him alone.

Meanwhile, Mark was equally pissed at the sight of the couple being at the same place as they were at. He wanted to leave so badly but the girl he is with wanted coffee and a cake. He didn't want to sweat himself in explaining why they should go to another café. Another reason would be the time. They only have an hour for lunch break, it will take more time walking if they will go elsewhere.

"Donghyuck, Baby, are you alright?"

"Mark, do you want to also get black coffee?"

What could possibly go wrong, right?

Everything. Donghyuck is going to bet on it. Shaking his head, he shifted his attention back to his boyfriend. "Yeah, just overwhelmed at how this place is packed."

"They just opened." Lucas explained with a smile. He has been noticing that his boyfriend would zone out a couple of times but he wanted to be patient with him and wait until he tells him what's wrong rather than forcing Donghyuck to tell him. "Want me to get you the same order? I will get Chocolate cake and Mocha."

Donghyuck wasn't dumb. He saw the worry in his boyfriend's eyes. He wasn't going to let this pass, he will eventually find a way to explain things to Lucas. A misunderstanding was the last thing he wanted for them to fight over. Holding his hand tight, Donghyuck stuck close to him. "How about we find a table first and I'll be the one to order for us?"

Lucas couldn't resist his boyfriend, of course he would do as he says.

Whereas on the other side of the café, Mark thought he was slick with his eyes following the couple wherever they would go. He's just glad that Ko Eun was busy looking for something to buy that she doesn't notice him being busy over something else.

"Wow! This place is full!" And Mark was right, Ko Eun had her priorities straight with the desserts she'll be wanting to try in this new café. "They have Tiramisu Cake! Mark, would you like anything?"

However, Mark was staring for too long already.

To the point that Ko Eun noticed where his attention was. Even so, it didn't let her down. Having to eat together with him was already more than enough. "Earth to Mark?"

"Huh?" Snapping back to his senses, Mark was greeted with a smile by the girl he is with. Only to be polite, he apologized and also gave her a smile back. "Sorry, I didn't expect a lot of people to be here. I got distracted."

"Hey, but it's a good sign." Ko Eun tried to be playful to lift their moods up. "It only means that their sweets and coffee taste heavenly."

Mark let out a soft laugh at how the girl did the chef's kiss motion with her hand. "How about you find a table for us and I'll order?"

Clasping her hands together, she would gladly love to sit down and rest rather than tallying up in that long line. "Yes, please! I would love..."

While Ko Eun was mentioning her orders, Mark noticed that a specific male had already gone to line up. Mark tapped his foot impatiently and waited for the girl to finish saying what she wanted before hurrying to the line and successfully had continued the line behind him. It took him a few moments to internally beat himself up for being so obvious. Why did he have to be in a hurry just to follow next to Donghyuck in line? This was such a stupid and a hassle thing to do.

Though, it didn't look like Donghyuck knew that Mark was behind him.

Not until there was already pushing in line and he had to step back to avoid being crushed between the crowd. Donghyuck then felt his back touching a chest, almost losing his balance as he hit it a little bit too hard because of how startled he was with the commotion in front of him.

Fortunately, a pair of hands held his shoulder to keep him balanced up. It was then he turned around to see who it was.

And yes, it just had to be no other than Mark Lee himself.

A quiet moment would have been appreciated but Mark just had to complain to get his attention. "You should watch where you are moving."

"Don't get me started on how crowded this place is. Wherever I move, I will still be bumping anyone." Donghyuck sternly stated, hoping that their short talk will really just be short.

But he can't help but notice that Mark hasn't let go of him yet.

"Hey, your hands." Donghyuck pointed out while taking a step forward as the line was moving.

"You said you keep on bumping people." Mark just reasoned out, following from behind while still having his hands glued on the male's shoulders. "I'm just keeping you in place."

"Keeping me in place, my ass." Shrugging his shoulders aggressively, Donghyuck clicked his tongue out of frustration as he just can't get this stubborn guy off of him. "Mark!"

"Love, just relax."

And once again, they just had to mess up.

Technically, Mark was the only one who slipped with his words.

But for some reason, it calmed Donghyuck down. He wasn't able to think much about it because he was busy thinking of how he would explain things to Lucas, but ever since they arrived at the café, Donghyuck got overwhelmed at how many people there were. He wanted to suggest another place but Lucas looked so happy trying out this new place. Donghyuck didn't want to wipe that smile off from his boyfriend's face, so he had to tolerate whatever war the people were going through inside this café.

Lifting his right hand up, Donghyuck shyly held the guy's index finger. "Don't let go."

It took Mark by surprise, but questioning the moment they were having was the last thing he wanted to do. He just wants to go with it. "I'm always here, Sunshine."

That's where peace engulfed them.

The place was still too crowded and loud, but in their own world, they were both accompanied with a comfortable silence.

The line was moving slowly, until a few minutes had passed and it was finally Donghyuck's turn to be at the counter. He greeted the cashier and told her what his boyfriend would like to get, and in another minute, he was looking at their menu to get what he wanted. All of that happening while still having Mark's hands on his shoulders to calm him down.

Upon finalizing their orders, Donghyuck inserted his hand inside his pockets— only to realize that he left his wallet with his boyfriend.
"Are you not going to pay?" Mark asked, noticing that the other was taking quite some time.

"Fuck." Donghyuck whispered only for himself to hear. "I'll be back, I left my wallet."

"Forget it. It will take too much time." It was around this time that Mark had finally let go of him to take out his wallet.

"No! It's okay." Donghyuck insisted. "Lucas' order was also included there."

And it's as if money wasn't a problem, Mark took cash out from his wallet. "I'll pay for both, then."

"Really, it's okay. I'll just get my wallet and get in line from the back if it's going to take too much time." What's taking too much time is them arguing, as to who will pay, by the counter.

"The easiest solution would be accepting my treat?" Mark said in a questionable manner because he, himself, has no idea why it's such a big deal to pay for their orders.

"Mark, I said—"

People were already starting to complain as to why it was taking long for the line to move.

Talk about perfect timing, Lucas came up while bringing something on his other hand. Mark couldn't help but roll his eyes at the sight of them being sweet again. "Baby, you left your wallet—"

Take back the perfect timing.

It's the worst timing.

"Excuse me, if you guys are just going to cause a scene, please do it elsewhere."

Both Donghyuck and Mark turned around to look at who was talking, while Lucas was busy paying for the orders instead.

With eyes widened and mouth agape, the both of them then said simultaneously with fear in their tone, "Jungwoo?"

Meanwhile, the person, who they have just called, had his forehead creased and brows met out of confusion.

Happily taking the order in a tray, Lucas turned towards his boyfriend. "Babe, come on." But didn't move a step when he noticed that his boyfriend's attention was on something, or someone, else. It made Lucas turn to where his boyfriend was looking with shock drawn on his face.

The sight showed a tall guy with perfect hair, plum lips, glistening eyes, and also having a puzzled expression. He may seem familiar to the two students who called his name out, but for Lucas, he was a complete stranger. "Do I know you guys?"

🕙

Lucas held his boyfriend's hand and gave him a smile. During the commotion that had happened inside the café, apologies were exchanged dozens of times before Mark and Donghyuck went separate ways and spent lunch break with the people that they were supposed to be spending it with. Glances would sometimes be exchanged with each other, and also towards a specific person, but they soon after minded their own businesses when this person, that the both of them found familiar with, ordered a take out and left the café.

Even so, it couldn't get off of Donghyuck's mind. It was worrying him for some reason.

And on the other hand, Mark was worried that the latter might do something stupid and ruin something.

Ruin the timeline that they are in.

"Babe, it's really bothering me." As they were going back to their classes, both of them were in pairs walking around the campus and towards their building. Lucas was side by side with his boyfriend, having a concerned expression plastered on his face. "Are you sick? Do you want me to get you an afternoon pass and bring you home?"

Donghyuck couldn't find the right words to explain the situation yet. He was then shaking his head to reassure the other, "Everything is okay, Lucas."

Being stubborn, Lucas insisted that everything is definitely not okay. "I know you well. Hey, what did we promise? Your problems are mine, and my problems are also yours." He only had a genuine intention to lift his boyfriend's mood up. "Let's go through this together. Okay, Baby? I'm always here to listen no matter how stupid that problem is. I will prioritize it and fix it for us."

The reassurance made Donghyuck sneak a glance at the pair walking behind them, earning a look from Mark who probably had heard everything in their conversation.

With a scoff, Donghyuck finally got his senses back and slapped himself with his goal for this timeline. "Baby, would you still love me if I was a worm?"

Mark showed a hint of disgust upon hearing that random question. Talk about trauma. He would remember how often he'd be bombarded with trivial questions by his husband whenever he comes home late, or even with their casual hangouts every Sunday. Every single answer would always lead them to an argument just because Mark sucks at going along with it. He had no humor to entertain Donghyuck.

Would he still love him if he was a worm? Ew, a worm?

Seems like Lucas knew the right answer to that. "I will feed you and take care of you, that's how I will love you if you were a worm."

Donghyuck couldn't help but pout at his boyfriend's answer. It might be a witty answer, but he deeply found it sweet. "Really?"

Definitely different if Mark were going to answer that.

"I will still love you, Babe, even if you'd be a crawling parasite." Lucas said with his bright smile and a laugh that was contagious. "That's what you were worried about?"

No, he is worrying about whether the guy behind them in line caught Lucas' attention. Donghyuck grinned to cover up his concerns. "Yep, but you're still going to take care of me even if I'm a worm, so I'm not worried anymore."

"How cute can you get, Donghyuck?" Lucas commented with full admiration.

Seeing the two of them being clingy towards each other made the pair, following from behind, have different opinions about it. Mark definitely wasn't enjoying the sight. It was an eyesore for him. In contradiction to him, Ko Eun cooed at the couple.

"Aren't they the sweetest?" She made a remark about them.

Mark rolled his eyes with an attitude, disagreeing with that opinion with his whole being. "They're loud. No one wants to hear them talk about loving a worm."

"They're in their own world, Mark." Ko Eun giggled, defending the couple from whatever this guy has to say against them. "You don't have to be bothered by it. It's only for them to understand, not for us to judge."

"If they don't want anyone to judge, they should just keep their mouths shut." Mark uttered out in frustration.

Ko Eun stopped her tracks, making her pair also stop walking. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before she flashed him a gentle smile. "Can't you get a little more obvious?"

"Obvious?" With his own emotions, Mark was the one clueless about it. "Obvious about what?"

But it was either she could see right through him, or this guy really just couldn't mask out his irritation. Ko Eun shook her head to disregard the thoughts and continued to walk ahead, leaving her pair behind.

"Hey, Ko Eun!" Mark fastened his pace, trying to catch up to her. "Come back here!"

The two of them passed by the couple and got their attention as the pair were the ones being loud this time around. Lucas let out a chuckle seeing them being playful, while Donghyuck could only glare with his judgemental eyes.

"They are quite an unexpected pair." Lucas said, opening the door of their building for his boyfriend.

"They're unexpected for a reason." Donghyuck replied plainly. "No one expects them to be together."

Seems like there's one thing Mark and Donghyuck can agree on.

— to be continued