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"Ugh, how do I always lose?" Jisung groaned, throwing his thin frame back against the couch and dropping his awful hand of cards down to the coffee table. "Renjun is cheating. Definitely."

"Do you think I'd be so low as to cheat in a simple match of Go Fish?" The Chinese furrowed his brows indignantly. "Furthermore, why would I waste my time when all of you are clearly amateurs. I've only just learned the rules, need I remind you?"

Jeno shook out his dark and glossy hair, not having won a single match either. So far, Renjun had claimed victory in three, Donghyuck in one, and Chenle in the very first round.

Jisung proceeded to partake from his hot chocolate which had been cooling down on the table. The smell was enticing, and it made Mark crave for the hot drink.

"Did you hear the shitty news?" Jaemin enquired shortly, taking up everyone's cards and reshuffling the deck.

"Is this about the fact that we may not be able to leave for the midterm break?" Donghyuck confirmed.

"Yeah."

"Nah, haven't heard," the older teased, and Jeno kicked his shin from across the table, since he was able to jokingly do so when friends with the victim.

"That's so annoying!" Mark complained, holding his face in his hands and groaning. "I want to go home......"

"Oh, do you miss your parents?" Chenle hummed.

"Eh, not really. I just want my pyjamas and to get the hell out of my dorm." The oldest's spiteful gaze shot imaginary venom towards Donghyuck, making it all too clear that it was his fault.

"Yeah," Renjun agreed in a low murmur, "I haven't been able to sleep recently because it's so stupidly cold. As well as that nasty little phone Jaemin can't put down."

"Hey, my brightness is always at its lowest!" The bluette shoved his finger in the older's face. "Also, there's no volume."

"Well how about you try falling asleep when someone has some annoying screen right beside your bed! Literally, everyone else goes to sleep by ten at the latest, yet you continue to bother me well into the early morning!"

"Can we relax?" Jeno interjected, snapping his fingers between their staring contest and succeeding in grabbing their attention. "Yes, Jaemin's screen is extremely annoying. But we haven't raised the fact that you crawl from bed to bed because of sleepwalking."

"Damn," Donghyuck cackled, bending over his knees to compensate for his laughter. "That's so funny. You sleep in everyone's beds?"

Mark gritted his teeth, having so many comebacks for this that would both defend his best friend as well as roast his enemy......but again, the poor soul was too kind for such petty acts.

"I-It's hard, okay....." Renjun frowned, looking down at his lap with pink cheeks and suddenly dropping his defensive wall. "Why'd you have to bring that up.....?"

Jeno could immediately tell that he'd fucked up. Leaning forward and holding the older's hands, he gushed out strings of heartfelt apologies, totally forgetting that it was a little secret between their dorm members.

Mark continued to stare at Donghyuck who was still terribly oblivious to his less than appropriate nighttime activities. It grated right onto his raw nerves watching the little brown haired devil laugh at someone else's misfortunes, which weren't able to be helped, when he had them as well.

If only Donghyuck could've been made aware that he was doing what he did.

"Okay, so what would we all do if we couldn't go home?" Chenle piped up, taking the cards and absentmindedly ordering them into their correct suits.

"I never go home," Donghyuck shrugged, "My parents move around to much with the business to even have me around for a week."

"You live here.....?" Jisung whispered, utter surprise written all over his youthful face as he quickly diverted his gaze elsewhere.

"It's not uncommon," Jeno explained. "Many students don't go home unless it's absolutely necessary. It's the nature of this school and the boys it teaches. We're rich, remember?"

"Yeah, but my parents still love having me around," Chenle pressed, not taking the idea of 'abandonment' at all well. "What kind of parents can't look after their own kid? Why have one in the first place?"

"Heirs," Mark summed the whole story up in one word. "They need heirs to look after the hard work they've done once they're gone."

A small and pretty uncomfortable silence loomed over the seven students. It really was a sad and lonely place to be, when it felt as though all they were born for was work.

Mark's own parents weren't entirely dismissive of him, though it was rather apparent that he wasn't 'a lovable and cherished' son, like most ordinary boys were. He had a clear path set out ahead of him, and God help the sixteen year old if he stepped out of line.

It wasn't particularly difficult to tell the man and woman he called 'mother' and 'father', that he was gay. They didn't really mind, or even care. It just meant that they didn't have to go through the charade of finding him a girlfriend.

Easy peasy.

"If you're going to marry a man, at least adopt a child," were the only words of support they had ushered as they left the house together, leaving Mark to dwell on their conversation alone when he was fifteen.

A firm grip on his shoulder yanked him straight back to reality as he shifted his sights to find Jisung standing over him.

"We're going to the kitchen for hot drinks. Coming?"

When did we stop playing cards? The ravenette wondered quite uselessly. Screw it. As if it matters. Standing up to join them, Mark was sure to confirm that his collar sat right before following the other six towards the dining hall next door.

Jaemin was once again in a bouncy mood, the disappointment from this morning having washed away as quick as the cold that once pricked their bodies. Random classmates and older students waved and muttered subtle 'heys' as they passed them.

Mark, looking down at his feet as he walked, crashed head first into a firm back. Before he even had the chance to compute with what had just happened, the owner spun around and scowled.

"Honestly, Sissyboy. You can't do anything right."

"Dude, I was walking!"

"Well watch where you're going!"

"Screw you!"

"No! Screw you!"

"Before anyone screws each other, may I interest either of you angry and sexually frustrated gentlemen in some cookies?" Jisung offered, opening a box of them and smiling as if the sweet smelling treats were gold. "I made them last night."

"You bake?" Donghyuck tilted his head. "That's......nice....."

"I swear to god," Mark whispered into his ear, "If you say that it's gay to him, I'm gonna-"

"I didn't, did I?! Chill!"

"I helped," Chenle moved to stand beside the tallest. "After a few failed attempts, we got them right."

Okay, Donghyuck tried not to giggle, if Mark can't see something up, I'll keel over and die from laughter. "They look good."

Jeno seemed to be putting a pot of milk on the stove, which was allocated to students during the weekends for snacks, and waiting for it to heat up.

Both Mark and Donghyuck took a cookie each from the box and smiled politely as the pair left, offering to the other members of their friend group.

"Oh, and another thing," Hyuck whispered under his breath as he chewed on the surprisingly delicious snack. "You may want to hide those kiss marks better."

The older flinched, shying away from him in despair and pulling his shirt up further. "How did you-"

"I'm not blind, Dummy. You were leaning over the whole time we were playing cards. They were practically screaming at me."

"Oh......"

"So," the younger continued, actually looking at him this time. "What poor unfortunate soul left those there, huh? I can only imagine it's someone really ugly."

I swear, I'm going to snap his neck one of these days....... "Well, let's say he's no magnificent beauty," the raventte decided on, using a snide tone that made him feel better about himself. Why not insult him through comments he'd never understand?

"I know," Hyuck flicked his forehead, leaving Mark groaning. "Someone like you would never be able to pull in anything better than trash."

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