*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

Mark wipes a few tears as he opens his mother's contact and calls her. Softly through the phone, he explains to her what happened and asked what he should do next. After her answer of "ok we'll be flying in as soon as we can", he hangs up and heads straight for the local hospital.

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

Donghyuck was having probably one of the best days all month, and that's saying something considering Mark was not with him at the moment. He went to visit Mr. Lee and Mark's house (his mother requested him to drop off some sandwiches as a thank you for Mr. Lee watching her son a couple of weeks back) but no one appeared to be home. Donghyuck assumed that they were out doing errands and just left the food on the porch and went back home.

Since then, Donghyuck has been helping his mom clean the boat; although it wasn't very fun on his part and Donghyuck just decided to give up halfway and went swimming in the clear ocean instead.

"Pleh!" He spits out some saltwater that got in his mouth and continues to make dramatic coughing sounds. 

"If the water is so salty, then just come in and help me finish cleaning like you said you would." His mom says from the dock where she was cleaning the boat benches.

"Actually the water is so high-end that I wasn't used to it yet, but now I realize how gourmet it is." Donghyuck snaps back, laughing at his mother's exasperated sigh.

"I swear to god Hyuck, you truly don't know when to stop."

The boy does a duck pout and moves his hand over his forehead, tilting it away. "And that's that on that." He smiles and continues to swim around the boat, eventually agreeing to scrub the button on the premise that he was allowed to stay in the water. He minded a little bit but he'd get what he could.

"So where's your boyfriend?"

"M-my what?"

Sunhi rolls her eyes. "You heard me, where's your boyfriend? You know, Mark."

"I-" Donghyuck gives his mother wide eyes. "How on earth did you know?"

This time it was Sunhi's turn to have wide eyes. "How did I know? Honey, I'm your mother. It's my job to know."

Donghyuck narrows his eyes. "You spied on us..."

"Honey, I did not spy on you. I don't know what you two do alone together, but I can assure you, I do not want to see it."

Her son's face turns a bright red in embarrassment. "We don't do stuff like that!"

"I never specified anything so I don't know what you mean." Mrs. Lee smiles cheekily. Donghyuck only groans, splashing his mother to get back at her.

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

Mark had promised the day before that he and Donghyuck would hang out around town and relax (the weather was supposed to be beautiful) yet Mark still hadn't shown up. In fact Mark hasn't spoken with Donghyuck all day. The tanned boy finds it unusual but still assumes that Mark was busy helping his grandfather. Yet when the young Canadian came at night, his song was sad. His voice was shaky as if trying not to cry.

Donghyuck didn't know the specific lyrics, but by the tune of the song and the slow notes, he knew it wasn't happy. Unfortunately, he did know one lyric, and it broke his heart.

"The silence isn't so bad. 'Til I look at my hands and feel sad. 'Cause the space between my fingers. Is right where yours fit perfectly."

Donghyuck soon understands what's happening and quickly rushes out to sit in front of Mark. Tears were streaming down both their faces. Mark stops singing, making Donghyuck only cry harder. He holds Mark's cheek and caresses it. Donghyuck didn't know why Mark had to leave, he just knew that he was.

"Please...Don't go...."

Mark smiles softly and takes Donghyuck's hand in his. "I'll be back...one day I'll be back for you...I promise Love. I promise." But Donghyuck just continues to beg and shake his head, not wanting to see his Mark go. Not wanting to spend the rest of his summer, his life, without Mark by his side. He finally got to feel love and be loved again, but now it was being ripped away. Taken out of his hands and torn out of his heart.

They sit on the porch, just holding each other and crying silently. Mark was trying to stay strong, for both him and his boyfriend, but it wasn't working very well.

It appears that they still had some hope left however, for Mark's mother promised that he could come back one day. So, Mark promised to come back after he graduated from college. He would take a flight and stay with Donghyuck and plan their lives from there. Both boys knew that soulmates didn't truly exist, but they were the closest thing each could have.

Mark stands to leave, his hand finding its way out of Donghyuck's hold, only making both of them cry harder. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to fly back to Canada, but he didn't have a choice. His only reason to stay now was Donghyuck, for his grandfather had died this morning.

He had awoken to a crash from the living room and he quickly called an ambulance. He then called his mother, explaining that Mr. Lee had a heart attack and was at the hospital. She promised they would fly in by tomorrow morning and that Mark should be ready to pack and leave but tomorrow afternoon.

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

Mark promised, one last time, that he and Donghyuck would see each other again. It will be a few years, and a few summers, but they will. He made a promise, one which both of them planned to keep true.

Yet once again, Donghyuck was left alone.

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

❀almost at the end ahhahahaa❀