Mark's pov

Everything just seemed to fall back into place again. Donghyuck and I are finally back on good terms and the guys are still laughing and embarrassing Renjun about his go-go dancing in the table.

With everything fallen back into place, Donghyuck had seemed to be fallen deeper inlove with Jeno. The little giggles and physical contact makes myself feel strange and cringe inwardly. Jeno half assing his affection, while Donghyuck is too blindly inlove to notice. It's pain to watch.

"Hyung are you okay?", feeling a gentle grasp on my left shoulder, only to meet eyes with Renjun's concerned face.

"Yeah... no...", I trailed off. "No", sounding clearer than the last.

"What's gotten into you recently? Is something bothering you?"

I wanted to just rant it out but it feels wrong and selfish. But I hope I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

"I- I don't know. Don't you think... Jeno- Donghyuck-", I stuttered tremendously.

"Oh for fuck sakes, spit it out. Sick of you being love sick", he spat out leaving me in a shock. Renjun is not one to curse but when he does, we know he's serious.

"Woah, chillax there man", he gave me an unimpressed look with his arms crossed over.

"Don't you think Jeno is faking the whole relationship with Hyuck? He barely even make an effort for anything. He's always out after school until mid night, doing god-knows-what", feeling myself heated up and panting at the end of the sentence. Renjun huffed out a smirk giving me the look of the total opposite of what I was expecting.

"And?", he gestured for me to continue.

"And what?!?! What do you mean 'and'?!"

"Are you going to do something about it?", he grabbed both of my shoulders and asked sternly.

"You knew...", enunciating each word bitterly. "And you didn't try to stop him?!", pushing Renjun's chest creating a barrier of betrayal.

"So did you! Why aren't you stopping them", he defended himself by placing the burden on me.

"I wasn't su-, I- , he looked happy and I didn't want to take it away from him...", settling my voice lower and softer. Feeling my chest rising and falling in a slower pace.

"Hyung, they're your childhood best friends, I know that you don't want to see them get hurt. But what I've been seeing is that you're the one who is affected by it.", he placed his small hand on my shoulder once again and I sat on the edge of my bed with my face burried into my palms.

———————
"Hyuck, are you and Jeno ok-"

"Yeah.", he cut me off abruptly as he spooned a full scoop of chocolate mint icecream into his mouth.

We sat in the same booth of the icecream store that we always go to in the summer, except now it's winter.

"Where is Jeno by the way?", I asked carefully but making it sound as casual as possible.

"I don't want to talk about him", he frowned and devoured the icecream within 10 seconds before slamming the glass cup causing a loud sound of the cup's contact to the table.

"Ahh", he winced as he held his head to ease the semi headache of a brain freeze.

"Dumbass", I muttered but he shot a glance at me.

"Ugh, whatever", he rolled his eyes  watching me slurp my banana milkshake with a growing smirk. "Do you wanna go ice skating next weekend?".

I chuckled  and dropped my head down at his eagerness to go ice skating. He kicked my shin under the table causing myself to jolt my knee up hitting the surface of the table. Two in one.

"Hyuck, you don't even know how to skate"

"Exactly, that's why I asked you, stupid"

I almost slipped out the mention of Jeno's name, as to why he didn't invite Jeno. But I figured he might have asked him first before he asked me. Go to, safe, second option, that I am.

"Nah, I'm good. It's too cold", I lied.

"Eeyy liar, you love the cold weather", he punched me on the shoulder across the table.

"Just go by yourself or the Chenle and Jisung", I said knowing that they're helpless with skating too. "I want you to come back with a broken arm, crutches and properly a few scars on your face. Now, that's a badass concept", I leaned into the back of the booth crossing my arms and nodded while smirking.

"YAH!", he got off his seat and slid in my booth pinching my cheeks, and so I did the same to him. He let go of my cheeks and pouted with his nose scrunched up. Pleading "please" with puppy eyes. I stared at him, feeling my heart being melted into my flow of my blood. With my fingers still on his cheeks, I pinched him even harder to see if he was real.

————
The cold wind blew through our bodies even though we were wrapped in a puffy jacket. Underneath it was our sleeping pajamas, seeing a peep of Donghyuck's elmo patterned print at the collar, I pulled him closer and zipped him up to the chin.

The rosey tint on his cheeks flushed his face when I zipped him up. I wasn't sure whether it was from the cold weather, the harsh pinching or me.

Walking shoulder to shoulder to emit some heat from another on the way back home. Walking pass the chicken place where I had set up a date for Hyuck and Jeno a couple of months ago, smelling the fresh crispy glazed honey chicken making me crave fir such taste.

Taking a few steps ahead, a soft moan and chatter was heard from the dim lit alley way next to the restaurant.

"Oh god, really? Right now, out in the cold? Get a room", Donghyuck said in disgust.

I couldn't help but laugh at how much a hypocrite he is. He does the same when Jeno is around. He turned to face me, and I was greeted by a mischievous smile, one of the many smiles of his that I adored.

Soon, that smile disappeared when a soft, "Jeno-ah" was heard coming from the alley way. We whipped our heads towards the direction then I watched Donghyuck froze for a split second

"What the fuck, that fucking dickhead", I stormed my way into the dark narrow place with my fist locked. I could sense that Donghyuck was following my footsteps behind hesitantly with trembling lips and legs.

There stood Na Jaemin in his apron who was being pinned to the graffiti wall by Lee Jeno, lips contacting one another in a sloppy motion.