mark parked his motorbike at his usual spot, just between yuta's and jaehyun's, before getting to the dorm. he opened the door to find his seven dormmates eating dinner without him.

"what a warm welcome." he mumbled, putting his helmet at his right place and his leather jacket on the coat hanger.

"i thought you were eating out. you had disappeared from our sight." taeyong replied.

mark shrugged, picking a plate and some utensils in the kitchen before sitting between sicheng and taeil.

"where were you?" doyoung asked mark.

"at rainbow café."

"oh! you saw lucas and jungwoo then. how are them?" taeil questioned the youngest.

"they're fine."

taeyong cut the silence that had settled after a minute.

"mark. their café closes around 7. it's 8:30 right now. where were you?"

"does it really matter?" mark raised a brow.

"yes."

"i had to go back to school to take my motorbike."

"that doesn't require an hour and a half." johnny told.

"i know but- "mark was cut in his sentence by a notification coming from his phone.

he immediately pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked his notifications.

an unknown number.

???

hello mark, it's donghyuck

i hope you've arrived home safely

and that you didn't get scolded because it's late

even though you're a bit old to get scolded

mark smiled at the text he had just received, making him look like a madman in the eyes of the others around the table.

"mark?" jaehyun woke him un from his trance.

"huh?"

"are you seeing someone?"

mark looked at jaehyun with fire in his eyes.

"he is. for sure." yuta nodded.

"i'm not."

"well, you look like you are." sicheng joined the discussion.

mark hit the table with his fist. "well, you are blind."

before mark could react, taeil snatched his phone from his hand and read the message donghyuck had sent him.

"unknown number... and the boy is introducing himself." taeil stated. "it's a new relationship. donghyuck. that's his name. well, i don't see why you're hiding it. he's benevolent."

"what is he saying?" doyoung questioned.

"he is hoping mark hasn't get scolded for getting home late."

"what a gentleman. will we ever meet him?" taeyong asked mark.

mark stayed on his chair; head hung low.

"you won't like him." he said quietly.

johnny chuckled. "are you kidding? we never met him and we're already finding him perfect."

"yeah, but as soon as you'll lay your eyes on him, you'll change your mind." mark explained.

"that's nonsense mark." yuta patted mark's back.

"anyway, we're not a couple, so you'll meet him when the right time will come."

ϟ

mark settled on his bed, taking his phone out from his pocket immediately to reply to donghyuck's message.

he was finally alone in his room, no one there to disturb him.

fortunately, he had a small room alone.

the others all shared biggest rooms, but mark preferred having a much smaller room for himself.

his room looked like a very small well-organized janitor closet, all the space of the floor being taken by the double bed, leaving almost no space to walk. there was no desk to study. mark didn't do that, and if he did, he would do that on his bed.

his walls were filled with posters from western bands, and biker gangs, from floor to ceiling; and if he could have bought assorted curtains to hide the window which overlooks the busy street, he would have bought them.

finally, the most important thing of this room was surely the television. a gigantic tv screen that was attached on the wall, just in front of mark's bed, which allowed mark to binge watch things without seeing his dormmates for a day. paradise for the biker.

mark unlocked his phone and read donghyuck's message again after saving his number.

baby boy

hello mark, it's donghyuck

i hope you've arrived home safely

and that you didn't get scolded because it's late

even though you're a bit old to get scolded

me

hey hyuckie, you're worried about me

how cute!

don't worry, i got home safely

i hope you did too, and you didn't get scolded...

mark waited for a few minutes before receiving a response from donghyuck.

baby boy

that's good to know :))

and of course, i'm worried about you!

we're friends mark, we care about each other!

and i did get scolded a tiny bit, but i told my mom i was with jaemin

mark unconsciously smiled reading donghyuck's text.

donghyuck was worried about him? and he cared about him?

mark wasn't new to relationships, but why did this one affect him that much?

donghyuck and him had only been talking for two weeks yet, mark felt strange when he was next to the shy nerdy young boy.

me

ohh, i'll make sure to bring you home earlier next time then

i don't want you to get scolded

i care about you too hyuckie

baby boy

next time?

are we going to go out together again?

me

of course

if you want to see me

baby boy

i'd love to

i really enjoyed this afternoon

we had a really good time

i hate the fact that we can't hang out at school

because of our age gap and everything

mark looked at his phone screen, the smile on his face disappearing.

donghyuck had just turned 16. he was turning 19 soon.

they had an age difference of three years.

it wasn't that much. or, was it?

there were people out there, married to someone way younger or way older than them.

so, why were those three years age difference so much problematic for them?

actually... another problem was their friends. and their groups of friends.

they didn't have the same centres of interests. but like, not at all.

donghyuck was the nerdy type, reading books, listening to his parents and everything.

mark was living in a dorm with his 'gang members' as donghyuck would have said. he was a biker, having piercings and going out to clubs.

they were total opposites. and seeing it from this point of view, not meant to be.

and that thought saddened mark, because, even if they didn't know each other that much, mark would have liked to know the boy more, and maybe, build a more intimate relationship with him.

me

don't worry about that cutie

let's enjoy our time together the way we can

when we'll be busted, we'll start questioning

but we just started, let's not start thinking like that

baby boy

you're right, sorry

me

don't apologise hyuckie

you said nothing wrong

i'm asking myself the same questions

it's normal, i care about you

i want us to see each other more

not just... catch a glimpse of you at school

baby boy

yeah, me too

we need to find something

i'm very sorry mark

i swear i want to talk to you

but it's already two hours past my usual curfew

my eyes are closing on their own

mark looked at the time at the top of his phone. 12:03a.m.

donghyuck still had a curfew. how cute.

and he wasn't used to going to bed late, so now, he was falling asleep...

but what touched mark the most was that donghyuck had stayed awoken later than his usual time, just to talk to mark. the biker could feel his heart beating madly in his ribcage.

me

oh my god, go to bed then

hyuckie, you need to sleep

we have school tomorrow!

baby boy

are you going to be mad?

me

of course not!

i'm going to be if you fall asleep in class tomorrow

so, go to sleep right now

baby boy

okay

goodnight mark, thanks for today

me

goodnight cutie

see you tomorrow

baby boy

:))

mark locked his phone and plugged it. he then laid back on the bed, closing his eyes and letting out a deep sigh, putting his hand over his crazy heart.

"fucking damn shit, how can i be falling for him that easily?"