mark awoke slowly, humming in content as he stretched his limbs in the fluffy bed, making the covers slip off his bare body.

the boy's head fell back on the pillow as he inhaled the musky scent that was lingering on the fabric. it smelt donghyuck... it smelt so good...

holding his arm out, mark searched blindly for the younger boy inside the bed. he opened his eyes when he could feel nothing but the covers.

mark looked around the room with curious eyes, searching for the boy who had made his feelings go completely crazy.

"ouch!" mark exclaimed as he tried to sit up, immediately feeling a pain in his lower back, sign that the events that had happened the night before weren't just mark's wild imagination – actually he had considered they had truly happened once he had acknowledged he was sleeping butt naked in donghyuck's bed.

with a quick glance to the side, mark noticed a piece of paper on the bedside table placed next to a big glass of water and what seemed to be a medicine pill.

mark reached for the piece of paper, wincing when his sudden move made his butt hurt.

once mark had successfully taken the piece of paper, he inspected it, smiling shyly at the sight of donghyuck's messy handwriting.

hello baby, i hope you slept well (i did)

i placed on the bedside table a big glass of water and a pain killer, because i know your butt might feel sore. take it as soon as you wake up, and stay in bed as long as you need for it to hurt less, okay?

also, don't worry about school, i excused you for the day.

and yeah, take care of yourself. i'll be back around 3 because soccer practice has been cancelled.

mark's cheeks flushed red as he read the cute message over and over again.

he couldn't believe donghyuck had left this message for him...

he was also utterly shocked to read the word 'baby' in the letter, but recalling their activity of the night before, mark's blushed intensified as he realised that 'baby' was all donghyuck had called him as soon as he had started pleasuring mark – and he would never complain about it, this pet name made mark's insides feel all jittery.

it made his heart beat so fast...

donghyuck was so much boyfriend material... mark wondered what it would be like to have donghyuck as a boyfriend, taking care of him every day and every night...

trusting donghyuck fully, mark gulped down the pill and lied back down in bed, closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms around the pillows that had donghyuck's smell, allowing his mind to travel to a donghyuck paradise.

mark's brain replayed their intimate session of the night before, making mark blush at the souvenir of donghyuck taking him so well... the boy hadn't been particularly soft – not that mark minded, donghyuck having power over him and being so rough had actually contributed to mark's arousal – but the older boy had loved every second of it, and he even found himself asking if this would happen again.

"oh god... it's not like that that i'm going to get rid of my crush on him..." mark groaned, hugging the pillow tighter.

he couldn't stop thinking about donghyuck.

the younger boy was all over his mind.

but this was wrong.

mark had a girlfriend, and she was donghyuck's twin sister.

he was seriously starting to wonder if he shouldn't break up with dahyun to become donghyuck's boyfriend.

or even better, letting dahyun break up with him...

"mark! stop! you're with dahyun and it's perfect that way. you have to forget about donghyuck." the boy lightly slapped his forehead to push these thoughts away, scolding himself. "but is that even possible...?"

＃

donghyuck gulped down the lump that had formed into his throat as his grip tightened around the metallic tray he was holding.

his eyes were fixed on a group of boys who seemed to be happily discussing while eating.

the tanned male had been standing there for a few minutes already, far enough for them not to notice their friend staring creepily at them. his food was surely cold by now, but he couldn't care less. he didn't intend to eat anyway. he was there to have a conversation with his friends. he needed to apologise.

with a last sigh, donghyuck judged it was time to go, and so, he took slow steps towards the boys' table, placing his tray of food at the vacant spot, facing jeno.

donghyuck tensed as five pairs of confused eyes stared up at him.

"hello..." he mumbled, smiling shyly.

"h-huh...?" chenle's brows furrowed as his eyes never left donghyuck. "hello?"

"i... i know you guys probably don't want to see me but..." donghyuck sighed, sitting down under the boys' stares. "i came here to apologise..."

their eyes widened in unison.

donghyuck? apologising?

this was new.

normally, donghyuck had such a pride that he preferred being angry with anyone rather than apologising.

but he clearly seemed sorry right now, which was something quite unusual for the school's bad boy.

"to apologise...?" jaemin asked.

"i've been a dick to you. i was too blinded by my own plans that i didn't realise i had hurt you guys, and i am truly sorry about that." donghyuck explained, looking into each of his friends' eyes.

the five boys facing him stayed silent, not really knowing what to say.

donghyuck was freaking apologising to them.

what were they even supposed to do right now?

"i regret what i said. i fucking love you guys, and the past weeks have been hell for me knowing that you were mad at me. i'm so sorry for everything i did and said. i know that this surely doesn't change anything with the way you're going to see me from now, but i wanted you to know that." donghyuck continued. "i'll leave you now. thank you for listening to me and not pushing me away as soon as i showed up."

donghyuck stood up again, grabbing his tray of food and lifting it from the table as he was ready to walk away.

"donghyuck sit back down." jeno spoke, making donghyuck freeze.

"w-what?" he asked, looking at the boy that had just spoken.

"put your ass on that chair." jeno repeated. "and stop saying bullshit."

donghyuck didn't need to be told twice. the boy placed the tray back on the table and immediately sat down, looking at jeno with eyes full of hope – something quite rare for him.

"i'm sorry, guys... i really am..." donghyuck said once again. "what can i do to... to repair the damage i caused... and to win you back...?"

"donghyuck, you never lost us, don't be ridiculous." renjun sighed.

"we're a group of best friends. a minor argument like this isn't going to kill us." jisung explained.

"yeah, you were angry because we weren't that supportive of your ideas... we were angry because you didn't try to understand our point of view... and that's all." jaemin smiled.

"it's long forgotten." chenle added. "we know very well that you're someone intelligent and that you would realise one day or another that you were doing something wrong."

donghyuck bit his lip, wondering what he had done in his life to have such precious friends.

how were they so kind and comprehensive?

the tanned male knew that there was a very slim chance they would yell at him and push him away violently, but he never imagined them to be this understanding.

"about that..." donghyuck passed a hand through his hair. "you were right... i should have listened to you..."

"about what?" jeno asked.

"you remember my plan?" donghyuck looked at the five boys. "getting closer to mark until he trusts me, and then making him cheat on dahyun with me to expose to the whole school he was a cheater and i was better than him?" he continued. "well, turns out i- "

"donghyuck!"

the tanned male immediately turned around, seeing one of his soccer team members standing there with the same look of rage and disdain he always had when speaking to the captain.

"yes, chunho?" donghyuck raised a brow.

"today's practice has been moved to tomorrow." he informed, placing both of his hands on the table while his eyes stayed on donghyuck.

"yeah, i know. coach sent me a message yesterday night to warn me." donghyuck replied, wondering if chunho was stupid. donghyuck was the team captain, meaning that he had been the one to be informed of the change, and he had been the one to spread the message on their group.

"oh, i didn't know he had told you. it was to make sure." chunho explained.

"alright. thanks." donghyuck smiled – it was fake, and he didn't try to hide it, because the smiles chungho gave him weren't true ones either, so why make an effort?

"no problem... captain." he told before walking away.

donghyuck rolled his eyes as he faced his friends again.

"he's weird." chenle informed.

"yeah... still not over the fact i became team captain and he didn't." donghyuck shrugged. "anyway, where was i?"

"the plan." renjun informed.

"oh, yes." donghyuck nodded. "well, you remember you guys telling me i was doing something wrong?"

"yeah, and i'm sure we still all agree on the fact it is wrong. he's your sister's boyfriend, hyuck..."jisung explained.

"well, you're right. this whole plan is wrong and stupid, and i should never have done that." donghyuck nodded, making all of his friends sigh in relief.

"you agree with us?!" jaemin exclaimed.

"i do, and... i need your help because... well... things are complicated..." donghyuck sighed.

"complicated...?" renjun tilted his head to the side.

"it all started rather smoothly, with me helping mark. the poor boy is so bad at loving people... so, i helped him, telling him to offer chocolate or flowers to dahyun, and simple things like those. and then, he came to live with dahyun and i, because my parents were away. and that's when everything messed up... i was seeing him 24/7, and he was still so awkward as soon as he had to do something romantic with dahyun. he's so bad at it that dahyun even said she would break up with him if he didn't act more intimate with her. but i needed mark to be with dahyun for my plan... i needed mark to have a girlfriend, or i would never have been able to make him cheat. so, i helped him. i taught him how to make out with a girl, and even with clear explanations, he was unable to do it properly, so i had to kiss him for him to understand. we kissed a few times, but it wasn't enough. dahyun wanted more than just kisses, so i needed to teach him further. long story short, mark and i had sex. and i made him cheat. for real..."

the five boys stared at donghyuck, their eyes as wide as saucers.

they couldn't believe what donghyuck had just told them.

what had gone through his mind?!

"y-you guys had sex...?" chenle asked.

"the problem isn't that they had sex." jeno spoke. "the problem is that you went all the way to having sex with someone you hated just to make him cheat on his girlfriend."

"well..." donghyuck gulped. "that's where things get more complicated..."

"there's more?!" jisung exclaimed.

"i would never have sex with anyone. mostly not for my first time. i wanted it to be special. and the fact is... after mark and i kissed for the first time... i don't know... my mind went crazy and... and i couldn't think about anything else than mark." donghyuck explained. "as soon as i saw him, i wanted to pin him to a wall and to kiss the hell out of him. and yesterday, he begged me to watch fifty shades of grey with him, because dahyun wanted him to watch it with her, and he wanted me to help him knowing how to act with the... explicit scenes..." he continued, looking down at the untouched food on his plate, too embarrassed to meet his friend's eyes. "but, yeah... i cracked before any explicit scene came out, and i started making out with him, and this led to having sex."

donghyuck glanced at his friends with red cheeks.

the five boys were astonished by what donghyuck was telling them.

they couldn't believe their ears.

"a-are you trying to say that..." renjun started, trying to find the right words.

"that i fell in love with him. yes." donghyuck finished the sentence, making the whole table gasp.

"you fell in love with the boy you couldn't stand..." chenle place his hand in front of his mouth.

"well, that's not the biggest problem." donghyuck groaned. "i fell in love with my sister's boyfriend, and i can't fucking stop thinking about him. so, i need your help, because i'm fucking lost right now and i have no idea what to do."

silence took over the table for a few seconds.

donghyuck bit his nail in nervousness, his eyes flicking between his five friends.

"and, what about mark?" jeno asked. "does he... return your feelings...?"

"i don't know..." donghyuck sighed. "but he's with dahyun, and their 8th month anniversary is coming up... and breaking up with her isn't in his plans."

"that's fucked up..." jisung rubbed his temples.

"yeah, i know. so, please, if anyone had an idea, i'd love to hear it, because if this keeps going, something bad is going to happen."

the six friends stood up as the bell rang, signalling that class were about to start again.

they headed together towards the kitchen aera of the canteen where they gave their trays to the people in charge of cleaning them.

walking away, none of them paid enough attention to their surroundings to see someone snatching a phone that had been left alone on the table they were previously at.

"i have an idea, but i'm not sure you'll like it." renjun spoke, catching donghyuck's attention.

"tell me. i don't care how hurt i'll be, but this can't keep going... this is so wrong..." donghyuck looked at renjun expectantly.

"have a talk with mark, and agree to end whatever is going on. you should ignore each other. if you're lucky, your feelings will die down, and if you aren't... well, if your feelings never disappear, let's hope mark and dahyun break up soon..."