donghyuck chugged down the glass of water that was on his bedside table in an attempt to get rid of his coughing fit that had started right after he had choked on his saliva.

had he heard it right? had his sister cheated on mark too?

"fuck, donghyuck." dahyun held the glass of water. "don't die right now!"

"dahyun, what did you just say?!" donghyuck exclaimed, looking at her dead in the eye.

"i cheated on mark." she repeated "so, i have no right to be mad at him for doing it as well."

"now i have a couple questions for you, little sis." donghyuck poked dahyun's forehead with his pointer finger. "first of all, how could you do that to mark?! such a perfect boy?! and who the hell did you cheat on him with? when did this happen and how the fuck did it happen?!"

"calm down." dahyun placed her hands on donghyuck's shoulders.

the boy closed his eyes for a second, sighing to catch his breath before looking at his sister dead in the eye.

"i want details." he simply said.

"that's what i'm here for, so don't worry." dahyun assured.

donghyuck nodded, sitting more comfortably on his bed.

"okay so... remember my friend choonhee?" dahyun started, making donghyuck gasp.

"you cheated on mark with choonhee?! i mean, she's cute and funny, and you guys are always together and- WAIT A SECOND, you are a lesbian?!"

"god donghyuck, let me talk." dahyun rolled her eyes. "yes, i cheated on mark with choonhee, and yes i am a lesbian, or at least a bisexual."

"oh my god..." donghyuck declared with widened eyes. "how did this happen?"

"well, you remember her ex-girlfriend?"

"that bitch who forced her into everything and almost abused her?" donghyuck raised a brow.

"yeah. well, choonhee was very attached to her despite everything she did, and so, when they broke up, she was devastated." dahyun explained. "it was a few weeks ago, and because she was depressed, i visited her because i'm her friend, and it's my duty to make her feel better and everything."

donghyuck nodded in approval. "yeah, i mean, her girlfriend was a bitch, not going to lie. i wanted to hit her so bad when you introduced her to me."

"same, honestly." dahyun hummed. "so, when she told me she was devastated, i told mark that i really needed to visit her, and he was so understanding, so i went to see her to have a sleepover, to lift her mood a bit."

"and it happened..." donghyuck spoke.

dahyun sighed, looking at her lap as she nodded.

"i don't know what went through my head... i've always found her really pretty and we've been friends for ages. we were so close before she got with her ex-girlfriend. but because she felt jealous, choonhee and i had to spend less time together..." dahyun explained. "i guess i had a crush on her at some point, but i kind of forgot about it because she had a girlfriend. and my other friends were telling me that i should find myself a boyfriend, and yeah, i found mark and we got together. he was the perfect boy, handsome, kind, charming, and he had everything a girl could ask for. but, i don't know... i guess that when i got so close to choonhee again, my feelings resurfaced."

"so, you didn't like mark?" donghyuck's brows furrowed.

"i did." dahyun nodded. "but, as i told you, our relationship seemed perfect from the outside, but it wasn't what i wanted. i'm sure i liked him, but what i feel for choonhee is more powerful."

donghyuck nodded slowly, processing everything that his sister was telling him.

this situation was even more fucked up that donghyuck's and mark's.

"so... what happened exactly during this sleepover?" donghyuck asked after a while.

"we were having a simple girl night, watching movies, talking about random things, and yeah, doing make up. and i lost it when i was doing her make up. she looked so beautiful from up close, and i couldn't hold myself anymore, so i kissed her." dahyun sighed loudly. "i regretted doing so immediately, but she replied to the kiss, and both of us forgot about our surroundings and kissed all night long, and we even had sex. i won't lie, i liked it a lot, and making out with choonhee felt so much better than making out with mark. so, yeah... i cheated on mark."

donghyuck whistled, slightly shocked by everything he had just learnt.

"well, huh... what happens now?"

"that's the problem." dahyun rubber her temples. "what the fuck happens now?"

"first, what's your status with choonhee?" donghyuck asked.

"we both acknowledged that we might have a crush on each other, and we agreed not to do anything ambiguous until the situation with mark was solved." dahyun explained.

"so, you're going to break up with him." donghyuck looked down at his fidgeting fingers on his lap.

dahyun nodded. "mark and i aren't made for each other."

"but he likes you..."

"hyuck, don't say shit. you guys have gone further than him and i in 7 months of relationship..."dahyun rolled her eyes. "and i saw the way he looked at you whenever you were around. i saw how he searched for you each time we arrived home. i saw everything."

"dahyun, i'm sorry for what i did..." donghyuck apologised.

"you don't have to apologise, donghyuck." dahyun reassured him. "i know you like him. and i know he likes you too. you guys are made for each other."

"dahyun, no..."

"yes, donghyuck. you are." dahyun nodded. "i've never seen mark happier than when he was around you."

donghyuck allowed his mind to take him back to those happy memories of him and mark, when everything was still perfect, and no one knew about them.

he recalled mark's smiles, mark's oh-so-beautiful smiles that had donghyuck completely mesmerized.

damn, donghyuck was in love... in love with his sister's boyfriend... in love with a boy that hated him now...

"what's the plan now?" donghyuck asked, looking into his sister's eyes.

"i need to talk to mark." dahyun explained. "and you do too."

"he hates me." donghyuck sighed. "he isn't aware that the audio that was played at the match has been cut, because just after saying all these mean and horrible things, i actually open my heart and voice out my real feelings for him."

"so, what was played at the game was really your voice? you were really trying to make him cheat? just because you wanted to be better than him?" dahyun chuckled.

"everybody makes mistakes in their lives." donghyuck rolled his eyes.

dahyun huffed. "i'm aware."

the room became silent for a few seconds.

"so, you have a talk with mark, you tell him about choonhee and... and you break up with him...?"donghyuck asked.

"yeah..."

"he's going to be devastated..." donghyuck sighed.

"but i can't lie to him anymore. this is not sane..." dahyun told.

"none of this is sane. we fucked up from the beginning to the end..." donghyuck nodded.

＃

head hanging low, mark crossed the main corridor at school to reach his locker where he needed to pick his books for the day. he was looking at his own feet because he hated to see the looks people were giving him.

they thought of him as a cheater. they thought of him as a monster.

he knew it. he could see it in their eyes.

they held so much rage, disgust and shame.

and mark couldn't bear seeing those anymore.

it had been five days.

five long days since the basketball game.

five long days since mark and donghyuck's secret had been revealed.

five long days since mark had understood he had been played.

five long days since people started judging and insulting him.

mark sighed as his locker came into view.

he was quick to open it and take the few books he needed for the day before placing them in his backpack.

"hey, cheater!"

of course, things like those were normal now. mark was referred as 'cheater'.

the canadian male ignored the boy that had called him, standing up again to close his locker.

however, before he could gently close its door, it got slammed shut in a deafening metallic noise.

"i'm fucking talking to you."

mark gulped at the view of one of the boys he used to call his friend or at least acquittance.

he remembered this boy had been quite interested by dahyun before she became mark's girlfriend. but, well, he had had to abandon the thought of ending up with her as mark and her had become the power couple of their school.

but now that it had been revealed that mark had cheated on her... it was a whole different story.

"cat got your tongue?" the boy huffed, making the two other males standing by his side chuckle as they looked down at mark.

"please, leave me alone..." mark sighed, trying to walk away, but being harshly pulled back and pushed against the lockers.

"you think we're going to let all of this slide?" the boy snorted, his grip on mark's shirt tightening. "dahyun is someone precious, and you fucked her brother behind her back!"

mark stayed silent, his whole body flinching as the male screamed at him.

"you're a fucking asshole!" he continued, slamming mark again against the locker, making the wall tremble and mark wince. "how dare you hurting dahyun like that?!"

the canadian was thrown to the floor, making him groan at the harsh impact.

"you don't fucking deserve to live!" the boys kicked him. "how could we consider you the most perfect student?!"

mark's body was aching at that point, the kicks hitting him with so much force.

it hurt a lot, but not as much as his heart ached.

and he didn't even try to fight back. he deserved those anyway, for cheating on his girlfriend and for being so naïve.

"hey! what the fuck are you guys doing?!"

mark's eyes closed as the kicks stopped for a second because another voice had interrupted them.

he didn't have enough strength to turn around and see who his saviour was, or simply to run away.

"oh, look. it's our second freak." the boy that had been hitting mark laughed, pointing at a very angry donghyuck that was running his way towards them.

at the sight of mark barely conscious on the floor, donghyuck saw red and didn't hesitate to throw a harsh punch in the jaw of the boy that ha dhurt mark.

the boy was a bit shocked, and he stumbled backwards as he held his sore jaw, and donghyuck took this opportunity to throw more punches and kicks, not sparing the two other boys that were beside him.

the tanned male was hit too, and somehow ended with a bloody nose and teary eyes, but he couldn't care less. these boys had hurt his mark, and they needed to get punished for that.

thankfully, when they realised how angry donghyuck was, they didn't try fighting back that much, making them run away as soon as they could, leaving an angry donghyuck and a barely conscious mark alone in the corridor.

donghyuck sighed, wiping his nose with his forearm before turning around and jumping next to mark on the floor.

"mark, mark! can you hear me?" he asked, turning the boy's body around to make him face the ceiling.

"ouch..." mark mumbled; his eyes lidded.

"can you stand up?" donghyuck asked, helping mark to sit slowly.

"go away..." mark told, trying to push donghyuck away.

"mark, your head is bleeding." donghyuck gasped as he saw a small puddle of blood in the place mark's head was previously at. "let's go to the infirmary."

"no!" mark yelled as tears started falling from his eyes.

"mark, you need to go." donghyuck assured.

"go away! i don't want to see you!" mark continued crying, trying to push donghyuck away, but losing his balance and almost falling despite the fact he was still seated on the floor.

his head was spinning badly, and he could feel himself slipping slowly.

his vision was clouded with black and white, and a deafening beep resonated in his ears.

he was having a seizure.

"please mark, i know you hate me right now, but you really need to go to the infirmary." donghyuck said, catching mark before he could hit his head on the ground again. and despite saving him, mark kept pushing him away – well, trying, because he was so weak that he didn't even manage to push.

"no..." mark mumbled, his body swaying. "no donghyuck..."

donghyuck sighed, passing an arm under mark's knees and another one under his shoulders to lift his up bridal style.

mark protested, his words being uncoherent and barely audible as he was slowly losing consciousness.

the tanned male ran as fast as he could towards the infirmary, not caring about all the blood that was falling on the white-tiled floor of the school on his way there.

his priority at the moment – and always – was mark and his well-being.

"help!" donghyuck yelled as soon as he entered the infirmary.

the nurse gasped at the horrific sight of donghyuck with a very bloody and swollen nose, holding an unconscious made whose head was bleeding.

"what the hell happened?!" she asked, signalling donghyuck to place mark down on one of the beds.

"he was beaten by someone, and he fainted." donghyuck explained, looking worriedly at the boy he loved as the nurse tried stopping the bleeding behind his head.

"sit there please, i need space." the nurse declared, pointing at a chair in the room from where donghyuck would still be able to see mark.

reluctantly, donghyuck got there, his eyes never leaving the unconscious boy as the nurse healed him.

he should have expectd it.

people didn't only hate donghyuck for being a freak.

they hated mark too, for being a cheater.

this was what donghyuck wanted to happen in the first place – well, not the people hating him part, but the people hating mark part – but now that it was real and that it had taken a much bigger turn donghyuck had expected, he was starting to regret this decision.

how could he have wished for mark to end up like that? how inhumane was him to wish that to another being?

donghyuck sighed, plaing his hands over his face as tears escaped his eyes.

he felt awful.

sure, he didn't feel that great before, but it was even worse now that he had witnessed how mark was being bullied for something donghyuck had started.

donghyuck was the one supposed to get the beatings and to get rejected. not mark.

the poor boy didn't deserve any of that. mark was so precious... he deserved to be loved and to have a good person taking care of him.

"he should be fine now."

the tanned male lifted his head, meeting eyes with the nurse who was standing in front of him. he quickly glanced at mark who was still lying on the bed, with bandages a bit everywhere on his body.

"does he need to go to the hospital?" donghyuck asked.

"no, i don't think so." the nurse shook her head. "the wound on his head was the biggest one, and it wasn't that deep. he won't even need stitches for it. so, it's going to be okay. he'll just be sore."

donghyuck hummed, sighing in relief as he looked at the boy again.

"is it true...?"

donghyuck turned around, looking at the nurse again. "is what true?"

"what happened at the game last saturday."

"you mean, is he really my sister's boyfriend, and did i make out and have sex with him just to make him cheat?" donghyuck asked.

"yes..." the nurse nodded hesitantly.

"it is. well, it used to be." donghyuck shrugged. "at first, i wanted to do that to make him cheat. but now that it happened, i realised how wrong it was, and how i had fallen so deep for him..."

the nurse smiled softly as she saw donghyuck looking at mark with eyes filled with care and love.

she could also decipher a glint of remorse and sadness there.

"you should ask him to be your boyfriend." she said, making donghyuck shake his head.

"he hates me because he thinks i played him." he explained.

"tell him you didn't."

"i tired. but he doesn't believe me." donghyuck sighed loudly. "why are you asking about that?"

"the way you stormed into the infirmary screaming for help just for his well-being made me realise that what had been said at that basketball match wasn't necessarily the whole truth." the nurse explained, smiling at the tanned male.

"it isn't. but we need to bear with it for now..." donghyuck shrugged. "take care of him for me, please. and don't let him go home on his own."

"aren't you staying until he wakes up?" the nurse questioned.

"as i said before, he hates me. seeing me first thing after waking up won't be pleasant for him."donghyuck explained. "so, i should go."

"wait!" the nurse exclaimed. "don't you want me to clean and put ointment on your swollen nose?"

donghyuck lifted his hand, using his pointer finger to poke the swollen flesh, and making him wince.

"it's okay. i deserve it anyway." he told before walking away.