donghyuck stood there, completely frozen as his eyes stared up and down at the boy standing next to his sister.

he blinked a few times and didn't hesitate to rub his eyes in order to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, and a gasp left his mouth when he realised it was indeed real.

the tanned male got submerged by thoughts, recalling everything mark had told him, and how it was slowly starting to make sense.

so, that's why mark had assumed he knew he had a girlfriend?

so, that's why mark was surprised donghyuck didn't know who his sister was hanging out with?

so, that's why mark had said 'see you later' instead of a simple 'goodbye'?

this was all because mark was in fact his sister's boyfriend.

what kind of fucked shit was that?!

"...hyuck!" his mother's voice rang through his head. "donghyuck?!"

"yeah?" the boy let out, his eyes leaving mark to stare at his mother.

"aren't you going to say hello to our guest?" she asked, smiling brightly at mark.

donghyuck's eyes met mark's one last time before the boy turned around and ran up to his bedroom. well, attempted to. in fact, he was stopped by his father who had gripped his arm before he could run away.

"lee donghyuck, what is that all about?" he asked in a whisper with furrowed brows.

"i have things to do." donghyuck replied angered.

"no, you don't. you're eating here with us tonight." his father scolded. "you're not going to see your sister's boyfriend every day. so, you're staying with us for dinner."

donghyuck snorted, pulling his arm off his father's grip.

of course, he would be seeing his sister's boyfriend every day. they were in the same class.

and seeing him in class was quite enough for donghyuck. he didn't need to see him more in the comfort of his own house.

but it seemed like the gods weren't on his side for that one.

"sorry for this. mark, this is donghyuck. i guess you have noticed he was dahyun's twin." their mother explained.

"yes, well..." mark glanced a donghyuck, only to find him rolling his eyes.

"we know each other, mom." donghyuck told simply, making both parents let out surprised noises.

"oh? you do?" sangkyu asked, looking at his son.

"yeah, we're in the same class." donghyuck explained.

"you are?! oh my god, this means that mark is one year older, is that it?" soyun counted on her fingers.

"yeah, he's 21." dahyun nodded, leaning against mark's side.

mark glanced her way, smiling as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to hold her against his side.

donghyuck faked a puking sound, but thankfully, it was covered by the oven that had rang, signalling that dinner was ready.

"well, i guess we can get to the table if everybody introduced their selves." soyun told.

"i'm not hungry anymore." donghyuck declared.

"too bad, but you'll be staying with us anyway." his father pulled donghyuck towards the kitchen by his collar, making the boy huff. "and quit lying, i can hear your stomach growling."

and so, the boy sat down at his place around the table, his eyebrows furrowed as his eyes caught a glimpse of mark – he had been assigned the seat in front of him.

"perfect, now..." he rolled his eyes, rudely pulling the plate towards himself.

＃

"so, mark. do you already know what you want to do in the future?" sangkyu asked, bringing all the attention on the boy.

"huh... not really..." mark shook his head. "i don't have any clear idea..."

"it's okay, don't worry." the twins' mother, soyun, spoke up. "i knew what i really wanted to do years after getting my first job."

"yeah, you still have some time." sangkuy added with a nod.

mark smiled at them.

"and what about school? do you feel good there? do you like what you learn?" soyun bombarded the poor boy with questions.

"well..."

"he's the best student of the class." donghyuck replied in a flat tone, cutting mark's sentence. "he's good at absolutely every subject and always has the top score on tests." he added, not looking up from his plate in which he was playing with the leftovers.

"oh, really?!" both parents exclaimed, looking directly at mark.

"y-yes..." mark slowly nodded, his cheeks red.

"and he's also the captain of the basketball team!" dahyun told, making her parents' eyes widen.

"woah, that's great!" sangkyu clapped a few times.

"yeah, really impressive." soyun agreed. "you know donghyuck is also captain of the soccer team."

"of course. i congratulated him this morning for bringing his team this far in the national championship." mark explained.

"how thoughtful of you..." donghyuck said silently as he snorted.

"aww, that's great. our little donghyuck always loves being congratulated for everything he does."donghyuck's mother told, holding her arm out to pinch donghyuck's cheek.

"i do not." he replied, pushing her hand away.

okay, this as a lie.

but donghyuck would never admit such a thing in front of mark. never ever.

so, he needed to bear with it.

"so... are we done with dinner now?" dahyun asked, breaking the silence that had taken place.

"i think we are." her father nodded.

"great!" she quickly stood up, the pans of her red dress falling nicely. "mark and i will be in my room, then."she added, pulling mark's hand and dragging him away.

this left donghyuck and both of his parents alone, in the dining room.

donghyuck glanced left and right before standing up.

"so, i'm going to head to my room too."

"not too fast, young boy." soyun shook her head, making donghyuck sit down again.

"what again?"

"first of all, don't expect walking away without helping us cleaning the table and the kitchen." she continued, making donghyuck whine. "and second, i want to ask you what is the problem."

donghyuck's brows furrowed as he looked at his mother.

"the problem?" he repeated in a questioning tone.

"yes, the problem." she nodded. "why were you acting like that?"

"like what?" donghyuck asked again.

"donghyuck." his father said sternly. "don't act like a bratty kid when we know you aren't."

donghyuck forced himself not to roll his eyes – otherwise he would have gotten scolded so bad. "what did i do to make you ask those questions?" he asked both of his parents.

"well, digging holes through mark's soul as soon as he came into view. and i won't mention trying to run away. neither the way you rolled your eyes every single time he spoke." his father listed, crossing his arms over his chest while looking at donghyuck.

right...

donghyuck sulked into his chair, trying to find a valid answer to this.

it was quite hard.

mostly when all that was coming to his mind right now was how much he couldn't bear mark anymore.

but well, he eventually had to find something.

"i'm not really fond of him..." he explained.

"really? why? he seems like a nice guy." sangkyu's brows furrowed

"you even said he was the top student of your class. and he's captain of the basketball team. and he was really nice with us tonight." soyun listed.

"yeah, well, i don't like him." donghyuck rolled his eyes.

"why don't you like him?" his father questioned. "is it because you don't think he's good enough for dahyun?"

"what? no!" donghyuck shook his head. "i don't care whether she's dating a delinquent or mark!"

"hyuck, don't say such things." his mother scolded.

"dahyun's relationship is not the problem. the problem is mark. him, his personality and his fucking perfectness, and just everything he does." donghyuck whined, making both of his parents stare at each other.

"donghyuck baby..." his mother smiled. "are you jealous of mark?"

donghyuck's head shot up as he glared at his mother.

"jealous?! me?!" he snapped. "i am not jealous of this brat."

"well, you sound like you are." his father joined soyun's giggling fit.

"never!" donghyuck stood up. "i am not jealous of a cheater!"

"come on, donghyuck... don't- "

"i will prove it to you." donghyuck told, pointing his finger at both of his parents. "i will prove you that i'm better than him, because it's impossible to be as perfect as he pretends to be. he's a cheater, and i'll prove it to you."