Mark breathed a sigh of relief as Wonho rolled onto his other side, allowing him to escape. He slipped silently from the bed, put his clothes on and hobbled slowly to the front door. Pain was wracking through his body, his insides screaming at him with every footstep but he kept going. All he wanted right now was to be in his own bed.

That, and a shower. He reeked of sex and Wonho. He felt disgusting, and a hot shower would help him cleanse his disgust off him as well as to soothe his abused body.

He reached the front door and turned the door handle as silently as he could. It still made a slight metallic clink as the bolt was released and he winced at the sound. He pulled the door open just enough for him to slip through and then pushed it closed. He heard the clank of it shutting and let out his breath.

Cool, early morning air whipped at his face and he wrapped his arms around himself. He shuffled over to his own door and opened it, knowing it was still unlocked from when he had left earlier. Once inside, he made sure to lock it then limped over to the bathroom.

He stepped inside the small bathroom and locked that door behind him too. He avoided his reflection in the mirror, knowing he would probably look like death warmed up and pulled off his clothes. He flicked the shower on and stepped under the stream of hot water.

Instantly all his muscles relaxed and he let out a long sigh. He let the warm water wash over his body and leaned his hands against the wall of the shower. After washing every inch of his body about three times, he switched off the water and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel hanging on the rack and wrapped himself tightly in it. He once again avoided looking at himself in the mirror. He hated his body and didn't want to be reminded of it.

Once he was dry he unlocked the door and pushed it open. Steam wafted out in a bloom and followed him as he made his way to his bedroom, still huddled in his oversize towel. He picked out a pair of sweatpants and cozy a jersey before slipping into bed and burrowing under the covers.

He was finally alone and safe in his own bed where not even Wonho could touch him. Slowly, he drifted of to sleep.

***

When Mark next woke up and checked the time, it was 8.56am. He supposed he should get up now. At that thought, his stomach grumbled. He untangled himself from the sheets and slowly made his way to the fridge. He yanked the door open and peered inside. The fridge was empty except for a bottle of water and an old block of cheese. Mark sighed and closed the fridge door. He would have to go to the convenience store instead. He grabbed his wallet and keys, stuffing them in his pants pocket, and slipped his shoes on before stepping outside.

After locking his door he stared down the walkway then looked over the railing to the carpark down below.

He couldn't see any sign of Wonho, so he took off at a moderate pace. He didn't want to bang into him if he was out, so he would make this trip to the store a quick one.

Getting an idea, he pulled out his phone and messaged Jaehyun as he jogged down the stairs. His body still hurt, but he shoved the pain back and kept moving.

Hey, are you free to hang out today?

His phone vibrated as he reached the first floor. He stopped momentarily to read Jaehyun’s message.

Sure am. Did you wanna come over?

Mark's fingers moved nimbly across the screen while he typed back a response. Yup. I'll come around in about an hour.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and cut through the car park in the direction of the closest convenience store. There was a 7/11 a couple of blocks away and if he cut through the winding back streets it would only take him about fifteen minutes to get there and back.

As he crossed over to the other side of the street he heard a car door slam behind him. He flinched automatically at the sound and jogged the last few steps to hide behind a tall concrete fence. He peeked around the corner, hoping that it wasn't Wonho, and if it was, that he hadn't seen him.

He easily spotted where the sound had come from. There was a lady standing next to a silver car parked in the apartment building's car park. Mark exhaled and relaxed a little. He watched the lady as she stood next to her car. She appeared to be on her phone talking to someone as she stared up at the apartment building.

Mark didn't recognise her and wondered if she was visiting someone. She was quite tall and pretty, with black jeans and boots, a dark blue jacket and long black hair tied back off her face. She ended her phone call, checked her watch and then locked her car before walking off towards the apartment building.

Mark shrugged. He didn't really care who she was. He was just glad it wasn't Wonho. He turned back and continued on towards the convenience store.

Above him, clouds were moving in. Thick, heavy looking grey ones. It would probably rain soon. Mark stuffed his hands into his pockets and hastened his pace.

In five minutes he had reached the 7/11. There was a ding of a bell as he stepped inside the small store. He walked slowly down the aisles as he searched for something he wanted to eat. He picked up a sandwich, a cup of instant ramen, a packet of cookies and then made his way to the drinks section. He noticed someone else was standing there but paid no attention to them. He stopped in front of one of the refrigerators and mulled over his options.

“Mark?” A male voice questioned.

Mark swung his gaze towards the voice and a boy with light brown bangs stared back at him with a surprised expression on his face.

It was Haechan, the loud, annoying boy from his class. Mark groaned internally and glowered at him. Why did he have to bang into someone from school? Did Haechan live around here too?

“Wow, your face is really beat up.” Haechan remarked, clearly not afraid to voice his opinion.

Mark sighed loudly in annoyance and turned back to face the refrigerator full of drinks, ignoring Haechan.

“You could get strawberry milk?” Haechan suggested. “Strawberry milk is my favourite, I feel like it makes everything better.” He waved a small pink carton at Mark with a smile on his face.

Mark turned to face Haechan and glared at the smiling boy, wondering why he was trying to be nice to him. He quickly gave up, putting it down to the fact that Haechan was just a confused weirdo. He snatched the carton of milk out of Haechan's hands before shoving past him, hoping that the boy would just leave him alone.

“Did it hurt?” Haechan asked, following him down the aisle.

Mark stopped and turned on his heel, causing Haechan to nearly walk into him.

“Have you ever been beaten up Haechan?” Mark asked darkly, wondering why the boy had asked such a stupid question. Haechan was really starting to get on his nerves.

Haechan just shook his head.

Mark rolled his eyes, “Well then lucky you.” He muttered.

“I wonder what Jisung sees in you?” Haechan asked suddenly.

“What?” Mark spat back. He couldn't tell if Haechan was just talking to himself or actually asking him.

Haechan took a step back and frowned at him. “Well, I know Jisung's a nice person but I don't know how he can get along reasonably well with you when you're not a good person at all. You musn’t make many friends easily with your personality.” Haechan responded.

Anger rippled through Mark and he glowered at Haechan. He took a step towards him and grabbed the front of his t-shirt. “I don't need anymore friends and maybe you should just keep out of other people's business!” He shot back, fighting to keep his voice low and not attract unwanted attention.

He shoved Haechan back and left the boy standing in the middle of the aisle with a shocked look on his face. He quickly paid for his food and left the store fuming. Stupid Haechan, what gave him the right to be such a judgy bitch? Mark thought bitterly.

He stormed down the street and soon made it back to the apartment block. He didn't bother looking around for Wonho. If he walked into him he would just hit him and run back to his apartment.

He slowed his pace as he made his way up the stairs. The pain caused by last night was finally catching up to him and he gritted his teeth as he ascended the final set of stairs to the fifth floor. He kept his hand on the railing for support while he walked to his apartment, keeping his eyes on the ground.

“Lee Mark?” For the second time that morning someone called his name. This time it was a female's voice.

Mark looked up and saw the lady from the car park standing in front of his door, looking back at him with a stern expression.

“Yeah?” He replied with a frown. He had a bad feeling about this.

“Lee Mark, I'm Detective Jun. I would like to speak with you about the recent assaults happening at your school.” She said.

Mark took a breath and fought to remain calm. He wasn't ready for this but now he had no choice.

“Okay sure. Come in.” He said politely.

He walked past her and unlocked his door, pushing it open so she could go in first. She stepped inside his small apartment and Mark followed her in.

It wasn't even lunch time but his day was already turning to shit.