"i can't believe we're not in the same home room class," jaemin groaned. the results had just been turned in and it turned out that the only one out of the group of four who were in the same class, were donghyuck and mark. donghyuck wasn't sure what to make of his situation, but he figured it was better than not knowing anyone in his class. plus, he had a chance to get closer with mark and learn more about him.

   home room classes were mixed with freshman and sophomores, and then juniors and seniors so donghyuck didn't have to explain anything about his school entry yet.

   just as donghyuck was thinking about a certain male, mark looked at him, catching his attention. "let's get along well," he stuck his hand out for the younger to shake. donghyuck blinked blankly before slowly reaching out and meeting mark's cold and rough hands. compared to mark's, donghyuck's were so soft and warm.

   their hands embraced eachother until mark firmly shook donghyuck's hand. that seemed to bring donghyuck back to reality as he pulled away from mark's hand, shooting him an awkward smile. 

   "i guess we should get going to our classes before the bell rings then," jaemin sighed. "show him around, yeah?" jaemin asked mark with a hopeful glimmer in his eye. "okay," he nodded, unintentionally placing a hand on donghyuck's shoulder and sending chills up his spine. 

   jeno and jaemin turned around as their classrooms were in the same direction, "see you guys later," jeno waved. when mark and donghyuck were left in the busy hallway alone, a tense air enveloped them, making it hard to speak to one another. "wanna go now?" mark asked as he stared at the ground, one hand shoved into his pocket. donghyuck gripped on tightly to the binder in his hand. "yeah, let's go."

   the short walk to their classroom was silent. the two of them weren't exactly friends. in fact, they weren't much more than two strangers who happened to be roommates that also shared mutual friends. 

   mark's long strides came to an abrupt stop, causing donghyuck to collide with his back. "sorry," he apologized, taking a step back. mark either didn't hear him or didn't mind him, seeing that he didn't answer. "we're here," he stepped to the side, revealing an open classroom. 

   random students sat or stood around the classroom, chatting with their fellow friends. this was it. finally, the entire purpose why donghyuck's parents allowed him to enroll in the all boys highschool. the education system was said to be strict but very beneficial. the ravenette had worked hard to get into the school and finally, he was there. donghyuck took a deep breath before forcing his legs to take a step forward and enter the room.

   heads turned but he greeted each one with a friendly smile. he had always been extroverted and good at making friends after all. "where should we sit?" his voice wavered, but he was sure mark didn't notice it. while his heart beat in his chest at a million miles per hour, he kept a brave face on, ignoring the fear in his mind.

   mark looked at him with an unreadable expression. he grabbed onto donghyuck's arm, pulling him gently towards the back. "let's sit here," he suggested, placing his belongings on a desk and watching as donghyuck did the same next to him. 

   donghyuck was beyond relieved at mark's choice. if the older had chosen a seat near the front or center of the room, he wasn't sure if he could pull off the unbothered look. even as he sat in the back of the class, he anxiously waited for the room to fill up and the actual period to begin. 

   just a few moments later, the bell rang. last minute students rushed into the classroom in hopes that they wouldn't get in trouble. meanwhile, others laid out everything they needed on their desk neatly, looking prim and posh. donghyuck was somewhere in the middle— which really meant that he wasn't either of them.

   he sunk into his seat sneaking glances at mark who was relaxed with his eyes closed next to him. something about how comfortable everyone looked made him nervous for no obvious reason. a hand reached over onto donghyuck's thigh as mark leaned over, "you good?" the shorter nodded his head, lying straight to mark's face. what he didn't know, was that mark knew it was a lie and simply played along.

   "good morning class," a teacher walked in. "my name is oh taegong, i'll be your teacher for this year," he set down a briefcase on the desk and intertwined his hands together. the room fell silent, it seemed as if no one recognized him. "is he a new teacher?" donghyuck asked, whispering quietly. "i haven't seen him before," mark replied vaguely.

   mr. oh continued talking for a while, explaining a few changes from the previous year before he handed out a list of rules to everyone. the period ended after a little while later when some rules were set and questions from other students were answered.

   mark and donghyuck walked down the hall together, heading towards the library where they agreed to meet with jaemin and jeno. it was when they arrived that they realized the other two were yet to show.  "i guess jeno and jaemin aren't here yet," donghyuck said to ease the awkwardness. "i guess," mark leaned against the bookshelf, tilting his head back and loosening the tie around his neck.

   donghyuck averted his eyes and scanned the books on the shelf next to him instead. he was fascinated by the wide range of genres that the school library had. when he lived with his parents, they almost never went to the library, let alone allowed donghyuck to go to one alone. the library was far enough from his house as it is, but his parents agreed that it was too much to drive him there, or let him walk, or catch a bus by himself. he had argued that he could go without anyone else with him, but they never listened. to donghyuck, everything they said was just another excuse to make his life more miserable.

   "do you like reading?" the question tore donghyuck away from his thoughts and back into reality. he met mark's curious eyes and realized that he must've been looking at the books for a while. "i do," he said after clearing his throat. "what about you?" mark ran a hand through his hair as he thought it over, "i don't read much these days, but i like books too."

   although what mark had said was quite simple, it made donghyuck smile. maybe it won't be that hard befriending him, he decided. "do you read books in english or korean?" he asked another question in hopes to keep their conversation going. mark shrugged, "i can read whichever but i prefer english." donghyuck chewed on the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning like an idiot.

   over the short amount of time that he knew mark, the two of them had never really talked and donghyuck was worried that if he couldn't get along with mark, it could ruin his relationship with jaemin and jeno too. now, as he spoke freely with the older, his worries lessened, and he had hope that they could get along well.

   "sorry we took so long," jaemin ran over, dragging jeno who was behind him. "my class took forever to end and on the way here i bumped into jeno and then our teacher from last year saw us, and i'm guessing you can tell how this ends...," he rested to bend over and place his hands on his knees and catch his breath. "it's okay," donghyuck smiled, "you're here now anyway."

   the four of them discussed plans about what to do for the rest of the day since there was only one period, and ended up deciding to play card games in the dorms until lunch time. while they walked back to their rooms, donghyuck couldn't help but think about how sad mark in general seemed.

   he wasn't sure what his past was, but he decided then, that he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

---

   "how do you keep winning?" donghyuck frowned, throwing his cards down as mark leaned against the wall with a cocky grin on his face. "how do you keep losing?" he threw back. the younger rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue childishly while mark ignored him, remaining unbothered. 

   luckily, over a few rounds of different card games, he and mark seemed to get along better. they obviously weren't that close yet, but donghyuck felt like they could possibly be considered friends. "having fun?" jaemin entered the room with jeno. they had left for about ten minutes to grab drinks for the other two who were playing competetively. "mark won every round," donghyuck crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at mark who was completely unaffected by his actions.

   "he's always been good at card games," jeno shrugged, sitting down on the ground next to donghyuck. "what do you want to do for the rest of the day? official classes start tomorrow and from then on, we'll have to do homework and stuff," mark collected the stray cards and put them back in the box. "hey! i wasn't done yet, i still want to beat you," donghyuck exclaimed. jaemin placed a hand on his shoulder, "i get the feeling, but you should just give up now. out of the three years that i've known mark, i've never won to him."

   jeno nodded in thought until he stopped suddenly, "that one guy beat mark though... what was his name? seojoon?" mark and jaemin both stopped what they were doing at looked at jeno. "why would you bring him up?" jaemin slapped jeno on the shoulder, "don't even speak of him."

   donghyuck silently watched as jeno rubbed his shoulder and mark's once playful and carefree expression turned cold and distant once more.

   apparently something big had happened, and the shushed murmurs from jaemin to jeno made donghyuck uncomfortable as he was left out of the loop. "i uh-," donghyuck struggled to come up with an excuse to leave the room. he needed air, the room had become suffocating, suddenly stuffy and hot. his palms grew clammy as he wiped them on his pants, "i'll be back soon."

   jaemin and jeno sent him concerned looks, but he only smiled at them. even though he shouldn't have, somehow he felt bothered by the way mark didn't bother to spare him a glance. sure, they weren't close, but was it that hard for him to pretend he cared for just one moment?

   what am i thinking? we're still practically strangers, he shook his head at him self. after flashing jaemin one last smile, he left the room, walking through the still unfamiliar hallways. it took a few wrong turns, but eventually he made it outside to the fresh air.

   wanting to take a view of the lake that rested amongst the green field in the distance, donghyuck placed his hands on the banister in front of him, leaning towards it. the cold texture of the bar under his fingers caused him to shiver. it came in contrast with his rather hot skin, cooling down his temperature a bit.

   the lake before him appeared completely still, though up close the small ripples in the water could be seen. from donghyuck's position on the other hand, the only visible details were the ducks swimming in the water.

   "you can feed them with some bread if you ask a lunch lady for it after dinner," a boy next to him suddenly said. donghyuck jumped in his place, being startled upon realizing that he wasn't alone on the balcony. "uh, thanks. i'll keep that in mind," he mumbled in response just to be polite. the other hummed in response, running a hand through their raven hair and staring off into the distance as donghyuck had done only moments prior.

   it was honestly a shame that the sun was hidden behind the clouds as it would've been a beautiful day to be out. donghyuck decided then that he would ask his new friends if they ever wanted to eat there for lunch one day when the weather was better. 

   "is this your first year?" the same voice from earlier broke donghyuck out of his thoughts. while he usually enjoyed conversation, he wanted to be alone at the moment so the stranger's presence was slightly irritating. at the same time, he definitely didn't own the balcony and couldn't decide when people came or left. 

   "yeah, i guess it's obvious, huh?" donghyuck replied. he turned to face them as he answered their question and recognized them to be the one who shared a room with jeno. the boy nodded, "there are only so many people at this school. it's pretty clear when a new face appears." donghyuck nodded in understanding as another silence settled between them. minutes passed until the other boy cleared his throat and fixed his posture. "i'll see you around...?" "donghyuck," the taller finished for him. 

   after testing the name on his own tongue, the boy smiled, "you're the boy from last night." donghyuck nodded and watched as the other male who he remembered to be renjun's face changed into recognition. "thanks for letting me join you," he said, and like that he walked away, entering the school hallways again. 

   only once he was completely out of sight did donghyuck realize that he had forgotten to thank him for taking care of jeno. at the end of the day it probably wasn't that important anyway, so he shrugged to himself and turned back to the scenery that stayed still in front of him. the clouds that had been covering up the sun before only turned darker, showing signs that there was a heavy chance of rain.

   sure enough, within a few moments, light drizzle began falling from the sky. even though he didn't have an umbrella, donghyuck stayed there for a while, watching as the ducks flapped their wings and waddle out of the water and under shelter. the sight made him giggle as he found them cute.

   "hey," another voice appeared behind him. donghyuck spun on his heel and saw mark leaning against the door frame still under the roof and completely dry, holding a book in his hand. he now had round specks on which made him look intelligent and overall complimented his face. 

   "it'll start pouring soon, you should come inside." donghyuck suddenly became very aware of the drizzle which had gotten harder as he stared at mark who was stretching his arm out and sticking his hand palm up to meet the falling drops of water. "you're right," donghyuck muttered, joining mark and coming back inside.

   the older male stared at him for a minute before speaking, "take off your blazer. you'll catch a cold at this rate." without protesting, donghyuck listened and removed the blazer. mark took it from his hands and held onto it, slinging it over his shoulder. "jeno and jaem told me to come get you. they got worried when you didn't come back for thirty minutes," he explained, walking with donghyuck by his side.

   "okay," donghyuck said mindlessly. he wasn't sure what it was, but he was feeling kind of numb. maybe it was having just moved into a boarding school, or maybe it was all the new faces. maybe it was trying to fit in and get used to the new schedule, or maybe it was simply his new roommate from canada who he knew nothing about and yet managed to spark his interests.

   whatever it was, donghyuck felt emotionally drained and ready for night to fall. he wanted nothing more that to fall into his fresh bed sheets and be welcomed to sleep. unfortunately, dinner was still an hour away and bedtime was in five hours at the earliest. 

   caught up in his own thoughts, donghyuck's didn't notice how mark had stopped walking and was calling his name until he collided with the other's side. "ouch," he rubbed his arm before meeting mark's gaze and apologizing. "are you okay?" mark asked, staring down at him though there was only one centimeter in height difference. "you seem kind of out of it."

   "yeah," donghyuck lied, "just a bit tired." mark eye him skeptically before folding donghyuck's blazer over one arm and using his free hand to bring his palm to donghyuck's forehead. "you don't have a fever," he noted.

   donghyuck took a step back. the feeling of mark's fingers on his forehead left a tingling sensation on his skin. he cleared his throat and looked towards the ground, "let's go back quickly before jaemin and jeno start to worry." the look on mark's face showed that he had words to say but were keeping them back. "okay," he agreed, slinging donghyuck's blazer over his shoulder once more and stuffing a hand in his pocket before walking again.

-----

word count: 2863

am i about to run out of months worth of pre-written chapters? yes, yes i am.

✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾