mark's words hung in the air between them; a pregnant pause. "what do you mean?" donghyuck asked, swallowing harshly. mark smirked, finding donghyuck's obvious interest rather amusing. "miyong brought all this chaos upon you, setting up this scandal even though she knew you would have to deal with all the press and reporters. if she didn't care about your feelings, why should you care about hers?"

   once again, a silence fell over them. donghyuck seemed to be thinking about what mark said, so he decided to cut to the chase. "let's release the evidence that she doesn't know exists," he finally explained. donghyuck let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. while mark's plan sounded pretty simple, he knew it couldn't really be. "who do we send it to? won't people find out that it came from you?" he asked, a flurry of questions coming out.

   "i'm not in the recording, am i?" mark chuckled. "also, don't you have that writer friend at the agency? if we send it to him and make it a personal and private request, don't you think he can do the favor for us?" donghyuck sighed, the plan seemed logical, and he personally couldn't find any flaws. only one thing bothered him... "why are you helping me?"

   the older seemed caught off guard by the question and cleared his throat before answering. "against your judgment, i like to play fair. how fair would it be if my opponent was stuck in a scandal, lessening our chances of having an even competition?" he glanced at donghyuck coolly.

   donghyuck narrowed his eyes, seemingly unconvinced. yet, he couldn't think of another reason as to why mark would help him, so he decided to just go along with it. "fine," he decided, "let's do it."

   "but," donghyuck paused, "once this whole thing is done, we won't interfere with eachother anymore. we'll go back to the way it was when the results of the camera test comes out." "deal," mark agreed, offering a hand for donghyuck to shake. then, donghyuck's soft and warm hands met mark's cold and rough ones. for a moment, donghyuck's wished they could just stay like that for a while until mark cleared his throat and donghyuck yanked his hand away.

---

   "so you're telling me...," jaemin sighed, stretching out his arms before yawning and looking at the two pleading actors, "that i was right about that bitch this whole time?"

   mark stared at donghyuck, obviously confused. "oh," donghyuck laughed slightly, giving the oldest a look that said 'i'll explain later', "i admit it jaemin. you gave me the warnings and i blindly ignored them. just like you said, i'm coming to you for help." "hmm," jaemin hummed with a smile, seemingly pleased. 

   the pinkette tousled his hair and looked towards mark. "now why is he here? you guys supposedly 'hate each other'," jaemin said, using his fingers as quotation marks. "it's...," mark glanced at donghyuck, "a long story." "i can tell you all about it over coffee if you accept this request," donghyuck smiled sweetly. 

   jaemin crossed his arms over his chest, seemingly weighing his options. "if i accept, i'll have to go through a lot of complaint calls and comments. even news outlets and dispatch sites will have to talk about this. it is kang miyong after all," he said. "unfortunately i don't have a manager either," he sighed. "but," the corner of his lip twitched up slightly, "i could possibly get the biggest scoop of the season, and i might get promoted. so it all comes down to this," he leaned on his elbows on the desk, "do you have evidence?"

   donghyuck and mark shared a knowing look before mark dug in his pocket, and pushed a plastic bag with a usb drive in it onto the desk. jaemin picked it up, inspecting it. "it's a recording from that night," mark explained. "they thought i was gone, but i was still there, and i figured it wouldn't hurt to record their conversation in case it was needed later. i guess i made the right choice by following my gut."

   the youngest in the room shot donghyuck an approving look. "you really weren't lying when you said that pretty boy was smart." donghyuck choked on his water while mark chuckled, suddenly quite interested. 

   he held on to that thought as a more serious concern of his surfaced. "i have to ask, recording a public conversation without consent doesn't happen to fall under the violation of privacy law as an act of misdemeanor, does it?" jaemin shook his head, "a public conversation would not, but this one was meant to be private seeing as the two had this conversation in their car." "how big of a problem do you think this could be?" mark asked. jaemin leaned back in his seat, "well miyong and her company could sue us. if a full on investigation is put in order, i'm sure they'll check the security cameras from that night and you'll definitely get caught." "that could lead to a fine or even a timed sentence, am i right?" mark questioned. the youngest of the three furrowed his brows, nodding, "well... yes."

   "oh great," donghyuck groaned. "there's no way out of this." "i mean, these days everyone is more interested in celebrity drama than politics and law. maybe miyong will be too dumb to even think of pressing charges. if people ask where the recording originated from, i'll just say it was from a private source. mark will only ever be discovered if she files for an investigation which will actually need to follow through," jaemin tried to reassure his friend. the silver haired male shook his head, "you know how stubborn she is though. the second she realizes that she's been exposed, she'll do everything in her power to take down whoever did it, eventually leading her to find that it was mark. she's definitely pressing charges."

   "well i guess i better lawyer up then," mark yawned. 

   "that wasn't funny," donghyuck glared. the canadian looked at him blankly, "i wasn't kidding though?"

   "if you're thinking about this seriously, you need to know what's at stake," jaemin pushed. "please fill me in," mark straightened up. "should i be taking notes?" he pulled out his phone, opening up the 'notes' app. donghyuck rolled his eyes, snatching the phone out of his hands. "don't be stupid, mark. i'm not letting you go to court over some dating scandal."

   "why not? it's not as bad as you think. i'm rich, hyuck. i'll get the best lawyer in seoul, i won't land my ass in jail for fucks sake!"

   "b-but no! just no! i'm not letting you take the fall for me this time, not again."

   "it's the least i can do." mark answered quietly, but assertively. 

   "oh trust me, you've already done enough."

   the two glared at eachother, both breathing heavily without breaking eye contact. they even almost forgot about the third person in the room.

   "is someone going to tell me what this is all about?" jaemin asked, having watched the scene unfold silently. as a reporter he had the urge to take notes through the argument, but refrained for the sake of their privacy and not committing a crime of misdemeanor himself. 

   donghyuck turned to look at jaemin while mark shook his head, "no."

   "okay..." he sighed. "what's the plan then, am i writing this article or not?" "yeah," mark spoke up before donghyuck could. the latter crossed his arms over his chest and pouted like a little kid. "we'll stick with the original story. i can take care of myself," he emphasized.  

   "alright then," jaemin ignored his friend attempting to signal at him and disagree. he stood up, pushing in his chair and grabbing his laptop. 

   "you mentioned coffee earlier," he referenced to what donghyuck said before. "your treat, right?" donghyuck looked at him and rolled his eyes, a small smile unable to hide itself, "of course." jaemin smiled in return. 

   "alright then, the article won't write itself. i should get going," jaemin said. "is there a time you want it out by?" he asked. donghyuck shrugged, still feeling mixed emotions about the whole ordeal. "10am would be great i guess." the taller arched an eyebrow at him almost testily, "it'll be out by 8 then."

   without another word, jaemin confidently stepped out of the conference room, and mark and donghyuck were left alone. it was clear that they both decided not to mention the argument they held only a few minutes ago. "he's an interesting character," mark said, momentarily filling the silence. the sun kissed male knew he couldn't hide the fondness in his eyes as he said, "that's why he's my best friend, obviously."

   donghyuck's phone rang and he picked it up from the table, checking the caller. seeing that it was doyoung, he answered immediately. "hey hyung," he said. mark looked at him curiously, as if wanting to know who it was. doyoung hyung, he mouthed, leading mark to nod in understanding. 

   "the press is still going feral at the news, so i want you to continue to lie low. i called your house phone but you didn't pick up. where are you?"

   "i'm at jaemin's office, but don't worry, no one saw me."

   "how did you get there?"

   "i drove here about forty-five minutes ago. why?"

   "and jaemin's still at work at this hour?"

   "mhm, i had a favor to ask. is there a problem?"

   "okay... well, do you think you can get jaemin to drive you home? i can't make it and fans are starting to look for your car so you should prevent from driving it around."

   "you're kidding," donghyuck groaned. mark shot him another look, but this one seemed concerned. it's fine, don't worry about it, donghyuck now mouthed.

   "jaemin already went home for the day and i asked him to do something for me. i don't want to bother him anymore."

   "i really can't come donghyuck. by the looks of it, i'll be stuck in the office all night."

   "i don't know what to do then. maybe i'll have t— hey!" 

   donghyuck didn't get to finish his sentence before mark snatched the phone out of his hand, bringing it to his ear. "shh," he pressed a finger to donghyuck's lips as the younger wouldn't stop protesting. it seemed to have worked seeing how donghyuck fell quiet.

   "hi doyoung hyung, it's mark. what's wrong? donghyuck won't tell me," he said casually.

   "mark? what are you doing there?"

   "it's a long story... but is there a problem?"

   "donghyuck needs a ride home. he can't be seen driving around at this time, it's too complicated."

   "i could drive him back," mark offered. doyoung heard donghyuck curse in the background, but ignored it. while he knew how much donghyuck probably didn't want to be driven home by mark, what needed to be done needed to be done, and at this point, taking time to find donghyuck a driver was becoming obnoxiously time-consuming.

   "that would be so helpful, thanks. just don't waste time, it's already two in the morning. i have a lot of work to do so i'll hang up now," and with that, donghyuck missed his last chance of arguing with him.

   the younger male slumped in his seat while mark gloated at him. "you're enjoying this aren't you? making me owe you a bunch of favors," donghyuck said. "you know i am," mark gave a boyish smile in return. he stood up, pushing his seat in and turning the office light off. "are you coming or will you find a way to make these chairs comfortable enough to sleep in all night?"

   donghyuck sighed, forcing himself up and following behind mark. they took the elevator down to the car garage and walked quietly to mark's parked car. donghyuck waited impatiently while mark took his time digging his keys out of his jacket pocket.

   he finally took it out and placed his hand over the button, but didn't unlock it. "could you be any slower?" donghyuck rolled his eyes. "sorry i'm just thinking about what jaemin said," mark answered, unlocking the door and sitting behind the steering wheel. donghyuck took the seat next to him and buckled his seat while mark pushed the key in and started up the engine.

   "care to explain?" donghyuck asked, not sure if he really wanted the answer to that question. mark smirked, brushing his hair back with one hand and backing out of the parking space with another. he caught donghyuck's eye in the reflection of the review mirror, "so pretty boy is smart, huh?"

   donghyuck flushed, refusing to look at mark for the rest of the way, "god, you're insufferable!"

---

   "donghyuck!" a voice called from the entrance of donghyuck's house. he heard the front door shut as things were set down on the kitchen counter top. the voice drew nearer until it was right beside him. "donghyuck wake up! i have good news," doyoung said.

   the smaller male forced his eyes open, making himself wake up. "i'm awake he groaned," getting into a sitting position. he rubbed at his eyes tiredly while doyoung patiently waited. suddenly a thought struck him. "oh my god, what time is it?"

   "almost eleven, but forget about the time for a minute, i have news for you," doyoung repeated. the lack of interest from donghyuck was giving him stress. "wait can i check my phone first?" the younger didn't wait for an answer before he got out of bed and began walking aimlessly around his house.

   "why can't i remember where i put my phone?" he muttered, now searching the kitchen. "oh you brought me food? thanks," he told to doyoung who was following him around. he picked up a styrofoam bowl of rice, beef, and a runny egg on top. he went to his utensils drawer and pulled out a spoon before taking notice of his phone on the counter top.

   he filled his mouth with two spoons of the dish and unlocked his phone quickly. "donghyuck, if you could just listen for two seconds," doyoung said almost annoyed at this point. "i know, just wait," donghyuck tried to say, though with his mouth full it only came out muffled, sounding like gibberish. "you're the same person even after four years," doyoung sighed. 

   the younger was typing furiously on his phone before his eyes widened and he began reading. "i've just been trying to tell you that—," unfortunately doyoung didn't get to finish as he was cut off. "'kang miyong experiences cancel culture for the first time in her career as an anonymous source reveals the truth about the spiraling new dating scandal involving former co-star lee haechan'. i think it worked!"

   all of doyoung's excitement deflated instantly. "what? you knew this was going to happen?" "actually," donghyuck slowly looked up from his phone, "yeah, i did." "you're not making any sense," doyoung took a seat at the kitchen island across from donghyuck. 

   "look," donghyuck pushed his phone out to doyoung, "the writer is none other than na jaemin. i was at jaemin's office late last night, we were planning this." "you mean you're the private source?" the older now looked flabbergasted.

   "yes, kind of. technically the source is mark, but we worked on it together," he started rambling. "i need you to explain everythung from start to finish right now," the ravenette stated seriously. donghyuck did exactly that.

   he described how mark came to his house the night before and brought him dinner while also showing donghyuck the evidence of what was meant to be the fabricated relationship. he told him how mark suggested they release the evidence to the public, and how jaemin immediately became their number one accomplice. donghyuck even went into detail about how mark could get pressed with charges and how they argued over it, but mark won in the end. 

   "i hope he's okay, now that i think about it," he said, filling his mouth with another spoonful of food. "i'm still in too much shock to process everything right now. i can't believe all of this happened last night," doyoung said. "we figured the sooner the better, so," donghyuck shrugged. 

   "do you think i should call mark? he might be getting sued as we speak," donghyuck thought. doyoung glanced at his watch, "that sounds nice, but we don't have time for that right now. you have to make a public appearance today so i scheduled a hair appointment for you, i hope you picked out a hair color. then we need to get you fitted for the modeling shoot next week before your press conference this evening."

   "all of that today?" donghyuck asked in horror. "these were made last minute, but yes," the taller male replied. "so get ready, we need to be going soon."

   the scheduled day went exactly how doyoung said it would. luckily donghyuck wasn't late for his hair appointment and finished in time for his fitting.

   after what already felt like a long day with the public appearance and the fitting session, donghyuck hated that he still wasn't done yet and was currently getting his hair and makeup done, dressed in a suit, preparing to be bombarded with questions and flashing cameras.

   "chin up please," the makeup artist said. donghyuck tilted his head up as asked and kept still. "5 more minutes," doyoung announced. donghyuck held in a complaint, knowing that now was the time to keep himself composed and professional. "are you prepared?" doyoung asked, checking in on how the styling was going. "i have all the answers memorized," donghyuck answered. all day he'd been memorizing a set of answers in case certain questions were asked. he'd rehearsed them so much, that when he closed his eyes, he could still see the list of replies he were to give to the press.

   "good, good," doyoung said. his tone of voice gave away that he was tiptoeing around something donghyuck would soon have to find out. "what is it, hyung?" donghyuck tapped his shoulder. "i just found out, i swear," doyoung winced, "the conference will be showing live on channel seven."

   donghyuck squeezed his eyes shut tightly, wishing that there weren't three people touching him right now. wishing that he didn't have to go out in about two minutes. 

   "my favorite," he managed to breathe, "live press conferences." doyoung gave him a soft yet encouraging smile. the fact that donghyuck was still able to make sarcastic remarks was a good sign in itself. "you'll do great out there, don't worry," he comforted. a sound came from doyoung's walkie-talkie to which he pressed a button to shut it up.

   "i need to go, but i'll be watching from the sides, so don't stress too much. once this is over, it'll all be over," he promised. he gave donghyuck's shoulder one last squeeze before walking off.

   one by one, the stylist removed their hands and immediately after they were all done, he was pushed on stage. donghyuck strolled to the center keeping his face calm until he reached the center where he bowed and applause filled the room, followed by multiple pictures being taken.

   he gave his opening speech which talked about how grateful he was for his fans and his company, and all the support he'd received since debut. then he moved on to how he was sorry to have created quite a lot of controversy when the picture of him kissing miyong came out. he explained how it was all not true and how he was hoping that situations like this could be prevented in the future. then the questions began.

   "since it was cleared up that you're not dating kang miyong, are you seeing anyone else?"

   "when will you start acting again?"

   "rumor has it that you and lee mark have only been faking a good friendship. is this true?"

   donghyuck laughed, "mark and i have been best friends since childhood. our bond is stronger than ever, and we will continue to support eachother in the future."

   "on the topic of lee mark, is it true that you're competing for the same role in a drama?"

   that question caught him off guard as he grew curious of how that fact came to be announced to the public. he recovered quickly, coming up with a quick response, "coincidentally we both took interest in the same drama, but regardless of who gets the role, we'll stay close. though we're friends, we each have quite competitive spirits, so we'll battle it out wholeheartedly, but our relationship won't get hurt in the process."

   a few more questions were asked before donghyuck bowed to thank everyone and stepped off the stage. apparently the media wasn't satisfied as he kept getting called back. donghyuck waited anxiously for it to pass backstage before a staff member had to go out and repeat that the press conference was over.

   finally done for the day, doyoung came out and praised him, letting him know that he was free to rest. donghyuck changed out of his uncomfortable clothes to sweatpants and a jacket. he thanked all the staff for their work that day, and then doyoung drove him to jaemin's office so he could get his car. they parted ways in the parking garage while donghyuck enjoyed the slow drive home, listening to music.

   once he was back in his humble abode showered and feeling comfortable, he cooked himself kimchi fried rice and took a seat at his kitchen island. now that he had nothing planned and could relax, he remembered mark and once again grew curious whether the older was already facing charges or not. he also thought it might be a good idea to let mark know that everything went well on his side.

   he hesitated for only a moment before dialing mark's number. he didn't have time to regret it as mark picked up on the first ring. "you picked up quick, almost as if you were waiting for me," donghyuck laughed.

   "i kind of was. i knew you'd call," mark replied, surprising donghyuck that he was being honest about it. "did you?" he asked. "yeah," he could hear shuffling over the line, "you always call when you're worried, or when you know i've been worried." "you know me well," donghyuck admitted. "of course i do," mark answered softly while the tone in his voice suggested that he thought it was the most obvious thing in the world.

   "is uhm, is everything okay on your side?" donghyuck switched the topic. "hold on i've just got a call," mark sighed, "don't go anywhere." the younger giggled when he heard a beep, signaling that mark had switched the call.

   he took the time to grab a bottle of wine and pour himself a generous amount. mark was gone long enough for donghyuck to down one glass and almost finish a second. 

   "sorry, i didn't think it would take so long," mark said as soon as he switched back to donghyuck. "i'm gonna guess things aren't going so great for you then?" donghyuck mentioned, swishing the leftover wine from his glass around. "your guess would be right. my phone has been going off all day, i can't seem to catch a break," mark said. he didn't sound annoyed though, he sounded relaxed. 

   "i'm sorry," donghyuck said before mark could stop him. "hey, you shouldn't be, i chose to do this, remember," the ravenette spoke. donghyuck finished his glass and poured another one. he was feeling lonely again. he used to never feel lonely like this. even when he went on a half a year break from acting.

   "i'm not gonna lie," he sipped, "i miss us."

   "babe, are you sure you want to go out tonight? i don't want you adding anymore unnecessary pressure to yourself, you've had a long day," a female voice sounded from the line. "it's your birthday, i promised i would," mark assured her. donghyuck could hear what sounded like a quick kiss and immediately he felt his throat closing up. how could he be such an idiot? he and mark weren't friends anymore for a reason.

   "sorry donghyuck, i had to have a word with someone. you were saying?"

   "no, nothing. it's not important," he swallowed.

   "okay," mark sounded uncertain. "well i have to go n-," he was cut off.

   "yeah, me too," and donghyuck hung up, setting his phone face down on the counter and turning the ringer off.

   he lifted his glass and sipped.

-----

word count: 4097

you guys like this story so much more than i initially thought u would lmao

✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾