mark silenty observed donghyuck. his eyes raked over the features of his face down the the little details in his posture. the sun kissed male was staring at the ground blankly, pink lips pushed into a small pout. his arms and legs were crossed, back hunched. looking at the younger made mark was to straighten his back so that it wasn't slouching. as much as he wanted to, he ignored the urges to do so and continued observing donghyuck.

   he didn't miss how the younger had been acting strange after their make out session before schedules. it seemed like after that, donghyuck had suddenly become worried or lost in thought. 

   forcing himself to somewhat focus on the discussion happening around him, he brought himself to the real world and tuned in to what the other's were talking about. 

   "the fans would like it if we did more hearts for the ending fairy cuts," jaemin said. "i know, but isn't it too common? we should do something more unique," renjun suggested. "since it's our last promo stage, let's try to be creative with it," chenle piped up. the other nodded in agreement as jisung turned to mark. "what do you think we should do?"

   mark being the mature leader that he was, he answered quickly even though he had just started listening to the conversation. "let's do something to symbolize seven dream and our song at the same time. like this part," he did one of the most eye catching yet simple hand moves from the choreography. the lyrics in the song at that specific part in the dance happened to mention the strength they shared and the depth of their friendship. it was perfect.

   chenle beamed, showing a toothy smile as he reached over touch his ear and pinch his cheek. "as expected," he cooed. donghyuck suddenly shot up from his seat, eyes attempting to hide the lit fire inside. "i'm going to buy some snacks," his tone was almost normal but mark wasn't fooled by it like the others were. he instantly knew something was wrong.

   "i'm coming with you," mark stood up, tugging on the bottom of his hoodie to straigten it out. "i'm going alone," the look on donghyuck's face was a clear sign that said 'don't go against me right now or you'll regret it'.

   even though the younger appeared very serious, mark knew something was wrong and he wasn't planning on letting it go. just as he was about to argue, the brunette walked off, the sound of the front door closing was heard seconds later. mark huffed in annoyance, sitting down again. it was useless to chase after donghyuck. he figured that he was just being immature and would cool down soon anyways.

   "dramatic much?" jeno mumbled under his breath while still being loud enough for everyone else to hear. "tell me about it," renjun nodded his head, brows furrowed. for some strange reason, mark didn't like what the other members were saying about donghyuck behavior. sure, in his head only moments before, he had similar thoughts. yet, shen he heard the other members talking about him in the way that they were, it triggered him to no end. 

   although he wanted to tell them off, he refrained. he was the oldest and he couldn't let his emotions get the best of him in any way. the next fifteen minutes were spent the same way it had been before donghyuck left. everyone laughed and joked around while mark worried about donghyuck. 

   he hoped that he was smart enough to go with his manager, but knowing donghyuck, he knew he wasn't that smart. the thought of donghyuck wandering through dark alleyways at night alone kept him on edge. 

   not being able to stand his own paranoia for any longer, mark pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed donghyuck's number. his plan was to call donghyuck, make sure he was with his manager, send his manager if he wasn't (which was most likely), and hang up. his fingers tapped his thigh nervously as the phone rung and he waited for donghyuck to pick up.

   the ringing stopped and mark breathed a sigh of relief. "hyuck?" he called. the younger was unresponsive but he didn't miss the scoff he heard. his plan which he had been reciting in his head only moments before went completely out the window, donghyuck's safety becoming his main priority.

   "you shouldn't have gone out this late, no matter how much you want a snack. it's dangeerous and knowing you, you only take short cuts as long as you can. people can easily jump you in alleys, you know. what would you have done if someone had been stalkking you or threatened to harm you?" mark's ramble began. although he was asking questions, they were all rhetorical and he didn't care for an answer.

   "do you have pepper spray with you? you probably have no defense and went out at this hour with your manager...," his eyes widened. "are you even with your manager?" "it's none of your information, but i am," donghyuck spat out. mark detected the lie from nothing but the sound of his voice. he could tell that donghyuck was annoyed and frustrated with the older, but why did that put mark in the wrong? he was simply trying to ensure of donghyuck's safety so that nothing bad would happen. "mark lee, why are you acting like you actually care? what are you worried about? me not making it back safely so i can't suck you off?" donghyuck lashed out, his voice like poison. 

   donghyuck had gotten mad at mark plenty of times in the past, but he rarely ever used such a venomous voice even then. "haechan that's not true and you know it," mark replied angrily, interrupting the brunette.

   was that was everything was about? did donghyuck think mark only wanted him for pleasure? he thought about how donghyuck could mistake their situation for that, but he had always hoped that donghyuck wouldn't ever think of him so lowly.

   "honestly," donghyuck laughed dryly, "i don't really give a fuck." the younger's words annoyed him so much that he banged his fist on the coffee table infront of him. he ran a hand through his hair, a pissed off sigh escaping his lips. looking up, he met eyes with the rest of the members. they had long stopped talking and started eavesdropping on mark's phone call, but the ravenette had been too caught up in it to notice. 

   seeing all of their concerned faces since mark didn't usually get angry, he felt guilty. taking a moment to pull the phone away from his ear, he faced the members and apologized curtly. they all shrugged it off as he excused himself to his shared bedroom with donghyuck. "haechan-ah," mark said, the short walk there helped him collect his thought and put his temper back in check. his voice was stable and definitely didn't show how mad he was. "i care about you, how many times do i need to tell you this?" he asked.

   one of mark's favorite sounds, donghyuck's laughter, was heard in the background. on a normal occasion, he would smile to himself like a dork, but unfortunately he wasn't in such an easy situation. "do you know how many times you looked my way today after we left the dorm?" donghyuck questioned as mark fell silent. 

   of course he had looked donghyuck way, but they really hadn't interacted ever since their provocative morning. "exactly my point," donghyuck muttered when mark didn't answer. "why does that even matter? do i have to give you attention all day or something?" the words slipped out of his mouth before he even had a chance to stop them.

   the heavy tension over the line was almost unbearable. the flavor of blood was in mark's mouth, having chewed on his lip so much. the horrible silence was broken as donghyuck spoke. "you say these things and still want me to believe that you care about ensuring my safety? unbelievable, you really are something else," the younger laughed. 

   out of all things, mark wasn't expecting that to come from donghyuck. the defeated laugh that fell from donghyuck's voice stabbed at mark's heart, torturing him slowly.

   "look, haechan," mark pulled at his hair. he was upset with himself for not being able to express himself well enough. it seemed like whenever things came to do with donghyuck, mark couldn't think right anymore. his mind would run wild and his heart rate would increase. he knew that it was no excuse, but it was still something so foreign to him that he wasn't sure how to cope with it. i deserve every second of this, mark told himself. whatever donghyuck was going through was more important that he. if donghyuck was struggling, he deserved to struggle too. 

   "i care about you a whole fucking lot and i know you don't believe me, so can we please just talk about this when you get back to the dorms? it's too dangerous to be out right now, it's already midnight," mark pleaded.

   there was a long and painful silence. seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours. "you. aren't. my. boyfriend. stop acting like you are," donghyuck finally gritted out, hanging up the phone and leaving mark to wallow in self guilt alone. 

   nothing donghyuck said was a lie. it was true that mark wasn't his boyfriend. mark himself knew it was true. regardless, the words hurt like hell, a dagger digging into his heart. the words left an empty hole in his heart, one that only doghyuck could fix. but after their argument, would donghyuck even want to fix it?

   using the silence of the room to his advantage, mark drowned himself in his thoughts and self doubt. his self reflecting time didn't last long before he dialed donghyuck's manager's number.

   he knew he was pushing it if donghyuck had actually been with his manager as he said, but it was something mark wanted to risk anyway. "hello?" donghyuck's manager picked up almost instantly. "i'm sorry to disturb you right now," mark apologized first. "by any chance... are you with haechan?" he held his breath, waiting for an answer.

   "no? should i be expecting him?" he asked, confusion laced in his voice. "no, no. it's alright, thank you and once again sorry for disturbing you," mark mumbled, hanging up. 

   his heart pounded in his chest. donghyuck was out at such a late time completely alone. mark's nails dug into the palms of his hand as the incident from when he ate out with donghyuck, taeil, johnny, and donghyuck's manager resurfaced in his memory. someone had touched him then, who was to say that someone wouldn't try touching him after seeing him out alone?

   donghyuck was a stunning being. mark loved every part of him, including his body and natural curves. he wouldn't be surprised if someone else felt the same. quickly, he picked his phone up again. this time, calling donghyuck.

   his phone rang and rang, but no one was picking it up. mark stood up with a loud groan. he threw his phone on the bed, pulling at the roots of his hair. 

"damn it, fucking haechan lee!" 

   wasting no time, he grabbed a jacket and left the room. the members watched him as he walked by without a word, having hearing him curse from just moments ago. no one said a word, leaving the fuming male to be. 

   mark had one goal, one thought, and one purpose as he left the dorms. "lee donghyuck, i swear to god, you'll be the death of me."

----

word count: 1952

the same thing from last chapter, just from mark's prespective. i hope it was intresting in anyway and i'm surprised that it only took an hour and a half to write.

ignore the mistakes, i didn't proof read and in total, i've gotten four hours of sleep in the past 72 hours. my head is pounding and i feel faint, but i can't go to sleep and this is my third night in a row pulling an all nighter. 

ik no one asked, but my fav 127 songs atm: love me now, love song, boom, city 127, back 2 u, summer 127, pilot, amino acid, paradise, road trip, pandora's box, superhuman, earthquake, touch

✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾