the room was filled with laughter and talking voices. donghyuck looked to his left, abruptly hugging shicheng who just happened to be sitting next to him. he recieved a nudge from his right and a harsh glare from mark which caused him to bite back a smile. "don't act jealous on me. i'll hug winwin hyung if i want to," he said in a pouty voice.

   he and mark had a short stare down before he stuck out his lips and raised his eyebrows, leaving mark no choice but to break his annoyed façade and smile at his cuteness. "you're lucky i love you," he muttered. "mhmm," donghyuck hummed, lifting his head so mark could bring his head down and kiss him.

   the elder's fingers tickled his chin as mark held donghyuck's face in his hands. they moved their lips against eachother slowly and eventually, mark's tongue was poking donghyuck's bottom lip for entrance. just as he shoved his tongue in donghyuck's mouth, someone (aka doyoung) interrupted them.

"hey, no pda at the table. get a room."

   they pulled apart, a string of saliva connected their lips as they looked around the table with parted breaths and flushed faces. everyone was staring at them with looks that said: "seriously?"

   "sorry," they both mumbled sheepishly. "did you really have to make out in front of my salad?" jungwoo asked, fork hanging in the air between his bowl and his mouth. the couple apologized again, and finally everyone returned to their conversations.

   seeing that the attention was off them again, mark and donghyuck turned to look at eachother, laughing at the slightly awkward, yet mostly amusing situation. "i love you," mark whispered, pressing a quick kiss to donghyuck's pink lips. "i love you too," donghyuck answered, returning the favor. before they could get called out again, they drew back, opening a little space between eachother.

   the dinner continued and so did the excitement and happiness in the room. mark and donghyuck kept stealing glances at eachother and held hands under the table like two infatuated teenagers who couldn't keep their hands to themselves.

   soon enough all sorts of wine was being served and the finished dishes were collected. plates of fruit, cheese, and crackers were served with the wine. the end of the long table which had consisted of a bunch of chinese members suddenly cheered and clapped. "everyone," renjun stood up, grinning. "this dinner is kun's treat!" the rest of the members aplauded and cheered, thanking kun who looked distressed.

   "do you think he lost a bet or something?" donghyuck asked, leaning his head on mark's chest. "maybe," mark nodded, placing a quick peck on the smaller's forehead. 

   their chairs had already been pushed together as much as possible, but with the chaos going on around them, donghyuck discreetly slipped out of his chair and into mark's lap. he took mark's arms and wrapped them around his own torso, forcing mark to give him a back hug.

   donghyuck closed his eyes and smiled to himself. he couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy. he was with mark, he was with his members, and he didn't have another schedule for weeks.

   "donghyuck ah," mark called softly, now rubbing circles on his small waist as donghyuck's little hands still covered his own. they had been sitting like that for a while now, talking with the members close by while drinking wine. the older placed a soft kiss on donghyuck's shoulder, nuzzling his face in his shoulder from behind.

  "mhhm," donghyuck replied, carressing mark's hands with his own. "what happened while you were on tour? i promised not to look it up myself to johnny, but tell me what happened," mark said. donghyuck sucked in a sharp breath. he had been avoiding this conversation since he wasn't sure how mark would react and he didn't want to worry him. seeing that mark seemed as if he had a lot on his mind the night before, it explained why he asked about it then. looking at the time, donghyuck couldn't believe that they hadn't even been together for a whole day yet.

   he racked his brain for a nice way to put what had taken place while mark was gone. "you know how passionate i am about performing, babe," donghyuck started slowly. it wasn't common for him to use a pet name on mark as it was usually the other way around. he giggled when mark's grip on his waist tightened at the name and donghyuck knew, he liked it.

   mark continued to place soft kisses along the back of his neck and donghyuck suddenly realized that he was seated directly on his dick. 

   "markkk," he whined, slapping mark's hand lightly. a light chuckled was heard behind him before mark leaned back in his seat, pulling donghyuck to his chest while he was at it. "keep going," the blue haired male said. donghyuck nodded and yet again struggled to fine the words to say. 

   it was as if mark couldn't keep still because once more, he was tracing circle patterns on donghyuck. this time he had dipped his finger just inside the smaller's pants, rubbing his hip bone gently. his other arm was hooked around donghyuck's waist protectively and everyone at the table and figured out that they had dismissed everyone else's pressence and were currently in their own world.

   "you know i love to give my all on stage," donghyuck began again. "mhmm," mark hummed. "you also know that i'm hard headed and stubborn at times," donghyuck added. mark chuckled with a small nod. 

   the sun kissed male was very much aware of how mark would react as he closed his eyes and decided to rip it off like a bandaid. "it's not a big deal really. it happens often within idols..," he stalled. "hyuck," mark spoke softly, "just tell me what happened." "after a concert," donghyuck paused, feeling mark's grip tighten, "just for a really short while... i may or may not have passed out."

   for a moment, he heard nothing from mark before the older said, "shit." mark stood up, holding donghyuck tightly to his side. "excuse us," he said to everyone at the table. some of the members started whistling until mark shot them a glare and left the room, dragging donghyuck along with him.

   donghyuck was mentally preparing to be scolded at when they reached the fortunately empty waiting room. "i'm sorry i didn't tell you. i just didn't want you to worry and i needed you to focus on tour and i would've blamed myself if you didn't give your all out there. i really wanted to tell you but there we—," donghyuck's string of excuses and apologies was cut off short when mark hugged him to him chest securely.

   "i just want you to be safe," he said quietly. although donghyuck was caught off gaurd, he let his boyfriend hold him as he relaxed in his touch. "i'm sorry i didn't tell you," donghyuck repeated after a moment. "i know why you didn't," mark drawled, "but i am your boyfriend and i would like to know next time."

   donghyuck was a little scared to ask, but he did anyway, "you're not mad?" mark scoffed and readjusted their position so that he was resting his chin on donghyuck's head. "trust me, i'm pissed," he said and donghyuck tensed. "but not at you. you didn't do anything wrong," mark placed a soft kiss on the smaller's forhead to relax him. "promise me you'll tell me first if this or anything remotely close to it happens again," mark pulled away, staring donghyuck in the eye. "i promise," donghyuck agreed, not able to resist kissing mark on the lips.

   it was meant to be a brief kiss, but mark reconnected their lips again. they broke apart and kissed again, repeating this a few times. the only reason that mark didn't have his tongue in donghyuck's mouth at this point was because they were both still catious with the idea of being in public.

   "what are you thinking about?" donghyuck asked when they pulled apart and mark wouldn't take his eyes off of him. "hmm," mark hummed, "just thinking about how badly i was to tear your suit off and mark your pretty golden skin." "do you always have to say things like that?" donghyuck groaned, skin burning at the honesty of mark's answer. "you asked, babe," mark smirked.

   "i think i like you better when you aren't talking," donghyuck retorted playfully, kissing mark's lips to shut him up. donghyuck was addicted to mark's lips, and as far as he knew, it was the same the other way around, too. unlike most times when they kissed, instead of long and soft kisses where they would only break apart for air, this time they bit on eachother's lips, passionately kissing for a moment only to break apart and kiss again.

   "ahem," a voice interrupted them, making donhyuck's blood turn cold. "don't look up," mark ordered in a whisper. donghyuck obeyed and burried his face in mark's neck instead. 

   "excuse me for interrupting," mark was met face to face with a tall and handsome man wearing the restaurant's uniform, a white shirt and dress pants. mark trailed his eyes to the name tag pinned to his shirt that read 'wang'. "jackson," the voice spoke, making mark meet their eyes. "just call me jackson, most people mispronounce my last name anyway," he kind of rolled his eyes at the end before smiling.

   "uhh, hi," mark said, clearing his throat while donghyuck hugged onto him tightly. "don't worry about the news getting out, mark-ssi and haechan-ssi. i'll just wipe the camera tape and no one will ever know. also," he stepped closer, "there's no point hiding. i saw both of your faces while you were still kissing a minute ago." 

   donghyuck flushed red but pulled away from mark, bowing his head at the kind restaurant staff. too embarrassed from being caught kissing only moments ago, donghyuck kept his eyes averted to the floor.

   "anyways," jackson spoke up a bit louder, noticing the slightly awkward atmosphere, "i just wanted to let you know that we have a big party of people coming in soon so making out here wouldn't be ideal— though there is a motel down the block from here."

   donghyuck let out a high pitched choking sound which mark chuckled at while patting his back lightly. "thanks for the heads up," mark nodded to jackson. the other simply winked, ran a hand through their slicked back hair, and left with a sly grin. 

   "god, that was embarrassing," donghyuck muttered. mark laughed again and kissed donghyuck's lips before picking him up and carrying him bridal style. "put me down!" the younger giggled while hitting mark's chest. the blue haired male smiled and ignored him, pushing open the v.i.p room and startling the rest of the members.

   "someone's in a good mood," ten raised an eyebrow at mark who simply just shrugged and set down a scowling donghyuck. "don't pout at me," mark hummed, amused by how donghyuck was acting. the purple haired male pushed his lips out even more just to tease, but his actions backfired on him when mark took his chin in his hands and kissed him fast but hard.

   "why do i even try anymore?" doyoung sighed, rolling his eyes as they yet again showed pda in front of him.

   "hyunggg," donghyuck whined, covering his face shyly. "it's funny how haechan can be bratty and annoying when he wants something, and when he's with you he acts like a baby," renjun commented, his expression almost bored.

   "oh, he can be a brat at times," mark smiled mischievously to donghyuck, dropping the volume of his voice, "especially in bed."

   a few members snickered (unaware of what mark said at the end of his sentence) until there was a sound of a glass clinking at the head of the table. taeyong was standing up from his seat, a glass of wine in his hand as the other hand set down the fork he had used. "how many glasses have you drunk? your face is red," taeil spoke up though he had been relatively quiet for most of the dinner. "look at yourself, hyung!" taeyong shot back, "you're not much better than i am!"

   th weakest drinkers bickered back and forth before the others reminded them that everyone was waiting for taeyong to speak. "right," taeyong cleared his throat and raised his glass once more. "as the leader of nct, i'd like to thank taeil hyung, johnny, yuta, kun, doyoungie, ten, jaehyunie, winwin, jungwoo, lucas, mark, xiaojun, hendery, renjunnie, jeno, haechannie, jaemin, yangyang, taro, sungchan, chenle, and last but not least, our maknae jisungie. everyone did such an amazing job this year, i couldn't ask for a better group of people to work with. i don't want this to be long and cheesy, so let's grow closer as we continue our career and really depend on eachother more starting from next year. i er-," he cleared his throat. "don't say it!" multiple members squealed. 

"i love you guys."

   a few of the grown men proceeded to pretend to throw up while everyone else groaned. when they finished being dramatic, glasses were clinked together and downed in one go.

   after the toast, a steady flow of conversation continued. mark leaned back in his seat, donghyuck sitting on his lap yet again. the sunkissed male was facing him, arms wrapped around his neck, burrying his face in mark's shoulder. it seemed to be donghyuck's favorite position.

   "you're a good boyfriend," a voice spoke softly. mark looked up and met jaehyun's kind gaze. "thanks hyung," mark planned to stop there but the words kept coming out. "you helped out a lot with our relationship, you know? i don't know how you always had so much advice when you're single." "woah woah woah," jaehyun grinned cheekily as he began speaking in english.

"who said i was single?"

---

   donghyuck unintentionally wore a pout on his face as he was dressed in nothing but mark's hoodie and boxers. "what's wrong, baby?" mark asked, extending his arms for the younger. donghyuck climbed in mark's bed, allowing mark to hug him to his chest. "i can't go back to jeju during break, my family is busy. i'm gonna end up staying at the dorms by myself for four weeks, aren't i?" the last question was more to himself than to mark.

   mark frowned at donghyuck's tone and placed a kiss to his nose. an idea sparked in his head which made him smile.

   the older male lifted donghyuck and turned him around so that he was sitting on his thighs and facing him. "i know you may be disappointed that you can't visit your family or go back ro jeju island..," mark started slowly, "but how does canada sound?"

   donghyuck's disappointed eyes widened as he stared at mark in surprise. "do you really mean that?" mark chuckled at his expression and nodded, "i haven't told my parents considering i asked you just now, but i know they'd say yes. then we can go to new york or anywhere else you want to go. plus," mark said almost shyly. "i want to introduce you to my parents."

   "all of that sounds great but i've already met your parents, hyung," donghyuck said. "no," mark took donghyuck's hand in his own, "i want to introduce you to them as my boyfriend."

   within a month of dating, donghyuck and mark had felt ready enough to tell their parents that not only were they gay, but that they had boyfriends. at first, both of them were nervous and unsure of what was to come. neither of them had ever dropped hints that they were into boys before as it was a new realization, so how their parents would react was a mystery. when they were both comfortable enough, they told their parents and luckily, it went well. both sides were shocked at the new revelation, but supportive nonetheless.

   the thought of meeting mark's parents never made him nervous until he realized that mark was right. they would be meeting him again, but this time, as his boyfriend.

   "if you don't want to, you don't have to. we can ju-," mark was cut off by donghyuck. "no, i like your plan. i'm a little worried honestly, but i trust you and they already know me," he decided.

   mark searched his eyes for any hint of reluctance. when he found none, he nodded, "let me know if you change your mind." the purple haired male suddenly giggled, "is all of this really okay?" mark raised an eyebrow at him, confused. "after finding out that i can't go to jeju as i'd been planning the whole time, now i'm going to canada with you." mark hummed as if in thought, "i don't see anything wrong with it."

   donghyuck punched him on the shoulder lightly and mark winced, pretending that it hurt for donghyuck's sake. "i don't think you're paying attention to the main point here." 

"i think you've got the main point wrong."

"explain?"

   "are you happy, babe? are you actually happy?" donghyuck couldn't hold back the smile once mark asked him the question. the purple haired male thought back to their golden days from when they first met. they had struggles, but in the end, they always managed to overcome it together. on top of that, from the moment they started dating, donghyuck didn't know if he had ever felt more loved in his life. every second that they shared had felt like such a memorable time in his life that he wanted to hold on to forever and never forget.

   so to answer mark's question, "yes. i'm happy. i'm really happy," he grinned giddily. mark liked the genuineness in donghyuck's tone and expression. in fact, he liked it so much that he sneakily snaked his arms around donghyuck's waist, pulling him to his chest.

"good, because when you're happy, i'm happy, and that's all that matters."

   words couldn't express the feeling that errupted in donghyuck's stomach. as if a million butterflies flew by, donghyuck loosely hung his arms around mark's neck and enjoyed the warmth that his body gave off.

   in that moment, both of them knew that no matter what happened, they would stick together. mark needed donghyuck, and it was the same the other way around. neither of them knew what they would be doing if they hadn't joined the same company when they did. and to think that their friendship could've never progressed into the beautiful relationship that they now shared if mark simply hadn't given donghyuck that one teddy bear.

-----

word count: 3127

wow... this is the last chapter—

the next one will come out in 10 days (the bonus chapter/epilogue), and then an ending ment to everyone who was kind enough to support me and read this book :)

✎ ---- dreaminghyuck⤾