Chapter Text
It all came to a head when SuperM and NCT Dream’s SMTown practices were scheduleded next to one another and a break happened to align.
“What’s your problem?” Renjun asked in a soft, cold voice.
Jongin felt his eyebrows raise as he looked helplessly at Baekhyun who looked just as confused and significantly more indignant than Jongin felt.
“He said…” Chenle continued in a deliberately slow voice, spiteful tone easily overcoming any lingering hesitance, “… what is your problem?”
The rest of Dream (sans Jeno) stood in what was clearly a preplanned squad pose, doing their best to look serious and intimidating while only succeeding in looking adorably pouty. Jeno was busy frantically whispering to Renjun: “Oi, hey, they’re still our seniors, watch it!”
At this even Taemin stopped what he was doing and wandered over, looking torn between offense at being spoken to like this and amusement at the teenage theatrics.
“We… don’t have one?” Jongin tried hesitantly, glancing around the room, still baffled and somewhat convinced this was a hidden camera.
“What’s your problem?” Baekhyun responded petulantly. Jongin rolled his eyes.
Mark came in cheerfully chatting with Taeyong who looked absolutely ecstatic at seeing the Dreamies. However, he quickly registered the discomfort and tension the air currently held and stopped in his tracks.
Mark let out a short nervous laugh, “Hey, everyone… uh, what exactly is going on here?”
“Stop it right now.” Mark hissed at them, “I’m gonna get Yuta-oppa to come keep you in line if you don’t—”
“Sorry, Yuta what?” Taemin asked incredulously.
The Dreamies spun back around. “Is that why you have a problem with Mark?” Jaemin asked, managing to sound both disinterested and profoundly disappointed in them.
“It’s their thing! It’s a little weird but it’s cute, leave them alone!” Jisung added passionately from where he stood behind Jaemin, surprisingly firm for a kid who was literally clinging to Jaemin’s sleeve.
Baekhyun pointed at Mark, unable to stop himself from letting out a jokingly stern as he said “Okay we are for sure returning to that but first,” he turned his finger back to the Dreamies, “We’re dealing with this. What problem? Who has a problem with Mark?”
“You do!” Chenle burst out fiercely, taking a step forward, “I heard you! I heard what you said.”
The older boys fell silent as they tried to figure out what exactly Chenle could be referring to.
Mark bit his lip and shot them a glance, then clapped a brotherly hand on Chenle’s shoulder. His voice was both quiet and gentle as he tried to talk him down: “Even—even if they said something, that’s okay, Chenle. They’re our seniors and if they see something I need to improve on they should say so. Maybe I have been taking it a bit too easy with practice lately between Dream and—”
“That’s not—Mark, no.” Taemin cut in, horrified. The NCT boys arrived early for their SuperM practices and Mark would often stay late and practice in what was supposed to be his downtime before Dream arrived. There was no universe in which someone could accuse him of slacking, that was absurd.
Taeyong’s face flashed with something unidentifiable but certainly not pleasant before falling back into the stoicism required of leadership. He stepped in front of Mark, addressing the hyung line of SuperM with his hands clasped tightly but politely in front of him, voice demure despite the steel in his eyes.
“If there’s something that needs to be addressed with Mark, I take full responsibility for it.” Taeyong’s voice was professional and lifeless as moved to make sure Mark was out of their line of sight. Ten was watching NCT’s leader with solemn, serious eyes, obviously concerned at the rapid switch of disposition as he wrapped an arm around an increasingly despondent Mark.
“Woah, woah, woah!” Baekhyun responded wildly, feeling a mounting dread at the youngers’ responses amidst his lingering confusion on what the hell was going on, “None of us have a problem with Mark! I think maybe those kids are annoyed at us because we saw how they pick on Mark so they’re trying to deflect? Maybe?”
“What?!” The Dreamies chorused indignantly.
“We grew up together,” Haechan spat out, absolutely furious. This accusation was enough to finally break through his lingering hesitance to accuse his seniors and boy was he annoyed.
“That doesn’t give you an excuse to treat him like that!” Jongin yelled.
“Oh, what, nicely?!” Chenle said, his tone dripping with venom.
“You call treating him like some sort of servant a nice way to treat him?!”
“Oh, save the bullshit lecture,” Haechan snarked “We know you were talking shit about him, and apparently you left him at a rest stop, but made him apologize for it?! And you’re planning on doing worse?!”
Kai tried to peak around the iron curtain that was Taeyong at Mark to no avail.
“Mark,” Kai started, wounded, “We really were just kidding, we had no idea it upset you so much—”
Mark’s quiet and baffled interjection of “Yo wait what--?” was lost amongst an indignant chorus from the Dreamies and apologies and explanation from Taemin and Baekhyun.
“But still!” Baekhyun’s powerful voice rang out above the cacophony, “You kids need to stop deflecting! We saw you making him clean up everything even though he was so tired and that kid,” Baekhyun pointed wildly at Jisung, “Knocked everything he was carrying to the ground! There is no way that wasn’t on purpose!”
Silence reigned as everyone processed this latest accusation, in particular Jisung’s face seemed to go on a vivid journey as he recalled the moment being referenced but eventually settled into an apologetic grimace. Unfortunately, he really was that clumsy, and knocking into Mark had been a genuine accident.
Chenle’s dolphin laugh began to ring out as he came to the same conclusion, only furthering Baekhyun’s ire.
“Okay!” Mark finally yelled—actually yelled!—while shaking Ten off and stepping around Taeyong to stand in between the two confrontational groups. All eyes slid to him.
“Okay,” Mark repeated, seemingly flustered by how easily he grabbed everyone’s attention. “Someone please explain what is happening right now!”
Seeing nearly everyone’s mouth open in what would no doubt be a cacophony of heated confusion, Mark quickly interjected again.
“Jeno, please explain! Then Kai-hyung. Please.” Mark preempted Baekhyun and Haechan’s indignant interjections with a baleful, pleading look.
Jeno straightened and stepped forward, absently squeezing Renjun’s arm as he did so. “Chenle heard them,” Jeno gestured with a tip of his head to the older boys, “Talking about how they left you behind in some sort of foreign country as a joke. And then they made you but them coffee! So now they think the can break your guitar? That’s… I mean hyung that’s pretty messed up.”
“Alright,” Mark exhaled sharply. “First, the foreign country was Canada and they left for like 5 minutes. Johnny and I hid from Doyoung in Target longer than I was alone in my hometown at a rest stop in the middle of the afternoon. It was for a prank on the reality show we were filming, and I bought them Tim Horton’s because they had never had it and I am Canadian. It is nothing complicated.”
Mark finished his explanation before shooting the older boys a questioning look. “I have no idea about the guitar but that doesn’t sound like—”
“Of course not!” Kai cut in. “We were totally kidding! We would never! Honestly we felt a little bad about how good-natured Mark handled all of the planned pranks, which was why we jokingly gave absurd examples of horrible shit Mark would probably manage to make into something positive! We’re just amazed, honestly. Mark is amazing.”
While Mark looked flattered beyond comprehension the Dreamies considered this and honestly… okay, yeah, all of that added up. In hindsight it did sound a lot more joking and innocuous. Still, Haechan couldn’t go down without the last word after investing this much energy into the confrontation:
“Still. They should be nicer!” His declaration was met with incredulity from literally everyone in the room. Mark was visibly praying for patience as he muttered “You of all people have got to be kidding me.”
Bolstered by Mark’s remarks Kai began to plead his case: “Seriously! You guys were awful, treating him like some sort of maid—”
“Hyung. I lost rock, paper, scissors.” Mark cut in.
“What?” Baekhyun asked in a baffled rush to the seeming on-sequitur.
“It’s—we always decide who cleans up that way. I lost, for the first time in a while, might I add,” Mark said with a bit of a smug flourish as the Dreamies rolled their eyes, “So I cleaned up.”
“Okay,” Kai allowed, “But that doesn’t explain Jisung literally knocking food out of your hand!”
Jisung, who had never actually stopped looking awkward, cringed even further back. “I’m sorry!” He wailed as Chenle cackled.
“He really, really didn’t mean to.” Mark placated.
“I’ve seen him dance, he’s graceful, there is no way that was an accident!” Kai countered. Jisung visibly wilted.
“Oh, it was. Jisung is just that clumsy, it’s actually, genuinely kind of incredible.” Mark explained with his trademark sense of profound awe at things that absolutely do not deserve it.
“What about the way the talk to you?” Baekhyun asked. “They’re so informal with you and I heard Haechan call you ‘bitch-hyung’!”
Over Taeyong’s low groan of “Donghyuck, why,” and Ten’s surprised laugh, Mark just sighed.
“He’s kidding. I know it seems like a lot but I don’t mind. I’m glad they trust me and we’re comfortable. I’ve known Haechan since we were both tweens, and he knows my limits. They all do.”
“We love him,” Chenle clarified. “Him being older doesn’t make him special or important, him being Mark does. We don’t need formality to define anything for us.”
“Aigo!” Mark said in teary delight as he launched himself at the younger and snatched him into a fond headlock.
Worries placated, fond embarrassed silence reigned as everyone came to terms with the contents of this conversation.
“Just one thing,” Taemin said, “What is this about Yuta-oppa?”