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“You know, I always thought that you were weird for carrying an umbrella whenever it snows.” Donghyuck mused, staring outside at the world which was covered in a thick blanket of white snow from his position inside the school’s lobby. “But now I can see why you do.” The snow didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon.
Mark hummed and turned his head to look over at his younger friend. “Yep. Exactly for situations like this.” He let out a smug laugh, no doubt thinking about how smart he was, Donghyuck thought.
“I didn’t know you had it in you.” Donghyuck sniggered, earning him a sharp jab in his side from Mark. The two friends were stuck in the safe and warm shelter of their school (Donghyuck thinks that Mark just didn’t want to leave him alone). They had hoped that the snow would start to subside as time passed by, but by the one hour point it was clear that Mother Nature had no mercy for two high schoolers who just wanted to get home and sleep.
“Well I mean, we can both use my umbrella and I can walk you home. We take the same bus anyway.” Mark suggested, already taking out his miniature foldable umbrella from his backpack and opening it up.
Donghyuck turned his body to face him, trying to hide the genuine surprise in his voice. “Wait, really? Are you sure it can even fit the both of us under there?” The blonde nodded firmly, a small smile spreading across his lips and his bright eyes looking into Donghyuck’s own. Donghyuck was aware of the heat that was creeping up to his neck and his ears and quickly looked away. Even after all these years, it still surprised him whenever Mark did show affection towards him. Mark always tolerated his joking and teasing and had always stayed with him, and for that Donghyuck was infinitely thankful for him and the pleasure of knowing someone like Mark Lee.
Donghyuck huffed and bumped his hip into Mark’s in an attempt to show his nonchalance to the gesture, who chuckled and raised his gloved hand to hold the back of Donghyuck’s neck as they made their way out of the main entrance.
The wind and snowflakes hit the both of them like a truck, and Donghyuck quickly brought a hand to his face to wipe the wet slush from his eyes. “You look ridiculous.” Mark, who had somehow avoided the blast of snow, joked. “Ha, ha. Very funny.” Donghyuck tsk-ed and quickly poked at Mark’s ribs, causing him to squeal and jump backwards. The blonde was quick to lunge at him, wrapping an arm around his neck and dragging him close to his chest while letting out a hearty laugh.
Donghyuck tried to ignore how he could hear how fast Mark’s heart was beating, and how he could feel his cheeks heat up as he felt Mark ruffle his hair. He had always assumed his reactions to Mark were normal, after all his heart beating quicker and his ears glowing a deep red had always happened ever since they first met. It wasn’t until Renjun and Jeno cornered him a few months ago, questioning about when he and Mark were finally going to start dating did he realise that maybe, just maybe, he saw Mark more than just a best friend.
Donghyuck
was
right. Mark’s umbrella was far too tiny for the both of them to stand under it, and with the snowfall getting even heavier, it barely made a difference anyway. Donghyuck glanced sideways at Mark as they trudged through the half melted snow. Mark was relatively more bundled up than him, and Mark noticed this. “You’re not wearing any gloves.”
Donghyuck looked down at his fingers, which were frozen into a tight ball. He gritted his teeth and forced a smile through the freezing cold and replied. “It’s fine.”
Mark frowned. “No, it isn’t. Here.” He transferred the umbrella from his right hand to his left one, as Donghyuck was standing on his right. He linked his right arm with Donghyuck’s left one. “Put your hand in my jacket pocket.” Donghyuck’s mouth went dry as he looked from Mark to their linked hands.
“Y-you want me to what?” Donghyuck said, cursing inwardly at himself for stammering. He hoped that Mark would assume that his trip up was merely because of the weather, and not for anything else.
Mark widened his eyes slightly and jerked his head towards Donghyuck’s bare hand. “Your hand. My jacket. You look like you’re freezing your ass off, you know?”
Donghyuck tsk-ed once again, carefully slipping his hand into the pocket of Mark’s windbreaker. He looked down to the ground in an attempt to hide his smile, and the fact that the apples of his cheeks were tainted a light red.
Mark smirked, and glanced to the side as he muttered “ cute” , which Donghyuck picked up on. He gulped, unsure of how to react. Should he put on his usual persona and tease Mark for it, or pretend that he didn’t notice in fear that he’d give his feelings away? Donghyuck could easily hide his true emotions using sharp words, but his body language usually betrayed him.
Donghyuck straightened his back and slapped his trademark smile on his lips. “What was that? Did Mark Lee just call me cute? ” He bumped his hips into Mark’s, sending the blonde giggling.
“Oh stop it!” Mark protested as Donghyuck continued nudging him, causing him to lose his footing. His voice softened. “So what if I find you cute? I usually call you cute anyway.” Donghyuck’s heart skipped a beat. Mark was right, he did mention it once or twice, but they were always in the company of their friends and Donghyuck had always thought that he did it to embarrass him in front of everyone else.
Donghyuck turned his gaze back to the ground and tried to avoid the look that Mark was giving him. There was a slight tension between the two which was only made worse when Mark pulled Donghyuck closer to his side, and Donghyuck realised how close the two of them really were, in proximity and their friendship.
Mark’s arm was tightly wrapped around Donghyuck’s in order to hold him closer, along with the younger’s hand in the elder’s jacket pocket and how Mark was slightly holding the umbrella over Donghyuck’s head a bit more to shelter him. The snowfall had started to get lighter at this point.
Donghyuck took short one-second glances at Mark. He noted how there were tiny specks of snowflakes on his eyelashes, how the little flecks were nestled in his curled hair. He raised his hand to tug at his ear (which were suspiciously red, but Donghyuck brushed it aside), like how he usually did when he was nervous.
The tension was only defused when Mark broke the two-minute silence. “So, I heard from the others that you have a crush on someone?” and Donghyuck turned to look at him so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. Panic brewed in his chest as every single drop of his blood immediately rushed up to his ears and neck and cheeks.
“Me? Having a crush?” Donghyuck hesitantly chuckled, slowly meeting Mark’s eyes. Though his friend wore a knowing smile, he thankfully did not seem to suspect anything. “Who told you?”
“Renjun and Jeno.” Mark revealed. Donghyuck scoffed. Of course it had to be Renjun and Jeno. Despite him not outrightly revealing that he really did have a crush on Mark, his blushing face and fast blinking and him tripping over his words was enough to make it clear to them.
Donghyuck shrugged, digging his hand further into Mark’s pocket. “No idea what they’re talking about.”
A smile subconsciously tugged at his lips, which Mark noted and pointed out. “Come on! You’re smiling! Who is it?”
Donghyuck shook his head. “No one.”
“There has to be someone! Tell me!” Mark whined.
“No.”
“Tell. Me.”
“No!”
They went on like that for the rest of the walk to the bus stop, Mark insisting that Donghyuck tell him who he had a crush on. Donghyuck was hoping that he would eventually drop it, getting the message that he did not actually like anyone but Mark was a persistent and determined boy who didn’t easily leave things the way they were.
By the time that they had reached the bus stop, it was clear that the pair had missed their bus home. “Darn it.” Mark groaned and he flopped onto the cool metal bench of the bus stop, shaking the snow off his umbrella before putting it beside him. Donghyuck sat beside him, letting out a puff of water vapour as he breathed. He leaned against the glass barrier of the bus stop and grumbled. “It’s all your fault.”
Mark whipped his head around to look at him. “ My fault? If you had just told me who you liked we would have reached here in time!” He slung a leg over Donghyuck’s knee and leaned closer towards him, their face merely inches apart. “Unless… little Donghyuckie is shy?”
Donghyuck’s eyes widened as his gaze flickered from Mark’s eyes to his lips, before gulping and snapping out of it. “I’m not shy.” Donghyuck hissed and jabbed him in the stomach so that he’d move back. Mark feigned pain, but he still pushed Donghyuck into the literal corner once again.
Mark thought for a while. “Is it Yeri?” He hummed.
Donghyuck yelped and screamed. “No! God no! She’s like an older sister to me. No!”
He knew that the next bus would come in about half an hour, which meant that Mark would have a whole thirty minutes to weasel an answer out of him. Which also meant that Donghyuck would have to come up with a bullshit answer, or confess, which was way out of the question.
Mark lowered his voice for dramatic effect. “Is it... Seungcheol?”
Choi Seungcheol was an extremely popular senior in the year above Donghyuck, who was not only the school captain, but also the captain of the soccer team. Along with his good looks and polite manners, Seungcheol was probably the dream of every girl and guy in their school.
Donghyuck’s face flared up. “ No! ” He was aware of Mark inching closer and closer to his face every second, and he had already run out of space to back up into.
Mark deflated and his lower lip jutted out in a pout. “Then, who is it?” His voice dragged out into a long whine and Donghyuck felt warmth blossom in his chest. Whenever Mark was with him - and just him - he showed sides of him their other friends had probably never seen before. Mark always understood him.
Donghyuck shook his head, turning his head to look away from him, his voice now quieter and softer. “No… it’s no one, okay?” The cheeky look in Mark’s eyes disappeared at that moment, replaced by a look of concern (knowing him, he was probably afraid that he pushed Donghyuck too far).
“I mean… it’s alright if you don’t tell me.” Mark said, his hand travelling to hold Donghyuck’s arm.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, staring down at the ground, his ears glowing red.
Donghyuck feels warmth trickling up to his already flaming cheeks and ears. It seemed as if the universe wanted him to confess to Mark right now, and everything that had happened that day was a lead-up to his very moment, and the words had perfectly taken shape in his mind and were threatening to spill out of Donghyuck’s mouth right there and then.
“Actually…” Donghyuck murmured hesitantly. Mark had started with playing with Donghyuck’s fingers, but turned his attention back to him. “Yeah?”
“Actually, I-” Donghyuck cut himself off to take a deep breath. All he had to do was say it. Those three easy words. If Mark doesn’t feel the same way it’s not like it’s going to be the end of the world, all Donghyuck had to do was live with the guilt and heartbreak of stuffing up their friendship for the rest of his life. Totally not a big deal.
Time seemed to slow down around them, Donghyuck excruciatingly aware of how brown and wide Mark’s eyes were, how Mark was giving all of his undivided attention to him, how Mark always seemed to just understand and know Donghyuck.
“It’s you.” Donghyuck spat out, lowering his gaze away from Mark’s face. He waited for the oncoming wave of rejection to hit him.
Mark spluttered. “M- me ? Really?” There was a twinge of doubt in his voice which Donghyuck took it to mean that he fucked up.
Donghyuck threw his face into his hands, twisting his body away from Mark. “I’m sorry,” he spoke, his voice coming out muffled through his hands. “It’s just… It’s always been you from the very start and literally everyone could see it but you and honestly? I don’t know where I’m going with this but I just-” Donghyuck took a deep breath and slowly raised his head from his hands, still not daring to look at Mark. “I just like you, okay? That’s it. That’s what Renjun and Jeno were talking about.”
Donghyuck heard Mark exhale, then his hand reaching out to hold his own. “Hey… Donghyuck, look at me.” Donghyuck turned to make eye contact with Mark, his eyes threatening to tear up. Mark had the widest smile on his lips, the apples of his cheeks a rosy pink as his thumb rubbed circles into Donghyuck’s palm. “You should have just told me earlier, you know?”
“Wait, what?” Donghyuck stammered. The adrenaline and anxiety in his body was going off the charts, he honestly wasn’t sure of what Mark was suggesting. Did he like, like him back?
“Aw, come on.” Mark whispered, and scooted even closer to Donghyuck. “Do I really have to spell it out for you?”
“But- what, you actually- ” Donghyuck pointed at him, then at himself. “You like me back? Like, really? This isn’t a joke right?”
Mark barked with laughter. “ God, fine. Okay, yes I do. Lee Donghyuck. I’ve been practically in love with you for like, three years. Heck, you were the one who made me realise that I like boys!” Donghyuck stared at him in pure disbelief for five whole seconds, before bursting out into a giddy fit of laughter.
“Oh my god. This really is the best day of my life.” Donghyuck breathed out.
“Hey, you know what?” Mark said, and leaned in, leaving only an inch of empty space between his lips and Donghyuck’s. “My mouth is like, really numb. I think you should kiss me before we get frostbite.”
Donghyuck’s breath hitched. That pretty much double confirmed that Mark Lee definitely liked him back. “It’ll be my first kiss.”
Mark shrugged. “It’ll be mine too.”
“I might be a horrible kisser.”
Mark chuckled, bringing his hand up to grip the back of Donghyuck’s neck gently. “I don’t mind.”
Donghyuck let out a giggle. Mark holding his hand and asking him to kiss him was probably the most surreal thing that Donghyuck had ever felt in his whole entire life. After all, this was the moment he thought that he could only dream about, he sure as hell was going to treasure this.
“Okay then. I’m going for it.” He said, a hand hesitantly holding Mark’s waist. The elder boy smiled and nodded, parting his lips slightly.
Donghyuck took a deep breath and leaned in. His older friends always spoke about how his first kiss was going to be something magical - how fireworks were going to go off in his chest and how time would slow down around the two of them. Donghyuck was looking forward to that feeling, until he accidentally bumped his nose into Mark’s own.
“Oh my god, that was an accident.” Donghyuck gasped, going to awkwardly rub Mark’s nose while trying to suppress his laughter. The boy only leaned forward and laughed into Donghyuck’s neck while muttering something about how cute he was once again, which caused Donghyuck’s heart to race even quicker.
Donghyuck laughed, pushing Mark off his chest and readying his hands on his waist again. “Okay, okay. For real this time.”
“Don’t eskimo kiss me again! I specifically said that my lips were the ones that were feeling numb, but I still appreciate the fact that you brought feeling back to my nose again.” Mark joked, holding the side of Donghyuck’s neck as his thumb slowly ran over his jaw. “I’m ready.”
Donghyuck took a deep breath. He was going to do it right this time. He was going to cause the fireworks to actually go off.
When their lips finally met it was how Donghyuck had always imagined it to be like. In his daydreams, Mark was always the one who tried to hide how nervous he was, he was always the one who took the lead and was always the one who calmed Donghyuck down. Mark’s touch burned every bit of Donghyuck’s skin he touched as they kissed. And kissed, and kissed, until the bus arrived and the driver had to awkwardly honk at them to get them to get on, but honestly Donghyuck didn’t care because he had Mark - and he was the only person that mattered.
By the time they arrived at Donghyuck’s house the snowfall had almost fully stopped - what was left of it now raindrops. The two were laying together in his bed, Donghyuck with his head on Mark’s chest and a leg between both of his as Mark ran his hands through Donghyuck’s damp hair and traced words on his back.
Donghyuck’s lips were still tingling and Mark’s touch still burned.