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"Here come the smiley couple." Donghyuck rolled his eyes and pretended to gag as Jeno and Jaemin approached their table, lunch trays in hand.
Renjun hit Donghyuck on his arm before the couple were in hearing range. "Hey, be nice," he whispered. "Stop letting Valentine's Day get to you."
Donghyuck sighed as the two smiling boys sat down across from them. "Hey, guys," they greeted Renjun and Donghyuck.
"Yeah, whatever." Donghyuck snapped.
"What's up with you?" Jeno asked. "Did you get detention again?"
Donghyuck huffed. "No."
"You guys are rubbing in his Valentine's Day blues," Renjun explained.
Jeno's eyebrows raised and he shifted his gaze to Donghyuck. "Seriously?" He absentmindedly put his arm around Jaemin. "I told you he's more dedicated to his work," Jeno said, referring to the eldest of their friend group and Donghyuck's boyfriend of about four months, Mark Lee.
Donghyuck pouted at his peanut butter sandwich. "I know he's dedicated to what he does but... I was hoping he wasn't more dedicated to it than me."
"To be honest," Jaemin started, "I don't think he's more dedicated. We all know how he feels about you, he'd never put anything before you. I think the other things he's doing are just more urgent right now....no offense."
"Yeah," Renjun agreed. He put out his hand to count Mark's tasks on his fingers. "He has the math Olympiad next week Friday, the big student council meeting is on Monday, he's helping Jisung with his talent show performance which is also next Friday and he has a basketball game on Tuesday. He's kind of stretched between all of those right now."
Donghyuck groaned. "I know, I know." He slowly chewed on a bite of his sandwich. "If there's anyone who knows, it's me." He sulked. "Whose idea was it to have the basketball game on Valentine's Day?"
His friends all shrugged.
"Are you guys coming to the game or are you going out?" Renjun asked Jeno and Jaemin.
Jaemin nodded. "Both. We're coming to the game and then we're leaving early."
"New love is so cute." Donghyuck sighed into his chocolate milk.
Jeno and Jaemin were indeed a new couple. The two had fostered massive crushes on each other since Jaemin had joined the same dance team as Jeno a year ago. They'd quickly become friends and Jeno had fit into their friend group as perfect as a puzzle piece. A year of fleeting glances and bright blushes and then Jeno had finally built up the courage to confess to Jaemin two weeks ago. They'd been inseparable ever since.
"Stop being a bummer," Renjun said to Donghyuck.
"We'll enjoy our cute new love while it lasts," Jaemin said.
Jeno smiled, his eyes turning into crescents. "We'll make it last long."
Donghyuck groaned but stopped when he caught Renjun's glare and sat up. "I'm being selfish, I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Jaemin said, gently pushing away from Jeno to eat his lunch. "I don't relate but I get where you're coming from."
Donghyuck spotted his boyfriend briskly walking towards them and he immediately perked up.
"Hey–"
"Hey, guys," Mark rushed, smiling at all of them. "I have to go practice for the Math Olympiad now so I can't eat lunch with you today. Again. I'm sorry. I'll talk to you guys later." He bent down to peck Donghyuck on his cheek. "I can't come over later, Jisung needs help with the rap. I'll make it up to you, I promise." And a second later he was gone, rushing out of the cafeteria while trying to pull a book out of his backpack.
The group of boys were silent as they waited for Donghyuck's reaction.
"I was being dramatic earlier," Donghyuck said, staring after the older boy with sad eyes. "I'm fine." He sighed. "But he isn't."
That was Friday.
Three more days passed. Each day, Donghyuck proposed hanging out with Mark. Each day, Mark was busy. Donghyuck didn't even care about himself or their relationship anymore. All his energy was focused on worrying over Mark himself.
He knew the older was exhausted and stressed. He probably hadn't gotten more than five hours of sleep over the weekend. He probably wasn't eating regular meals. He probably wasn't giving himself any breaks.
"Probably" because Donghyuck hadn't seen Mark since Friday and all they'd spoken was over text in brief sentences. He wasn't sure about those things.
What he was sure about since he'd known Mark for three years was:
1. Mark treated all those tasks as if they were the world and it lay on his shoulders.
2. Mark wouldn't stop until it had all been perfectly complete.
3. Mark would never admit that he was tired or needed a break.
4. Mark would never take a break even if it was handed to him on a golden plate.
What Donghyuck hoped:
1. Mark wouldn't break.
Donghyuck barely saw Mark at school on Monday and it drove him crazy.
All he needed was to talk to his boyfriend for a minute. He needed to check on him.
But Mark was always moving. Between classes, when Donghyuck spotted Mark, he was rushing somewhere, out of sight in seconds. They only had two classes together and that was Donghyuck's best chance. But Mark sat in front of the class and was the most attentive student. Donghyuk almost threw a ball of paper at him in frustration.
At lunch, there was the big Student Council Meeting. Mark was their class representative. After school was basketball practice. And then it was night time and Donghyuck fell asleep with his phone in his hand waiting for Mark to reply.
Tuesday passed by in the same way.
Donghyuck ignored all the cute couples sharing chocolate and kisses—including Jeno and Jaemin—throughout the day.
All he did was message Mark telling him that he wanted to see him if he had the chance.
All he got from Mark were apologetic smiles as they passed each other in the halls.
Then it was time for the basketball game. Mark played. Donghyuck watched. Renjun comforted.
Their school won. The team went out for pizza. He would usually go with them but he figured that it wouldn't make a difference at this point. So Donghyuck went home alone.
He distracted himself by curling up on his couch and binge watching a drama.
His parents weren't home either so he turned the volume up high and put all the junk food in the house in a gigantic bowl.
At about eleven thirty, the doorbell rang.
Donghyuck sighed, rolled off the couch and ambled to the door. He looked through the peephole. Then he unlocked the door in a split second and yanked it open.
"What are you–"
"I'm sorry." Mark held a rose in his hand and looked Donghyuck right in his eyes. "I've been a terrible boyfriend. I put my other stuff in priority and I've barely spoken to you in days. I under–"
"Hey." Donghyuck stopped him, plucked the rose from his hand. "You're here now right?"
Mark blinked. "Yeah."
"Are you leaving to go do something?"
"No."
"Are you having the urge to go run off somewhere and do math? Or help Jisung?"
"No. I want to be here with you."
"Then get your ass inside so I can spend the rest of Valentine's Day with you."
Mark's lips twitched up into a shy smile—one that always charmed Donghyuck—and stepped inside.
"I'm really sorry," he still tried to say.
Donghyuck shut the door. "Dude, shut up and come watch Goblin with me please."
"I love you."
Donghyuck walked into the kitchen and left Mark standing in the living room. "I know," he shouted behind him.
When the kitchen door closed he did a little dance and a fist pump. A gigantic grin broke out on his face and his heart soared, all his worries evaporating.
Then walked back out, composed, with his hand behind his back and smiled at Mark. "I'm kidding, I love you too." He kept his hand concealed as he went up the stairs, gesturing to Mark to stay there. He came back down a minute later.
"Here." He presented a box of chocolates and a notebook to Mark. "Happy Valentine's Day. It's a lyric notebook, by the way. Stop trying to hide your love for rap."
Mark's eyebrows rose and he smiled again, reaching out to take the presents from Donghyuck.
"But I only got you a rose." Mark pouted.
"That's why I didn't wrap it," Donghyuck pointed out, content with that bit of neglect making them even. "I know you."
"It's only because I didn't have time," Mark tried to explain.
"I know." Donghyuck put his rose on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat down. "You being here is the best present anyway."
Mark put his presents next to Donghyuck's rose and sat down next to him.
"I don't deserve you."
"You deserve the world, okay?" Donghyuck hugged Mark's waist and they leaned back on the couch.
"Hardly."
Mark bent his head and properly kissed Donghyuck for the first time in about a week.
Donghyuck savored every second of it. Their lips molded together and the two boys lost themselves in each other, both feeling at home in each other's arms.
When they pulled away moments later, they had the biggest smiles on their faces.
"I missed you," Mark whispered, his lips now against Donghyuck's ear.
"I missed you more."
"Do you wanna debate that?"
"Nerd."
Mark chuckled. "We were supposed to be watching Goblin."
"We knew we weren't gonna watch it."
"I can't argue with that."
Donghyuck pressed his lips against Mark's.