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It happens when Donghyuck least expects it. On a Sunday afternoon, he heads over to his favorite coffee shop--the one that serves amazing scones---and seats himself at a table, hoping to make a dent in The Gene: An Intimate History. It's about as dry as the title sounds.
After visiting Jaemin this summer, in New York City, Donghyuck felt obligated to pick up reading.
"I bet no one in Silicon Valley reads books," Jaemin had said, wrinkling his nose at the mention of Donghyuck's job. Not that he was doing any better with the whole post-college happiness thing, given his long hours in investment banking, but. It was the thought that counted. So Donghyuck bought this book at the nearest Amazon bookstore--he couldn't find any other "local bookstores" nearby in San Francisco, oddly enough--and made a resolution to read at least a chapter of it each week.
So far, it's slow-going. Donghyuck remembers the way he used to love biology. He would spend hours and hours poring over the pages of Campbell, studying for Science Bowl and USABO. He was never all that good at math, which barred him from, well, math and half of the sciences. And earth science was kind of annoying. So he worked hard on biology, and somewhere along the line, he loved it.
Now, looking back, he isn't sure whether he truly felt a passion for it or not. Surely, if he did, he wouldn't be one of the many dissatisfied programmers in Silicon Valley. Surely, if he did, he would be enjoying this book instead of contemplating his past.
He tries to focus on the book. The history part is certainly fascinating; he recognizes some of the names from AP Bio, Mendel and Galton. He thinks, for a moment, that he can do this.
"Um, Donghyuck, is that you?"
And just like that, he's brought back to the past again. He looks up--he recognizes the voice, but doesn't remember who--and his eyes widen in realization. It's Mark Lee. Mark, the captain of the Science Bowl team during his junior year of high school. Mark, who had seemed like such an enigma back then; Donghyuck would spend hours wondering at all of his contradictions: at the way Mark seemed to attract girls yet keep them at a distance, at the way Mark always covered his smile when he laughed, even though it was handsome. In other words, Donghyuck had had a terrible crush on him.
"Oh, Mark," he says in surprise. He stands up and shakes Mark's hand. If it were a couple of years ago, maybe Donghyuck would have hugged him.
"Mind if I sit?" Mark asks, gesturing towards the table. "Sorry to interrupt your reading." His eyes squint as he tries to make out the title, and he pushes his glasses back up to his nose in a gesture that makes Donghyuck smile. "Oh, I've read that. It's really good!"
"Really?" Donghyuck asks skeptically. "Right now, it's just kind of, like... reviewing a bunch of stuff from high school biology."
Mark nods. "No, it's really good," he says. Donghyuck forgot the way his eyes gleamed with energy when he was excited. How could he forget? "But you should skip parts one and two, you probably already know everything in them."
Donghyuck shrugs. "I haven't really done much bio since high school," he admits. It feels like a bit of defeat. Science Bowl had been one of the best parts of his week, back then, and Donghyuck had felt as if he would never do anything else but learn biology.
Mark nods, smile bitter. "It's always like that, right? I thought I'd be a physicist or something, but here I am, working in comp sci. In Silicon Valley." From his tone, Donghyuck can gather that he shares Jaemin's less-than-positive opinion of San Francisco. It isn't like Donghyuck particularly likes it, either; he doubts that most of the workers in Silicon Valley do.
"That's what pays the bills, right?" Donghyuck says. He looks over at Mark, observes him for a brief moment. Mark seems exhausted, in a way, but still beautiful. His hair is a dark brown, obviously dyed, and it looks golden in the sunlight.
"Yeah," Mark says. He takes a sip of his coffee. "I had no idea we lived in the same city," Mark says, looking over at him thoughtfully.
"I didn't know either," Donghyuck says. He shakes his head. Somewhere, over the course of his college years, Facebook's algorithm had decided that Mark Lee wasn't all that important in his life. His posts stopped showing up on his feed, replaced by photos with Donghyuck's college friends and memes from Subtle Asian Traits.
And they never were, really, all that close as friends. But Donghyuck's still surprised at how easy it was for him to forget about Mark Lee. He's still surprised at how everything comes rushing back.
"You seem..." Mark trails off, then blushes slightly. "Different."
Donghyuck looks at him, confused. "Really?" Externally, he hasn't changed much, besides--oh. He smirks at Mark. "Do the piercings make me look scary?"
Normally, Donghyuck forgot he even had them, as it was nothing more than two small studs on his left earlobe. He doesn't even have to take them out when he showers.
"No, no," Mark says quickly, flustered. "Kinda intimidating, but, like--not in a bad way."
"In a good way?" Donghyuck asks, leaning forward. One thing college had given him was confidence. He's enjoying this, hasn't had the energy nor the opportunity to fluster someone like this for a couple months at least.
And Mark--Mark's receptive to it. He looks down, biting his lip. Then he glances back up, smiling at Donghyuck. "Yeah, in a good way," he says. "It's--you're, um. Yeah."
"Um, yeah," Donghyuck imitates with a smile. Mark blushes again, then looks down at his watch.
"Oh, shit," Mark hisses, grimacing. "I mean, um, shoot." He stands up, starting to gather his stuff frantically.
"Listen, I really liked talking to you," Mark says earnestly. He's still blushing, which is cute. "I gotta go soon, but I'll message you? On Messenger?"
Donghyuck's disappointed to see Mark go, but he's thrilled at the promise of a future meeting. He smiles back at Mark.
"Yeah, of course," Donghyuck replies. "It was really nice to see you." He had missed Mark in a way that he didn't know he was capable of, and it was captivating.
Once Mark leaves, Donghyuck returns back to The Gene: An Intimate History. He skips over part one and part two, and begins to read. Mark had been right; the book does get more interesting after the beginning.
For the first time, Donghyuck feels as if he might be able to finish the damn thing.