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"It's nearly your birthday." Haechan cheered, dropping onto the bed next to Mark, who instinctively wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer to stuff his head into Haechan's neck, enjoying the soft skin against his cheeks. "You're gonna find out who your soulmate is."
"I'm really hoping it's you." Mark said, closing his eyes and inhaling Haechan's smell, which was sweet like strawberries, since he had just taken a shower. "The second I get my mark, I swear I'll call you and tell you everything."
"You will...I hope." Haechan replied, trailing his hand down Mark's head and then to his arm. He intervined their fingers and then kissed the top of Mark's head. A small amount of sadness filled him, as he thought about what was going to happen tomorrow night. Mark would first experience a crap ton of pain, which Haechan wouldn't be able to get rid of, and there was also the possibility that Haechan wouldn't be Mark's soulmate, causing even more dread to build up inside of him.
He hatred the concept of a soulmate. A stupid tattoo on their wrist could lead to people who hate each other to be forced to live together. And that, well, happened to Haechan's parents. They got forced to get married, since if soulmates don't, they get killed. The horrible, and clearly disastrous, marriage lead to two people being incredibly unhappy, and spending more than half of their life trying to ruin the others joy. Their constant arguing made Haechan disgusted at the thought of soulmates and he honestly believed they were more of a curse than a blessing, like what other people thought they were.
"I need to go home." Haechan said after about an hour of laying down in the bed. He had come to Mark's house with the intention to complete some work, but ended up floating between the dream realm and reality. "I'll see you later."
Haechan leaned forwards and pecked Mark's lips, which pouted as Mark watched his boyfriend leave the room. They had been dating for the past year or so now, and their first meeting was actually pretty awkward. Mark entered the class and ran over to the back, hoping to get the seat furthest away from the teacher, mostly because he didn't like the judgy eyes he received from the people behind him because of his crazy blonde hair. Haechan then stumbled in, ignoring the looks he got for his dusty silver hair, and then took a seat next to Mark.
They sat in silence, both sneaking glances at each other, admiring their beauty, and then pretending as if they had just not caught a other staring at them. The first to make the move, obviously, was Haechan. He whipped his head to the left and leaned on his elbow, lips twitching up into a slightly crooked smile. He asked Mark why he was blonde, and Mark countered it with a, 'why are you silver?'. Both of them had no idea how to start a conversation, but still forced some small talk, cringing at how awkward they must've seemed.
Finally, however, Haechan sighed and told Mark that he looked cute. Mark, who was surprised by the sudden compliment, blushed deeply as Haechan kept his eyes on him. After a few seconds, Mark cooled down and then returned the compliment. They laughed a little, embarrassed at the fact that they found it so hard to speak, and then started talking more casually. Within a few weeks, they clicked into place, and were known as the most closest friends. Only a few months after that, Mark, who had been trained by Jaemin, confessed to Haechan, handing him a watermelon.
Haechan blinked at him with confusion, taking time to process what had happened, before widening his eyes and stuttering uncontrollably. Seeing Haechan in such a flustered state, Mark couldn't help but feel proud as he was the first, and last, person who could do that.
It wasn't that hard, Mark had thought, when he told his parents that he was into guys, and currently dating his best friend. He watched as his mum sighed, and his dad let out a loud 'yes', before turning to his wife to collect his reward for winning the bet. He later found out that they placed a bet on who would confessed first. And truth be told, Mark would've thought that Haechan would confess first, like his mum.
Their relationship was stable, and in fact going pretty well. Mark was able to help Haechan with all his family issues, being there to comfort him whenever he felt down, or emotionally stressed. And it wasn't only Mark who was the support in the relationship, Haechan was also there for Mark, way too many times. Whenever Mark would feel the sickening feeling in his stomach as he made his way up the stage, too embarrassed to perform, or when he felt conscious about the small amount of weight he gained, which Haechan was actually proud of. Haechan would always run a hand through his hair, pulling his closer in the hug and telling him that he didn't have anything to worry about.
"I really hope it's Haechan." Mark said out loud, bringing his wrist up to his eyes and sadly staring at it, scared. Scared that his soul ate wouldn't be Haechan. If the government were to find out that Mark was dating someone else other than his soulmate, then the two would immediately get punished for it. "If it isn't...I don't know what I'll do without Haechan."
Frankly, Mark was a mess before he met Haechan. He wasn't a drug addict, or someone who was too horny, but just extremely awkward and a social mess. He was unable to speak to people properly without thinking about what they might confuse him to be. He was scared that they would imagine him to be a nerd, which he was but not proud enough to accept, or a "typical bad boy" because of his dyed hair and athletic side.
After he met Haechan, who was actually a confident everything, he felt less pressurised to hide his faults or true personality. His joykill side took over whenever his younger friends decided it would be a good idea to do something stupid. And with Haechan, everything seemed a lot more easier. So now, thinking that Haechan wouldn't be with him int he same way he was before, just hit Mark in the heart pretty harshly.
-
Mark sat in his bed, staring intensely at the clock across his room, ticking away slowly, almost as if it was purposely teasing Mark. All Mark wanted was for time to finally turn to midnight, and the soulmate name to appear onto his wrist. The time switched between minutes, and Mark kept his eyes on the clock, not allowing his muscles to rest. He had heard that the pain someone feels whilst getting their soulmate mark was worse than being stabbed by a hot knife. He didn't know how people found out what the difference between those two were, but didn't question it. Instead, kept stressing out because his pain tolerance was horrible.
Just then, the minutes clock hit 12 and pain erupted in Mark's wrist. He let out a cry, and his parents, who were across the hallway in their own room, covered their ears, knowing that anything they did to help him wouldn't be useful, so they decided to let him try his best to get through it. Mark cried out again, clutching onto his wrist and collapsing onto his bed, shutting his eyes in pain. He felt his blood rush to the area affected, and a burning sensation passed through it. Mark looked down and saw black ink carve into his skin, terrifyingly slowly. It slipped in and out through the cracks in Mark's skin, forming small letters, which Mark was unable to focus on.
Tears rolled down Marks cheeks and a blurry layer covered his vision, blinding him for a few moments. Mark soon realised that the screeching noise he could hear in the background was in fact him. He brought his shaky hands up, covering his mouth in attempt to muffle himself. A few seconds later, his phone screen lit up and a familiar voice echoed in his room. Mark followed Haechans voice and realised that his phone was ringing. He quickly moved towards it, groaning as he felt more pain because of the movement, before accepting the call and dropping onto the floor, somehow managing to trap the phone between his ear and the floor.
"Mark?" Haechans voice filled Mark's ear, and he felt a weird soothing feeling wash over him, but it disappeared as fast as it came, and caused him to let out a small whine. "Hey hey hey, you okay?"
"No!" Mark said as he wept, unable to dry his tears. "I feel pain. Just everywhere. It's so bad. I- I can't feel my- my- what- what's the thing under the ar- my wrist!"
Mark stuttered on his words, the agony flooding his mind and making him forget about normal things. He ducked forwards, realising that the name was half way done. Mark brought his wrist to his eyes, mouth twitching up into a weak smile as he read the name.
"Shh Mark, you'll be okay." Haechan whispered, and Mark continued to smile, turning to lay on his back and stare at the ceiling. The pain in his wrist stayed the same, but Mark could only think about what he had just seen.
Lee.
That could be anyone. But it could also be Haechan. The possibility that it was Haechan had only just increased largely, and Mark couldn't help but feel happy by it. Haechan, who was still on the call with him, suddenly called out his name, a little worried since Mark had suddenly gone quiet.
"Hey sorry." Mark mumbled, picking the phone up and putting it on speaker before dropping it back to the ground, since he was too weak to hold it up. "I feel so tired right now..."
The pain spread from the wrist and travelled up Mark's body, making his head dizzy and legs shake disorderly. Consciousness was slowly slipping away from Mark, but he tried his best to keep listening to Haechan, who was trying to tell Mark stories or things they did together. It ended up working, as Haechan described the time they first kissed, both red and completely embarrassed, tangled in their bed sheets. Mark felt his cheeks heat up, and he was sure it wasn't because of the soulmate mark.
He gasped as he felt a ghostly grip on his wrist, and then sharp needle like sensations shot into his skin, making him squirm beneath the imaginary touch. Haechan heard him, and quickly started asking him if he was okay, as nothing else came to his mind.
"I'm fine." Mark breathed, head falling back as the pain decreased rapidly, and his eyes wandered through the damp marks on his ceiling. "I'm...fine."
Haechan's faint breathing could be heard through the call, but then it stopped, and Mark guessed he realised he was breathing a little heavily. He was most probably scared.
"What does it say?" Haechan murmured, making Mark's heart clench by the tone. He took a deep breath, recovering from the pain and then sat up, looking down at his arm, which was covered by his other one. Mark gulped before removing his hand. As his hand brushed down the bit of skin that was burning only a few minutes ago, Mark felt his heart shatter and a sob let out his mouth. He hurried to end the call and then cupped his face with his hands.
Mark pulled his knees to his chest and took deep breaths, trying to understand what had just happened. After those few minutes of suffering, and after talking to his boyfriend about it, Mark had seen this disappointment. Mark wiped his tears and bit his lip, staring at his phone, which was still on and projected light, and he could barely make out the picture of Haechan.
"Who the fuck," Mark started, piercing his nails into his palm and feeling tears start stinging his already red eyes. He knew that in the morning, everyone was going to ask him about his soulmate, and then ask him about his puffy eyes, but he honestly couldn't care less right now. "Is Lee Donghyuck."
-
Mark coughed as he placed a hand over his mouth, groaning as his throat felt dry, which it might've been because of all the crying he did last night. Mark opened his eyes and then sat up, regretting it as his head spun from getting up too quickly. His parents were heard shuffling outside his room, and Mark looked down on his wrist again.
Lee Donghyuck.
Just by looking at the name, Mark felt a mixture of anger and sadness. He had no idea who this Lee Donghyuck person was, but all he cared about was that it wasn't Haechan. He couldn't bring himself to tell Haechan that he wasn't his soulmate. And so, Mark got up from his bed, hurried over to the attached bathroom and wrapped his right arm, the one with the tattoo, with a white bandage that covered all the way to the middle of his arm. He looked down at it one more time, before getting refreshed and dressing up for school.
"Mark?" His Mum called out as he rushed downstairs, already making his way for the door instead of the kitchen. "Wait Mark!"
Before she could say anything else, he slipped his feet into his shoes and escaped through the door, thankful that it was unlocked. His mum appeared in the doorway a few seconds after he left, but she didn't call out for him again. She guessed what had happened and watched her son leave sadly.
As Mark made his way down to school, he looked up and saw a bunch of kids crossing the road. Two of the kids were walking hand in hand, and Mark squinted at it, sighing as he felt like telling them that there wasn't any point in dating anyone, since it'll only cause you pain once you get your soulmate. Mark was nearing his school, and caught a glimpse of Haechan standing by the gate. He felt his heart ache as he realised that Haechan had bags under his eyes, and was clearly exhausted. He must've stayed awake all night.
"Mark!" Haechan said as soon as he laid eyes upon him. Before Mark could do anything, Haechan grabbed his arm and lead him through the school, ignoring Jaemin and Jeno, who were trying to reach for Mark's wrist. Somehow Haechan successfully dragged Mark into one of the empty classrooms, and stopped, taking a breather. He looked over at Mark, and his eyes slowly shifted down, at the white material that covered half of his arm. Mark was pretty sure he saw Haechans eyes stay there for a good couple of seconds, and nearly teared up.
"Haechan I-" Mark choked on his words, and Haechan frowned, tightening his grip on his bag. He had never seen Mark this nervous, other than the times he would be climbing up the stage to perform. So seeing Mark stress out about the soulmate mark, it was making Haechan worry more than he already was.
"Mark are you okay?" Haechan asked, even though his mind thought of another question, along the lines of 'who's you're soulmate' and 'am I your soulmate?'.
"I'm fine." Mark replied, bringing his hand up to his hair and brushing it back, getting a clearer view of Haechan. "I need to tell you that..." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, knowing that he wouldn't be able to see his reaction. "I think that...that we should break up."
"Huh." Haechan froze and his mouth dropped. Mark kept his eyes shut and gulped, scared that he hasn't heard any response. Haechan wasn't bad with sad or heartbreaking things, but when it came to romantic relationships, he was quite the opposite. His last relationship was with Jaemin, and those two were still pretty good with each other, in fact they helped each other get with the people they liked. But for Mark, the two met and apparently both gained feelings for each other really quickly. With Jaemin, Haechan and him started liking each other after knowing each other for nearly a whole five years, only to realise that they were better off as friends. "No."
Mark raised his head and cracked his eyes open slowly. He saw Haechan's eyes tears up and nearly moved forwards to stop him, but stopped in his spot.
"Haechan-" Mark started again, but Haechan simply put his arms up and shook his head with a smile, repeating what he said a while ago. "We have to. You- you aren't my soulmate."
"That doesn't matter!" Haechan said, wiping the tears in his eyes before they could fall. "We can still make it work! You don't have to tell anyone about the fact that you're with someone who isn't your soulmate."
"Haechan-"
"Please Mark." Haechan said, tilting his head and inching forwards to put his hands on Mark's cheek. "We can not tell the government, hide it from other people! I'm sure Jaemin and Jeno would help us, after what they've been through."
"Haechan!" Mark said loudly, causing the silver haired to flinch by the tone. "We can't okay! We'll be killed alright, and I don't want anything to happen to you."
Haechan lowered his gaze and Mark felt bad, well of course he did, he was the one to make Haechan upset. He bit his lip and then decided to be the first one to leave. Honestly, he was so in love with Haechan, so reverting back to friends was something he wasn't willing to do. He wouldn't be able to handle it. As Mark walked past Haechan, he got stopped.
"Wait." Haechan whispered, still looking down. "Can I at least know who your soulmate is?"
"Oh. Yeah." Mark stopped and glanced at his arm, before turning to Haechan. "I don't know who it is, but uh..it's some guy called Lee Donghyuck."
"What?" Haechan swiftly spun on his heels and raised his eyebrow. The tears on his cheeks got wiped quickly afterwards and a small smile crept up. "Mark, you aren't joking right?"
Mark shook his head and Haechan burst into laughter. He held his hand over his stomach and closed his eyes to laugh loudly. Mark frowned as he saw Haechan gasp for his breath and then place a hand on Mark's shoulder.
"Mark." Haechan said, pursing his lips and then smiling at him. "My name's Lee Donghyuck."
Mark stared at Haechan with the same blank expression he had a while ago. He's Lee Donghyuck? Since when? When Mark and Haechan first met, Mark was so mesmerised by Haechan's beauty, he couldn't even manage to get any words out. Instead, he just stared at him and nodded along. So when Haechan introduced himself, the only thing Mark heard was, "But no one calls me that anymore, so you can call me Haechan". Ever since then, Mark had already heard everyone call Haechan by his nickname and not his real name.
"You're Donghyuck...?" Mark blinked slowly, trying to understand what was going on. Haechan nodded happily, before pulling Mark into a hug. Mark's lips parted to say something, but he quickly wrapped his arms around Haechan and sighed.
"You actually scared me, you know." Haechan mumbled against Mark's neck. Mark laughed and then pulled away. "I was worried that you were really going to leave me. And I can't believe you don't know my real name! A fake boyfriend "
"Hey!" Mark playfully hit Haechans arm, and then took his hand to lead him to their class. "When we met I wasn't paying attention to your talking. It's not my fault you're so good looking."
"Shut up." Haechan replied, looking away to hide his blush, but his hands betrayed him and also heated up. Mark laughed and then tugged his arm. Haechan turned around and Mark immediately caught his lips with his own, smiling into the kiss and cupping his hand gently. They pulled apart and shyly smiled at each other, before realising that they were, in fact, late for lesson.