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Mark hated his school’s uniform. It was dumb and bi-coloured, just like every other stupid catholic school uniform, and literally made nobody look good. The pants were straight legged and the shirts were scratchy and uncomfortable.
But there was one exception to this rule.
Halfway through the year, Johnny got an exchange student named Donghyuck, and Donghyuck looked damn good in those uniforms.
He filled out the pants, the normally straight slacks curving beautifully over his thighs and butt (not that Mark, a good catholic kid, was supposed to notice that. He did anyway.), the uniform shirt (that may or may not be a size too small) always unbuttoned a little bit, exposing Donghyuck’s melanin neck on a good day and his collarbones on a better one.
So maybe Mark suffered every day from sitting with Johnny at lunch, and maybe he’d be really damn sad when Donghyuck had to leave in a month, missing the whispered korean between Johnny and Donghyuck on the other side of the table as he laughed with Brian, but he’d decided to enjoy what he had while it lasted, and if that meant Jaehyun slapping the shit out of his back whenever he stared at Donghyuck’s face (or thighs, whoops) for too long, he’d cherish it all.
In Donghyuck’s opinion, America was weird.
Not only the language (which he was complete shit at by the way, why did he do this exchange again?) but the people, and the culture.
The only comforting things were: 1. That his exchange student spoke Korean. Johnny was a complete godsend for Donghyuck, him and his family making him Korean food to help him get better situated in the country. Within the first two weeks of the two month exchange Donghyuck had probably eaten Mamma Seo’s samgyeopsal six times. 2. That Mark Lee looked damn good in that weird itchy uniform Donghyuck had to wear to school every day. Of course, Donghyuck had to wear a uniform back home, but this one might just be 800 times worse. Mark Lee, however, made it look like it had come straight off of Paris fashion week that year.
His muscles were easily visible through the white top, short sleeves shifting easily with the thick arm muscles under them. The pants were (cutely) too small, revealing the bottom of slender legs to Donghyuck’s eyes.
Of course, it wasn’t only Mark’s body that was amazing (though it was. Donghyuck was so happy that he could be overtly thirsty towards men in America. Score.) it was the way he looked at Donghyuck as well, like Donghyuck was the most beautiful person on the planet.
Johnny always tells Donghyuck he should literally just ask Mark on a date (in English, because Mark knows literally no Korean despite being Korean Canadian) in Korean, when Mark is sitting literally across the table from them. Worst possible timing. Donghyuck would always rebut that with the fact that Johnny should ask Jaehyun out, using the English expression “but go off, I guess.” at the end of every single sentence, which annoyed Johnny to no end. (Eternal thanks to Jae for that one.)
But yeah, no. No dates for him and Mark Lee.
Maybe.
Donghyuck had asked Mark to meet him by the big tree near the school gates, immediately after school.
Mark was like, completely fine with this (incorrect, his mind was currently stuck in a loop of holyfuckingshit and Donghyuck ), and was currently trudging through the January snow to get to said tree. Except, one problem. He was around twenty minutes late.
His math teacher had gotten him to stay behind to talk about his most recent mark on the test and as much as he had tried to escape fast it had just taken so much time and Mark’s mind was racing, wondering if Donghyuck would still be there.
Short answer, yes. Donghyuck was still there. Long answer, Donghyuck was there and literally bawling his eyes out, on the phone with someone. With Mark’s admittedly limited and out of practice Korean, he managed to pick up a few words. Something along the lines of “hyung, [...] not here [...] figured it out [...] he hates me, I know it .”
Ah, Mark realized. This was his fault.
“Duckie!” He yells, and Donghyuck looks up, eyes widening as he frantically swears in Korean and hangs up, trying to wipe the tears off his face and make it look like he wasn’t crying.
Mark’s chest hurt at the sight of Donghyuck, eyes red and puffy obviously because of him.
“Mark,” Donghyuck says, voice heavy but hopeful.
“I’m so sorry I was late,” Mark rushes out, “I got held up by my math teacher, and couldn’t meet you. Sorry.”
“You…” Donghyuck, “late because math teacher?”
“Yeah, I’m so sorry,” Mark said, “but you wanted to tell me something?”
“You…did not forget?” Donghyuck asks, and Mark’s eyes widen.
“No! Of course not! I could never forget you!”
“Oh,” Donghyuck says.
A small smile spreads across his face, and Mark swears that the actual sun was standing right in front of him.
“So…would you go on a date?”
“Date?”
“With me?”
“Oh. Oh .” Mark was sure that Donghyuck could see the way his face was lighting up at the moment, both with happiness and with a bright red colour. “Definitely, yes.”
Donghyuck smiled widely and grabbed Mark’s hand just as Donghyuck’s phone pinged.
“Johnny. I have to leave.”
“I’ll text you,” Mark says, and just like that, Mark Lee (the boy who fills out his uniform well) has a date with Lee Donghyuck (the only person in the world who could ever look good in a catholic school uniform.)