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donghyuck pushes his notebook angrily across the desk, a little harsher than intended and knocks over his drink, which spills onto the carpet. he scrambles to pick it up, no longer able to maintain his scowl as he panics and hurries to clean up.
a few students startle at the noise and look up, watching him with interest. some students start whispering to each other, clamping their hands over their mouths to prevent their laughter from escaping, but donghyuck has already seen them. his cheeks burn furiously, and he puts his now empty drink cup in the bin. that was a waste of his money, he thinks to himself.
his jeans feel slightly damp and he looks down to see it had gotten onto his clothes too, creating some gross patches near his crotch. he anxiously gnaws his bottom lip in an attempt to stop the nauseous feeling rising in his chest. he goes back to the desk, gathering his things and deciding to call it a day.
donghyuck stuffs the papers back in his bag, not even bothering to keep them neat, and lets his failed essay crumple at the bottom of his bag. he realises it looks like he’s wet himself when he looks down again, blushing furiously.
he attempts to brush his jeans, but the wet stains relent, sticking to his thighs uncomfortably. he tugs down his t-shirt in a desperate attempt to hide them. as he pulls his bag on, the strap snaps and it falls straight to the ground, no doubt attracting the attention of the other students again.
donghyuck doesn't dare to look up as he picks up his bag from the library floor, and clutches it to his chest. he bumps into another student on the way out, earning several insults and he silently bows in apology and rushes out.
to his dismay, it has started to pour outside and as he fumbles around his broken rucksack, he realises he left his umbrella back at the apartment. today is not going well for him. he shivers in his thin t-shirt, beginning to severely regret not wearing a hoodie to campus today.
by the time he reaches the bus stop, his shirt is absolutely soaked and clinging to his skin. he holds his backpack even closer to his chest to try conceal his chest, feeling entirely exposed and vulnerable. his hair is matted to his head and he grimaces when he catches his reflection, realising how wretched he looks.
as he pats his pocket, he realises he has lost his bus pass and his eyes widen in disbelief. the person in front leaves and he stumbles forward to the counter, and asks for a ticket, swallowing slightly in anticipation.
with fumbling hands, donghyuck drops the change he has left in his pocket into the counter, and knows it isn't enough.
"sorry pal, you seem to be short." the driver says, after counting the slightly damp money.
"t-that's all i have." donghyuck stutters, unsure of what else to say. the walk back to his apartment is long and tedious at the best of times, and the rain hammers even harder against the bus windows in reminder of the gloomy weather.
"i can't give you a ticket then. sorry mate." the driver says, slightly apologetic, and donghyuck nods understandingly. his eyes begin to fill with tears as he collects the rest of his change.
he had stupidly hoped for a second that another student would take pity on him and pay his fare, but then he remembered no-one cares about him here.
he steps off the bus, shivering when the cool rain hits his bare skin again. his feet squelch slightly in his trainers and he sighs inaudibly, watching the bus trundle off. he begins the long walk home, feeling more miserable with every step.
donghyuck’s hands are shaking viciously by the time he goes to punch in the building code and his bag feels so heavy in his arms that numb with fatigue and cold. he tentatively opens it to see his textbook entirely soaked and scarcely retrievable, the pages disintegrating between his fingers as he attempts to lift it out of his bag. he gives up and goes to the staircase, cursing the building once again for not having a single working elevator.
he prays his roommate mark is out, as he didn’t want to deal with any awkward interactions. they had been rooming together since the start of this college year, after donghyuck fell out with his other roommates and needed a place to stay. his friend had suggested this flat, which was a decent size and had a much cheaper rent due to being further away from the campus. however, the elevators had never worked the entire time he’d lived here, and neither did the heating.
his new roommate, mark, was fairly quiet in comparison to him. the elder was a lot more reserved and quiet, which was a change from donghyuck’s previous set of roommates. mark liked to keep to his own space, only speaking to donghyuck when necessary, which was usually to order takeout or to argue with him when he was being particularly noisy.
however, donghyuck hadn't been very loud these days, focusing on his class and studies, which he had now just failed he reminds himself as he shakily inserts the key in the lock. he thinks of the all nighters he pulled to finish this paper, only to scrape 20%, and he feels the nausea rising up his throat again.
as soon as he enters the apartment, he doesn't even bother to take off his shoes and throws his wet bag across the floor. he walks into the open living room, kicking his bag constantly along the floor until his toes hurt and he cries out in exasperation. he feels so much anger and frustration, but mostly just disappointment. this was the second semester he failed, and his parents would probably cut off his funding at this point.
donghyuck sinks onto the carpet, crying and laying down right there in the middle of the floor. he doesn't even hear the door click over his sniffles.
like this, donghyuck chokes on his tears and pitiful sobs, feeling the water dripping off his clothes and hair onto the carpet. the pathetic feeling inside his chest only makes him cry even harder. suddenly he feels warm arms wrapping around his middle and he instinctively curls into the comfort of the chest.
he feels himself being rocked slightly and it helps him breathe a little easier. the person holding him doesn't even seem to mind how soaked donghyuck is, hugging him closely to their chest.
donghyuck tries to blink the tears out of his eyes and hesitantly looks up to see mark looking down at him with round eyes, his fluffy black hair falling around his face. he had probably just got back from class himself, glasses perched on the brim of his nose. donghyuck feels desperately pitiful, and knows he looks it, with water dripping off his body, his snotty nose and puffy eyes from crying.
mark gently puts his hand to the back of donghyuck's head and beds him on his chest again, soothingly stroking his neck to calm the younger down. it works, donghyuck can feel himself relaxing in his arms. underneath everything, he questions the sudden attention and care of the older, but these thoughts quickly melt away as he settles in the warmth of mark's arms.
mark shifts a little to move and donghyuck feels himself begin to tear up a bit uncontrollably, choking out a little sob and mark hushes him again.
"shh, i'm getting you some clothes you're soaked hyuck." mark says, and he gets up. the younger sniffles, grabbing out for the elder. mark hesitates for a moment before grabbing donghyuck's hand and allowing him to cuddle mark again, huddling protectively to his side as they walk to mark's bedroom.he feels exceptionally vulnerable, but can’t bring himself to care.
"w-wait." donghyuck says, and mark shakes his head.
"i don't know where your things are in your own room." he says, motioning for donghyuck to wait on the side of his bed and the younger obliges, his hands fumbling as he looks down.
mark sighs, and opens the draw to pull out a soft looking black hoodie and some sweatpants, handing them to donghyuck. the hoodie smells like mark, a soft homely warmth with a faint trace of a deeper woody scent. the way mark’s smell sometimes lingered around the apartment used to irritate donghyuck, and he’d even complain to mark about it. however right now, he breathes in the scent all around him, feeling his body relax.
mark turns around as donghyuck peels off his jeans and shirt, with a slight struggle as the soaked material sticks to his skin uncomfortably. once dressed, he whispers 'done' and mark turns back around, the look on his face indecipherable. he’s taken off his glasses now, and picks up the discarded clothes, throwing them in his wash basket.
donghyuck realises the weight of the situation and what he's done, when he notices the wet stains on mark's shirt from hugging donghyuck, and his eyes unhelpfully start to well up again.
mark breaks for a second, stepping forward to wrap his arms around donghyuck again.
"you've really got to stop crying." mark murmurs, stroking the smaller boy’s back slightly. donghyuck sniffles and mark pulls away again.
"let's go to the living room." mark says, not even bothering to change his own shirt. donghyuck nods minutely, gnawing nervously on his bottom lip and following mark.
he notices his wrecked bag and papers strewn across the floor and he shakes slightly with the effort of trying not to cry again. mark follows his gaze and raises his eyebrow.
"do you.. uh- want me to clear those up?" mark asks, looking at donghyuck with an intrigued look on his face.
"yes please." donghyuck rasps, barely above a whisper. mark quickly gathers the younger's soggy belongings and places them on the radiator in the hall to dry, out of sight. he notices one of the papers with a rather hefty amount of red scrawls. 20%?
his eyes widen, and he suddenly realises why his roommate would be quite upset. out of the few things he knew about donghyuck, mark knew he was very hardworking and couldn't stand failure.
mark hurriedly puts the paper down and pads back into the living room, where donghyuck is curled up on the sofa and sniffling into a pillow. his cheeks are very red, and mark realises he's probably embarrassed. he part-closes the blinds, allowing the night lights to seep into their apartment when they switch off the overhead lights.
he switches on their main floor lamp, which sets a subtle amber glow in their living room and he feels the atmosphere softening slightly.
mark, beneath his own embarrassment and awkwardness, feels sympathy for the younger and sits down next to him on the sofa.
"what happened today?" mark prompts in a low and gentle voice, a tone donghyuck had never heard used on him before. he glances up at mark, whose round dark eyes soften when they meet donghyuck’s. a small smile graces his lips, and donghyuck stupidly finds himself thinking he wants to kiss him. he shakes his head aggressively to rid the thought, which startles mark.
"w-we don't have to talk about it!" mark stutters in a panic, and donghyuck shakes his head again.
“no, just… had a bad day.” donghyuck says, fiddling with the edges of the pillow and looking down again. “mark, i had a really bad day.” he whispers, voice cracking slightly.
mark’s features sink, and he reaches out for the younger. “i know, hyuck. it’s okay.” he says softly. donghyuck leans into his warm touch, eventually resting his head on mark’s chest again. “we all fall down sometimes.”
donghyuck can hear the soft beating of mark’s heart like this, and his warmth enveloping him entirely. he swallows, and puffs out his own chest.
“not you though.” donghyuck scoffs, and mark’s hand petting his hair stops, hovering over his head. “not the perfect mark lee.”
“why would you say that?” he asks in confusion, although he has to hide his smile.
“with the stone stoic face and attitude of yours, you act so untouchable all the time. i should start scolding you for once.” donghyuck taunts, and mark has to hold back a laugh. the younger seems to be feeling better if he’s already starting to fight again.
“whatever, you’re all bark and no bite.” mark scorns, and pushes donghyuck off him. the younger looks at him with round glossy eyes, his face so round and puffy, framed by his soft honey coloured waves. mark almost feels bad for a split second.
“wait.” donghyuck says quietly, pouting slightly and a blush rising to his cheeks. he reaches out for the elder.
“what?” mark teases, shuffling further up the sofa. “we haven’t said more than a few sentences to each other since living together this entire year, i’m not your mindreader.”
“want cuddles.” donghyuck admits almost inaudibly, his face now flushed bright red. mark rolls his eyes, but smiles ever so softly and it makes donghyuck grin too. mark pulls donghyuck back to his chest, and grabs the blanket from the back of the sofa, tucking it around them both.
it feels almost domestic, and he secretly loves it.
“it’s just for warmth though. the apartment… ‘s really cold.” donghyuck mumbles, and mark shrugs.
he decides to switch on their tv, surprised their shitty wifi actually was working today and puts on some show off netflix. he gets up to turn off the lamp, so the only light is from the outside, filtering weakly through their blinds and casting delicate shadows across their room.
donghyuck’s fingers gently interlock with his under the blanket, squeezing his hand weakly. mark leans down, resting his head on top of donghyuck’s sleepily, and he feels the younger smile into his chest.
“i could get used to this.” donghyuck murmurs as he drops off, and mark smiles into the darkness, running his thumb over donghyuck’s knuckles.
“me too.”