Chapter Text
Donghyuck was like a rechargeable battery, in Mark's perspective. There were times when he was bustling with energy, unable to contain any of his excitement and would run around with enthusiasm that wasn't seen quite often in people his age. But then there were times when he would close in on himself, take a little break and sometimes Mark would forget Donghyuck was sitting next to him because of how weak his presence would get.
Mark only seemed to notice this when Donghyuck came back from his injury. He wasn't loud at first, instead he kept to himself. He worked diligently and made sure nothing got in his way. But then the concerts came closer and closer and Donghyuck seemed to regain all the energy he had been lacking for the past few weeks. No one else seemed to notice his calm behaviour, but Mark guessed he did because of his best friend instincts.
Donghyuck closing in on himself wasn't worrying when it began, sure, it made Mark take a few second glances and question everything he had done in that week to make sure he hadn't been the cause for Donghyuck's silence, but other than that he was still active to some extent. He would participate in some conversations and help make dinner every now and then.
But then he stopped talking all together.
That was when Mark was alarmed that something was wrong.
Donghyuck was always expressive. He never locked his feelings away the way Mark did. Which was something that Mark admired about him for a long time. So seeing Donghyuck all clamped up in his room by his computer table, spending the whole day there rather than a few hours, it was scary.
Mark didn't know what to say and had consulted the members, to which they answered, "he's probably just downloaded a new game, Mark. You know how enthusiastic he is about them". But Mark knew him better than the others. Donghyuck hadn't caged himself in his room over a new game, there was definitely something wrong.
And Mark was going to get to the bottom of it.
-
It took a few weeks before the members caught on to what Mark had been complaining about. They only realised after they had taken a good look at Donghyuck one day. The members had just finished promotions when a couple of comments caught their attention. Fans had been getting worried over Donghyuck's health. Jaehyun had shown it to Johnny who then showed it to Taeyong and then soon the entire group had read the comments.
Donghyuck had stumbled out of his room that evening, his destination: the kitchen. They all had eyed him from the living room, watching as he rubbed his rough hands against his red eyes. When Donghyuck reached over to grab something from the top shelf, his shirt rose up and they all held their breaths. When had Donghyuck lost that much weight? He was still eating and from what they knew Donghyuck didn't have any problems with food. So why were the outline of his ribs so clear?
Johnny tried speaking to him that night when they all headed for bed. But when he arrived, Donghyuck had already tucked himself in his sheets and switched the lights off. Johnny didn't get to ask him whether or not he was well.
-
The managers found out when Donghyuck collapsed during practice. They all froze at their spots, staring in shock when Donghyuck fell to the ground with a loud thud and wheezed for air. They had only been at it for a few minutes.
He was rushed to hospital as soon as they all regained their senses. His arm was bruised by the fall, but other than that, there was nothing else. Donghyuck was told to rest for a while before he could take part in any activities. The last time Donghyuck had been told he had to sit out on group activities, he had been vocal about how much he hated every second of it. However, this time all Donghyuck did was nod before heading straight back for his room to get some sleep.
Mark grew more concerned.
-
"Is he eating?" Yuta asks as Mark returns from the living room. Mark sighs and shakes his head.
He subtly points over to the bundle of blankets on the sofa and sighs for a second time. "He's been sitting there watching TV this entire day. Only saw him getting up to go to the toilet."
"He needs to eat," Yuta frowns and chews on his bottom lip. Mark finds himself doing the same, stressing over a way to get Donghyuck to eat. "Have you asked him to eat?"
"Yeah," Mark nods sadly. "All he did was look at me and shake his head before turning back to the TV."
"Try feeding him," Yuta suggests, gesturing towards the plate Taeyong had already set out for Donghyuck a while ago. Mark hesitates but gives in at the end. They had to try everything to make Donghyuck eat. "If he doesn't want to, don't force him to."
When Mark enters the living room, Donghyuck barely spares him a glance. He tilts his head to the side and almost immediately diverts his attention to the TV. If Donghyuck didn't seem sick and completely the opposite of how he normally was, Mark would've found him cute, all huddled up in blankets. (And only now did Mark remember that it was boiling in the dorm and Donghyuck must've been freezing to have wrapped himself the way he did.)
"Donghyuck," Mark calls out, hoping he'd get some sort of response. The younger's eye twitches. "Come on, eat some food."
"'m not hungry," Donghyuck replies and Mark feels a feeling of relief wash over him, because those were some of the first words Donghyuck had said to him in a while.
"When was the last time you ate?" Mark asks as he takes a seat beside Donghyuck, pushing aside the multiple layers of blankets. Donghyuck doesn't respond for a while and Mark wonders if he didn't hear him.
But then Donghyuck leans over to place his head on Mark's shoulder. "This morning."
"Then you need to eat your dinner at least," Mark tries, holding up a piece of chicken from the plate in his hands. Donghyuck pauses and stares at the food for a moment, and then opens his mouth, yet making no move to grab it. Mark gulps nervously and guides the piece of chicken to Donghyuck's lips. The younger took a large bite and slowly chewed, his eyes closing as he savoured the taste.
Mark smiles at the sight. A few minutes later Donghyuck opens his mouth once again. This time, Mark was quick to feed him another piece. By the end of the hour, despite the chicken turning cold, Donghyuck manages to finish an entire plate of food.
When Mark returns to the kitchen, beaming with happiness, the other members all silently cheer. Even though it was only one thing, it was progress.
-
"We're thinking of sending him on a break," their manager says one day when they're at the company cafe, discussing what they could do to help Donghyuck. "The only thing you guys have managed to do is make him eat food. He showers every now and then but then goes back to that cursed sofa and stays there for the rest of the day. It's not healthy, he needs to move around, regain some of his energy."
"Where will you send him?" Johnny asks, looking convinced by the idea.
Their manager averts his eyes, probably thinking of a place. "We can't send him home, he'll probably get even more lazy and unable to move if we do. You know how his parents are."
"Then where?" Taeyong presses.
Mark watches as they suggest ideas, but none of them seem good. He lets his mind wander off and thinks about it himself. Where could they take Donghyuck that he would be able to regain his strength?
"We could send him to a holiday resort or something?" Their manager finally says, flustered by how they couldn't think of anything else. Taeyong was about to debunk the idea when Mark raises his hand.
"I could go with him."
The room falls into silence, all of them shocked by Mark's words.
"Are you sure?" Taeil questions from the corner of the table. Mark nods. He wanted to help Donghyuck in any way that he could. Even if that meant taking a break from work.
They all exchange looks and have inner debates before agreeing with Mark.
"We'll book places for you and inform the fans. Just make sure to cover your faces and not get caught."
That evening, Mark gets an email regarding his bookings at a resort.
-
"Why aren't the others coming with us?" Donghyuck mutters as he shuffles closer to Mark on the train. There weren't many people around them, since it was still spring and holidays were weeks away, but Donghyuck was still attached to him by the hip ever since they left the dorm.
"Because this trip is to reward us for working hard," Mark answers, knowing how pathetic his excuse was. Donghyuck was about to make a retort when someone took a seat beside him. He immediately freezes and tightens his grip on Mark's arm. The older looks over at him with concern and frowns at the sight. "Hey, you okay?"
"I'm fine," Donghyuck whispers back, ducking his head low to squeeze himself with Mark. The stranger next to Donghyuck seems oblivious to the situation and gets comfortable in his seat, accidentally brushing his arm against Donghyuck's side. The whimper that comes out of Donghyuck's mouth scares the both of them.
The stranger blinks in confusion before getting up and taking a seat further away. A few seconds go by before Donghyuck returns to his previous position, yet still tangled with Mark.
Mark fights the urge to question what had just happened and opts to ask him about it once they reach the resort. The rest of the train ride they plugged in their earphones and fell asleep.
-
The first day at the resort went by like a breeze. Mark had fallen onto his bed, Donghyuck copied but on his own, and the two had slept their way till 10 pm.
“Wanna go get some ice cream?” Mark asks from across the room, leaning against his headboard. Donghyuck looks up from where he was sitting to shake his head. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”
It takes another hour before Donghyuck finally gives in to Mark’s annoying whining. He pulls a large cardigan on and stuffs his feet into his shoes. Mark can tell he’s in a bad mood, probably since he looks as angry as he did back at the dorm when they told him to get off the sofa, but he still forces himself to make tentative steps towards the door. By the time he reaches the door, Mark finishes changing into more casual clothing. He holds a shy hand out to Mark, who accepts it without any hesitation.
“Is the place far?” Donghyuck whispers once they’ve made their way out of the building they were staying at. The resort was massive and had multiple different options available, and so Mark wasn’t going to let them waste any of them.
“Not really,” Mark answers with a gentle smile. He slides their intertwined hands into his pocket and looks around. “It’s just- there! There is it.”
Donghyuck tears his eyes from his feet and looks up at the brightly coloured store. It makes his wince and avert his eyes once again, but Mark doesn't let that bother him for too long.
"I've heard a lot of things about this from friends," Mark says as they enter the store. There don't seem to be many people, which makes Donghyuck's tense muscles relax momentarily.
"Friends?" From the tone of Donghyuck's voice, Mark could feel the joke coming. "What friends are you talking about? You don't have any."
Mark rolls his eyes and wordlessly drags Donghyuck to the counter. "Just order, you brat."
Normally, Donghyuck would've laughed the insult off and probably thrown one back, but this time he suddenly shrinks. The faint smile that was on his face disappears and he frowns to himself.
"I'll have anything," Donghyuck says, shaking Mark's hand out of his. He takes a small step back, it was so subtle that Mark wouldn't have been able to notice if he wasn't 100% aware of how cautious Donghyuck was being.
"Did I say something wrong?" Mark asks the second he recites his order alongside one for Donghyuck. The younger shakes his head and shuffles over to a table.
The rest of the time they spent out, Donghyuck keeps his mouth sealed.
-
"He just shut me out randomly," Mark tells Yuta the next day when Donghyuck goes to take a shower. They had the option to shower in the private ones provided with the room they booked, but Donghyuck chose to go to the public baths.
"What did you say before he did that?" Yuta questions and Mark chews his bottom lip as he thinks back.
"We were just joking around for a minute and then I called him a brat," Mark answers and the call remains silent for a moment. Then the gears start turning in Mark's head and he groans to himself.
"I'm guessing you got your mistake?" Yuta chuckles, Mark can hear the smile in his voice. "Apologise to him, maybe this has something to do with why he's been so down lately."
By the time Mark agrees and forces Yuta to end the call with him, Donghyuck enters the room, a towel wrapped by his neck, his hair dried off and his clothes looking warm and cosy. He looked like a cuddly bear.
"You should take a bath," Donghyuck mutters, his voice barely reaching Mark's ears. "It's really nice."
"I can see that, you spent over an hour there," Mark laughs, and he catches Donghyuck doing the same.
No more words are exchanged as Donghyuck puts his dirty clothes away, quietly walking through the room. He looks better than he did before, there's definitely a lot more energy in him — Mark had done a good job at encouraging him to eat. But he still doesn't look like his usual self. His eye bags that Mark used to make jokes about still look darker than usual, and the way he walks; he forces himself to move to places.
"Donghyuck," Mark says in a gentle voice once the younger takes a seat on his respective bed. Donghyuck blinks in in confusion, exhaustion written all over his face. Maybe now wouldn't be the right time to get the younger to open up to him. He was tired and looked as though he could fall asleep any moment. "You can switch the lights off, I'll manage my way when I come back from the shower."
There's a look of disappointment, or maybe relief, in Donghyuck's eyes. He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. The two stare at each other for a while until Mark gives in and abruptly stands up.
"Alright," Donghyuck finally replies when Mark opens the door to their room. "Be careful."
With a smile, Mark waves at the younger before rushing out, a sigh making its way past his lips when he closes the door. They had two whole weeks, more than enough time to ask Donghyuck.